Two girls go missing from a rural English town.  Peter Grant is sent to that town on a  routine mission  to check up on individuals  with magic powers,  living in the area.   Initially,  his inquiries go no where, finding no connection between these individuals and the missing girls.  But he does  not return to London. Instead, he decides to stay on and help the local police. He gradually gets drawn further and further into the investigation,  finding that there’s more to the case than meets the eye. I won’t go any further than that.  Since, this is a  mystery story and,  therefore,  is easily spoilt.

I have mentioned, in the previous reviews, that reading along with awards encourages you to read outside of your comfort zone. Apologising for  repetition, I have to say that,  I  would have never had  read this book if it hadn’t been for the Locus Recommended long list. I don’t know why, but, I never felt any incentive to read this book. I now have to admit that i was missing out.. This book is a fun read.

In my last review, I mentioned that one of the positive things about reading the award shortlists was that they encouraged you to read outside of your comfort zone. This is definitely true in the case of the Locus Recommended Reading list.  This is the second book that I would never have read if I hadn’t been reading that list.  I don’t generally read Children’s fiction or YA.  This is especially true if I haven’t heard of the author, or if the author hasn’t written an adult novel.  I would have never read this book. I would have missed out on an extremely enjoyable read.

Zen Starling is a Railhead who travels on world crossing trains and steals to survive.  He lives with his sister and disturbed mother in a deprived area of the city. One day when he is carrying out a theft at a high end Jewellers, he finds that he is being followed by a young girl and shadowy older figure. He dodges, trying to avoid them both but is eventually caught by one and rescued by another. I won’t say much more because I then get into spoiler territory and I want you to read this book. 

This book has all my favourite elements. The work centres on the lives of Railheads that travel these trains often conducting low level crime to survive. It has sentient trains that cross worlds who help those for who they feel sorry and act as graffiti curators keeping the art work that they like while destroying the rest.  It has androids, hive minds made out of bugs, and a shadowy government. What’s more it’s set in a really interesting urban, almost cyberpunk landscape. It deals with the discrepancy between the worlds of rich and poor.  It looks at identity, asking what does it mean to be me and can we ever become someone else.  It asks the questions ‘what does it mean to be human’ and who can we really trust?

This book was a really fun, well written read.  It will engross you from the first to last page. The characters are, at once, likeable and nuanced.  The world is wonderfully drawn. For me, it was a five star read.  It’s too early to say yet but I am betting that it will be one of my favourite books of 2016.

A young woman knocks on the door of an eminent “Super Villain”, demanding to become his apprentice. Reluctantly, he accepts.   The collision of these two characters causes both of their worlds to explode.  Nimona must learn to understand the complexity of the world and her position in that world. She must come to terms with the ambiguous character of her boss, both villain and hero.  Nimona, and the reader must learn to accept the love/hate, dare I say ‘homoerotic,’ relationship between the hero and the villain, as well as the conflagration of their two roles.   She must come to an understanding of the arbitrary nature of both their situations.

I can see why many people love this work. It works as a brilliant satire/subversion of the superhero, fantasy, genre. It dissects many of its tropes.    Nimona is an interesting, strong, mischievous, nuanced female character who subverts the role of the young chosen protagonist.  The sort of character that should be at the heart of many more books. The relationship between her Boss and his rival, with all its quiet ‘queerness’ is interesting.   In addition, the blurring of their roles subverts the hero and villain stereotypes that exist in literature.  The art is glorious, at times mirroring, and referencing,  classic work such as The Bayeux Tapestry. But, there seems to be a barrier between me and the work.  I can’t emotionally connect with Nimona. It seems to be too clean and clinical. The art is too clean and mainstream. The subversions too transparent. But, that might be due to the fact that it is a children’s book.  However, I am glad that it is getting attention. I would recommend this work to anybody who loves LumberJanes or any of the BOOM studio’s output.  I would also recommend it for any young  teenage girl in your life. 

Well toria what's your latest hair brain scheme?

