Embassytown by China Miéville (MacMillan, 2011, HB, £17.99, out now) A criticism often levelled at science-fiction novels is that they’re full of great ideas, but short on story-telling. It’s to China Miéville’s credit, then, that no matter how outlandish the worlds, cultures and artifacts he creates in his books, they always seem to occupy a […]
Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell (MacMillan, 2011/2003, PB, £5.99, out now) The creative team best known for their outstanding Edge Chronicles produced a more humourous fantasy title back in 2003, Muddle Earth, again aimed at younger readers. This paperback re-release has a new cover in advance of the impending sequel, Muddle Earth […]
Cowboys and Aliens by Joan D. Vinge (published by Tor, 2011, PB, £7.99, out now) Unlike many books that are deemed good enough to be made into motion pictures, this is a novel that is taken from the movie; a tie-in novel. This, in my opinion, leaves no room for the imagination to run whilst […]
The Castle Omnibus by Steph Swainston (Victor Gollancz, 2010, PB, £16.99) The Castle Omnibus is one of the most fascinating and refreshingly original fantasy series I’ve ever read, gathering the trilogy of The Year Of Our War, No Present Like Time, and The Modern World. Instead of a muscle bound warrior or powerful mage as […]
Titanicus by Dan Abnett (Black Library, 2009, PB, £7.99) The world of Orestes comes under attack from a legion of chaos Titans; an Imperial detachment is sent to save the day. The set-up is deceivingly simple, the execution is as wonderfully thrilling as you would expect from Abnett, the master of future war novels. This […]
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard (Headline, 2010, PB, £7.99) This is an easy, entertaining read, that reminds very much of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett at their most mischievous, which of course is a good thing. The titular Johannes Cabal is on a mission to win back his soul from Satan and […]