Category: Fiction

“Genghis Khan bathed in sherbet ice cream”: New science fiction and fantasy

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It extols death with the luminescent brilliance of a dying star. It is Genghis Khan bathed in sherbet ice cream. The mantis shrimp is the harbinger of blood-soaked rainbows.

The Oatmeal

Welcome to our latest selection of newly acquired fantasy and science fiction titles. Every month we endeavour to highlight new books that aren’t necessarily the highest profile releases or even a reflection of the bestseller lists (although we do sometimes include titles that are on both); instead, we like to select books that have some unusual aspect that catches our attention, that maybe fall off the beaten track, but that we think you might enjoy. From that selection, we then like to go even further and turn the spotlight on one particular title.

For this month’s spotlight book, the book that literally caught our eye (pun intended) was Red side story by Jasper Fforde — a book in which people’s standing in society depends on their ability to perceive colour.

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Villainous Newtown event: Now available to view on YouTube

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Recently at Newtown Library we had the rare opportunity to hear four fabulous crime writers in full flow talking about their work, when the Ngaio Marsh Awards in association with Wellington City Libraries invited booklovers to an unmissable crime and thriller evening as part of the build-up to the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards.

Our Villainous Newtown author line-up - featuring Nick Davis, Kim Hunt, Jennifer Lane and Charity Norman
Our Villainous Newtown author line-up – featuring Nick Davis, Kim Hunt, Jennifer Lane and Charity Norman

It was a fabulous night, and although this very special event has now passed into the annals of history, we were very lucky to have permission from all the authors and the Ngaio Marsh Awards to film the proceedings. It’s now our pleasure to present that recording for your enjoyment further below.

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When once you have tasted flight: New fiction

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When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.

– Leonardo DaVinci

Welcome to this month’s selection of recently acquired fiction titles. To make this month’s choices we have employed a broad and panoramic approach, picking titles that convey the wide variety of subject matters, literary styles and approaches present in all our new intake books.

This month’s collection of titles includes a new historical fiction novel by Sara Ackerman called The uncharted flight of Olivia West, inspired by the Dole Air Race of 1927. This is a gripping story, based on true events, about a young pioneering aviator participating in the race. Literary legend Isabel Allende has released a new novel, called The wind knows my name. We have two highlights from Aotearoa, an outstanding collection of new short stories from the iconic Aotearoa author Patricia Grace, titled Bird child & other stories, and the much-anticipated debut novel from Olive Nuttall called Kitten. There’s also The Tearsmith by Erin Doom, which is currently being adapted into a Netflix series. To round things off in style, we have the Booker shortlisted and winner of the An Post Irish Book of the Year, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray.

Links to all these titles, and a few others, can be found below.

The uncharted flight of Olivia West / Ackerman, Sara
“This extraordinary novel, inspired by real events, tells the story of a female aviator who defies the odds to embark on a daring air race across the Pacific. 1927. Olivia “Livy” West is a fearless young pilot with a love of adventure. She yearns to cross oceans and travel the skies. When she learns of the Dole Air Race–a high-stakes contest to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West Coast to Hawai’i–she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last-ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that some will not survive.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Owls in folklore and fantasy: New science fiction and fantasy

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“Murder owls are extreme,” Jude said. “What’s more extreme than murder owls?”

Aimee Pokwatka, The parliament

Welcome to our latest selection of newly acquired fantasy and science fiction titles. There is a rich abundance of scintillating and gripping titles on offer this month, but the title that really caught our eye was The parliament by Aimee Pokwatka, a newly released fantasy novel about the deep original force of nature as especially expressed by owls. Indeed, the book has been described as The Birds meets The Princess Bride.

Owls have played an important part in myths, traditions and folklore across many cultures around the world, and continue to do so to this day. Owls feature in Mayan, Celtic and Zulu myths and stories to name just a few, and of course, closer to home, the ruru is a powerful figure in Māori myths and traditions. Mythic owls seem to come in many guises but are often linked to the mysterious spiritual realms and vary between being either good or bad omens and either benevolent creatures or more malevolent in nature.

It is perhaps their prominent role in many of the World’s mythologies that has led them to be such popular inclusions in many fictional works. Just a few of the most notable fictional Owls include Archimedes in The sword in the stone, Hedwig in the Harry Potter Series, and of course Owl in the Winnie the Pooh books. To this rich and noble fictional tradition, Aimee Pokwatka adds her own voice and story — have a read below and reserve your copy today!

