Today I finished my 20th (and one of the more emotional) books of 2016, Lang Leav's collection of poetry, Love & Misadventure. Admittedly, 20 books read in a year isn't my best score, and there was plenty of room to read more, but one particular book got in the way and extinguished my reading fire. That book was none other than Game of Thrones. This wasn't the first year I've read Game of Thrones, I read it a couple years ago, got about half way through and realized, "I've seen all of this on TV, so why am I reading it?" and put it down. But I love Game of Thrones, I've read companion books and I'm always watching videos about the world George R.R. Martin created, so I thought it was time I actually sat down and read the books. Big mistake. Instead of the character-driven, emotionally-charged series I expected, I was left with a plot-driven, emotionless story. Needless to say, it took me a few months to get through that one book.
Despite my dislike for Game of Thrones, it wasn't the worst novel I read this year, that prize goes to Ben Bova's Saturn, a novel I found at the dollar store... that alone should have been a clue to how well it would read.
My favourite novel of the year, would have to be a tie between The Children of Húrin, by J.R.R. Tolkien or The Color Midnight Made, by Andrew Winer. Both novels are old favourites. One chronicles the tragic story of Túrin Turambar, an iconic hero of Middle Earth, and the other tells the tale of American poverty through the melancholic eyes of a young boy growing up in a world of abuse and uncertainties.
Below, you can find the list of the books I read this year with quick synopses, little notes about what I liked or didn't like, along with a rating and any links to author websites. Hopefully you'll pick up some of these books, there are some great ones!
Let Me In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist
p. 2007
****/*
"It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last—revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day. But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night..." [via Goodreads]
LOVED this book, it was super creepy and eerie, without being too horrific or startling. It creates a slow tense feeling of fear that slowly builds, but never really explodes. It left me startled and in awe at how well written it was.
The one complaint I had with it, involved a sub-plot centred around a group of retirees, who just drink and complain and get dragged into the plot when one of their friends is murdered. It dragged on and didn't really enhance the story at all.
Shattered Pillars, by Elizabeth Bear
p. 2013
**/***
"Shattered Pillars is the second book of Bear's The Eternal Sky trilogy and the sequel to Range of Ghosts. Set in a world drawn from our own great Asian Steppes, this saga of magic, politics and war sets Re-Temur, the exiled heir to the great Khagan and his friend Sarmarkar, a Wizard of Tsarepheth, against dark forces determined to conquer all the great Empires along the Celedon Road." [via Goodreads]
I suppose it's kind of hard to talk about this book without talking about the first in the series, but for those unfamiliar with Bear's work, her world-building is really what appeals to me about her work. She's one of the best world-builders of fantasy stories among modern day fantasy writers. While I never truly connected with any of the main characters, the world itself is what kept me reading this series.
That being said, in my opinion this book was the poorest in the series. Not much happens, and though the only character I liked (Hong-la) had POV chapters, that never tipped the scale for me in terms of how slow and boring this book was. It just dragged on and on, and nothing happened until the very end.
Trout Fishing In America, by Richard Brautigan
p. 1967
****/*
"Trout Fishing In America is an abstract book without a clear central storyline. Instead, the book contains a series of anecdotes broken into chapters, with the same characters often reappearing from story to story. The phrase "Trout Fishing in America" is used in multiple ways: it is the title of the book, a character, a hotel, the act of fishing itself, a modifier (one character is named "Trout Fishing in America Shorty"), etc. Brautigan uses the theme of trout fishing as a point of departure for thinly veiled and often comical critiques of mainstream American society and culture." [via Goodreads]
I liked this book a lot better than I expected to. I hadn't read anything by Brautigan before, but I knew he was sort of... cooky. His writing style is very simple and honest, and incredibly witty. I laughed my way through most of this book, it was so funny. That being said, towards the end, it sort of lost it's steam and just kind of fizzled to an end...
Maurice, by E.M. Forster
p. 2005, written 1914
***/**
"Set in the elegant Edwardian world of Cambridge undergraduate life, this story by a master novelist introduces us to Maurice Hall when he is fourteen. We follow him through public school and Cambridge, and on into his father's firm, Hill and Hall, Stock Brokers. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way, "stepping into the niche that England had prepared for him": except that his is homosexual." [via Goodreads]
This wasn't the first time I'd read this book. I had read it a few years before and absolutely hated it. This time around, I liked it a little better. To be honest, I hated the main character, Maurice Hall. I know a lot of people sympathize with him, but to me, he came off cold and rude, and incredibly self-important. However, it is a very emotional story that highlights the hardship of homosexual men at the turn of the century.
