Giveaway: THE RETURN MAN by V.M. Zito (Hodder)

To celebrate the UK mass-market paperback release of V.M. Zito’s excellent post-apocalyptic zombie tale, Hodder has been running a number of giveaways. Including this one! I read the novel last year – and really enjoyed it – so to whet your appetite, here’s the synopsis:

The outbreak tore the US in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness, known by survivors as the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.

Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again. But in the wastelands of America, you never know who — or what — is watching you.

In order to be in with a chance of winning one of FIVE copies of the novel, all you have to do is either…

… leave a comment with some form of contact info (Twitter handle, anti-spam-style email address, etc.)

… email me at the address at the very bottom of the page

This will be a relatively short giveaway, so I’ll be leaving this open for one week – until midnight, Thursday 15th November. This giveaway is UK ONLY. I’ll announce the winners, who will be picked at random, on here (in the comment thread and also in a new post, probably) shortly thereafter.

Sorry about that readers from elsewhere, but I’ll see what I can do about a worldwide or regional giveaway in the near future.

Winter Soldier Vol.1, “The Longest War” (Marvel)

Bucky steps out into his own series

Writer: Ed Brubaker | Artist: Butch Guice | Inks: Stefano Gaudiano, Brian Thies, Tom Palmer & Butch Guice | Colours: Bettie Breitweiser, Jordie Bellaire & Matthew Wilson | Covers: Lee Bermejo

He’s been Bucky and Captain America – now, James Barnes returns to the role of the Winter Soldier!

They’re the super-spies of the Marvel Universe – and when ex-Russian sleeper agents awaken, Bucky and the Black Widow must go on the hunt for men trained by the Winter Soldier himself. But when the trail leads to Latveria, Bucky comes face-to-face with Dr. Doom!

Can Bucky and the Widow prevent war with Latveria? Can Bucky stop the sleepers he trained?

Collects: Fear Itself #7.1: Captain America & Winter Soldier #1-5

I’ve really enjoyed the books in Ed Brubaker’s first run on Captain America (I’ve read the first half of that volume, at the time of writing this). In fact, that series, recommended to me by Myke Cole, bears a lot of responsibility for me reading more Marvel titles, after I was disappointed with my re-entry in Summer 2011. I particularly liked the way Brubaker brought back James “Bucky” Barnes into the Marvel universe. Bucky is now the Winter Soldier, a clandestine operative working alongside with Black Widow and reporting to Nick Fury. He is also attempting to atone for his past as a Soviet spy and assassin. This is quite a different, superb Marvel comic.

Upcoming: “Emilie & The Hollow World” by Martha Wells (Strange Chemistry)

Another eye-catching cover from an upcoming Strange Chemistry release, this time for Martha Wells’s Emilie & The Hollow World:

Here’s the synopsis:

While running away from home for reasons that are eminently defensible, Emilie’s plans to stow away on the steamship Merry Bell and reach her cousin in the big city go awry, landing her on the wrong ship and at the beginning of a fantastic adventure.

Taken under the protection of Lady Marlende, Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use the aether currents and an experimental engine, and with the assistance of Lord Engal, journey to the interior of the planet in search of Marlende’s missing father.

With the ship damaged on arrival, they attempt to traverse the strange lands on their quest. But when evidence points to sabotage and they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with the strange race of the sea-lands, Emilie has to make some challenging decisions and take daring action if they are ever to reach the surface world again.

Sad to say, I haven’t read anything by Martha Wells at this point, but I’ve heard great things about Cloud Roads, Serpent Sea and Siren Depths. I hope to get around to them at some point.

An Aside: HELLBOY Timeline

I loved the movies, and I’ve enjoyed what few B.P.R.D. comics I’ve read, so when this appeared in my email inbox, I thought I’d share it:

[Click to – hopefully – enbiggen]

“The Racketeer” by John Grisham (Doubleday)

Grisham’s latest legal-conspiracy thriller

Given their importance, the controversies that often surround their work, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of the United States, only four active federal judges have been murdered. Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland. On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. The judge’s body was found in his remote lakeside cabin. There was no forced entry, no struggle, just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

What was in the safe? The FBI want to know. Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price…

The Racketeer is another good novel from Grisham, an author whose work has rarely disappointed me. The novel plays to some of Grisham’s strengths – particularly his commentary on the American legal and penal systems, but it is not without its minor flaws. It was enjoyable, certainly, and definitely well-written and tightly-plotted. That being said, there was a definite turning point around the middle when I went from loving the novel, to slight and momentary confusion, before coming back around to enjoying it. I am, therefore, slightly conflicted about the book.

