Leading the pack this week is, for me, one of the biggest releases of what's left of 2010. With Kraken, Under Heaven, The Desert Spear, City of Ruin and The Dervish House either out or damn near on bookshelves shelves - and what an incredible year it's been for the genre already - the pickings for the rest of 2010 are looking rather slim by comparison. But fret not, fair readers: there are still a few big hitters to come, and the sequel to Retribution Falls certainly qualifies as one, as does the belated UK release of The Sword of Albion, by Mark Chadbourn, which I've been looking forward to since it hit the States late last year.
So it's not all bad news, then!
So it's not all bad news, then!
Click through to read Meet the BoSS for an introduction and an explanation as to why you should care about the Bag o' Speculative Swag.
Read on for a sneak peek at some of the books - past, present and future - you can expect to see coverage of here on The Speculative Scotsman in the coming weeks and months.
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The Black-Lung Captain
by Chris Wooding
by Chris Wooding
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
29/07/10 by Gollancz
Review Priority:
5 (Immediate)
Plot Synopsis: "Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more.
"Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it.There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters. Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before.
"But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it..."
Commentary: Adam Whitehead described the first book in The Tales of the Ketty Jay as "Firefly meets Crimson Skies, with a dash of Locke Lamora," and he was bang on the money. I had more fun with Retribution Falls last year than with any other novel that I can recall, and as with Mark Charan Newton, former YA author Chris Wooding has managed to turn around the semi-standalone sequel in a single year. I'll be re-reading Retribution Falls sometime soon - any excuse really - and diving into The Black-Lung Captain directly after. Expect reviews of both books to hit The Speculative Scotsman shortly. Double-crossing sky pirates, everyone!
"Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it.There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters. Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before.
"But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it..."
Commentary: Adam Whitehead described the first book in The Tales of the Ketty Jay as "Firefly meets Crimson Skies, with a dash of Locke Lamora," and he was bang on the money. I had more fun with Retribution Falls last year than with any other novel that I can recall, and as with Mark Charan Newton, former YA author Chris Wooding has managed to turn around the semi-standalone sequel in a single year. I'll be re-reading Retribution Falls sometime soon - any excuse really - and diving into The Black-Lung Captain directly after. Expect reviews of both books to hit The Speculative Scotsman shortly. Double-crossing sky pirates, everyone!
The Waiting Room
by F. G. Cottam
Release Details:
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
24/06/10 by Hodder & Stoughton
Review Priority:
Review Priority:
3 (Moderate)
Plot Synopsis: "Martin Stride is a retired rock star, enjoying the quiet life with his young family on their beautiful estate. On the edge of his grounds lies a derelict Edwardian railway station waiting room once used to transport troops in The Great War. Silent for many years, it has become a playground for Martin's children but now they won't go near it.
"Strange occurrences in the waiting room lead Martin to seek the help of TV's favourite ghost-hunter Julian Creed. But Creed's psychic ability is a fabrication to gain viewers. He doesn't believe in the paranormal. Until he spends a night in The Waiting Room."
Commentary: I hate psychics. People so desperate for five minutes in the limelight - they rarely last much longer than that - that they're prepared to prey on the vulnerable and the bereaved. It's the lowest of the low. A few weeks ago, Derren Brown showed one up right and proper on national television, and I don't think there have many such fist-pumping moments in my life lately. So, to The Waiting Room, a ghost story involving just such a man. A no-brainer of a read for me, if only because I dearly hope to see him eviscerated.
"Strange occurrences in the waiting room lead Martin to seek the help of TV's favourite ghost-hunter Julian Creed. But Creed's psychic ability is a fabrication to gain viewers. He doesn't believe in the paranormal. Until he spends a night in The Waiting Room."
Commentary: I hate psychics. People so desperate for five minutes in the limelight - they rarely last much longer than that - that they're prepared to prey on the vulnerable and the bereaved. It's the lowest of the low. A few weeks ago, Derren Brown showed one up right and proper on national television, and I don't think there have many such fist-pumping moments in my life lately. So, to The Waiting Room, a ghost story involving just such a man. A no-brainer of a read for me, if only because I dearly hope to see him eviscerated.