The Children of Húrin, by J.R.R. Tolkien
p. 2007, written 1910s
*****
"It is a legendary time long before The Lord of the Rings, and Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwells in the vast fortress of Angband in the North; and within the shadow of the fear of Angband, and the war waged by Morgoth against the Elves, the fates of Túrin and his sister Niënor will be tragically entwined. Their brief and passionate lives are dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bears them as the children of Húrin, the man who dared to defy him to his face. Against them Morgoth sends his most formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire, in an attempt to fulfil the curse of Morgoth, and destroy the children of Húrin." [via Goodreads]
As I've said many times before, I have a weakness for Tolkien. He's what made me want to become a fantasy writer. I spent so much of my youth reading his work, over and over, that it became a huge influence on my development and artistic creations. The Children of Húrin, while told in The Silmarillion, is one of the more tragic stories in Tolkien's universe. And this short book knocks you down with it's emotional punches, over and over again. It was such a good read, and I definitely recommend it to any avid fantasy readers out there.
Saturn, by Ben Bova
p. 2004
*/****
"Earth groans under the thumb of fundamentalist political regimes. Crisis after crisis has given authoritarians the upper hand. Freedom and opportunity exist in space, for those with the nerve and skill to run the risks. Now the governments of Earth are encouraging many of their most incorrigible dissidents to join a great ark on a one-way expedition, twice Jupiter's distance from the Sun, to Saturn, the ringed planet that baffled Galileo and has fascinated astronomers ever since. But humans will be human, on Earth or in the heavens-so amidst the idealism permeating Space Habitat Goddard are many individuals with long-term schemes, each awaiting the tight moment. And hidden from them is the greatest secret of all, the real purpose of this expedition, known to only a few..." [via Goodreads]
Doesn't that sound like a good premise!? That's what I thought when I found this book in the dollar store... But now I want my dollar back. It was so boring, so flat. The characters were all one-dimensional, and some of them didn't even make any sense. There were no radical, dissident thinkers, in fact it was like Earth sent out all it's boring, mundane extras out to get rid of them. Just... awful.
Steles of the Sky, by Elizabeth Bear
p. 2014
***/**
"Re Temur, exiled heir to his grandfather’s Khaganate, has finally raised his banner and declared himself at war with his usurping uncle. With his companions—the Wizard Samarkar, the Cho-tse Hrahima, and the silent monk Brother Hsiung—he must make his way to Dragon Lake to gather his army of followers. Temur has many enemies, and they are not idle. The sorcerer who leads the Nameless Assassins, whose malice has shattered the peace of all the empires of the Celedon Highway, has struck at Temur’s uncle already. To the south, in the Rasan empire, a magical plague rages. To the east, the great city of Asmaracanda has burned, and the Uthman Caliph is deposed. And in the hidden ancient empire of Erem, Temur’s son has been born and a new moon has risen in the Eternal Sky." [via Goodreads]
This was the face-paced final book in Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy. Oddly enough, I had actually grown to like the characters by the time of this book. After reading that horrible Saturn book, I went back to something more familiar, and decided to finish off this series. Of all three books, this was the best. The action was fast-paced, and the character stories all came to incredibly satisfying closes, and once more Bear's world-building shines through her writing.
That being said, I had a little knit-picky issues with the story. For example, one character was introduced as a potential love-interest, and she had all these complications in her own life and needed this wedding to work, but... without giving too much away, her wedding never happens... and we don't know what happened to her after that. There were just a lot of little things like that, loose ends that needed tying up that we never got.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
p. 1963
****/*
"Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies." [via Goodreads]
Ohhh, Sylvia Plath. I love her. She's one of my favourite poets. I've been swooning over her dark and foreboding poetry since high school, but I had never actually read The Bell Jar, her only novel. I finally decided to pick it up, and man, it was beautiful. It had that Plath-feel to it, almost simple, yet dream-like with an overbearing melancholic tone (which I love). My one complaint had to do with the ending. And basically, without giving too much away, it didn't end as tragically I had hoped it would. I like my endings dark and miserable and full of despair... doesn't everyone?
