Monthly Highlights – April 2020

It’s time again for another Monthly Highlights post, my regular look back at what I’ve been reading (and listening to) over the last few weeks. I’m sticking with the format I started last month, which involves a fairly quick look at each and every book I read in April – a couple of those were audiobooks, but most of them were in prose format. Once again I’ve excluded short stories, but with no fewer than twelve books to talk about there’s plenty to cover without extending to other formats (and it’s long enough as it is)! I’ve listed these in the order in which I read them, with links to reviews and author interviews where appropriate.

Without further ado, let’s get straight to the first book…

Goldilocks by Laura Lam
I started off the month with an unexpectedly topical novel, a book about five women stealing a spaceship and setting out for a new planet while back on Earth everyone walks around wearing masks when they go outside. It may also feature a pandemic, though I don’t want to say more for risk of spoilers. Topical issues aside, it’s a really enjoyable sci-fi thriller full of interesting science, cool space exploration and a fantastic central character relationship. For much of the book it’s pretty bleak, painting a worryingly believable picture of what our future might end up looking like, but there’s enough hope in there too that it doesn’t feel too heavy. It’s certainly thought-provoking, but it’s a great story too.

Check out my review of Goldilocks and my Rapid Fire interview with Laura Lam.

Click here to buy Goldilocks – or here for the audiobook.

Lords of the Storm by Edoardo Albert
I’m slowly chipping away at the Black Library Novella Series 2, and I’d been looking forward to this one – especially having read the prequel short story Born of the Storm. It perhaps wasn’t quite what I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless – a book about faith and humility which looks at 40k from a really interesting angle. I had been expecting a Space Marine-heavy story (it’s nominally about the Fulminators) but while they’re present in the shape of a squad of Reivers the story is told mostly from a human perspective, exploring a strange world (Chevreuse) wracked by a living storm and populated by all manner of lethal hazards. As with everything I’ve read by Albert so far, it’s thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable.

Check out my review of Lords of the Storm and an Author Spotlight interview I did with Edoardo Albert back in 2019.

Click here to buy Lords of the Storm.

Soul Wars by Josh Reynolds
I read this when it was first released, and thoroughly enjoyed it – it felt like a turning point for Age of Sigmar fiction, a notable darkening of the tone compared to what had come before. When Black Library dropped the price of the audiobook to 99p for a week, I couldn’t resist checking it out, especially as it’s narrated by Andrew Wincott, who I absolutely love. Across nearly 17 hours of audio I was reminded just how good this story is – dark, characterful, exploring intriguing locations across the Mortal Realms and telling a tragic tale despite its heroism. Wincott’s narration really brought the characters to life for me, revealing different angles to what I’d considered when I read it the first time around…it’s worth checking out just for his take on Nagash, if nothing else!

Check out my review (from 2018) of Soul Wars.

Click here to buy Soul Wars – or here for the audiobook.

The Regent’s Shadow by Chris Wraight
Chris Wraight is one of those authors whose books I’ll buy without needing any consideration; I just know I’m going to enjoy them. After re-reading the first Watchers of the Throne novel – The Emperor’s Legion – in March, I was prepped and ready to read this one…and I wasn’t disappointed. It follows on almost directly after the first book, swapping out one protagonist but otherwise maintaining the three-part first-person approach, and it’s another fascinating exploration of life on Terra, at the heart of the Imperium. This time around most of the characters and concepts are already established so it both digs a bit deeper and broadens out a little, feeling very much like a satisfying extension of the series. I’d say ‘satisfying’ is the key word here – there’s just so much to enjoy both in terms of a great story and a thoughtful exploration of some key 40k events and concepts, and it’s constructed and written in just a really entertaining way. So good.

Check out my review of The Regent’s Shadow and my Rapid Fire interview with Chris Wraight.

Click here to buy The Regent’s Shadow – or here for the audiobook.

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings
I reviewed this one for Grimdark Magazine, and while it might not look that grimdark from its cover let me assure you – this is a genuinely creepy book…just maybe not in the way you might expect. It’s a folk-horror story, a fairly short but perfectly constructed novella set in a quiet, sun-baked Australian town and exploring a strange young woman’s unexpected journey towards reclaiming her life – the sort of story that starts off opaque yet intriguing and gets darker as it makes more sense. I read it more or less in one sitting, absolutely absorbed by the prose and increasingly unsettled by what was happening; it’s not scary as such, but rather creepy, eerie and at times just plain disturbing. For all the warm sun and beautiful nature, this hides a deeply strange and magical heart – and I simply can’t recommend it enough! It’s due out in September.

Check out my review of Flyaway.

Click here to pre-order Flyaway – or here for the audiobook.

Inferno! Volume 5
I’ve made no secret of how happy I am that Black Library have revisited the Inferno! brand for their short story anthologies, and while Volume 5 got caught in the Coronavirus chaos so hasn’t yet had a physical release, I’ve read the ebook edition and can confirm that this is another excellent collection of Warhammer stories. There’s the usual mixture of settings, styles and characters, across 12 stories which this time around skew quite heavily towards new or newer (to BL, at least) authors – which is a good thing, in my view. One of the strengths of the old Inferno! magazines was that it introduced new voices to the early incarnation of Black Library, so it feels appropriate that the new Inferno! anthologies should do the same thing. It’s hard to pick a favourite story, but I very much enjoyed Rob J. Hayes’ black-humoured Imperial Guard story No Quarter, Marc Collins’ plague-ridden 40k story Respite’s End and Anna Stephens’ excellent Age of Sigmar story River of Death.

Check out my review of Inferno! Volume 5.