Our other top picks in this month’s selection can be viewed below:

The parliament / Pokwatka, Aimee
“When tens of thousands of owls descend on her hometown library, rending and tearing at anyone foolish enough to step outside, Madigan Purdy, tasked with keeping her students safe, seeks inspiration from her favorite childhood book, The Silent Queen, to find a solution to their dilemma.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Faebound / El-Arifi, Saara
“Yeeran was born on the battlefield, has lived on the battlefield, and one day, she knows, she’ll die on the battlefield. As a warrior in the elven army, Yeeran has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future. When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, both sisters are forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the impossible: the fae court. The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world, torn among their loyalties to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Also available as an eBook – Faebound, by Saara El-Arifi.

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Arsène Lupin, gentleman thief – New detective and thriller titles

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Welcome to this month’s selection of newly acquired detective and thriller titles.

There is a plethora of diverse and thrilling titles  on offer this month, but the title that caught our eye was The best of Lupin: adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman-thief by Maurice Leblanc; a reprint of stories from the first half of the twentieth century.

The huge runaway success of A.C. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and the complexity of the character he created, spawned a whole host of budding detectives from all sorts of backgrounds, all hoping to emulate the success of the master detective.

And this was true of  the French novelist Maurice Leblanc, who took a rather unique approach to his central character Arsène Lupin – making him not a detective, but a gentleman thief  in a similar vein to E. W. Hornung’s  A. J. Raffles character. Coincidentally, E.W. Hornung was the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  The approach proved to be successful, with Arsène Lupin the gentleman thief going on to feature in 17 novels and 39 novellas .

The Holmes connections didn’t stop with the intellectual gentleman link or the E.W. Hornung connection. In one story, Lupin is introduced Sherlock Holmes – though for copyright reasons, his name was changed to Herlock Sholmès.

Our other top picks in this month’s selection can be viewed below.

The best of Lupin : adventures of Arsène Lupin, gentleman-thief / Leblanc, Maurice
“A collection of 22 short stories selected from the five collections of short stories about master criminal Arsene Lupin that Maurice Leblanc published in France a century ago. The English translations (some by George Morehead and some by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos) are now in the public domain. With a new introduction by mystery writer Martin Walker.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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International Women’s Day 2024 – Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist

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Today is International Women’s Day and what better way to celebrate than with good books written by women?  This year we’re celebrating by diving into the Women’s Prize for Fiction long list.  Take a look at the diverse titles up for the prestigious award this year…

Hangman / Binyam, Maya
“A man returns home to sub-Saharan Africa after twenty-six years in America. When he arrives, he finds that he doesn’t recognize the country or anyone in it. Thankfully, someone recognizes him, a man who calls him brother–setting him on a quest to find his real brother, who is dying. In Hangman, Maya Binyam tells the story of that search, and of the phantoms, guides, tricksters, bureaucrats, debtors, taxi drivers, relatives, and riddles that will lead to the truth. This is an uncommonly assured debut: an existential journey; a tragic farce; a slapstick tragedy; and a strange, and strangely honest, story of one man’s stubborn quest to find refuge–in this world and in the world that lies beyond it.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

In Defence of the Act / Black, Effie
“Are we more like a coffee bean, a carrot or an egg? What happens to us when we are boiled in the trials and tribulations of life? Jessica Miller is fascinated by the somewhat perplexing tendency of humans to end their own lives, but she secretly believes such acts may not be that bad after all. Or at least, she did. Jessica is coming to terms with her own relationships, and reflecting on what it means to be queer, when a single event throws everything she once believed into doubt. Can she still defend the act?” (Catalogue)

And then she fell : a novel / Elliott, Alicia
“On the surface, Alice is exactly where she should be in life: she’s just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Dawn; her ever-charming husband Steve–a white academic whose area of study is conveniently her own Mohawk culture–is nothing but supportive; and they’ve just moved into a new home in a wealthy neighbourhood in Toronto, a generous gift from her in-laws. But Alice could not feel like more of an imposter.  Told in Alice’s raw and darkly funny voice, And Then She Fell is an urgent and unflinching look at inherited trauma, womanhood, denial and false allyship, that speeds to an unpredictable–and unforgettable–climax. (Adapted from Catalogue) Continue reading “International Women’s Day 2024 – Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist” →