Mr Ripley's Adult Sci-fi Fantasy Book Picks - Solaris 2014 - UK Post (July, Sept, October)

James Lovegrove - World of Fire - Published by Solaris (11 Sep 2014)
Dev Harmer, reluctant agent of Interstellar Security Solutions, wakes up in a newly cloned host body on the planet Alighieri, ready for action. It's an infernal world, so close to its sun that its surface is regularly baked to 1,000 C, hot enough to turn rock to lava. But deep underground there are networks of tunnels connecting colonies of miners who dig for the precious helium-3 regolith deposits in Alighieri's crust. Polis+, the AI race who are humankind's great galactic rivals, want to claim the fiery planet's mineral wealth for their own. All that stands between them and this goal is Dev. But as well as Polis+'s agents, there are giant moleworms to contend with, and a spate of mysterious earthquakes, and the perils of the surface where a man can be burned to cinders if he gets caught unprotected on the day side...

Christopher Fowler - Nyctophobia -  Published by Solaris (7 Oct 2014)
There are two things you need to know about haunted houses. One, there's never been an actual authenticated haunted house. Two, it's not the house that's haunted, but the person. Callie is a young architectural student who marries Mateo, a wine importer, and moves to a grand old house in Southern Spain. Hyperion House is flooded with light, it also has a mute gardener, a sinister housekeeper and a sealed, dark servants' quarters that nobody has the keys for. And although initially happy, and taking care of Mateo's daughter, Callie can't help being drawn to the dark empty rooms at the back of the house, and becomes convinced that someone is living in there. Uncovering the house's history, she discovers the shocking truth.
As Callie's fear of the darkness returns, she comes to understand the true nature of evil...

Christopher Priest, Garth Nix & Other - Fearsome Magics - Published by Solaris (9 Oct 2014)
A cabinet of magic! A cavalcade of wonder! A collection of stories both strange and wondrous, of tales filled with wild adventure and strange imaginings. Fearsome Magics, the second New Solaris Book of Fantasy, is all these things and more. It is, we think the best book you will read all year. Award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan has invited some of the best and most exciting writers working in fantasy today to let their imaginations run wild and to deliver stories that will thrill and awe, delight and amuse. And above all, stories that are filled with fearsome magic! Authors committed to take part in Fearsome Magics include Christopher Priest, Garth Nix, Catherynne M. Valente, Ellen Klages, Isobelle Carmody, Nalo Hopkinson, Frances Hardinge, Scott Lynch, Robert Shearman, Justina Robson, Christopher Rowe, Karin Tidbeck, K J Parker, and Justina Robson.

Eric Brown - Jani and the Greater Game - Published by  Solaris (31 July 2014)
It's 1910 and the British rule the subcontinent with an iron fist - and with strange technology fuelled by a power source known as Annapurnite - discovered in the foothills of Mount Annapurna. But they rule but at the constant cost of their enemies, mainly the Russians and the Chinese, attempting to learn the secret of this technology...This political confrontation is known as The Greater Game. Into this conflict is pitched eighteen year old Janisha Chaterjee who discovers a strange device which leads her into the foothills of the Himalayas. When Russians spies and the evil priest Durja Das find out about the device, the chase is on to apprehend Janisha before she can reach the Himalayas. There she will learn the secret behind Annapurnite, and what she learns will change the destiny of the world for ever...Jani and the Greater Game is the first book in a rip-roaring, spice-laden, steampunk action adventure series set in India and featuring a heroine who subverts all the norms.

Website: http://www.solarisbooks.com/
Twitter: @SolarisBooks 

Solaris Books: Three Great Slices Of Fiction - Out This Summer 2013 - Adult Post

                                    

Al Ewing - The Fictional Man -  7 May 2013
The most exciting new voice in SF fiction has written a novel with enormous cross-over appeal. In an L.A. where Fictional characters are cloned into living beings, the author Niles Golan is on the verge of hitting the big-time - if he can just stay on top of reality long enough to make it.

In Hollywood, where last year’s stars are this year’s busboys, Fictionals are everywhere. Niles Golan’s therapist is a Fictional. So is his best friend. So (maybe) is the woman in the bar he can’t stop staring at. Fictionals – characters ‘translated’ into living beings for movies and TV using cloning technology – are a part of daily life in LA now. Sometimes the problem is knowing who’s real and who’s not.

Divorced, alcoholic and hanging on by a thread, Niles – author of Death By Degrees: A Kurt Power Novel and many others – has been hired to write a big-budget reboot of a classic movie. If he does this right, the studio might bring one of Niles’ own characters to life. Somewhere beneath the movie – beneath the TV show it was inspired by, the children’s book behind that and the story behind that – is the kernel of something important. If he can just hold it together long enough...

