Titan Christmas Calendar — Day Twenty-two

It's day twenty-two of the Titan christmas calendar, and with the year coming to a close, we thought we'd ask Titan towers to tell us which books they were most looking forward to in 2016. Get ready to add these to your TBR pile! 

Cat Camacho, Desk Editor

A Gathering of Shadows  by V.E. Schwab

       

Cannot wait to see the sequel to V. E. Schwab’s bestselling A Darker Shade of Magic: A Gathering of Shadows. Kell and Lila will be back in February 2016, where Kell is visited by dark dreams as Red London prepares for the Element Games – a lavish and extraordinary magical competition – and the mysterious Black London begins to rise again. V. E. Schwab is an incredible new voice in contemporary fantasy for adults and young adults alike, and her work keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page

 

Chris Young, Online Publicist

Dead Letters: An Anthology edited by Conrad Williams

       

Take a fascinating concept (short stories inspired the by the mysterious undelivered mail that haunts the Dead Letters Office), stellar contributors (Joanne Harris, China Mieville & Maria Dahvana Headley) and the editing nous of the superb Conrad Williams — and you’ve got one of the year’s most exciting short story collections.

 

New Pompeii by Daniel Godfrey

       

In the near future, technology has been developed allowing people from deep in the past to be transported to the present day — and post-grad historian Nick Houghton is given the chance of a lifetime. The once-doomed citizens of Pompeii are transplanted to a replica city, and Nick is there to study them. He soon learns, however, that you don’t just mess with one of history’s greatest civilizations…New Pompeii is truly epic and a must for the Summer! 

 

Escapology by Ren Warom

       

I’m fascinated by the concept of who we are online vs. who we are offline, and this is fundamental to Ren Warom’s Escapology.  In it, Shock Pao is a superstar hacker, capable of breaking through any firewall and stealing the internet’s riches — offline, though, he’s a total loser. His ex offers him the chance to turn his life around with one last big job — but he may have bitten off more than he can chew. I love books that genuinely feel futuristic and engage with technology — this should be a treat. 

 

Ella Chappell, Editorial Assistant

The Race by Nina Allan

       

For 2016, I'm really excited about Nina Allan's ecological, near-future science fiction novel, The Race, coming out in July. Allan has a sophisticated, yet masterfully restrained, writing style that controls her topics and characters with a subtlety to make it a gripping and hauntingly beautiful read. I also love the cover that our studio have created for this book - it reflects the simultaneous feelings of epic and intimate contained within.

 

Hannah Dennis, Senior Marketing Executive

River Road by Carol Goodman

       

The book I am most looking forward to in 2016 is River Road by Carol Goodman. It's a bit of a departure for Titan, in that it is quite a literary, more traditional thriller. There are no tentacles, space ships or zombies; instead we have a university professor battling with addiction and grief, who becomes entwined in a murder investigation and as her grip on sanity loosens, we're no longer sure if we can trust her as a narrator. Full of twists and turns and literary references that will delight fans of Girl on the Train and The Secret Historyrespectively, this book is destined to be a smash hit for Titan. 

 

Lydia Gittins, Press Officer

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders 

       

“Well I know which one you’re going to pick,” remarked Chris as I turned in my first chosen title. And yes, perhaps, I have bored everyone I know half to death raving about this book, but that’s because it’s THAT good guys. Witty, moving and wonderfully well-written All the Birds in the Sky had me hooked from page one. A coming of age story set at the end of the world, it features wonderful Dahl-esque humour when dealing with the awkwardness of growing up and features the world’s best-worst invention, ‘The two second time machine.’ Read it.

 

The Vinyl Detective: Written in Dead Wax by Andrew Cartmel 

       

As someone who has never listened to music on anything more retro than a cd (sorry Andrew) this may seem a weird choice, but this heart warming and inventive crime thriller absolutely captured my heart. It’s a clever, funny and incredibly engaging trek through the vinyl stores and charity stores of a perfectly realised London on the quest of a mysterious jazz record with a history that isn’t all that it seems. Reminiscent of the clever Sunday evening crime TV on the BBC of yore this is an utterly charming start to a new series that I can’t recommend highly enough.

 

Nod by Adrian Barnes 

       

Also known as the book that broke my heart. Nod was nominated for the Clarke Awards in 2015 and then came out from Titan in the US to an incredible reception (deservedly so) and now we’ll be bringing it back out in the UK and I’m delighted. Adrian’s dark tale set in the last days of a world in which the majority of the population can no longer sleep is brilliant, clever and exceptionally realised. This book left me in pieces; you have been warned (but equally you have to read this book – it’s important and devastating in equal measure).

 

Phillippa Ward, Press and Marketing Assistant

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

       

In 2016 I am ridiculously excited for The Passenger by Lisa Lutz. It tells the story of Tanya Du Bois who returns home and finds her husband dead. Fearing she will become the no.1 suspect she disappears and assumes a number of aliases.  As a huge fan of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Secret History I can’t wait to get my teeth into this promising new thriller.