William Gibson will forever have his name stamped on the cyberpunk genre, considered by many to have pioneered it with the Sprawl Trilogy. The first book, titled Neuromancer, tells the story of a data thief who finds himself banished from cyberspace after crossing the wrong people. However, a mysterious new employer gives him one last chance by sending him on a run against an all-powerful AI.
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Connie Willis Travels to the Middle Ages
“Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis – Stranger in the Past
Controlled Doses of Absurdity
“Adjustment Day” by Chuck Palahniuk – Logical Conclusions to Madness
The Story of a Place
“A Small Town in Germany” by John le Carre – Upsetting all the Right People
A Journey of Growth and Death
“The Young Lions” by Irwin Shaw – Different Perspectives on Atrocity
Through the Eyes of a Movie Buff
“Flicker” by Theodore Roszak – The Celluloid Underground
Basil Liddell Hart Seeks the Truth
“The German Generals Talk” by Basil Liddell Hart – The Enemy’s Point of View
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“What Abigail Did That Summer” by Ben Aaronovitch – The Magic of Sudden Vanishing
Ben Aaronovitch has created an unforgettable and magical world in his Rivers of London series, and despite being the latest entry, What Abigail Did That Summer is an excellent presentation of what the series has to offer for anyone new to it.
Flashing back to the summer of 2013, we follow the titular Abigail as she attempts to solve the mystery of recently-disappeared teenagers who remain silent about the ordeal upon their return.
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“The Last Stone” by Mark Bowden – Subverting a Liar
Mark Bowden has spent much of his life reporting on the darker side of America, and in The Last Stone he recounts the story of a cold case which not long ago reached its conclusion.
Taking us back to Washington, D.C. in 1975, Bowden plunges into the investigation behind the disappearance of two young girls from a shopping mall, to its great breakthrough in 2013.
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“Infinite Country” by Patricia Engel – Visions of a Better Life
Patricia Engel has become a celebrated and respected voice in immigrant literature, consistently relating her moving and educative experiences through her novels.
Most recently, she published Infinite Country, chronicling the long, winding and turbulent fates of five members making up a family of Colombian immigrants.
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“Wherever Seeds May Fall” by Peter Cawdron – The Impending Contact
Peter Cawdron has devoted much of his authorship to exploring the topic of making a first contact with aliens, even penning a thematically-united series simply titled First Contact.
In Wherever Seeds May Fall, he presents us with a scenario where an unknown object heading towards Earth ramps up speculations about a potential first contact, exploring the profound ramifications of such an event on all levels of our society.
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“The Lost Village” by Camilla Sten – Disappearance Without a Trace
Camilla Sten has for too long of a time published her stories only in her home country, as her most recent novel clearly shows, titled The Lost Village. The story, in its essence, follows a documentary crew trying to unravel a bizarre mass disappearance which took place in the titular village decades earlier. The closer they get to the truth though, the closer danger seems to be swarming around them.
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“The Brutal Telling” by Louise Penny – Into the Woods of Antique Mystery
Louise Penny has created an unforgettable protagonist through A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery series, and in The Brutal Telling, the fifth book, the titular inspector returns to his favourite idyllic village of Three Pines.
Yet another murder has shaken the community, this time the victim being a complete stranger found on the floor of the local bistro. The stories presented to the inspector are full of holes, and he soon finds himself wrapped in a spiderweb of mystery.
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“The Immortality Code” by Douglas E. Richards – The Double-Edged Sword of Progress
Douglas E. Richards is fast becoming a prominent voice where science-fiction is concerned, exploring original ideas directly related to our modern world.
In his latest novel, The Immortality Code, he tells a story revolving around a technological breakthrough which ultimately opens the way towards a discovery capable of bringing either an unimaginable utopia or total annihilation to mankind.
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“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Maynard Pirsig – The Fundamental Odyssey
Robert Maynard Pirsig was recognized numerous times as a unique and exceptional author for the depth of reflection found in his unusual books. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was arguably his greatest work, telling a largely autobiographical story of a road trip he took with his son, learning quite a bit about life in the process.
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“The Princess Spy” by Larry Loftis – The Girl who Served her Country
Larry Loftis is quickly becoming a voice worth listening to in the realm of biographies, and he has recently reinforced this notion further upon publishing The Princess Spy.
Mixing small bits of inconsequential fiction with hard, cold facts, it recounts the life of Aline Griffith, a regular girl from suburban New York who really wanted to do her part and serve her country during World War II.
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