Book Talk
with Smiffs book & card store, Nerja
The Heart’s Invisible
Furies (p), by the Dublin-
born author and short-
story writer John Boyne, is
a book to laugh and cry
over while marvelling at
the power of the human
spirit. The author’s
previous works include the
global bestseller The Boy
In The Striped Pyjamas,
which was subsequently
turned into a film.
Other non-crime fiction
worth considering includes:
The Warmaster (l), sci-fi
from Dan Abnett; Family
Business (p), by Muriel
Bolger; Mad (p), the first in
a planned trilogy by Chloé
Esposito; The Long, Long
Trail (p), by Cynthia
Harrod-Eagles; The Night
Raid (p), by Clare Harvey;
Secret Passages In A
Hillside Town (p), by Pasi
Ilmari Jääskeläinen;
Penhaligon’s Pride (p), by
Terri Nixon; For Now
Forever (p), by Nora
Roberts; and A Gentleman
In Moscow (p), by Amor
Towles.
Now available in
paperback, The Heart’s
Invisible Furies leads off
this month’s Soltalk Hotlist
of titles, some entirely
new, others moving into
small paperback format for the first time or being reissued,
sometimes after a long time out of print. All are due for
publication on various dates in December or early January.
The Soltalk Hotlist helps readers to plan and budget for book
ordering, particularly with the gift-giving season ahead.
In the fantasy fiction lists, Mississippi Roll (p), edited by
George RR Martin – author
of A Song Of Ice And Fire,
on which the television
show Game Of Thrones is
based – is a new
adventurous jaunt along
one of America’s greatest
rivers, featuring many
beloved characters from
the Wild Cards universe. It
included the writing talents
of Stephen Leigh, David D
Levine, John Jos Miller,
Kevin Andrew Murphy,
Cherie Priest and Carrie
Vaughn.
Boyne’s main character,
Cyril Avery, a man born
illegitimately to a girl cast
out from her rural Irish
community and adopted
by a Dublin couple, is
adrift in the world. He is
anchored only by his
friendship with the
glamorous and dangerous
Julian Woodbead. At the
mercy of fortune and
coincidence, Cyril will
spend a lifetime coming to
know himself and where
he came from. In Boyne’s work, the story of Ireland from the
1940s to today is seen through the eyes of one ordinary man.
Also in the fantasy genre,
look out for The Lost Plot
(p), by Genevieve Cogman.
The fourth book in her
witty The Invisible Library series is an action-packed literary
adventure in a 1930s-esque
Chicago. Prohibition is in
force, fedoras, flapper
dresses and tommy guns
are in fashion, and intrigue
is afoot. Intrepid Librarians
Irene and Kai are caught in
the middle of a dragon
versus dragon contest. A
young Librarian seems to
be tangled in this conflict:
if they cannot extricate
him, there could be serious
repercussions for the
mysterious Library.
The Last Fandango (p), by
UK author and broadcaster
Robin Hellaby
(thelastfandango.com),
finds Peter and Marco – an
outrageous, talented
dancer – creating an idyllic
world together and sharing
adventures from the
mountains of North Africa
to the flamenco taverns of
Granada, Spain. Marco
appears destined for
greatness as a dancer, but
bigotry and madness
provoke a crime that
threatens to shatter the
couple’s hard-won
happiness. Will their love
survive?
Match Up (p), featuring 11
short stories from 22 of the
world’s leading thriller
authors writing in pairs,
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