Viriconium by M.John Harrison
Viriconium gathers Harrison’s stories about the great city Viriconium,
the empire that rose after the fall of the Afternoon Cultures, and the struggles
that surround them, their art and legends, and their connection to our world.
The collection starts with “The Pastel City,” in which two queens, Methvet Nian
and Canna Moidart, battle for control of the empire; Lord tegeus-Cromis and the
last survivors of his order fight for Methvet Nian against the rapacious
Northerners and the terrifying geteit chemosit, remnants of the late
Afternoon Empires. In “A Storm of Wings,” the great airman Benedict Paucemanly
returns from the moon, bearing with him an invasion of locustlike creatures who
come from the stars and threaten to destroy the human world. The final story
connects Viriconium to our world through mirrors and strange stories of those
who traveled into great Viriconium and returned forever changed. Harrison
creates an epic history of a captivating and strange metropolis full of bravos
and dancers, intrigue and romance. Regina SchroederCopyright ©
American Library Association. All rights reserved
The Cold Commands by Richard K.Morgan
With The Steel Remains, award-winning science fiction writer Richard K.
Morgan turned his talents to sword and sorcery. The result: a genre-busting
masterwork hailed as a milestone in contemporary epic fantasy. Now Morgan
continues the riveting saga of Ringil Eskiath—Gil, for short—a peerless warrior
whose love for other men has made him an outcast and pariah.
Only a select few have earned the right to call Gil friend. One is Egar, the
Dragonbane, a fierce Majak fighter who comes to respect a heart as savage and
loyal as his own. Another is Archeth, the last remaining daughter of an
otherworldly race called the Kiriath, who once used their advanced technology to
save the world from the dark magic of the Aldrain—only to depart for reasons as
mysterious as their arrival. Yet even Egar and Archeth have learned to fear the
doom that clings to their friend like a grim shadow . . . or the curse of a
bitter god.
Now one of the Kiriath’s uncanny machine intelligences has
fallen from orbit—with a message that humanity faces a grave new danger (or,
rather, an ancient one): a creature called the Illwrack Changeling, a boy raised
to manhood in the ghostly between-world realm of the Grey Places, home to the
Aldrain. A human raised as one of them—and, some say, the lover of one of their
greatest warriors—until, in a time lost to legend, he was vanquished. Wrapped in
sorcerous slumber, hidden away on an island that drifts between this world and
the Grey Places, the Illwrack Changeling is stirring. And when he wakes, the
Aldrain will rally to him and return in force—this time without the Kiriath to
stop them.
An expedition is outfitted for the long and arduous sea
journey to find the lost island of the Illwrack Changeling. Aboard are Gil,
Egar, and Archeth: each fleeing from ghosts of the past, each seeking redemption
in whatever lies ahead. But redemption doesn’t come cheap these days. Nor, for
that matter, does survival. Not even for Ringil Eskiath. Or anyone—god or
mortal—who would seek to use him as a pawn.
Life: An Exploded Diagram
Can love survive a lifetime? When working-class Clem Ackroyd falls for Frankie Mortimer, the gorgeous daughter of a wealthy local landowner, he has no hope that it can. After all, the world teeters on the brink of war, and bombs could rain down any minute over the bleak English countrysidE—just as they did seventeen years ago as his mother, pregnant with him, tended her garden. This time, Clem may not survive. Told in cinematic style by acclaimed writer Mal Peet, this brilliant coming-of-age novel is a gripping family portrait that interweaves the stories of three generations and the terrifying crises that de? ne them. With its urgent sense of history, sweeping emotion, and winning young narrator, Mal Peet’s latest is an unforgettable, timely exploration of life during wartime.
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyefsky
This edition for Hovel Audio is abridged:
Despite the harsh circumstances besetting his own life — object poverty, incessant gambling, the death of his firstborn child — Dostoevsky produced a second masterpiece, The Idiot, just two years after completing Crime and Punishment. In it, a saintly man, Prince Myshkin, is thrust into the heart of a society more concerned with wealth, power and sexual conquest than with the ideals of Christianity. Myshkin soon finds himself at the center of a violent love triangle in which a notorious woman and a beautiful young girl become rivals for his affections. Extortion, scandal and murder follow, testing Myshkin’s moral feelings as Dostoevsky searches through the wreckage left by human misery to find “man in man.” The Idiot is a quintessentially Russian novel, one that penetrates the complex psyche of the Russian people. “They call me a psychologist,” wrote Dostoevsky. “That is not true. I’m only a realist in the higher sense; that is, I portray all the depths of the human soul.”
