Forthcoming Books: 2009 edition

[AuntiePam]

[quote=""gyrehead""]
Drood by Dan Simmons
novel about Charles Dickens and murder and mayhem in Victorian England[/quote]

I have this on pre-order. I loved The Terror. I've read Simmons for years. He started out with horror fiction but I'm thinking he's found his niche with historicals, especially if he can work in some supernatural stuff.

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
massive in scope fictional memoir of a former Nazi officer; has won many awards and is a huge book in Europe.

I wonder if he's related to Robert Littell, who wrote excellent espionage fiction back in the 80's. I'm gonna check this one out.

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears
turn of the century mystery; big book that looks like it could be good

I'll read anything he writes. Instance of the Fingerpost is a favorite.

[Divia]

I'm thinking these could be cool as well

Blood for Blood
Refuge from the Storm
The Scent of Sake
Blood of Night Women (maybe..about slavery..those are always touch and go)

[Margaret]

The US is always last on the bandwaggon when it comes to good historical fiction.

So true, and it drives me nuts. Two of the best historical novels I've read this year were published in England and Canada, respectively, and are very difficult to obtain in the U.S. Plus, there's a whole list of novels I want to read that were never published here, only in the U.K. I think U.S. publishers have decided that U.S. readers will not read historical fiction unless it's set in the U.S. and/or about some very, very famous historical figure, like Queen Elizabeth I or Alexander the Great. The merely semi-famous (Lorenzo de Medici or John Donne) will not, they assume, attract readers, no matter how beautifully-written, exciting and emotionally moving the novel.

Please, someone prove me wrong!

As for what I'm looking forward to:

Drood. With the Dickens connection and a title like that, how could I not?

Helen Humphreys has a collection of stories coming out called The Frozen Thames, with each story about a different time in history when the Thames froze. This book sounds delicious! I can never forget the scene in Virginia Woolf's Orlando about the Thames freezing. And I just brought home a copy of Humphreys's most recent previous novel (I think), The Lost Garden, and her writing style is lovely.

[Vanessa]

Kasthu, have you read John Harwoods previous book, The Ghost Writer? I really enjoyed it.

[Ludmilla]

I've mentioned it before, but it belongs here so I'll mention it again. The Virago Press website reports that Sarah Waters' new novel, The Little Stranger, will come out in late spring 2009. The blurb on their site describes it as follows:

she remains in the 1940s, setting her story in rural Warwickshire, in a crumbling country manor house haunted by a dying way of life -- and perhaps by something more sinister...

I love it when Sarah does Gothic!

Divia, I'm interested in the Jules Watson book, too. Your post actually reminded me that I need to buy the 3rd in her Dalriada trilogy. I've been waiting to read that series until the 3rd one was out in paperback, not realizing that the paperback was released back in the summer.

More books to order -- perhaps with xmas gift cards if I get lucky.

[Leo62]

[quote=""Ludmilla""]I've mentioned it before, but it belongs here so I'll mention it again. The Virago Press website reports that Sarah Waters' new novel, The Little Stranger, will come out in late spring 2009. The blurb on their site describes it as follows:
Quote:
she remains in the 1940s, setting her story in rural Warwickshire, in a crumbling country manor house haunted by a dying way of life -- and perhaps by something more sinister...

[/quote]

Ooh that sounds great - going straight on the wishlist

Bleeding Heart Square - just requested that at my local lib. I'm not familiar with Ian Pears but am just about to remedy that...

Great thread

[gyrehead]

Karen Maitland's The Owl Killers is due out in the UK March 29th. Hopefully this means that it will be getting a US release later this fall (Company of Liars was released in the US this past September I believe). This one has a great premise (you can read it on amazon.uk).

Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste series should see The Man in the Yellow Doublet sometime by summer. UK has a release date already but for some reason this series doesn't get the push I think it should and the listings from the publisher to the vendors comes out rather late.

Same with Boris Akunin. His Erast Fandorin series doesn't seem to have taken off like I thought it would in the US. I don't normally like historical mysteries if for only the reason too often it seems like the history part is just a gimmick and poorly done. But this is one of the handful I go out and buy if I don't get an advanced copy. He should have one coming out in the US. I know in the UK it has been out for awhile already and there are two more set for release there.

[annis]

Robert Harris' "Conspiracy/Conspirata" is the second in the Cicero trilogy, gyrehead.

A few which I'm looking forward to:

Jude Morgan's take on the Bronte family
"The Taste of Sorrow"

Jo Graham's "Hand of Isis", set in ancient Egypt

Margaret Lawrence's story about the Roanoke Colony
"Roanoke"

Another good place for checking out forthcoming books is Sarah Johnson's "Reading the Past"blog

[Ariadne]

Annis, you beat me to announcing it - I just posted covers/synopses for a bunch of summer '09 titles on my blog. Lots to look forward to! I'll do an update when more publishers' summer catalogs are out.

The Brontes are the latest thing - not only Jude Morgan's novel but Denise Giardina's forthcoming one (Emily's Ghost) and Syrie James's upcoming Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte... add that to Laura Joh Rowland's Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte from earlier this year. That woman gets around.

[annis]

I really enjoy your Obscure Books section too, ariadne. It's almost impossible to find synopses of some of these older titles.