Signor Finzione

How did you know? Yes, it's Kelsier - I'm finding him to be very unsympathetic and rather annoying. I really like Vin, though. Ooh, enjoy!

Congratulations on your FREEEEEDOMMMMM!!!

Oh, golly, The Skinner sounds awesome!

I'm currently about a hundred pages into Sanderson's The Final Empire. I'm enjoying it, but one of the main characters is getting on my nerves a bit - he's way too full of himself.

The blurb is hilarious, as is the cover. Shame it was such a disappointing blip in one your favourite series - perhaps hypnotism will erase it from your memory?

Ohhhhh I didn't see that one. Omnibuses confuse me. Any specific books by Neal Asher worth starting with?

I can totally imagine it not being to everyone's taste. It's quite trippy in places, and I kept thinking to myself, "what the hell am I reading?!"

Review: 'Rivers of London' by Ben Aaronovitch My name is Peter Grant. Until January I was just another probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service, and to everyone else as the Filth. My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - We do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May. Then one night, in pursuance of a murder inquiry, I tried to take a witness statement from a man who was dead, but disturbingly voluble, and that brought me to the attention of Chief Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in England. And that, as they say, is where the story begins. Now I'm a Detective Constable and a trainee wizard, the first apprentice in fifty years, and my world has become somewhat more complicated. I'm dealing with nests of vampires in Purley, negotiating a truce between the warring god and goddess of the Thames, and digging up graves in Covent Garden - and that's just routine. There's something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious, vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it's falling to me to bring order out of chaos - or die trying. Which, I don't mind telling you, would involve a hell of a lot of paperwork. As a born-and-bred northerner I’ll admit I had doubts about how much I’d enjoy a book centred entirely around the life and culture of London . . . but against all my natural instincts I found myself completely charmed by Rivers of London. Actually, perhaps ‘charmed’ isn’t quite the right word; rather, being whisked along on this peculiar journey down unfamiliar streets has left me blinking and befuddled – in a good way. Rivers of London is refreshing in that it never pretends to be anything other than it is: a shamelessly daft, irreverent and slightly ridiculous story told through a funny and engaging first person narrator. Peter Grant is a regular dogsbody in the London Met until, in the face of all probability, he’s informed that “yer a wizard, ‘arry!” and roped into joining the hidden arm of the police dealing with cases of supernatural lawbreaking. Grant’s first case as a real copper is to find out who – or what – is snatching bodies and forcing innocent people to do unspeakable things. One of the first things that stands out about the book is that Aaronovitch doesn’t shy away from violence and swearing: both are fairly prolific, yet fitting with the characters and circumstances, and the swearing never feels gratuitous despite being used largely for humorous effect. The plot of Rivers of London is enjoyably bizarre and for the most part very entertaining. There are moments of disjointedness where it feels as though the story may be losing its thread, but it always picks up again and for the most part skips along smoothly. The novel’s irreverent tone and down-to-earth characters go a long way towards combating stereotypes, as does the author’s self-awareness of the clichés he is drawing on (cue sarcastic comments and humorous Harry Potter references). To his credit, though, Aaronovitch mostly steers clear of clichés and tends instead to go for the unexpected. Ghosts? Yep, they’re real, only they’re a lot chattier and, well, cockney-er than you’ve ever seen them before. The goddess of the river Thames? She’s a Nigerian woman with a huge family and a fondness for custard creams. And the villain? Well, I won’t say anything about them, except that I never saw that coming. The way the protagonist just goes along with it all, resigning himself to his fate with a sigh, actually makes the magical aspects feel normal and totally credible: every time something new happens, be it a nest of vampires or a time-travelling ghost, instead of rolling their eyes the reader just shrugs and thinks, ‘oh, okay, cool.’ Rivers of London is a lot of fun. I can already tell the books in this series are going to be the sort of fast, fun reads that I can turn to whenever I need rescuing from a reading slump, or as a reprieve after reading something tome-ish. I get the impression that Rivers of London has barely scratched the surface of Aaronovitch’s crazy world, and I’m really, really excited to get my hands on book two, Moon Over Soho. 4/5

