15 September 2014
Written by James Lovegrove Sherlock Holmes Gods Of War finds Doctor Watson writing this story in 1923 about events in September 1913: Holmes has been retired for 10 years in the village of East Dean in Sussex, looking after bees and writing monographs (Mycroft has died by this point, from a ruptured stomach ulcer). Holmes is just shy of his…
31 July 2014
Edited by John Joseph Adams Published by Titan Books This anthology of twenty-three stories has tales that mix the Old West with fantastical elements; each one has the name, author and the location/year (such as East Texas, 1880, or Colorado Territory, 1868). As is usual with anthologies, the selection is wide and the quality varies, but the overall level is…
26 May 2014
Written by Ari Marmell Published by Titan Books This is the first story in a new series of urban fantasy about Mick Oberon; we first meet him getting beaten up by the hired muscle of a crooked committeeman of Chicago’s 34th Ward. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter too much because he heals fast and he has a wand: a Luchitaine &…
5 May 2014
The first Madam of Espionage mystery, written by Carol K Carr Published by Titan Books Carol Carr is a former lawyer who decided to indulge her passion for history into writing, which led to this book. You know where you are from the preface: ‘My name is India Black. I am a whore.’ It is 1876. India Black runs a…
30 April 2014
Written by Tanya Huff Published by Titan Books The Wild Ways is the follow-up to The Enchantment Emporium (which I reviewed here), focussing on Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Gale – she is a cousin of Alysha ‘Allie’ Gale, the lead in the first book, and was also a major character in the story. Unlike the other women in the Gale family (the…
4 March 2014
Edited by George Mann Published by Titan Books BBC’s Sherlock, CBS’s Elementary, the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films – the enduring appeal of one of the most famous fictional characters has never been more evident. You simply cannot have too many Sherlock Holmes stories. This anthology continues this tradition in fine form: all twelve stories are written in the style…
12 February 2014
A Memoir By Lady Trent written by Marie Brennan Published by Titan Books Marie Brennan, the pseudonym of Bryn Neuenschwander, is an American fantasy author who graduated from Harvard University and did graduate studies in folklore and anthropology. This means she is smart and has an affinity with science and mythology, and she brings a naturalness and clarity to her…
3 February 2014
By Tanya Huff Published by Titan Books I’ve never read anything by Canadian fantasy author Tanya Huff before but, based on The Enchantment Emporium, I need to rectify that state of affairs. She is prolific, having written several contemporary fantasy series (including the Blood Books series, about a human detective and a vampire writer who stop supernatural threats, which was…
19 January 2014
By V.E. Schwab Published by Titan Books When two friends find a way to acquire superpowers, events will never turn out smooth. When these friends are intelligent, competitive, driven individuals, the top pre-med students at their college, whose friendship is shattered by acquiring their superpowers, their lives and the lives of many other people will be adversely affected. Victoria Schwab…
19 April 2013
Written by Peter O’Donnell Art by Enric Badia Romero Published by Titan Books I grew up in London, so would occasionally see the Modesty Blaise strip in the Evening Standard newspapers discarded on the trains in the underground. I was always amazed that the strip survived so long, with only three panels of fairly small black and white art, the…