Language, loyalty and exploitation come under the microscope in RF Kuang’s alternate history of a magically-fuelled British Empire. In 19th century Oxford, Cantonese scholar Robin Swift is about to learn that his unwelcome differences are also his route to influence… if he’s prepared to accept the terrible costs of power.
Category Archive: Audio Reads
I’m getting most of my reading done via audiobooks at the moment, which is a massive change for me. Over the past year I’ve learned to absorb new reads as well as rereads and I’m long overdue some reviews, so today I’m focusing on two debut novels about women, love, and the siren song of the sea.
In a city where night never falls, a serial killer is stalking the well-lit streets and the daughter of an influential industrialist has gone missing. John Nyquist must navigate the complex timelines of Dayzone to find one and elude the other.
Cassie was suspended for an antisocial incident at school. Her penance is to read to the ailing proprietor of the town’s esoteric bookshop. When Mr Gussy warns her off a very particular book in his shop, she can’t resist cracking open the ‘dark tome’ – only to find herself whisked far away and long ago to where an Italian has found a staircase to hell…
When her dying mother summons her after years of estrangement, Vera reluctantly returns to the house her father built. The house where it all happened. A house as haunted as Vera herself…
A young scholar explores and documents the House, an endless palace of vestibules, halls and statues lapped by ceaseless tides. As he tries to makes sense of his world, he finds himself increasingly driven to keep secrets from the Other. Does his only friend – the only other living person in the House – really have Piranesi’s best interests at heart?
Park Heights is an LA suburb of retired actors and rich recluses. The diner is vegan, everyone is a regular at the Wellness Centre, and none of the residents would be your first choice to put at the heart of an ancient battle between powerful magical forces. Which is unfortunate, given who just arrived in town…
onemore.org 