June marks the halfway point of the year, I
just can’t believe that the first part of the year is already gone. Feels to
soon and seems like I haven’t read nearly enough! Looking a bit back on June I
must say that I was pleasantly surprised with several books that I had the
chance to read they went above my expectations.
So without further ado, here are my picks for
June.
1.
Three by Jay Posey (Angry
Robots Books)
I have only recently finished this book, but man did it leave an impact. With the brief synopsis and the amazing cover art this book was really provoking me to read it. The world that Jay Posey creates within Three is awesome, it’s post apocalyptic, destroyed, high tech, dark and gritty. The characters that you are introduced to are quite the same, though Three, the main protagonist still remains obscure until the end it does seem that you learn about him and his past but still there are many questions left unanswered. This same goes for the Weir, what they are and how they came to be is unclear but what I learned from them is pretty pretty cool!
2.
Son of Heaven by David Wingrove (Corvus)
The Chung Kuo series was originally written in 1989 but has been recently revised and given a new life by Corvus. Adapting the original 8 book to a 20 books series named the Chung Kuo Recast. Featuring a lot of new work by David Wingrove, revising several of the books and featuring 2 whole new books for the prologue of the series. Son of Heaven is the first prologue of the series and I was very surprised by this book. It is not the standard science fiction that you read about but from the first page the setting of this book is just epic. If this is the tone for the prologue, I think you will be in for a treat for the rest of the series.
3. In Thunder Forged by Ari Marmell (Pyr)
Last year Pyr and Privateer Press made the announcement that they were novelizing The Iron Kingdoms with two books to be released in 2013 and In Thunder Forged being the first one. In Thunder Forged couldnt have been a better start for the series. Ari Marmell has really written up an understanding first book in the series. Breaking down several of the aspects of The Iron Kingdom perfectly, and even if you are not well known to this series, you will still have a lot of pleasure reading this. I guarantee that! It has a lot of action, brutal most of the times, hints of espionage mixed in the lot as well and already you see several of the classes of The Iron Kingdoms like Storm Knights, War Jacks and yes! GUNMAGES! Its good stuff
4. Joyland by Stephen King (Titan Books)
The newest book of Stephen King released last June by Titan Books "Hard Case Crime" series. I have always been a huge Stephen King fan and can safely say that I have read most of his work so far. However Joyland is a bit different compared to his more thriller and horror themed stories. It reads like a classic King book but the overall themes that are being tackled in Joyland are quite different. Stephen King shows that he is a master story teller with the coming-of-age story of Joyland.
5. Clockwork Century by Cherie Priest (Tor UK)
I have heard a lot of good things about The Clockwork Century and I have read the first three books in June and more as a first I am going to nominated this whole series as a favorite. There had to be a first for everything? Cherie Priest excels in many things with The Clockwork Century series. Looking back at Boneshaker, I couldn't have imagined that the series would progress so far in only three books. Cherie Priest creates a very rich atmosphere in The Clockwork Century, that is really bolstered by each character that you meet, whether they are protagonists or fulfill secondary roles, Cherie Priest each gives them their own personality and voice. It's a great series to read.
This was my selection for June, I hope you had just as an fruitful reading month as me!
I did got some new books in the post last month and lets have a look to some of the titles that I really look forward to reading in July, in other words, what is on the plank:
Middle Earth by David Wingrove (Corvus)
I read the first two prologue's of the Chung
Kuo Recast and Middle Earth was the first book in the original series so I am
really curios as to how this book will follow up on the prologue.
The Clone Alliance by Steven L. Kent (Titan Books)
In March I did the first two books in The
Clone Rebellion and they were pretty cool to read about, Steven L. Kent
explores so deep science fiction in his series and I am very eager to continue
in this
The Inexplicable by Cherie Priest (TorUK)
Already the last book publishes - so far - in
the Clockwork Century. Like I said above and in my individual reviews, read
this series period! (Fiddlehead, book 5 in the series is out due November)
Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough (Jo Fletcher Books)
It has been a while since I have read an pure
dark crime and detective story, and with the mentioning of overshadowing Jack
the Ripper, this must be right up that alley.
But of course I plan to do a lot more book in July! so keep an eye out for the reviews that will follow soon.
And as always thanks to all the publishers and authors that have sent books me and keep helping me with reading addiction :-)
Bests,
Jasper