American Gods by Neil Gaiman

After finishing my previous audiobook, I looked for another Hugo award-winning novel that was available to borrow without a wait. I ended up borrowing this one. It was published on the tenth anniversary of the original. The text of this audiobook is that favored by the author. It is somewhat longer than the original with some minor changes, as the author explains in his “Note on the Text” in the front of the book.

Shadow, a man just getting out of prison, is approached and offered a job working for a man named Wednesday. He is to be his driver and errand boy. At first he declines. After a tragedy in his life, with nothing else going on, he agrees. The book is largely the story of their relationship. As you can probably guess from the book’s title, Wednesday is a god. I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide which one. The story follows the two as a war brews between the old gods and the new gods.

I really enjoyed the storytelling in this book. The audiobook is a full cast production and really brings the story to life. Shadow struggles with meaning in his life and his relationships. I really appreciate stories that explore aspects of the human condition. Interestingly, even the gods seem to struggle with that. The writing isn’t in any sense what I would call literary. That said, it does get out of the way and let the story sing.

My rating: 4/5

Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

I learned about this book from my partner. She had suggested I read the first three books in the series. Not long after, she told me that the author had written a fourth. We recently watched the entire TV series on Netflix, so I decided to finally read this book as it picks up where the series left off.

This is the story of Marcus and Phoebe. Phoebe becomes a vampire in order to mate with Marcus. We follow her experience as a fledgling and learn about the tribulations of the change. At the same time, we learn of Marcus’s past, including how he met Matthew and became a vampire himself. While I highly recommend reading the other books in the series first, the author does an excellent job of bringing to the reader’s mind the things that came before.

There wasn’t anything spectacular about this book. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed learning about the continuing lives of characters that I have come to care about in earlier books. But there isn’t any great conflict that drives this story. It just kind of sits there. I’m glad I read it and spent more time in this world. But it would not have been any great loss if I had skipped it either.

My rating: 3.5/5

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

I came across an interview with the author of this novella in Locus, “the magazine of science fiction and fantasy field”. What really got me interested enough to read it was this passage from the interview. “… you can’t discuss what that book is about without spoiling it. It’s got a big twist, and even to summarize what the book is about is to take a step towards spoilers. It’s basically a Stepford Wives meets ‘Bluebeard’ thing – but it’s not either of those things.” I was intrigued.

Despite what the author says, I will make a short attempt to summarize the plot. This is a fantasy thriller. Each chapter is named after a variety of apple. It opens with the beginning of an agreement that residents of a neighborhood have to sign and live by. The next chapter opens with the protagonist saying, “I was made for him.” Right away that was creepy for me, making me feel something was wrong. From there the chapters alternate between continuing the resident agreement (which gets weirder and weirder) and the woman as she slowly starts to question her life and her world. As the author says, there is a big twist at the end that will have you looking back on what you read and seeing it in a very different light.

The writing here is very engaging. I was enveloped by the story and the mystery. The use of the first person is very effective at bringing you into the protagonist’s world and viewpoint. At first I was turned off by the whole “I was made for my man” vibe. But as the protagonist grows to question things, the story become more and more feminist. in the end, it is a fantastic fresh look at an old familiar allegory.

My rating: 4/5

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

This is the sequel to No Gods, No Monsters and the second book in Cadwell Turnbull’s Convergence Saga. My book club read the first two years ago and decided to read the sequel in October.

The story picks up about a year after the climactic events of the first novel. Monsters continue to seek recognition and equal rights from their human neighbors. Naturally, a group rises to oppose this, othering monsters as inherently dangerous. The story climaxes in a similar devastating event as the first novel.

This just felt like more of the same without adding much. The writing is engaging and the subject matter is a telling metaphor for LGBTQ+ rights. But the storytelling is still disjointed. It jumps around and left me feeling confused and a bit disoriented. Worst of all for me was that the author did little to nothing to help catch up those who read the first book in the series. Often authors will seamlessly add little reminders of what happened previously. There was little to none of that here. I recommend reading this one immediately after the first. And if you plan to read the whole series, wait until the last one comes out so you can read them one after the other. Despite all these shortcomings, I still enjoyed the novel.

My rating: 3/5

And What Can We Offer You Tonight? by Premee Mohamed

On a recent road trip, I drove a moving truck back home for a friend who had a few things left to move from her old house. I needed a short audiobook to listen to as I drove home by myself. This was the one I chose for that trip. It was okay.

It opens at a funeral for a young woman who was a courtesan in a bleak world where underprivileged people hope to become courtesans. The young woman comes back to life mysteriously. She realizes that being dead (undead?) she is not subject to the same methods of surveillance that the others still are. The storyteller is disturbed by this but ends up accompanying her on some of her excursions.

It is a tale of privilege and struggle about haves and have nots. It feels very timely but at the same not all that interesting. I enjoyed it enough to say I liked it, but it was just okay for me.

