What's Next? Tell Me What to Read.

[akirlu]

I'm almost done with Charlie's Accelerando, and I don't yet know what I'm reading next. I want something wonderful, gripping, clever, engaging, and fun. Deep Thought not required. Non-fiction either, I'm not in that mood. Any suggestions? What have you rilly been mad about, lately? Any totally zany historical mysteries I should know about?

What I want, I realize, is Sorcery and Cecilia or the Temeraire books for the first time, again. Alas, that's not an option. Or possibly the Jasper Pffforddde books done right. But, ditto. Also okay would be a first reading of His Dark Materials. Too late. So, what's frothy or fantastical but fabulous?

Of course, it's the brink of NaNoWriMo, and I want to use that as a lever to get some work done on one of these dang books cluttering up my head, so if I am going to have fiction reading at all, it should be clunky, and dumb, and full of stupid inconsistencies that punt me out of the text at regular intervals, so I guess I'm open to suggestions for that kind of book as well. But then, I know there are plenty of Harry Dresden books yet untried, so it's less urgent.

Comments

[timill]

Madeleine Robins - Point of Honor? Seems to be well recommended, and is in my briefcase for reading RSN.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Good thought. I liked the The Stone War just loads.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

<jeeves>Would ma'am perhaps care to peruse an emailed draft of THE JENNIFER MORGUE?</jeeves>

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Oh. What a good thought. Any Americans in it?

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Only non-human Americans. As seen from a British point of view.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Okay, fair enough. D'you want comments and suggestions, or shall I just read it?

[autopope.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Harry Dresden ... PROVEN GUILTY (the most recent) gave me a most unfortunate shark-jumping sensation, because the implicit Christian dualistic ethos in the series came to the fore. The series was tending in that direction for a few volumes, but not enough to annoy until now; however, I've got a feeling it's going to be downhill from now on.

(Of course this won't be a problem if you happen to subscribe to the kind of Christian worldview that's okay with an ultimate apocalyptic conflict between Good™ and Evil™, but I tend to gag and hold my nose when the Champions of Good™ start behaving like the Waffen SS towards their opponents.)

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Have you read The Lies of Locke Lamora? Highly recommended.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Read it. My copy is with Mary Kay, while I've got her copy of Blood and Iron in exchange. (Hmm. Wonder if the Bear has anything long-form out that I haven't read yet?) There is, for me, a pretty deep flaw in the premise of Lies that left me dissatisfied with it, for all the ravishingly inventive backdrops and clever prestidigitaion and dashing swashbucklery.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

WHISKY AND WATER appears to be a straight sequel to BLOOD AND IRON (am about fifty pages in so far ...).

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Is that out yet, or are you just flaunting your access to advance reading copies?

One of the Great Works of Horror/Fantasy

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Prince Ombra
by Roderick MacLeish

Bentley Ellicott is a hero of the borrowed heart.
Throughout human history, the essence of evil, Prince Ombra, has periodically embodied itself on Earth. And it has always been met in battle by a warrior who has been aware of his mission from birth. The great heroes of legend--King Arthur, Hector of Troy, Gilgamesh--all shared the same warrior heart. If they were defeated by Prince Ombra, the world was plunged into a period of darkness and strife.

Bentley is the latest in this line of heroes. He's also a nine-year-old boy with a withered leg, living in a contemporary village in coastal Maine. Most of the townspeople think Bentley is crazy or just plain weird; the only people who believe in his mission are his shrink and a little girl with a speech defect.

Boy of Destiny [tm] vs. Embodiment of Pure Evil is not exactly a new premise in fantasy, no matter what the cover blurbs say. However, MacLeish doesn't wallow in the cliches. The story manages to be fresh and interesting largely because of the complex and believable characters who help and hinder Bentley. They have their own motivations and interaction; the only aspect of the character interaction that frustrated me was that whenever Ombra was in ascendancy, the townspeople acted according to their baser natures; it made them seem more like puppets than people. (This, of course, may have been intended. Still, it irritated me.)

MacLeish's prose is lovely and lucid, and the plot moves along fairly quickly. The contemporary setting gives the story a somewhat mainstream feel; it's not steeped in the conventions of the fantasy genre. Prince Ombra is a pleasant read, and a good book to give to readers who don't normally read fantasy.
-- Christina Schulman.

