Comments on: Giveaway from the archives: The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice (22/9/2014)

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:29:59 +0000

I think I’d have to go with CC Humphreys A Place Called Armageddon about the fall of Constantinople. Its a follow on of sorts from his novel Vlad which seems to pop up a bit but I know no one whos read this

By: Ren Kuroya

Ren Kuroya — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:58:14 +0000

My absolute favorite hidden gems are both Sci-Fi and I can’t decide which I like more.

The first is Blood Music by Greg Bear. A scientist is working behind his employer’s back to create a new form of life: Intelligent cells! When he is terminated and told to destroy all his work he inject a syringe of his altered intelligent cells into himself before destroying the rest. Since before they were altered they were his cells his body does not destroy them, instead they begin to multiply and thrive. But all is not what it seems to be on the surface after the cells take a mind of their own…

The second is Endless Blue by Wen Spencer. A Russian starship captain is coerced into trying to solve the enigma of a slipspace drive covered in coral from a ship lost decades ago. When they jump to the coordinates he finds himself in imminent danger, an not even in the universe anymore! Will this clone of Peter the Great live to return and end the war threatening to exterminate human life?

What do you think of them?

By: Paul Livesey

Paul Livesey — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 08:29:07 +0000

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis just about qualifies I think and is wonderful.

A time travelling historian is sent back to the time of Jerome K Jerome to undertake a mission he can’t remember at a large family estate. It’s written with humour and panache and is at times a bitter commentary on Victorian principles and university economics.

By: Leila Benhamida

Leila Benhamida — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 08:12:04 +0000

Hi, sounds like a good read.

By: Peter A

Peter A — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:17:11 +0000

I was recetly advised to reasd Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn. it wasn’t the greatest SF, but it msust have stuck in the mdind of Terry Pratchett or he would never have written Carpet People or The Bromeliad trilogy. Receommend, though, as it’s good fun.

By: Mango Heroics

Mango Heroics — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 13:44:17 +0000

Ooh. How about A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason? It’s about a team of scientists on a long space voyage looking for habitable planets (I know, right?). What’s different is the inhabited planet they find. Interesting culture-building. Introspective protagonista. There’s an e-book version that’s worth a look. Of course, I may like it because I’m an anthropologist!

By: Mango Heroics

Mango Heroics — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 13:32:33 +0000

Trying to think of a book to mention, but I’m coming up empty on something obscure. Hild by Nicola Griffith comes to mind, but there was a bit of a buzz about it when it came out last year. If you haven’t checked it out, I think you should. Guy Gavriel Kay does a great job, but he’s quite well known (understatement)! I’ll have to keep thinking….

By: Simon Bradley

Simon Bradley — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:17:31 +0000

I’ve just finished Melusine by Sarah Monette, which I enjoyed a lot despite it being slightly troublesome. It’s described as yaoi in one of the Amazon reviews, and it does feature a damaged pretty-boy, but if the first few pages don’t put you off, the world is rich and deep. The cover might well have put me off if I hadn’t heard about it elsewhere, and if I hadn’t got it for free from the Kindle Lending Library (and since it’s on the Kindle, I don’t have to look at the cover).
I’m not sure how much it counts as a hidden gem given that I heard about it from Jo Walton’s “What Makes This Book So Great?”, but that is the only place I’ve ever seen it mentioned.

By: Lea Fletcher

Lea Fletcher — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:38:44 +0000

Ooh, someone beat me to the Eli Monpress series (I adore them). I have a deep fondness for the Obernewtyn sequence by Isobelle Carmody, which are hard to find in the UK, and I loved the weird little one off books Strange Powers by Mary Hoffman (I think), and Horsemaster by Marilyn Singer. I love my little-knowns.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:41:53 +0000

So many excellent novels in my collections (electronic and physical) that I’d be hard-pressed to find a favourite even with conditions attached. Plus my physical collection is in boxes (18 of them) in storage in preparation for a move, so scanning the shelves for that “one book wonder” is beyond me right now