Books in March 2023

The graph goes on...

March saw eleven books (two roleplaying, one non-fiction and the rest novels) and 2,984 pages. There's also the read through of 'Stealing Stories for the Devil', Monte Cook's new roleplaying game, but I didn't really have the time or energy to add the three books in on the Storygraph.

The roleplaying games were Alice is Missing, which looks really interesting and I may try to set the game up online as it looks quite intriguing, and Pirate Borg, which I reviewed at the time and really want to get to the table.

The non-fiction was Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing (Peter Robison) which left me sad at the way that neo-liberal changes in the way that US companies are governed enabled the dismantling of the strong innovation, safety and engineering culture of the once admired giant in favour of financial engineering and cutting safety margins on aircraft to save money. It also left me angry that the company had ultimately partly escaped from being held to account thanks the the arrival of the pandemic meaning the scandal of the two crashed aircraft with complete loss of life fell from the news cycles.

I went to Shanghai in the 1920s with Tom Bradby's "The Master of Rain", a detective story set amongst the corruption of the international settlements in the city. I also read a promising first novel by Helen Ingle, "Subject Alpha", which had an enjoyable energy to it.

I went back into the world of espionage with Mick Herron's short Slough House story 'Standing by the Wall', and Olen Steinhauer's 'All the Old Knives'. The latter has a film version out, and I think the book spoiled it for me. I think you can probably do one media format or the other.

Crime featured with Hanna Jameson's 'Something you are' and 'Girl Seven', both fast-paced novels set in London's underworld, and quite enjoyable. Violence and sex are common in these, so if that's not what you like in a crime story, don't go there. I will return to read the final part of this loose trilogy.

Now I come to my favourites for the month. I finally read Aliette de Bodard's novella 'Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances' and loved it for its fusion of cultures, magic and delightful characters, as well as the mystery at its heart. I really need to read the full novels soon (and they're on my Kindle). 

My favourite novel for the month was Ken MacLeod's "Beyond the Hallowed Sky",  the start of another trilogy from one of the author's whose books are automatic buys for me. Ken's novels are sharp, different and often have a socialist streak that counterbalances the more common capitalist stories that are found in SF. This is set in a future where Scotland has gone its own way into the 'Union' (think successor to the EU) and England is part of the 'Alliance' (US etc). Climate change has happened, AI exists, and a permanent base has been set up in orbit of Venus. An academic publishes a paper which indicates the potential for FTL travel, and events ensure. The second part has just come out and is in my plans to read soon.

I managed to read every day this month, once again.

2nd April 2023