Narcopolis, by Jeet Thayil
Narcopolis, a multi-generational trawl through the vivid backstreets of Bombay, is poet and performance artist Jeet Thayil’s debut novel, and it shows. Not because it lacks structure or skill – it doesn’t – but because it possesses a keen dynamism and urgency that, were it not for the very adult subject matter, one would be tempted to describe as child-like.
The ‘drug novel’ inspires trepidation and occasionally despair in many readers. Greats of the genre, such as Naked Lunch by William Burroughs and A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick, delve so deeply into the ‘reality’ of drug-induced psychosis that they can feel incomprehensible, perhaps even indulgent. Happily, while Narcopolis contains wildly inventive, at times hilarious and horrifically surreal sequences – particularly memorable is a depiction of the Bombay rainy season, with junkies and pushers as ship-wrecked mariners clinging to life, or sanity – this is not a charge that can be levelled at Thayil. As his well-drawn characters, from pimps to poets, fall deeper under the opium spell, losing their sense of self to their dependency, the author never takes his hand from the narrative tiller.
Pure, by Julianna Baggott
Ever since the detonations the world has been split in two. There are those who were singled out for safety before disaster struck. They were taken to the Dome where they still live, safe, secluded and Pure; unblemished by the devastation that destroyed the rest of the world. Outside live those who weren’t deemed good enough to be saved. They were out in the open when the detonations shook the world and those that didn’t die are now maimed and fused with objects they happened to be holding or were close to at the time of the blasts.
Pressia is one of those who live outside, struggling to stay alive and fearing her sixteenth birthday. Once she’s 16 she will have to leave her grandfather, her only surviving relative, and report for duty. Either she’ll be trained to be a soldier, or if she’s deemed too weak, she’ll be turned into prey, to be hunted down and killed. Although life is bleak and dangerous Pressia hangs on to vague memories and stories about life before the destruction and believes the message that came from the Dome at the time: “We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now we watch from afar, benevolently.” Others are not so sure that the Dome has any benevolent intentions.
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates
Richard Yates called Revolutionary Road his political novel. There is, in fact, no politics in the book. However upon its release in 1961 Richard Yates had produced a novel about dark desperation and the constant want to escape. Although the book was not a financial success in the 1960s it seems Sam Mendes’ film saved the wonderful work of the very under-appreciated writer. Now, however, Richard Yates’ books are for around for all to enjoy.
Revolutionary Road tells the story of Frank and April Wheeler who live in the Connecticut suburbs on the verge of a breakdown. Bored and dissatisfied with their lives April decides to construct a plan – that they move to Paris with their two children and start over. As the plan begins to form events are set in motion that lead to the evitable downfall of not just their plan of happiness but the marriage. Read more
Honor’s Paradox, by P.C. Hodgell
P.C. Hodgell’s Jame is back, tumbling down flights of stairs, off of horses, and into and out of the haunted spaces of Rathillien. She is finally nearing the end of her time at Tentir, the school where the Kencyrath send their people to learn the arts of war, and survive, or not, on their own. Jame has been the target of more than one attempt to ensure her failure, or worse, and there is more to come, a final test that will decide her future and the future of the Knorths left on Rathillien.
Of course, Jame’s life isn’t solely complicated by dangerous training and those willing to arrange fatal accidents, she still has responsibilities as the Earth Wife’s favourite–and Rathillien itself is stressed to the breaking point, depending on her to set the balance right.
This is Hodgell’s sixth book in the Kencyrath series, and it continues the complex world building and inventive back-story that have enthralled readers for over a decade. Jame has become so much more than the terrified and lost young girl who fought her way out of Perimal Darkness, and Hodgell’s writing has a deft lyricism that effortlessly pulls her readers into a world where even the fish of the rivers have a haunting and ethereal nature. Reality is fluid in these novels, and the uncertainty found in change a haunting refrain:
Jame’s first thought was I’ve gone deaf. After the confusion above, the silence below clamped down on her like jaws. No, that was the water flooding into her clothes. Numb and heavy, she sank. The light above receded. Where was Prid? Where was the bottom? Shallow as the river must be here, she seemed to be descending into an abyss. In its depths in a great roiling, the Eaten One struggled against its attackers.One by one, they detached, uncoiled, and disintegrated like ribbons of shadow.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The concept of the “Great American Novel” has always seemed to me like nationalist navel gazing. Aside from an unwavering desire to brand its cultural products (witness a vast number of films prefixed with the word “American”), I’ve always felt there was something triumphalist about American refusal to be content with the more humble term “national epic.” However, I recently finished To Kill a Mockingbird, and my hostility evaporated.
