Sunday 28 October 2012

New Books in the Post.

Some interesting looking books have turned up in the post over the last couple of days. Check 'em out (along with a brief glimpse of Hope's foot, she was really interested in the photos being taken)...




The theme of the day seems to be 'authors that I've never read' and that always feels quite exciting. I probably should have read Lackey and Farmer long before now but it never quite happened. You can blame some awful cover art (Lackey) and some really uninspiring blurb (Farmer) for that. Has anyone here read any of these three books? 'A Feast Unknown' looks like it has the 'pulp vibe' that I'm into at the moment ;o)

'Malice' looks like it could satisfy my cravings for a book full of men hitting each other with swords (signing on can do that to a person...) so will more than likely be read before its December publication. Not too sure about the 'dark evil rising once again' though. Check out the blurb...


A black sun is rising … Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will come all too soon. Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of courage. The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars. High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust.

The only one I'm not sure of is Paul Cornell's 'London Falling'; nothing to do with the book itself, more about my growing ambivalence towards all kinds of Urban Fantasy (I couldn't even finish 'Whispers Underground' and I've really enjoyed those books in the past). Have some blurb anyway...


The dark is rising . . . Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law – until his luck ran out. Now, the team must find a 'suspect' who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again. As the group starts to see London’s sinister magic for themselves, they have two choices: panic or use their new abilities. Then they must hunt a terrifying supernatural force the only way they know how: using police methods, equipment and tactics. But they must all learn the rules of this new game - and quickly. More than their lives will depend on it.

Do any of these books take your fancy?

5 comments:

Mieneke van der Salm said...

Well, I won't go into another of my peaens to the works of Mercedes Lackey. She might not have the literary clout of a Mieville or a Beukes, but I love her works and Foundation is actually a good entrypoint into her Valdemar universe. I've reviews for both of these up on the blog.

I've been looking forward to Malice. It could either be a train wreck of cobbled together genre tropes or it could be genius and I'm hoping for the latter! Looking forward to your thoughts :-)

Kyle Stephen said...

I am really not a fanatic of sword fight in a book. I'd rather watch it since the action squence is better seen than imagined.


The blurb which started with "A black sun is rising" seems confusing.


Those books on the first picture (by Mercedez Lackey) look interesting.

Unknown said...

I had the Cornell and Gwynne books too, and I'm in the same boat as you. Malice looks like my kind of read, but I'm wary of anything UF these days.

Jamie

Unknown said...

Malice. Purely for the gorgeousness of the cover :)

Anonymous said...

I really love those covers for the Lackey books. I think it gives them a degree of seriousness that a lot of the other covers (my copies, for example) just don't have.