Category Archives: Books

Coming full circle – Michelle Zink’s Circle of Fire reviewed

I’ve just finished The Circle of Fire, the last novel in Michelle Zink‘s Prophecy of the Sisters series. I’ve written about the series before (review of first book and an interview with the author) but I wanted to hold off … Continue reading

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Down a mine with a laser – James Blaylock’s Affair of the Chalk Cliffs

On a recent journey into London, I picked up the latest Langdon St Ives novel from James Blaylock, The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs. It has been a while since I’d read my last Blaylock but I’ll be trying to … Continue reading

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Hourglasses on the page – Charles Stross’s Rule 34

Charlie Stross’s latest, Rule 34, is a fast-paced, discombobulating read. Its near future setting is just in the corner of the reader’s eye though it provides no fixes. There is scant comfort, outside of the brief meetings where the edges … Continue reading

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Becoming lost and found in Vandermeer’s Ambergris

I have to admit that re-reading the ‘New Weird’ authors recently has reminded me why I ell head over heels in love with the weirdness at the time. In a sense, it is like the reminder of a first love … Continue reading

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Parasols and rapier wit at the ready – Gail Carriger’s Heartless

I’ve just been reading the latest Gail Carriger, Heartless, and it really is a return  to form. Alexia Maccon is a little tied up with the slight matter of being eight months  pregnant. Rather then being able to enjoy some … Continue reading

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Losing my desire – Russell Hoban’s Angelica Lost and Found

Russell Hoban‘s Angelica Lost and Found is a quartet of stories which is underpinned by the rescue of Angelica by Volatore, the Hippogriff, in Ariosto‘s Orlando Furioso. Volatore rescues Angelica and then has sex with her, a pursuit that becomes … Continue reading

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The Science Fiction Awards Watch blog has just posted news of the Locus Awards winners. Congratulations to all!

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Nicolette Jones interviewed Patrick Ness for the Independent yesterday, Friday 24th June. I’ve yet to read Monsters and Men, or the other books in the series though they are now high on the list. What impressed me about it is … Continue reading

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A gray Metropolis – Robert Jackson Bennett’s Company Men

Robert Jackson Bennett‘s The Company Men plunges the reader into the rapidly thickening world of Evesden, an American city dominated by the McNaughton factory. It follows Mr Shivers, Bennett’s debut novel which is set in the 1930s Dust Bowl, in … Continue reading

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A danse macabre at the carnival

Jesse Bullington‘s books are unafraid of the ordure. In fact they revel in it in both setting and language. He takes the ideas of medieval fantasy to a logical yet rigorous extreme. Meanwhile he is embraces both Jeff Vandermeer and … Continue reading

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