 What do you mean hair brained scheme?  

Well you know what you are like you get an idea and it either, takes up all your time or you give up at the first hurdle.  

Well, I kinda guess that's fair.

 It is, but you still haven't told me what you plan to do

I plan to read some award long lists/ short lists;  including the locus recommended reading list,  the BSFA ,  the Andre Norton, the Ditmars, the international Mann booker, and a few more  

Have you hit your head on something?  Do I need to call 999?  Whhhy?

Well, firstly, many of these are genre and I didn't read much of this last year, which is a problem given that that is the kind of book that I am supposed to be reviewing.  Secondly, when I looked at the already available lists, I found that I had many of the works sitting, unread on my Kindle or on my shelve.  I thought that reading the lists might be the incentive I need to clear some of that TBR.  

So let’s look at the lists

NOVELS – SCIENCE FICTION
The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi (Borzoi; Orbit UK)
Clade, James Bradley (Penguin Australia)
The Darkside War, Zachary Brown (Saga)
Corsair, James L. Cambias (Tor)
Tracker, C.J. Cherryh (DAW)
Nemesis Games, James S.A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Dark Orbit, Carolyn Ives Gilman (Tor)
Weighing Shadows, Lisa Goldstein (Night Shade)
Europe at Midnight, Dave Hutchinson (Solaris)
Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Dark Forest, Cixin Liu (Tor)
Luna: New Moon, Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
Galapagos Regained, James Morrow (St. Martin’s)
Going Dark, Linda Nagata (Saga)
Planetfall, Emma Newman (Roc)
The Book of Phoenix, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW; Hodder & Stoughton)
Where, Kit Reed (Tor)
Poseidon’s Wake, Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz; Ace 2016)
The Thing Itself, Adam Roberts (Gollancz)
Aurora, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Glorious Angels, Justina Robson (Gollancz)
Regeneration, Stephanie Saulter (Quercus; Jo Fletcher 2016)
The End of All Things, John Scalzi (Tor)
Seveneves, Neal Stephenson (Morrow)
Chasing the Phoenix, Michael Swanwick (Tor)
Radiance, Catherynne M. Valente (Tor)
Persona, Genevieve Valentine (Saga)
A Borrowed Man, Gene Wolfe (Tor)

NOVELS – FANTASY
Foxglove Summer, Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz 2014; DAW)
A God in Ruins, Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown; Doubleday UK)
Karen Memory, Elizabeth Bear (Tor)
Nightwise, R.S. Belcher (Tor)
Beneath London, James P. Blaylock (Titan)
The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard (Roc; Gollancz)
Prodigies, Angelica Gorodischer (Small Beer)
Wylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand (PS; Open Road)
Empire Ascendant, Kameron Hurley (Angry Robot US; Angry Robot UK)
The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf)
The Liminal War, Ayize Jama-Everett (Small Beer)
The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Killing Pretty, Richard Kadrey (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
Finders Keepers, Stephen King (Scribner)
Archivist Wasp, Nicole Kornher-Stace (Big Mouth House)
Slade House, David Mitchell (Random House; Sceptre UK)
Uprooted, Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
Savages, K.J. Parker (Subterranean)
The Annihilation Score, Charles Stross (Ace)
Pacific Fire, Greg Van Eekhout (Tor)
The Philosopher Kings, Jo Walton (Tor)

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
Half a War, Joe Abercrombie (Del Rey; Harper Voyager UK)
Half the World, Joe Abercrombie (Del Rey)
Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo (Holt; Indigo UK)
Wonders of the Invisible World, Christopher Barzak (Knopf)
The Darkest Part of the Forest, Holly Black (Little, Brown)
Lair of Dreams, Libba Bray (Little, Brown; Atom UK)
Harrison Squared, Daryl Gregory (Tor)
The Lie Tree, Francis Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s; Amulet 2016)
Magonia, Maria Dahvana Headley (Harper)
Shadowshaper, Daniel José Older (Levine)
The Shepherd’s Crown, Terry Pratchett (Harper; Doubleday UK)
The Deep Woods, Tim Pratt (PS)
Railhead, Phillip Reeve (Oxford University Press; Switch 2016)
Carry On, Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Bone Gap, Laura Ruby (Balzer + Bray)
Nimona, Noelle Stevenson (HarperTeen)
The Walls Around Us, Nova Ren Suma (Algonquin Young Readers)
Zeroes, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti (Simon Pulse)
Hollowgirl, Sean Williams (Allen & Unwin as Fall; Balzer + Bray; Electric Monkey UK)

