Incendiary (Hollow Crown)

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Unlike the book, the film received poor reviews, receiving 23% of approval in the site Rotten Tomatoes. Renata ‘Ren’ Convida is said memory thief, or more precisely a Robari – someone who can reach into other people’s minds and take away memories. Córdova builds up action in subtle moments in the background, but her focus is always on our complex and intriguing heroine, who I am excited to see grow even more in the sequel.

She is the co-editor of Vampires Never Get Old, a YA anthology forthcoming from Imprint/Macmillan in fall 2020. May Day' is described well enough, and Cleave shows a nice touch in dropping in some of the changes that it causes in asides (a nurse suspended from her job, because Muslims have been suspended (for an "indefinite but temporary" time) from jobs where they might pose a security risk; the observation that: "you can't leave a ciggie butt unattended these days without someone coming and doing a controlled explosion on it"), but for the most part one doesn't get much of a feel for the changed atmosphere. Having lived outside of Manhattan on 9/11, it was very understandable that this could happen but perhaps so painful to understand how quickly it could happen. Little Bee caused me to look inwards and see a more practical thing that I could offer, something that could truly be life changing for someone.They’ say Osama is dead and this current aggression and hopelessness is from a young indigenous people with nothing to lose – one is fiction and one is reality – or is ti? A brilliant novel, yes it's based on some fantasy tropes, but "Incendiary" by Zoraida Córdova delivers the action, intrigue and twists that make it a refreshing read. The class-issues (both upper and lower) he presents seem TV soap-opera-like, and his choice of presenting them through the eyes of this particular type (a woman, from the East End) makes for an even more distorted picture (because his narrator doesn't sound very much like the person she is meant to be (or the type she is meant to represent ? The novel itself is eerie enough, and the grotesque coincidence of its publication made it even stranger.

As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the royal court, she uncovers a secret that could change the fate of the entire kingdom - and end the war that has cost her everything. With these two words, Chris Cleave kicks off his powerful novel Incendiary, and you know it's not going to be something you've seen before.

An epic tale of love and revenge set in a world inspired by Inquisition-era Spain pits the magical Moria against a terrifying royal authority bent on their destruction. New York Times said it was "As benefits good genre fiction, Cleave's characters are sustained, driven and informed by the plot, which dictates and governs all".

A compelling world filled with beautiful, brutal magic and characters that feel real enough to touch -weighed down by memory and fueled by love and vengeance. Every time you think you know where it's going to go, Córdova unleashes yet another excellent twist.This was the time of the train bombings in Madrid, and the snickering torturers at the Abu Ghraib prison. I hoped against hope that she would not be devoured by their dysfunction, but that wasn’t the story you wanted to tell. I told everyone I knew to read “Little Bee” but “Incendiary” was so intense and disturbing I didn’t know what to do but finish it.

I also agree with Catherine (above), “The Other Hand” should be required reading, particularly as a foil to inflammatory journalism. I was very interested to see that you had read Room (our second last book club read, a wonderful book, and The Slap. Cleave's writing itself isn't half-bad, but plot (beyond the big ideas) and character (and with them, voice) escape him here, making for a disappointing read. There are, eventually, two semi-decent plot-twists -- though perhaps they just seem that way because something finally happens in this surprisingly dull narrative. Das tönt moralistisch und ist es auch; aber immerhin verpackt Cleave diese Botschaft in eine mit Brio und Biss erzählte Geschichte, die spannend zu lesen ist und dabei zeigt, dass auch hinter der viel beschworenen Front zwischen westlicher und islamischer Welt noch längst nicht alle Kämpfe ausgefochten sind.The villains also felt kind of flat, we don’t get much of a sense of their motivations which makes it very hard to feel like they present any kind of real threat. This is a masterful, skillfully controlled piece of work which feels so plausible, and is terrifying and touching at the same time, with brilliant satirical references to popular culture.