The Dead-Tossed Waves – Carrie Ryan
2010, Hachette Gollancz
416 pages
RRP: AU$49.95 (HB)
ISBN: 978-0575090897

Reviewed by Gillian Polack

There are two important things I need to state up front. Firstly, I have not read the book The Dead-Tossed Waves follows (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) – The Dead-Tossed Waves therefore stands alone for me, and all the knowledge I have of the world and the characters is from within the novel itself. Secondly, this is a zombie novel. For the most part it is a great deal more than a zombie novel, for the focus is on the coming of age and into the wisdom to survive of Gabry, the protagonist. While it has far more to it than zombies and while the zombies are seldom given that name, it’s still a zombie novel and it covers the bases that a zombie novel must cover: how does one kill a zombie, what happens when one is infected, what happens when one’s friends are no longer the humans they were, how does the world live through a zombie apocalypse.

(more…)

Deadlocked – Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #12)
2012, Hachette Gollancz
336 pages
RRP: AU$29.99
ISBN: 9780575096585

Reviewed by Ruza Foster

Deadlocked is the penultimate novel in the southern vampire mysteries series, and while I’m a fan of this series I think Harris has really started scraping the bottom of the barrel with this latest release. Perhaps she should have put Sookie and Eric to rest much earlier.

(more…)

The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo – Adam Roberts
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
320 pages
RRP: AU$17.99
ISBN: 9780575103726

Review by Kate Smith

Firstly I must admit ignorance of the story of which the title is based.  I did consider reading the book in question however this did not occur.  This means that I cannot comment on the cleverness or accuracy of any parody that may exist in term of that text.  What I can say is that The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo is a smooth and amusing read, perfect for a lazy afternoon in the sunshine.

(more…)

The Quantum Thief – Hannu Rajaniemi
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
336 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 9780575088887

Reviewed by Kate Smith

This was an interesting choice for me as I don’t usually go for science fiction.  Intrigued enough to give it a go, I was not disappointed.  The first thirty pages or so needed to be slogged through as the story was given its foundation but hang in there as the tale definitely gets more engaging.

(more…)

The Traitor’s Gate – Sarah Silverwood (Nowhere Chronicles #2)
Hachette Gollancz, 2011
352 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575095809

Reviewed by Kate Smith

I was very happy to have this book offered to me as I enjoyed the first part to The Nowhere Chronicles in The Double-Edged Sword.  However, The Traitor’s Gate is a much darker story, and it gets darker very quickly.  In fact it is a very typical second part of a three part story – the introduction with hope, the darkest hour, and (one hopes) the dawn and resolution.  This particular darkest hour is very dark indeed, with everything that can go badly for the hero, going totally badly.  This does not make it the easy and happy read that the first part of the tale was, but it does allow for character and plot development.  Silverwood constructs her story well with pieces of the unknown past coming together smoothly but the twists and turns of the tale are not entirely unexpected.  The fact that there are no true surprises or shocks with developing events does not, however, detract from the enjoyment of the tale.

(more…)

The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss
Hachette Gollancz, 2008
672 pages
RRP: AU$24.99
ISBN: 9780575081406

Reviewed by Kate Smith

It was the back of the second book in this series, The Wise Man’s Fear, that caught my attention to begin with: a blurb on the basis of which I tracked down the first part of the tale so I could get the full story (as I always prefer to do).  As a frequent reader of this genre, I was interested but not desperately as I have often been let down by a blurb before.  Not desperately interested, that is, until I started reading.

(more…)

From Nalini's webpage at http://www.nalinisingh.com

Nalini Singh is the New York Times bestselling author of the Psy/Changeling and Guild Hunter series. She is an Antipodean, born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. Nalini recently won the Favourite Paranormal Romance, Favourite Fantasy, Sci-Fi or Futuristic Romance, and Favourite Continuing Romance awards at the 2010 Australian Romance Readers Association Awards. In Australia, Nalini’s novels are published through Gollancz.

(more…)

The Double-Edged Sword – Sarah Silverwood (Nowhere Chronicles #1)
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
352 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575095793

Reviewed by Kate Smith

I have never been one to avoid books because of their targeted age range. I have come across both shockers and brilliant stories in all ages ranges, and The Double-Edged Sword lies far closer to the positive end of the spectrum, despite not being primarily targeted to an adult audience.

(more…)

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K Dick
Hachette Gollancz Orion, 2007
256 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN 978-0-575-07997-7

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K Dick
Hachette Gollancz Orion, 2007
224 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN 978-0-575-07993-9

Review by Russell B Farr

Much as been written about Philip K. Dick, both about the man and his writing. There are probably hundreds of theses dealing with the themes explored in works such as these two classics. PKD was either well past barking mad, or a genius: probably both. His stories have inspired quite a few great Hollywood movies (and quite a few bad ones), including Blade Runner and its associated plethora of Director’s cuts.

(more…)

Fanged & Fabulous – Michelle Rowen (Immortality Bites #2)
Orion Gollancz, 2010 (reprint)
334 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 9780575094024

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Michelle Rowen’s writing is filled with humour, pace and romance. Fanged & Fabulous is no different. Following on from Bitten & Smitten, we follow Sarah Dearly in her romps around Toronto as she gets used to being a vampire and tries to figure out what is happening in her relationship with her boyfriend Thierry. Of course, many people are trying to kill Sarah, as she managed to get quite a name for herself (albeit inadvertently) in the last novel. Hilarity ensues!

(more…)