2019! - Books I'm Excited About
I've read a few posts now looking back at the great books published in 2018... but I thought I'd look forwards to the ones I'm most excited about coming in 2019!
1. Sunfall, Jim Al-Khalili
Jim Al-Khalili is the presenter of some of the best science documentaries in recent years. I was fortunate enough to (briefly) meet Jim at New Scientist Live, and I am thoroughly looking forward to his debut science fiction novel. He is brilliant at explaining complex scientific principles in a simple way, and this is being billed by his publisher as cutting-edge science and set in a near-future full of dazzling technologies.
Some more of the blurb: “2041 and the world as we know it grinds to a halt. Our planet seems to be turning against itself - it would appear that the magnetic field, that protects life on Earth from deadly radiation from space, is failing . . .
Desperate to quell the mass hysteria that would surely follow, world governments have concealed this rapidly emerging Armageddon. But a young Iranian hacktivist stumbles across the truth, and it becomes a race against time to reactivate the earth's core using beams of dark matter.“
Science (Fiction)? Boom!
2. Pepperharrow, Natasha Pulley
Sequel to the 2015 breakout smash, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, the Goodreads page is saying that: "Thaniel and Mori go to Japan, apparently for Thaniel’s health, but he soon realizes that Mori has plenty of other, stranger reasons."
Not much else to go on yet, but Watchmaker and Natasha's second novel, The Bedlam Stacks, makes this a must read for me.
3. Jack Reacher, Lee Child
Reacher said nothing.
To be honest, I have no clue about title, plot or blurb. But I know I will be buying it as soon as it is available.
4. Zero Bomb, M.T. Hill
I’ve heard a little bit about Zero Bomb at this year’s EasterCon and FantasyCon and I am both intrigued and excited to find out more about this book. I know the editorial team at Titan are excited about it, which is frankly more than enough for me!
Here’s the blurb: "Following the death of his daughter Martha, Remi flees the north of England for London. Here he tries to rebuild his life as a cycle courier, delivering subversive documents under the nose of an all-seeing state.
But when a driverless car attempts to run him over, Remi soon discovers that his old life will not let him move on so easily. Someone is leaving coded messages for Remi across the city, and they seem to suggest that Martha is not dead at all.
Unsure what to believe, and increasingly unable to trust his memory, Remi is slowly drawn into the web of a dangerous radical whose ’70s sci-fi novel is now a manifesto for direct action against automation, technology, and England itself."
5. Exit Wounds (Edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan)
I’ve enjoyed a number of short story anthologies in recent years and this one has already grabbed my interest. Contributors including Lee Child (see above!), Val McDermid, and Dean Koontz; and Marie did a great job putting together the Phantoms collection in 2018.
6. After the Eclipse, Fran Dorricott
I've been reading quite a bit more crime recently, and have met Fran at a number of genre events in Derby. Early word of mouth is very positive, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she's done with the concept.
"Two solar eclipses. Two missing girls.
Sixteen years ago a little girl was abducted during the darkness of a solar eclipse while her older sister Cassie was supposed to be watching her. She was never seen again. When a local girl goes missing just before the next big eclipse, Cassie - who has returned to her home town to care for her ailing grandmother - suspects the disappearance is connected to her sister: that whoever took Olive is still out there. But she needs to find a way to prove it, and time is running out."
* * *
And, of course, there will be probably be many more I don't even know about yet - all lurking in the shadow of 2018 and waiting to get into the spotlight!
Oh, and the best books I read from 2018? Shattermoon, Embers of War, and The Cabin at the End of the World.
1. Sunfall, Jim Al-Khalili
Jim Al-Khalili is the presenter of some of the best science documentaries in recent years. I was fortunate enough to (briefly) meet Jim at New Scientist Live, and I am thoroughly looking forward to his debut science fiction novel. He is brilliant at explaining complex scientific principles in a simple way, and this is being billed by his publisher as cutting-edge science and set in a near-future full of dazzling technologies.
Some more of the blurb: “2041 and the world as we know it grinds to a halt. Our planet seems to be turning against itself - it would appear that the magnetic field, that protects life on Earth from deadly radiation from space, is failing . . .
Desperate to quell the mass hysteria that would surely follow, world governments have concealed this rapidly emerging Armageddon. But a young Iranian hacktivist stumbles across the truth, and it becomes a race against time to reactivate the earth's core using beams of dark matter.“
Science (Fiction)? Boom!
2. Pepperharrow, Natasha Pulley
Sequel to the 2015 breakout smash, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, the Goodreads page is saying that: "Thaniel and Mori go to Japan, apparently for Thaniel’s health, but he soon realizes that Mori has plenty of other, stranger reasons."
Not much else to go on yet, but Watchmaker and Natasha's second novel, The Bedlam Stacks, makes this a must read for me.
3. Jack Reacher, Lee Child
Reacher said nothing.
To be honest, I have no clue about title, plot or blurb. But I know I will be buying it as soon as it is available.
4. Zero Bomb, M.T. Hill
I’ve heard a little bit about Zero Bomb at this year’s EasterCon and FantasyCon and I am both intrigued and excited to find out more about this book. I know the editorial team at Titan are excited about it, which is frankly more than enough for me!
Here’s the blurb: "Following the death of his daughter Martha, Remi flees the north of England for London. Here he tries to rebuild his life as a cycle courier, delivering subversive documents under the nose of an all-seeing state.
But when a driverless car attempts to run him over, Remi soon discovers that his old life will not let him move on so easily. Someone is leaving coded messages for Remi across the city, and they seem to suggest that Martha is not dead at all.
Unsure what to believe, and increasingly unable to trust his memory, Remi is slowly drawn into the web of a dangerous radical whose ’70s sci-fi novel is now a manifesto for direct action against automation, technology, and England itself."
5. Exit Wounds (Edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan)
I’ve enjoyed a number of short story anthologies in recent years and this one has already grabbed my interest. Contributors including Lee Child (see above!), Val McDermid, and Dean Koontz; and Marie did a great job putting together the Phantoms collection in 2018.
6. After the Eclipse, Fran Dorricott
I've been reading quite a bit more crime recently, and have met Fran at a number of genre events in Derby. Early word of mouth is very positive, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she's done with the concept.
"Two solar eclipses. Two missing girls.
Sixteen years ago a little girl was abducted during the darkness of a solar eclipse while her older sister Cassie was supposed to be watching her. She was never seen again. When a local girl goes missing just before the next big eclipse, Cassie - who has returned to her home town to care for her ailing grandmother - suspects the disappearance is connected to her sister: that whoever took Olive is still out there. But she needs to find a way to prove it, and time is running out."
* * *
And, of course, there will be probably be many more I don't even know about yet - all lurking in the shadow of 2018 and waiting to get into the spotlight!
Oh, and the best books I read from 2018? Shattermoon, Embers of War, and The Cabin at the End of the World.
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