Monday I posted the usual
ego-stroking Cyber-Monday list of my own books and some anthologies I’m
in. Today--as I have in the past--I
thought I’d toss out some other books I’ve enjoyed this year that were written
by much more talented people than me. They’re not really in any
order, and a few of them aren’t exactly new, but if you’re looking for
something for that special somebody (or for yourself), it’s going to be tough
to go wrong with any of these...
As always, you can prove
you’re a morally better person by visiting your local bookstore. There’s still plenty of time for them to
order something for you if they don’t have it in stock. Plus, some of them have connections and can
get you autographed copies and stuff like that...
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire—the
short, simple explanation is that this book is about all those kids who find
mystic gateways or enchanted wardrobes or interdimensional touchstones, have
fantastic adventures... and then eventually end up back in their normal,
mundane homes again and having to cope with real life. The best thing I can think to say is that I’m so
ridiculously jealous of this book. It’s just magnificent.
Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig – I am super-late
to the table with this one, because Wendig’s been writing this series for five
years now. Miriam Black is a foulmouthed
alcoholic who’s gifted (or cursed) to immediately know how and when everyone
she touches is going to die. After years of dealing with said ability, she’s
seen someone’s future death that involves... her. It’s funny and dark and fantastic and I think
there are five of these books now.
Heroine Complex/ Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn
–superpowers are real. So are superheroes.
The two aren’t always connected.
Oh, demons are real, too, and they can possess all sorts of things. Evie and Aveda are such crazy-fun -lovable-exciting
characters that you’ll devour each book in a day. I did.
Killing Is My Business by Adam Christopher—I mentioned
the first book in this noir-robot-detective series a while back. Adam’s written
more of said series. They’re still
amazing, and now there are mysteries-within-the mysteries. You should read them.
An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King – I got to
read an early copy of this and it’s just brilliant. A dystopian tale set in future-China, where
the one child policy has gone... well, just like everyone predicted. Our four protagonists are trying to form a
family while also each hiding an array of personal secrets and deciding who to
trust with them. It’s a fantastic,
slow-burn book that reads like the wonderfully twisted love child of The
Handmaid’s Tale and Big Love.
Sleeping Giants/ Waking Gods by Sylvain
Neuvel—another one I was late picking up (but got caught up quickly). A fantastic epistolary tale about the
discovery of a giant alien robot and the team that comes together to figure out
how they use said robot to defend the Earth.
It’s Contact crossed with Pacific Rim, and if that idea
doesn’t excite you we have nothing else to say to each other.
Good day to
you.
I said good day.
I said good day.
We Are Wormwood by Autumn Christian – a
beautifully surreal tale about a young woman growing up with insanity and
then... well, descending into it herself with a few nudges from her demon
girlfriend. Christian also has a
fantastic collection of creepy/scary/sexy short stories called Ecstatic Inferno that I wolfed down in about a day.
I befriended her on Twitter just so I can constantly prod her
to write new stuff for me to read. I'm selfish that way.
Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black—okay,
this glorious space opera’s kind of tough to explain, because in the future
Earth has shifted over to an entirely new form of technology. In short, its about a group of people
developing new weapons, learning to use them, and learning to be them. It may take a little bit to get into this
one, but it’s sooo worth it.
Revolution –by John Barber and Cullen Bunn—I was a die-hard comic fan for years, but got driven out by the constant (and often substandard) crossover events. I started reading some of IDW’s “Hasbroverse” books last year and was frustrated when they announced Revolution, their own upcoming crossover event.
Holy crap. This was my favorite comic book event in at least twenty years. It begins with a conflict between the GI Joe team and the Autobots which gets disrupted when Rom the Spaceknight shows up and uses his Neutralizer to incinerate General Joe Coulton before flying off again. If you were already a fan of IDW’s GI Joe or Transformers books, you can guess how a silver robot showing up and killing the Joes’ CO goes over. If you’re a fan of Rom... you know what this killing implies. Revolution is honestly suspenseful and dramatic, and has amazingly solid ties to all the books involved. It’s clearly a crossover that was planned far in advance, and it made me a regular at my comic shop again.
And anyway, those are some of my favorite things I read this year. Any one of them would make for a fantastic gift. And if you’ve got some suggestions of your own, please mention them in the comments down below.
Tomorrow... regular old
writing advice. Thanks for your
patience.Revolution –by John Barber and Cullen Bunn—I was a die-hard comic fan for years, but got driven out by the constant (and often substandard) crossover events. I started reading some of IDW’s “Hasbroverse” books last year and was frustrated when they announced Revolution, their own upcoming crossover event.
Holy crap. This was my favorite comic book event in at least twenty years. It begins with a conflict between the GI Joe team and the Autobots which gets disrupted when Rom the Spaceknight shows up and uses his Neutralizer to incinerate General Joe Coulton before flying off again. If you were already a fan of IDW’s GI Joe or Transformers books, you can guess how a silver robot showing up and killing the Joes’ CO goes over. If you’re a fan of Rom... you know what this killing implies. Revolution is honestly suspenseful and dramatic, and has amazingly solid ties to all the books involved. It’s clearly a crossover that was planned far in advance, and it made me a regular at my comic shop again.
And anyway, those are some of my favorite things I read this year. Any one of them would make for a fantastic gift. And if you’ve got some suggestions of your own, please mention them in the comments down below.
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