The Bounty Hunter Code, by Daniel Wallace
p. 2014
**/***
"Discover the crucial tools and techniques all bounty hunters need to master. Get the basics on making a living at the margins of galactic law. Delve into the history, philosophy, and gear of Death Watch, a secretive splinter group of Mandalorians. Legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett bound together two volumes of great personal significance: the latest edition of The Bounty Hunter's Guild Handbook and a recruiting booklet issued by Death Watch. Together, these volumes make up The Bounty Hunter Code. Fett and the book's other previous owners recorded their thoughts and commentary in the margins. Boba Fett's tactics, his secrets - they're all here." [via Goodreads]
I love my companion books. For those who don't know, companion books are books that add to a pre-existing universe. They're the behind the scenes books, art books, in-universe books (like this one) that help to enhance a pre-existing world. And I have a lot of these books for a lot of nerdy universes. I'm talking Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft... I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of. That being said, I was pretty disappointed with this book, which sucks because it was a gift from my sister, Victoria, and I feel bad saying that! But it was just so dry. Instead of bounty hunter profiles and stories of hunts and marks, it was literally a guide on how to go about contacting your lawyer-person within the guild to make sure you're paying them the appropriate amount... the whole book was just one big yawn. Not what I was expecting at all.
The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Zendikar, by James Wyatt
p. 2016
****/*
"Danger and adventure await in these pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering! Explore a tumultuous world fraught with perils and join the fight for survival as the fragments of civilization confront the unnatural Eldrazi. Follow in the footsteps of heroic Planeswalkers as they combine their unique talents, forming the Gatewatch to overcome the greatest threats the Multiverse has ever known. The secrets of Zendikar — its peoples, continents and creatures — are ready for you to discover!" [via Goodreads]
This is another companion book. I think I must've been in a companion book mood after reading Sylvia Plath, I needed a pick-me-up! But this book belongs to the Magic: The Gathering universe. Magic is a table-top card game where players build their own deck from literally thousands of cards, and use their creatures and lands to defeat their opponent. This book is the first in a series of books that feature the art of the cards and delve a little deeper into the lore behind the game. I really loved this book. The pictures were so beautiful and it was amazing seeing them so blown up, usually they're just the size of little cards. It was also very informative, Magic is something I'm relatively new to, and I don't know much of the lore behind it, so it was nice to delve into that universe a bit more.
The one complaint I had about it, was that I felt there could have been more pictures. They obviously had to leave out a lot of images from the cards from the final book, but it would've been nice to see some more creature cards, and a little less landscapes... you've seen one, you've seen them all, amiright? hahaha.
Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk
p. 1996
****/*
"Every weekend, in basements and parking lots across the country, young men with good white-collar jobs and absent fathers take off their shoes and shirts and fight each other barehanded for as long as they have to. Then they go back to those jobs with blackened eyes and loosened teeth and the sense that they can handle anything. Fight Club is the invention of Tyler Durden, projectionist, waiter and dark, anarchic genius. And it's only the beginning of his plans for revenge on a world where cancer support groups have the corner on human warmth." [via Goodreads]
I had kind of a weird experience with this book. I started reading it, and hated it. I hated the characters, hated the writing. I found it super boring and lagging... and then, about a third of the way through, everything changed and suddenly all those things I hated about it before, I loved. I don't know what changed, but my opinion of it went a full 180. By the end, I loved how witty it was, how vulgar and rude, but also eye opening and smart. Fight Club is one of those movies everyone's seen sometime or other, but I'd definitely recommend reading the book it you haven't. It's an odd read, and different from my usual reads, but it was definitely worth it.
The one thing I didn't really like about it, was the end. Just like Plath's The Bell Jar, the ending of this book wasn't dark enough for me. I felt cheated. I needed Tyler to pay and in the end he was liberated... I mean, liberation is great and all, but I need the sad, shocking ending!
A Poisoned Land: Episode One: Dark Lies, by Craig P. Roberts
p. 2016
*****
"A Poisoned Land is a coming of age epic fantasy series with action, sex and mystery. It's set in the world of Sartensa--vast lands torn by conflicting morals, each with their own histories and cultures. The story is told through multiple points of view, giving the reader various perspectives as the plot unfolds through the eyes of gritty characters, including flawed heroes and uncertain enemies. A Poisoned Land is dark and fast-paced with realism and depth that will immerse you and keep you hooked to the very last page." [via Goodreads]
This book is a self-published book, the only self-published book I read this year. I actually came across it after watching the book trailer for it, which is one of the best book trailers I've seen on YouTube. I've since got to know Craig a bit, I even had a hand in editing the second book of this series. It's hard to describe this book, there's so much packed into it, and it's fairly vulgar in terms of language and sexual content, but Craig weaves an incredible well-developed world. He intertwines fantasy and science-fiction really well, and like Bear's work, it's definitely an interesting read just to absorb the amazing world building.
Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson
p. 1998
**/***
"The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways-farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother. She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends." [via Goodreads]
NOPE. This was the second worst novel I read this year. I was suggested it by my sister Victoria, for what reason, who knows. I found out later that she didn't even like it. There was very little I liked about this book. First of all, it read like a middle-grade novel. And I'm not a fan of middle-grade fiction. I'm not a preteen anymore, and even when I was, I was reading Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien, I skipped the whole middle-grade book aisle. The characters were boring, the plot was mundane, and the world didn't make any sense. It was like society had collapsed, but only in Toronto... that's it... the rest of the world went about as if nothing happened. It was just dumb.
The ONE redeeming quality to this book, were the scenes depicting traditional hoodoo and voodoo. Those scenes were disturbing, dark and at times terrifying. The stories took a sudden dark and eerie turn, and for those few pages it was really interesting. Too bad Hopkinson didn't include more of that.
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
p. 1972
*****
"Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society." [via Goodreads]
I have very fond memories of this book. The first time I read it, I was in grade 10 Gifted English and I remember being swept away by Adams' writing. It's so pastoral, he paints the english countryside with such beauty, he literally transforms a boring, everyday hill into a rolling landscape filled with beauty and unbridled mystery. I never thought I'd sympathize so much with a group of rabbits, but Adams makes you feel for them, when they bleed you bleed. This classic work is a must read. I know it might be a little hard for some people to get through, it is pretty long, and it's a lot of pretty description, but it's such a beautiful novel.
The Color Midnight Made, by Andrew Winer
p. 2002
*****
"This critically acclaimed debut is a modern Huckleberry Finn, a heartrending tale of wit and grace that charts the coming of age of a color-blind white boy struggling to find meaning in a world divided by poverty and race. One of the most memorable characters in recent fiction, Conrad Clay is just beginning life. Yet all around him things are ending: His parents' marriage is crumbling, his father loses his job during the closing of the Alameda naval base, his family faces eviction from their house, and his beloved grandmother is dying.As betrayal and poverty take their toll, Conrad's efforts to create a new family for himself lead us on a journey alternately hilarious and desolating. Filled with tenderness and a cast of unforgettable characters, The Color Midnight Made is at heart a profound portrait of America." [via Goodreads]
I bought this book when I was sixteen, during a time when I was trying to introduce myself to more works of fiction and less fantasy. I literally just picked it up at a bookstore on Hilton Head Island and thought, "Yeah, that'll work." Little did I know, it would become one of my favourite works of modern fiction. The story is such a beautiful one about this boy, c coming of age in a town riddled with depression, abuse, and disintegration. The novel is permeated by this cloud of melancholy that haunts every character as they trudge through their mundane lives in this dying town. It's such an amazing story, and that overarching depressed mood that Winer weaves through it so beautifully done.
Monstress, by Marjorie M. Liu
p. 2016
****/*
"Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, Monstress tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers." [via Goodreads]
This was actually the only comic book I read this year. Comic books and graphic novels are something I've always wanted to get into, but I have a very picky taste when it comes to them. I'm not a fan of superheroes... at all... any of them. And I do really like fantasy stories, and I'd love to read something like, The Lord of the Rings, but in graphic novel form, the problem is, I don't know any... and all my research has come up empty-handed... I don't know how to use Google that well, I know it doesn't make sense, just accept it.
Anyway, back to Monstress. I knew nothing about this comic when I picked it up, I was literally just staring at comics at Chapters, picked this one out and fell in love with the artwork. I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up being really surprised by how much I liked the book. The story is a little choppy at times... I think that's a comic/graphic novel thing anyway though, but whatever faults the story has, the imagery makes up for it. Each page is beautifully drawn with vibrant colours that jump off the pages. This is one comic series I'll be keeping up with!
A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin
p. 1996
**/***
"Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne." [via Goodreads]
I don't know that I really needed a synopsis for that... doesn't everyone know? HAVEN'T WE ALL LIVED THROUGH THE RED WEDDING?!
