Bank Holiday Reads

It’s Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and we couldn’t be more thrilled to spend a weekend catching up on some of our favourite reads. Here’s what Team Gollancz will be reading over the long weekend.

Gillian: Bank holidays are long. Really long. Really, really long. So I recommend not one book but a whole trilogy. Be prepared for a whole three days of Traditional British Bank Holiday weather with The First Law Trilogy (which comes in a box, so only counts as one). Written by award-winning, bestselling author Joe Abercrombie, it’s the story every Game of Thrones fan has been looking for: crippled torturers, well meaning-swordsmen, barbarians and just a touch of magic. The perfect thing, for a grim, dark bank holiday.

Darren: I’ll be actively seeking out some time over the long weekend to finish Al Reynolds’ and Steve Baxter’s The Medusa Chronicles, a sequel to Arthur C. Clarke’s Nebula Award-winning novella ‘A Meeting With Medusa’. Two of modern SF’s greatest talents giving their take on one of the all-time greats of the genre – what’s not to like? This is a wonderful story, spanning centuries of humanity’s future history as we spread out into the solar system – and beyond? I don’t know, I’m not finished yet, but I wouldn’t bet against it. The Medusa Chronicles is terrific SF in its own right, but if you’re an Arthur C. Clarke fan, you’ll get added enjoyment from the many Easter eggs scattered throughout the text. And when I finish, I’ve got The Fireman lined up next. Is it wrong of me to hope it rains . . . ?

Jen: This weekend I’m re-reading the incredible Graceling realm books. Graceling was the first Gollancz book I ever read when I joined the team. I adored this book so much. The story of Katsa and Po has stayed with me. Vividly drawn, this is a world I can’t wait to revisit. Although, I might not be ready for a re-read of the fantastic and heart-breaking Bitterblue just yet.

Marcus: I’m currently reading Sea-Kings of Mars, a Fantasy Masterwork collection of interplanetary stories from Leigh Brackett (who I knew was one of the writers on The Empire Strikes Back, but I did not know had also worked on The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye). I’m only about 80 pages in so far, but they’re great fun – the influence of John Carter of Mars is obvious, and seeing as I love those books this is right up my street.

Rachel: I’m going to be reading Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box this bank holiday.  I love Joe’s work and this is the one book of his I haven’t read yet so I’ve been saving it for a perfect occasion (I’m at wedding this weekend and I’m pretty sure that’s as perfect as it gets). An aging musician. A gorgeous groupie. A mail-order ghost. What can go wrong? Hopefully everything (in the book, obviously, not the wedding).

Amy: This bank holiday I’ll be delving into Tales from the Kingdom by Sarah Pinborough. I’ve been meaning to read Sarah’s fairytale revamps ever since I was blown away her writing in 13 Minutes earlier this year. I’m now quite glad I waited as it means I get to read the collection together in one beautiful book!

Lily: I have, for my shame, only just finished the First Law trilogy so I plan on continuing my Joe Abercrombie binge (I read Sharp Ends first, definitely doing this the wrong way) and reading Best Served Cold, I love the idea of following a fury filled, badass woman around Styria in springtime. Tis the best time for revenge taking, spring cleaning. Next up on my TBR is Joanne Harris’ The Gospel of Loki because Norse Mythology is the best and the cover is truly beautiful. Those booky reasons and then also the fact that her twitter makes me gloriously happy and a woman that awesome must be writing good books.

Stevie: The new big thing – after waiting a million years for your favourite author to write the next book in your most beloved of epic series – is waiting for that next book to be translated from Polish. After a year spent doing very little apart from playing The Witcher 3, I am very happy to finally have The Tower of the Swallows in my hands (in a language I can understand!) and will spend my long weekend finding out what happens next with Geralt and Ciri.

Mark: I’m also at a wedding (not the same one as Rachel’s), but in-between the ceremony and merriment I’ll be dipping into Neil Gaiman’s View From The Cheap Seats, which is his collected non-fiction, and what I’ve read so far just confirms that he’s one of the good guys and one of the wisest minds in books. He’s come a long way from the cool dude who wrote Sandman.