Welcome to February’s Monthly Highlights post here on Track of Words, where I look back at last month’s reading activities and book-related news. I’m a bit (by which I mean very) behind this time around, as I’m writing this in the middle of March, but the end of February was a busy time so I hope you’ll forgive me the tardiness just this once! Considering the lateness, I’m going to keep things fairly short and sweet (for me) and just pick out three great reads from last month – a novel, an anthology and a short story. Interestingly, all three of the authors of the stories I’ve gone for are known by their initials…I didn’t plan for this, I promise!
Anyway, let’s get straight onto the great reads…
Novel of the month: The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Every story left untold resides in the Unwritten Wing of Hell’s library, protected and guarded against by the head librarian, Claire, and her assistant Brevity. Venturing to Earth in search of a runaway hero before he can do too much damage to his author, Claire and Brevity – along with jittery demon Leto – find themselves unwitting players in a plot which threatens the library’s impartiality and risks inciting a new war between angels and demons.
I first came across this one on Twitter a good few months ago, when it was released in North America, and it sounded right up my street – but wasn’t yet available in the UK! Curses. Cut to the UK release several months later, and Titan Books very kindly sent me a review copy…and you know what? I was right – it was exactly the sort of book I absolutely love, a pacy and characterful story that’s full of imagination and excitement, and is just effortlessly readable. It’s the sort of book I can happily while away the hours with and read in a single sitting, just enjoying the characters and immersing myself in the world.
I’m a big fan of fantasy stories set in and around libraries and librarians – there’s just something really enjoyable about exploring a world centred around something that appeals to me so much as a voracious reader! Maybe it comes from a youth spent reading early Discworld novels and wishing I could explore L-Space. Whatever the reason, this really is a vividly-drawn world which gives Hackwith the opportunity to play with some smart, interesting ideas – the potential of unwritten stories, characters’ relationships with their authors, fallen angels and their motivations, just all sorts of interesting things. Combine all of that with satisfying characters and some brilliantly snappy dialogue (Claire can curse inventively) and you’ve got the recipe for a book that’s just an awful lot of fun. I can’t recommend this one enough!
Check out my review of The Library of the Unwritten.
Anthology of the month: Neon Leviathan by T.R. Napper
Across a deliberately jumbled, back-and-forth timeline Napper explores tales of desperation, survival, love, loss, corporate greed, oppression and fear, all set in a loosely defined world formed from a warring, conflicted melange of Australia, South and Southeast Asia. As nations, alliances and realities blur, as technology becomes increasingly pervasive and life ever more stratified, Napper asks questions of what’s real, what’s possible and what people will do to survive.
This is another book that I was lucky enough to get a review copy of, via the publisher Grimdark Magazine, and I’m very grateful for that because it’s probably not something I would have come across otherwise – I’m not really plugged into the Australian/South East Asian SF&F scene, but off the back of this I feel like maybe I should be! Unlike The Library of the Unwritten, it’s not what I would call a fun read, but it’s really, really interesting and deeply thought-provoking. It features twelve short stories (although one of them is more like a novella), many of which have been published elsewhere before, which all exist as standalone stories but combine into a deliberately disjointed, out-of-sync thematic narrative exploring a frankly terrifying future which feels worryingly realistic.
It’s really satisfying reading stories this good which explore familiar themes and ideas from a fresh (for me) perspective, and while many (ok, most) of them are varying degrees of emotionally brutal, they’re unfailingly powerful and consistently engaging. Whether featuring traumatised soldiers, desperate families or troubled scientists, they all revolve around questions of memory and how that can relate to power and control, by way of pervasive use of technology…sound familiar? Personally I would recommend taking your time when reading these stories, as they can be hard to process and some of them will leave you feeling pretty brutalised, but while this is a long way from being an easy read it’s nonetheless very much worthwhile. Just don’t expect easy action stories!
Check out my review of Neon Leviathan. You can also read an interview with author T.R. Napper here.
Short story of the month: Voice of Experience by J.C. Stearns
Having turned from the Throne and firmly embraced the Greater Good, Captain Kalice Arkady of the Follaxian 113th is now the highest-ranking and most trusted human on the orbital shipyard Suu’suamyth. When a series of worrying accidents seem to suggest sabotage, she’s called upon to investigate on behalf of the ruling council, and in the process comes to question her understanding of – and place within – t’au society.
I’ll keep this bit quick, as this is only a short story and I don’t want to spoil anything – but suffice to say I never knew how much I wanted to read a human/t’au buddy cop story until I read this! It’s an absolute pleasure to read, with a great tone of voice (it’s told in first person, and Arkady’s character comes across really well), plenty of action and a great pace, but at the same time it’s a satisfying exploration of t’au culture. I’ve read a fair few t’au stories before but I think this is the first time I’ve read anything exploring the inner workings of their society from a positive human perspective, and it makes for fascinating reading. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting this is all pro-t’au propaganda – far from it, in fact – but whatever you think of the t’au there’s some really interesting stuff here. Also it’s just a thoroughly entertaining story! Well worth checking out.
Check out my quick review of Voice of Experience.
The rest of the month
I’ll quickly mention a couple of things to finish off, starting with the main reason February was so busy and this article is so late. I had a week’s secondment in New York City for work, which was a great experience but at the same time pretty knackering, and I did virtually no reading the whole time I was out there! That’s very unusual for me, but I ended up using the week away from home and my usual routines to just unwind and relax (when I wasn’t in work). I had a blast exploring NYC and checking out some fantastic bookstores – as well as the incredible New York Public Library – but it left me WAY behind on my writing, and I’m still catching up. It was well worth it, but I’m still working to get back into my usual rhythms of reading and writing – hopefully it won’t be long before I’m back on course!
The Black Library Celebration took place while I was in New York, and while I tried to pop into the Warhammer store on 8th to see if anything was happening that day, it was closed when I passed by so I wasn’t able to check it out. The whole thing pretty much passed me by actually, which is a shame, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I did pick up (well, ask a friend to pick up) a copy of Chris Wraight’s The Regent’s Shadow – which you can read more about in this interview with Chris – so I’m looking forward to reading that. I had also managed to arrange quick author interviews focusing on two of the other the books released that week – The First Wall by Gav Thorpe and Lion El’Jonson: Lord of the First – but otherwise I think I’ll have to look forward to 2021’s celebration to see what happens next year. If you went into your local GW store for the celebration, do let me know how you got on!
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So there you go – I got some good reading in during February, but I kinda lost track of my writing towards the end of the month! Nevertheless, I’ve got plenty of reading, review writing and interview prep done already in March, with lots more to come, so do keep an eye out for more content over the coming weeks (along with a March roundup which will hopefully be more timely!). I’d love to hear about what you’ve enjoyed reading or listening to recently – and whether there’s anything you’d like to see in these highlights/roundup articles – so do drop me a line in the comments below, or get in touch on Twitter.