You know, after the double-dip last weekend, I'd really like to think I was all caught up in terms of books received. Turns out... not so much.
Among the newish releases in The BoSS this week, then: the run of books no doubt inspired by the success of Scott Lynch's series continues apace... a year on from Guardians of Paradise, Jaine Fenn returns, and I've still no clue what to make of her work... there are ninjas -- bloody ninjas at that... a classic fantasy kingdom I've been keeping seekrits about... and oh my God, there are beasts in your bed!
Time to change the sheets, I expect. :/
In fact, how about you guys read about some nearly-new books while I take care of that?
Among the newish releases in The BoSS this week, then: the run of books no doubt inspired by the success of Scott Lynch's series continues apace... a year on from Guardians of Paradise, Jaine Fenn returns, and I've still no clue what to make of her work... there are ninjas -- bloody ninjas at that... a classic fantasy kingdom I've been keeping seekrits about... and oh my God, there are beasts in your bed!
Time to change the sheets, I expect. :/
In fact, how about you guys read about some nearly-new books while I take care of that?
***
Bedbugs
by Ben H. Winters
Vital Statistics
Published in the UK
on 06/09/11
by Quirk
Review Priority
4 (Pretty Bloody Likely)
The Blurb: Alex and Susan Wendt are the perfect couple in search of the perfect Brooklyn brownstone -- and the house at 56 Cranberry Street is too good to pass up. Sure, the landlady seems a little eccentric. And the creepy handyman drops too many strange remarks about the previous tenants. But the sidewalk is lined with trees and there's a beautiful playground just down the block, where their 3-year-old daughter Emma can play.
Many chapters of slow-building dread and paranoia will ensue -- think of this as Rosemary's Bedbugs. Alex loves their new home but Susan is less enthusiastic; something about the new place just doesn't feel right, and she's having trouble sleeping. In the mornings, Susan awakens to find drops of blood on her pillowcase -and soon her wrists are speckled with bites. She immediately suspects bedbugs but she and Alex and the landlady search the apartment without uncovering a single creature. Even stranger, Alex doesn't have any bites on his body. You're just experiencing some kind of psychosomatic reaction, he suggests. I've never seen any bugs. Exterminators search the apartment and find nothing. But Susan is convinced she's right: she's seen the bedbugs, crawling over her body, feasting on her flesh, and swarming in incredibly vivid nightmares.
As her fear and paranoid build to a fever pitch, the story arrives at its horrific conclusion, in which all of the book's many mysteries are revealed. Can Susan contain the bedbugs before they destroy her family? Bedbugs may be the first novel that appeals to both horror/Comic Con fans as well as suburban soccer mums -- and it's a great gift for anyone who's ever battled bedbugs in real life. Sleep tight!
Many chapters of slow-building dread and paranoia will ensue -- think of this as Rosemary's Bedbugs. Alex loves their new home but Susan is less enthusiastic; something about the new place just doesn't feel right, and she's having trouble sleeping. In the mornings, Susan awakens to find drops of blood on her pillowcase -and soon her wrists are speckled with bites. She immediately suspects bedbugs but she and Alex and the landlady search the apartment without uncovering a single creature. Even stranger, Alex doesn't have any bites on his body. You're just experiencing some kind of psychosomatic reaction, he suggests. I've never seen any bugs. Exterminators search the apartment and find nothing. But Susan is convinced she's right: she's seen the bedbugs, crawling over her body, feasting on her flesh, and swarming in incredibly vivid nightmares.
As her fear and paranoid build to a fever pitch, the story arrives at its horrific conclusion, in which all of the book's many mysteries are revealed. Can Susan contain the bedbugs before they destroy her family? Bedbugs may be the first novel that appeals to both horror/Comic Con fans as well as suburban soccer mums -- and it's a great gift for anyone who's ever battled bedbugs in real life. Sleep tight!
My Thoughts: So the blurb for Bedbugs is... a bit much, shall we say, but I'm actually pretty darned intrigued to read this one. I've only my recent experiences with Quirk's books to go on here, of course - namely the wonders of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the witty words of Geek Wisdom - but I very much admire what I've seen of their slate to date, and the stage is certainly set for some skin-crawling, stomach-churning fun.
I remain ever the optimist! :)
I remain ever the optimist! :)
Den of Thieves
by David Chandler
Vital Statistics
Published in the UK
on 07/06/11
by Voyager
Review Priority
2 (It Could Happen)
The Blurb: Enter a world of darkness and danger, honour, daring and destiny in David Chandler’s magnificent epic trilogy: The Ancient Blades.
Croy is a knight errant, and bearer of an ancient blade with a powerful destiny. He's also kind of, well, dim. He believes in honour. He believes that people are fundamentally good, and will do the right thing if you give them a chance.