The Sword of Albion
by Mark Chadbourn
by Mark Chadbourn
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
27/05/10 by Bantam Press
Review Priority:
Review Priority:
4 (Very High)
Plot Synopsis: "1588: The London of Elizabeth I is rocked by news of a daring raid on the Tower. The truth is known only to a select few: that, for twenty years, a legendary doomsday device, its power fabled for millennia, has been kept secret and, until now, safe in the Tower. But it has been stolen and Walsingham's spies believe it has been taken by the Enemy. This Enemy is not who we usually think of as our traditional opponent. No, this Enemy has waged a brutal war against mankind since time began, and with such a weapon they might take terrible toll upon England's green and pleasant land...And so it falls to Will Swyfte - swordsman, adventurer, scholar, rake, and the greatest of Walsingham's new breed of spy - to follow a trail of murder and devilry that leads deep into the dark, venomous world of the Faerie. As Philip of Spain prepares a naval assault on England, Will is caught up in a race against time in pursuit of this fiendish device..."
Commentary: A long time ago I read a neat novella from PS Publishing called The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke. I don't think it's among Mark Chadbourn's better known narratives, but it's my only experience of the author, and it impressed me enough that I'm good and excited to get to The Sword of Albion. Released in the US as The Silver Skull last November to great acclaim, I've had my eye on it since, so I'm dead chuffed Bantam Press have brought it across the Atlantic. If I enjoy this half as much as I think I might, a buying spree of Mark's back-catalogue is a sure thing.
Commentary: A long time ago I read a neat novella from PS Publishing called The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke. I don't think it's among Mark Chadbourn's better known narratives, but it's my only experience of the author, and it impressed me enough that I'm good and excited to get to The Sword of Albion. Released in the US as The Silver Skull last November to great acclaim, I've had my eye on it since, so I'm dead chuffed Bantam Press have brought it across the Atlantic. If I enjoy this half as much as I think I might, a buying spree of Mark's back-catalogue is a sure thing.
Dog Blood
by David Moody
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
17/06/10 by Gollancz
Review Priority:
3 (Moderate)
Plot Synopsis: "The world has suffered a catastrophe of unknown cause, dividing humankind into two: the Haters and the Unchanged. Each group believes the other to be the enemy; each group is fighting for survival. Only by working together can the enemy - whoever that enemy is - be defeated. There are no other choices. Danny McCoyne has managed to break free, and after days of indiscriminate fighting and killing, he is determined to make his way home, to recalim the only thing of any value to him in this strange new world: his daughter Ellis. Unlike his wife and son, Ellis is like him, and he knows, in his heart of hearts, that she is not dead. His dearest wish is for Ellis to be fighting for the world at his side - but Danny soon discovers his daughter is worth far more than just another fighting body. Others like him have discovered that children are absolutely vital to the cause. They are strong, small, fast, and they have no inhibitions. They are pure Haters..."
Commentary: This sounds great, very 28 Days Later - though I'm hardly the first to observe as much - and I'd love to read it, but I'm a stickler for starting stories from the start, and sadly Dog Blood is the sequel to last year's Hater. That said, if the comparisons are apt, I might look into getting a copy of the first novel in the series.
Who out there has read Hater? Would it be worth my time, readers, do you think?
Commentary: This sounds great, very 28 Days Later - though I'm hardly the first to observe as much - and I'd love to read it, but I'm a stickler for starting stories from the start, and sadly Dog Blood is the sequel to last year's Hater. That said, if the comparisons are apt, I might look into getting a copy of the first novel in the series.
Who out there has read Hater? Would it be worth my time, readers, do you think?
The Unit
by Terry DeHart
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
03/06/10 by Orbit
Review Priority:
03/06/10 by Orbit
Review Priority:
3 (Moderate)
Plot Synopsis: "Jerry Sharpe is an ex-marine and, for him, survival means protecting his family by any means necessary. Susan is learning just how far a mother will go for her children. But how far will she go for a man she doubted before the bombs fell? As Jerry's training and instincts take over, she is certain of one thing - her children need her. Melanie was going to go to college. Now, she is struggling to find a way to live in a world gone mad without losing sight of what she believes in. Scotty has a new mission - more than survival. He was saved, and he'll be damned if he won't fight for what's right. And Bill - Bill was locked up, but the power went out and the guards left. Now he and his fellow inmates have realised that everything is free for the taking ...if you're strong enough to hold on to it."
