Welcome to my Monthly Roundup for March 2021, here on Track of Words. For me, March was one of those strange months that seemed to both go on for ages, and fly past rapidly – weird. I’ve mostly settled into my posting schedule of four per week (albeit I only managed three, one week), which continues to keep me feeling busy but in a manageable way, but I had a couple of tough weeks where I really struggled to get into reading. I’ll talk a bit more later about why and what I did to get my head back in the right place, but suffice to say I did actually end up reading plenty, and I think I’m back on the right track now.
As usual, I’ll start off this article with a recap of everything I posted in March, complete with links, before getting to the general update later on. I’m always interested to know what you think, so once you’ve read through the article, do let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see more or less of on Track of Words!
Reviews
I managed eight reviews in March – two quick short story reviews and six book reviews – and I’m pretty happy with that. There’s quite a range across these stories (within SFF as a whole), from Slavic mythology and the British demi-monde to hard sci-fi and even the X-Men, so hopefully there should be plenty to enjoy!
Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin – the first book in a bold, epic sci-fi series with fantastic (slightly 40k-tinged) world building, brilliant characters and a gripping, pacy plot.
QUICK REVIEW: The Perfect Assassin by Gary Kloster – a tale of Maleneth Witchblade, in which Gotrek Gurnisson takes a backseat and his aelf companion gets to shine.
First Team by Robbie MacNiven – a pacy, characterful and warm-hearted X-Men novel from Aconyte Books, part of the Xavier’s Institute series.
QUICK REVIEW: The Carbis Incident by Victoria Hayward – a debut BL story, and an unusual Inquisition tale which steers clear of the typical 40k enemies and threats.
What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch – the third novella in the Rivers of London series, and the first story to feature young Abigail as the protagonist, this is tremendous fun and pretty much a must-read for any fans of the series.
Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky – the sequel to the excellent Dogs of War, this takes some of the same characters and themes and runs with them…all the way to Mars. Smart, pacy, thought-provoking sci-fi at its best.
The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston – a quiet, powerful, Slavic mythology-inspired tale of hidden magic, family and community with a brilliant mother/daughter relationship at its heart.
The End of Enlightenment by Richard Strachan – a brilliant standalone story which adds depth and character to both the Lumineth and the Ossiarch Bonereapers, full of great characters and beautiful writing.
Author interviews
In February I only managed two author interviews, but I more than doubled that in March! I posted interviews covering a pair of new Aconyte novels (exploring the worlds of KeyForge and Arkham Horror), two Black Library titles (one each for 40k and Age of Sigmar) and a standalone fantasy novel. I’ve read and loved two of these books, and can’t wait to check out the rest of them!
RAPID FIRE: Gabriela Houston Talks The Second Bell – I chatted to Gabriela to find out about the themes and inspirations of her Slavic mythology-inspired debut fantasy novel.
RAPID FIRE: Edoardo Albert Talks Silent Hunters – check this out for some of Edoardo’s thoughts on the Carcharadons and what makes them so interesting, as well as the usual lowdown of what to expect from this cool-sounding new 40k novel.
RAPID FIRE: Richard Strachan Talks The End of Enlightenment – I spoke to Richard about his second Age of Sigmar novel, and his approach to writing both the Lumineth and the Ossiarch Bonereapers.
RAPID FIRE: M Darusha Wehm Talks The Qubit Zirconium – Darusha gives us the lowdown on their upcoming KeyForge novel, and what it’s like writing about alien detectives Wibble & Pplimz.
RAPID FIRE: Ari Marmell Talks Litany of Dreams – Ari’s new novel is set in the world of Arkham Horror, so check this out for the lowdown on the book and what it’s like writing in the shadow of Lovecraft.
Articles
I may not be publishing that many Black Library-related reviews at the moment, but I’m compensating for that with lots of in-depth article content. Alongside offering some commentary on the annual BL Celebration, I kicked off a new series of articles with two reading orders, which I hope will be useful to anyone finding it hard to know where to start!
3 Wishes for the Black Library Celebration 2022 – I’m always a touch disappointed in the BL Celebration events, so here are my suggestions for what would make 2022’s event a genuine celebration of everything that makes BL great.
40k Reading Order: Silver Skulls – Sarah Cawkwell – the first in a new series I’m planning, looking at the recommended reading order for Sarah Cawkwell’s Warhammer 40,000 Silver Skulls stories.
40k Reading Order: Sister Augusta – Danie Ware – another reading order article, this time looking at Danie Ware’s 40k Sisters of Battle stories featuring the badass Sister Augusta and her squad.
