The REAL 2005 Recommended Reads List
By Paula Guran
December 2005
I already wrote about making
one list of recommended reads for the year, but this is my personal
no-consideration-of-publication list of recommended reads for the year.
No, I haven't read everything. Yes, I am sure I've missed things. I'm also sure
I will soon be slapping my head over something I forgot. But I tried.
TOP TRIO
There are three books I'd like to single out: novels
Beyond Black (holt) by Hilary
Mantel and The Limits of Enchantment (Atria) by Graham Joyce and Joe Hill's collection
20th Century Ghosts (PS Publishing). These are three books that will stay with me until senility
sets in and if you are judging "best" by the standard of "unforgettable" then,
for me, these three measure up. All three are reviewed on the Web site
ANOTHER FIFTEEN
I also recommend another fiften you are likely to find on other "year's best" lists
(in alphabetical order by author):
Fledgling (Seven Stories Press) - Octavia Butler
Butler crafts the conventional vampire motif to unconventionally deal with the
power of human (and inhuman relationships), sexism, racism, miscegenation, and
ageism.
The Overnight (Tor) - Ramsey Campbell
How creepy can a modern bookstore be? The masterful Ramsey Campbell turns the
cozy embrace of a clean, well-lighted book emporium into a place of terror.
Joplin's Ghost (Atria) - Tananarive Due
Due combines her writing skills and gift for convincing characterization with
her musical know-how to craft a modern ghost story that respects the past while
being very much in the present.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Girl in the Glass (Dark Alley) - Jeffrey Ford
There are more layers here than in your Aunt's Athena's baklava and it is just
as tasty. It's a historical suspense thriller horror story romantic detective
funny scary fantastic literary novel full of both slight of hand and true
enchantment.
Anansi Boys (William Morrow) - Neil Gaiman
A clever, irresistible, page-turner from a writer who may still be learning how
to write a novel-length tale, but is such a good storyteller it really doesn't
matter.
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow (Del Rey) - David Gemmell
Epic alternative mythology/historical fantasy that has offers everything that
fascinates about mythology and history: adventure, action, blood, violence,
lust, romance, gods, monsters, heroes, humans -- except Gemmell's version is far
better-written.
Already Dead (Del Rey) - Charlie Huston
Yet another take on the hardboiled vampire, but think: Quentin Tarentino in a
playful mood in Noo Yawk...
The Narrows (Del Rey) - Alex Irvine
At the end, I had some sticky questions left that I wish had been answered, but,
overall, originality and writing magic makes this one a winner.
Never Let Me Go (Knopf) - Kazuo Ishiguro
The labels of "mystery" and "science fiction" have been affixed to this
beautifully written "literary" novel, but it is so powerfully disturbing that
"horror" is just as appropriate.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Learning the World(Tor) - Ken Macleod
Philosophy, morality, and politics play a prime role in all of MacLeod's
fiction, but they don't slow down this novel that tells of "first encounter"
from both sides.
Woken Furies (Del Rey) - Richard Morgan
SF neonoir full of grit, guts, sex, and violence spiced with some
religio-socio-political philosophizing for an engaging read.
A Princess of Roumania (Tor) - Paul Park
I've only just read this intricate fantasy and am still mulling my opinion but,
having the advantage of an advance copy of its sequel, The Tourmaline, in hand
and underway only confirms my initial feeling that Park has, indeed, wrought
finely written magic.
Thud! (HarperCollins) - Terry Pratchett
Mr. Pratchett is simply in a hilariously goofy, scathingly satirical class by
himself. Enjoy.
Olympos (Eos) - Dan Simmons
Conclusion of a duology may well prove to be a science fiction classic. Satire,
humor, adventure, politics, religion, quantum physics and a killer opening line
("Helen of Troy awakes just before dawn to the sound of air raid sirens") --
what more could you want?
Spin (Tor) - Robert Charles Wilson
What if one night the stars went out? Creditable science, compassionate
characterization, compelling questions about humanity's ability to both ignore
and adapt combined in a convincing cosmic morality tale.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
HALF-A-DOZEN POSSIBLY QUIRKY PICKS (in no particular order)
Paul Witcover's original, complex, and disturbing Tumbling After (Eos) has also
stayed with me. I can't remember now (a year or more since I read the ARC) why I
felt it was somehow flawed. Since I can't remember, it must have been trivial.
All that remains is the positive impression.
