I’m currently reading The Passage by Justin Cronin.
This is the first book in a three book series. I picked this up on the recommendation of a good friend. While I’m generally not into the whole horror or post-apocalyptic genres, I’m about halfway through and it’s a pretty good read so far. I like how Cronin gives the reader just enough information to understand the basic plot but still reserves enough information so that the reader doesn’t know exactly what is going on.
This has turned into a book that I find myself impatient to get back to. I love books that draw that sort of response from me.
Grr. I’ve mentioned that I think David Sedaris should be forbidden from ever reading his own work out loud in public, as his delivery is insufferably smug and pretentious. I’d like to add that he needs to have a DT (Designated Titler) as well, for much the same reason.
It’s damned good fun, as is the next one. Unfortunately, at some point you’ll get the perspective shift to Lirael’s co-protagonist and have to slog through a few of his chapters. Oh! If I’m not mistaken, you’re about to meet perhaps the most memorable and enjoyable character in the entire series. You’ll know her when you see her.
ETA: Nothing to report here, as I’m still slogging my way through Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun”. Which should tell you everything you need to know about my summer reading habits.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. I can only take small doses of Sedaris because he’s so damn pretentious. One of his essays that I really liked was about how his younger brother, the redneck that the rest of the Sedaris siblings looked down on because he was a redneck, was the only one who helped their dad out after Hurricane Fran. I came away from that wanting to have a drink with the younger brother after smacking the more “successful” Sedarises right in their stupid, pretentious noses.
Just finished James Blaylock’s The Knights of the Cornerstone. Even though I’m a big fan of his (*All the Bells on Earth *is one of my all-time favorites), this one just recycles old themes of his and borrows from his friend Tim Powers. Too bad.
I really enjoyed The Wine of Angels, by Phil Rickman. It’s a contemporary paranormal mystery/thriller, a genre I don’t usually read, but this was very well written. It’s long and slow and suspenseful, and the paranormal aspect was more subtle than I was expecting. The setup is a little bit like a creepy version of The Vicar of Dibley: a newly ordained female Anglican priest takes up residence in a rural parish in England.
I just finished Abaddon’s Gate, the new release in James S.A. Corey’s space opera series. It was a fun read, but it’s maybe a little bit weaker than the first two books. I did love the book’s preoccupation with g-forces: a lot of people get splatted when their spaceships accelerate/decelerate too quickly - and then if their ship doesn’t have any thrust at all, their injuries don’t heal well without gravity. This book feels like the ending to a trilogy, although I’d be glad to see the authors continue writing in this universe.
Right now I’m in the middle of The Alienist, by Caleb Carr. It’s an historical mystery set in 1896 New York City, and Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt is a minor character. “Alienist” is the old-fashioned word for a psychiatrist or psychologist, and the book is about an attempt to catch a serial killer using brand new methodologies such as fingerprinting, but mostly by creating a psychological profile of the killer. So far I’m finding this readable, but the plot feels contrived and the writing is a little awkward.
I must respectfully disagree with you and SpazCat. Sedaris’s arch, aceribic readings are the best thing about his work. I’ve seen him in person three times now, and only get his works as audiobooks.
I read that back when it first came out, and although I enjoyed it overall, I’d agree with your critique. Carr wrote a sequel, The Angel of Darkness, which didn’t get as good reviews, and which I never got around to reading.
I have a love-hate relationship with this book, I liked the premise but found the execution to be ham-handed. When you are finished, I’ll mention the best thing I took away from it, which depends upon the final plot twist.
In honor of Iain M. Banks’ passing last month, I introduced myself to his work with Consider Phlebas and Against a Dark Background, via the local library’s e-book consortium.
So, did I just happen to pick the 2 Banks novels that have the protagonist searching for a lost piece of dangerous technology, at a tremendous cost to themselves and their companions, or is this a thing of his? While I got a bit annoyed by the extensive geographical descriptions that seemed to have little real bearing on the stories, I did find his world building intriguing, and his characters well-drawn, if not terribly sympathetic. The plots were well-paced, if a bit convoluted, and the action carried me along nicely. I enjoyed his writing style overall and highlighted some nice turns of phrases, but I’m not sure Banks is quite my cup of tea. I felt somewhat the same way about Dan Simmons’ Hyperion - good SF novels, but not the kind of SF I’m into.
So - should I give Banks another try, or are his novels pretty much more of the same?
I just finished The Disappearing Spoonabout the creation of the periodic table. Currently reading Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth, about various scientist who experimented on themselves.
