Stacking the Shelves

Posted March 24, 2018 by Nicky in General / 24 Comments

Well, I’ve been too good to be true lately with my reasonably small hauls, so here’s a nice big one! Granted, this includes some books that were sent to my parents’ place over the last couple of months that I’ve only just picked up, but it’s still… well… a little unwieldy.

I’ll start off with the review copies and stuff from subscription boxes… although first you get a bunny picture because I’m away from my precious idiots. (Hulk update: this week she ate a rubber band. It has not yet reappeared. Breakfast update: he only needs meds in the morning now, and he’s very pleased by this.)

Hulk and Breakfast snuggle together under our duvet

Review copies and subscription boxes:

Cover of The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green Cover of The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton Cover of The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Cover of Fury of the Tomb by S.A. Sidor Cover of Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk

An odd mix, perhaps! Looking forward to some of these a lot, though. Fury from the Tomb in particular sounds like a lot of pulpy fun.

Books bought:

Cover of Autonomous by Annalee Newitz Cover of Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear Cover of The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang Cover of They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera

Cover of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Cover of Witcheskin by Nem Rowan Cover of The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude Cover of Murder in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft

Cover of An Incredible Crime by Lois Austen-Leigh Cover of Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith Cover of Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R.Lorac Cover of Catullus' Bedspread by Daisy Dunn

Again, quite the mixture, I know! I’ve been curious about the British Library Crime Classics for a while, and especially since reading Martin Edwards’ The Golden Age of Murder. I don’t expect to be blown away by most of them, but they’ll be entertaining and unlikely to be horribly traumatising (sorry, modern crime fiction lovers — Val McDermid and Tess Gerritsen’s works turn my stomach).

Read this week:

Cover of Ironclads by Adrian Tchiakovsky Cover of A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe Cover of Masquerade by Laura Lam Cover of Sum by David Eagleman

I haven’t read the most ever this week, but I did enjoy these books and read all of them in one or two sittings each! So that’s something.

Reviewed this week:

Ironclads, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Fairly good adventure story with an anxiety-making (or anxiety-reflecting, maybe) Brexity corporate background. I didn’t love it, but I found it entertaining. 3/5 stars
A Borrowed Man, by Gene Wolfe. Fascinating background, but the execution is basically pretty typical noir. The more I think about it, the less I think of it. 3/5 stars
Experiment Eleven, by Peter Pringle. This had much less about TB than I’d hoped, but it is a rather interesting examination of two scientists and their intellectual property battle over the antibiotic streptomycin. 3/5 stars
Masquerade, by Laura Lam. Yaaaaas. Micah is awesome, the supporting characters continue to be awesome, and there’s an epic showdown. Only quibble is that some of the political aspects feel too easy. 4/5 stars
Sum, by David Eagleman. Interesting collection of short stories based around a single theme. They got a bit repetitive, but there are some really good bits too. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW WednesdayMy usual weekly update on what I’m reading, what I’ve just read, and what I might read next.

How’s everyone doing? Brought in a massive haul this week, or practising restraint? Lemme know in the comments!

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24 responses to “Stacking the Shelves

    • Yeah, they have some pretty cool covers! It’s a nice set, though I doubt I’ll ever collect them all.

      The bunnies are pleased with the praise!

    • No sign yet, but she seems to be fine! I think she’d survive a targeted strike — she’s indestructible.

      I’m looking forward to trying the Evelyn Hardcastle book, too!

  1. I’m reading The Rift this week and enjoying it more than I expected to (which is odd, because I really wanted to read it when I first heard about it, then I cooled off – but it’s beautifully executed). I have treated myself to a pre-order of The Tea Master and the Detective because YAY new Aliette space opera novella and also Sherlock Holmes in space!
    imyril recently posted…The Bitter TwinsMy Profile

  2. Nice book haul! I like the look of Autonomous- that looks like that could be good! And The Cornish Coast Murder does too (I love those covers).

    Hope the bunny is okay and doesn’t have any problems with the rubber band.
    Greg recently posted…Sunday Post #238My Profile

    • I’ve heard good things about Autonomous! And yeah, the British Library Crime Classics have some really nice atmospheric covers. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to some Golden Age crime fiction!

    • Fingers crossed! And I’m not sure I’m going to get into it from what I’ve heard about it, but I got it in a subscription box, so… we’ll see!

  3. This is a big haul but it’s also awesome – I think I want all of your books, except for They Both Die at the End because I have it too, ha ha! The British Library Crime Classics look like so much fun! Autonomous looks great too – would love to read it.
    Andreea recently posted…The Weekend Post #13: HangoverMy Profile

    • They are. <3 My precious babies. And yeah! I read Labyrinth ages ago as a buddy read with my sister, and we’re both looking forward to trying something new by Kate Mosse.

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