Review: THE WOKEN GODS by Gwenda Bond (Strange Chemistry)

I don't usually read too much Young Adult fiction, unless word of mouth is so rampant that my interest can't help but be piqued.  But when one of my favorite publishers Angry Robot started releasing daring, new YA fiction under its Strange Chemistry imprint, I threw caution to the winds and took a chance.  First came Blackwood by Gwenda Bond, then Shift by Kim Curran and I thought to myself, now here was YA fiction that I could sink my teeth into and really enjoy!  There were no angst ridden teenage girls or pale, tragic vampire teen heartthrobs in sight, just more great speculative fiction  in the glorious Angry Robot tradition, and I started to read all the SC titles that I could get my hands on.

And along came The Woken Gods.

When I was younger, and due to my father's influence, I read alot of books on mythology and ever since then have always enjoyed reading fiction that integrates those familiar myths and legends.  So I was very interested in The Woken Gods from the start.  And I can report that it is a novel that I enjoyed very much; full of enough adventure to keep me satisfied but leaving me wanting more from the promise I feel went unfulfilled.

The premise is awesome: gods from the earth's mythologies are very real and have returned to earth.  All the major pantheons are here and Bond chooses to keep the gods among us as they should be; mysterious, aloof and certainly beyond the understanding of we mere mortals.  In Washington, D.C.,where the novel takes place, there are liaisons from each pantheon that interact with the Society of the Sun, an organization created to deal with the newly awoken gods.

Also in Washington live Kyra Locke and her father, a "librarian" with the Society.  Only, unbeknownst to Kyra, he isn't really a librarian at all and has made off with an ancient relic that the Society would like to have returned to it...

Both the action and fantasy sequences in The Woken Gods are well written, and once the pacing of the book picks up, keep it moving right along.  For me, it is a book with a slow introduction; there is alot of information and back story that Bond has to impart to us to get the party started and sometimes the expositions got to be quite lengthy.  After a few chapters, however, the narrative found its legs and I dived right in.

Kyra and Oz, the two main characters, are well developed and they and their supporting cast kept me engaged throughout the book.  I do feel that The Woken Gods is just the first adventure that we will share with them, since the climax of the book feels open ended and I believe that there is plenty more of this world that Bond can explore.

I would honestly recommend The Woken Gods to anyone who are looking for something different in the YA field, or who are just looking for a great read.  I was entertained and am now left wanting to see what happens next...happy reading!



(This counts toward the Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Reading Challenge 2013 hosted by Book Chick City)

Countdown to STRANGE CHEMISTRY!

In what seems like the longest wait since the anticipation of Christopher Nolan finishing his Batman trilogy, the new YA imprint from Angry Robot, STRANGE CHEMISTRY, is set to launch on August 23rd!  I know many of you, like me, have been waiting (im)patiently for the first books to come down the pipeline, thus confirming that the Strange Chemistry brand will continue the tradition of genre blurring excellence and originality started with Angry Robot.  

As a member of The Robot Army, it's been exciting to see the blogosphere already abuzz with positive reviews and anticipation of the launch titles and you will of course start seeing reviews here before long.  I've been consciously trying to expand my reading horizons lately and with Angry Robot taking the plunge into YA fiction, I asked myself what better time for me to do the same?!

For now, and to prepare for the upcoming launch, here are the covers for the anticipated first titles coming soon from STRANGE CHEMISTRY; enjoy!

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond (September 2012)

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Shift by Kim Curran (September 2012)

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he’s not so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world quickly starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

And coming in October 2012:

Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings

15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it’s pretty obvious to Julie there’s a supernatural connection.

In fact, there’s a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie’s high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it’s a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won’t just lose her mother’s soul, she’ll lose her mother’s life.

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. And when Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together. To break the curse, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks—all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic, and the growing romantic tension between them.

And for release in November 2012:

Katya's World by Jonathan L Howard

The distant and unloved colony world of Russalka has no land, only the raging sea. No clear skies, only the endless storm clouds. Beneath the waves, the people live in pressurised environments and take what they need from the boundless ocean. It is a hard life, but it is theirs and they fought a war against Earth to protect it. But wars leave wounds that never quite heal, and secrets that never quite lie silent. Katya Kuriakova doesn’t care much about ancient history like that, though. She is making her first submarine voyage as crew; the first nice, simple journey of what she expects to be a nice, simple career. There is nothing nice and simple about the deep black waters of Russalka, however; soon she will encounter pirates and war criminals, see death and tragedy at first hand, and realise that her world’s future lies on the narrowest of knife edges. For in the crushing depths lies a sleeping monster, an abomination of unknown origin, and when it wakes, it will seek out and kill every single person on the planet.

Angry Robot presents EXHIBIT A

Early this morning, the publishing geniuses at Angry Robot finally announced the news they'd been teasing us with, a new sister imprint called Exhibit A, which will publish genre crime fiction.  Here's the press release:

Angry Robot, the award-winning publisher of what it calls SF, F and WTF?!, is pleased to announce its newest venture – a sister imprint, Exhibit A, which will publish crime genre fiction.

The imprint will launch in late Spring 2013, with two titles appearing in each of the first two months, before settling down to one book each month. Exhibit A will follow AR’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in both the UK and US, in both paperback and eBook formats, backed up by strong online marketing and community activity.

Exhibit A’s ambition is to become an addictive new home for addictive crime fiction. It will be looking for authors with original, gripping voices. Exhibit A books – whether they’re procedurals, mysteries, thrillers, or something entirely new – will aim to divert readers from their everyday lives into an exhilarating world of drama, fear and suspense.

                                                              

Joining the company to run the imprint is Emlyn Rees. He published his first crime novel aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Sunday Times bestseller Come Together. In his time, Emlyn has also worked for the Curtis Brown literary agency and run a manuscript editing service.