Anyway, I mentioned this book above, but to reiterate, this just wasn't what I was expecting. In my own fantasy books, my writing style is very personal. The story is seen through the eyes of POV characters, and we grow with them, feel their pain, their happiness, but most importantly, the plot happens through their eyes. And to be honest, that's what I thought the Game of Throne books would read like. But I was very wrong. While the chapters are POV chapters, there's very little emotion to the characters. It's all plot, and these characters just happen to be a part of it.
Most of it almost read like a history text – which I normally like, The Silmarillion, feels like one giant history book, and it's my favourite book ever! But it's so disconnected from it's characters emotions towards ongoing events... it just wasn't as stirring as I had imagined. Will I read the other's in the series? Probably... I mean, maybe... I do know what happens in them all anyway...
The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara
p. 2013
*****
"In 1950, a young doctor called Norton Perina signs on with the anthropologist Paul Tallent for an expedition to the remote Micronesian island of Ivu'ivu in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub "The Dreamers," who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile. Perina suspects the source of their longevity is a hard-to-find turtle; unable to resist the possibility of eternal life, he kills one and smuggles some meat back to the States. He scientifically proves his thesis, earning worldwide fame and the Nobel Prize, but he soon discovers that its miraculous property comes at a terrible price. As things quickly spiral out of his control, his own demons take hold, with devastating personal consequences." [via Goodreads]
Sometimes, when you find a book in the discount section at Chapters it's a dud. I've had my fair share of duds. But sometimes you pick something up, and it's absolutely incredible. This book is one of the latter. This was Yanagihara's debut novel, but she writes like a seasoned writer with an immense knowledge and understanding of science and the scientific method. The story is relatively devoid of dialogue and plays out like an autobiography, but it's so masterfully done that it doesn't miss out on world-building and connecting the characters to their world.
One of the things she does really well is create a likeable villain in Norton Perina. You start off feeling sorry for him, and then admiring him, but it's a slippy slide before contempt creeps in and you begin to loathe Perina. You almost don't even realize it's happened until you're reviled by his actions and opinions.
The other thing this book does really well, almost too well, is how slowly Perina's world slips from unexplored wonder to ruin. But the end, all that he's accomplished has aided in the downfall of this Micronesian island, and you're left wondering how everything had become so unraveled.
This is definitely a book I recommend reading. It's not a nice story, it's a devastating story, but it's so brilliantly done. I can't get over how she shifts the mood so gradually. Definitely masterful writing.
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
p. 1952
***/**
"It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss and transforms them into a magnificent twentieth-century classic." [via Goodreads]
I've actually never read any Hemingway, this was my first dive into the classic author. And, for the most part, I enjoyed it. It's a very short novella that basically follows an old man... trying to catch a fish... literally that's it. It's repetitive, slow, and at times incredibly boring, but by the end you're really rooting for the old man and you're defeated by the outcome of the story. I read this short book in a couple of nights and they were easily some of the most tense nights I've spent reading since Let Me In at the beginning of the year.
I don't really know if I'd recommend this novella or not... yes it's a simple read that won't take much time, but in the end, I didn't take much away from this book. I wasn't blown away, it wasn't like changing. It was simply just a story about an old man... and the sea.
Love & Misadventure, by Lang Leav
p. 2013
*****
"Lang Leav is a poet and internationally exhibiting artist. Awarded a coveted Churchill Fellowship, her work expresses the intricacies of love and loss. Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully conceived, Love and Misadventure will take you on a rollercoaster ride through an ill-fated love affair- from the initial butterflies to the soaring heights- through to the devastating plunge. Lang Leav has an unnerving ability to see inside the hearts and minds of her readers. Her talent for translating complex emotions with astonishing simplicity has won her a cult following of devoted fans from all over the world." [via Goodreads]
My final book of 2016... Love & Misadventure was one of the books I picked up in my book haul after winning $5,000 from Chapters. I'd never read any Lang Leav before, but I've heard of her, and been eyeing her books for a while now. It's kind of difficult to talk about this book, but I was definitely meant to read this book at this time in my life. I've been going through something, something I'm not eager to share, but this book, which chronicles three aspects of a relationship; unbridled love, sorrow after a break-up, and a new, uneasy, delicate love, mirrored my own state for the last few months perfectly. I felt so much while reading this collection of poetry. I've starred almost half the book. Lang's poetry is simplistic, but incredibly deep and meaningful. She manages to find the depth in the little things and pull out as much emotion as possible with it.
I definitely recommend this to any poetry lovers out there. It's delicate, beautiful, and modern. One of my favourite reads this year!