Published in 1960 and set in 1936, To Kill a Mockingbird has spent fifty years being adored, revered, and analysed, to the point where any further comment seems almost redundant. Atticus Finch stands as one of the most iconic protagonists in 20th century literature (and film, thanks to the Oscar-winning exploits of Gregory Peck), and his fictional example has inspired myriad factual forays into the legal profession. Read more
Lacrimosa, by Régis Jauffret
Régis Jauffret is a contemporary French author with over 20 works to his name. Lacrimosa is the first to be translated into English, and the first offering by Salammbo Press, a new publisher dedicated to introducing contemporary fiction from “foreign” novelists to English-speaking readers. His previous novels include Sévère, a fictionalized account of the sex scandal associated with the financier Edouard Stern, soon to be made into a film.
The book is written as a series of letters between an older man and a younger woman who were lovers, of sorts, before her death. He reflects on the events leading up to her suicide; she writes back from a dismal afterlife; a nothingness, as she expresses it.
The Ascendant Stars, by Michael Cobley
So the trilogy ends (how many times have I written that in the last few years?) – and Humanity’s Fire reaches its conclusion. Following on from the packed Seeds of Earth and The Orphaned Worlds, Cobley has given himself plenty of loose ends to tie up: the fate of Darien hangs in the balance, with the forces of the Legion of Avatars in control of the Warpwell, a portal to the dimensions of hyperspace that could allow them to re-invade the galaxy and re-ignite aeons-old conflicts, Artifical Intelligence against flesh-and-blood sentience. Meanwhile, other human groupings have to decide how best to help Darien and oppose the Sendrukan Hegemony that now oppresses it.
Although aided by a summary of preceding books (a welcome addition), the reader is still very much thrown in at the deep end. There are numerous races, factions, characters and locations to keep track of – and in to the mix this time Cobley introduces a virtual reality that spans the galaxy, a medium explored by several characters in their quest to prevent the end of the universe. This is because while the Legion of Avatars just wants to reinvade the galaxy and destroy everything in its way, there is another, ghastlier plot involving the ancient entity known as the Godhead, whose agents are trying to detonate nuclear warheads in such as way as to ignite numerous supernovas and obliterate its enemies.
Naked Heat, by Richard Castle
Everybody knows it, it’s an open secret. When world-famous author Rick Castle writes about Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat he’s really writing about Richard Castle and Kate Beckett. Castle, who resembles Nathan Fillion so strongly they could be twins, swung a deal to shadow the renowned New York homicide detective and her team to provide material for his next Derrick Storm book and then sort of stayed around. His first Nikki Heat story, Heat Wave, followed soon after and was an even bigger NYT bestseller and Naked Heat joined it there before even being published!
Rook and Heat get back together to investigate the murder of a muck-raking but remorselessly accurate gossip columnist. Back together after Rook’s story about Heat and the NYPD hit First Press magazine with a stunning shot of Heat posing for the front cover. Tension and friction from that run cover to cover in Naked Heat, and their simmering relationship provides a backdrop for the rest of the investigation.
The Diviner’s Tale, by Bradford Morrow
Cassandra Brooks leads a somewhat insular and refrained social life, because she has a calling as a diviner. Although her skill is in water divination, she sometimes has pre-sight where she can visualise/sense something that’s about to happen to people. This included the death of her brother, which despite voicing her concerns was unable to prevent. Over the many years of living in a small rural New York community, her ability has made her somewhat of an outsider.
Lost in thought one day whilst undertaking a survey of water sources for a developer, she comes across the body of a dead girl swinging from the limb of a tree. She informs the local police authorities, but upon return to the scene the body has vanished, without trace of ever being there. Beginning to think she must have imagined this, feeling awkward and somewhat foolish, knowing this only strengthens people’s opinion of her weirdness, a similar girl is found near the area in the woods – alive. But something isn’t right and she is bothered by the turn of events; what happened to the girl, how did she get there? The path she ventures gets her involved in something much closer to home and her childhood past…
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Finders Keepers, by Belinda Bauer
‘You Don’t love him,’ the first message the kidnapper leaves at the scene after the abduction of the first Exmoor victim, 8-year-old Charlie Peach. A seemingly plotted and deliberate act with inside reason. But the suspense unfolds as more children are snatched without a trace and a similar note left – not all of them however could have been pre-planned.
