The Book Plank

The Apothecary's Curse by Barbara Barnett In Victorian London, the fates of physician Simon Bell and apothecary Gaelan Erceldoune entwine when Simon gives his wife an elixir created by Gaelan from an ancient manuscript. Meant to cure her cancer, it kills her. Suicidal, Simon swallows the remainder—only to find he cannot die.  Five years later, hearing rumors of a Bedlam inmate with regenerative powers like his own, Simon is shocked to discover it’s Gaelan. The two men conceal their immortality, but the only hope of reversing their condition rests with Gaelan’s missing manuscript. When modern-day pharmaceutical company Transdiff Genomics unearths diaries describing the torture of Bedlam inmates, the company’s scientists suspect a link between Gaelan and an unnamed inmate. Gaelan and Genomics geneticist Anne Shawe are powerfully drawn to each other, and her family connection to his manuscript leads to a stunning revelation. Will it bring ruin or redemption? It has been a lo...

The Mongolian Wizard by Michael Swanwick, The Mongolian Wizard #1  With "The Mongolian Wizard," Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Michael Swanwick launches a new fiction series at Tor.com -- beginning with this story of a very unusual international conference in a fractured Europe that never was. Last week I came across the most recent Mongolian Wizard story of Michael Swanwick, THe Night of the Salamander , over at Tor.com. I like the story a lot but it left like I was missing something. And no wonder, The Night of the Salamander is already the fifth book in The Mongolian Wizard series. Browing a bit more on Tor.com I found the story that start it all. Also called The Mongolian Wizard. The Mongolian Wizard  starts with a very nice first sentence that readily got me in the mood for the story." The wild griffins for which the region was famous were sporting in the sky above the snow-clad peaks of the Riphean Mountains when Sir Toby arrived at Schloss Greiffenhor...

The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis, The Alchemy Wars #1 My name is Jax. That is the name granted to be by my human masters. I am a clakker: a mechanical man, powered by alchemy. Armies of my kind have conquered the world - and made the Brasswork Throne the sole superpower. I am a faithful servant. I am the ultimate fighting machine. I am endowed with great strength and boundless stamina. But I am beholden to the wishes of my human masters. I am a slave. But I shall be free. I learned about this book last year during my LonCon3 visit, the premise sounded amazing and ever since having read Bitter Seeds and Something More Than Night I have been very taken by the way that Ian Tregillis devises his stories, they are great to start with but have much more working in their favor, they have big idea's, very creative and are to be honest in certain parts quite ruthless. The Mechanical is the lastest addition to the so far impressive line up of books that Ian Tregillis has written, and...

Pacific Fire by Greg van Eekhout, Daniel Blackland #2 I'm Sam. I'm just this guy. Okay, yeah, I'm a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can. Daniel's the reason the Hierarch's gone and I'm still alive. He's also the reason I've lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel's determined to protect me. To teach me. But it gets old. I've got nobody but Daniel. I'll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl. Now it's worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction. Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel's been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Man...

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic #1 Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit. Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London - but no one speaks of that now. Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs h...

  Victoria's Favourite Literary Celebrations “The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” in Alice in Wonderland. I’m a fan of wordplay, overlapping dialogue, and this classic scene is so manic and strange and quippy that I had to put it on the list. “The Floating Market at Harrod’s” in Neil Gaiman’s  Neverwhere.  It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Neil Gaiman’s work, and  Neverwhere  is my favorite of his books. The combination of chilling villains and hidden worlds is magical enough, but the Floating Market was such a wonderful detail, it’s stuck with me long after I put the book back on its shelf. “The Venture Ball” in Brandon Sanderson’s  Mistborn . This scene where Vin and Elend first meet is just delightful, the perfect balance of atmosphere and witty banter and action. Vin is a street urchin posing as a young noble, and Elend is avoiding the entire thing and reading a book. “The Red Wedding” in George R.R. Martin’s  Storm of...

Excerpt: Bloodrush by Ben Galley Synopsis: “Magick ain’t pretty, it ain’t stars and sparkles. Magick is dirty. It’s rough. Raw. It’s blood and guts and vomit. You hear me?” When Prime Lord Hark is found in a pool of his own blood on the steps of his halls, Tonmerion Hark finds his world not only turned upside down, but inside out. His father's last will and testament forces him west across the Iron Ocean, to the very brink of the Endless Land and all civilisation. They call it Wyoming. This is a story of murder and family. In the dusty frontier town of Fell Falls, there is no silverware, no servants, no plush velvet nor towering spires. Only dust, danger, and the railway. Tonmerion has only one friend to help him escape the torturous heat and unravel his father’s murder. A faerie named Rhin. A twelve-inch tall outcast of his own kind. This is a story of blood and magick. But there are darker things at work in Fell Falls, and not just the railwraiths or th...