New Arrivals - mid November '07

Filed by: Darren Turpin on November 21, 2007 at 14:36
Filed under: Books

Here's the pick of the crop from my latest trip to the P.O. Box:

Swiftly by Adam Roberts (UK Proof)

'Swiftly' by Adam RobertsA rather intriguing alternate history-meets-literature premise this time out from Adam R: following Gulliver's return from his well-publicised Travels, the British Empire has grown rich on the slave labour of Lilliputians; but France has enlisted the aid of the Brobdingnagians and launched an invasion of the British Isles.

I'm still waiting on confirmation from Adam, but I think the novel is an extended riff on the 'Swiftly' tale first published on SciFiction.com in 2002, which would certainly explain why the new novel has the same title as Adam's Night Shade Books anthology, in which 'Swiftly' (the story) also appears. Confused? You might be...

Shooting War by Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman

'Shooting War' by Anthony Lappé and Dan GoldmanI've been looking forward to seeing this graphic novel adaptation of the original webcomic ever since Joe Gordon heralded it a year ago and I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy by UK publisher Weidenfeld & Nicholson.

It's a vicious satire on America's war in the Middle East, set in 2011 and told from the point of view of a video-blogger who becomes caught up in the ongoing media frenzy after he captures the terrorist bombing of his apartment block on his blog and is catapulted to stardom as a result.

I read a couple of the early webcomic installments and thoroughly enjoyed them. Roll on a bit of free time.

Matter by Iain M. Banks (UK Proof)

'Matter' by Iain M. BanksYes, I too have been blessed with a copy of the proof that everyone's been bragging about receiving, and which I'm jolly and properly grateful for my copy of.

Matter is the new Culture novel and I didn't realise that it's the first for seven years, so no wonder it's being billed as the 'science fiction publishing event of 2008'.

All I have to do now is find a slot in the old reading schedule for 593 pages of brand new Banks. Shouldn't be too much of a chore... :)

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick (UK Proof)

'The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. RedickI was first told about this one a while back by Robert's agent, John Jarrold, who very klindly sent me over a couple of proof chapters by email, which I thought were very promising indeed. Gollancz's Simon Spanton has subsequently bought the trilogy for UK publication and now the UK proofs are out...

Judging by my earlier first impressions, this weird-ish (although it could of course get much weirder) fantasy, set on a legendary, 600-year-old sailing ship, should appeal to fans of Scott Lynch, China Miéville, Alan Campbell and co. This one's heading towards the top of the 'to-be-read' list and I'll let you know when I've had a crack.

Gorgeous cover art by Edward Miller as well, which is always a bonus.

Plus:

Black Man by Richard Morgan

The UK paperback of Richard Morgan's Black Man is definitely worth picking up if you haven't already got a copy of the hardback. Highly recommended.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Good Omens is one of my very favourite comic novels, which I must have read four or five times already. Very nice indeed to see it republished in a handsome hardback edition (and a bargain at only £9.99 - less on Amazon.co.uk, of course...)

Filed on: November 21, 2007
Filed under: Books
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Comments

4 Responses to 'New Arrivals - mid November '07'

  1. Niall on November 21st, 2007 2:56 pm

    Based on a quick scan of Swiftly, it looks like the book is divided into four long "chapters", of which the first two have been previously published -- chapter one is "Swiftly", and seems basically similar to the version in the collection; chapter two is "Eleanor", which was also in the collection, and also appears to be basically the same. Then chapters three and four are all-new. I badly want to read this one, but I don't think I'll be able to justify it for a few weeks yet ...

  2. Darren on November 21st, 2007 3:00 pm

    I know the feeling. I'll be posting my reading list at some point. It's quite frightening how much time I'd actually need to get through everything, and that's without anything new turning up...

  3. Ed on November 24th, 2007 2:18 am

    "All I have to do now is find a slot in the old reading schedule for 593 pages of brand new Banks."

    You know, if it's a problem I can read it for you :)

  4. Robert on November 24th, 2007 4:06 pm

    I keep hearing a lot about this debut "The Red Wolf Conspiracy". I hope I get a copy soon because it sounds really interesting...

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