Book Tempting To The Future

This week a few books I’ve been waiting to get my hands when I finally left the house for the bookshop (that was weird)! This time three authors I’ve all enjoyed previous work from

Devolution by Max Brooks – published by Del Ray £12.99 paperback Out Now

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing - and too earth-shattering in its implications - to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate's extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the beasts behind it, once thought legendary but now known to be terrifyingly real.

Kate's is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity's defiance in the face of a terrible predator's gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us - and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Brooks created a horror sensation with World War Z which had an amazingly real documentary reporting style approach to the end of the world (all of which you will not see in the movie). But this time can it work with Bigfoot? I am intrigued and early reviews I’ve seen are quite positive.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho - Published by Tor £7.48 Kindle eBook Out Now

A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

I’ve now been a fan of Zen Cho for many years and have found their work always entertaining and thoughtful. This time the wuxia fantasy setting is a new dimension and pretty appealing.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Published by Jo Fletcher Books £16.99 Hardback – Out Now

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.
When glamorous socialite Noemí Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it's clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her.

Noemí's chic gowns and perfect lipstick are more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she immediately heads to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin.

Tough and smart, she possesses an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin's new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi's dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family's youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family's past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family's once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. 

And Noemí, mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind

I’ve now read four Moreno-Garcia stories and each one is different ranging from far future to romance to road trip with Mexican Gods. All have been brilliant This time a gothic haunted house novel? For me a must-read.