Sunday, December 31, 2017

Favorite Reads of 2017

I read an astounding number of books this year, more than I ever have since keeping this blog, close to ten years ago.  But in a lot of ways it was a year like no other, on the national scene, local scene, and in my own extended family, and like a lot of people I burrowed down and read a lot.

Since I read a bit more, I turned this Top Ten list to 11.  Here are my favorite reads of 2017.  Enjoy!

Glaxo by Hernan Ronsino

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera

Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt

The Night Ocean by Paul La Farge

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo by Ian Stansel

The Girls by Emma Cline

Tender Wings of Desire by Catherine Kovach

Saturday, December 30, 2017

#81: A Perfect Crime by A Yi

An alienated youth in China kills a classmate to stave off boredom, then plays cat-and-mouse with the police, in A Yi's A Perfect Crime.

Yi's book reminded me of Camus' The Stranger, but with the social and political undertones of modern China.  How media and society tries to understand the teenager, and then how corruption influences that view, makes up a big part of the novel.

A Yi writes in a very straightforward style that, with the protagonist's banal descriptions and lack of emotion, actually makes the storytelling harder to take rather than easier.

An interesting character study, with unpleasant passages, and an insider's sketch of contemporary China.  Recommended for those interested in international crime stories.

I got this for Christmas from my daughter and read it quickly.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

#80: I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb

A film scholar looks back at the women in his life, aided by the ghost of a silent film director, in Wally Lamb's I'll Take You There.

Wally Lamb is everywhere these days, after breaking onto the scene with She's Come Undone and several bestsellers since, although I had not read him.

This story has our protagonist looking back at the lives of his sister, her birth mother, and his own mother, through adult eyes, framed in the real-life Miss Rheingold contest that peaked in the 1950s.  A current story includes his daughter and ex-wife, and their struggles.

The storytelling is interesting, but to me the framing device--the ghosts of film stars transporting him into movies of his life, playing in an old movie theater--clanks pretty badly.  Some passages are more nuanced, but much is painted in too-broad strokes of pathos or comedy.

I got this for Christmas and read it pretty quickly over a few lazy days.

Monday, December 25, 2017

#79: Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

Jack is a drug pirate, driving her invisible submarine around dispensing black market pharmaceuticals for medical and recreational reasons; when one of her batches goes fatally wrong, she is pursued by a spy and his military-grade robot in Annalee Newitz's Autonomous.

This is Newitz's first novel, but she comes from a long background writing and editing for io9, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, Wired, and more. 

This work obviously gave her the chops for some really good near-future world-building, putting her right there with the likes of William Gibson's Neuromancer, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, and Pat Cadigan's Tea from an Empty Cup

There's some heavy thinking to go along with all of the action, as we meet an indentured human slave, an indentured robot with a human brain, and a free robot as supporting characters, all providing different views on, as the title suggests, what it means to be autonomous.

Recommended for sci-fi fans.  I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

Friday, December 22, 2017

#78: The Thirst by Jo Nesbo

Oslo's most famous homicide detective is retired and teaching at a police college when a notorious serial killer who once escaped his grasp--and is now armed with a set of iron teeth--is on the loose again, drawing him back into action in Jo Nesbo's The Thirst.

I think Nesbo's Harry Hole series is one of the best contemporary police procedurals, in any language; and his alcoholic, hard-headed cop (who has survived death and dismemberment countless times) is one of the great "tarnished angel" detectives.

This is an action-packed entry that had me shouting "No!" at the audiobook playing in the car three times as the story unfolded.  Not really a jumping-on point for new readers--understanding all of the physical and emotional scars all of the supporting players carry around makes the storytelling more resonant--but rewarding for long-time fans.

I listened to a good read of this on audiobook on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana during a drive back and forth from Chicago.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

#77: The Demanding Land by Reese Sullivan

Finally cleared of a killing he didn't commit, a young rancher comes home--but finds the dead man's family doesn't forgive so easily in Reese Sullivan's The Demanding Land.

Sullivan was actually Giles Lutz, a prolific western writer, and he shows a sure hand in this outing.  Besides all the standard beats, Lutz includes scenes of interest, including a wolf hunt and the capture and taming of a band of wild horses.

I have seen Lutz's name everywhere but never picked one up.  I ended up with this one on the flip of an Ace Double that I got at a goodbye price at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention in Chicago.

Enjoyable.  I intend to flip it over and read John Callahan's Hackett's Feud on the other side.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

#76: Undercover Gun by Brett Waring

Clay Nash is forced off his humble homestead by an unscrupulous land baron, and takes a roundabout revenge through becoming a Wells Fargo agent in Brett Waring's Undercover Gun, the first in a long series returning to ebook via Piccadilly Publishing.

Waring was in reality Australian author Keith Hetherington, who was also Hank J. Kirby and Kirk Hamilton, an incredibly prolific western writer.

Waring puts enough plot in this one to cover a couple of stories, as Nash is chased through the desert, rides shotgun on some stages, has fist fights and gun fights and is nursed back to health a few times, before finally exacting revenge, and setting the stage--so to speak--for future adventures with Wells Fargo.

I enjoyed the first of Hamilton's Bannerman series, which I also read through Piccadilly Publishing, and liked this one as well.  Good for fast-action western fans.

I bought this for my beloved Kindle and read it quickly.

Friday, December 1, 2017

#75: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

Lisbeth Salander is in prison--for, basically, everything that happened in the last four books--and ends up in the sights of a murderous prison boss; while on the outside, her old friend, journalist Mikael Blomqvist, starts to uncover the details of an unethical experiment Salander was a part of as a child.

How these stories slowly, and then quickly, intertwine is at the crux of David Lagercrantz's The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye.

This is the second novel Lagercrantz has written as an extension of the story began as a trilogy by Stieg Larsson, who died before writing more but is generally credited with launching the boom in Scandinavian noir in the U.S. (of which I have been a grateful recipient).

There has been a fair amount of controversy from many quarters about this series being continued, but on their own merits I think Lagercrantz has done a nice job with his two contributions.

I listened to a good audiobook reading of this novel on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.