Click here to buy Inferno! Volume 5.

Highfire by Eoin Colfer
After reading some really dark stories I needed something a little lighter, so step forward Highfire – a sort of sweary, witty, modern magical realism tale in which a scruffy young delinquent meets a foul-mouthed, grouchy old dragon in the Louisiana bayou. It’s every bit as joyful as that sounds, a riotous mix of pop culture, fantasy, mythology and Deep South living that’s both deeply charming and surprisingly powerful and thought-provoking. While Vern the dragon – with his Flashdance t-shirts, foul mouth and high alcohol tolerance – is comedy gold, beneath the surface he has a darker, more serious story. Likewise young Squib Moreau, who tries so hard (and mostly in vain) to curb his riotous tendencies in order to try and look after his heart-of-gold mother. In short, it’s an absolute blast AND brilliantly characterful. Watch out for a review sometime soon.

Click here to buy Highfire – or here for the audiobook.

Crusade + Other Stories
Another Black Library book that I’ve read (most of) in prose before, but listened to in audio after BL dropped the price to 99p. This one is an anthology, featuring a novella (the title story, by Andy Clark) and a bunch of short stories from a range of different authors, narrated mostly by the excellent John Banks with a couple of stories read instead by the also-excellent Penelope Rawlins. There are a few stories I don’t love, in prose or audio – one is pulled from a (not particularly great) serialised novel and feels out of context here, while a couple more just don’t hit the spot for me – but the rest of them range from good to excellent. If anything, the novella is better in audio than in prose, and it’s great to hear the narrators breathe new life into these stories – whether you’re revisiting them like me or getting an introduction to 40k, there’s lots to enjoy here (despite the couple of minor duds).

Check out my reviews of most of the stories in Crusade + Other stories.

Click here to buy Crusade + Other Stories – or here for the audiobook.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
I was in need of something to read purely for enjoyment, with no thought given to writing a review, and this novella – my first introduction to Becky Chambers – absolutely hit the spot. A beautifully told tale of astronauts on a scientific mission far from Earth, utilising intriguing technology to modify their own bodies in order to survive the rigours of space travel, it’s only short but it’s so, so good. It’s a strange story really, with essentially nothing in the way of inter-character conflict (the small cast are incredibly tight-knit) and a largely measured pace, but not only is it stunningly well written but it offers a fascinating, insightful take on the personal costs of space travel. Maybe one day I’ll reread it with a view to writing a review, but suffice to say it’s a stunning read which left me heartbroken and heartwarmed in equal measure. Now I NEED to read more by Becky Chambers.

Click here to buy To Be Taught, If Fortunate – or here for the audiobook.

Curse the Day by Judith O’Reilly
I read this pretty much sight unseen, after seeing someone I follow on Twitter recommend it, and while I can’t honestly say I loved everything about it I can happily say that it was an enjoyable, easy read. It’s a high-tech, high-stakes modern spy thriller, actually the second in a series (although I got the gist of the backstory pretty quickly), with a worn-down ex-assassin drawn out of a sorrowful slump and into a wild tale of artificial intelligence and political maneuvering. There’s lots to enjoy in the pacy action and tech-heavy background, but while the slightly daft characters and plotting largely work, things do become a little bit hard to believe which slightly detracts from the drama. Still, for the most part it’s a lot of fun and I wouldn’t say no to reading another in the series for a bit of daft, enjoyable entertainment (while waiting for the next instalment in James Swallow’s Marc Dane series).

Click here to buy Curse the Day – or here for the audiobook.

 

Tales from the Crucible edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells
I’ve included this anthology in April’s highlights because that’s when I finished it – I’ve actually been reading it bit by bit over a couple of months, dipping in and out a story at a time. This is my very first introduction to the KeyForge setting – a crazy world that’s equal parts high-tech science fiction and classic fantasy where basically anything goes – and the first book I’ve read from the newly-formed Aconyte Books…and I’ve got to say it’s been a total blast! I’ve probably spoiled the editor’s carefully-chosen reading order, as I’ve been picking stories to read at random, but that hasn’t affected my enjoyment of these wildly varying tales of elves, robots, martians, goblins, spaceships, ray guns, magic, mystery and much, much more. As a reader who spends a lot of time exploring grim sci-fi, dark fantasy and horror, these bright and bold and colourful stories have been a real breath of fresh air. I can’t wait to read more from this setting!

Check out my reviews of most of the stories in Tales from the Crucible (with more to come).

Click here to pre-order Tales From the Crucible.

The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag
If you’re a sci-fi fan and spend much time online you may already be familiar with Stålenhag’s artwork – largely bleak, desolate depictions of open landscapes mixed with retro-futuristic (and often ruined) technology. I’d seen and loved his work before, without ever realising he had ever turned it into narrative art books like this, a stunning tale of a young girl and her robot travelling alone across America in search of…well, something. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It’s a slow-burn story told through stark words and gorgeously bleak artwork, which only slowly reveals a little of what’s really taking place, but as you piece it all together it becomes both fascinating and deeply chilling. I would almost call this a horror story, in fact. It won’t be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it – even though I only felt able to read it in small doses, lingering over the images and mulling over the story. Check out his art, and if you’re at all interested I would urge you to get hold of a copy of this – I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Click here to buy The Electric State.

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I’m very pleased with what I read in April, both in terms of the number of books (despite it being a deeply strange month – I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt that way) and the variety I managed to find. Here’s hoping May will be another great month of reading and listening! I’d love to hear about what you’ve enjoyed reading or listening to recently, whether you’ve read and enjoyed any of the books I tackled this month, 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.