The Boss for 21/08/10

Best of the week? It's got to be a tie between Zoo City and new Jeff VanderMeer. The unwitting subject of a carnival over at The Mumpsimus, The Third Bear is the first collection of VanderMeer's short fiction which - when I've come across it in the past - has always been a treat, in a pleasantly baffling sort of way. Zoo City, meanwhile, represents an opportunity for me to finally catch up on an author I've been meaning to read since the love-in over Moxyland.

Got a review copy of the first book of The Hunger Games this week, too, which could be cool. Anyone out there a fan? I hear they're in no short supply...

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 Uncrowned King

by Rowena Cory Daniels

Release Details:

Published in the UK on
05/08/10 by Solaris

Review Priority:

3 (Moderate)

Plot Synopsis: "Thirteen year old Piro watches powerless as her father's enemies march on his castle.

"A traitor whispers poison in the King's ear, undermining his trust in her brother, Byren. Determined to prove his loyalty, Byren races across the path of the advancing army, towards the Abbey. Somehow, he must get there in time to convince the Abbot to send his warriors to defend the castle.


"Meanwhile, the youngest of King Rolen's sons, Fyn, has barely begun his training as an Abbey mystic, but he wakes in a cold sweat, haunted by dreams of betrayal..."

Commentary: Meet book two of King Rolen's Kin. We talked a bit about book one, The King's Bastard, in last week's edition of The BoSS, and here, a mere week later, we have The Uncrowned King. And The Usurper is just a few weeks out. Can I keep up? Well, I'm already behind, but dang and blast, I'm going to give it my all!

The Third Bear
by Jeff Vandermeer

Release Details:

Published in the US on
01/08/10 by Tachyon Publications

Review Priority:

4 (Very High)

Plot Synopsis: "The award-winning short fictions in this collection highlight the voice of an inventive contemporary fantasist who has been compared by critics to Borges, Nabokov, and Kafka. In addition to highlights such as 'The Situation', in which a beleaguered office worker creates a child-swallowing manta ray to be used for educational purposes and 'Errata', which follows an oddly familiar writer who has marshalled a penguin, a shaman, and two pearl-handled pistols with which to plot the end of the world, this volume contains two never-before-published stories. Chimerical and hypnotic, this compilation leads readers through the post-modern into what is emerging into a new literature of the imagination."

Commentary: I got off on the wrong foot with Jeff VanderMeer: Veniss Underground was the first of his books I read, and it was... not great. Not great enough, in fact, that it worked to discourage me from the Ambergris books until Finch came along wowed the hell out of me. Only after that did I go back and catch up, and I acknowledge now that my first experience of VanderMeer was of what must be his published fiction's lowest, least engaging ebb. He's been onwards and upwards from there ever since, and Finch was among my very favourite books of last year (on which note, I politely demand my VanderFan badge!), so to see a collection now... well, let's just say I fully expect to come away a little smarter from having read The Third Bear, and that's always a plus, isn't it?

Lanceheim

by Tim Davys

 

Release Details:

Published in the US on
22/07/10 by Harper

Review Priority:

3 (Moderate)

Plot Synopsis: "While finishing what was to be his greatest symphony, famed composer Reuben Walrus discovers he is going deaf. Desperate to stave off the encroaching silence, he embarks on an odyssey to find a fabled creature named Maximilian, rumored to have healing powers but only traceable via an underground network. But as Reuben gets closer to the truth, he must ask himself: just who - or what - is Maximilian?

"The story of the legendary creature is recorded by Wolf Diaz, Maximilian's oldest friend and most loyal follower. Oddly, unlike the other stuffed animals of Mollisan Town, Maximilian did not arrive by green delivery truck. He cannot be identified as any particular species and is made from a material unlike any other with almost invisible seams. And most puzzling, he grows in size. As Maximilian matures, he begins to preach odd parables, attracting a legion of followers hoping to learn from his teachings. But his believers aren't the only stuffed animals paying attention as his growing influence threatens the power of the darker forces currently ruling Mollisan Town. Now Maximilian is in hiding... and time is running out for Reuben to find him. As his search widens, the composer encounters a detective mouse, a giraffe who swears Maximilian miraculously cured his stomach cancer, and a mink who may hold the key to Reuben's salvation. But it's a race against time as Reuben's world steadily goes silent, and his desperation may ultimately lead to his undoing."