A wide search of the area is undertaken by police, led by Reynolds, a somewhat cocky, self-absorbed Detective Inspector, with a body of personal insecurities. His Sergent, Rice a steadfast, reasoned individual with good instincts at his side. But their search fails to find the children, whilst valuable time passes and the welfare for the taken children heightens. PC Jonas Holly having recently returned to work after the violent death of his wife, joins them on the case, but remaining distant, and a bit of a personal threat to Reynolds, he is never really trusted. Rice however seems more than a little attracted to Jonas, not an expected move for such a well attuned individual, almost a little warped given the stinted re-adjustment Jonas has struggled to make after his wife’s harsh death. Read more
The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
I have to say that, despite the spelling, I found the title of Lynch’s début quite misleading. I wonder if it was deliberate on his part, or maybe it’s just me? Before I read the blurb, I assumed it was about a place, perhaps in Scotland. No. Locke is the protagonist of the tale. And what a tale…
Reprinted as part of the Gollancz 50 celebrations, this eye-catching edition features an introduction by one of the modern stars of fantasy fiction, Joe Abercrombie. He claims jealousy at how good the following fiction is, and calls Lynch a bastard. He would, as this is billed as Book One of the Gentleman Bastard sequence. I usually steer clear of self-styled ‘book ones’ as they make certain assumptions, such as book will successful enough to warrant further publications, but more importantly, that people will be interested enough in the characters or the scenario to keep coming back for more. Let me state now that I’m sorry I missed The Lies of Locke Lamora when it came out in 2006 and I’ll be hunting for the second book soon. Thank you to Gollancz for rectifying what would have been a missed opportunity.
Simon Kernick
Simon Kernick is one of Britain’s most exciting new thriller writers. He arrived on the crime writing scene with his highly acclaimed debut novel The Business of Dying, the story of a corrupt cop moonlighting as a hitman. However, Simon’s big breakthrough came with his novel Relentless which was selected by Richard and Judy for their Recommended Summer Reads promotion, and then rapidly went on to become the bestselling thriller of 2007. Simon’s research is what makes his thrillers so authentic. He talks both on and off the record to members of Special Branch, the Anti-Terrorist Branch and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, so he gets to hear first hand what actually happens in the dark and murky underbelly of UK crime.
His latest novel is Siege.
Five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won [closed]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of the big film releases of 2011, and to celebrate its release on DVD we have five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won – consisting of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People.
The DVD, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Hurt, and directed by Tomas Alfredson, is in the shops on June 30th – so if you want to be in with a chance to win these lovely books and explore more of George Smiley’s timeless duel with the infamous Soviet spymaster codenamed Karla, you need to answer this question:
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is one of many film adaptations of le Carré’s works – but what was the last film to be released based on a le Carré book?
Terms and conditions
1. Closing date for entries: 6th February 2012.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookgeeks. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookgeeks website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookgeeks and their families.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré
Late last year, I made the mistake of admitting, in public, having never read any John le Carré. It wasn’t a pleasant experience; anyone wishing to approximate it should try standing on any street in America announcing never having tried cheeseburgers. So, with the shame still burning my cheeks, I set about resolving the situation.
The Spy Who Came in from The Cold was le Carré’s breakthrough novel. Taking place in that historically gloomy period when rationing was a recent memory, the Berlin wall was under construction and the sixties hadn’t yet started to swing, it introduced us to Alec Leamas, a burned-out spy drafted into a final mission; masquerading as a defector to the Communist GDR.
Harald Hadrada, The Last Viking, by Michael Burr
Harald’s small warband surrounded the convent while a couple of warriors went a short way up the road to intercept any escapees and warn of any rescuers. Then the main band went in, seeking supplies, loot, and their pleasure with the nuns, in all of which they were fully satisfied. Sure enough a horseman burst away, and sure enough he was brought down and captured. The nun who’d acted like the boy rider’s mother was repeatedly raped and murdered during the incident and the fifteen year old Ranulf de Lannion’s resolve to destroy Hardrada was born.
Burr follows General, and later King, Hardrada and de Lannion’s progress through the Rus, Miklagard and Norway. Hardrada’s battles are fierce, he operates a seek and destroy policy on all who oppose him, pillaging, raping and exterminating his way around the eastern Mediterranean with the strategic and tactical support of his invaluable secretary Ranulf.
