I’m sure I’m not the only person for whom time is behaving strangely during the Coronavirus-related lockdown, but May has definitely been a weird month; that being said, we’re now into June, so it’s time for my next Monthly Highlights post. As usual I’ll take a look back at the books I’ve been reading over the last few weeks, and link out to reviews where they’re available. It’s been a bumper month for reading – I’ve read no fewer than 17 books – which means there’s lots to talk about, so I’ll try to keep things succinct for each book and not waffle on for too long!
I took a fortnight away from writing for Track of Words at the beginning of the month, and much of what I’ve been reading has been purely for enjoyment rather than with an eye on reviewing. That means I haven’t reviewed (yet, in some cases) many of this month’s reads, but I’m gradually getting back in the swing of writing again so look out for a few more reviews and interviews coming up sometime soon. Seven of this month’s books have been re-reads, which I think speaks to my desire for comfort reading, but those seven were all also audiobooks (mostly down to Black Library continuing to offer them for 99p). This is honestly the most audiobooks I’ve ever listened to in such a short space of time, but I’m absolutely hooked now!
Anyway, let’s get cracking and take a look at May’s reads, following (mostly) the order in which I read them and starting with…
Dante by Guy Haley
I first read this back in 2017 and for me it’s an instant classic – the origin story of one of Warhammer 40,000’s most famous names. It’s a characterful, fascinating portrait of the boy who would become Commander Dante, hundreds of years in 40k’s past, and the Blood Angels’ Chapter Master in the present (well, it was when it was published) of the setting. Listening to it as an audiobook was an absolute joy, from Gareth Armstrong’s narration to just the chance to revisit these characters and Dante’s painful but powerful journey. If you’re a 40k fan and you haven’t read/listened to this yet – even if, like me, you don’t have a particular love of the Blood Angels – I really recommend you check it out!
Check out my review (from 2017) of Dante.
Grey Seer by CL Werner
One of the most entertaining characters in the classic Warhammer Gotrek and Felix series, Grey Seer Thanquol absolutely deserves his own series, with this first book in the trilogy following his attempts to claim the lethally dangerous Wormstone and turn it against the city of Altdorf. Somehow I’d never got round to reading this, but I fancied something fun and easy to read, and figured this fit the bill. It’s slightly strange in that Thanquol is still essentially the bad guy despite it being his own book – I’d have loved a story in which I could fully get behind his madcap schemes (maybe books 2 and 3 will offer that) – but it’s still fun and largely enjoyable to read. CL Werner does skaven well, that’s for sure.
The Murderbot Diaries 1 to 4 by Martha Wells
The premise of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series fills me with so much joy – having hacked its own programming to allow it freedom from the corporation which owns it, an incredibly dangerous android spends as much of its time as possible watching endless TV shows and trying not to have to talk to humans. The first four books are all novellas (with a novel comprising book 5) and I blitzed through all four of them over the course of the month. It took me a little while to get my head around book 1, All Systems Red, and I thought the ending was just a touch hasty, but I still really enjoyed it – and from then on I was in sci-fi heaven. I’m going to write a sort-of review of the four novellas so I won’t go into too much detail here, but these stories really hit my sweet spot for science fiction, and the character of Murderbot is going to stay with me for a long time! Just so, so, SO good!
Drachenfels by Kim Newman
This is basically the proto-Warhammer novel, first published before Black Library even existed and now re-released (under the author’s real name rather than the original Jack Yeovil pseudonym) as part of the Warhammer Horror range. It’s the story of a brave band of adventurers who took on the evil of Drachenfels, the Great Enchanter, and won, largely told years after their great victory as an epic play celebrating their achievement is written and staged. I first read it years and years ago and enjoyed it, but was a touch baffled, but revisiting it was a lot of fun. It’s a clever (if a little weird) story told with considerable style, with the audiobook narrated beautifully by Antonia Beamish, and while the Warhammer world is clearly a little undeveloped at this point it’s remarkable how much of the world-building is already there! Over 30 years after it was first published, it still stands up brilliantly.
Heralds of the Siege
I had this audiobook from a Humble Bundle I bought a year or so ago, and with the Siege of Terra in full swing it felt appropriate to go back and revisit these stories. It’s the last anthology in the main range Heresy series, and having gone back and listened to stories which I read quite a long time ago I would actually say it’s one of the strongest anthologies in the series. Most of these stories are set directly in the run-up to the Siege, with a few exceptions which largely link off to other themes or arcs explored elsewhere in the Heresy, and there’s a lot to enjoy in the sense of anticipation they provoke. I found listening to short stories in audio remarkably satisfying, not least with all but one of them narrated by the fabulous Jonathan Keeble, and it’s definitely worth revisiting these stories if you’re partway through the Siege like I am.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
I had never before realised how much I might enjoy a martial arts-inspired, Southeast Asian-set mafia story, but I can happily confirm that this is indeed an excellent subject for a novel! It takes place on a largely self-contained island whose main source of political power is its vast natural reserve of Jade, which in the hands of certain people can produce incredible feats of strength, speed and perception (which is super cool), and is essentially a clan-war story in which rivalries regularly spill out onto the streets which erupt with wild violence. Great characters (lots of whom take an absolute beating), an interesting plot, a super-cool setting…it’s just really good! I can definitely see why lots of people recommend this one.
Rogue by James Swallow
I’ve been following James Swallow’s Marc Dane series of thrillers since the first book – Nomad – came out back in 2016, and they’ve all been tremendously enjoyable, action-packed thrillers. This fifth instalment of the series is no exception, continuing to develop characters which by now have become pretty well established, but taking a few things in slightly unexpected directions. On the one hand, arguably it’s more of the same (which is a good thing, because this series is great fun) but on the other it feels like a bit of a turning point in the series – although time will tell whether that’s actually the case. If you like a good spy thriller then I would strongly recommend you check out this series!
