“Dog Stars” by Peter Heller (Headline)

Quite possibly the strangest book of which I’ve tried to form an opinion

Hig, bereaved and traumatised after global disaster, has three things to live for - his dog Jasper, his aggressive but helpful neighbour, and his Cessna aeroplane. He’s just about surviving, so long as he only takes his beloved plane for short journeys, and saves his remaining fuel.

But, just once, he picks up a message from another pilot, and eventually the temptation to find out who else is still alive becomes irresistible. So he takes his plane over the horizon, knowing that he won't have enough fuel to get back. What follows is scarier and more life-affirming than he could have imagined. And his story, THE DOG STARS, is a book unlike any you have ever read.

I have rather mixed feelings about this book. Parts of it were superb, others not so much. It was bittersweet, heart-wrenching, evocative and engrossing. It was also a little boring, over done and eccentric. I almost gave up on it before the end of part one. But I’m glad I stuck with it. Should you read it? Probably. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before, and yet also highly familiar. It’s rather uneventful for long periods of time, and yet I was hooked.

Guest Post: Living With The Consequences (or Why I Can No Longer Read the X-Men) – by Jonathan Wood

Jonathan Wood is the author of No Hero and Yesterday’s Hero. I invited him to write a guest post, and he has decided to get something off his chest about Marvel. It’s a grumble we have in common…

As a general rule, I try not to wish death on anyone. I’m not always successful (I’m looking at you jackass, singing along to your MP3 player on the crowded subway car. You can be taken down by a herd of horny wildebeest and I will stand by, cheering them on), but I try.

That said, man did I want Jean Grey to die.

An Interview with EVIE MANIERI

Evie Manieri’s Blood’s Pride was a pleasant, surprise discovery – it introduces us to a new fantasy world, populated with rich, diverse characters and cultures. It is a story of rebellion, family and adventure. As a Debut Author to Watch, and with Blood’s Pride hitting shelves imminently, I thought it would be a great time to ask the author about her novels, writing and how she’s enjoying being a writer. And discovered her opinion on automatons…

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1 – “Legacy” (Marvel)

Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning | Artist: Paul Pelletier | Inks: Rick Magyar | Colours: Nathan Fairbairn

Back-to-back Annihilation wars have weakened the boundaries of our universe. Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon many worlds. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers – the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy!

Collects: Guardians of the Galaxy #1-6

After it was announced that Marvel Studios was going to be making a Guardians of the Galaxy movie (currently penciled in for 2014, apparently), I was interested to give the series a try. It’s written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, too – a writing duo who have, thus far, failed to disappoint. I stumbled across a mint-condition remaindered copy of this first volume in a local bargain bookstore, so snapped it up and dove right in. It’s a… different sort of Marvel comic, but I had a blast reading it.

Upcoming: “Colder” (Dark Horse) – Updated

I like the teaser image below for a number of reason. First, because I would really like to read the upcoming series Colder. Second, because I totally used to be that kid, sneaking a read at night. Third, because it’s just a really cool picture.

As far as I’m aware, Colder is a new series coming up from Paul Tobin (the author of Prepare to Die and a number of comics, who I interviewed here). Here’s some more artwork, this time from the cover of issue one:

“The Broken Isles” by Mark Charan Newton (Tor)

The final book in The Legends of the Red Sun

The culmination of the Legends of the Red Sun series. This takes us back to Villiren where Commander Brynd Lathera prepares for the coming battle ahead with invaders from the other world.

Villjamur is gone, Rika and her sister Eir are all that remains of the Jorsalir line and Brynd is determined that Rika will lead her people in the creation of a new city and new culture.

But Villiren has never been a city to play by the rules and, despite the impending threat of destruction, criminal gangs work to undermine everything that Brynd has set out to do. The world is on the brink of destruction and anarchy...

Final books in series are always tricky. Will the author tie everything up with a lovely bow for readers? Will there be vague, open-ended solutions that will have fans guessing and debating what really happened? Will it be an awful mess? There are many decisions and pitfalls that can catch the unwary or incautious author. But with The Broken Isles, Newton has pretty much dodged them all. This is a great ending. The story is top notch, as we can expect. I think each book in the Legends of the Red Sun series has improved in every way, and The Broken Isles is no exception, with great writing, an exciting story, and engaging characters.

[Despite my best efforts, there are some spoilers in this review. If you haven’t read the first three books in Legends of the Red Sun, I obviously think you should go read them now, as the whole series is fantastic. However, if you want to keep reading this review, you should proceed with caution.]

Upcoming: “Captain America” #16

This is just a quick artwork post. I got this image a couple days ago from Marvel, and thought it was good enough to share this far in advance. The art is by Steve Epting, and I love how action-packed and dynamic it is:

Sadly, I wasn’t able to find a high-res image file of the cover artwork without the text, but it’s still pretty striking.

I won’t share the synopsis for this episode, though, because it contains quite a few spoilers. Captain America #16 is released this coming week, on August 8th.

I haven’t been reading this series of Captain America, because I want to finish Brubaker’s first run on the series, before starting on the post-Siege event “re-boot”.

Civilian Reader Abroad

Forgot to post a link to this when it went up, but your humble blogger was interviewed for Jo Fletcher Books’ blog the other day. Hope people find it interesting.

“Blood’s Pride” by Evie Manieri (Jo Fletcher/Tor)

An intriguing new voice in fantasy

A generation has passed since the Norlanders’ great ships bore down on Shadar, and the Dead Ones slashed and burned the city into submission, enslaving the Shadari people. Now the Norlander governor is dying and, as his three alienated children struggle against the crushing isolation of their lives, the Shadari rebels spot their opening and summon the Mongrel, a mysterious mercenary warrior who has never yet lost a battle. But her terms are unsettling: she will name her price only after the Norlanders have been defeated. A single question is left for the Shadari: is there any price too high for freedom?

I had never heard of Blood’s Pride before I got my hands on a copy of the book. After diving in with very little information, it turned out to be a very interesting, well-written start to an epic fantasy series. It’s not perfect, but I found myself addicted to the world, and fascinated by the relationships and differences between the characters, races and cultures.

An Interview with JONATHAN WOOD

With the second novel in Wood’s Arthur Wallace series, Yesterday’s Hero, now available, I thought it would be a great time to learn a little more about the pulpy, supernatural urban fantasy series, its author, and his writing process.