I can’t answer for the ‘Culture’ novels. The only Iain M. Banks I’ve ever tried to read was Consider Phlebas; I never bothered finishing it. I may pick it up again, as that was 20 years ago, but I did not find it at all engaging.
On the other hand, I’ve read everything Iain Banks has written - same author, different styles. His middle name was ‘Menzies’, and he added the initial M. to all of his science fiction novels.
The other novels, written in a contemporary literary style, are wonderful. I strongly recommend starting with either ‘Espedair Street’, an account of the fortunes of a fictitious 70s rock band, or ‘The Crow Road’, which is the most Scottish of all his books, and follows the threads of two different generations of a large Scottish family.
I’m reading The Disappearing Spoon on the Kindle, and wishing I had taken chemistry in high school. This is all very new to me. The author simplifies, but parts of it still aren’t simple enough for me.
After enjoying Home from the Hill by William Humphrey, I got four or five of his other books, and a collection of his correspondence. The letters are enjoyable reading, just because reading other people’s mail is always interesting. Humphrey has nothing much good to say about other writers of his time – which is fine with me, because the writers he complains about are way out of my league. Herzog, Bellow, Roth, Styron – the big names of the 70’s and 80’s.
He never saw the movie version of Home from the Hill, but says that Robert Mitchum – with his “dopey eyes” was perfect casting – for Deuteronomy, one of the hunting dogs.
Several of his letters are in defense of The Ordways, the book I’m reading now. I agree with all the criticisms, however. What the letters bring home to me is that some writers don’t write for readers – they write for themselves. God forbid you don’t get what they’re saying, or worse (in his mind), that you like a book for the wrong reasons. He rails about “imperceptive praise”. Shoot, I do that all the time. I don’t have to “get” a book to enjoy it.
Just finished one from the top drawer of American lit - Omensetter’s Luck by William Gass. If you find Faulkner too easy and not Joycean enough you’d probably enjoy this novel.
Epic, but I’m glad it’s over. Like walking around a cathedral for a few hours - the architecture remains vertiginously impressive but really you’re dying to leg it to the pub for a pint.
Have another American master lined up, but one who I suspect will be a lot more accessible - Denis Johnson. Started Angels last night and if it’s as good as people say I fancy giving Jesus’s son a go straight after.
Co-protagonist Prince Sameth / Sam? You’re right: I don’t enjoy him nearly as much, although he’s decently written. I haven’t met the Mystery Enjoyable Character yet but can hardly wait!
Thanks - I’ve got The Crow Road on hold at the library, so will give his non-SF a whirl.
MunkaMike - I quite enjoyed Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth - while I was familiar with a couple of the stories, I learned a bit along the way about bathyscapes and zoophagy and whatnot. The venereal disease section in particular was quite disturbing - how many scientists self-experimented (and not always on oneself - the Tuskeegee Experiment is a dark blot on medical science). The research seemed solid (tho I don’t think Norton cited much in the way of sources) and the writing was entertaining, if a bit twee at times.
I may have to look up Trevor Norton’s other books at some point.
I want to thank all of you for these book threads. Because of you, I’ve picked up some really great books this summer from the library.
So far I’ve read:
Brain on Fire - read this on on vacation. Both of my kids (ages 10 and 12) also read it. Although the subject matter was technical, the writing was approachable and they liked it. We had some fun discussions about the “clock” experiment that the author describes (making a picture of a clock from memory and how it showed that one side of her brain was not processing correctly). My 10 year old loves medical mysteries/drama and now wants to be a “brain scientist”.
At Home - Bill Bryson. He’s a very good storyteller and I love how he makes history so intimate. He goes from topic to topic so seamlessly. This is my favorite kind of book.
Time And Again - Jack Finney. Very satisfying time travel story. I like that the time period meshed well with the Bill Bryson book.
The Devil in the White City. Very good! Again with the Victorian era. Like that its some of the same “cast of characters” as the Bill Bryson book. It is astounding to me how Holmes escaped detection for so long. The descriptions of how people lived in Chicago at the time, the peril of working on the fair, and the lack of regulation and oversight is incredible. The good 'ol days were scary.
Still in my library basket:
Gone Girl
Anubis Gates
And about eleventy billion in my wish list.
I finished The Alienist last night. I’m going to agree with you about the interesting premise but mediocre execution. The author did a reasonable job of incorporating little history lessons into the novel, but sometimes I could see him bending the plot around his desire to feature some famous NYC landmark or institution.
I was hoping for an exciting ending, but I found it just as mildly disappointing as the rest of the book. What’s your best thing?
