Book Reports, September 2008

Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane. (38) [litfic, book club]. I checked this book out of the library. I’d read three quarters of this book for my book club and then set it aside, but I finally finished it. Here’s the thing: it’s a really lovely book with a strong sense of poetry and it’s sad, but I hated the protag. You’re inside his head the whole way, so if you hate him the way I did, there’s not much for you. On the other hand, some of the imagery is just lovely and there’s a certain wryness to the writing that’s appealing, so it wasn’t a terrible read, by any means. Finished 09/01/08.

Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey. (39) [specfic, althistory]. I checked this book out of the library. I enjoyed it but it was verging on too angsty and not-enough-happensy. It certainly is the weakest of the series so far. There’s one last book out in this series, though, and this book wasn’t so bad that I won’t be checking that one out to read soon. Finished 09/07/07.

The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snickett. (40) [childrens]. I own this. I liked it. Finished 09/14/08.

Magic’s Child by Justine Larbalestier. (41) [YA, specfic]. I checked this out of the library. I have to say Larbalestier nailed the ending. I think she closed this up just right. I still have lingering misgivings about the surfacy feel of the books, but it was nice reading, and I’m glad I took the time. She does a really good five-sense-enfolding setting, which makes the world-travel aspect of the books particularly enjoyable. Finished 09/21/08.

Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell. (42) [specfic]. I checked this out of the library. I enjoyed this book a great deal, but everyone knows I love zombie stories. I really liked the eyeball kicks: the floating cities, the otherworldly vistas, the groundsuits, the winged zombies (ok, they’re not technically wings, but that’s how I thought of them: raggedy, rippling wings). There’s the non-stop action, action, action one expects from a Buckell book, which I was happy about. Pepper is a difficult character, and in some cases, I feel like the author stacks the deck in his favor. When Pepper says “This always happens”, the author arranges it so that he’s right, and it feels a little bit like cheating. Again, I had trouble with some of the emotional context. A lot of the external dialog is treated with subtlety and interest, but a lot of the internal dialog is strangely uncomplicated and straightforward. I guess I want a little more emotional ambiguity to color the characters’ inner world. Finished 09/24/08.