Unfortunately, Croy lives in the city of Ness. A thriving medieval city of fifty thousand people, none of whom are fundamentally even decent, and who will gleefully stab you in the back. If you give them a chance.
Ness is also the home to Malden. Malden is a thief. He lives by his wits, disarming cunning traps, sneaking past sleeping guards, and running away very fast whenever people are trying to kill him. Which is often. One time Malden stole a crown. And then he had to steal it back to avoid a civil war. Croy got the credit, of course, because he's a noble knight. Another time the two of them went into the tomb of an ancient warrior race, and Croy accidentally started a barbarian invasion. Guess who had to clean that up?
They probably wouldn't be friends at all if it wasn't for Cythera. Cythera is a witch. A mostly-good witch. And despite herself she can't stop thieves and knights falling in love with her... at the same time.
Croy is a knight errant, and bearer of an ancient blade with a powerful destiny. He's also kind of, well, dim. He believes in honour. He believes that people are fundamentally good, and will do the right thing if you give them a chance.
Unfortunately, Croy lives in the city of Ness. A thriving medieval city of fifty thousand people, none of whom are fundamentally even decent, and who will gleefully stab you in the back. If you give them a chance.
Ness is also the home to Malden. Malden is a thief. He lives by his wits, disarming cunning traps, sneaking past sleeping guards, and running away very fast whenever people are trying to kill him. Which is often. One time Malden stole a crown. And then he had to steal it back to avoid a civil war. Croy got the credit, of course, because he's a noble knight. Another time the two of them went into the tomb of an ancient warrior race, and Croy accidentally started a barbarian invasion. Guess who had to clean that up?
They probably wouldn't be friends at all if it wasn't for Cythera. Cythera is a witch. A mostly-good witch. And despite herself she can't stop thieves and knights falling in love with her... at the same time.
My Thoughts: Actually, scratch that thing about optimism from the Bedbugs bit.
Really, there's been rather a lot of this sort of thing this year. You know, Gentlemen Bastard-esque fare, presumably to fill the gap which The Republic of Thieves has left after its many and various delays.
Not that that's reason enough for me to be down on Den of Thieves. However, Fantasy Book Critic's Robert Thompson did not approve of book one of The Ancient Blades trilogy, and unless I hear of another, more positive perspective on Den of Thieves sometime soon, I expect I'll be giving this one a miss.
But hey, as ever: it could happen!
Really, there's been rather a lot of this sort of thing this year. You know, Gentlemen Bastard-esque fare, presumably to fill the gap which The Republic of Thieves has left after its many and various delays.
Not that that's reason enough for me to be down on Den of Thieves. However, Fantasy Book Critic's Robert Thompson did not approve of book one of The Ancient Blades trilogy, and unless I hear of another, more positive perspective on Den of Thieves sometime soon, I expect I'll be giving this one a miss.
But hey, as ever: it could happen!
Blood Ninja
by Nick Lake
Vital Statistics
Published in the UK
on 01/09/10
by Corvus
Review Priority
3 (We'll See)
The Blurb: Taro is a boy from a coastal village in rural Japan, fated to become a fisherman like his father. But in just one night, Taro's world is turned upside down - and his destiny is changed forever. Skilled in the art of silent and deadly combat, ninjas are the agents of powerful nobles who rule sixteenth-century Japan. So why did a group of these highly trained assassins creep into a peasant's hut and kill Taro's father? And why did one ninja rescue Taro from their clutches, saving his life at enormous cost?
Now on the run with this mysterious saviour and his best friend Hiro, Taro is determined to learn the way of the ninja to avenge his father's death. But if they are to complete their perilous journey, Taro must first evade the wrath of the warring Lords, decipher an ancient curse, resist forbidden love - and come to terms with the blood-soaked secrets of a life lived in moonlight.
Now on the run with this mysterious saviour and his best friend Hiro, Taro is determined to learn the way of the ninja to avenge his father's death. But if they are to complete their perilous journey, Taro must first evade the wrath of the warring Lords, decipher an ancient curse, resist forbidden love - and come to terms with the blood-soaked secrets of a life lived in moonlight.
My Thoughts: Again, not my usual fare, but I stand in awe of that cover design, and as Conn Iggulden says, Blood Ninja is "a fast-paced, gripping book, with ninjas. It's all I ask for, really."
I could perhaps ask a little more, but whatever. This first Blood Ninja book sounds like fun, Nick Lake seems to have established a solid reputation between this and the other work he does, and with a review copy of the second in the series in my stack now too, I'd best get to Blood Ninja while the getting's good if I hope to get to it at all.
Which yes, I do.
