Howdy April!

April is going to see some really wonderful speculative fiction books getting released - some debuts highly anticipated, some series conclusions, middle-books and game-changers!

So here's a list that I carefully curated from the awesomeness raining down on the genre world:

Arena by Holly Jennings:
Genre: Science-Fiction/New Adult(?)
Publisher: Ace Books
A book that takes on gaming (virtual reality blood-sport!) and posits the same on a hunger-games like tournament premise with a spunky heroine to boot. ( Review up soon)


Fellside by M R Carey: 
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Publisher: Orbit
From the man who gave us The Girl with All the Gifts comes another compelling intense drama set inside a maximum security prison. Ahem. This one features supernatural elements ! Prepare for chills. ( Reviewed here)


Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit (US)/ Gollancz (UK)
The king of Grimdark is back! and this time, it's a collection of short stories from the world of the First Law. Will we see more of Logen, I wonder? Some old, some brand new stories. All guaranteed to thrill and delight you Abercrombie-style. Expect trademark dark gallows humor and beautiful knife-edge tight-walk prose.

Saint's Blood by Sebastien De Castell
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher Jo Fletcher Books
The story of the three musketeers in fantasy land of Tristia is really soaring along. I loved book two and seriously looking forward to this one. Not sure if this is the end of the trilogy or if we have more books and stories. But having just started this book, there is no turning back! Pages are a-flying. and Saints' - they are a-dying. Darker and more intense, Falcio, Kest and Brasti are up against much more a sinister evil I thinks. Go Greatcoats!


Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry
Genre: Thriller
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin
Eighth installment in a long time running best-selling military thriller series featuring Joe Ledger, I am coming in way too late to the party. But what the hell, having read Jonathan Maberry's first book last year, I am convinced whatever he spins would be pure-gold. and irresistible fun. So am in for the ride!




The Tale of Shikanoko, Vol. 1: Emperor of the Eight Islands by Hearn, Lian
Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Alternate History
Publisher: McMillan / FSG.

I missed out reading Lian Hearn's previous series but have heard boundless good things about it. This one seems even more ambitious - and the first one in an 8-book-series, Lian gives us an irresistible tale that entwines history, magic and fantasy like never before. I am so excited about this one!



Sleeping Giant by Sylvain Neuvel
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Del Rey

Acclaimed debut by this science fiction writer/linguist, this book is spun as a series of transcribed interviews telling the story of the girl who fell into a hole and woke in the palm of a giant hand - and grows up to lead a team of physicists discovering more of such 'giant' body parts strewn around the world. Chilling implications for humanity? Read on to find out! Initial reviews sound pretty promising - So am definitely jumping down into that rabbit-hole with her! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Raees (Hindi)

Image
Here's a fact: I removed SRK from that pantheon inside my mind a few years back. Since he cannot stop doing that grand-romantic-gesture of his, hands stretched out, upper body bent at the waist with that stupid cocky dimpled grin on his face never wiped off. They kept saying he should learn to play his age and take a leaf out of Aamir Khan's book, maybe play a 'real' character instead of the same old superstar version of himself in every romantic movie. Even Salman Khan has learnt to take a beating ('Sultan') and toned himself down, not playing the Bhai, even trying to emote a bit. So maybe this one's a start; for the legions of disappointed SRK 'fans' to get back to cheering. I truly sat up and was pleasantly surprised at this 'transformed' SRK; Shah Rukh gets his teeth right into the meat of this titular character of Raees, a small-time bootlegger in Gujarat where liquor is of course prohibited, in his latest movie, directed by ...
Read more

Movie Review: Charlie

Image
Foreword: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to another moony monday. Today I present to you a brand new feature,  Monday Movie Mania !! (Ahem, that name is something I just thought up, so hey this might not be a recurring feature.  Don't hold me to this!) When was the last time you enjoyed a movie where the hero is a bearded man-child who is a vagabond and hates responsibilities and lives the free happy life of a hippie. (Don't we all men yearn for this!) Where the heroine is a bright-eyed idealist who falls in love with the idea of a ghost based on a graphic novel. (Do girls like to be like this, I wonder?) And the story? A twisted pretzel of a meandering journey through bohemian lakeside towns and misty hill-stations laden with tea-estates and quaint old-age homes. Possibly never before. Yesterday night, I watched one of the biggest money-spinners of the 2015 Malayalam film industry - a movie called Charlie starring Dulquer Salman and Parvathy .  A truly spell-bin...
Read more

Avengers: Infinity War - Movie Review

Image
Well, the superbowl of super-hero movies is finally here - Avengers Infinity War !! And it is smashing all sorts of box-office records since its release weeks back. I jumped onto this a bit late as I was traveling the release weekend and so I sensibly avoided all social media till last Thursday when I finally managed to watch it on the big screen. And hells come alive, a good thing too! Because this was it - This behemoth record-smashing epic culmination of the last ten years of Marvel movies. This was where the last eighteen MCU movies were leading up to.  This giant throw-down where all our favourite heroes across space and time come together to pit their wills against one mean megalomaniacal purple war-monger tyrant named Thanos ( Who's been in the shadows for far too long without his due!) to save the universe. We know there's trouble brewing because Thanos has got his own brand of justice for this world, where resources are getting scarce and p...
Read more