Beware of Death by Librarian

A Rare Book of Cunning Device by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short story, audiobook available for free on Audible.

Peter is sent to investigate weird bollocks at the British Library. Amusing, very short, great narration again by Kobna Holbrook-Smith.

Can someone enlighten me regarding the tattooed eyeball reference?

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Going places… if you have a ticket

Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

„You are a cruel woman, Mrs. Moore,“ he said between sips.
Reminiscent of Marvel‘s Agent Carter, Mrs. Moore is a secret agent… but that is just the beginning. Set in 1938, we get espionage and counter espionage, glimpses of the Spanish Civil War, the Old Boy‘s Clubs ruling Great Britain, one disenchanted female agent, communism, an alternate reality or rather, a netherworld of ghosts and mediums. Because in this world you go places, when you die. If you have something important to do and own a Ticket…

A little confusing at first, pretty good world building from the start. I had to refreshen my lacking knowledge of the Spanish Civil War, which was a lot of fun in itself.

Real spies and double-agents added extra interest to the story. And a whole bunch of other characters from real life, fitted into this ingenious world. I had a lot of fun looking up all of them.

Is the Zöllner camera based on Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner? Herbert Blanco West took me a bit to figure out… Very educating read, besides being entertaining.

Good pacing, suspenseful, not too predictable, well developed characters. I had a hard time picking sides, because I liked pretty much all of them. And in the end you do not (only) get the expected, which makes it fun. I would pick up a sequel, if there will be one. But this is fine as a stand-alone.

I received this free e-copy from Tor/Forge via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

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