Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
Petrograd
Written by Philip Gelatt
Art by Tyler Crook
Promo copy:
Introducing the untold tale of the international conspiracy behind the murder of Gregorii Rasputin! Set during the height of the first World War, the tale follows a reluctant British spy stationed in the heart of the Russian empire as he is handed the most difficult assignment of his career: orchestrate the death of the mad monk, the Tsarina’s most trusted adviser and the surrogate ruler of the nation. The mission will take our hero from the slums of the working class into the opulent houses of the super rich… he’ll have to negotiate dangerous ties with the secret police, navigate the halls of power, and come to terms with own revolutionary leanings, all while simply trying to survive! Based on historical documents and research, Petrograd is a tense, edge-of-your seat spy thriller, taking the reader on a journey through the background of one of history’s most infamous assassinations, set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous moments in 20th century history.
Beautiful book on a fascinating subject. More on this later.
The Third Section
by Jasper Kent
Cover by Paul Young
Promo copy:
The third novel in Jasper Kent’s enthralling, chilling and acclaimed historical vampire sequence — The Danilov Quintet.
Russia 1855. After forty years of peace in Europe, war rages. In the Crimea, the city of Sevastopol is besieged. In the north, Saint Petersburg is blockaded. But in Moscow there is one who needs only to sit and wait — wait for the death of an aging tsar, and for the curse upon his blood to be passed to a new generation.
As their country grows weaker, a brother and sister — each unaware of the other’s existence — must come to terms with the legacy left them by their father. In Moscow, Tamara Valentinovna Lavrova uncovers a brutal murder and discovers that it is not the first in a sequence of similar crimes, merely the latest, carried out by a killer who has stalked the city since 1812.
And in Sevastopol, Dmitry Alekseevich Danilov faces not only the guns of the combined armies of Britain and France, but must also make a stand against creatures that his father had thought buried beneath the earth, thirty years before.
I thoroughly enjoyed the creative first installment Twelve and the second volume Thirteen Years Later currently sits on my must-read pile.
C
by Tom McCarthy
Promo copy:
Opening in England at the turn of the twentieth century, C is the story of Serge Carrefax, whose father experiments with wireless communication while running a school for deaf children. Serge grows up amid the noise and silence with his brilliant but troubled older sister, Sophie: an intense sibling relationship that haunts him as he heads off into an equally troubled larger world. As Serge goes from a Bohemian spa to the skies of World War I, and from a German prison camp into the tombs of Egypt, we follow his life through the tumultuous course of the nascent modern era. Tom McCarthy—acclaimed author of Remainder—has created a truly singular character, and a world that sparkles with historical breadth and postmodern originality.
Ravensoul (Legends of the Raven, Book 4)
by James Barclay
Cover by Raymond Swanland
Promo copy:
What would you do if a stranger came to your door claiming to be your best friend. A best friend who you saw die ten years before? The Unknown Warrior has spent the last ten years mourning the dead of the legendary mecernary band The Raven. Reluctant ruler of Balaia he has also resided over the gradual recovery of the land after the devastation of the Demonstorm. The one other surviving member of The Raven, Denser has spent the years rebuilding Xetesk to be the dominant college of magic. But something is very wrong. There are rumours of the dead coming back to life. And the Elves are fleeing their homeland. Something unutterably awful is happening. Something that has spread across all the dimensions. Something that threatens the very essence of the world, that has terrified the spirits of the dead. Brought them back to Balaia. And amongst them The Raven. Desperate, facing a fight that cannot be won.
Half Empty
by David Rakoff
Cover by Mark Matcho
Promo copy:
In this deeply smart and sneakily poignant collection of essays, the bestselling author of Fraud and Don’t Get Too Comfortable makes an inspired case for always assuming the worst—because then you’ll never be disappointed. Whether he’s taking on pop culture phenomena with Oscar Wilde-worthy wit or dealing with personal tragedy, Rakoff’s sharp observations and humorist’s flair for the absurd will have you positively reveling in the untapped power of negativity.
Books received 8/30/11 was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon