My reading the last couple of months or so
Ironskin by Tina Connolly: Short version: Jane Eyre with magic. Connolly creates a Gothic romantic fantasy set in the Eyre era, positing a world where human and fey fought a war, leaving whole populations of humans scarred with fey magic. Jane Elliot is one such woman, wearing an iron mask over half her face to contain the fey magic that has infected her. She accepts a job to be governess to a little human girl with fey heritage, hired by the mysterious Mr. Rochart, a man whose strange work studio and the parade of beautiful women through his home poses questions that Jane cannot help but investigate. Being a Jane Eyre enthusiast since I was a child, I was excited to read this novel. Much as I wanted to like it--and much as I admired the ambition and worldbuilding ideas behind it--I found the construction a little awkward. The novel hews so closely to Bronte's original that one cannot help drawing comparisons and it was hard for me to separate this reading experience from that of reading a book I've adored since I was a tween. I was bound to find Ironskin wanting, even given its strengths. On the one hand, as I said, I loved this idea of an England recovering from the violent tumult of a magical war and the way the populace deals with the (almost literal) fallout. On the other hand, I found myself feeling a little unmoored in the narrative, unclear on when exactly the story was supposed to be taking place, feeling as though some of Jane's thoughts and reactions weren't always consistent with her experience. I sometimes felt as though she was doing things more because the author needed her to do them than because they made sense in terms of character or action. Overall, it was a challenging read for me.
Soulless by Gail Carrigar: Alexia Tarrabotti lives in a Victorian London where vampires and werewolves are part of society both high and low. She herself is supernatual as well, a spinster of Italian extraction who is without a soul (which gives her the ability to touch vampires and werewolves and make them human again, at least for the duration of her touch), and becomes embroiled in mysteries laid on top of mysteries when she accidentally kills a vampire. This book (and its sequel Changeless) is an absolute delight: funny, intriguing, with a charming romance in the mix. I've already got the last three books in the Parasol Protectorate series on order, and am looking forward to reading them all.
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi: You don't go to Scalzi for literary reflection or densely written prose. You read Scalzi for action, clever storytelling, and insight where you don't expect it. That was my experience with Fuzzy Nation, a riff on H. Beam Piper's classic novel Little Fuzzy. Written with a smart, snarky narrative voice and a classic SF feel, the book follows the trials of prospector Jack Holloway. While investigating a planet for mineable resources, Holloway discovers that said planet may have an indigenous sentient population--something that could push his employers off the planet and cost them billions. Holloway must navigate the politics and science of a touchy, legally fraught terrain, and find his way out without getting killed and without getting the fuzzies exterminated in the process. This book was so much fun. If you haven't read it already, please do.
Dervish House by Ian McDonald. I attempted this book with great anticipation. It is magnificently, densely written, evoking the city of Istanbul as a character, as much as the eponymous house--and I only got a third of the way through because I realized that it required more focus and concentration than I had to devote to it at the time. I put it down, but I will come back to it. Ian's work deserves the attention it requires. His prose is rich, textured--just astonishing. (And now I want to go to Istanbul more than ever.)
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge: A classic, large-scale space adventure with an unusual first-contact story--terrific alien races and a smart, likeable group of protagnostics at its heart. This was another book that required focus and attention, and it paid me back with ambitious, amazing worldbuilding on a galactic scale. It's so big that it's hard to describe the plot. It earned the Hugo Award that it won, and there's every possibility that I'll read it again at some point.
