Books #7-9
7. Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, 486 pages, Anthology, 2013.
Before science proved it wrong, science fiction would speculate about what kind of life inhabited the Red Planet. This anthology collects 15 modern stories about Mars, written like those golden age tales of Martians, or the ruins they left behind, and man’s interactions with them. It’s a solid anthology, with stories from good to incredibly good.
8. Enemy Way by Aimee & David Thurlo, 350 pages, Mystery, 1998 (Ella Clah, Book 4).
Ella Clah, Special Investigator for the Navajo police, has to investigate the murder of her good friend’s fiancé. It looks like she interrupted a local gang as it was burglarizing her home. But when gang members end up dead, it looks to be not the act of the gangs, but of Ella’s old enemy, the skinwalkers. The writing in the Ella Clah books has steadily improved, and it is refreshing that this one looks at the influence of the outside world on the young people of the tribe and the clash of old and new beliefs instead of just pulling out skinwalkers as the only evil on the Reservation.
9. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist, translated by Ebba Segerberg, 350 pages, Horror, 2005.
One night, the recent dead come back to life in a Swedish city. This story, definitely not a traditional Zombie tale, follows the lives of a few families as they deal with those they said good-bye to come back. Or, at least their bodies are functioning again, and they know where home was, those that could move. But that essential spark seems to be so very dim that they are not much more than animated corpses. So, the “reliving” are studied, kept away in hospitals, contained in fenced enclosures, or hidden away by dedicated family members. And as they burn through their little bit of life spark, things that move, things that hate, are so very attractive - all that life force, right there. The ending feels too soon, but so good in that way that such events cannot be completely wrapped up in a little bow. Linqvist is best known for his book Let the Right One In; he’s an amazing Swedish author and I’m very glad his books are being translated into English so that I can read them.
Before science proved it wrong, science fiction would speculate about what kind of life inhabited the Red Planet. This anthology collects 15 modern stories about Mars, written like those golden age tales of Martians, or the ruins they left behind, and man’s interactions with them. It’s a solid anthology, with stories from good to incredibly good.
8. Enemy Way by Aimee & David Thurlo, 350 pages, Mystery, 1998 (Ella Clah, Book 4).
Ella Clah, Special Investigator for the Navajo police, has to investigate the murder of her good friend’s fiancé. It looks like she interrupted a local gang as it was burglarizing her home. But when gang members end up dead, it looks to be not the act of the gangs, but of Ella’s old enemy, the skinwalkers. The writing in the Ella Clah books has steadily improved, and it is refreshing that this one looks at the influence of the outside world on the young people of the tribe and the clash of old and new beliefs instead of just pulling out skinwalkers as the only evil on the Reservation.
9. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist, translated by Ebba Segerberg, 350 pages, Horror, 2005.
One night, the recent dead come back to life in a Swedish city. This story, definitely not a traditional Zombie tale, follows the lives of a few families as they deal with those they said good-bye to come back. Or, at least their bodies are functioning again, and they know where home was, those that could move. But that essential spark seems to be so very dim that they are not much more than animated corpses. So, the “reliving” are studied, kept away in hospitals, contained in fenced enclosures, or hidden away by dedicated family members. And as they burn through their little bit of life spark, things that move, things that hate, are so very attractive - all that life force, right there. The ending feels too soon, but so good in that way that such events cannot be completely wrapped up in a little bow. Linqvist is best known for his book Let the Right One In; he’s an amazing Swedish author and I’m very glad his books are being translated into English so that I can read them.