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion: A Complete Guide to the Sookie Stackhouse Series, by Charlaine Harris
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion is the complete guide to the Sookie Stackhouse series, aimed at fans of both the novels by Charlaine Harris and the HBO drama series. The series follows the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse, a girl from the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie is a homely, all American girl with one vital difference – she is also a telepath. She soon realises that there is more to the world than meets the eye and slowly uncovers a vast array of supernatural creatures: vampires, werewolves, fairies and goblins to name a few. As Sookie becomes immersed in this world she has her fair share of dangerous situations to deal with including murders, falling for a vampire and dating a weretiger.
Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series has proved hugely popular and has also gained increased exposure from the TV series True Blood which is based upon the novels and created by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under). Prior to the Sookie series which deals with themes of the supernatural Harris’ work was mainly mysteries; cosy crime dramas with strong female protagonists at their centre. Through Sookie, Harris’ uses her strong sense of character - she is a strong, likable, fully rounded human being and is easy to relate to however conflicted she becomes at times. Charlaine Harris has a large fan base ‘Charlaine’s Charlatans’ and with the continuing popularity of the series, this new guide takes the reader through every detail of Sookie’s world.
The Sea is My Brother: The Lost Novel, by Jack Kerouac
Published in its entirety for the first time, The Sea is My Brother is Jack Kerouac’s first novel. Prior to its discovery in 1992 by John Sampas, the executor of the Kerouac estate, the only evidence of the novel has been in Kerouac’s personal letters. Kerouac described the novel as being about ‘man’s’ simple revolt from society. It follows the fortunes of Wesley Martin, a man who Kerouac said ‘loved the sea with a strange, lonely love, the sea is his brother’. Kerouac began work on the novel not long after his first tour as a merchant marine on the SS Dorchester in the late summer of 1942, during which he kept a journal detailing the gritty daily routine of life at sea. This edition also contains a number of other fragments of Kerouac’s early writing, mainly in the form of letters between himself and his fellow ‘Promethean’ Sebastian Sampas, all from the early 1940s.
Although The Sea is My Brother has the feel of an unfinished piece of work and ends in a rather abrupt manor, it is still an enjoyable read and captures life at sea through the eyes of young intellectuals looking for adventure and excitement. The story focuses on the beginning of a seafaring voyage for two young intellectuals, the experienced seaman Wesley Martin and his new comrade Bill Everhart. After a chance meeting at a Broadway bar, the two men quickly become acquainted and in Martin, Everhart can see the experience and freedom that he secretly craves. Everhart then decides to follow Wesley to Boston to experience a new chapter in his life, well away from his comfortable New York lifestyle, and his teaching position at Columbia University. Detailed descriptive passages create a good sense of mood and atmosphere, whilst strong character relationships evoke a feeling of solidarity and comradeship. The theme of friendship appears a great deal in Kerouac’s work and this early piece almost acts as a blueprint in terms of style and themes. The novel also fictionalises Kerouac’s personal conflicts between intellect and adventure and offers a great insight into his philosophy at the time.
The Unseen, by Katherine Webb
Leah’s ex invites her to Belgium, where the corpse of a British soldier has been found, and into a riddle set a century in the past… Willingly, she dives into the previous century to find out who the soldier might be, and starts to unravel a web spun such a very long time ago.
Cat Morley is a suffragette, and after a long stay in gaol for trumped-up charges she is sent to the village of Cold Ash Holt to be a servant girl for the vicar and his wife. She bears the scars of her past, and soon realises she must be on her toes to avoid new ones. As Robin Durrant, a theosophist, arrives as a guest, she immediately knows he’ll be bad news.
The Death of King Arthur, by Simon Armitage
Following his acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Simon Armitage’s new book – The Death of King Arthur – marks a welcome return to the world of the Round Table. While the poetic Sir Gawain has always been a popular classic of Arthurian lore, The Death of King Arthur is Armitage’s translation of the Alliterative Morte Arthure, a four-thousand line poem written sometime around 1400, which has arguably been neglected in favour of Sir Thomas Malory’s prose Morte D’Arthur. However, despite having previously been eclipsed by its more straightforward cousin, the Alliterative Morte Arthure is a sterling, emotive example of the medieval Arthurian revival and with The Death of King Arthur Simon Armitage has done an excellent job of translating and revitalising this important text for a modern audience.
The Death of King Arthur is perhaps a surprisingly brutal and bloody tale. Unlike the Arthurian Romances envisioned by Chrétien de Troyes and the noble, somewhat sanitised adventurers described by Malory, The Death of King Arthur deals with the cut and thrust of warfare and politics and so sees King Arthur firmly returned to his warrior roots. The poem begins with an overview of the kingly career of Arthur and of his household in the castle of Carlisle and the description initially seems familiar:
“… champion knights and chivalrous chieftains,
both worldly wise and brave in battle,
daring in their deeds, always dreading shame,
kind, courteous men, courtly in their manners.”