Sacrosanct & Other Stories
Last month I listened to the audiobook of Crusade + Other Stories, which was a sort of introductory primer to Warhammer 40,000 as a setting, and this month it was the turn of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. This is actually the second such anthology for AoS (after Hammerhal & Other Stories) but it follows the same structure with one novella and a handful of short stories from various authors. John Banks does his usual excellent job with the narration, and while I’m (once again) not a huge fan of including stories pulled from serialised novels I did largely enjoy this. The novella is pretty entertaining despite being about as straight-up a Warhammer story as you’re likely to read, and the inclusion of stories like Shiprats, The Sands of Grief, A Dirge of Dust and Steel and Auction of Blood make it very much worth the while!
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
I enjoy a good vampire story, but this is like nothing I’ve read before in that it pits an impressively sinister bloodsucker against the terrifying might of a 90’s-era ladies’ book club. It’s an absolute delight, too – while there are some super gory, graphic scenes in places (a bit involving a raccoon legitimately made me feel sick), and it is 100% a horror novel, I regularly found myself cackling out loud at Hendrix’s portrayal of the frazzled housewives taking refuge from their families by reading gory true crime novels for their book club. It’s just a brilliantly pitched novel, tackling some fascinating (and often quite difficult) themes and balancing horror against humour and relatable family life. Absolutely loved it.
Check out my review of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Callis & Toll: The Silver Shard by Nick Horth
This was a good choice for Black Library to offer as part of their series of 99p audiobooks, as its action-packed, Indiana Jones-esque stylings would make a great introduction to Age of Sigmar for anyone not familiar with the setting. It’s a follow-on to the novella City of Secrets, returning to the characters of Callis and Toll while introducing a new name – Shev Arclis – who pretty much steals the show. From steaming jungles to a hidden city in the mountains, via the high seas and the open skies, it’s pretty much just a fun adventure romp which takes in lots of cool AoS factions and ideas in a thoroughly enjoyable story. Of all the audiobooks I’ve listened to this month, I might even say Barnaby Edwards’ narration of this one was the best of the bunch – and that’s really saying something considering the quality across the board.
Check out my review (from 2018) of The Silver Shard.
The Horusian Wars: Resurrection by John French
The Inquisition is such a cool faction within 40k, and French is a master of the sort of dark, twisty, uncompromising story which really suits the theme. The first book in a trilogy, this introduces Inquisitor Covenant and most of his acolytes, kicking off an ambitious story which explores what is essentially a civil war between rival factions of the Inquisition – it’s very different from the Eisenhorn series, for example, and might not be for everyone, but I love it. This must be the third time I’ve read Resurrection, but the first time I’ve listened to the audiobook, and coming at it from a fresh perspective was really enjoyable. Now I just wish the third novel in the series was available so I could find out what happens in the end!
Check out my review (from 2017) of Resurrection.
Casefiles of the Royal Occultist: Monmouth’s Giants by Josh Reynolds
These days Josh is probably best known for his Black Library work, but he actually has a HUGE body of work outside of the worlds of Warhammer and his Royal Occultist series runs to over 50 stories in various formats! This is the first dedicated anthology for the series as far as I know, and collects together 13 stories (two of which are novellas) provided in chronological order with the added bonus of brief author notes for each and every one. In simple terms these are deliberately pulpy ‘occult detective’ stories, packed full of English stiff-upper-lip and all manner of grisly monsters for Charles St. Cyprian and his assistant/apprentice Ebe Gallowglass to overcome. I’ve been a fan since reading the novel The Whitechapel Demon, and this anthology is a welcome reminder of how much fun these stories can be.
Check out my review (from 2014) of The Whitechapel Demon.
Docile by K.M. Szpara
It’s hard to know how to describe this book without giving massive spoilers, but suffice to say it’s one of the most fascinating, compelling and uncomfortable books I can remember reading. It’s a story of rampant income inequality, crushing debt and modern slavery, in which the protagonist – young Elisha Wilder – signs away his future in order to pay off his family’s debt. Where most Dociles choose to take the drug Dociline and spend their service in a haze of submissive mellowness, however, Elisha refuses the drug for fear of what it might turn him into. What ensues is a dark, sometimes appalling, sometimes strangely touching relationship between Docile and Patron, exploring complex questions of consent, free will, emotions, sex and discipline. I felt genuinely uncomfortable at times while reading this, but once I got into it I simply couldn’t put it down, and it left me breathless and in tears. Not an easy book, but a powerful one. Watch out for a review sometime soon.
Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
The Rivers of London series is one of my all-time favourites, and since listening to the audio of the first book back in 2018 I’ve been wanting to go back and listen to the whole series. I finally caved and signed up for an Audible account, and this was the first book I chose – the second in the series, and another absolute classic. It was a total joy to listen to this and revisit Peter Grant’s early days as a magician in the Metropolitan Police, with narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s soothing tones bringing the whole cast of characters – jazz vampires and all – to wonderful life. At this point in the series Aaronovitch is still focusing mostly on parts of London I know pretty well, which helps make this one of my favourites in the series, and I can’t wait to pick up Whispers Under Ground next!
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As with April, I’m pleased to have read so much over the last few weeks – and I feel like I’ve made good choices with what to read as well. I’m definitely going to keep up with the audiobooks in June (even if Black Library stop their weekly 99p offer), and my TBR pile doesn’t seem to be shrinking much so I’ve got plenty of great-sounding books to get stuck into. I’m going to try and write a few more reviews, but expect lots of those to be non-Black Library books! I hope you’ll enjoy them anyway.
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.