Angry Robot’s managing director, Marc Gascoigne, said: “Passion, a flair for innovation and a keen sense of what readers want – that’s what has driven Angry Robot’s success so far, and it’s what Emlyn Rees will bring to our new imprint too. We’re overjoyed to have him on board.  With our YA imprint Strange Chemistry launching this September, and now Exhibit A due next spring, our growth plans are shaping up very nicely indeed.”

Emlyn Rees commented, “Angry Robot is an exciting and innovative new publisher, with a terrific track record for breaking out fresh talent and bringing great authors and readers closer together. I’m delighted to be joining the team and can’t wait to set about building a list of talented crime writers we can be proud of and passionate about. I want Exhibit A to become an eye-catching new focal point for compelling crime fiction and the crime fiction community.”

The launch of Exhibit A is the latest in a wave of expansion by parent company, Osprey Group, following investment by Alcuin Capital Partners in 2011. Osprey recently won the IPG Award for Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year 2012.

---------------

So, with Strange Chemistry launching in September to bring Amazing Things to YA readers everywhere and now Exhibit A set to Rock the World of crime fiction next Spring, you surely have to be asking yourseles... whatever will those crazy Robots think of next?

To which we say... stand by for further announcements.

.........

Slowly but surely, the Robot Overlords are expanding their dominion!

Miscellany

From this week's cruising of the 'net:

At Apex Magazine Julia Rios has a thoughtful article on speculative fiction that examines gender and sexuality; you can check it out here.  It makes for great reading!

If you enjoy the art of drag and the queens behind it as much as I do, then RuPaul's Drag Race ( on Logo TV) is the show for you!  And two of the blogs that I follow had art and recaps of this week's episode posted almost immediately!

First up is The Sellout from Chad Sell.  He is an artist and illustrator with his own webcomic Manta-Man,and every week Chad creates fan art from highlights from Drag Race.  This week was a great episode and here is just one of the pieces he drew, of contestant Sharon Needles:

You can see more of Chad's art and his Manta-Man comic on his website.

Amanda at Humor and Spice also reviews the episode and even grades the contestants.  Amanda is a big fan of pop culture, music and reality tv, so check out her blog for all kinds gossip and other must reads!

More author signings happening at Strange Chemistry, where they announced A E Rought has joined the family.  Check out the details here.  I can't wait to see the first titles from the YA arm of Angry Robot; each new one announced sounds better and better!

Miscellany

Bits and pieces from my surfing this week...

At Strange Chemistry books, editor Amanda Rutter announced on the website the news of the first two authors signed to the new YA imprint, Kim Curran and Sean Cummings!  Both will have new books from Strange Chemistry out this autumn, with second books following in 2013.  Congrats to both authors and to the team at Strange Chemistry on such a great start!

Meanwhile over at Angry Robot, brand new content has been posted to EmpireState.cc !!  Empire State-the RPG is a complete, original and self-contained roleplaying game system created by long time game designer David Wendt.  You can read more about it here.   

News From Angry Robot!

Good morning all!

So I woke up today to find this tidbit in my Twitter feed, that Angry Robot is recruiting for a Commissioning Editor for a new crime fiction imprint they will launch in 2013.  The new imprint will publish suspense, mysteries and thrillers, and will employ the same innovative approach to publishing and marketing used by its parent brand AR.  You can read the full press release here.

Obviously, the Robot Overlords are gleefully continuing their conquest of the publishing world by taking over as many genres as possible; just last November they announced the launch of Strange Chemistry, their new YA arm, headed by Amanda Rutter and they are full swing into the first WorldBuilder project based on EMPIRE STATE. Prepare to be conquered!

Angry Robot Introduces STRANGE CHEMISTRY

This week Angry Robot had a MAJOR announcement; here is the press release from their website:

"Sometimes we have news that we want to scream and shout about, but that for various reasons we have to keep hold of. We’ve been planning a Young Adult arm of Angry Robot since the early days, but the stars needed to be in just the right alignment before we could go ahead with it. The right pieces needed to be in place. The time needed to be right. Well, that time has now come.


"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our new YA imprint, Strange Chemistry.

"The imprint will launch in September 2012, with five titles appearing before the end of that year, before settling down to one book each month. Strange Chemistry will follow AR’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in the US and UK, in both eBook and paperback formats. Subject matter will include fantasy, science fiction, supernatural and horror, and as with Angry Robot the lines between those genres are likely to be very blurry at times.

"We mentioned the need to have all the right pieces in the right places, earlier. One of the pieces we needed was an editor to run the imprint. We found the perfect person in Amanda Rutter, who, until recently was best known as the tireless blogger behind genre review site, Floor-To-Ceiling-Books, and who also edited for Morrigan Books. She takes up her position in Angry Robot’s headquarters in Nottingham on December 12th.

"Angry Robot’s managing director Marc Gascoigne said: “The key to any truly successful genre imprint is the personality of its editors. In Amanda we’ve found the perfect mix of editing skills and wild, wild enthusiasm for the subject. Her first signings are already making us jump up and down in excitement. We’re beyond delighted to welcome her to the team.”

"Amanda Rutter commented, “Angry Robot have quickly become one of the most exciting and challenging genre publishers around, and I have so much admiration for the types of novels that the guys are bringing to the world of speculative fiction. I’m absolutely thrilled that I have the opportunity to join the team, and create a list full of Young Adult novels that share the same sharpness and passion as those in the AR list.”

You can find Strange Chemistry here and also follow them on Twitter @StrangeChem.

WOW!!!!  As new Marketing/Digital guy Darren Turpin says, as far as major news goes, this is Pretty Darn Big and I know I will be watching the goings on at Strange Chemistry with a great deal of interest!