November’s Most Anticipated

Haven’t done this sort of post in a while, but I thought I would as I am surprisingly on the ball for November’s releases (which makes a nice change, given my low rate of reviews recently). Five have stood out particularly for me this coming month (all but one of which I already have). They’re not the only releases for November that are interesting, though, so here’s a simple list and some thoughts for the coming month.

- Graham McNeill, The Outcast Dead (already reviewed)

- CL Werner, The Red Duke (Werner’s superb, and this is about vampires, so I have no doubt it’s going to be awesome)

- Michael Sullivan, Theft of Swords (really been looking forward to this, but irresponsibly keep pushing it back)

- Mazarkis Williams, The Emperor’s Knife (almost halfway through this one already)

- Batman Noel (a graphic novel, an excerpt of which has been included in a number of DC’s New 52 titles, and it looks good enough to warrant investigating)

I’m also looking forward to reading Condoleezza Rice’s latest memoir, No Higher Honor – it covers her years in Washington, and I’m hoping for some interesting observations on the two Presidents Bush’s administrations and her other responsibilities while in DC. I own and have read more books on the George W. Bush presidency than any other, and I think Rice’s new tome could offer some interesting new insight into those tumultuous and eventful years. Of course, it could do the exact opposite and offer nothing new whatsoever. But, I’m hopeful…

It’s a bit of a slower month than October for anticipated releases, but given that I didn’t get nearly as much read as I had hoped last month, this should give me the opportunity to also catch up on some of the novels and books that I’ve not been able to read and review in a timely fashion. Namely:

- Kevin Hearne, Hexed (Hammered is also on my list – released in the UK in November – but I need to read book two before cracking open book three. It just makes sense… Loved Hounded)

- N.K. Jemisin, The Kingdom of Gods (the final book in Jemisin’s thus-far superb trilogy – reviews here and here for the first two)

- Chris Wooding, The Iron Jackal (loved both of the previous novels – reviewed here and here – and have been hearing very good things about this one already)

- Richard Morgan, The Cold Commands (second in Morgan’s debut fantasy series – can’t really remember what happened in The Steel Remains, but I do remember thinking it was awesome)

- Terry Pratchett, Snuff (no comment necessary – it’s Pratchett. Of course I’m going to read it)

- Stephen Deas, The Warlock’s Shadow (enjoyed the first novel in this series, will be interesting to see how it continues)

Part of the problem with being on the move is that I’m not sure what books have been arriving from publishers at my UK address (apparently many packages have arrived – so thank you to all publishers, and apologies for not sending thank you emails!). This gives me blog anxiety... (Which is a silly thing to worry about, I know.)

Now that I’m settled in New York, however (job hunting continuing in its oh-so soul-destroying manner), I think I’ll be able to get more novels and non-fiction read, so hopefully the blog will start getting a little more activity beyond a blizzard of comic reviews. I have a few author interviews that have already been completed and questions being pondered by three other authors, so I hope to get the weekly interviews back on track.

Speaking of comics, I’ve really enjoyed getting back into reading them, so they won’t go away entirely. The weekly New 52 round-up will continue until I leave New York (very difficult to keep up-to-date in Peru, unless I get a tablet PC or something). I’m also thinking that collected editions might be the way to go – they’re a much more substantial reading experience, and I do often find the single-issue comics way too short considering how much they cost.

In addition to the Batman title mentioned above, I’m going to look at some older titles that have caught my eye recently (Joss Whedon’s comic work is of particular interest – Fray, Astonishing X-Men), and also some recommendations from other bloggers. I’d like to try out Warren Ellis’s Captain Swing, which has a collected edition out sometime in November as well. Depending on whether or not I like Wild Cards, the shared-universe series created by George R.R. Martin, I might check out the Dan Abraham-written graphic novel set in that universe, The Hard Call. (I’ve seen a couple of ads for the graphic novel and the reissues of the first two short story anthologies, and the premise really intrigues me – let me know in the comments if you’ve ever read them and what you think of them.)

So, lots of plans, but we all know how they go in the real world. I’m also looking for other people to write reviews for CR – make it a bit busier and more representative of all genres, rather than just what I like. Anyone interested, send me an email (address at the bottom of the page).