FIRST NOVELS
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho (Ace; Macmillan UK)
The Devourers, Indra Das (Penguin India; Del Rey 2016)
The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson (Tor)
Flesh & Wires, Jackie Hatton (Aqueduct)
The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu (Saga)
The Weave, Nancy Jane Moore (Aqueduct)
Signal to Noise, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Solaris)
Last Song Before Night, Ilana C. Myer (Tor)
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK)
Archangel, Marguerite Reed (Arche)
Vermilion, Molly Tanzer (Word Horde)
Abomination, Gary Whitta (Inkshares)
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com)

- See more at: http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/02/2015-locus-recommended-reading-list/#sthash.64QhrZAw.dpuf

The Nebulas

• Ancillary Mercy, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard, Lawrence M. Schoen (Tor)
• The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
• The Grace of Kings, Ken Liu (Saga)
• Raising Caine, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)
• Updraft, Fran Wilde (Tor)
• Uprooted, Naomi Novik (Del Rey)

The Andre Norton

Finalists

• Archivist Wasp, Nicole Kornher-Stace (Big Mouth House)
• Bone Gap, Laura Ruby (Balzer + Bray)
• Court of Fives, Kate Elliott (Little, Brown)
• Cuckoo Song, Frances Hardinge (Macmillan UK May 2014; Amulet)
• Nimona, Noelle Stevenson (HarperTeen)
• Seriously Wicked, Tina Connolly (Tor Teen)
• Shadowshaper, Daniel José Older (Levine)
• Updraft, Fran Wilde (Tor)
• Zeroboxer, Fonda Lee (Flux)

The BSFA

Novel

• Europe at Midnight, Dave Hutchinson (Solaris)
• Glorious Angels, Justina Robson (Gollancz)
• The House of Shattered Wings, Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz)
• Luna: New Moon, Ian McDonald (Gollancz)
• Mother of Eden, Chris Beckett (Corvus)

2016 Norma K Hemming Award Shortlist

Posted on February 22, 2016

The 2016 Norma K. Hemming Award finalists have been announced. The award is given by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation for thought-provoking approaches to race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in Australian speculative fiction.

• Novel: The Hush by Skye Melki-Wegner, published by Penguin Random House
• Novel: The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig, published by HarperVoyager
• Novel: Theophilus Grey And the Demon Thief by Catherine Jinks, published by Allen & Unwin
• Novel: The Orchid Nursery by Louise Katz, published by Lacuna Publishing
• Novella: “The Pyramids of London” by Andrea K Höst, self published
• Novella: “Formaldehyde” by Jane Rawson, published by Seizure Books
• Novel: Welcome to Orphancorp by Marlee Jane Ward, published by Seizure Books

2015 Aurealis Awards Shortlists

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)

The Fire Sermon, Francesca Haig (HarperVoyager)

Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)

Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

The Hush, Skye Melki-Wagner (Penguin Random House Australia)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)

Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, Alison Goodman (HarperCollins)

Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)

The Dagger’s Path, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)

Tower Of Thorns, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Skin, Ilka Tampke (Text Publishing)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Crossed, Evelyn Blackwell (self-published)

Clade, James Bradley (Penguin)

Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

Their Fractured Light, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

Renegade, Joel Shepherd (Kindle Direct)

Twinmaker: Fall, Sean Williams (Allen & Unwin)

See all that yellow.  There would be even more if I included the Locus list