Book Haul

Book Haul: April 17

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| The Air War by Adrian Tchaikovsky |

I’ve been looking forward to reading The Air War ever since I finished its predecessor, Heirs of the Blade. Shadows of the Apt is undoubtedly one of my favourite fantasy series so for those of you who have yet to discover this series, it comes highly recommended! I certainly cannot wait to start this one.

| Synopsis |

All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, the spies watch each other and ready their knives, while Myna sees the troops muster at its border and emotions run high as it vows never to be enslaved again. In Collegium, the students argue politics, too late to turn the tide. In the heart of the Empire, new pilots have completed their secretive training, generals are being recalled to service and armies are ready to march. Their Empress, the heir to two worlds, intends to claim her birthright. And nothing – either within the Empire or beyond it – will stand in her way. A conflict is coming, the like of which the insect-kinden have never seen.

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| The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick |

The Man in the High Castle has been on my to read list for ever such a long while – so hurrah! I finally picked up a copy! A blend of some of my favourite themes and genres, this science fiction classic is sure to be at the top of the reading pile this spring / summer. 

| Synopsis |

It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war, and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to awake.

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| Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson |

You wait years to finally pick up a copy of Gardens of the Moon, the first book in The Malazan Book of the Fallen, and then accidentally buy three copies at once! So after unintentionally purchasing the audiobook, ordering the paperback and then mis-clicking the one-click buy button on the e-book copy, I now have three Gardens of the Moon to ensure I finally read it!

| Synopsis |

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

But it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand….

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Book Haul: April 11

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| The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig |

Another day, another Goodreads Giveaway win! A lucky streak indeed. The Fire Sermon has an incredibly beautiful cover and, with its post-apocalyptic premise, sounds like just the type of book I’ll love! Yet another series on my TBR that I cannot wait to get around to!

| Synopsis |

The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in this richly imagined first novel in a new postapocalyptic trilogy by award-winning poet Francesca Haig.

Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair one is an Alpha – physically perfect in every way – and the other an Omega burdened with deformity, small or large.

With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world’s sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side by side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.

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Book Haul: April 09

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| Calamity by Brandon Sanderson |

I was lucky enough to win this beauty in a Goodreads Giveaway! So hurrah! One can never have enough Sanderson in their lives and this is his one series I’ve not started – very timely indeed. Plus it looks even better in real life than it did in the cover reveal! Needless to say, I cannot wait to get round to this trilogy!!

| Synopsis |

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when the Reckoners’ leader struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back…

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

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Book Haul: March 31

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| Angel of Storms by Trudi Canavan |

Having not got around to reading Thief’s Magic, the first book in the Millennium’s Rule Trilogy, I still hadn’t picked up a copy of its sequel, Angel of Storms. Luckily for me I happened across this little gem in my local bookshop! With this beautiful signed edition added to my collection, this trilogy will be heading straight to the top of my reading pile… here’s hoping it’s as good as it looks!

| Synopsis |

Tyen trains students in the ways of magic, but his teaching may soon be outlawed. Rumour has it that the formidable ruler of all worlds, long believed to be dead, is back and is harshly enforcing his old laws – including the one forbidding schools of magic. As teachers and pupils flee, Tyen is left with no home and no purpose . . . except to fulfil the promise he made to Vella, the sorcerer imprisoned in a book. Tyen must decide what he is willing to do to free her.

Elsewhere, Rielle’s peaceful new life as a tapestry weaver has been shattered by a local war. As defeat looms, the powerful Angel of Storms appears and invites Rielle to join the artists of his heavenly realm. But what will he require in return for this extraordinary offer?

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|Legion: Skin Deep by Brandon Sanderson |

And no sooner had I spotted a signed Trudi Canavan book to add to my collection than I caught sight of this pesky Sanderson mini-tome to add to the signed Sanderson shelf. Another book which is long overdue to be (both bought and) read!

