Edgar Allan Purr presents items received
Edgar Allan Purr tap dances on top of the books received without interference because Smokey is still hiding from the rain. And the storm warnings.
The last time I saw Smokey she was in the hallway, frantically trying to open the linen cupboard door so she could hide.
That was HOURS ago.
Come to think of it, Edgar may have locked her in… After all, he’s A CAT. And cats LOVE being the centre of attention.
Speaking of being the centre of attention, the last time I posted items received, Smokey was SO DETERMINED to be the centre of attention she knocked Edgar Allan Purr AND a stack of books on the floor. I titled the post Cat pissing contest because it seemed to be a competition for the title of alpha kitty. Mike Glyer of File 770 thought it was inappropriate to say the least; his response was Critical Cat.
Mike said: “There are bloggers who regularly publish photos of the piles of new books they’ve been sent for review. I once did it myself.”
You old hipster, you!
And now, on to the books:
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
This one sounds intriguing. Penguin says:
“One morning Ruth wakes thinking a tiger has been in her seaside house. Later that day a formidable woman called Frida arrives, looking as if she’s blown in from the sea. In fact she’s come to care for Ruth. Frida and the tiger: both are here to stay, and neither is what they seem.
Which of them can Ruth trust? And as memories of her childhood in Fiji press upon her with increasing urgency, can she even trust herself?
The Night Guest is mesmerising novel about love, dependence, and the fear that the things you know best can become the things you’re least certain about. It introduces a writer who comes to us fully formed, working wonders with language, renewing our faith in the power of fiction to tap the mysterious workings of our minds, and keeping us spellbound.”
The One Thing by Gary Keller
This One Thing is non-fiction; I’m seriously wondering if Hachette is trying to tell me something [juggles several assignments, revision for test, lectures and Dark Matter while staggering around the living room between piles of dry washing]
Hachette says:
Sometimes it s the only thing you do. But it s always the ONE Thing that delivers extraordinary results.
THE ONE THING is a book for busy people. Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan demonstrate that the results you get are directly influenced by the way you work and the choices you make. You’ll learn how to identify the lies that block your success and the thieves that steal time from your day. By focusing on your ONE Thing, you can accomplish more by doing less. What’s your ONE Thing?
Raven’s Shadow by Elspeth Cooper
I’ve enjoyed the first two books of this quartet (Songs of the Earth and Trinity Rising) and I’ve been waiting for this third one. The first book was nominated for the Morningstar Award and the second book was shortlisted for the Gemmell Award. Hurry up, Elspeth, WANT THE FINAL INSTALLMENT.
Hachette says:
An epic fantasy from one of the strongest new voices in the genre. The Wild Hunt is coming – and it will only take one tear in the veil for them to succeed. . .
Sometimes those with the greatest potential must withstand the hardest blows.
Fate, it seems, has nothing kind in store for Gair. First his lover and now his mentor have been killed – the first by the dangerous, ambitious Savin, the second in a revolutionary uprising. Alone, and with even his magical abilities betraying him, he has only one goal left: revenge.
Far to the north, if Teia has one goal it is survival. Attempting to cross a high mountain pass in the teeth of winter is an act of desperation, but the message she carries cannot wait for spring. An invasion force is gathering behind her, and only an ancient order of knights can hold them back.
The danger is real, there are enemies in the shadows, and time is running out.
The Diamond Deep by Brenda Cooper
Rebecca Muir reviewed Creative Fire, the first in this story and was on my case to get the sequel.
Rebecca says: ‘This isn’t a flawless book (what book is?) but it is a well-written, engaging story with a lot of depth to it, and it is a very enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the continuation of the story.’
Unfortunately Pyrsf.com don’t seem to have the book up on their website yet as it isn’t due for release until October 8 2013, so I can’t copy the blurb across.
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
I’m a bit of a fan girl for Harry Dresden, a professional wizard living in Chicago. I’ve read EVERY SINGLE BOOK: this is unusual for me in a long-running series.
I foretell I will snuggle up with a book…
Hachette says:
“You can’t keep a good wizard down – even when he wants to stay that way.
For years, Harry Dresden has been Chicago’s only professional wizard, but a bargain made in desperation with the Queen of Air and Darkness has forced him into a new job: professional killer.
Mab, the mother of wicked faeries, has restored the mostly-dead wizard to health, and dispatches him upon his first mission – to bring death to an immortal. Even as he grapples with the impossible task, Dresden learns of a looming danger to Demonreach, the living island hidden upon Lake Michigan, a place whose true purpose and dark potential have the potential to destroy billions and to land Dresden in the deepest trouble he has ever known – even deeper than being dead. How messed up is that?
Beset by his new enemies and hounded by the old, Dresden has only twenty four hours to reconnect with his old allies, prevent a cataclysm and do the impossible – all while the power he bargained to get – but never meant to keep – lays siege to his very soul.
Magic. It can get a guy killed.”
Oh, wait a minute… I’ve already READ THIS ONE.
SAD NOW.
