Dan Hanks. Angry Robot. (400p) ISBN 9780857669384 Let’s start this off with the fact that I’m a great fan of Angry Robot, they always seem to release great books 🙂 Cisco is the only one that remembers Deadman’s Grin, this has not been great for his life and marriage as he also can’t let go. …
Fantasy
A Madness of Angels
Kate Griffin. Little Brown. (496p) ISBN 9781841497334 I have several books I reread if I get into a bit of a rut and find myself unable to read, A Madness of Angels is one of them. Familiarity is one of the main reasons, but this is such a great example of urban fantasy with a …
Treacle Walker
Alan Garner. 4th Estate Books. (160p) ISBN 9780008477790 I preordered this the moment I heard that Alan Garner was releasing a new book, his take on mythology in children’s fiction is always wonderfully nuanced and executed. All the way through this there was the feel of an epic poem or a folk ballad with the …
La Belle Sauvage
Philip Pullman. Penguin. (592p) ISBN 9780241365854 I’ve had the special edition of La Belle Sauvage with the Lynx daemon sat on my shelves since it was released but never got around to reading it. I found this on the RBDigital service whilst looking through for a fantasy or sci-fi book to listen to and thought …
The Promise Witch
Celine Kiernan. Walker Books. (224p) ISBN 9781406373936 I’d been waiting on The Promise Witch forever, or that’s how it felt as the first two in the trilogy were soooo good. From the start I realised that I was really going to enjoy this adventure with Mup and Crow, we see old enemies return and new …
How to Be a Hero
Cat Weldon. Pan Macmillan. (256p) ISBN 9781529045031 I received this from Pan Macmillan at the end of last year in exchange for a review, the way time has been going recently that feels like an absolute age ago. How to be a Hero follows the (mis)adventures of Whetstone (a useless thief and an orphan) and …
The Time of Green Magic
Hilary McKay. Pan Macmillan. (224p) ISBN 9781529019247 I was really lucky to get a proof copy of The Time of Green Magic from Macmillan as I really loved The Skylarks’ War and was looking forward to this. When Theo and Polly met Abi’s life went through some big changes, two families blended, and she didn’t …
The Last Spell Breather
Julie Pike. Oxford University Press. (304p) ISBN 9780192771605 I picked The Last Spell Breather up in a pack of proofs from OUP Childrens that had been in the staff room for a while. Wow! From the first page this was a non-stop adventure with an intriguingly original magical system, cracking cast of characters, and a …