Category: A+

karass?

Posted on by Greig

Among Others

Jo Walton

This wonderful book somehow gets right to the heart of what it feels like to grow up as misfit teen, with only the comfort of libraries and their science fiction & fantasy books to keep you company. It really reminded of why I decided to become a librarian…
The plot is that fifteen year old Mori finds herself farmed off to a girls boarding school after running away from her Mother and being placed in the care of a Father she doesn’t know. She’s too smart for her own good, walks with a cane after an accident and speaks with a Welsh accent so she definitely doesn’t fit in at her new, posh English, school.
The book follows her as she makes her first steps in getting to know her father, come to terms with her past and her introduction to fandom.
Among Others comes with my highest recommendation. Please read this book – you may not love it as much as I do, but I guarantee that you won’t regret it.

Rating: A+

dwenda?

Posted on by Greig

The Steel Remains

Richard Morgan

The Steel RemainsAstonishingly good, brutal fantasy from the writer of rather good, brutal SF Noir.
Twists the fantasy template in interesting ways for fabulous effect.
Lead characters Ringil, Archeth and Egar are war heroes, veterans of a brutal conflict living with the compromises forced upon them by the political fallout of the aftermath.

Rating: A+

fucus?

Posted on by Greig

The Drowned World

J.G. Ballard

the drowned worldAn extraordinarily powerful novel, The Drowned World takes place in a future where the greenhouse effect has transformed Northern Europe into a flooded tropical swamp.
The atmosphere of malaise and decay is utterly convincing and I feel haunted by it.
This is one the finest books I’ve ever read and I get the feeling this will linger in the memory for a long time.
Recommended without hesitation.

Rating: A+

breach?

Posted on by Greig

The City and the City

China Miéville

the-city-and-the-cityOutstanding work by Miéville, this combination of detective novel and fantasy is an engrossing and thought-provoking read.
Starting when Inspector Borlu of the Beszel police is called to a murder scene, this story unfolds into bizarre relationshop of twin cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma.
Unlike Buda and Pest or Minneapolis and St Paul these cities aren’t next door neighbours – they occupy the same physical space.
Miéville conveys the atmosphere of the cities wonderfully well and from behind the eyes of his protagonist you feel he really understands what it would be like to live in a city and have to ‘unsee’ the trains going past your window because they’re in the other city…
I recommend this book without reservation.

Rating: A+

ghosts?

Posted on by Greig

The Arbitrary Placement Of Walls

Martha Soukup

The Arbitrary Placement Of WallsOnce upon a time in an online space called The Well Neil Gaiman stopped by to talk about his new book called American Gods.
That chat kept on going and kept on going and a community formed around it. The people were ferociously bright, genuinely engaged, and enthusiastic readers. It was one of my favourite internet experiences of all time.
If I remember correctly Martha Soukup was a moderator (or whatever The Well called such people) and a participant in that space. As members of this community found her collection of stories they came back and reviewed it in glowing terms.
Of course it was released on a small press in the US only and was nearly impossible to find in the UK. For years I searched for a copy and then eventually I found it in the amazing Borderland Books in San Francisco (a must visit for fans SF&F books!).
After such a build up it could only disappoint right?
Except it turns out that this collection is amazing. Beautifully written and teeming with ideas it is one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read.
Wholeheartedly recommended – if you can find a copy.

Rating: A+