Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lewis Shiner's  Glimpses. The Short of It Plot:  There are so many songs that could have been, music that we almost heard. What if we could get those lost songs, those forgotten albums, the greatest hits of an alternate history? Page Count: 343 Award:  1994 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No...ish. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Hot damn. Review:  An odd mix. Bits of time travel and parallel universes, used to pepper a story about two things: a love of music and the difficulty in coping with loss. It's a brutal read and often extremely slow. Characters are frequently terrible, self-destructive, and generally difficult to get along with. Every part of this is too long: the musical sections are only impactful if you're interested in that specifically, the relationship and personal drama drags as well. Yet there are... glimpses... of something much better here. ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Tim Powers's Last Call . The Short of It Plot:  Scott's life is falling apart. Maybe because of the alcohol, maybe because his dead wife keeps talking to him, or maybe because of that poker game where he bet his soul. Page Count:  535 Award:  1993 World Fantasy Award, 1993 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Not really. Review:  Somehow walks the line between relentlessly dark and darkly humorous. Lots of fun world building showing off a hidden side of what we know, though occasionally gets lost in the weeds on the very same. Scott is such a depressing character that we both cheer on his improvements and believe his failures. For a book that really dives deep into the rules of both magic and card games this manages to maintain a remarkably solid pace. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! At the heart of this book is an extremely detailed ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Christopher Priest's  The Prestige. The Short of It Plot:  A simple rivalry between two stage magicians becomes an all-consuming feud.  Page Count:  372 Award:  1996 World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minor. Review:  A gripping and fun read despite a handful of odd narrative choices. Good characterization on all sides, including multiple accounts and perspectives of overlapping events to flesh everyone out. Writing is good and builds suspense well. Pacing can be a bit off, in particular the use of an unneeded framing narrative, which pads out the book a bit too much on either end. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Yes, this is the book upon which the Christopher Nolan film is based. It may also be a rare example of the movie being superior to the book, though the book is still good. The story begins with a fr...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about James K. Morrow's  Towing Jehovah. The Short of It Plot:  God is dead, and the angels need his giant corpse hauled to the Arctic for burial.  Page Count:  371 Award:  1995 World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  None. Review:  A brilliant short story which far overstays its welcome. Characters are established well and have some neat arcs. Truly excellent opening hook which is let down by the book that follows. Pacing turns extremely choppy. This is not so much a novel as a point to prove: and the point is reiterated to death. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! THE IRREDUCIBLE STRANGENESS of the universe was first made manifest to Anthony Van Horne on his fiftieth birthday, when a despondent angel named Raphael, a being with luminous white wings and a halo that blinked on and off like a neon quoit, appeared and told ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ellen Kushner's Thomas the Rhymer. The Short of It Plot:  Thomas is a talented enough bard that even the Queen of the Fairies takes notice. Page Count: 256 Award:  1991 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail(?) Technobabble:  Doesn't apply. Review:  An unremarkable and inoffensive retelling of a fairy tale. Writing quality is the main draw here: lots of good passages that draw successfully upon the style and mood of myths. That said, there's nothing that novel here: standard fairy-related mischief, unrequited love, love transcending worlds... everything that one expects in such a fable. Story is divided into a few distinct blocks - and switches narrators - which does no favors for pacing. Of the four main characters, Thomas himself is the only one of the four main characters who sparks interest.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! What is there to say a...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Robert R. McCammon's  Boy's Life. The Short of It Plot: Twelve year old Cory's quiet life in 1960s Alabama is shaken up when, by chance, he witnesses a murder. Page Count:  625 Award:  1992 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : Absolutely Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble: N/A Review:  This objectively boring and meandering book is somehow completely and utterly engrossing. Truly exceptional writing captures both the whimsy of childhood and the slow maturation of its characters. Backdrop of 1960s in the South used well: both the idyllic aspects of life in days when the milkman still made his rounds, and the darker aspects of embedded racism. It's a snapshot of life with overlaid story elements - but it just works. Switches from casually humorous to introspective to devastating and back, without warning. A few scenes really punch you right in the gut. The Medium of It Spoi...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Jack Vance's  Lyonesse Trilogy. The Short of It Plot:  Kingdoms vie for supremacy, wizards do the same, and the fairy folk mock them from the sidelines. Page Count:      Suldrun's Garden: 436     The Green Pearl: 406     Madouc: 544 Award:  Madouc - 1990 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass. Technobabble:  Some magic gibberish. Review:  A fantasy epic with a remarkable number of storylines, sometimes told out of chronological order. As a demonstration of how to effectively interweave a huge number of characters and plots this is a masterclass. This does not, however, make it an enjoyable read. Character work is underwhelming - a few standouts highlight how flat most of the others are. Pacing is choppy - sudden frenetic bursts followed by 100 page slumps. World feels pretty standard for medieval fantasy - t...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about James K. Morrow's Only Begotten Daughter. The Short of It Plot:  Julie Katz, God's daughter, tries her best to avoid ending up like her brother 2000 years before.  Page Count:  312 Award:  1991 World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character)  Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  None. Review:  Alternate title - What if God Was a Woman? and Other Uninspired Theological Questions. This books serves as a theological thought experiment, and as such, is about 300 pages longer than it needs to be. It is neither shocking enough to be engagingly unorthodox nor compelling enough to be viewed as an actual novel. Characters are weak, pacing is all over the place, and the theological aspects of it are trite. Reads like an essay from someone who went to Catholic school and just discovered the rest of the world. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The issues with Only Begotten Daugh...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Gene Wolfe's  Soldier of Sidon. The Short of It Plot:  Our favorite amnesiac soldier is back, but this time he's in Egypt! Page Count:  320 Award:  2006 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : Not really. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  No. Review:  Did you like the military adventures of Sir Forgetful the first two times it came out? Then this is a great book for you. A different set of supporting characters and a new location - as well as a significant in-world time jump - offer surface level differentiation from the previous volumes. But once the adventure actually begins it is more of the same. Slow pacing and constant reminders of amnesia punctuated with occasional excellent scenes involving the gods. Also, Wolfe's still terrible at ending books. The Medium of It Spoiler Free LOOK, IT'S THE same book. I don't have anything to say about it. I've already ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Patrick Süskind's  Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. The Short of It Plot:  If he gathers enough material, he'll be able to craft the perfect smell. He'll finally smell human. Page Count:  263 Award:  1987 World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) + Atmosphere Bechdel Test : Fail. Technobabble:  Barely. Review:  Evil is a challenge. How do you make a monster believable? If it's too ridiculous, there's no justification. If motivations are too believable, well, your monster is not really evil. Süskind nails it. This is evil as a fundamental lack of morality; an indifference to the needs and wants of others. And it's terrifying. Pacing is not always great, plot meanders a bit - but the mood, which is the essential characteristic of a horror story, stays oppressive, and unsettling. At less than 300 pages, this is worth reading for that alone. The Medium of It...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Robert Holdstock's  Mythago Wood. The Short of It Plot:  There's a fine line between myth and reality, one that doesn't exist within the Wood.  Page Count:  274 Award:  1984 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Hard Fail Technobabble:  Fantasy Babble in Spades. Review:  Very clever premise and good writing that ultimately lack payoff. Unavoidable and excessive sexism to astounding levels. Obsession is a good character trait - but it's also the only one that anyone in this book has. Plot events occur for the sake of something happening - without reason, often without impact. They just... happen. Also, obsessively explaining the rules of this world while then having arbitrary new rules sneak up for plot convenience feels silly. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Before this was a novel, it was an award winning novella. Now as a novel, it's a n...