The Girl With All The Gifts
This is an extremely good post apocalyptic novel.
I don’t want to spoil the book in any way but I will say that it’s about a very gifted young girl, a teacher, a soldier and a scientist.
The world building is magnificent, the main characters are very well drawn and the plot is utterly involving.
It’s horror and it’s science fiction all at once.
I strongly recommend this book.
The Apocalypse Codex
The latest Laundry book finds Bob Howard on the middle management fast track and in a whole heap of trouble in the United States.
The mashup of Lovecraftian horror and spy thriller still works to excellent effect.
The introduction of a Modesty Blaise style super spy/magician and her ex-soldier colleague gives the series a bit of fresh impetus.
I recommend the whole series wholeheartedly – Stross has a tendency to over egg the darkness that he keeps in check with the Laundry books.
Blackout
The final book of the Newsflesh trilogy closes things off in spectacular fashion.
It would spoil things too much to reveal why and how it gets so good but I totally loved it.
I raced through this book, completely absorbed from beginning to end. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.
Deadline
The second in the Newsflesh trilogy is still a cracking read but it’s just little less interesting or compelling than the first book.
After the events of the first book we see things from gradually deteriorating perspective of Shaun Mason as he investigates a conspiracy dumped his lap.
You have to read this if you’ve read the first book – especially since the third book promises to be very interesting…
Feed
Mira Grant is the pseudonym Seanan McGuire uses for her horror books.
Feed is the first of a trilogy set in a post zombie uprising world.
Georgia and Shaun Mason are news bloggers who get the nod to cover a presidential campaign and find themselves caught up in conspiracy and murder.
Feed has great characters, excellent worldbuilding and I got genuinely invested what happens as the story unfolds.
Another compelling book by this author and I highly recommended it if you have any stomach for zombies and horror.
Rivers of London
This mix of supernatural horror, fantasy and police procedural is very entertaining. It’s so good, in fact, that I’ve already started reading the follow up.
Peter Grant is a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police, staring down a career behind a desk. An interview with a witness at the scene of a homicide sends his life on a new course when the eyewitness turns out to be a ghost.
This tale is a perfectly judged fluid mix of horror and comedy that serves a well wrought detective story.
I can’t wait to see where the author goes with this series.
I would recommend this book without hesitation (especially since it’s on sale for £1.99 on the UK kindle store at the time of writing).
The Fuller Memorandum
Third Laundry novel. Bloody good
Anansi Boys
Gods are a preoccupation of Mr Gaiman, what with the sheer number of Gods and godlike beings in Sandman, and of course the rather good and rather lengthy American Gods.
This time though the tone is less weighty. In a curious bybrid of fantasy, horror and humour the book relates the story of Charles “Fat Charlie” Nancy. Fat Charlie is a likeable, if rather ineffectual, man who finds out after his Father’s funeral that he was the spider god and trickster Anansi and not only that but he has a brother too.
On a whim he invites this newly revealed brother, Spider, into his life and things start to spiral out of control.
This is a very enjoyable book, wittily written and effectively scary at times. It’s only weakness is a somewhat unlikely denouement.
I’d recommend it as an introduction to Gaiman, maybe only bettered by Neverwhere. I’d also recommend it as a good read to just about anybody.
Good Omens
This is one of my favourite books of all time.
It’s a brilliant play on the story of the horror film The Omen, which was about the coming of the anti-christ.
In Good Omens, though, the anti-christ ends up with the wrong family and the well meaning attempts of an angel and a demon to prevent his rise have absolutely no effect. A swirl of sub-plots contain a host of brilliant characters such as Anathema Device – the professional descendent of the only seer to have prophecies that were 100% correct, or Shadwell – the bitterly eccentric leader of the Witchfinder Army (current corps – 2 members), and his well meaning but drippy recruit Newton Pulsifer.
This book is funny, insightful, full of great characters and is a totally great read.
It’s on my ‘give this book to everyone I know and force them to read it list’ – it’s that good.
In an interesting sidenote it would appear that I own quite an unusual edition of the book. Nice to know!
The Jennifer Morgue
The second Bob Howard book is a genuine delight.
Where the first played with the tropes of a Len Deighton style spy, this one subverts the James Bond archetype.
Full of clever twists and humour, Stross subverts your expectations at every step.
Of all his varied output I think that the Laundry books come out best – he tries a bit too hard with his full-on SF and seems a bit bored of his fantasy series. With the Laundry he\’s just having fun and it shows.
I wholeheartedly recommend that you read both The Atrocity Archives and this one – you will not regret it.