WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO? by Gareth L. Powell

By Gareth L. Powell

One of the things authors get asked most frequently is to name the other writers who have most strongly influenced their work, and I think it’s a fair enough question. No one writes in total isolation, after all. Our work always forms part of a conversation between the ourselves and the wider culture, and we are influenced, either positively or negatively, by every piece of fiction we consume.

So, with that in mind, I have been asked to write a few words about the influences behind my forthcoming novel, Stars and Bones.

More …

Review — Stars and Bones: A Continuance Novel by Gareth Powell

space ship flying in front of a sun Stars and Bones
By: Gareth L. Powell
Illustrator: Julia Lloyd (Cover Design); Shutterstock (Images)
Release Date: February 15, 2022
Publisher: Titan Books
Series: Stars and Bones
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Multi-BSFA-award-winning author Gareth L. Powell brings us a new science fiction novel in the form of Stars and Bones: A Continuance Novel. Set in an entirely new universe from the previous Embers of War series, this novel sees sentient spaceships, incredible arks carrying humanity through the skies, unknown worlds, and a healthy dose of cosmic horror. Shown most of all, perhaps, is Powell’s unparalleled ability to create fascinating sentient spacecraft—and a truly incredible knack for finding the best names for them.

Review — A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A robot and a person driving a wagon on a road A Psalm for the Wild-Built
By: Becky Chambers
Release Date: July 13, 2021
Publisher: Tordotcom
Series: Monk and Robot #1
Rating:


Becky Chambers is known for works set in futuristic fictional worlds that often drift more towards the slice-of-life than something heavily plotted. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is no different, the story following a tea monk and a wild-built robot they meet one day on the fringes of civilization.

Review — The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

scenes outside airplane-style windows The Midnight Library
By: Matt Haig
Release Date: August 13, 2020
Publisher: Viking
Award: Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction 2020
Rating:


Matt Haig is well-known for his nonfiction and self-help books. New to his repertoire is fiction, this time in the form of the international bestseller The Midnight Library. This standalone novel is a cross-section of contemporary fiction, fantasy, self-help, and multiple world line theory.

Review — Hope Island by Tim Major

A lighthouse surrounded by ocean waves Hope Island
By: Tim Major
Release Date: June 8, 2020
Publisher: Titan Books
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Tim Major’s novel Hope Island is a slow-burning, introspective horror novel with elements of gothic literature. The story follows Nina Scaife and her daughter Laurie. Nina’s husband, Rob, has recently walked out on her, and the pair have just arrived at Hope Island to visit his parents. However, the island isn’t all it seems. The children are eerily silent, the islanders act oddly, a newly discovered archaeological site is drawing attention, and to top it off, a body is found lying on the beach.

Review – The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Kay O’Neill

A tiny dragon and two people with horns. The Tea Dragon Tapestry
By: Kay O'Neill
Illustrator: Kay O'Neill
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Oni Press
Series: Tea Dragon #3
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


The beloved, beautifully drawn graphic novel Tea Dragon series has seen the release of another installment. The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Kay O’Neill follows the previous two graphic novels in the series: The Tea Dragon Society and The Tea Dragon Festival.

Review — Lacuna by Fiona Snyckers

The front cover of the book Lacuna by Fiona Snyckers, featuring the image of a dog Lacuna
By: Fiona Snyckers
Release Date: January 11, 2022
Publisher: Europa Editions
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


If author J.M. Coetzee’s award-winning novel Disgrace is mentioned in a room full of people, it will certainly become the topic of hot debate, despite it being released several decades ago. Literary responses to this work aren’t short in number, but standing out among them is Fiona Snyckers’s novel Lacuna.

Review — A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz

Front cover of the book A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz A Line to Kill
By: Anthony Horowitz
Release Date: August 19, 2021
Publisher: Harper
Series: Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery #3
Rating:


Prolific author and television writer Anthony Horowitz brings readers another easily devourable installment to his Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery series. A Line to Kill is the third book to be released, the first two being The Word is Murder and The Sentence is Death respectively.