Money Shot

Christa Faust, 2008

(October 2017)

  

I love the unabashed pulpiness of the Hard Case Crime covers, even if I’d never actually read one prior to this. It certainly lives up (down?) to its billing.

Occupied City

David Peace, 2009

(April 2016)

The sequel to Tokyo Year Zero, and apparently the middle volume of a planned ‘Tokyo Trilogy’, though given the continued absence of a final volume it’s probably better if we don’t hold our collective breath on that score.

Master of the House of Darts

Aliette de Bodard, 2011

(July 2015)

  

The final volume in the Obsidian and Blood trilogy. In and of itself it's a nicely fantastical murder-mystery, if in places a touch repetitive (Copal incense! Always with the copal incense) and with a slightly abrupt conclusion. As a way to finish off the series it's stronger: the characters are fleshed out more (including, importantly, the previously wasted Mihmatini) and the plotting and politics are convoluted enough to keep things interesting without becoming overwhelming. There's a marked improvement across all three installments, which makes the current buzz surrounding de Bodard's newest book very easy to believe. As if my unread pile wasn't big enough already.

Harbinger of the Storm

Aliette de Bodard, 2011

(July 2014)

  

Harbinger of the Storm represents a very clear progression from its predecessor, Servant of the Underworld, both in terms of narrative development and authorial skill. It’s still, like an elderly priest’s ears, a little ragged around the edges, but it moves the story forward easily and significantly and the missteps are, in general, fewer and less significant than before.

The Fifty Year Sword

Mark Z. Danielewski, 2012

(October 2013)

Did you ever read

The House of Leaves?

A story strange,

of drunks and thieves.

Servant of the Underworld

Aliette de Bodard, 2010

(September 2013)

Historical fantasy, wherein our hero is an Aztec priest investigating a murder he believes his brother is wrongly accused of. A Mesoamerican In the Name of the Rose, if you will. It certainly gets points for originality

Revenge

Yoko Ogawa, 1998 [Stephen Snyder, 2013]

(February 2013)

Oh, Jesus. It’s been a long time since I had to put a book down in mid-sentence because my stomach wouldn’t stop turning, and that should be taken as a glowing endorsement.

In Cold Blood

A True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences

Truman Capote, 1966

(March 2011)

I started reading this after Jessie Lamb, before realizing I wasn’t quite in the mood and needed something cheerier. Then the film adaptation pops up in 69 as an hilariously self-inflicted cock-block, which I took as a sign not to take too long in getting back to it.