Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to get out of a bad situation.
A Sickness in the Family by Denish Mina
Brutal. I also didn’t see the twist ending coming…
Daytripper by Gabriel Ba
A beautifully non-linear story. All the ways in which one man might have (did?) die. Told in sequential art.
Cages by Dave McKean
Like reading a dream. Only I don’t dream in black and white. I remember no plot, only impressions of black slashed with white. Occasionally realistic veering into nightmarish.
Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age by Douglas Rushkoff
It’s worth thinking, reading, and writing about the world that we’re creating for ourselves. His point is that we’re not: it’s being created for us.
Local by Brian Wood
Like Daytripper, many moments in one young woman’s life. Ignore the continuity, the water’s fine.
Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks
I’m still not sure what happened there. A third of the book’s in a crazy dialact, quasi-literate scrawl. Painful to read and I’m not sure they payoff was worth it. An example of cleverness getting in the way of story? Perhaps. My least favorite Banks novel, but that still ranks it higher than most things out there. Still, I’m glad I didn’t read this one first! I’m not sure I would have ever read any of his other books, which would have been a shame.
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Heartbreaking. We can not totally protect our children from the world. This book suggests that it’s harmful to even try. Worth your time.
Sandstorm by Christopher Rowe
A Forgotten Realms(TM) book. It succeeds, but only by the standards of its genre. I’m not sure I need to say more.
The Taborin Scale by Lucius Shepard
Short and sweet. A city inside the rotting remains of a giant dragon. Also, there’s some kind of time travel thing that happens.
Secret Six: Unhinged by Gail Simone
Secret Six is the best comic series I’ve discovered this year. Just consistently great.
Glacial Period by Nicolas De Crecy
Those are some strange look dogs! Who can talk. Like Snowy in TINTIN. It’s not clear whether the people can hear what the dogs say, but that doesn’t stop them from chatting with them. Some nice art and a sort of wonderful aw-hell-let’s-just-end-it ending.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
It’s no SHOGUN! (That is to say it’s about 100 times better.) But I kept thinking of that book while reading this. Read in high school, SHOGUN was perhaps a bit too formative. Just deliciously written. The scene with the cannonade was tops.
Ranma 1/2 v1 by Rumiko Takahashi
Just like the anime I remember watching way back in high school. A bit of nostalgia trip, but I probably won’t read anymore of them.
Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization by John Searle
Once you have language, you have society. Convincing. Also, a strong argument against positive human rights, such as the right to health care, versus negative human rights, such as the freedom of speech or religion. (Unless I’m getting positive and negative mixed up there.) A negative right is one that is inherent in a person, but can be taken away. A positive right is one which others are obligated to provide. I found his arguments at times difficult to follow, but ultimately convincing.
Secret Six: Depths by Gail Simone
More of the same. Simply great.
Inversions by Iain M. Banks
I shouldn’t read two Banks novels in a month, because I don’t remember this. (after trip to the “puzzle cookie”) Ah yes! The very subtly science fiction novel! There’s some science fiction here, but if you blink you’ll miss it. It helps to know that this is definitely a “Culture” novel.