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Can’t tell you how happy I am that Hovel Audio asked me to narrate this Dickens’ Classic:
The tale begins on Christmas Eve seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner Jacob Marley. Scrooge is established within the first stave (chapter) as a greedy and stingy businessman who has no place in his life for kindness, compassion, charity, or benevolence. After being warned by Marley’s ghost to change his ways, Scrooge is visited by three additional ghosts “each in its turn” who accompany him to various scenes with the hope of achieving his transformation. The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to the scenes of his boyhood and youth which stir the old miser’s gentle and tender side by reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to several radically differing scenes (a joy-filled market of people buying the makings of Christmas dinner, the family feast of Scrooge’s near-impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit, a miner’s cottage, and a lighthouse among other sites) in order to evince from the miser a sense of responsibility for his fellow man. The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, harrows Scrooge with dire visions of the future if he does not learn and act upon what he has witnessed. Scrooge’s own neglected and untended grave is revealed, prompting the miser to aver that he will change his ways in hopes of changing these “shadows of what may be. ” In the fifth and final stave, Scrooge awakens Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart, then spends the day with his nephew’s family after anonymously sending a prize turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner. Scrooge has become a different man overnight, and now treats his fellow men with kindness, generosity, and compassion, gaining a reputation as a man who embodies the spirit of Christmas. The story closes with the narrator confirming the validity, completeness, and permanence of Scrooge’s transformation.
The Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
From Publishers Weekly: Charlie Howard, the self-mocking narrator of Ewan’s Good Thief Guide series who’s both a mystery writer and smallscale thief, once again shows he’s not terribly good at either in his diverting third outing (after 2008′s The Good Thief’s Guide to Paris). Set largely in the fictional Fifty-Fifty hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nev., the book opens with Howard picking the pocket of Josh Masters, the casino’s resident magician. Armed with Masters’s wallet, Howard visits Masters’s suite (with a nice bit on breaking into the magician’s personal safe) only to discover what appears to be a dead body floating in the bath. The stakes rise when Masters disappears during his own magic show– during a trick using Howard’s literary agent, Victoria, as a volunteer–and the casino’s security men detain the pair. Those looking for suspense or intricate plotting will be disappointed, but fans of light comic capers will be rewarded. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist: Ewan, whose earlier Good Thief guides have visited Paris and Amsterdam, continues on his merry way. Charlie Howard, the crime writer who moonlights as a thief (or maybe it’s the other way around), is in Sin City, planning to make off with healthy cache of casino chips belonging to a third-rate illusionist. But the dead body in the magician’s bathtub ain’t no illusion, and now Charlie has to pull off the toughest robbery of his career or face the consequences. The comic caper novel isn’t exactly something new (Donald Westlake was doing them 40 years ago, and he didn’t invent them, either), but Ewan, through a combination of engaging characterizations, suspenseful stories, and sharp writing, makes the Good Thief novels feel fresh and exciting. The comparison to Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series, also full of comedy and also starring a good-hearted thief, is entirely appropriate, though Ewan is no mere Block imitator. This novel will definitely appeal to fans of comic mysteries and caper novels. –David Pitt
The Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
From Publishers Weekly: Charlie Howard, a crime writer who’s also an international burglar, once again makes a funny, fast-talking narrator in Ewan’s delightful second mystery (after 2007′s The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam). Tipsy after a Parisian book signing, Charlie agrees to show a new acquaintance the basics of the trade by breaking into the man’s own apartment. Trouble ensues when the apartment actually belongs to someone else. Charlie’s fence commissions him the next day to break into the same apartment to steal an apparently worthless painting, and the apartment’s real owner turns up dead in Charlie’s apartment. Hiding in a Montmartre hotel, Charlie tries to save his skin while also placating his attractive agent, Victoria, who’s arrived unannounced only to discover that the client she’s grown so close to by phone looks nothing like the author photo he provided. That Charlie pens a memoir titled The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam adds a nice postmodern touch to a classic caper. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist: *Starred Review* Mystery author and professional thief Charlie Howard is back in an all-new comic caper, this time set in the City of Lights. Having recently published a fake (but not really fake) memoir of a professional thief, Charlie is on the book circuit in Paris and falls in with a bohemian crowd living and working at the Paris Lights bookshop. He breaks into an apartment on a lark with a fan he met at a reading and the next day is offered a job to break into the same apartment. That might not have been so bad if the owner hadn’t turned up murdered in his apartment later that day. Charlie is on the run, trying to finish the job, get his money, keep his good name, and stay alive. This time, though, his ever-useful London agent, Victoria, is in Paris, and although she is not happy to discover Charlie’s lies, she is willing to help. Fast and funny, Ewan’s second offering in the Good Thief series is even better than the first, with more fully developed secondary characters and a tighter plot. Charlie and Victoria’s discussions of mystery stories and plotting problems in Charlie’s latest novel are just one of the reasons this series stands out from the crowd. –Jessica Moyer
Trackers by Deon Meyer
Lemmer’s first rule is: “Don’t get involved.” A highly skilled bodyguard with a violent, criminal past, he has settled into a quiet life in Loxton, South Africa, where the rural tranquility has helped to calm his explosive temper. But when a wealthy farmer asks for his help in smuggling a pair of rare black rhinos out of Zimbabwe (where they are murdered for their horns), he has a hard time saying no. Before he knows it, Lemmer is on a small airplane, zipping across the border, an airsickness bag in his hand and a military-grade shotgun at his feet. Soon, he will regret the trip very much.
