Books Read: 2007
Oct. 11th, 2007 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendi91. No Beast so Fierce, by Edward Bunker. Bunker -- an ex-con (who shared prison time with Danny Trejo) -- wrote one of the first crime novels that really got into the head of a career felon. You can see the influence on, say, Brian Azzarello or Andrew Vachss here, with a stark look at an ex-con attempting to adjust to life in '70s California. Highly recommended.
92. Seven Touches of Music: A Mosiac Novel, by Zoran Zivkovic. This collection of seven stories (all with some musical element, not surprisingly) is simple and haunting. The collection is very short (expect to read it in one sitting -- I did so on a bus trip into Harvard Square), but each story is its own little work of beauty, with only a fleeting meeting of the disparate elements in the final tale. It's a quick read, but one that will stay with you for a while. Highly recommended.
93. Splinter, by Adam Roberts. This isn't as good as Gradisil or Switfly, but Roberts still spins a good tale. In this case, he presents a world in which Jules Verne's novel Off on a Comet was not a work of fiction, but a prediction of a catastrophe that would hit the earth today. It throws in a character with some severe family issues, a modern cult, and other fun stuff. It is hampered by some very awkward moments in which Roberts drops the trans-Atlantic dialogue ball (at one point having the American male lead apologize to his girlfriend for his having acted like "a cunt"), and, at times, seems to obsess over its own (admittedly intriguing) narrative structure a little too much. Still, the concept alone was enough to hook me, and "lesser" Roberts is still very worth reading. Recommended.
94. Terminal, by Andrew Vachss. If you know me, you know how much I adore the Burke novels. This is more of the same, although I do think it's a step down from the previous few. We get a mostly-straightforward plot in which the gang needs to extort money from some folks who did some very bad things years ago, and most of the book is just the gang figuring out how to do so. We do get some great scenes with Terry (finally!), and more of Burke's wonderful political rants, but (even with a very tense ending), this one just didn't have the impact of the last few. As with this entire series, Vachss does a great job of filling in relevant details from past books, but I do think that this series is best approached from the beginning. Recommended.
95. Promises to Keep, by Charles de Lint. This made one hell of a follow-up to Terminal. Vachss and de Lint both address similar themes (you choose your own family; children can and often do get hurt by those who should protect them, etc), but approach things very differently. Promises to Keep, telling the early story of Jilly, gets a lot more stark than de Lint normally does (in fact, it gets positively Vachssian at times), but is, at its core, a story of hope. It's also a damned fine jumping-on point for new readers, as most of the story is set before any of de Lint's novels (or any of the stories other than "In the House of My Enemy," with which it overlaps). We see Jilly's first meetings with Wendy, Sophie, and Geordie, which is worth it by itself. But we also get a great look into how Jilly evolved into the person we know and love today. Highly recommended.
96. The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide, by Neil Comins. This is a quick and fun non-fiction read, noting (without malice) many of the flaws in contemporary fictional looks at space travel. Comins addresses radiation, atmospheric issues, volcanic activity, and even social issues that would affect any space flight. Any writer planning on focusing on space travel should have a copy of this book on hand, and anyone with any sort of interest in space flight will find this a fascinating little book. Highly Recommended.
97. The Servants, by Michael Marshall Smith. Smith (writing under his full name!) serves up a nice (if a little tame) book of weirdness. Mark, an eleven-year-old, is dealing with the facts that his mom is sick and possibly dying, his dad hasn't seen him much since the divorce, and his step-dad seems to be getting in the way of everything he wants to do. When his downstairs neighbor shows him the old servant quarters hidden in their house, he stumble upon a world of magic, but one he doesn't fully grasp (aside: I literally read this one right after reading the short story "The Princess, the Page, and the Master Cook's Son," by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sartorias, another tale that focuses around servant quarters; pure, but amusing, coincidence). It's not as weird as some of Smith's works, but it's still a very nice read, with some wonderful imagery. Highly Recommended.
