Release Date: 14/01/16
Publisher: Corsair
SYNOPSIS:
From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: Philosopher Kings, a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of The Just City. The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato’s Republic and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of.
The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as "Pythias" in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it’s evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief.
Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers--including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence--Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find—possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves "Greek." What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover…will change everything.
REVIEW:
The second book in Jo’s Just City series and one that allows readers to return to see how the world has changed since the original title (set 20 years previously.) As with Jo’s other work, its well written, steps off the pages into the readers imagination and is a title that has great prose and solid pace.
All round it top notch writing, the dialogue just steps off the page and for me, the characters are the star attraction as they feel real and are people that I love to spend time around. Magic.
Release Date: 18/09/14
Publisher: Corsair
SYNOPSIS:
THE REVOLUTIONS is a fantasy of the occult scene in fin de siecle London, the celestial spheres, and mystical Martian exploration. It follows two young lovers separated by the schemes and blundering of rival occultists, from the drawing rooms of spiritualist societies, through shady enterprises in Deptford warehouses, and magical war on the Isle of Dogs, and out to a hallucinatory, doomed Mars drawn from the fantasies of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the imaginings of Aleister Crowley, and the speculations of Victorian astronomers. Praise for Felix Gilman: "[Gilman] takes the brutality of the wild west and twists it into an epic fantasy that left me staggered. It brings the sense of wonder back to fantasy by creating a complex and visceral world unlike anything I've read...stunning." Mary Robinette Kowal, author of Shades of Milk and Honey "Refreshingly unlike any other novel I've read. Felix Gilman writes like a modern-day Dickens drunk on rich invention and insane war." Stephen Donaldson, author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant "A fantasy that Mark Twain would have been proud to write...Never has fantasy been darker, cleverer, more sly, or more touching in its refraction of our own world. I scratch my head in awe." Francis Spufford, author of Red Plenty "Gilman is one of the essential modern fantasists, and his latest book lives up to the expectations generated by his previous successes." Benjamin Wald, SF Revu "Like The Half-Made World that came before it, The Rise of Ransom City brings us a re-imagined tale of America's Old West, mixing steampunk and magic realism to great effect." Kirkus Reviews "Felix Gilman has a sly wit and an assured hand. He is a fresh and original voice in fantasy." Lavie Tidhar, author of Osama "Vivid and accurate prose, a gripping, imaginative story, a terrifically inventive setting, a hard-bitten, indestructible hero, and an intelligent, fully adult heroine---we haven't had a science-fiction novel like this for a long time." Ursula K. Le Guin
REVIEW:
I’m a huge reader and for me the blurb really sold the title, I loved the sound of Victoriana Martian invasions and when you throw a love aspect into the tale, it’s a book that really should have been a magical experience from start to finish. However that said, the book was sadly disappointing. Why?
Well it started out well enough, the prose was decent, the characters were reasonable and the pace worked wonderfully well, however a good way through, the book fell apart as the tale took a turn from the incredulous to the completely unbelievable which all round ruined the experience. Whether the evolution was due to helping expand the page count, I’m not sure but personally speaking the way that it changed really felt like it would have been way better had it ended sooner becoming more of a novella rather than the farce it felt like by the tales conclusion. All round, sadly a great disappointment for me.
Release Date: 05/07/14
Publisher: Corsair
SYNOPSIS:
Angel Crawford is a loser. Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken. That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue - and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse. Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey - just when she's hungriest! Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat. Literally.
REVIEW:
I always love something a little different and this book by Diana has certainly hit the spot with a new take on the Zombie as they get to stay not only normal if they get their fix but function like an everyday human but with a whole new set of problems to combat. Back this up with a great twist on a crime story (if a little simplistic) and all round it more than hit the spot.
I really look forward to seeing what Diana hits back with next in the series as well as seeing how our heroine will grow in future outings. Great fun.