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| Synopsis |

Stephen Leeds, AKA “Legion,” is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae: hallucinatory entities with a wide variety of personal characteristics and a vast array of highly specialized skills. As the new story begins, Leeds and his “aspects” are hired by I3 (Innovative Information Incorporated) to recover a corpse stolen from the local morgue. But there’s a catch. The corpse is that of a pioneer in the field of experimental biotechnology, a man whose work concerned the use of the human body as a massive storage device. He may have embedded something in the cells of his now dead body. And that something might be dangerous…

What follows is a visionary thriller about the potential uses of technology, the mysteries of the human personality, and the ancient human need to believe that death is not the end. Legion: Skin Deep is speculative fiction at it most highly developed. It reaffirms Sanderson’s place as one of contemporary fiction’s most intelligent—and unpredictable—voices.

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Book Haul: February 24

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| Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart |

This eye-catching tome arrived on my doorstep just in time for the Girl Waits With Gun Official Blog Tour which commences on 7th March – an event I’m very much looking forward to! With a gun-toting, law-wielding, feisty female heroine, this is one novel I cannot wait to get lost in. So join me on the 9th March as the Blog Tour takes an official diversion to Books by Proxy for my scoop on Girl Waits With Gun.

Girl Waits With Gun - Cover

Girl Waits With Gun

Book One of the Kopp Sisters

by Amy Stewart

Historical Crime Fiction | 416 Pages | To be published by Scribe UK on 10th March 2016

Girl Waits With Gun - Blog Tour

| Synopsis |

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten, true story of one of the USA’s first female deputy sheriffs.

Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mould. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.

Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine — an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours.

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Book Haul: February 23

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| The Raven’s Head by Karen Maitland |

I’ve been a huge fan of Karen Maitland for a while now – if you haven’t read Company of Liars I urge you to do so – and having had The Raven’s Head on my to read list for far too long I thought it was about time to pick up a copy. I fully expect this to be a literary delight full of disturbing history and superstition.

| Synopsis |

Vincent is an apprentice librarian who stumbles upon a secret powerful enough to destroy his master. With the foolish arrogance of youth, he attempts blackmail but the attempt fails and Vincent finds himself on the run and in possession of an intricately carved silver raven’s head.

Any attempt to sell the head fails … until Vincent tries to palm it off on the intimidating Lord Sylvain – unbeknown to Vincent, a powerful Alchemist with an all-consuming quest. Once more Vincent’s life is in danger because Sylvain and his neighbours, the menacing White Canons, consider him a predestined sacrifice in their shocking experiment.

Chilling and with compelling hints of the supernatural, The Raven’s Head is a triumph for Karen Maitland, Queen of the Dark Ages.

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| And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie |

And Then There Were None needs no introduction. As soon as I saw this book I knew it belonged on my bookshelf – the one Christie I’d definitely be remiss to miss!

| Synopsis |

First, there were ten – a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

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| Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine |

I’ve never read any Rachel Caine or even heard much about this book before I bought it, though general opinion seemed to be favourable. This was definitely an impulse purchase… but who could resist such a gorgeous cover!

| Synopsis |

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…

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Book Haul: February 13

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| The Rats by James Herbert |

Ahh another book which bears testimony to the fact that I cannot resist a shiny book cover! Having very few horror books in my reading repertoire, and barely managing to shift the one I’m currently dragging my way through- though I don’t dislike it by any means – I decided I’d break out of my genre comfort zone and give The Rats by James Herbert a try. Plus it has a foreword by Neil Gaiman… that should be worth reading at least!

| Synopsis |

It was only when the bones of the first devoured victims were discovered that the true nature and power of these swarming black creatures with their razor sharp teeth and the taste for human blood began to be realised by a panic-stricken city. For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies. But now for the first time – suddenly, shockingly, horribly – the balance of power had shifted.

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| The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker |

K.J Parker is one of those authors who I only know of because Amazon is desperately trying to get me to read their novels in a torrent of one dimensional recommendations. But it seems to have done the trick because here I am with Parker’s The Folding Knife to hand! Damn subconscious purchasing… I must admit though, the premise of this novel sounds right up my alley. Well played Amazon. Well played.

| Synopsis |

Basso the Magnificent. Basso the Great. Basso the Wise. Basso the Murderer. The First Citizen of the Vesani Republic is an extraordinary man. He is ruthless, cunning and, above all, lucky. He brings wealth, power and prestige to his people. But with power comes unwanted attention, and Basso must defend his nation and himself from threats foreign and domestic. In a lifetime of crucial decisions, he’s only ever made one mistake. One mistake, though, can be enough.

