Hannah’s Book Round-up
Hannah returns with her latest look at what's going on in the world of geeky books...
Book News
What’s new in the world of the literary geek?
Burton Strikes Again
Presumably buoyed by his latest book to screen adaptation, Tim Burton has decided to tackle another fantasy themed creation. This time Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is due for the Burton treatment and, although his Alice In Wonderland received mixed reviews, I, for one, can’t wait to see the end result of this latest project. Jim Lemley and original author Grahame-Smith will be writing the screenplay.
Vaughn Moves House
News of upcoming book titles from Carrie Vaughn has hit the web recently, as she moves publishers from Grand Central (Hatchette) to Tor Books (Macmillan). The first book to be published by Tor will be the next in the Kitty Norville series, the popular tales of a werewolf radio talk show host. Tor will also publish Vaughn’s Discard’s Apple, about a woman who discovers a mythical, magical, world-changing legacy hidden in her families past, but only when her father lies on his death bed. Gripping stuff.
Yet more awards
And finally, this week sees yet more awards for the literary world. But so as not to bore you silly with endless lists of names and titles, let’s focus on the two of the most exciting.
Firstly, the 2009 British Science Fiction Awards winners have been announced and includes The City And The City by China Mieville as Best Novel 2009. The full list here can be found here.
Secondly, the Philip K. Dick Award winner is C.L. Anderson with his novel Bitter Angels. The award, which highlights books originally published in paperback, was chosen by judges Daniel Abraham, Eileen Gunn, Karen Hellekson, Elaine Isaak and Marc Laidlaw. Ian Macdonald was given a special citation for his book Cyberabad Days.
Out Now
Oath Of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon
Time to highlight a release which falls more on the fantasy side of sci-fi but which sounds compelling nonetheless. Set in a world where humans and elves live side by side in a rather shaky alliance, a new king rises to take his rightful place in his kingdom.
However, a backwash of inner politics makes his new role incredibly difficult. Will he be able to awaken the hidden powers his mixed blood allows, in order to settle things?
Meanwhile, more trouble brews in the forbidden blood magic and the Verrakai family who wield it. As their powers grow the king is forced to trust one of the Verrakai and send her on a mission to eradicate her own kind. Can he depend on the loathing she feels for her own kin to keep her loyal to him rather than them?
Horns by Joe Hill
A new title from New York Times Bestseller Joe Hill now and with a new book comes a tale of a drunken night out you wouldn’t want to recreate. The ambitiously named Ignatius Perrish wakes from a night partying to find, amongst other hangover pains, a pair of horns growing from his forehead. Having had a rough year, after his loved one, Merrin Williams, was mercilessly raped and murdered, Ignatius believes this to be yet another blotch on his otherwise stable life.
However, when he discovers the new, macabre powers that come with the horns, he begins to look on them more favourably. After all, he has spent the past year being outlandishly good in the hope of finding his lover’s killer.
After a year of appealing to all things holy, all he had to show for it was a position as the only suspect in Merrin’s murder case.
Can Ignatius use his new, less than holy powers to find the real killer? What will happen when Ignatius turns to the other side in his quest for vengeance?
Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer
Whether a fan or a foe of the Twilight series, its popularity cannot be contested. Now its complex, interspecies love story can be enjoyed in comic book form too.
Telling yet another tale of love between a girl and a vampire, Bella and Edward’s brooding romance is beautifully depicted in the comic version, with plenty of wide-eyed, pouty-lipped innocence about the drawings within.
Coming Soon
Dead In The Family: A True Blood Novel (Hardcover) by Charlaine Harris
If you thought the new hit TV series, True Blood, had a complicated, fantastical storyline, just wait until you hear about the tenth instalment in The Southern Vampire Series. I’ll try and keep this simple.
Sookie has a few problems. She has her attention seeking, telepathic fairy cousin plying for her affections. She has to entertain her vampire boyfriend, her vampire boyfriend’s brother and her vampire boyfriend’s sire at the same time.
And whilst all this is going on, she’s also trying to track down a distant relation of her friend, neighbour and ex-lover, Bill Compton. So, to fill in the gaps when she’s not busy, Sookie agrees to help a local werewolf pack with a special task, but finds out only too late that this task was a very bad idea if she was keen on, you know, staying alive.
What a day, and all when she’s trying to recover from being abducted during the recent Fairy Wars.
All I did today was have a piece of toast. And it wasn’t even good toast.
Release Date: May 27th
Doctor Who: Apollo 23 by Justin Richards
So, to wrap things up, let’s get back to the classics. I, myself, was greatly grieved when David Tennant hung up his Doctor Who scarf (or converse trainers, I suppose in his case), but first reports of Matt Smith’s quirky and energetic interpretation are favourable. So, why not celebrate the birth of a new Doctor by spending some pennies on a new Doctor Who book?
The new one tells the tale of an evil plot to wipe out all humanity, using a secret military base on the moon and how the Doctor and new, sexy sidekick, Amy try to sort it all out.
But with the Doctor stranded on Earth and his Tardis on the moon, can he actually do anything to help?
Release Date: April 22nd
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