The Feats of Strength are an integral part of our annual Smugglivus Tradition. In previous years, the Feats of Strength were a challenge in which we dared each other to read a book that we knew was so far…
Literary Fiction
It’s Friday, which means we are over at Kirkus! Today it’s Thea’s turn as she talks about the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer… Thea reflects on the trilogy (which she found fascinating, frustrating, and utterly memorable), and recommends…
It’s Friday so this means we are over at Kirkus! This week, Thea reviews speculative fiction novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, The Testament of Jessie Lamb is a hefty,…
Smuggler’s Ponderings: thoughts on Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway Alfred A. Knopf/ Vintage, February 2012, HC/PB: 568 pages From the acclaimed author of “The Gone-Away World”, blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of…
Book Review: Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye
Title: Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone Author: Stefan Kiesbye Genre: Horror, Fiction Publisher: Penguin Books Publication Date: September 2012 Paperback: 208 Pages Shirley Jackson meets The X-Files in this riveting novel of supernatural horror The…
Title: Summer and Bird Author: Katherine Catmull Genre: Fantasy, Fairytale, Middle Grade Publisher: Dutton Juvenile Publication date: October 2 2012 Hardcover: 384 pages An enchanting—and twisted—tale of two sisters’ quest to find their parents When their parents disappear in…
Title: The Vanishing Act Author: Mette Jakobsen Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical (maybe) Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (US) / Vintage (UK) Publication date: August/ September 2012 Hardcover/paperback: 218 pages “The best stories change you. I am not the…
Title: The Prisoner of Heaven Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón / Translated by Julia Graves Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical, Thriller Publisher: Harper Collins / Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publication date: July 2012 / June 2012 Hardcover: 279 pages Barcelona, 1957. It…
Title: Advent Author: James Treadwell Genre: Fantasy/Literary Fiction Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton / Atria/Emily Bestler Books Publication date: February 2 2012 / July 3 2012 Hardcover: 448 pages A drowning, a magician’s curse, and a centuries-old secret. “1537. A…
Title: The Age of Miracles Author: Karen Thompson Walker Genre: Speculative Fiction, Literary Fiction Publisher: Random House (US) / Simon & Schuster (UK) Publication Date: June 2012 (US & UK) Hardcover: 288 Pages (US) With a voice as distinctive…