There were a whole load of books published last year that I never got round to, purely because I was having me a hiatus and was catching up on other stuff instead. 'The City of Silk and Steel' was one of those books (anyone here read it?) and I've bumped it up the pile, not only because I love Arabian style fantasy right now but also because Mike Carey's name is on the cover. It may not be Felix Castor (still holding out a forlorn hope here) but I haven't read a bad book yet from Mike Carey so am looking forward to reading this and seeing how this combined family effort comes out on the page.
'Poison' is another book that I'm really up for reading and probably should have read sooner, based on how I've found Sarah Pinborough's other books (excellent for the most part). I've got the house to myself tonight so might give it a go then.
Gollancz continue to publish Michael Moorcock's back catalogue and it's the turn of this collected edition of 'Jerry Cornelius' short stories to see the light of day. I will be reading this book, no question about it. The only question is in which edition; I think I may already have this one on the shelf (with a much nicer cover as well).
And then there's the books that I'd never heard of until last night.
I'd never really given it much thought but of course there would be a book that was Philip K. Dick's first, he had to start somewhere didn't he? It's a matter for slight debate but people in the know say that 'Gather Yourselves Together' was the first book written by Dick. I want to read more of his books so will definitely be picking this one up at some point.
I'm not really sure about Mitch Benn's 'Terra' though. I know it's a silly thing but the comparisons to Terry Pratchett have put me off, purely because I don't really find Pratchett that funny any more (not for a long time). Has anyone here read 'Terra'? Have a look at the blurb and see what you think,
No-one trusts humanity. No-one can quite understand why we're intent on destroying the only place we have to live in the Universe. No-one thinks we're worth a second thought. And certainly no-one is about to let us get off Rrth. That would be a complete disaster.
But one alien thinks Rrth is worth looking at. Not humanity, obviously, we're appalling, but until we manage to kill every other living thing on the planet there are some truly wonderful places on Rrth and some wonderful creatures living in them. Best take a look while they're still there.
But on one trip to Rrth our alien biologist causes a horrendous accident. The occupants of a car travelling down a lonely road spot his ship (the sort of massive lemon-coloured, lemon-shaped starship that really shouldn't be hanging in the sky over a road). Understandably the Bradburys crash (interrupting the latest in a constant procession of bitter rows). And in the wreckage of their car our alien discovers a baby girl. She needs rescuing. From the car. From Rrth. From her humanity.
And now 11 years later a girl called Terra is about to go to school for the first time. It's a very alien experience...
I'm half and half with this one, what do you think?
And Simon Ing's 'Painkillers'... I think he has a story in 'The Life and Times of Jerry Cornelius' so I might read that first and give 'Painkillers' a go if I like it. Or maybe not, I have the 'Game of Thrones Season Two' box set in my bag and that takes precedence because Season One was awesome. Any time that is left will be spent on working my way through a growing pile of unread books. Any here that you think I should start with?
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