Pile by the Bed reviews The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah – debut and first of The Sandsea Trilogy set in a fantasy world based on Middle Eastern mythology. Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings, a science fiction debut that uses time travel and space opera tropes to great effect. Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Book of Night by Holly Black, the first foray by the successful YA author into fantasy for more mature readers.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Flight of the Aphrodite by SJ Morden a gritty space survival tale in which a slowly disintegrating sceintific expedition make huge discoveries around Jupiter,
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Devil House by John Darnielle – a thematically rich and resonant series of tales of crime and murder that deconstruct the true crime genre to explore why we tell stories.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, a fun riff on monster movies from Godzilla to Pacific Rim and beyond.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Hovering by Rhett Davis – a worthy winner of the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award
Pile by the Bed reviews Jade Legacy the final epic book in Fonda Lee’s Godfather meets martial arts fantasy Geenbone Saga. Recommended.
Pile byt the Bed reviews The Hood, the second book in Lavie Tidhar’s Anti-matter of Britain Quartet this one deconstructing the legend of Robin Hood and his gang.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends The Darkest Sin, the second book in DV Bishop’s historical crime series set in renaissance Italy featuring Cesare Aldo.
Pile by the Bed reviews Joan is Okay by Weike Wang, an insightful novel exploring the experience of Chinese Americans from the author of Chemistry.
Pile byt the Bed reviews The Sentence by American indigenous author Louise Erdrich set in a small Minneapolic bookstore impacted by the tumultuous events of 2020.
Pile by the Bed reviews Dust off the Bones by Paul Howarth, sequel to Only Killers and Thieves, an Australian western tale exploring the aftermath of the massacre of an Aboriginal community.
Pile by the Bed reviews Leviathan Falls by James SA Corey – the ninth and final book in The Expanse series. Recommended.
Pile by the Bed reviews Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, a great American novel rich with character, theme and resonance and shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Promise by Damon Galgut, winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, a vebally inventive novel dealing with the last thirty years of South African history.
Pile by the Bed reviews Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong, conclusion to her 1920s Shanghai set, Shakespeare inspired These Violent Delights.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends the final John Le Carré novel Silverview which shows once again why he was considered the master of the espionage novel.
Pile by the Bed reviews Case Study by Graham Macrae Burnet a layered exploration of self and identity set in in 1960s London.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto a thematically rich coming of age story set in New York and rural America in 2011.
