Another month has started and, as ever, I’m playing catch-up. Due to the brick-like nature of The Sympathizer, my September reading didn’t quite reach its summit. This has overloaded October, so, in what will be no surprise to regular readers, I now have an over-ambitious pile of books for this month too.
Spooky Children’s Offerings
It was September’s children’s books that I missed reviewing last month, so I’m going to roll straight onto those. This has the added advantage that I can read three books—quickly—and it will feel like I’m making good progress.
Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull by Martin Howard is a suitably spooky opening to the month. Mallory Vayle sees dead people. When her parents are killed and their ghosts mysteriously disappear, Mallory discovers that she’s at the center of a plot hatched by a dastardly deceased necromancer. Her only ally is a 400-year-old skull she found moldering in a forgotten part of a dark and dusty castle. The titular Maggoty Skull is a wisecracking, self-absorbed narcissist, but also Mallory’s only chance of learning about her mysterious powers and rescuing her parents. What can go wrong? Quite a lot, one imagines.
Publishing on October 10th is The Cinderman by Alex Atkinson, another suitably macabre tale. This time our story opens in a funeral parlor (rather than at a funeral for Mallory Vayle). Indigo and Rusty don’t believe in ghosts, but after knocking over an old urn, they release “The Cinderman.” Discovering that ghosts are, in fact, real and that they, themselves, are talented “Spooksmiths,” Indigo and Rusty look to put the Cinderman back in the bottle and save their town from being buried beneath a mountain of ash. That would be a grave ending indeed.
Less spooky but hopefully no less exciting, I still want to read the third Peril at Sea book, The Hollywood Kidnap Case.
New Books to Review
I’ve been sent two books by publishers this month. Gollancz has kindly sent me Darkome by Hannu Rajanemi. This feels like very topical science fiction, following on from the COVID pandemic and the establishment of mRNA vaccines. In Darkome, wearable vaccine factories immunize their bearers against new viruses on the fly. Perhaps not unreasonably, not everybody is happy with this.
This gives rise to “Darkome,” an underground community of biohackers who modify their own genes and bodies. One resident of Darkome, Inara, discovers she can edit her own DNA in real time; she can make herself stronger, faster, and smarter. This might be an amazing breakthrough, or Inara may have signed her own death warrant. Everybody wants a piece of her, and she battles to escape their clutches. But what price freedom?
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov arrived in a lovely box and promises a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and noir—a tale about disinformation and propaganda with a sinister tower thrown in for good measure. This promises to be unlike anything I’ve read so far this year. The book isn’t out until November, so I expect this will fall into next month’s reading.
Still Beating the Dystopian Drum
Keen-eyed readers of my columns will notice that Chain Gang All-Stars didn’t make it onto my September reviews. I’ll be looking to read this Hunger Games-style novel about commercial gladiators in the US penal system.
Years ago, I read Naomi Alderman’s The Power. Read it and loved it (as much as one can love depressingly realistic dystopian novels). It’s since been made into a TV series, which I have yet to watch. Since publication, I’ve wanted to read The Future. It came out in paperback in the UK last month when it slid straight onto my TBR pile.
The Future features megalomaniacal social media-owning billionaires, which feels very much on topic right now. I can’t wait to read Alderman’s take on the social media era.
The SFF Book of the Month
Continuing my trawl through the Waterstones SFF book of the month is Faebound by Saara El-Arifi. This is definitely a book I wouldn’t read were it not on the Waterstones list. It’s another romantasy novel featuring elves and the “Fae.” Torn loyalties and forbidden romances are no doubt soon to be upon us. Once again, I find myself being a little sniffy at the thought of reading this book, but the romantasy novels I’ve read so far this year have all been entertaining. Let’s hope Faebound is too!
The Book Club Book Choice
No book club book this month, as we’re not meeting until mid-November. The Lost Bookshop will be top of the list next month! Until November, happy reading!
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Robin Brooks
Dad of boys, player of games, and reader of books. GeekDad and one half of Agents of Sigmar. Prone to starting things I can't fin
