The Book Zone Book of the Year 2010

Back in April I started a Book of the Month feature on The Book Zone whereby at the end of each month I would name a book released in that month that I had enjoyed over all the others. I managed to stick to this, without ever cheating and naming more than one book, the idea being that it would make choosing a book of the year much easier. However, as I started doing this in April for some reason I never went back and named my top books for January to March, and so here, some of them for the first time, are all of my top books of 2010:


January - When I Was Joe by Keren David

February - Zero Moment by M.G. Harris

March - Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

April - Mortlock by Jon Mayhew

May - Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

June - Hattori Hachi: Stalking The Enemy by Jane Prowse

July - Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda

August - Raggy Maggie by Barry Hutchison

September - Trash by Andy Mulligan

October - The Dark by David Gatward

November - The Mourning Emporium by Michell Lovric

And the Book Zone Book of the Month for December is Mythical 9th Division: Terror of the Deep by Alex Milway. I love his two yeti books so much and I have given copies to a number of appropriately aged boys as Christmas presents this year. Early reports suggest that they are going down a storm with the 7/8 year olds. Mission accomplished yetis!

As I mentioned at the start of this post, the original idea behind choosing a monthly favourite book was to make my decision about my Book of the Year a little easier. Looking back at these great titles (and some of the others I have read throughout the year and now a few months later seem worthy of the title - The Double-Edged Sword by Sarah Silverwood and Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld certainly now feel like they should have been in there) I wonder whether I have just made life even more difficult as choosing from those twelve feels like a mighty task. However, I promised myself back in April that I would name a Book of the Year and it is.........................


Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda.


I really, really love Sarwat's writing: in Billi SanGreal he has created a character that should she ever appear on the big screen could, in my opinion, become a truly worthy successor to Buffy's crown as Queen of the Monster Fighters. I am fascinated by the amount of detail Sarwat puts into his stories, and the time he spends on researching his material is very evident. But he doesn't just take old folk tales and rehash them, he puts his own mark on them completely (I believe I called it the Chadda Twist back June when I reviewed the book). When can we expect to see the big screen version? Or action figures? Or at the very least a graphic novel of the series? Please?!

I have had the pleasure of meeting Sarwat a couple of times and I am sure there are few authors of Young Adult books out there who are as tireless as he is at promoting the reading of good horror writing. 2010 saw the creation of The Chainsaw Gang (masterminded by Mr Chadda), bringing together some of the best talent in YA horror in the UK, and I am sure there is much more to come in 2011. Perhaps world domination?! I do not know whether Sarwat has plans to release a third book in the series in 2011 but if he does I will be elbowing my way to the front of the queue for a copy.

My Book of the Month - October

So many great books have been released over the past month that making my decision for the Book Zone Book of the Month for October was possibly one of the hardest so far. Just look at this list of very worthy contenders:

• The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley
• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
• Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
• Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
• The Dark by David Gatward
• The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey (review to come soon)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single one of these books as you will know if you have read any of the reviews I wrote for them. However, in the end I have decided to proclaim that the Book Zone Book of the Month for October is The Dark by David Gatward, and it seems pretty fitting to be announcing this on the night of Halloween.

I thought that David Gatward's first book in this series, The Dead, was a superb debut, but I also stated at the time that I felt that it was too short by some fifty pages or so. Thus I was overjoyed, on receiving a copy of the sequel, to find that it was significantly longer, as this would show whether the author could produce a continuation of equally high quality, and maintain this over a greater number of chapters. The verdict was resoundingly positive, and in my review I wrote the following:

If you are a fan of the work of Darren Shan and have not yet discovered this series then it is well worth reading. Dave Gatward certainly knows his horror, and at times this series comes across as his personal homage to the horror films he has loved for most of his life. As an adult reader there were several times when I felt a knowing grin creep onto my face as I spotted a subtle reference here and there. Many of these will be lost on David's younger target audience, but this is the kind of book that will inspire them to become lifelong lovers of the horror genre, both written and cinematic, and they will be able to look forward to spotting these fanboy references, but in reverse.

My Book of the Month - September

Ooops... just realised that I completely forgot to announce my September Book of the Month. There have been so many cool books coming out recently that I have been struggling to keep up and this monthly feature simply slipped my mind. The final decision was a little easier than is has been in previous months as I managed to narrow the shortlist down to two - Trash by Andy Mulligan and The Double-Edged Sword by Sarah Silverwood. Much as I loved Ms Silverwood's magical urban fantasy set in London and its parallel world sister city, Andy Mulligan's funny and moving mystery/adventure story really struck a chord with me. I finished reading this book whilst on a plane flying to Menorca and the story and its characters stayed at the forefront of my mind for the whole week we were away. This is a book that should be in every school library as it will make young people think hard about the things children have to do to survive in countires where poverty is the norm far more than a TV documentary or news feature ever could. 

  

My Book of the Month - August

Where has the summer gone? It seems like only yesterday that we were breaking up for the school summer holidays and now I find myself frantically trying to do all the work things I has planned to spread out over the last five (and a half) weeks. Do I hear parents around the country giving a huge cheer and a sigh of relief that the holidays are over?

