In #5Books recs this week I have a crime novel written by an Australian author with 25 years experience in perinatal psychiatry and a crime novel on a topic some people might find disturbing, a historical romance involving Achilles set in Troy, a heartbreaking story about HIV and a family breaking down in the 90s and two promising fantasy titles — and one set in Paris, be still my heart!
Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen: Alright, this one is in prose — which, I admit made me go noooooo in my head BUT it’s such a good story: Mira finds out her parents are in an open marriage, her father is gay AND he’s HIV positive. As it’s set in the 90s, when HIV was thought of much differently than now, you can imagine the mix in this book… All in prose. The review linked above at Howling for Books is awesome. Go read!
Down Station: This one is by Simon Morden, and was posted over at The Bookish Outsider. It’s giving me all the Neverwhere vibes. There’s an apocalypse happening when a group of people escape into another world, and then more and more people arrive. However, they can’t return to London and the book is about them searching for a way back home.
The Song of Achilles: I found this over on The Devourer’s Library on Tumblr, and ok, aside from a striking cover, Troy made me stop to read the review. This is the story of Achilles and Patroclus and their love story, before and during the Trojan War. The review makes it plain though, that there’s no happy ending involved — which SOBS.
The House of Shattered Wings: This is over on author Martha Wells’ tumblr and was on a list of new books she was going to get next, so you know worth a look, lol! Aliette de Bodard, the author, was born in the US but now lives in Paris and is an SF and Fantasy writer. So this gem is set in Paris, post-war — as in a war in heaven. The focus is House Silverspires, within which there roams a killer… and that’s your murder mystery — a heavenly war and angels included.
Medea’s Curse: This one is by Australian author Anne Buist. It’s been a pretty successful Frankfurt Book Fair (AKA My Book Heaven) for this because it’s been bought by another publishing company for release in the UK. But be warned, the book involves infanticide — Buist has 25 years clinical and research experience in perinatal psychiatry and works on cases that involve infanticide. So, you can imagine the wealth of experience behind this the first in its series: this revolves around Natalie King, a forensic psychiatrist who works with people who have killed children…
That’s it for this week — I don’t know if I have the heart to read Medea’s Curse as much as it fascinates me. I’m surprised how much historical anything is keeping me interested these days, but it really is. Skyscraping is heartbreaking, while Down Station and Hose of Shattered Wings (Paris!) are enough to satisfy my fantasy cravings! What about you? Which one of these book recommendations are you looking forward to?
The Song of Achilles caught my interest. I want to get into that. I have a book about Achilles’ childhood, read it some years ago and now forgot what it’s about. I may have to re-read it.