Counting Heads (Tor) by David Marusek is getting more notice and, even though
some first-novel flaws show, it, too, is recommended. To quote myself from a
yet-to-be published review: " Marusek evokes an impelling sense of wonder with
an awesomely imaginative and all-too-believable future chock full of nifty
details while allowing his characters to compel the novel."
A third quirky pick is Orphans of Chaos (Tor) by John C. Wright. Yet another
single title that became two books (and now, evidently, three), it probably
suffers a bit as the focus is entirely on its protagonists discovering their
predicament and attempting to make a failed escape. You have a coming-of-age
story in which no one has come of age by the end...Nevertheless I enjoyed it
immensely.
Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice (Tor) by Steven Erikson are two more thick
additions to the ongoing saga of Mazalan. I'm putting them under "quirky" as
Erikson is the only author I consistently recommend other than China Mieville of
whom I get the complaint: "I just didn't get it. I had to give up." I see that
as *their* problem, not mine (or the author's), but I acknowledge it may be a
problem.
Jeff VanderMeer's Veniss Underground (Bantam Spectra) is, technically, not a
2005 book. (Well, neither is The Overnight, except 2005 is the first US
publication.) This is not even Veniss Underground's first US publication. (It
is, I think the third?) Still, it's a worthy and innovative novel now widely
available and one I hope more readers take a chance on.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
ONE I WOULD PROBABLY RECOMMEND IF...
The Mysteries - Lisa Tuttle (Bantam Spectra)
I've yet to get hold of a review copy of this (Hello? Bantam Spectra? Does
anyone check the email there?) but the fact Tuttle (who has not had an adult
novel out since
The Pillow Friend in 1996) is an excellent writer and my trust in
a fellow reviewer (who has read it) leads me to believe this is a goodie. I'm
not entirely convinced the world needs yet another take on Celtic sidhe-lore,
but If anyone can give faerie a fresh twist by mixing it with mystery, it's
Tuttle. However, until I *read* the book...
EIGHT COLLECTIONS (OTHER THAN 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS)
Specimen Days (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) by Michael Cunningham
Attack of the Jazz Giants and Other Stories (Golden Gryphon) by Gregory Frost
To Charles Fort, with Love (Subterranean Press) by Caitlin Kiernan
Magic for Beginners (Small Beer) by Kelly Link
Looking For Jake (Del Rey) by China Mieville
The Palace of Repose (Prime) Holly Phillips
Heart of Whitenesse (Subterranean Press) by Howard Waldrop
Starwater Strains (Tor) by Gene Wolfe
...AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE
The fiction portion of re-issued debut collection Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales
(Subterranean Press) by Norman Partridge is good, but not as good as the
author's more recent writing. (Besides -- it *is* a reprint.) But the *new*
portion of the book -- commentary and advice -- is refreshingly honest and
anyone who thinks s/he wants to be a "horror writer" should read (and heed) it.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
YOUNG ADULT?
I have a small pile of YA and kid titles I'm looking at for a round-up, but I've
not come close to seeing as many titles as should be seen to really do anything
comprehensive. (I'm not sure anyone can!) I would like to mention couple of
authors, however, that "grown-ups" may enjoy as well.
Twilight (Megan Tingley) by first novelist Stephenie Meyer crosses vampires with
star-crossed young lovers is one standout (great cover, too). The prolific Scott
Westerfeld has an sf/horror trilogy going that began with Uglies (Simon Pulse)
and continues with Pretties with a fascinating premise -- a near future world in
which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen that makes them
supermodel gorgeous (we're "the Rusties", btw, symbolized by the rusting ruins
left after a virus has destroyed petroleum.) I'm pretty sure I'd like his darker
"Midnighters" series, too, but I've not seen it.
ANTHOLOGIES?
Um, right. There are some. I'm just not doing any recommending right now.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
HORROR
If you've been reading DarkEcho for ages you might be wondering specifically
about "recommended" horror reads. The Overnight and Joplin's Ghost are obviously
horror and I'd probably classify Beyond Black and
Never Let Me Go as horror, even though others might not. Veniss Underground, Fledgling,
Already Dead, and The Narrows might be considered horror. Tumbling After is
very dark and disturbing. I haven't read The Historian so I can't comment on whether
it is of merit or if it is horror.
Many of the collections I mentioned are dark, or partially dark, including
Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham, To Charles Fort, With Love by Caitlin
Kiernan, Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link, and Looking For Jake by China
Mieville
OVERALL
Well, there must be SOMETHING you like on this list...