I do hope that everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable festive season. Now that most of the serious over-indulgence is done with for another year, I thought it was about time to take a look at what new book-related loveliness is due in 2013. Here are my top ten books I’m looking forward to reading in the next six months or so. Hope you enjoy. Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth Powell Publication Date: 3rd January Publisher: Solaris Genre: Simian Steampunk Science Fiction The Blurb: In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed ‘Ack-Ack Macaque.’ The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey, and he’s starting to doubt everything, including his own existence. A century later, in a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s and nuclear-powered Zeppelins circle the globe, ex-journalist Victoria Valois finds herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man who butchered her husband and stole her electronic soul. Meanwhile, in Paris, after taking part in an illegal break-in at a research laboratory, the heir to the British throne goes on the run….

According to the Mayan calendar we only have until 21st December 2012 until the world ends. With that in mind, and the fact that John Cusack hasn’t arrived with a limousine to whisk us off to safety just yet, I suggest we spend the time together reading some great new books. I could have easily included many, many more novels on this list but these are the baker’s dozen that I am currently very excited about. I have included cover images wherever I have been able to find them, click on the thumbnails to see them in their full glory. Hell Train by Christopher Fowler – I mentioned this one way back at the end of 2010. I was looking forward to it then, and even more so now. Roofworld is still a personal favourite and I always enjoy Fowler’s writing. Watch this space as I foresee a review in the very near future. The Faceless by Simon Bestwick – I’ve not read any of Simon’s work but I saw the cover and I was immediately intrigued. There is also a superbly creepy book trailer over on You Tube. I do so enjoy the promise of empty old buildings that…