Soltalk August 2018 | Page 51

Summer Moet (p), by Wendy Holden; In The Midnight Room (p), by Laura McBride; The Ninth Hour (p), by Alice McDermott; The Secret Keeper (l), by Susan Lewis; Johannesburg (p), by Fiona Melrose; Secret Books (p), by Marcel Theroux; Sunset Over The Cherry Orchard (p), by Jo Thomas; and, Anatomy Of A Scandal (p), by Sarah Vaughan. Middle-Earth series by Tolkien’s son, Christopher. In the words of JRR Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’. Together with his works Beren and Luthien and The Children of Hurin, he regarded it as one of the three ‘Great Tales’ of the Elder Days. Thrillers worth a look from this month’s extensive list for publication include: Fall Down Dead (l), by Stephen Booth; A Close Run Thing (l), by David Donachie; Y Is For Yesterday (p), by Sue Grafton; The Mystery Of Three Quarters (l), an Hercule Poirot story from Sophie Hannah; Earth Storm (p), by Mons Kallentoft; A Measure Of Darkness (l), by Jonathan Kellerman; Broken Ground (l), by Val McDermid; The Psychology Of Time Travel (l), by Kate Mascarenhas; The Way Of All Flesh (l), by Ambrose Parry; In Bloom (p), by CJ Skuse; Lullaby (p), by Leila Slimani; and, Fatal Sunset (p), a Valencia- based Max Camara mystery by Jason Webster. Two standouts in the fantasy fiction list include The Story Of Kullervo (p) and The Fall Of Gondolin (l), both by the late JRR Tolkien of The Lord Of The Rings fame. The first of these is a previously unknown work. It tells of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. It is being published with the author’s drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work. In The Fall of Gondolin, two of the greatest powers in the world clash. Morgoth of the uttermost evil is unseen throughout but rules a vast military power from his fortress. His foe is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwe, chief of the Valar. This earliest tale from the First Age was published posthumously in the second volume of The History Of Key: (l) hardback or large paperback (p) small paperback 49