Science Fiction and Fantasy novels take centre stage this week
as the spotlight hits our QBD Brisbane City team.
The Scar by China Mieville: The Scar builds on the world created in Mieville’s award winning “Perdido Street Station”, and outdoes it in every way.
A sprawling, dark steampunk adventure in an almost Moby Dick-style setting, The Scar tells the story of Bellis Coldwine, who has secured passage on a ship away from her home city, only to have it raided by pirates, be taken hostage and brought to the fabled floating pirate city, Armada. What follows is a grim and fantastical adventure full of spectacular quasi-human races, corruption, monolithic sea monsters, and a finale so intense and bloody George RR Martin would be proud.
The Scar is a book so eloquent in its writing and so unique in vision it almost defies description. A winner of the British Fantasy & Locus awards, nominated for the Arthur C Clark and Hugo awards, The Scar is an absolute must read for any fan of Science Fiction or Fantasy. – Liam (Store Manager)
At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen: Set in Scotland, 1945 – just before the end of World War 2, At The Water’s Edge is a fantastic historical fiction novel that examines the effects the war had on those that weren’t on the front line. Told from the point of view of Madeline Hyde, who is forced leave America with her husband and his best friend after being cut off from their family in disgrace for being unable to serve in the war, At The Waters Edge follows the trio as they attempt to regain favour by hunting down the Loch Ness monster. An excellent historical fiction novel with powerful characters and a compelling story, At The Waters Edge is a great read for fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Morton or Kate Forsyth.- Gloria
Tales of the Ketty Jay 01: Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding: If ‘Firefly’ left you wanting more, look no further.
Follow the story of Darian Frey, captain of the airship ‘Ketty Jay’ and his crew of misfits, the alcholoic doctor Malvery, the aristocratic daemonist Crake and his golem Bess, their new navigator Jez, the cowardly pilot Harkins, the quiet mechanic Silo, the resident cat and Harkins’ greatest enemy Slag, and the guy who has just enough intelligence to tell friend from foe, Pinn.
After a heist gone horribly, horribly wrong, Frey and his crew must use all of their (quite limited) resources to clear their names. Along the way, watch as they uncover a conspiracy, try not to murder each other, and slowly reveal their hidden pasts. This book is a wonderful and fun pirates tale full of fighting, running, aerium, daemons and plenty of alcohol for the crew.- Christoph
Wild Cards edited by George R R Martin: Superheroes are as messed up as normal people! This series of books is written by several different authors per book and controlled(edited) by the overlord of fantasy himself George R R Martin. An alternative history novel that begins with an alien virus attack in the aftermath of WW2 causing some people to develop superpowers(called Aces) and some who got the powers but were mutated into monstrous shapes (called Jokers). As they all try to adjust to what the virus has done to them they try to work out how to live their lives just like we do now; with job problems( Bubbles the supermodel with extreme weight issues), relationship problems (how do you break up nicely with someone who can raise the dead?) and choosing a cool superhero name (Popinjay is not as bad as he sounds) while at the same time saving the world. This series of books is for fans of the Watchmen movie and graphic novels, and contains the one reality show I would watch: Superheroes with big egos crammed in big brother style, and elimination challenges that have a body count. – Geoff
Neuromancer by William Gibson: As one of the Seminal Science fiction authors of the early 80’s William Gibson’s debut novel Neuromancer defined the Cyberpunk genre, pioneering the core concepts that now underpin modern Science fiction. Coining many of the now familiar phrases such as Cyberspace and The Matrix, Neuromancer follows the self destructive, narcotic dependant, ex-hacker Case after his central nervous system is burnt out. This neurological damage permanently locks him out of cyberspace forcing him to desperately hunt for any kind of cure at any cost. Combining a fantastic mix of high-tech and low life Neuromancer is a franticly paced ride through a world of tarnished chrome and flickering Holograms that will hook you from the very first page and keep you guessing till the very end. – Lindsay
