October has come to an end, another month packed full of excellent books to talk about, so it’s time for my latest Monthly Highlights post here on Track of Words. This month I’m going purely for books (no audio dramas or short stories this time around) as my top picks from what I’ve been reading, although I’m also going to talk a little bit about an awesome event I attended in London, for a little added variety. I’ve picked quite a mix of books, from various publishers, but all of them have really caught my imagination and I’m keen to recommend every single one of them!
As usual I’ll go through each of my highlights in turn, talking a little about why I enjoyed each one so much and linking out to my reviews. If you read through to the end you’ll also see a quick section where I look ahead to a few things that I’m particularly looking forward to in November. Without further ado, then – let’s get straight on with the highlights.
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
I was lucky enough to be invited onto the blog tour for Angel Mage (thanks so much, Gollanccz!), Garth Nix’s latest novel and his first aimed at adult readers – or at least theoretically so. Personally I’d say it’s more of a crossover book, the sort of thing that a younger reader would enjoy if they’re keen to stretch their reading beyond YA, or an older reader (like myself) can check out and enjoy for the great characters and sense of adventure. That’s absolutely a good thing, in my opinion – while I enjoy a good thought-provoking novel, there’s something lovely about kicking back and just enjoying the story!
That’s certainly what I did with Angel Mage, a sort of Three Musketeers-as-fantasy set in a 17th Century-esque fantasy equivalent of France, complete with monsters, angels (as you’d expect) and a wonderfully realised style of magic. It doesn’t try too hard to go heavy on character development, but at the same time the characters as they are feel relatable and engaging with a lovely relationship between the main four protagonists. It’s also lovely to see a fantasy world where female characters hold a great many positions of power – not because the author’s trying to make a point, just because it feels right for them to do so. Whether you’re a fan of Nix’s YA writing or not, I’d strongly recommend checking out Angel Mage – it’s wonderful!
Check out my review of Angel Mage.
Check out the #AngelMage hashtag on Twitter to see all the other fab reviews as part of the blog tour.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
When this first came up on my reading radar, I read one sentence of the book’s blurb and knew I had to get hold of it: “Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.” That really sets the tone for this sharp, irreverent novel, a sort of science fantasy whodunnit full of necromancers, sword fights, bone magic, creaking old buildings, slow-burn world building and a LOT of characters. If I’m honest it took me a little while to properly figure out what was going on, but once I got a grip of the characters and the plot it pulled me in and simply didn’t let go.
It’s not just a cleverly constructed world and a great story, either. The one thing which really sets Gideon apart from the rest is its tone of voice, and in particular the voice of the main character, Gideon Nav. Scathing, sarcastic, deeply cynical but strangely naive, Gideon is endlessly entertaining and provides a wonderful counterpoint to the bleak nature of necromantic life in the great houses. Whether swooning over a golden-haired beauty or desperate to apply a boot to the ass of her own necromancer, she’s tremendous fun and makes for a brilliant protagonist.
Keep an eye out for a review of Gideon the Ninth coming soon – although on a different platform to Track of Words (don’t worry, I’ll talk about it on here too).
Rites of Passage by Mike Brooks
I’d been looking forward to this for ages, but was saving it for the right moment to make sure I was in the perfect headspace to read it. That moment came shortly after it started getting review bombed on Amazon and Goodreads by anonymous trolls railing against the fact that Mike had the temerity to include a character (and a very minor one, at that) with gender-neutral pronouns in a 40k story. Sigh. Still, the upswell of internet hate prompted me to jump in and – as expected – enjoy a fantastic book which explores a crucial element of the 40k universe that’s previously tended to be somewhat under-explored.
I could talk for a long time about what I enjoyed about Rites of Passage – the chance to see inside the halls of a Navigator House and the tense relationships between houses; the enjoyment of a great slice of ‘domestic 40k’ storytelling; a smart, diverse selection of characters almost entirely dealing with situations out of their comfort zone…all of these things were excellent. More than any of those, however, I simply fell in love with the main protagonist, Lady Chettamandey Brobantis. Sharp of tongue, cunning of wit and sore of hip, she’s nothing like the typical strong, physically powerful 40k protagonist – and it’s a total joy to watch her grumble, persuade and bully her way through the story. Highly recommended for any 40k fan who enjoys seeing past the battlefield (and, of course, can cope with a few non-male, non-white, non-binary characters as part of a story about three-eyed mutants in a hellish dystopia).
Check out my review of Rites of Passage.
The House of Night and Chain by David Annandale
I wouldn’t say I was usually a huge fan of horror – I don’t read a lot of horror stories or watch a lot (well…any) horror movies – but I’ve been intrigued by Black Library’s Warhammer Horror imprint from the moment it was announced. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read so far, but I was particularly looking forward to The House of Night and Chain as the first full horror novel from BL. I read a fair chunk of it while staying in an old manor house, which felt entirely appropriate for what is essentially a 40k haunted house story – a broken man returns from war to his ancestral home, searching for respite from his personal demons and a chance to reconnect with his family, only to gradually realise that there’s something truly dark at the heart of the house, Malveil.