Clearly these are chivalrous, courtly men that inspired the majority of the Arthurian legends but they are also something more. The author of the Alliterative Morte Arthure and so also Simon Armitage is quick to emphasise that, despite or indeed because of their lofty ideals, these are fighting men who are not to be trifled with:
“How they won in war the worship of many,
who ripped life from the wicked Lucius, the Lord of Rome,
and conquered that kingdom through the art of combat …”
King Arthur is very much a military leader and one who is quicker to take up his sword that other interpretations of his character would suggest. A long list of all the “castles, kingdoms and countless regions” that Arthur has taken through conquest is presented while the King and his Knights enjoy a feast in honour of recent achievements. The celebratory mood at Court is, however, quickly soured when an emissary arrives from the Emperor Lucius. Since Britain as a whole is still technically subject to the authority of Rome, the Emperor demands that Arthur swear an oath of fealty and resume the payment of taxes to the Empire.
This is a challenge to his authority that Arthur cannot overlook. He and his army therefore embark on a sweeping and largely successful military campaign which takes them almost to the gates of Rome. While Arthur’s prowess as a military leader is emphasised, he is also given a number of chances to show his noble side and so will break off from merciless conquest to avenge the honour of a noble woman stolen away by a fearsome giant. However, in The Death of King Arthur he is not the wise ruler of other interpretations of the legend. This Arthur is consumed by his idea of kingly honour and cannot take his eyes from the big picture of worldwide conquest in time to see the danger that he faces at home. King Arthur is here defeated as much by his own ego as by the plotting of his enemies.
No doubt unsurprisingly given its title, the Alliterative Morte Arthure was written in alliterating lines [so, containing words that begin with the same sound or letter] which harked back to Anglo-Saxon poetic composition and so presented some particular challenges for the translator. A useful example of the thumping, almost mechanical rhythm that the alliterative style can produce is found in this passage:
“Then Sir Cador of Cornwall commanded his comrades,
Sir Clegis, Sir Cleremus, Sir Cleremond the noble …”
It is a rarely used style and the necessary constraints that come with it make producing a coherent narrative, especially in a poem of this length, potentially difficult. In his own illuminating introduction to The Death of King Arthur Simon Armitage discusses the approach he had to take in order to maintain the alliterative style while at the same time translating the text in a way that would captivate a modern audience. There seem to have been two principle difficulties in producing this translation – the original author’s lack of consistency as to characters and locations and also his tendency to get a tad carried away with the alliteration in a way that fails to advance the story – but Armitage has overcome both of them.
The Death of King Arthur is a powerful retelling of a poetic masterpiece. Armitage has mastered the alliterative line and so more than does justice to the “mass of riotous life which courses through the narrative’s veins.”
Dark Eden, by Chris Beckett
In May 1969 when Snoopy detached from Charlie Brown in moon orbit the press was full of speculation and rumour. Despite all details of the mission plan they thought Cooper and Mitchell might really go for it and pre-empt Apollo 11 to be the first to land. In Dark Eden the crew of a brand new interstellar ship did go off mission just like that and despite recall messages and an orbital police attempt to stop them headed out into interstellar space.
Three astronauts and the two police who tried to stop them ended up at a solitary dark planet orbiting no star and far outside the galaxy. Their starship was damaged so they put their lander down, into a small valley surrounded by high mountains covered in cold, cold ice and snow. The Eden they’d found was a cold world yet not without life. Trees tapped geothermal energy, the atmosphere was breathable, the indigenous life was edible. Plant and animal both had luminescent patches, explaining the lights they could see from above. Two decided to stay while the other three risked a return to Earth to summon a rescue mission. They knew it would be a long wait.
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block has been writing award-winning mystery and suspense fiction for half a century. His most recent novels are A Drop of the Hard Stuff, featuring Matthew Scudder, and Getting Off, starring a very naughty young woman. Several of his books have been filmed, although not terribly well. He’s well known for his books for writers, including the classic Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, and The Liar’s Bible.
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Latest Competition
Five copies of The Woman in Black to be won
It’s competition time again – and to celebrate the release of Daniel Radcliffe’s new film, The Woman in Black, based on the novel of the same name by Susan Hill, we have five copies to give away. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of [...]
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