I could perhaps ask a little more, but whatever. This first Blood Ninja book sounds like fun, Nick Lake seems to have established a solid reputation between this and the other work he does, and with a review copy of the second in the series in my stack now too, I'd best get to Blood Ninja while the getting's good if I hope to get to it at all.
Which yes, I do.
Bringer of Light
by Jaine Fenn
Vital Statistics
Published in the UK
on 18/08/11
by Gollancz
Review Priority
3 (It Could Happen)
The Blurb: Jarek Reen is trying to save a lost world. He discovered the primitive theocracy of Serenein by accident, and now he wants it to take its place in human-space. To do this he needs a shiftspace beacon -- without it, there is no way to find the planet again. The beacons were made by the Sidhe, the race that originally gave humanity access to the stars -- and dominated human-space for millennia, before a coalition of human rebels and Sidhe males brought the evil Sidhe females down.
Most people think the Sidhe are long dead, but Jarek knows better: a renegade female Sidhe is one of his companions, and a male Sidhe gave her and her lover the special powers that made them Angels, very unusual trained assassins. Jarek's only hope is to find Aleph, the hidden system where the last Sidhe males are rumoured to live. But even if he can persuade these eccentric, introspective beings to put aside their interminable internal squabbles, he still has to persuade Serenein that joining the rest of humankind is a good thing... for the price of progress is likely to be high. Can he stop it turning into tragedy?
Most people think the Sidhe are long dead, but Jarek knows better: a renegade female Sidhe is one of his companions, and a male Sidhe gave her and her lover the special powers that made them Angels, very unusual trained assassins. Jarek's only hope is to find Aleph, the hidden system where the last Sidhe males are rumoured to live. But even if he can persuade these eccentric, introspective beings to put aside their interminable internal squabbles, he still has to persuade Serenein that joining the rest of humankind is a good thing... for the price of progress is likely to be high. Can he stop it turning into tragedy?
My Thoughts: Wait, what? Again? Already?
Well I suppose it's been a year; I shouldn't really be so surprised. But it feels like only yesterday I was intending to get to Guardians of Paradise, and yet, and yet... well, obviously I never did.
Book one gets a good rep on Amazon at least, and though I don't remember it attracting a great deal of attention around the blogosphere, I remain intrigued. Sounds a little Kay Kenyon-esque, and I did dig The Entire and the Rose.
I'm conflicted, folks, so help me out: should I give this series a shot, do you think?
Well I suppose it's been a year; I shouldn't really be so surprised. But it feels like only yesterday I was intending to get to Guardians of Paradise, and yet, and yet... well, obviously I never did.
Book one gets a good rep on Amazon at least, and though I don't remember it attracting a great deal of attention around the blogosphere, I remain intrigued. Sounds a little Kay Kenyon-esque, and I did dig The Entire and the Rose.
I'm conflicted, folks, so help me out: should I give this series a shot, do you think?
The Illustrated Gormenghast
by Mervyn Peake
Vital Statistics
Published in the UK
on 23/06/11
by Vintage Classics
Review Priority
5 (A Sure Thing)
The Blurb: Enter the world of Gormenghast. The vast crumbling castle to which the seventy-seventh Earl, Titus Groan, is Lord and heir. Titus is expected to rule this Gothic labyrinth of turrets and dungeons, cloisters and corridors as well as the eccentric and wayward subject. Things are changing in the castle and Titus must contend with a kingdom about to implode beneath the weight of centuries of intrigue, treachery, manipulation and murder.
My Thoughts: Last for this week, last but not least - no, very far from least indeed - this beautiful new edition of the Gormenghast trilogy as was, released to accompany Titus Awakes, which Peake's widow put together after the author's passing, has roundly replaced my battered old second-hand editions of the three original novels. Profusely illustrated and with an all-new introduction by TSS favourite Monsieur Mieville, I expect I'll be referring to it rather a lot over the weeks and months to come.
I just can't tell you how or why yet. But know that there is something to know.
I'm not even sorry to be such a tease! :)
But do be sure to stay tuned for some very exciting Gormenghast-related news.
I just can't tell you how or why yet. But know that there is something to know.
I'm not even sorry to be such a tease! :)
But do be sure to stay tuned for some very exciting Gormenghast-related news.
***
On which cruel and unusual note, that's it for this week in books received, boys and girls. The BoSS will be back again next Sunday, as usual -- by which point I expect I may be able to tell you all a little more about... things.
Meantime, please do chime in as regards the Jaine Fenn question, and while you're at it, if you want to wax lyrical about something you've been reading of late, consider the floor open all week long.
Meantime, please do chime in as regards the Jaine Fenn question, and while you're at it, if you want to wax lyrical about something you've been reading of late, consider the floor open all week long.
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