Another month is rolling on (a week in already!). Having recently reviewed my February reading choices, it’s time to look at what I’m going to be reading in March. As usual, I have bitten off more than I could rightly chew. Nevertheless, here are my March 2024 book previews.
A Resolution Reached?
Strictly speaking it was the last book of my February pile but I have now finished The Dragons of Deepwood Fen. After a slow start, I very much enjoyed it. Look out for a full review soon. The first full book I’ll read in March will probably be Jasper Fforde’s Red Side Story, as mentioned in our reading resolutions post from January. I’ve been fortunate enough to snag a signed copy of this book. I enjoyed Shade of Grey so much and I can’t wait to feast upon this long-awaited sequel.
Children’s Reads
I have three children’s books on my pile this month. The Secrets of the Snake Stone by Piu DasGupta is set in fin de siecle Paris, featuring a young girl sent to France from India. It’s a mystery story featuring a mysterious locket that once contained the eponymous Snake Stone. Looks to be a fun caper in a similar vein to Alice Eclaire. Both books are published by Nosy Crow.
The Spectaculars by Jodie Garnish is the second book in a series and whilst I haven’t read the first book, I’m going to give this a go. It looks a little different from my usual fare, promising to be something like Harry Potter blended with The Greatest Showman. I must confess to sticking this on my pile without reading the back. Had I done so, I might have given it a pass, but it’s good to experience new things, so I’m looking forward to trying this out.
A year or so ago, I reviewed my first Usborne Adventure gamebook. Now I’ve been sent another, Goblin’s Revenge. I like these books as not only do they have some great plot threads (Goblin’s Revenge is promising some cloak-and-dagger shenanigans), but they also have visual puzzles embedded in their excellent illustrations. I’m intrigued to see if this book can live up to the quality of its predecessor.
SFF Choices.
I am hoping March might be the month I finally get around to reading an M.R. Carey novel. The author of The Girl With All the Gifts is very prolific, but despite my buying lots of his novels, I never seem to make time to read them. Whilst I should have known better than to purchase Infinity Gate I couldn’t resist its promise of a multiverse story. Sadly, when the inevitable crash and burn of my reading target arrives, it’s likely to be Infinity Gate that doesn’t make the cut.
One of the reasons for this is because of my decision in 2024 to try to read each month’s Waterstones SFF choice. This month’s choice is In Ascension by Martin McInness. A book I know very little about. It promises to be a slow-burning read that marries marine biology with deep space anomalies. Looking forward to checking it out, though it sounds like it might take more effort than last month’s choice, Godkiller by Hannah Kaner.
The book I’m probably most excited to read in March (perhaps second after Red Side Story) is Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang. First, it offers up a speculative future, with two global superpowers, The Pacific League and The Atlantic Alliance. I love this sort of stuff. It then promises some more deep space anomalies for planet Earth to contend with. It’s a comparatively slim volume with some absolutely beautiful cover art.
A sort of fantasy Venice seems to be the setting for Sebastian de Castell’s Play of Shadows. This novel is set in the same world as his Greatcoats series. Play of Shadows looks to promise webs of intrigue as well as a wisecracking protagonist. I enjoyed last year’s Malevolent Seven, and I’m hoping this will turn things up a notch as de Castell returns to a much-loved setting.
Lucy Holland greatly entertained me with Sistersong back in 2021 and now she’s back with The Song of the Huntress, which promises to be a similar retelling of British folk history, invoking Saxon Kings and legendary hunters. Sistersong was a remarkable novel and I can’t wait to dive back into Lucy Holland’s rendering of Britain’s Dark Age past.
So that’s it for March. At least two of those choices will almost certainly fall into April. Find out which ones next month!
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