Re: One of the Great Works of Horror/Fantasy

[shelleybear.livejournal.com]

Note: cuts don't work in comments.

Re: One of the Great Works of Horror/Fantasy

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Huh. Never even heard of it. Thanks, that sounds very promising indeed. And no sweat about the lack of cutty-cut-ness.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

If you want Sorcery and Cecilia, try Jo Walton's Tooth and Claw.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Ah, good idea as well. I meant to add that to my list, in the wake of Farthing.

[shana.livejournal.com]

Can I assume you have read _The Mislaid Magician_ the third Kate and Cecilia book?

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Actually, not yet. Last time I checked, it wasn't out yet. Must hunt up a copy.

[shana.livejournal.com]

It's been out a couple of weeks.

Remember to check in the YA section for it.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I was going to recommend this!

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

I want something wonderful, gripping, clever, engaging, and fun. Deep Thought not required.

If you haven't read The Death of the Necromancer, it is precisely what you asked for.

Martha Wells has a sequel, The Fall of Ile-Rien Series, which takes place one generation later. All three books in the series are now out in paperback. I enjoyed it tremendously. It is wonderfully dashing and romantic, and features whole new worlds, civilizations, magic systems, and fantastically nefarious bad guys.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

ooooooh. Sounds lovely. scribblescribblescribble. I guess I'm going to the bookstore tonight...

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Any totally zany historical mysteries I should know about?

Have you read the "Nicholas Bracewell" mystery series by Edward Marston about an Elizabethan theatre troupe? First book is The Queen's Head

Lucky you, I just wrote up a list for Stephen's aunt of other historical series I follow. (Most not zany, I'm afraid.) In descending order of recommendation:

* Roberta Gellis, 12th century "whoremistress" with powerful friends, first book A Mortal Bane

* Kate Ross, Regency England, intelligent dandy with doctor friend, first book, Cut to the Quick

* David Dickinson, Victorian England, a baron who is a former India intelligence officer does occasional jobs for the government, first book Goodnight Sweet Prince

* Peter Tremayne, Anglo Saxon Ireland and UK, princess turned nun who is an investigative lawyer (great historical stuff about Ireland), first book, Absolution by Murder

* PB Ryan, Civil War era, about an Irish governess with a shady past working for an unusual Boston patrician household, first book Still Life With Murder

* Hannah March, Georgian England era, about an impoverished tutor to a series of rich families, first book The Complaint of the Dove

* Victoria Thompson, turn-of-the-century New York, widowed midwife with Irish police detective friend, first book Murder on Astor Place (lighter)

* Robin Paige, American writer of gothics marries scientific baron, first book Death at Bishop's Keep (lighter)

I also second the recommendation of the Robins books.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Might I suggest some Mike Ford? I've read very few of his novels, not being a fantasy fan, but I think it's a fine way to honor his memory and read some good stuff along the way.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Of books I've read in the last few weeks, let's see, there's Clifford Chase's Winkie, about a teddy bear who's put on trial for terrorist activities. It starts out fairly light and fluffy and has elements that could get it nominated for the Tiptree. I liked the end but not necessarily the trial, which runs before the end.

[jophan.livejournal.com]

I read ellen_kushner's The Privilege of the Sword a couple of weeks ago. I think it fits your bill.

[owlfish]

I wandered across this post of yours last week when reading Friends-of-anonymousclaire, in search of more cancelled-Eastercon info. Your taste in books was inspiring enough that I went ahead and impetuously ordered a few of the books listed herein which I hadn't read. They arrived this weekend - thanks for enabling.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Happy to oblige, of course, though I imagine most of the credit goes to my lovely and talented commentors. Cheers!

[fivemack.livejournal.com]

Snake Agent (Liz Williams) is good, zany, and features the bureaucracy of Hell and a magical teakettle that turns into a badger, but not all that historical.

Bad Magic (Stephan Zielinski) is good, zany, frothy, reminiscent of Neal Stephenson at his best but with sorcery instead of all that cyberpunk gubbins, but contemporary rather than historical.

I wasn't gripped by Blood and Iron.