Comics Catch-Up: Boom Studies

Pretty explanatory what this post is all about. Boom have really been able to keep a good position in the super-hero genre. With the end of both Irredeemable and Incorruptible (both my Mark Waid), I was worried I would miss out on alternative super-hero awesomeness. Thankfully, Si Spurrier came along with Extermination, which I can’t recommend highly enough. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning brought us Hypernaturals, a good (if slightly uneven) sci-fi super-hero extravaganza. Sam Humphries stepped up with Higher Earth, a dimension-hopping mystery that shows a great deal of promise, but is also quite uneven at times. In addition to these, there’s also Fanboys vs. Zombies, which is usually just a lot of nerd fun, but this issue was a little lackluster, I thought.

And finally this week, the debut issue of much-anticipated and talked about (but sadly disappointing) Freelancers.

I don’t know why, but I think I was in a bad mood when I read most of these. Only Extermination really ignited my interest, although the others do have interesting stuff to offer. Hypernaturals is improving, though, after a bit of a lull.

Reviewed: Extermination #5, Fanboys vs. Zombies #7, Freelancers #1, Higher Earth #5 & 6, Hypernaturals #4 & 5

Upcoming: Neil Gaiman’s “Ocean at the End of the Lane”

Shamelessly pinched from the great A Dribble of Ink, I thought I’d share what is, at least, nearing-completion cover art for Neil Gaiman’s next novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I think it’s a pretty amazing image:

Now, I have a confession to make: I haven’t read a lot of Gaiman’s work. I’ve read and enjoyed Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett) and American Gods, which I thought was amazing. However, I’ve just never got around to reading any of his other novels or graphic novels – and I really want to read Sandman…

Anyway, here’s the publisher’s synopsis for the novel, which I shamelessly pinched from Gaiman’s LiveJournal (which is a reliably interesting read, too, by the way):

The Ocean At The End of the Lane is a novel about memory and magic and survival, about the power of stories and the darkness inside each of us.

It began for our narrator forty years ago when he was seven: the lodger stole the family's car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and a menace unleashed -- within his family, and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.

His only defense is three women, on a ramshackle farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying and elegiac -- as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark.

Which sounds suitably strange and cool. I’ll hopefully get this read and reviewed for the site, but I’m going to stop making promises like that because a) I’m finding myself with less time for reading, and b) I seem to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of book-funk that rarely lets me settle on a book that I’ve been eagerly waiting for… Maybe I’m just going nuts…?

Cable & Deadpool Vol.1, “If Looks Could Kill” (Marvel)

Writer: Fabian Nicieza | Artists: Mark Brooks & Patrick Zircher

Wade Wilson (Deadpool) and Nathan Summers (Cable) are back, and this time they’re stuck with each other! Can two grown men armed to the teeth with deadly genetic weaponry live together without driving each other crazy?!

Collects: Cable & Deadpool #1-6

I’d never read any comics featuring Deadpool before this one, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew he was sometimes referred to as mouthy, and Ryan Reynold’s portrayal of the character in Wolverine certainly fit the part (indeed, the actor even gets a mention in this series). It wasn’t the best book I’ve read, and there didn’t seem to be enough focus on character development as I would have liked. It’s fun, but by no means the most rewarding comic I’ve read. Nevertheless, I’ll be reading book two quite soon…

“Stolen Prey” by John Sandford (Putnam)

A family massacred, a possible money laundering scheme, rampaging hitmen…

Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Wayzata, an entire family has been killed — husband, wife, two daughters, dogs.

There’s something about the scene that pokes at Lucas’s cop instincts — it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he’s seen in drug killings sometimes. But this is a seriously upscale town, and the husband was an executive vice president at a big bank. It just doesn’t seem to fit.

Until it does. And where it leads Lucas will take him into the darkest nightmare of his life.

This is just a quick review. Stolen Prey is the 22nd novel in Sandford’s Prey/Lucas Davenport series, and it’s another strong installment – though not the strongest. It shows off Sandford’s skill for great pacing and prose, although I think it’s possible the author was trying to cram a little too much into the novel, which gave it a rather meandering feel to it. It doesn’t “fail” as a thriller at all, and it was still gripping and engaging, but I think Sandford has written stronger novels in the past.

New York after Sandy

This is a clip from yesterday’s Rachel Maddow Show, in which she offers a stark video of the electricity situation on Manhattan:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We’re in Astoria, which has been – amazingly – left largely unscathed by Sandy’s passage. We saw a few downed trees (below) and some downed power lines by the largest community church, but other than that we have escaped unharmed. I’ve said it in other venues, but it feels a little like we somehow cheated…