I read three roleplaying books, ten fiction novels and one non-fiction.
The non-fiction book was ‘The Ruin of All Witches’, which is the cheery tale of the colonial town of Springfield and the paranoia around witches that led to one (probably mentally disturbed) woman to out herself as a witch and cause all sorts of repercussions for the settlement and her family. Fascinating and at times hard to listen to (I did the audio book when driving for work).
Roleplaying books included A Town called Malice, a nordic horror story game which I’ve discussed before, Mark Galeotti’s Gran Meccanismo (clockpunk role playing in 16th century Florence), and a re-read of Swords of the Serpentine in preparation for Furnace and also finishing the review. As two of these are re-reads, that makes Gran Meccanismo my favourite for the month, something that it would have won anyway with its use of the Tripod engine and evocative world building of clockwork science.
Fiction is harder this month; I read a lot, so a single favourite is hard to chose. Here’s the list of what I read:
I started with Nick Harkaway’s Titanium Noir- a future SF novel where the secret of immortality has been cracked and is the playground of the rich, or those favoured by them. The protagonist is a private investigator (who has links to the Titans thanks to a past relationship) and gets used by the police when they investigate crimes that touch into this space and are of a delicate nature. I really enjoyed this book - it’s a while since I read anything by Harkaway and I need to go and check what he’s published since the earlier novels I read. Recommended.
Next was a diversion into Hanna Jameson’s Road Kill (or Those Crazy Freeways dependent upon the publisher and edition you read). This is the third of her novels which are linked to a London club, each picking different stories and points of view. As usual, the characters are flawed, morally dubious and get involved in questionable activities. This time, much of the narrative is in the USA. Overall, I found this compelling but I didn’t really like the protagonists.
I dived into science fiction with Alastair Reynolds new short story, Detonation Boulevard, which is all about extreme racing on moons and planets around the solar system. This was fun and engaging and quite gripping.
I followed this up with the two Continuance novels which Gareth L Powell has written. The first sets the science where humanity is exiled to the stars at the cusp of self-annihilation through a nuclear war. The Continuance are the remnants of humanity, banished to the stars in ark-ships. In the first book, Stars and Bones, a ship is sent on a mission to try and find out what happened to a scout ship investigating alien ruins. A significant threat is discovered to the fleet, and to other spacefaring cultures. This escalates nicely in a similar way to Neal Asher, Iain M Banks or Alastair Reynolds. The second book, Descendant Machine, is cleverly done, and escalates things even more. I can’t really say much without spoilers, but this was great fun and tense in parts. I recommend both these.
The next book I read had me thinking of the Liminal roleplaying game. Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a contemporary novel of magic powers performed through the writing and reading of books, inked with the blood of the scribe. I enjoyed this a lot - it’s a great debut from Emma Törzs - and I’d like to see more.
I then dived back into Mick Herron’s Oxford Investigations. Smoke and Whispers is interesting as the main character in early books - Zoë Boehm - is very much outside the plot we see unfold for much of the novel (like the first book). This is cleverly done as the focus returns to Sarah Tucker, her friend introduced in the first book. I followed this up with Reconstruction, which is excellent but I think a little misrepresented. It’s allegedly part of the same series (and I think some of the minor characters do overlap) but it’s more like a Slow Horses novel. I enjoyed it; the ending was certainly challenging.
The next book was another short story from Silvia Moreno-Garcia (author of the excellent Mexican Gothic). Set during the Mexican Revolution in 1917, it tells the tale of a young girl trying to protect her family from the threat of wandering soldiers. I really enjoyed The Tiger Came to the Mountains.
The final novel I read in the month was War Bodies by Neal Asher. This was everything you’d expect from an Asher novel; escalating plot lines and technology, fast paced and violent. Set in the Polity Universe, this continues the recent explorations he has been making around the end of the Prador war. Enjoyable, but delivers everything you’d expect.
If I had to pick a favourite for the month it would be Nick Harkaway’s ‘Titanium Noir’, or Emma Törzs’ ‘Ink Blood Sister Scribe’. I did enjoy both the short stories I read immensely too.
3 September 2023
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