The second installment  of the Fillory series. Quentin learns, once again, that everything has a price to be payed and often an appallingly costly one. A somewhat different tone than The Magicians

Noo Saro-Wiwa is the daughter of murdered Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. In this insightful book, she recounts her first extended visit to Nigeria in 20 years. It is a place she thinks of as home, but quite isn’t. It’s a very personal view of one the most dynamic countries in the post-World War II era.

The first book of a trilogy set in a steampunk world based on late Edo-period Japan. There are strong characters and loads of interesting ideas in this book. I’m very curious to see how they’re developed in the future volumes.

Noted historian Robert Service examines the early days of the Russian Revolution. Along with accounts of the key events and the colorful characters involved, there is an exploration of the relations between the Western Powers and the Bolsheviks, in particular the attempts at striking trade agreements while simultaneously trying to undermine each other.

 John Scalzi is one of the funniest writers on the planet (if you haven’t read Agent to the Stars, do so now). He takes a popular meme, milks it for all it’s worth and then has the audacity to stick in a killer twist

A survey of various European polities from the Visigothic Kingdom to the U.S.S.R. that failed to make the cut historically and why. Davies is best know as a historian of Poland, so it’s no surprise that the chapters dealing with East European states are the strongest. One of the stand outs though is the chapter on the various incarnations of Burgundy.

 A first novel and a very good one at that. This is a Neal Stephenesque- tale set in a Middle Eastern state that features hackers, state security goons, Islamists, secular dissidents and Djinns and melds technology, philosophy and folklore into a delightful melange. Bonus points for creating a realistic Middle East not some romantic Oriental or paranoid terrorist fantasy.