A Country Fit For Zeroes by Sean Kavanagh

Very like Sean Kavanagh's previous effort, Fiction on Foreign Planets, (also reviewed on this blog) this is a collection of very witty, very sharp, very short short stories.
Kavanagh's style of writing is excellent and perfectly suited to this genre. The brevity of the pieces is also perfectly aligned with the subject matter, as there is no wasted set-ups, or superfluous dialogue.
Each story is unique, and straight to the point. This is certainly an advantage here as the book can, and probably will, be devoured in one sitting.
As with Kavanagh's previous effort, highly recommended. .

Half A King by Joe Abercrombie

A bit of a departure for an author well known for his 'grimdark' style. But easily his most readable book yet. A genuinely engaging protagonist, with an absorbing story of betrayal, camaraderie and amidst all of this, the not so easy task of growing up.
Very deliberately a Young Adult novel, this still pulls no punches, with explosive action scenes and themes ranging from slavery to mass murder.  Abercrombie manages here to deliver a book which should retain enough of his unique style to keep long term fans happy, while (hopefully) introducing a new generation to a different type of fantasy.
 The second son, crippled from birth, Yarvi suddenly finds himself King after his father and brother's death. Betrayed for the throne he didn't want and left for dead, Yarvi, via slavery, shipwrecks and near starvation (to name but a few trials!), makes a last stand to reclaim his birthright.
 Forging unexpected friendships, dealing with and overcoming difficulties and differences, staying your course in the face of adversity. These issues and more make this fantasy novel so relevant and important to younger readers.
 Well done Joe Abercrombie. And this is only part one of a planned trilogy to be released over the next year and a half. If the next two installments are half as good as Half a King, then they'll be too good by half.
Quite simply, this is the best book I've had the pleasure of reading for a long, long time.

(Also, please note the signed copy I was lucky enough to get, so thanks Joe and HarperVoyager for that!)

Golazo by Andreas Campomar

If you like football, and the history of the game in arguably the most football loving part of the world, this book is a must read.
A little bit laborious to begin with, as the author goes into, for me, a little too much detail on the beginnings of the game in that part of the world. The pace improves as the book goes on, and is in parts educational and insightful.