Review: 'Abaddon's Gate' by James S.A. Corey For generations, the solar system -- Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt -- was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus's orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark. Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them. I’m starting to feel like a stuck record when it comes to The Expanse. Having just finished the third instalment, Abaddon’s Gate, I can do little but repeat what I’ve said about the other books in the series: I described both Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War as fun, fast-paced and accessible SF adventures, and that’s exactly what Abaddon’s Gate is as well. The mysterious protomolecule has been busy since we last saw it at the end of Caliban’s War. After spending a year lurking beneath the gas clouds of Venus it has now emerged in full force and established an eerie manifestation near Uranus referred to by scientists only as ‘the Ring’. Anyone stupid enough to enter the Ring either disappears or is killed instantly. In a fragile alliance the three major forces of the solar system – Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance – embark on a research mission to try and determine what the protomolecule is really up to. But when hostilities break out once more between the allied forces the research mission becomes a race against time: figure out what the protomolecule wants, or be trapped inside the Ring forever. The physical scale of the story in Abaddon’s Gate is larger than ever before, both in terms of the space travelled and the settings. Much of the book is set on a colossal starship known as the Behemoth – formerly the Nauvoo, a generation ship built to sustain human life for hundreds of years with the aim of colonising the far side of the solar system. However, there’s also plenty of the dizzying vacuum and stifling tunnel-crawling we’ve become accustomed to throughout the first two books, which is once again effectively used to create scenes of both claustrophobic desperation and pulse-pounding excitement. On the whole I felt that Abaddon’s Gate suffered slightly in comparison to book two, Caliban’s War, though this is largely due to the absence of my two favourite characters from that book. Once again the only recurring POV character here is Jim Holden – who is thankfully just as likeable as ever, as are the trusty crew members of his ship the Rocinante. Although the other three main characters are also very engaging and sympathetic (albeit to vastly different extents) I just didn’t quite connect with any of them as much as I did with the characters from the first two books, although I have to admit that the way the relationship between Anna and Melba played out was fantastic. That said, Abaddon’s Gate captured my interest totally from beginning to end. It’s a fast, fun, exciting, slightly OTT space adventure and once again I look forward to devouring the next book in the series, Cibola Burn. 4/5

Are they re-releasing all her books? According to Amazon TWA 30th Anniversary edition is available for pre-order and is released next year - I might hold out for that one. The cover is still very cheesy though. I remember reading your reviews of both, and wondering if maybe they were a bit too hardcore for a novice like me (in terms of the concepts rather than the pornography, though I remember you saying there was quite a lot of that too ). Wouldn't want my little fantasy-saturated brain to overheat. Ooh, do you mean the Bobby Dollar books? I have the first one, The Dirty Streets of Heaven, on my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation!

Great review Gaia! I'm so excited to start reading this series. Do you think you'll read some of Sanderson's other stuff whilst you're waiting for the rest of the Mistborn books?

Thanks Steve. The Reality Dysfunction is now on my wishlist. Re Vorkosigan (Volkswagen ): should I start with Falling Free or The Warrior's Apprentice? Thank you Gaia! Otherland certainly looks right up my street. I already have Elizabeth Moon's Trading in Danger on my wishlist but will check out The Speed of Dark too - I remember you and Steve were discussing it a couple of weeks ago. Well, now I have to read him, just to resolve this dispute!

Ooh, I forgot: I read a short story called The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and enjoyed it. Anyone else read any stuff by her? I believe she mostly writes horror (I know, I know, my horizons are broadening dangerously )

I already told you I'll read Firefall!!! At some point.

Yeah, I was a bit dubious about Adams, though mainly because I really dislike the Hitchhiker films. I actually really liked the sample of Dark Eden that I read on Amazon, though I can totally see why you didn't. I've had my eye on Scalzi for a while now. Old Man's War and Lock In are both on my wishlist, and apparently Redshirts is supposed to be awesome too (but I imagine that, since it's pretty much a send-up of Star Trek, most of it will go right over my head. ). The Forever War is now on my wishlist, thanks.

Hi Michelle! Welcome, and congratulations on baby Ellie.

A HUGE thank you to the lovely Katrina for my fantastic prize! There's a selection of fancy notebooks (I especially love the red pirate-y one), some lovely writing pens, and of course the CUTEST little pink unicorn eraser! Thanks so much, Kat - now I have no excuse to let my writing lapse! And of course, here are the obligatory pictures of Fili doing what she does best: photobombing. (I have no idea why her tongue looks so much like a piece of pepperoni. )

Thanks Noll! (Sorry, only just seen this )

Been out and about quite a lot this week. Met up with a friend on Tuesday: we decided to start the world's smallest book club, and treated ourselves to a copy each of Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (on BOGOF in Waterstones). Then today I met some relatives in Bury and trawled the charity shops, ending up with these little beauties for a grand total of £3: When I popped in The Works to visit my former manager she mentioned they were looking for Christmas temps; I told her I could use some extra cash, and she basically offered me a job on the spot. So, it's been a good week all in all!

Thanks! Suggestions from other are welcome too. The guy in Waterstones recommended Douglas Adams, William Gibson and Neal Stephenson. For myself I've been looking into John Scalzi, Chris Beckett and Robert Jackson Bennett. I also really like the sound of Peter Clines' latest, The Fold.

Yeah, it sucks that they've kept you waiting around so much, but at least you've been sent home earlier and earlier every day.

The fact that you've delved straight into it tells me it must be good!

72?! Awesome. Yeah, I'm currently reading Rivers of London by Aaronovitch, which I'm actually really enjoying so far. I've looked into some of the other names and really fancy trying a few of them, namely Gavin Smith, Al Robertson and Elizabeth May.

Thank you! Yes, I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one. I'm doing really well with SF at the moment - I've just finished book 3 of The Expanse and enjoyed that too! If you have any other 'gentle' SF recommendations you think I might enjoy then I'm all ears. The guy in Waterstones today recommended Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, which looks really good.

I thought of you whilst out shopping today. Echopraxia was all over the tables in Waterstones. Blindsight was nowhere to be seen though.