Anyway, it is the last day of the month and therefore time for me to announce the Book Zone Book of the Month for August 2010. This was one of the tougest choices so far - first off there was Dark Life, the fantastic debut from Katt Falls. This is a superb re-imagining of the classic westerns where pioneers worked hard to settle on land and fought off the likes of outlaws, but in this case it is set in a future and the settlers are establishing their homes under the waves as climate change has caused the seas to rise and dry land is at a premium. The second choice was Day of the Predator, Alex Scarrow's fab sequel to his first TimeRiders novel. For me this has none of the (albeit few) weaknesses of the first and I loved every page. However, after a lot of agonising I decided that really there could be only one choice this month - I enjoyed it so much I have already read it for a second time and I have been scanning the tables at car boots sales ever since looking for a battered china doll that I can 'adapt'. Yes... you've guessed it - the Book Zone Book of the Month for August is the fantastically scary Raggy Maggie by Barry Hutchison, the second book in his Invisible Fiends series.

This is the perfect horror book for kids. It will have them absolutely scared out of their wits, but without a huge amount of gore. As I said in my original review of the book, I think Caddie is one of the greatest ever creations in children's horror literature, and following a second reading I stand by this statement. If you haven't read this yet then make it a priority for September (but make sure you have read Mr Mumbles first).

And HarperCollins, if you are reading this, I am still waiting for those Invisible Fiends action figures to be released. Come on - you know you want to!

My Book of the Month - July

I can't believe it is the end of the month already, and with this in mind it must also be time for me to announce what for me was my favourite of the books whose official publication date fell in July. This was a really difficult choice to make this month as my shortlist consisted of three very strong contenders, and funnily enough all of them could be classified as horror. The books that made the cut to the final shortlist were Witch Breed by Alan Gibbons, the fourth book in his Devil's Underground series; Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda, the sequel to his debut novel Devil's Kiss; and last but by no means least, David Gatward's excellent debut horror book The Dead. On any other month every one of these would have destroyed the competition, so it is unfortunate that they were all released within days of each other. However, a decision has to be made as I promised myself earlier in the year that I would never cheat and name more than one, and so after much agonising I have decided that my Book of the Month for July is Sarwat Chadda's Dark Goddess.

There is little more I can say about this book that hasn't already been written. Since is was released it has garnered a number of outstanding reviews from professional critics and book bloggers alike. For me, I think Sarwat's greatest strengths lie in the development of his main character Billi SanGreal, but also in the quality (and use) of his research material. Sarwat Chadda has a great imagination and is able to take snippets of folk tales and give them a twist to create his own mythology. I really liked Devil's Kiss but it did have its weaknesses; it is astounding how Mr Chadda's writing has matured in short a short space of time so that none of these weaknesses are present in Dark Goddess. If you're a boy who despairs at the way your sister or female school friends wax lyrical about Twilight then give Dark Goddess a chance - it is the perfect remedy!

My Book of the Month - June

I have found it very difficult to choose a Book Zone Book of the Month for June. Not because there was a huge number of books released this month, but more because there were two that I enjoyed so much it seemed unfair to choose one over the other. These two books are Death Cloud by Andrew Lane (the first in his new Young Sherlock Holmes series) and the second Hattori Hachi book by Jane Prowse. I came very close to biting the bullet and picking both of them, however I am not going to be a rule-breaker - in the words of Connor McLeod (of the Clan McLeod) "There can be only one!" and that one is Hattori Hachi: Stalking The Enemy.

This has been a very busy month at work so despite finishing this book some time ago I just haven't had the time to write a review for it yet. Stalking The Enemy is the second book from Jane Prowse featuring her teenage ninja heroine Hattie Jackson. I read the first in the series, The Revenge of Praying Mantis, earlier this year and if you read my review you will very quickly find out why I loved it so much. This sequel has since been very high up on my 'can't wait for it to be published' list and I was really happy to receive a copy from Piccadilly Press, and incredibly flattered when I saw that a quote from my review of the first book had made it to the back cover. However, as I opened it I couldn't help but worry.... what if I didn't like the sequel?

Obviously, the fact that I have made it my Book of the Month is evidence already that I really enjoyed it. Is it as good as the first book though? Definitely not...... in my opinion it is even better! There are more ninja villains, more ninja fights and more super-cool ninja gadgets and weapons. The characters of Hattori and her friends are developed further, including her father, of whom we saw fairly little in the first book in this series. There are also more revelations about Hattori's Japanese heritage, and what part she has to play in her role as the Hattori Golden Child and her family's ongoing war against the evil Kataki. I was right to be excited about reading this book.

The Revenge of Praying Mantis has a fairly linear plot - Hattie's mum goes missing, Hattie discovers she is descended from a long line of ruling-class ninjas, Hattie gets trained by the little old lady who runs the launderette downstairs from where she lives, and so on. There are also a number of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, the tension building and the story from being far from predictable. However, Stalking The Enemy really ups the ante as far as twists and turns are concerned, and neither Hattie nor the reader really have much of a clue as to just what is going to happen next. Is Toby on the side of good or evil? Where are Hattie's mother and Yazuki? Why is the Kielder area so important to the evil Raven and his Kataki warriors? And just who is the mysterious jonin who is issuing the instructions to the various players on the side of good?