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill: I've heard so much about Joe Hill over the last year or so that I had to pick up this first novel. It centers on retired heavy metal musician Judas Coyne who, in a moment of curiosity, buys what is advertised as a ghost on eBay. What arrives is an old man's suit in a heart-shaped box. Mayhem ensues. In the course of reading this book, I discovered two things: 1) Hill is as good a writer as everyone says and well worth reading, and 2) I don't have the heart for reading horror anymore. I got about halfway through and realized that I don't need existential terror right now or the kind of disturbing imagery that Hill's able prose evokes. Recommended for horror readers and lovers of rock'n'roll.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: Six stories that span the depth of centuries form what is ultimately a braided science fiction novel about how souls migrate through time and how human stories transcend their circumstances. I was awed by Mitchell's abilities to switch genres and voices in such an effortless way, and enjoyed the differences I found between the book and its filmed counterpart. His characters are rich and well drawn. Excellent read. Just excellent.
I'm currently reading Reading Lolita in Tehran about which I'll have something to say about when I'm done. I don't want to post my half-realized thoughts about it, even though I'm tempted to. What I'll say for now is that I don't usually read memoir and it's an interesting experience.
Soulless by Gail Carrigar: Alexia Tarrabotti lives in a Victorian London where vampires and werewolves are part of society both high and low. She herself is supernatual as well, a spinster of Italian extraction who is without a soul (which gives her the ability to touch vampires and werewolves and make them human again, at least for the duration of her touch), and becomes embroiled in mysteries laid on top of mysteries when she accidentally kills a vampire. This book (and its sequel Changeless) is an absolute delight: funny, intriguing, with a charming romance in the mix. I've already got the last three books in the Parasol Protectorate series on order, and am looking forward to reading them all.
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi: You don't go to Scalzi for literary reflection or densely written prose. You read Scalzi for action, clever storytelling, and insight where you don't expect it. That was my experience with Fuzzy Nation, a riff on H. Beam Piper's classic novel Little Fuzzy. Written with a smart, snarky narrative voice and a classic SF feel, the book follows the trials of prospector Jack Holloway. While investigating a planet for mineable resources, Holloway discovers that said planet may have an indigenous sentient population--something that could push his employers off the planet and cost them billions. Holloway must navigate the politics and science of a touchy, legally fraught terrain, and find his way out without getting killed and without getting the fuzzies exterminated in the process. This book was so much fun. If you haven't read it already, please do.
Dervish House by Ian McDonald. I attempted this book with great anticipation. It is magnificently, densely written, evoking the city of Istanbul as a character, as much as the eponymous house--and I only got a third of the way through because I realized that it required more focus and concentration than I had to devote to it at the time. I put it down, but I will come back to it. Ian's work deserves the attention it requires. His prose is rich, textured--just astonishing. (And now I want to go to Istanbul more than ever.)
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge: A classic, large-scale space adventure with an unusual first-contact story--terrific alien races and a smart, likeable group of protagnostics at its heart. This was another book that required focus and attention, and it paid me back with ambitious, amazing worldbuilding on a galactic scale. It's so big that it's hard to describe the plot. It earned the Hugo Award that it won, and there's every possibility that I'll read it again at some point.
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill: I've heard so much about Joe Hill over the last year or so that I had to pick up this first novel. It centers on retired heavy metal musician Judas Coyne who, in a moment of curiosity, buys what is advertised as a ghost on eBay. What arrives is an old man's suit in a heart-shaped box. Mayhem ensues. In the course of reading this book, I discovered two things: 1) Hill is as good a writer as everyone says and well worth reading, and 2) I don't have the heart for reading horror anymore. I got about halfway through and realized that I don't need existential terror right now or the kind of disturbing imagery that Hill's able prose evokes. Recommended for horror readers and lovers of rock'n'roll.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: Six stories that span the depth of centuries form what is ultimately a braided science fiction novel about how souls migrate through time and how human stories transcend their circumstances. I was awed by Mitchell's abilities to switch genres and voices in such an effortless way, and enjoyed the differences I found between the book and its filmed counterpart. His characters are rich and well drawn. Excellent read. Just excellent.
I'm currently reading Reading Lolita in Tehran about which I'll have something to say about when I'm done. I don't want to post my half-realized thoughts about it, even though I'm tempted to. What I'll say for now is that I don't usually read memoir and it's an interesting experience.