Book reviews: fiction from Zen Cho, China Miéville and Nick Hornby
Magic and mayhem in Regency England, a puzzling sci-fi mystery, and a new version of the modern classic About a Boy
by Zen Cho (read by Jenny Sterling)
Avid Audio (audiobook)
Having self-published her debut, a historical romance titled The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo, Malaysian-born Zen Cho has gone “legit” with the first part of a trilogy set in Regency England. As her past publications also include an edition of Malaysian cyberpunk stories, it comes as little surprise that history rubs shoulders with fantasy, horror and more than a hint of magic. This is explicitly the domain of the Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, England’s exclusive and, it turns out, bigoted society of wizards. When Zacharias Wythe becomes Sorcerer Royal, this former slave is treated like, well, a former slave. Little wonder he joins forces with the nicely named Prunella Gentleman (not only a woman but half-Indian), causing all manner of anti-establishment chaos in the process. If the summary sounds dry, the writing and plotting is anything but. There are cheeky jokes at Britain’s present racial immaturity (the unpleasant Mr Midsomer hints at the whiter-than-white TV show Midsomer Murders), some zesty dialogue, and complex relationships reflecting the fraught politics. Jenny Sterlin reads with an attractive, deep-throated timbre that, frankly, I could listen to all week. If she sometimes sounds a little stiff, the sheer sonorousness of her tones more than compensates. I hope both reunite for part two.
by China Miéville (read by Matthew Frow)