Books I read in January (and one I read over the past week)
Butcher Bird, by Richard Kadrey
The publication notes suggest that this book was originally published in serial form, which makes sense; the plot moves right along, full of incident and cliffhangers. The narrative energy falls off a bit in the second half, but never to the point of dullness. All in all, it was a delightfully quirky fantasy, with distinct and refreshing punk overtones.
The only problems I had with this book were the occasionally spotty copy-editing, and the fact that the author very rarely describes characters in any kind of detail when they're first encountered. This caused some cognitive dissonance when he'd later make reference to a feature that wasn't part of my mental image of them. While I was eventually able to come to terms with the idea that Shrike has dreadlocks, I still can't picture Count Non as anything but black.
Snake Agent, by Liz Williams
The detective story in this novel (which involves a Chinese wizard policeman teaming up with a demonic vice-squad operative) is honestly pretty muddled, and further hampered by an abrupt and awkwardly-staged climax. Despite that, I quite enjoyed the read -- the nominal protagonist, Detective Inspector Chen, is kind of a cipher, but the demon characters are a lot of fun. Zhu Irzh, the infernal vice cop, is consistently amusing, but the most interesting cast member is Inari, a political refugee from Hell who is also Chen's wife. She's got spirit, in a fairly nuanced and believable way.
There's also a badger-teakettle. I have no idea if this creature is lifted from actual Chinese myth, or is pure invention -- but either way, I find it unspeakably rad.
Orphans of Chaos, by John C. Wright
Formalism is both the strength and weakness of this novel. Reading it is like opening the back of a Swiss watch, and seeing how all the little cogs and gears mesh together to move the hands -- the author's command of plot and language is precise, but sometimes sterile. Since none of the main characters in the story are actually human, I think it's likely that the style is purposefully alienating, but that doesn't change the fact that it is. I'd give it a qualified recommendation, with the note that you'll enjoy it more if you're into classical mythology.
A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
Speaking of Gothic romances. This novel is targeted at teenage girls; I checked it out on a whim, after reading a newspaper article about how fairies are poised to elbow vampires and werewolves out of the pop-fantasy spotlight. I'm tempted to describe it as Anne of Green Gables meets Nine Princes in Amber, but that would make it sound much more entertaining than it actually was.
Feast of Souls, by C.S. Friedman
I picked this one up because I've enjoyed some of the author's previous books, and because the central conceit of the setting -- that using magic rapidly depletes your life force -- was a notion I'd toyed with a while back. Unfortunately, Ms. Friedman's take on the idea doesn't transcend the pedestrian. It's just window-dressing for an okay Gothic romance, as is the world-threatened-by-alien-powers subplot. There are occasional indications that the setting contains novel and interesting elements, but they're not given much screen time. The focus stays on two or three main characters, and though well-realized, they're nothing I haven't seen before.
Unrelated note: Kind of psyched to see this movie, Jumper, that's coming out on the 14th. Hayden Christensen learns he can teleport at will; hijinks and the enmity of Samuel L. Jackson ensue.
The publication notes suggest that this book was originally published in serial form, which makes sense; the plot moves right along, full of incident and cliffhangers. The narrative energy falls off a bit in the second half, but never to the point of dullness. All in all, it was a delightfully quirky fantasy, with distinct and refreshing punk overtones.
The only problems I had with this book were the occasionally spotty copy-editing, and the fact that the author very rarely describes characters in any kind of detail when they're first encountered. This caused some cognitive dissonance when he'd later make reference to a feature that wasn't part of my mental image of them. While I was eventually able to come to terms with the idea that Shrike has dreadlocks, I still can't picture Count Non as anything but black.
Snake Agent, by Liz Williams
The detective story in this novel (which involves a Chinese wizard policeman teaming up with a demonic vice-squad operative) is honestly pretty muddled, and further hampered by an abrupt and awkwardly-staged climax. Despite that, I quite enjoyed the read -- the nominal protagonist, Detective Inspector Chen, is kind of a cipher, but the demon characters are a lot of fun. Zhu Irzh, the infernal vice cop, is consistently amusing, but the most interesting cast member is Inari, a political refugee from Hell who is also Chen's wife. She's got spirit, in a fairly nuanced and believable way.
There's also a badger-teakettle. I have no idea if this creature is lifted from actual Chinese myth, or is pure invention -- but either way, I find it unspeakably rad.
Orphans of Chaos, by John C. Wright
Formalism is both the strength and weakness of this novel. Reading it is like opening the back of a Swiss watch, and seeing how all the little cogs and gears mesh together to move the hands -- the author's command of plot and language is precise, but sometimes sterile. Since none of the main characters in the story are actually human, I think it's likely that the style is purposefully alienating, but that doesn't change the fact that it is. I'd give it a qualified recommendation, with the note that you'll enjoy it more if you're into classical mythology.
A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
Speaking of Gothic romances. This novel is targeted at teenage girls; I checked it out on a whim, after reading a newspaper article about how fairies are poised to elbow vampires and werewolves out of the pop-fantasy spotlight. I'm tempted to describe it as Anne of Green Gables meets Nine Princes in Amber, but that would make it sound much more entertaining than it actually was.
Feast of Souls, by C.S. Friedman
I picked this one up because I've enjoyed some of the author's previous books, and because the central conceit of the setting -- that using magic rapidly depletes your life force -- was a notion I'd toyed with a while back. Unfortunately, Ms. Friedman's take on the idea doesn't transcend the pedestrian. It's just window-dressing for an okay Gothic romance, as is the world-threatened-by-alien-powers subplot. There are occasional indications that the setting contains novel and interesting elements, but they're not given much screen time. The focus stays on two or three main characters, and though well-realized, they're nothing I haven't seen before.
Unrelated note: Kind of psyched to see this movie, Jumper, that's coming out on the 14th. Hayden Christensen learns he can teleport at will; hijinks and the enmity of Samuel L. Jackson ensue.