WANT NEW HARRY BOOK [pouts]
The Cinderella Moment by Jennifer Kloester
One of two authors and books featured at the Penguin Teen Australia launch on Monday, Jennifer sold me on her book when she said she loved Georgette Heyer. I have to confess, my mother-in-law owned an impressive collection of Georgette Heyer books and I READ THEM ALL. Many more than once.
I’m not hugely into romance and definitely not into couture but I do like the occasional romantic comedy so I see myself spending an afternoon on this small (288 pages) book.
Random Penguins say:
A love of fashion.
A couture competition.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance . . .
Angel wants to be a fashion designer, but without money or connections, it’s going to be a challenge. So when she gets a chance to head to Paris, Angel grabs it – even if it means masquerading as her best friends Lily. That can’t be too hard, can it?
But faking things doesn’t come easy, and when Angel meets her very own Prince Charming, things start to get complicated. She needs to stop her secrets unravelling if she wants to live happily ever . . .
From exciting talent Jennifer Kloester comes a modern fairytale of high society, mistaken identity, love, betrayal, friendship – and great clothes.
The First Third by Will Kostakis
I’ve had some dear Greek and Italian friends over the years and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the comedic works of New Australians. Will Kostakis sold me on his book on the basis of the realism, the family issues and his comedic angle.
Not to mention that his Nona set up a signing queue at his book launch and her queue was longer than his!
Will Kostakis was the other author featured at the Penguin Teen Australia launch in Melbourne on Monday.
Penguin says:
Life is made up of three parts: in The First Third, you’re embarrassed by your family; in the second, you make a family of your own; and in the end, you just embarrass the family you’ve made.
That’s how Billy’s grandmother explains it, anyway. She’s given him her bucket list (cue embarrassment), and now, it’s his job to glue their family back together.
No pressure or anything.
Fixing his family’s not going to be easy and Billy’s not ready for change. But as he soon discovers, the first third has to end some time. And then what?
It’s a Greek tragedy waiting to happen.
Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson
KSR is a renowed SF author; in Shaman he turns from science fiction to… historical science fiction? Archaeology? I’ll let the experts decide.
Orbit says:
An extraordinary portrayal of life in the paleolithic era, 30,000 years into our past, by the author described recently by the Sunday Times as ‘one of science fiction’s greats’.
An award-winning and bestselling SF writer, Kim Stanley Robinson is widely acknowledged as one of the most exciting and visionary writers in the field. His latest novel, 2312, imagined how we would be living 300 years from now. Now, with his new novel, he turns from our future to our past – to the paleolithic era, and an extraordinary moment in humanity’s development. An emotionally powerful and richly detailed portrayal of life 30,000 years ago, it is a novel that will appeal both to his existing fans and a whole new mainstream readership.
Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff
This is the sequel to the epic fantasy Stormdancer set in a Japanese-based alternate reality. I thoroughly enjoyed Stormdancer; it’s part of the reason I chose Asian mythology for my Archetypes assignment. (Reading what I enjoy for homework? Epic win!)
Pan MacMillan says:
A SHATTERED EMPIRE. Shogun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation’s broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion by endorsing a new Shogun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead. A DARK LEGACY Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father’s death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts. Along with Buruu, Yukiko’s anchor is Kin, the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo’s clutches. A GATHERING STORM Kagé assassins lurk within the Shogun’s palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A new enemy gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to survive. And across raging oceans, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat. The ghosts of a blood-stained past.
Writers Victoria
I won membership for a year after filling in a survey. This wasn’t related to Dark Matter but I thought I’d give them a shout-out anyway as they’re a lovely bunch of people whose goal is to support and nurture writery people in Victoria.
Their website says:
Writers Victoria supports and connects writers. We understand that writing can be an isolated pursuit and our programs are built to create a community for writers. These programs include courses, mentoring and advice through our staff, magazine, weekly enews and our website.
Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood – what more needs to be said? She’s an icon, a visionary. And a fabulous feminist writer even when she doesn’t mean to be.
And HARDCOVER.
Bloomsbury says:
A man-made plague has swept the earth, but a small group survives, along with the green-eyed Crakers – a gentle species bio-engineered to replace humans. Toby, onetime member of the God’s Gardeners and expert in mushrooms and bees, is still in love with street-smart Zeb, who has an interesting past. The Crakers’ reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is hallucinating; Amanda is in shock from a Painballer assault; and Ivory Bill yearns for the provocative Swift Fox, who is flirting with Zeb. Meanwhile, giant Pigoons and malevolent Painballers threaten to attack.
Told with wit, dizzying imagination, and dark humour, Booker Prize-winning Margaret Atwood’s unpredictable, chilling and hilarious MaddAddam takes us further into a challenging dystopian world – a moving and dramatic conclusion to the internationally celebrated trilogy that began with Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
There is a lot of excitement about the Bone Season and LOTS of signs that the publisher is VERY confident this book is going to be a SENSATION, including a highly publicised launch in Sydney. [sigh – I live in Melbourne.]
Bloomsbury says:
The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.
It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.