In Trackers, internationally-acclaimed thriller writer Deon Meyer expertly weaves together Lemmer’s story with a missing person investigation and the machinations of a top intelligence agency. Wielding a phenomenal cast of characters, Meyer delves deep into the people, the breathtaking landscapes, and the politics and problems of this fascinating country. A #1 best-seller in South Africa, Trackers is an insightful novel that will take your breath away.
Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva
Gabriel Allon, master art restorer and spy, returns in a spell binding new novel from the #1 New York Times best selling author Daniel Silva.
Gabriel Allon has been hailed as the most compelling creation since “Ian Fleming put down his martini and invented James Bond” (Rocky Mountain News), and “one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series” (Philadelphia Inquirer). A man with a deep appreciation for all that is beautiful, Gabriel is also an angel of vengeance who will stop at nothing to see justice done. Sometimes he must journey far in search of evil. And sometimes evil comes to him.
In a dangerous world, one extraordinary woman can mean the difference between life and death . . .
For Gabriel and his beautiful Venetian-born wife, Chiara, a pleasant weekend in London turns deadly when the newly retired operative spots a man exhibiting traits common to suicide bombers. But before Gabriel can prevent the attack, he is knocked to the pavement and can only watch as a scene from his nightmares unfolds.
Haunted by his failure to stop the massacre of innocents, Gabriel returns to his isolated cottage on the cliffs of Cornwall, until a summons brings him to Washington and he is drawn into a confrontation with the new face of global terror. At the center of the threat is an American-born cleric in Yemen to whom Allah has granted “a beautiful and seductive tongue.” A gifted deceiver, who was once a paid CIA asset, the mastermind is plotting a new wave of attacks.
Gabriel and his team devise a daring plan to destroy the network of death—from the inside—a gambit fraught with risk, both personal and professional. To succeed, Gabriel must reach into his violent past. A woman waits there—a reclusive Saudi heiress and art collector who can traverse the murky divide between Islam and the West. She is the daughter of an old enemy, a woman joined to Gabriel by a trail of blood. Together they form an unlikely and dangerous bond.
Set against the disparate worlds of art and intelligence, Portrait of a Spy moves swiftly from the corridors of power in Washington, to the glamorous auction houses of New York and London, to the unforgiving landscape of the Saudi desert. Featuring a climax that will leave readers haunted long after they turn the final page, this deeply entertaining story is also a breathtaking portrait of courage in the face of unspeakable evil—and Daniel Silva’s most extraordinary novel to date.
The Good Thief’s Guide To Amsterdam/Venice by Chris Ewan
A bit late to present these here but it’s been a busy week as I traveled to Rhode Island to record both these books in the studios of AudioGo (formerly BBC Audiobooks America)
Amsterdam:
Starred Review. This impressive debut, a comic whodunit from British entertainment lawyer Ewan, owes much of its charm and success to its compelling antihero, Charles Howard. An established author of mysteries featuring a burglar-detective, Howard himself is a successful burglar. While finishing his latest novel in Amsterdam, Howard receives a cryptic invitation via his Web site and follows his curiosity to a meeting with a mysterious American who somehow knows of the author’s secret profession. Howard initially declines the commission to steal two small plaster monkeys, but when he succeeds in his assignment, he finds his client has been brutally bludgeoned. After becoming a suspect, Howard scrambles to understand the link between the monkeys and a diamond heist over a decade earlier. The ease with which Ewan creates a memorable protagonist and pits him against a plausible and tricky killer will be the envy of many more established authors. The detection is first-rate, and Howard is a fresh, irreverent creation who will make readers eager for his next exploit.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Venice:
Charlie, a gentleman thief to rival Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief,” gallivants around Venice in the next caper in this “sparkling”* series.
After a particularly bad streak of luck in Vegas, Charlie has retreated to Venice, having vowed to give up a life of crime to write crime fiction full-time. But inspiration has yet to strike. And to make matters worse, Charlie’s agent Victoria shows up at his door just as his prized first edition of The Maltese Falcon flies out the window with a femme-fatale burglar. Blackmailed into committing a dastardly crime in order to get his book back, Charlie is catapulted into yet another adventure, this one even more explosive than the last.
