Another month has come around as quickly as ever, so it’s time for my usual Monthly Roundup here on Track of Words, where today I’m looking back at what’s been going on during the month of July. I feel like a bit of a broken record in these articles, as for a while now I’ve been talking about having slow months, but July has in fact been my quietest month for over a year – this article you’re reading will be my 10th and final one of the month. Life seems to be getting in the way a bit more than usual right now, with job hunting and illness being the headline hurdles alongside a general sense of finding it difficult to concentrate on writing, but hopefully it won’t be too long before I’m back in the swing of things. Fingers crossed, anyway!
As usual, for the first part of this article I’ll do a quick retrospective of what I’ve posted in July, complete with links, and then I’ll write up a quick general update. I’m always interested to know what you think, so once you’ve read through the article, do let me know if you’ve particularly enjoyed any of these articles, or if there’s anything you’d like to see more or less of on Track of Words!
Reviews
Just this six reviews in July – four book reviews and two short story reviews – but they cover a reasonable amount of ground in terms of IPs and subject matter. Four of these stories are IP fiction, covering 40k, Age of Sigmar, Marvel and Twilight Imperium, while the other two are original fiction – one set in the bustling metropolis of Delhi, and the other (mostly) in the quiet fields of Lincolnshire.
Ghazgkhull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley – easily the most fun I’ve had reading a Black Library book for ages, I thought this was an absolute gem of a 40k novel. Whether you’re specifically an ork fan or not, it’s so well written and packed full of such fascinating 40k lore it’s absolutely worth any fan reading…at least it will be, when the standard editions are released.
Target: Kree by Stuart Moore – reading this is like reading a blockbuster superhero movie, in all its action-packed technicolour glory. There’s plenty of character and depth as well, but all told it’s probably the biggest, most action-oriented of the Marvel novels I’ve read so far. It’s a lot of fun!
The Fractured Void by Tim Pratt – a breezy, tremendously fun space opera set in the world of Twilight Imperium (a board game I haven’t played but which looks great!), this was much funnier than I expected, and generally just a really entertaining read. Well worth checking out for any SF fan.
The Dying Squad by Adam Simcox – this is an interesting mix of detective drama and sort-of urban fantasy, with a brilliant central idea (a dead detective tasked with solving his own murder) and some fantastic world building. I’d say it’s more fantasy than crime, but it’s good fun.
Oracle by Liane Merciel – an Age of Sigmar short story that fits in with the Broken Realms narrative, featuring a Stormcast Eternal’s perspective on the Daughters of Khaine. This is the second of Merciel’s AoS stories I’ve read and loved – I really hope she writes more!
Delhi by Vandana Singh – a beautifully written, thoughtful and thought-provoking story of a man trying to fulfil a purpose he doesn’t understand, and constantly searching for answers. I read this in The Best of World SF Volume 1 and it absolutely deserves its inclusion – it’s easily one of the most fascinating, evocative short stories I’ve read in a long time.
Author interviews
Continuing my good run of Aconyte interviews, I had a lot of fun putting together July’s two interviews – one a regular author interview and the other with an anthology editor, which is always interesting.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Stuart Moore Talks Target: Kree – ever wondered what it would be like to read about the Guardians of the Galaxy facing off against the Avengers? Check out this interview to hear from Stuart Moore what it was like writing that story!
EDITOR INTERVIEW: Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells Talks The Devourer Below – I love a good anthology, so I was delighted to arrange a chat with editor Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells about the new Arkham Horror anthology from Aconyte Books, where we talked about theme, inspiration and all things Arkham.
Articles
Once again I’ve really struggled for the brainspace to work on longer form articles, with this piece you’re reading and the one described below being the only two I’ve managed. I do have plans for more, so hopefully I can get myself in gear and start work on at least one of them reasonably soon.
Aconyte Books Roundup June/July 2021 – if you’d like to catch up on everything Aconyte have released over the last couple of months, and get the lowdown on what they’ve got coming up, this article has got you covered. I’ve also included a slightly more detailed recap of Day Zero by James Swallow and Josh Reynolds, which recently won a much-deserved Scribe Award.
General update
So there hasn’t been as much to talk about so far, in terms of what I posted in July, and I think I’m going to keep this last section reasonably short as well. I’m pretty much still in the same sort of headspace as I was in June, where I’m still enjoying reading but mostly choosing books to read purely for fun rather than to review. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased with the reviews that I did manage to write, but more often than not I’ve found myself wanting to read things that I don’t have to think too hard about, and can just enjoy reading for the sake of reading. That’s included several Black Library books – if you’d like to read a few very rough thoughts about Alpharius: Head of the Hydra, the audiobook of First and Only, and Urdesh: The Serpent and the Saint then check out this Ko-Fi post I wrote a couple of weeks ago.
I guess when I talk about not being in the right headspace, what that really means is that I’ve been focusing on my mental health, prioritising my own wellbeing rather than forcing myself to produce new content for Track of Words. That’s something that I perhaps didn’t get right in previous years, but I feel I’ve been doing better with lately – which is good I think, considering all the additional stress that we’re all under at the moment! I know Track of Words has changed direction a little of late, and certainly slowed down in terms of new content, but I’m confident that any changes have been for the best in terms of my overall wellbeing; we’ll see how things go in future, but ultimately I have to make sure I enjoy reading and working on the site!
In July though, it’s not just been about mental health. I won’t go into too much detail, but a few days ago I had the fun experience of calling a taxi at 3am in the morning while in considerable pain, and then spending the next 9 hours in A&E. After many tests, including three different nurses needing at least eight attempts to find a suitable vein and fit a cannula (my arms are covered in bruises right now!), and a CT scan, the eventual consensus was that I have a kidney stone. Cue lots of painkillers and several days (and counting) of feeling decidedly sleepy while I wait for the stone to pass. Thank goodness for effective painkillers and the absolute wonder that is the NHS!
So that’s where things stand right now – I’m still a bit fuzzy and I’m not sure how long it’ll take before I’m fully back on my feet, but I’m at least starting to feel a bit more like myself. I’m also starting to think I might fancy reading something to review, so hopefully I can maintain that enthusiasm and get another review or two ready in the not too distant future! To finish off this section though, I thought I would give a quick update on my goal for 2021 of reading a good balance of male- and female-authored books. As it stands, I’ve read 82 books so far this year, of which 41 have been written by women…along with one co-authored by a male/female pairing and one anthology with a mixture of male and female authors. So that’s pretty good, I’m happy with that balance overall! If you’re interested, here are the 12 books that I read in July – 3 for review, 9 for fun.
And with that little update, I’ll call this a day. Hopefully when I next write one of these update articles I’ll have more to talk about, but if not…I’m sure I’ll get there sooner or later. In the meantime, I wish you all happy reading and a positive August!
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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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