I saw a reviewer who commented that he found 2014 to be a low point in his reading, and I was shocked, as I thought it was a great year, which I'll talk about in my 2014 wrap-up on Friday. Let me know what you're reading this week, and if any of these are on your to-read lists!
Kenyon, Kay • Queen of the Deep 01/05
(eBook only, print will be available mid-month)
On the streets of New York, Jane Gray meets an intriguing man who claims to be the impossible: an imaginary playmate from her childhood: Prince Starling. Determined to know the truth, Jane tracks him into another realm.
This is the world of the Palazzo, a magical ship which is both a colossal steam vessel and a Renaissance kingdom. Ruling over its denizens--both human and otherwise--is an exotic and dangerous queen. Jane must find her way home, but the path is hopelessly lost.
Promising romance, the enigmatic Prince Starling and big-hearted crime lord Niccolo vie for Jane's heart. But she has her eye on the pilot house. Who--or what--guides the Palazzo, and what is the urgent secret of its endless voyage? As a shocking destination looms into view, Jane must choose both a lover and a ship's course, one that may avoid the end of all things.
Aaronovitch, Ben • Foxglove Summer 01/06
(Peter Grant #5)
When two young girls go missing in rural Herefordshire, police constable and wizard-in-training Peter Grant is sent out of London to check that nothing supernatural is involved.
It’s purely routine—Nightingale, Peter’s superior, thinks he’ll be done in less than a day. But Peter’s never been one to walk away from someone in trouble, so when nothing overtly magical turns up he volunteers his services to the local police, who need all the help they can get. But because the universe likes a joke as much as the next sadistic megalomaniac, Peter soon comes to realize that dark secrets underlie the picturesque fields and villages of the countryside and there might just be work for Britain’s most junior wizard after all.
Soon Peter’s in a vicious race against time, in a world where the boundaries between reality and fairy have never been less clear...
Sanderson, Brandon • Firefight 01/06
(Sequel to Steelheart)
Newcago is free.
They told David it was impossible, that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet Steelheart--invincible, immortal, unconquerable--is dead. And he died by David's hand.
Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life simpler. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And no one in Newcago can give him answers.
Babylon Restored, the city formerly known as the borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic Regalia, Babylon Restored is flooded and miserable, but David is sure it's the path that will lead him to what he needs to find. Entering a city oppressed by a High Epic despot is risky, but David's willing to take the gamble. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic--Firefight. And now he will go on a quest darker and even more dangerous than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answer.
Brown, Pierce • Golden Son 01/06
(Sequel to Red Rising)
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.
He must live for more.
Walton, Jo • The Just City 01/08
"Here in the Just City you will become your best selves. You will learn and grow and strive to be excellent."
Created as an experiment by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, the Just City is a planned community, populated by over ten thousand children and a few hundred adult teachers from all eras of history, along with some handy robots from the far human future—all set down together on a Mediterranean island in the distant past.
The student Simmea, born an Egyptian farmer's daughter sometime between 500 and 1000 A.D, is a brilliant child, eager for knowledge, ready to strive to be her best self. The teacher Maia was once Ethel, a young Victorian lady of much learning and few prospects, who prayed to Pallas Athene in an unguarded moment during a trip to Rome—and, in an instant, found herself in the Just City with grey-eyed Athene standing unmistakably before her.
Meanwhile, Apollo—stunned by the realization that there are things mortals understand better than he does—has arranged to live a human life, and has come to the City as one of the children. He knows his true identity, and conceals it from his peers. For this lifetime, he is prone to all the troubles of being human.
Then, a few years in, Sokrates arrives—the same Sokrates recorded by Plato himself—to ask all the troublesome questions you would expect. What happens next is a tale only the brilliant Jo Walton could tell.
Alder, Mark • Son of the Morning 01/08
Mark Alder's debut novel of angels, demons, kings and the Hundred Years War marks the beginning of a hugely exciting new series. Edward III stands in a burnt English church, destroyed in a French raid. A raid on his land, a raid on him. He is in debt and surrounded by doubters, only victory against France will save his throne. But Philip of Valois can put 50,000 men in the field. He has sent his priests to summon the very angels themselves to fight for France. Edward could call on God for aid but he is a usurper. What if God truly is on the side of the French? But for a price, Edward could open the gates of Hell and take an unholy war to France...
This week I am reading "Fire Water" by Jaye Wells, which came out today, and Kay Kenyon's "Queen of the Deep" which was shipped to me today as well. We (USA) don't get "The Just City" until next week, so I'll just have to wait. Being a mature snob, I don't read YA, so there's no "Firefight" or piercing "Golden Son" for me. "Son of the Morning" is a book that I want very much to read, but it has yet to see the light of day here. "Foxglove Summer" is very, very low on my list, but I will eventually find the time to read big Ben once again.
ReplyDeleteI tried reading the first Jaye Wells book, but it didn't catch me. It seemed fine, just didn't hit my sweet spot. I forgive you for not reading YA, but you're missing some good books that way.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you not a fan of the Peter Grant books?
Probably for the same reason you're not a fan of Jaye Wells. I'm hard to police. :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the second book in Wells' Prospero's War series, "Cursed Moon," is far superior to "Dirty Magic."
I may be missing some good books by not reading YA, but I would be missing some better books during the time I would be reading the YA ones. It's hard enough as it is to read all the non-YA books that I wish to. I want to finish or start "Fire Water," "Queen of the Deep," "The Just City," "The Providence of Fire," "Pacific Fire," "Return to Honor," and "The Dragon Conspiracy" (all of which have or will come out in the US this month) as soon as possible, so as not to fall behind (or winter behind?). There is also Tim Powers' "Nobody's Home" still left from December. And I am eyeing some other December/January releases to see if they are worth buying and reading (e.g., "Cold Hillside," "Half-Resurrection Blues," "Spell Blind"). So Y A book like one of these should be put aside for one written for brains not yet fully developed is beyond me. Time is more than a minute concern to me. I live by the week, and will die with the strong, but not in the daze of the young. :)
Lol. So you veer more urban fantasy? Have you read the Tad William's series yet?
DeleteI don't know how, but I missed another book that is coming out this month (next week) that I really must get. It's Glenda Larke's "The Dagger's Path." This is the second book in her "The Forsaken Lands" trilogy (the first was "The Lascar's Dagger"). Any book in which "sorcerers, pirates, and thieves collide" sounds smashing. When the writer is as good as Glenda, it's sure to be a Larke!
ReplyDeleteI actually just saw this on someone else's post. I started her first book, and put it down, but I don't remember why. Probably something shiny caught my eye.
DeleteI also realized James Morrow had a new book out this week. No clue how I missed that, he's a fucking brilliant writer, so I'm adding that into this next Tuesday's post.