Commentary: I haven't heard much about The Unit, nor indeed its author, ex-marine Terry DeHart, and though They are often heard to say "write what you know," the plot for this post-apocalyptic debut sounds pretty by-the-numbers. Still... I can't say why, but I have a pretty good feeling about The Unit. Puts me in mind of George A. Romero - before he lost it, that is. At the very least I'll give this one a go, I think. It can't hurt!
The Japanese Devil-Fish Girl and
Other Unnatural Afflictions
by Robert Rankin
Other Unnatural Afflictions
by Robert Rankin
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
02/09/10 by Gollancz
Review Priority:
02/09/10 by Gollancz
Review Priority:
4 (Very High)
Plot Synopsis: "The pickled Martian's tentacles are fraying at the ends and Professor Coffin's Most Meritorious Unnatural Attraction (the remains of the original alien autopsy, performed by Sir Frederick Treves at the London Hospital) is no longer drawing the crowds. It's 1895; nearly a decade since Mars invaded Earth, chronicled by H.G. Wells in The War of the Worlds. Wrecked Martian spaceships, retro-engineered by Charles Babbage and Nikola Tesla, have carried the Queen's Own Electric Fusiliers to the red planet, and Mars is now part of the ever-expanding British Empire. The less-than-scrupulous sideshow proprietor likes Off-worlders' cash, so he needs a sensational new attraction. Word has reached him of the Japanese Devil Fish Girl; nothing quite like her has ever existed before. But Professor Coffin's quest to possess the ultimate showman's exhibit is about to cause considerable friction amongst the folk of other planets. Sufficient, in fact, to spark off Worlds War Two."
Commentary: Completely confused this guy with Ian Rankin for a minute there! My bad. Still, this alternate history trip sounds like loads of fun. I love the title, and the premise, picking up a decade after the events chronicled in The War of the Worlds, is hugely interesting. The Japanese Devil-Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Afflictions isn't due out till September, and at a touch longer than 200 pages it's a slight book, so you can be sure I'll read this for review here on TSS in advance of its release date.
Commentary: Completely confused this guy with Ian Rankin for a minute there! My bad. Still, this alternate history trip sounds like loads of fun. I love the title, and the premise, picking up a decade after the events chronicled in The War of the Worlds, is hugely interesting. The Japanese Devil-Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Afflictions isn't due out till September, and at a touch longer than 200 pages it's a slight book, so you can be sure I'll read this for review here on TSS in advance of its release date.
A Princess of Landover
by Terry Brooks
Release Details:
Published in the UK on
01/07/10 by Orbit
Review Priority:
01/07/10 by Orbit
Review Priority:
2 (Fair)
Plot Synopsis: "Princess Mistaya Holiday hasn't been fitting in too well at Carrington Women's Preparatory. People don't seem to appreciate her using her magic to settle matters in the human world. So when she summons a dragon to teach a lesson to the snotty school bully, she finds herself suspended. But Mistaya couldn't care less - she wants nothing more than to continue her studies under Questor the court magician and Abernathy the court scribe. However, her father Ben Holiday, the King of Landover, has rather different plans in mind for her. He thinks he'll teach her about perseverance and compromise by sending her to renovate Libiris, the long-abandoned royal library. How horribly dull. But before long, Mistaya will long for the boredom of cataloguing an unfeasible number of derelict books - for deep within the library there lies a secret so dangerous that it threatens the future of Landover itself..."
Commentary: Hmmm. After nearly 15 years away from the universe, Terry Brooks - not often a name spoken with much reverence among genre fans these days - returns to The Magic Kingdom of Landover with this, the sixth in series. And going from the reviews of the hardcover, released last year, people don't seem to think much of it. Did I say hmmm?
Still, I should reserve judgment. I've not read a word Terry Brooks has written, and I understand that whatever his contemporary esteem, many of his older works are remembered very fondly. Never say never, I suppose.
Chris Wooding... I had another blogger friend suggest this writer to me. I am going to have to get to his stuff here soon. He sounds like a great writer. Thanks for the list here.
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