General Update

Just a note to remind those interested that Alastair Reynolds' The Prefect (****) is now available in the United Kingdom from Gollancz. My review is located here. The book is a very good SF thriller and, as both chronologically the earliest book in his Revelation Space universe and also somewhat more accessibly-written than his other works, marks a good point to jump into Reynolds' work.






American fantasy fans should be aware that Book 5 of Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Midnight Tides, is now available from Tor Books. This is a solid slice of epic fantasy and a worthy addition to the series which overcomes the initial problem of not featuring any locations or characters previously encountered in the series (with one exception). It's also the funniest book in a sometimes grim series. A proper review of the Malazan series will follow at some point, but on its own merits I would give the novel a rating of ***. Book 7 of the same series, Reaper's Gale gets its UK debut on 7 May, whilst the mass-market paperback of Book 6, The Bonehunters, was also recently published in the UK.


I am currently reading China Mieville's excellent first novel for children, Un Lun Dun, and will have a review soon.