                               

Ben Jeapes - Phoenicia's World -  30, July 2013

The debut SF novel by an amazing new name in Science Ficiton, Ben Jeapes. • A story of two brothers, two planets, and humankind's first attempt to colonise another world. • La Nueva Temporada is Earth’s only extrasolar colony – an Earth-type planet caught in the grip of a very Earth-type Ice Age. Alex Mateo wants nothing more than to stay and contribute to the terraforming of his homeworld. But tragedy strikes the colony, and to save it from starvation and collapse Alex must reluctantly entrust himself to the only starship in existence to make the long, slower than light journey back to Earth. But it is his brother Quin, who loathes La Nueva Temporada and all the people on it, who must watch his world collapse around him and become its ultimate saviour.

La Nueva Temporada is Earth’s only extrasolar colony – an Earth-type planet caught in the grip of a very Earth-type Ice Age. Alex Mateo wants nothing more than to stay and contribute to the terraforming of his homeworld. But tragedy strikes the colony, and to save it from starvation and collapse Alex must reluctantly entrust himself to Phoenicia, the only starship in existence, to make the long, slower than light journey back to Earth.• But it is his brother Quin, who loathes La Nueva Temporada and all the people on it, who must watch his world collapse around him and become its ultimate saviour.

                              

Lou Morgan - Blood and Feathers: Rebellion - 6, July 2013

This is the thrilling follow-up to Blood and Feathers, one of the most highly-regarded debuts of 2012. The battle between the Fallen and the Angels has turned into open warfare, on the streets of London.

"This is a war. The war. There is no stopping; no getting out. You're in this - just like the rest of us - to the end." • Driven out of hell and with nothing to lose, the Fallen wage open warfare against the angels on the streets. And they're winning.• As the balance tips towards the darkness, Alice - barely recovered from her own ordeal in hell and struggling to start over - once again finds herself in the eye of the storm. But with the chaos spreading and the Archangel Michael determined to destroy Lucifer whatever the cost, is the price simply too high… and what sacrifices will Alice and the angels have to make in order to pay it? • The Fallen will rise. Trust will be betrayed. And all hell breaks loose…

Gareth L. Powell - Ack-Ack Macaque - Book Review

                                          

Warning: This book contains graphic scenes of violence and language which is definitely not suitable for anyone under the age of sixteen.

From time to time I dip my toes into the pond and when the waves ripple then you will occasionally find me reading a book written for adults. On even rarer occasions, you may even find that I actually like it. Therefore, when this happens, I feel that I should rightfully review it; tapping the keys at this very moment I shall summarise my thoughts and feelings about this particular book. It will then be put to rest in the archive of book reviews (otherwise known as Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books library!)  

I have actually read a slightly different version of Ack-Ack Macaque a few years ago. At the time, I felt that it needed a little bit more personality and meat to it. If you're not familiar with the short story (Interzone - fiction magazine) then you may not have realised or understand why I would say this. Especially as this newer version is absolutely amazing and fantastic; the book title is also ingenious and, just like the author, I love to say it out loud. It just rolls off the tongue and makes you smile - just like the book itself. 

I love books that are firmly set in a Sci-fantasy world. This story begins in the futuristic world of 2058, where power has shifted to a stronger European commonwealth due to a merger in the late 1950's. Nuclear-powered Zeppelins, the threat of world war and the total destruction of the world is all in existence. There is a mad cult named the Undying and a twisted, power-crazed woman named Celeste, who is behind a manic plot to rule a new world. What more do you want? Well, I could begin to mention Ack-Ack Macaque and his life through the virtual world, but I really don't want to say too much more about this at this point.

The main character, Ack-Ack Macaque, is written particularly well and each scene has been very well planned and thought out. He is definitely unique when it comes to being an all action-hero. He is one that you will love to read about - a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey who particularly likes to kick ass whenever he gets the chance. He's a Spitfire pilot, who has a penchant for daiquiri and bananas, and shoots down anything from German aircraft to parachuting Ninjas. You may think that this sounds really cool and you'd be right...! 

Equally, you might be thinking at this point that this sounds a tad cheesy, but Gareth really has written a belter of a plot. It really does leave you gripped - there is certainly more to this story then just Ack- Ack. Although for me, he really does play a crucial and innovative part. Nevertheless, the story is also plagued with evil - characters such as Berg, who steals brains and electronic soles. He injects a particularly darker side to the story; he really will make your skin and flesh crawl. Parts of the story are very graphic in detail - an element that captivated me as it gave the story a hearty punch in the right direction.   

This is an action-packed story full of colossal ideas and a host of great characters - some that you will instantly love and others that you really won't. The story is very detailed; it quickly thumps along to its own rhythm. It has originality in spades and buckets full of tension; it's a fantastic world in what could be. I really connected with this book and loved every minute of it. It has a great ending which does not let you down. Instead it lets the mind stew on what may happen next, if anything. This is the best book that I have read in a very long time from the adult Sci-Fi world - I look forward to visiting this world again in the not to distant future. 

Published by Solaris - Jan 2013