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Check out his extensive list of suggestions for lovers of Sci-Fi, History, Music, and Film for your next read!
"Five stars. Absolutely five stars. For me this is the best historical fantasy novel since Jonathan Strange. The author is very anti imperialism-nothing subtle , her principles are absolutely nailed to the mast. I could compare Babel to The Magicians by Grossman, but I enjoyed this a lot more. That the research put into translations is absolutely top shelf. The historical settings ring true as well."- Martin
" An extremely well written and evocative biography of one of the greatest blues singers of all time. Sam Phillips called The Wolf the best musician he ever recorded." - Martin
" One of the best novels I've ever read about first contact with another species. And all on earth. Nothing extra-terrestrial"- Martin
"Easily one of the best books on history that I’ve ever read. Highly recommended for anyone who reads history for pleasure-or for work. I’ve already purchased several of the books that are referred to in this book."- Martin
" An excellent and engrossing look at the early days of aviation. Open cockpits in all weather, navigating with a compass and a map." - Martin
"This is history the way history should be taught. A knowledge of which battle took place when is only a little interesting, compared to what you would see, hear, smell and taste in mid to late 16th century England. Ian Mortimer is currently my favorite writer of history. The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England is a book I would recommend both to history buffs, and anyone who doesn't think they like history."- Martin
"Absolutely fantastic. The coolest, strangest, most hallucinatory vision of the American western I've ever seen. More to follow, but in the interim, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. (trigger warning-clowns)"- Martin
"This is a great -ing book. And the perfect book for these times. Friends letting each other know that they are loved and not forgotten. If I didn’t know that it was true I wouldn’t have believed it."- Martin
" Golden Hill is one of those books that reminds me why I got into book selling in the first place. It is a book that I wish everyone who enjoys well written fiction could read, because it shows a great deal of the possibility available in fiction, both in the style and language used, and the story itself. Spufford uses the english language the way Van Gogh used paint. And the research that went into this novel is incredible. It is a book to be read at least twice, once for story, and once for the technique and language. Golden Hill will be on my short list of favorite novels for years to come." - Martin
"Absolutely a pleasure from start to finish. In my (semi-informed) opinion, Kevin Barry is the best writer out of Ireland since Flann O'Brien. This is a book to read several times-the first for the story, and then again a couple of more times to linger over, and enjoy the language."- Martin
"The best piece of London fiction since Mother London." - Martin
"Like a really cool fever dream. With great architecture."- Martin
"If this is not be best novel I have read in (at least) the last ten years, it deserves to be in the conversation. A quick description would be War and Peace in WW2, but that does not begin to to justice to this work. If you enjoyed City of Thieves, and I did, that is but an appetizer compared to the feast that is Life and Fate. This is easily the best novel about a nation at war and, I believe the best novel out of Russia. Each chapter reads like a short story. I cannot recommend this book highly enough."- Martin
"An excellent piece of narrative non fiction. Big business and politics vs families who just want what’s right."- Martin
"I love books on the early days of flight and this is one of the best I’ve read. Imagine flying for 2400 miles with dodgy instruments for around 20 to 30 hours and trying to find a series of small islands. There isn’t a dull moment in this book. Highly recommended." - Martin
"If I was going to a desert island, and could only bring ten books, this would be one of the ten. The Invention of Yesterday may at times seem casual in tone, but it is an exceptionally deep book. I would recommend this book to anyone who takes an interest in the world around them.My favorite book of 2020."- Martin
"We all make choices throughout our lives, choosing different paths to follow, different roles to play. But who selects the options we choose from? Interior Chinatown is like a rapier taken to stereotypes that inhabit society's attitudes towards Asian Americans. The main character, Willis Wu, is a minor actor in an ongoing cop drama who wants to be more than a generic Asian male in the background, maybe even someday becoming "Kung Fu Guy." The novel bounces back and forth between the script Wu is inhabiting and an interior monologue. And one of the strengths of this book, for this reader, is how thin the line sometimes feels between these stereotypical roles that Willis is acting, and the ridiculousness of the particular situations. Interior Chinatown is a brilliant novel, one that challenged this reader in the best possible ways."- Martin
"Of all of the books that have come out trying to explain the last few years, Tyrant is hands down my favorite. It is also a very good piece of literary criticism. I should warn you that Stephen Greenblatt is not unbiased...but then neither was Shakespeare."- Martin
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"An excellent even handed look at 1978, and the effects of that year in the history of San Francisco. Highly recommended."- Martin
"What an incredible book. For a history lover such as myself, Three Stones Make a Wall is like manna. Since most of we learn about our past comes from archeology, it behooves us to know a bit more about the subject than the lastest Indiana Jones film. TSMAW is a survey of archeology from the first excavations of Pompeii to the most current discoveries. It is a fascinating look at the details of a science that is usually known just for the lastest headlines. I think it is the best general audience book on archeology since Gods, Graves, and Scholars. I cannot recommend this book highly enough." - Martin
"This is an incredible read. I will simply say this. There is a small shelf in my library of great novels about/set in San Francisco. Passing Strange is on that shelf, between The Maltese Falcon and Tales of the City." - Martin
"These are some of the best short stories I've recently read. And while you may be thinking 'but I don't like science fiction', these stories transcend genre in the way very few writers are able to do. And so far, there is not a single story in this collection that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. If you are in any way a fan of well written short stories, then I cannot recommend this collection highly enough." - Martin
"How much did I love this book! If one has to assign a genre to The Vorrh, I suppose it would be fantasy, although it could just as easily be called magical realism or a handful of other definitions. There are also bits of historical fiction, and a bit of what might be called steampunk. I won't try to summarize the story. The two weeks I spent reading this book were some of the most challenging, enjoyable and rewarding. I'm hoping for more from Mr Catling as soon as he is ready. Reading The Vorrh is like being admitted to a number of different worlds, each with it's own rules, and watching as these worlds coalesce." - Martin
"The first novel from the author of Ms. Marvel. Alif The Unseen is an incredible fiction debut. The story of a middle eastern hacker on the run from the authorities, Alif is one of the best books yet about the passions and frustrations that led to the Arab Spring(s). It is also a welcome, and long overdue, use of middle eastern culture, legends, history, and other story elements in popular literature. There were moments in ATU that made me put the book down, to let what I'd just read sink in. Based on her first novel, G Willow Wilson is an author we will be enjoying for decades to come. Alif The Unseen is/are many great stories, wrapped together in one novel, very well told." - Martin
"Hands down, one of the best books on jazz I have ever read. And easily the best book on trying to explain jazz. If you are just dipping a toe in the great ocean that is jazz, or if you have been enjoying this music for decades, this is a book that will increase your understanding and enjoyment of this music. It's already altered the way I listen to music, and I've been listening to jazz since the early eighties. I think it helps that Ted Gioia is a musician himself. How to Listen to Jazz is also very refreshingly free of ideology. Ted Gioia simply wants you to listen to and enjoy the music for its own sake. I cannot recommend this book highly enough." - Martin