Commentary: Hmmm. That blurb kind of works for me, actually - and I confess, I hadn't expected it to. We have Publisher's Weekly to bring us down a peg or two, on the other hand: they say "the stuffed animal conceit adds little to a story whose characters are so tritely human that readers may find themselves wondering why the author even bothered to cast it with fantasy surrogates," but... I find myself intrigued nevertheless. Don't expect a review of Lanceheim soon - too many Next Big Things to take care of just this second - but I'm curious enough that I'd be surprised if I didn't at least give it a shot in the not-too-distant.

Tempest Rising

by Nicole Peeler

Release Details:

Published in the UK on

19/08/05 by Orbit

Review Priority:

2 (Fair)

Plot Synopsis: "Living in small town Rockabilly, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human. Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures that are terrifying, beautiful and deadly - all of which perfectly describe her new 'friend' Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire. It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never - ever - rub the genie's lamp."

Commentary: You know what? I understand this book's a pretty big deal for fans of urban fantasy - there's been enough noise about it as of late - but I just can't get past that stupid Hello Kitty cover. In fact, it kind of offends me; how old is Jane True (I presume) meant to be, anyway? Is this Goth erotica? Well, the blurb insists it's for fans of Sookie Stackhouse, so... pretty much. Methinks Tempest Rising might not be for me.

The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins

Release Details:

Published in the UK on

05/01/09 by Scholastic

Review Priority:

4 (Very High)

Plot Synopsis: "Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever..."

Commentary: How late to the party am I? Well, I brought a keg...  forgive me?

On the other hand, I do wonder how appropriate kegs are likely to be to fans of The Hunger Games. And this series - of which this is the first novel - certainly has its fans: legions of young adults and mature readers in living in blissful harmony. The publication of the trilogy's concluding volume later this year is being strictly embargoed in the same way as the latter Harry Potter novels. Mockingjay looks to be bringing the excitement for the series to a fever pitch, and despite the dodgy sounding reality TV premise - The Running Man anyone? - I'd like to be hammering at my local bookstore's doors for a copy too on release day too. Kind of miss that mass midnight hysteria...

So I've got my work cut out for me. Two novels to catch up on and just a few weeks to do so. Wish me luck!

Zoo City
by Lauren Beukes

Release Details:

Published in the UK
on 02/09/10 by Angry Robot

Review Priority:

5 (Immediate)

Plot Synopsis: "Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she's forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons.

"Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow.

"Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own."

Commentary: "Zinzi has a talent for finding lost things. To save herself, she's got to find the hardest thing of all: the truth." So it goes - the tagline for the next novel from the South African author of Moxyland, that is. Lauren Beukes made a huge impression with her debut, attracting acclaim from all quarters, and wouldn't you know it... I haven't read it, have I? This despite my solemn promise to read anything China Mieville recommends. Well. You can be sure I'm going to get to this, and soon.

As a matter of fact, I might just start it tonight. Cup of tea here I come!

Beautiful Malice
by Rebecca James

Release Details:

Published in the UK
on 01/07/10 by Faber & Faber

Review Priority:

3 (Moderate)

Plot Synopsis: "So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed? Following a horrific tragedy that leaves her once perfect family devastated, Katherine Patterson moves to a new city, starts at a new school, and looks forward to a new life of quiet anonymity. But when Katherine meets the gregarious and beautiful Alice Parrie her resolution to live a solitary life becomes difficult. Katherine is unable to resist the flattering attention that Alice pays her and is so charmed by Alice's contagious enthusiasm that the two girls soon become firm friends. Alice's joie de vivre is transformative; it helps Katherine forget her painful past and slowly, tentatively, Katherine allows herself to start enjoying life again. But being friends with Alice is complicated – and as Katherine gets to know her better she discovers that although Alice can be charming and generous she can also be selfish and egocentric. Sometimes, even, Alice is cruel. And when Katherine starts to wonder if Alice is really the kind of person she wants as a friend, she discovers something else about Alice – she doesn't like being cast off."

Commentary: The world loves this book. Behold, an excerpt from the publisher's prideful preening: "Beautiful Malice has become a publishing phenomenon, sparking numerous auctions worldwide, selling to 27 countries, and launching a previously unknown writer into the centre of the international book market." Perhaps not the world, then, but certainly, the publishing industry loves Rebecca James' suspenseful debut. Can it be mere coincidence that I have a week of crime fiction reviews - the TSS crime spree, I'm calling it - on the books? Only time will tell.

Well, actually, it is just coincidence. But what a handy one! Look for a review of Beautiful Malice soon... as well as write-ups of Noir: A Novel, So Cold the River, The Levels and The Scent of Rain and Lightning.

Teasing! :D

That's all, folks.