92. Seven Touches of Music: A Mosiac Novel, by Zoran Zivkovic. This collection of seven stories (all with some musical element, not surprisingly) is simple and haunting. The collection is very short (expect to read it in one sitting -- I did so on a bus trip into Harvard Square), but each story is its own little work of beauty, with only a fleeting meeting of the disparate elements in the final tale. It's a quick read, but one that will stay with you for a while. Highly recommended.
93. Splinter, by Adam Roberts. This isn't as good as Gradisil or Switfly, but Roberts still spins a good tale. In this case, he presents a world in which Jules Verne's novel Off on a Comet was not a work of fiction, but a prediction of a catastrophe that would hit the earth today. It throws in a character with some severe family issues, a modern cult, and other fun stuff. It is hampered by some very awkward moments in which Roberts drops the trans-Atlantic dialogue ball (at one point having the American male lead apologize to his girlfriend for his having acted like "a cunt"), and, at times, seems to obsess over its own (admittedly intriguing) narrative structure a little too much. Still, the concept alone was enough to hook me, and "lesser" Roberts is still very worth reading. Recommended.
94. Terminal, by Andrew Vachss. If you know me, you know how much I adore the Burke novels. This is more of the same, although I do think it's a step down from the previous few. We get a mostly-straightforward plot in which the gang needs to extort money from some folks who did some very bad things years ago, and most of the book is just the gang figuring out how to do so. We do get some great scenes with Terry (finally!), and more of Burke's wonderful political rants, but (even with a very tense ending), this one just didn't have the impact of the last few. As with this entire series, Vachss does a great job of filling in relevant details from past books, but I do think that this series is best approached from the beginning. Recommended.
95. Promises to Keep, by Charles de Lint. This made one hell of a follow-up to Terminal. Vachss and de Lint both address similar themes (you choose your own family; children can and often do get hurt by those who should protect them, etc), but approach things very differently. Promises to Keep, telling the early story of Jilly, gets a lot more stark than de Lint normally does (in fact, it gets positively Vachssian at times), but is, at its core, a story of hope. It's also a damned fine jumping-on point for new readers, as most of the story is set before any of de Lint's novels (or any of the stories other than "In the House of My Enemy," with which it overlaps). We see Jilly's first meetings with Wendy, Sophie, and Geordie, which is worth it by itself. But we also get a great look into how Jilly evolved into the person we know and love today. Highly recommended.
96. The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide, by Neil Comins. This is a quick and fun non-fiction read, noting (without malice) many of the flaws in contemporary fictional looks at space travel. Comins addresses radiation, atmospheric issues, volcanic activity, and even social issues that would affect any space flight. Any writer planning on focusing on space travel should have a copy of this book on hand, and anyone with any sort of interest in space flight will find this a fascinating little book. Highly Recommended.
97. The Servants, by Michael Marshall Smith. Smith (writing under his full name!) serves up a nice (if a little tame) book of weirdness. Mark, an eleven-year-old, is dealing with the facts that his mom is sick and possibly dying, his dad hasn't seen him much since the divorce, and his step-dad seems to be getting in the way of everything he wants to do. When his downstairs neighbor shows him the old servant quarters hidden in their house, he stumble upon a world of magic, but one he doesn't fully grasp (aside: I literally read this one right after reading the short story "The Princess, the Page, and the Master Cook's Son," by
sartorias, another tale that focuses around servant quarters; pure, but amusing, coincidence). It's not as weird as some of Smith's works, but it's still a very nice read, with some wonderful imagery. Highly Recommended.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-11 04:54 pm (UTC)Just sharing the following tidbits for readers who may not know:
This book was made into a really good movie called Straight Time with Dustin Hoffman. Bunker also wrote Animal Factory, which Steve Buscemi made into a movie. Bunker appears in both movies.
Bunker was also Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-11 04:59 pm (UTC)I'd meant to mention that one, but forgotten. He referenced that role in his autobiography.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-11 05:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 09:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-11 11:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-13 09:59 pm (UTC)