As with Praying Mantis we are introduced to a number of Japanese words throughout the book and although the words jonin, chunin and genin are unfamiliar to the majority of children who will read this book, the concepts behind them are not so strange. A jonin is the head of a ninja mission; he (or she) passes instructions to the field-operatives (or genin) via middle-men (known as a chunin). This way many operatives can be working towards a shared final objective without knowing the full plan, or even whether there are any other ninjas involved, and therefore if they are captured and tortured there is no chance of them being able to compromise their fellow operatives. This use of cells is pretty much identical to how modern day terrorists operate, and Jane Prowse's use of this in her plot is the key to making the story as tense and exciting as it is. Hattie is constantly questioning her actions, wondering whether they are correct as far as the 'big plan' is concerned, or will her next move actually jeopardise everything? The fact that Hattie doesn't know means that we as readers are also very much in the dark - make sure you hold on tight as the edge of your seat may just give way!

If there was ever a list of books that could be used to persuade boys that female main characters can be worth reading about then this would not only be on that list, it would be up there battling away for the top spot. If I asked a group of boys what they want in a book they would answer action, adventure, fights, great characters (I know this... I have asked them, and one of even replied ninjas!). I criticised Praying Mantis for having a girly cover which may prevent boys from even picking it off a shelf - hopefully the blue cover of Stalking The Enemy may help remedy this. The quote from my review of Praying Mantis that Piccadilly Press so kindly used on the back of this book read "As thrilling an action story as anything written by Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore or Joe Craig" and I stand by this completely. The only problem is that now I probably have to wait another year for the third instalment, and next time Hattie and her friends and family are heading to the heart of ninja-land - Japan. How exciting!

Hattori Hachi: Stalking The Enemy by Jane Prowse is published by Piccadilly Press and is available in stores now. Go on..... it is well worth your time.

My Book of the Month - May

Deciding on my Book of the Month was a relatively easy task this time around, as I narrowed it down to two books pretty quickly - Mark Walden's Rogue and Jenna Burtenshaw's Wintercraft. I have been a huge fan of Walden's H.I.V.E. books ever since I read the first in the series, but I have decided to choose Ms Burtenshaw's novel as my May Book of the Month, as it is a remarkable debut fantasy story.

As I said in my original review, I loved this dark fantasy story with its well imagined world of Albion and its cast of colourful characters. It would seem I am not alone in this, as since its released it has continued to garner good review after good review. Some reviewers have offered their criticisms but even these admit that the quality of writing, the world building and the characters overshadow any perceived weaknesses.

Fantasy is not a genre that I have warmed to over the years - too many fairies, dragons, etc. for my liking - but this book had me captivated from start to finish (possibly aided by the total absence of any of these aforementioned mythical creatures). It is also evident that I am not the only reader who thinks that Silas Dane is the stand out element of the story. Yesterday on Twitter Ms Burtenshaw mentioned that the next adventure set in this world should be out next spring, and that "there's lots more to come from Silas and Kate" - fantastic news!

My Book of the Month - April (plus contest)

Over the weekend I was looking back through some other book blogs and was reminded that at the end of 2009 many bloggers were finding it very difficult to name their Top 10 books of the year. With this in mind, I have decided that at the end of each month I will name a Book Zone Book of the Month. This will be a book that has had its official publication date during that month. So to kick everything off, my Book of the Month for April 2010 is Mortlock by Jon Mayhew.

This was not an easy choice as I have read many really good books that have been published this month. In the end I had a shortlist of Crawlers by Sam Enthoven, MeZolith by Ben Haggarty and Adam Brockbank and Mortlock by Jon Mayhew. Anyone who has been lucky enough to have read all three of these will know what a difficult choice this was, but somehow Mortlock is the book that has stuck in my mind the most. It has everything I would look for in a horror story - nail-biting scenes of extreme horror featuring terrifying supernatural creatures, a fast paced plot, thoroughly believable main characters, a well imagined Victorian London setting vividly described, and his creepiest creation of all - Lorenzo's Incredible Circus. My "To Be Read" pile is invariably huge but I have already made the time to re-read this book and it was just as good the second time around.

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And now you have a chance to win a signed copy of the book. Thanks to the generous people at Bloomsbury I have two signed copies of Mortlock up for grabs. In order to be in with a chance of winning one of these I want you to get creative. Mortlock contains a number of characters with great Victorian names (Sebastian Mortlock, Thurlough Corvis and Edwin Chrimes are all names that Dickens himself could have used in his books), so all you have to do is:

Come up with your own name for a character that would sit well in a Victorian gothic story like Mortlock and leave it as a comment on this blog post. Please also include your email address or twitter name.

The first two names drawn at random after the closing date will win a copy of this gorgeous book. Deadline for your comments is 8pm Friday 30th April. This contest is open to UK residents only.

Terms and conditions

Contest open to UK entrants only.
I will not be held responsible for items lost in the mail.
I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.
I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.
I will contact winning entrants for their postal address following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.