My rating: 3/5

Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore

This book is the sequel to A Dirty Job by the same author. I enjoyed the first book in the series so much that I picked this one up right after. It was as much fun as the first.

The story picks up where the previous novel left off. The plot is actually very similar. Once again, it seems that the powers of darkness are trying to rise and take over. But this time, things don’t land solely on the shoulders of Charlie. Instead, this turns into much more of a team effort that in many ways is more satisfying than the lone savior feel of the first novel.

Once again, there is a high level of snark and sarcasm. This is combined with deeper looks into the relationships between the characters. And despite how opposite those things seem, the story holds it all together while propelling you through the adventure. Once again, a real hoot of a story. I can only hope there will be a third in the series.

My rating: 4/5

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

I learned of this book from an old friend of my partner. We went to his condo a few months ago to get together with some friends in the city that we last moved away from. He is a reader like me and showed me his bookshelves. This was one of his favorite books, and he recommended it to me. It sounded interesting so I added it to my list of books to read.

It is the first book of a two-part series called Grim Reaper. The story starts with Charlie Asher attending to his wife as she gives birth to their first child. Something very strange happens immediately after the birth and people start dying around him. Then he starts hearing voices in the sewers and starts to feel like he must have become Death himself. Things get more complicated, dangerous, and weird from there.

This is a very clever, quirky, and funny book. With its tongue in cheek tone and humor, it reminded me many times of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams or Redshirts by John Scalzi. It is also a heck of a ride. All kinds of funny and crazy things happen. There is mythology and a little social commentary. It has a little of everything if you like your adventure dark and funny. Look elsewhere for your literary novel. This one is just plain fun.

My rating: 4/5

Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis by Dave Maass and Patrick Lay

My next read was one I found on Cory Doctorow’s blog. It is a graphic novel based on an opera whose authors were first part of a Nazi show piece ghetto in Prague who both later were murdered in a concentration camp. This novel is the expression of people going through the worst a human can experience. It is amazing.

The story takes place in an Atlantis that never sank. In it, Death goes on strike after becoming sick of the violence and hatred among humans at the behest of the emperor. But this means that people can no longer die, leading them to even question why they are fighting. It sounds maudlin as I write that, but the art and dialog really bring it to life.

I had a hard time getting into the book at first. I considered putting it aside a few times early on. It was feeling kind of common and uninteresting to me. But as my curiosity drove me to continue, the story came together in a way that really touched me. It is ultimately a story of the triumph over death and the evil in the world, even when those obstacles seem insurmountable. It is a triumph of the human spirit.

My rating: 4/5

The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein

I am a big fan of Cory Doctorow and regularly read his blog. There, he occasionally posts a review of a book that he’s loved reading recently. Back in May he posted a review of this book. His praise was high enough that I went right out and bought this book. I just finished it and wow!.

Doctorow does not give any plot summary. In fact, he says pretty much nothing about the story. He says that it is hard to peg to a single genre and it was recently republished by the author when the rights reverted back to her. If I had to put a genre label on it, I would call it fantasy, but that is only at the first layer. I will also give a very short plot summary. A steerswoman is researching the source of a mysterious gem that seems to be magical. That’s about all I can say without spoiling the mystery at the heart of this book that makes it so interesting.

The writing is thoughtful and engaging. I felt that I was right there along with the main characters engaged in the mystery and adventure. It is a book that explores ideas like one’s place in the world, integrity, the power and strength of truth, and coming together as a team. It is the kind of book that I find myself enjoying even more after having read it and thinking about it afterword. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. In fact, I am off now to go buy and download the rest of the series!

My rating: 4.5/5

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker

I’ve read a lot of Sarah Pinsker’s fiction. This includes many short stories including “One Man’s Treasure” from last year which was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus awards for best novelette. I also thoroughly enjoyed her two novels, A Song for a New Day and We Are Satellites. Naturally, when I learned that she was soon to publish a new novella, I went looking for it at NetGalley. Many thanks to them for the advance reader copy they provided me in exchange for this unbiased review.

Haunt Sweet Home is the story of a young woman named Mara trying to find her way in the world. Her many attempts to complete college keep flaming out, much to her family’s disappointment. Her cousin is a very successful host of cable TV show that goes by the same name as the title of the book . It follows new home owners as they begin to renovate their homes and discover that they are haunted in some way. When this cousin offers Mara a job as a production assistant on the show she takes it not knowing how it will change her life.

This short book was a mixed bag for me. It is slow to start though entertaining throughout. The meat of the story doesn’t get going until around the mid-point of the story. One result for me was simply wishing that there was more to the story. In some ways, it feels like it ends just as it is getting the most interesting. Also, the main twist in the story has been used many times and was quite easy for me to see coming. But that is redeemed after the reveal as the details are unique and what the entire story is built to explore. Ultimately, this book is about coming of age, growing up, and learning for yourself who you really are. These are some of my favorite books themes. I just wish this novella was as good for me as her novels.

My rating: 3.5/5