The Angel of Khan el-Khalili — P. Djèlí Clark

1 February 20225 June 2025 By 5t4n5

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili -- P. Djèlí Clark The second story from the Dead Djinn Universe, which i only just got hold of with it having been quite some time since i finished the other three books (silly me thought it was a trilogy). But not to worry, while it would have been better to have read it before The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it was very much worth reading still and doesn’t detract from anything i’ve already read in this series.

Once again, all the super good writing we’ve come to enjoy from Djèlí, my only question would be is will there be any more Cairo books? I do so hope so, this is a fantastic world Djèlí has created that begs to be explored a lot more. And i totally recommend this whole series for everyone, even if you’re not already into steampunk flavoured fantasy with a North African twist you soon will be.

This is available in the anthologies, Clockwork Cairo and Swift the Chase, and also can be read for free over at Tor.com.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#steampunk #fantasy #pdjeliclark

Worlds Enough & Time — Dan Simmons

1 February 202215 August 2024 By 5t4n5

Worlds Enough & Time -- Dan Simmons

Hyperion Cantos

Orphans of the Helix – 1999

Standalones

Looking for Kelly Dahl – 1995

The Ninth of Av – 2001

On K2 with Kanakaredes – 2001

The End of Gravity – 2002

Dan’s Page

#scifi #dansimmons

Lovedeath — Dan Simmons

1 February 202215 August 2024 By 5t4n5

Lovedeath -- Dan Simmons

Entropy’s Bed at Midnight – 1990

Dying in Bangkok – 1993

Sleeping with Teeth Women – 1993

Flashback – 1993

The Great Lover – 1993

Dan’s Page

#scifi #dansimmons

Fresco — Alastair Reynolds

1 February 202215 August 2024 By 5t4n5

Fresco -- Alastair Reynolds You’ll find this in the collection, Deep Navigation.

A rather brief short story about an observatory near Jupiter that listens to broadcasts from other galaxies.

I get the idea that this should be a prequel to something: not sure what the point is being on its own. Ho hum.

Next in the timeline from Alastair, it’s The Real Story from 2002.

Alastair’s Page

#scifi #alastairreynolds

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World — K. J. Parker

1 February 202215 August 2024 By 5t4n5

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World -- K. J. Parker The third instalment in The Siege. The first two thirds of the trilogy were excellent, this book has a lot to live up to.

As soon as i got a copy of this book i dropped everything else i was reading and jumped straight in: that’s how much i enjoyed the first two books of the trilogy.

Once more, great writing with great characters being forced into corners and having to do whatever it takes just to survive another hour or so, because you only need another hour or so to figure out how you can find a way to survive the next hour or so. Fortunately for us avid readers our protagonists in these stories always find a way to keep surviving all those next hours or sos and thus the story keeps on rolling along with calamities and shenanigans abounding.

To be honest, i was sold on K. J. Parker’s writing after the first book, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, the second book, How To Rule An Empire and Get Away With It, just confirmed that i wasn’t mistaken in my assessment, and this book now makes me realise that i’ve been missing out on some great writing for over 20 years, but hey, now i can go back and read the complete K. J. Parker back catalogue and really enjoy myself.

So yeah, if you’re looking for a good fun read then do give The Siege trilogy a go, i’m sure most people with even just a tiniest smattering of a sense of humour will enjoy these books.