My brief thoughts on the books I completed (reading not writing) last year.
B Holly by Stephen King. Good detective story, that lacks the horror elements King is famous for (and Holly has had to deal with in previous stories). Major reason for a B as opposed to an A is that I had to go back to find out what the plot actually was and even then it took awhile to remember it. Maybe I need to start eating something special to help.
B All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Fun take on a cyborg with issues. Short and sweet.
A The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Highly recommend. Great mystery and approachable writing compared to many contemporary authors. Is this the original (modern) detective story? Must be close to, if not, published a decade before Holmes.
C How to Read Literature Like a Professor by TC Foster. Glad I read this, as it put words to concepts I haven't really thought about but think the ideas were kicking around in the back of my mind. Does suggest changing how I read (occasionally!) as it requires more work on my end. If I'm reading for pleasure, I'm not asking for work but escapism. If I'm reading for 'work' I'll likely be reading non-fiction.
A Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Fucking McCarthy and a downer of a book. Probably need to reread, but I think the kid is traveling throughhell and the judge is the devil. The fact it is based on true events, says much about people and that is not a good thing.
B Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer. This may be the first book that I've read that I think 'interacts' with the previous two books in the series. Instead of being simply a sequel, it serves as a prequel, accompanying story, and sequel tying up everything into a complete if uncertain conclusion.
A The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne. Amazing follow up to The Shadow of the Gods. Plot is driving forward at a breakneck pace, not much let up. I often find the middle book in a trilogy is generally weak. This is clearly the next chapter in an epic story that would be too difficult to bind if it were one book. Waiting on the final chapter!
C Hallowe'en by Agatha Christie. Meh, saw the recent movie based on this book (A Haunting in Venice), which I thought was a bit disjointed. Figured the source material would be better, it wasn't really.
C Hallowe'en by Agatha Christie. Meh, saw the recent movie based on this book (A Haunting in Venice), which I thought was a bit disjointed. Figured the source material would be better, it wasn't really.
C The Stranger by Albert Camus. I don't get it. In fact, I'm as apathetic about it as the protagonist(?) is about everything. It gave me Catcher in the Rye vibes but for adults rather than angsty teenagers. On the plus side, it's short.
B The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. I enjoyed this story, although the, what I felt was a, genre turn did not work as well as it could have. (To be fair, I think there were several genres merged here that did work well). The critique of class and why hits home particularly well in the current environment.
A The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. Another great world building story, heavy on Nordic themes. Three distinct storylines with clear character motivations (nuance is not often seen here, and I'm ok with that). Can't wait to learn more about the history of this world.
B The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. A good mystery, although not as strong as Moonstone IMO. Was excited to start this after reading the aforementioned Moonstone, but the writing style is much more in keeping with contemporary authors. Plot also follows the love triangle aspects of many stories of the time.
A Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Great world building. Sanderson introduces a lot, tells a great story with a definitive ending, all in a few hundred pages. Concision without loss of story telling at its finest.
B The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Solid follow up story. Deals with issues that immediately arise from the conclusion of the first book Mistborn. I appreciate that this adds to the overarching story without simply repeating plot points from the original. Ending isn't as strong as Mistborn as there must be another .
B+ Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger. Spot on descriptions of snow blindness and the speed with which the cold can suck the life out of you. Plot was decent but not particularly surprising.
B+ All that Remains by Sue Black. This was not what I thought it would be, so it took me awhile to get around that. Otherwise an amazing -opic into the world of forensics and humanity.
A Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger. The prelude to this story is based on a real life horrifying event. The story itself incorporates a possible outcome of this initial event into the overarching plot well. My favorite Krueger book of the four I read this year.
A Children of Light by Terry Brooks. Have always loved Brooks, although I did tire somewhat of the Shannara series as the several of the trilogies followed the same arcs and often the same plot beats. This is a new story, although making use of different races (fairies and humans) and a conflict between them. I'm looking forward to reading Daughter of Darkness.
A- Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger. Another solid entry by Krueger. Does a solid job incorporating racism and small town politics. A good mystery, but like many I've read it seems the 'detective' is really just observing events and doing less solving.
Only two non-fiction books last year to go along with 18 fiction, almost all fantasy/sci-fi. Three classics (two by Wilkie and one by Camus) and a likely soon to be classic (Blood Meridian). Apparently I was going through a Krueger fix (four books).
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