New Arrivals - mid Jan '07

A couple of items of particular interest turned up this week, which I reckon are well worth bringing to your attention:

Albion by Moore, Moore, Reppion, Oakley and Freeman

Ever wondered what happened to all those classic British comics characters when their publications went under, merged, or just gradually faded away? Well, this is your chance to find out. A real cornucopia for the Brit-comics fan-boy and fan-girl, and a good, old-fashioned jailbreak romp for anyone else.

And I do rather have to admit that I was stuck firmly in the second camp; my childhood comics reading was pretty much limited to The Beano, a dash of Whizzer and Chips and a smattering of The Dandy, with a foray into the re-launched version of Eagle in the '80s, then Battle / Action Force and finally 2000AD (I'm still a subscriber to the latter, as it happens). As a result, I can't count myself amongst the lucky few who will be able to pick up on the majority of the character references and cameo appearances in Albion. And I'm sure there must have been dozens here.

Still, it was an enjoyable read and one I'm glad I made time for. I just wish I'd spent more of my childhood leisure time with my nose stuck in a comic book...

Bone Song by John Meaney

Now this is an intriguing little number, and no mistake. Simon Spanton of UK publishing house Gollancz has sent me this 'ere proof in a quite deliberate, pre-meditated attempt to disrupt my 'to-be read' list... and I do believe he may have succeeded, too.

With Bone Song John Meaney takes a tangent away from his previous space-opera-esque outings to present a crime / horror cross-over... or a baroque future-fantasy... or maybe a space-grand-guignol (I'm not sure quite which it is yet, but I'm itching to find out...) set in Tristopolis, a city powered by its own dead, who lies neatly stacked in necroflux generators in vast catacombs below ground.

It seems to be a mystery tale, anyhow; possibly even a police procedural. Not too much given away in the blurb (which makes a change...) so I think the only way to discover more will be to give it a go. I'll report back when I know what's what...