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Electric Church

| The Electric Church by Jeff Somers |

Hello surprise sale purchase! The Electric Church and Jeff Somers were completely unknown to me before I happened across a wondrous bargain in the bookshop, but this series sounds very intriguing – and who doesn’t love a bit of cyberpunk? I can’t wait to give it a try!

| Synopsis |

In the near future, the only thing growing faster than the criminal population is the Electric Church, a new religion founded by a mysterious man named Dennis Squalor. The Church preaches that life is too brief to contemplate the mysteries of the universe: eternity is required. In order to achieve this, the converted become Monks — cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies, and virtually unlimited life spans.

Enter Avery Cates, a dangerous criminal known as the best killer-for-hire around. The authorities have a special mission in mind for Cates: assassinate Dennis Squalor. But for Cates, the assignment will be the most dangerous job he’s ever undertaken — and it may well be his last.

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Book Haul: February 10

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| The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky |

You may notice that Polansky’s Low Town novels have already appeared on a book haul post in January… but your eyes do not deceive! They’re cropping up again this month! Having bought them on Kindle and having read The Straight Razor Cure (review to come!), I happened across the hardback in the sales and couldn’t resist buying it – this was such a good book that I bought it twice!

| Synopsis |

Here, the criminal is king. The streets are filled with the screeching of fish hags, the cries of swindled merchants, the inviting murmurs of working girls. Here, people can disappear, and the lacklustre efforts of the guard ensure they are never found.

Warden is an ex-soldier who has seen the worst men have to offer; now a narcotics dealer with a rich, bloody past and a way of inviting danger. You’d struggle to find someone with a soul as dark and troubled as his.

But then a missing child, murdered and horribly mutilated, is discovered in an alley.

And then another.

With a mind as sharp as a blade and an old but powerful friend in the city, he’s the only man with a hope of finding the killer.

If the killer doesn’t find him first.

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| Tomorrow the Killing by Daniel Polansky |

Similarly, after finding The Straight Razor Cure in hardback for mere pounds, I happened across its sequel, Tomorrow the Killing, under a big old pile of books. Having already bought it on Kindle but having yet to read it, this second Low Town novel came at the perfect time for me to get stuck in!

| Synopsis |

Once he was a hero of the Great War, and then a member of the dreaded Black House. Now he is the criminal linchpin of Low Town. His name is Warden. He thought he had left the war behind him, but a summons from up above brings the past sharply, uncomfortably, back into focus. General Montgomery’s daughter is missing somewhere in Low Town, searching for clues about her brother’s murder. The general wants her found, before the stinking streets can lay claim to her, too.

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| City of Bohane by Kevin Barry |

Another sale find, I hadn’t even heard of Kevin Barry or City of Bohane before its vibrant cover caught my eye. But with the gorgeously vivid cover art and a fascinating premise, I cannot wait to open it up!

| Synopsis |

Forty years in the future. The once-great city of Bohane on the west coast of Ireland is on its knees, infested by vice and split along tribal lines. There are the posh parts of town, but it is in the slums and backstreets of Smoketown, the tower blocks of the Northside Rises and the eerie bogs of Big Nothin’ that the city really lives.

For years, the city has been in the cool grip of Logan Hartnett, the dapper godfather of the Hartnett Fancy gang. But there’s trouble in the air. They say his old nemesis is back in town; his trusted henchmen are getting ambitious; and his missus wants him to give it all up and go straight… And then there’s his mother.

City of Bohane is a visionary novel that blends influences from film and the graphic novel, from Trojan beats and calypso rhythms, from Celtic myth and legend, from fado and the sagas, and from all the great inheritance of Irish literature. A work of mesmerising imagination and vaulting linguistic invention, it is a taste of the glorious and new.

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