By Laura McCarthy. I touch my face and my hand is damp. That’s unexpected. This dark tale of a family curse has more substance than I presumed. For October (with it being both Black History Month and spooky season), I wanted to find a disturbing new release from a...
Books
Art of Climbing Trees book launch at October Books
One year, 365 trees, ten countries, 80 ‘co-climbers’. Described as ‘a radical manifesto from the branches, new book Art of Climbing Trees was, fifteen years in the making – a crowd-funder delivers more than a decade late! Art of Climbing Trees (A.C.T.) is a beautifully illustrated, genre-bending book; a...
Opinion: Why white writers should support POC authors having their voices heard
By Laura McCarthy. I made the mistake of looking at the comment section on a post about Merky Books’ New Writers’ Prize. What did I see? Perhaps you can already predict if you know that the competition is aimed at Black, Asian, and ethnic minority writers. You guessed it:...
Favourite book review: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
By Charlotte Ndupuechi. Onjali Q. Raúf’s The Boy at the Back of the Class is a beautifully written, thought-provoking children’s novel, full of fun, friendship, adventure, and standing up for what’s right. This is a timely and important read for families and schools, and a story that encourages compassion...
Opinion: big book awards: is there a place for horror, fantasy, and sci-fi?
By Laura McCarthy. As both a writer and a reader, I am finding the lack of recognition for big concept horror, fantasy, and science-fiction of late to be depressing. And when I mention these genres, I am referring to narratives which fully embody ambitious, large concepts; so not just...
Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
By Sadie Jones. Published earlier this month (on June 3rd) by Hutchinson Heinemann, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel about our protagonist Joan, a woman with a passion for the stars, as she signs up to join NASA’s Space Shuttle programme. Well, the first thing to say is:...
Pride Month: Book Review of Mattie Lubchansksy’s Simplicity: A Novel
By Laura McCarthy. To be released at the end of July from publisher Pantheon Books, Mattie Lubchansky’s graphic novel Simplicity is set in the year 2081 and follows shy but passionate academic, Lucius, as he ventures out of the futuristic, walled security territory of New York. He leaves in...
Pride Month: Book Review of William Rayfet Hunter’s Sunstruck
By Laura McCarthy. How quickly can sunshine fade and clouds dominate when you are taken in by the wrong crowd? British-Jamaican writer William Rayfet Hunter, winner of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize 2022, has released his debut novel; Sunstruck was published by Penguin Random House UK this May....
Book Review: Stephen Graham Jones Reinvents the Vampire in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
By Laura McCarthy. Stephen Graham Jones’ latest horror novel is a spectacular, haunting tale of vampirism like you’ve never seen before. It is written in such a way that the reader is forced to slow down to process the narrative and the complex philosophical questions which come with it....
Books which feel like spring
By Laura McCarthy. The spring equinox has passed and we’ve been blessed with brighter and warmer days. It’s not a secret that spring is my favourite season of the year. The weather is not swelteringly hot or miserably cold, but is at that Goldilocks point of perfect balance. The...