David’s has always worn his horror influences quite openly with his Black Library writing, but this is the first novel in which he’s been able to properly let loose AND step away from the usual 40k battlefields to properly concentrate on the psychology of his characters without the need for outright war being front and centre. It works brilliantly, in my opinion, keeping the essence of 40k and the Imperium as the backdrop but drawing the main character – Colonel Strock – away from his past military life and into an unfamiliar life as a civilian. It’s a tense, psychological tale, combining a genuine sense of the supernatural with an exploration of the terrible effects a lifetime of warfare – not to mention deep personal grief – can have upon someone. If anything I’d have liked BL to have been braver with this, and pull it even further away from familiar 40k stylings, but even so it was an excellent story, and a reminder of just how good David’s writing can be.
Check out my review of The House of Night and Chain.
The Lost and the Damned by Guy Haley
If you’ve followed the Horus Heresy this far, each book in the 8-part Siege of Terra mini-series is an event to look forward to, and The Lost and the Damned came with a fair bit of pressure after John French’s excellent The Solar War kicked things off so well. While I don’t think it was ever going to have quite the same level of excitement as book one in the series or what I’m expecting to see later on, this second book does a brilliant job of keeping up the series’ momentum even though it’s dealing with what is, essentially, the initial grinding stages of a fairly traditional siege. Obviously this is the Horus Heresy so that siege involves beastmen, Alpha Legion infiltrators, terrified conscripts, Dark Mechanicus war engines and, eventually, the Traitor Legions landing on Terra. Awesome!
I think what I enjoyed the most about this novel was the way Guy wove together LOADS of different characters and their own little narratives (including a few of his own creation – fair enough) while still focusing on one main view of the siege. Katsuhiro, a plain old human conscripted into fighting and utterly, entirely out of his league, gives the whole thing a crushing sense of bewilderment which really hammers home the scale of what’s going on. Not only that, but he represents the fascinating core of the Heresy itself – it’s a war fought for the future of humanity, but actual baseline humans simply can’t contribute to the war properly. This is all about the Space Marines – they might not actually fight very much in this book, but it’s clear that they’re going to have a tough time very soon! It’s brilliantly done, and I simply can’t wait for book three.
Check out my review of The Lost and the Damned.
Gollancz Fest
I can’t talk about my highlights for October without quickly mentioning Gollancz Fest, which took place at Foyles bookshop in London on the 19th October. There were two strands taking place, one for readers and one for writers – unsurprisingly I went for the reader’s ticket, and for £25 I got to enjoy seven author panels dealing with subjects as diverse as historical inspiration in fantasy, sci-fi world building, the juxtaposition of magic and the mundane, and how it feels for an author to have their book adapted for TV or film. Alongside the panels there were author signings, books to buy, and loads of SFF fans to chat to.
Book events like this which are geared towards a single genre – whether SFF or anything else – are a wonderful opportunity to hear a wide range of authors talk (whether about their books in particular or writing/storytelling/world building etc. in general) and get inspired to check out a wider range of stories. I had an absolute blast, meeting some great people, chatting to a few lovely authors, and generally just enjoying the chance to hear smart, interesting people talk about fascinating subjects. I probably enjoyed the Fantasy Throughout History panel the most – listening to Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson, Aliette de Bodard, Miles Cameron and Ellen Kushner was an absolute joy – but they were all great, even if the chairs got pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day!
Next time Gollancz hold one of these events, if you can possibly make it down to London (or wherever it’s held, if not the Capital) then I’d strongly recommend it! Gollancz have a mind-blowing roster of authors to draw from, and I particularly enjoy the combinations that you get on each panel, even (well ok…especially) when they generate a little bit of tension like what happened when two authors disagreed on whether it’s ok for books to provide escapism, rather than cultural/personal betterment. For what it’s worth, I like a mixture – but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with escapism!
Looking forward to…
As always, it’s been a busy month for reading – I picked those titles as my highlights, but I could happily have talked about plenty more as well if I’d had the time. Looking ahead to November, there’s loads (I really do mean LOADS) of upcoming books I’m hugely looking forward to, as well as probably my favourite SFF event of the year – the Black Library Weekender. Here’s a quick run-down of a few of the things I’m most excited about:
- The Black Library Weekender: it’s a long, usually quite expensive weekend, but I always have a blast at the Weekender and I can’t wait to catch up with friends I don’t see too often, say hello to the authors, probably buy a few books, and check out some great seminars!
- The Black Hawks by David Wragg: this has been out for a little while, but I’m determined to finally get round to reading it in November. It’s been getting such great reviews, and I’m super excited to check it out for myself.
- The Black Library Novella Series 2: there are just so many great-looking Black Library titles due out in November, but I think I’m most looking forward to the ten-strong series of novellas coming out very soon. I love a novella, I had a blast reading the first series of them last year, and I can’t wait to check out another TEN very soon.
I genuinely didn’t intend for all three of those to start with The Black… but hey, they ended up that way!
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There you have it, then, a few of my reading highlights from October as well as a few more things I’m particularly looking forward to next month. I’d love to hear about what you’ve enjoyed reading or listening recently, so do drop me a line in the comments below, or get in touch on Twitter. I’ll be back with another roundup post towards the end of November!