General update
I mentioned earlier on that I really struggled with reading for part of the month, and I want to talk a bit about what happened. It sounds odd to say that I ‘struggled with reading’ when in the end I actually managed to read/listen to 14 books over the course of the month, but for nearly two weeks I had what I can only describe as a reading block. I think I picked up seven or eight different novels, all of which I’d been genuinely looking forward to reading (some for ages), and managed anything from a few lines to a couple of chapters before putting them down and just not feeling in the right frame of mind to read them. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t seem to summon any enthusiasm for sitting down and reading, and each book I tried to read just seemed to make it worse.
I’ve occasionally experienced something similar with maybe one or two books, particularly if I’m tired and can’t get my head into reading something to review, until I can find the right book that just clicks with how I’m feeling at the time. This is the first time I can remember when it just seemed like my brain refused to let me read at all, however That might not sound like a big deal (and in the grand scheme of things I guess it wasn’t) but reading is an important part of my life, and every time I picked up a book only to put it straight back down again I could feel the impact it was having on my mental health. At the very least it was disheartening, but it gradually started to become properly problematic.
Thankfully, I was saved by audiobooks and by Dan Abnett! All the time that I was struggling to pick up print books, I was revisiting Abnett’s Ravenor series in audio, listening while out for daily walks and then continuing to listen for as long as I could once home (audiobooks are perfect to have on while painting miniatures, by the way). I must have read this series at least two or three times before, but I enjoy it every time, and the audiobooks (narrated by Toby Longworth) are excellent. Even though I couldn’t get into sitting down and reading, working my way back through this series in audio helped to keep up my spirits, and remind me that I could still enjoy books in other formats.
I was working through Ravenor in order to get myself in the mood for rereading Pariah and then tackling Penitent, but I hadn’t been planning to start the two Bequin books just yet. The plan had been to get stuck into a few other books first, and take my time getting to Bequin…but once I finished the audio of Ravenor Rogue it just felt natural to go straight into Pariah, and here at last was a book that I could get into! I had been planning on reviewing them, but under the circumstances it seemed a better idea to read both of the Bequin books purely for fun, so that I could just kick back and enjoy them without having to make notes or think analytically, and I’m so pleased I did that. After a lot of frustration, I had a total blast with Pariah and Penitent, and found myself re-energised and excited about reading once again. Phew!
I guess in hindsight I was probably just a bit burned out, what with lockdown and all the rest, but it was hard to see that at the time. I’m mostly just grateful to have found my way out of that situation, but if nothing else I can take two things from this experience. Firstly, I’m so glad to have got into audiobooks last year. So far in 2021 I’ve listened to 12 of them, and they’ve brought me so much joy – not to mention carried me through my reading block. Secondly, I feel like this is a good reminder of how important it is as a reviewer to find time for books that are just for fun, and not for review. I’ve been doing my best to read plenty for fun, but in this case deciding to just enjoy the Bequin books made a big difference – I must remember this!
Anyway, enough about my reading slump. One downside to reading so many Abnett books is that I’ve fallen behind a bit on my non-male author reading – out of 38 books in 2021 so far I’ve read 17 written by women, so I’ve got a little bit of catching up to do. With Sistersong, A Desolation Called Peace, Network Effect, Rogue: Untouched and The Qubit Zirconium (and more) all on my list for April, I’ve got plenty of non-male-author novels lined up in order to get the balance back to a better point, so hopefully I’ll be able to manage that. I’m also planning on listening to more of LJ Ross’ excellent DCI Ryan series of detective stories, and maybe also Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s series, all purely for fun, so I’m really looking forward to those.
I’ve said this or something similar quite often of late, but it’s worth repeating – don’t expect a huge amount of Black Library reviews or interviews in April, or for a while after. I’ve got at least one more interview lined up, and one or two books that I’m planning on reviewing, but for the most part I’m going to be concentrating on books from other publishers for the foreseeable. Don’t worry though, I’m not abandoning BL entirely. In March I kicked off a new series of ‘Reading Order’ articles with the first two pieces, covering Sarah Cawkwell’s Silver Skulls stories and Danie Ware’s Sister Augusta series, and I’ve got plans for more of those at some point. I might try to update my ‘Where to Start With’ articles for both 40k and Age of Sigmar too, so keep an eye out for those! If you’ve got any requests for BL-related articles or guides, do let me know.
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That’s about it from me for another month, then. I hope April treats you well, with lots of great books for company and maybe…just maybe…a bit more human contact as the lockdown situation changes! I’m always keen to hear about what you’ve enjoyed reading or listening to recently, what you think about the interviews and articles I’ve been publishing of late, 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 roundup articles! Do drop me a line in the comments below, or get in touch on Twitter.
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