Books/Recommendations that I can't keep to myself. Updates to come as I finish a few/get some written.

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

A delightful, rambling folktale/action-adventure journey through a mystical ancient China that never was. When the children of Number 10 Ox's village fall ill, he sets off on a sprawling journey binding him in a friendship/partnership with the most corrupt ex-official that ever was, into opposition with the mysterious Duke of Chin, and into the arms of the irresistible Lotus Cloud. Charming, exhilarating, and possessed of a specific perspective and heart, if any of this appeals to you and you haven't read this already, pick it up. You'll thank me.



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 26 2021 09:22am

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

A spectacular, scintillating mashup of science fiction and fantasy, this story follows the lives of Patricia (a brilliant witch) and Laurence (a budding mad scientist) from their beginnings as childhood friends (maybe more...). When the societies of magic and technology go to war, Patricia and Laurence must find a way to save themselves, each other, and possibly the world. Anders fills this text to the brim with brilliant wordplay, nods to genre tropes, unexpected plot swerves, and legitimately affecting moments. Please read this book.



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 26 2021 09:23am

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

A richly imagined journey through a series of portals that reveals the power of words, stories, and the people who tell them. Harrow's story stars January Scaller, a girl who can sometimes see doors where there shouldn't be any. Doors to places that don't exist. Doors that lead to upheaval, and change, and maybe her long-lost father. Featuring an intricate plot that circles back upon itself multiple times, a phenomenally realized heroine, and an arrestingly beautiful tone and style, this text is an absolute must-read for those who like science fiction, fantasy, doors, and the unexpected.



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 26 2021 09:33am

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

It's probably a good idea to read everything Simmons writes because it's all incredible in its own way, but in this one, he had me at "Mind Vampires". Simmons creates a startlingly realized world in the margins of the one we inhabit and recognize and populates it with increasingly vile and creepy antagonists. Scary, triumphant, and occasionally skin-crawling, this is a thundering statement of intent from one of the best horror authors of his generation.



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 27 2021 05:18am

Out by Natsuo Kirino

Ask yourself: "How much discussion of body dismemberment am I comfortable with in a novel?" If your answer is either "Quite a bit" or "I'm listening..." this very well may be the story for you. Kirino exploded onto the scene with this taught, grease fire of a thriller about a housewife, a murder, and its aftermath. It's ghoulish, slick, and most importantly, great.

Swann's Way: In Search of Lost Time, Vol. 1 by Marcel Proust

I mean, I had to. Less a novel than a direct mind-meld with the author, the first entry in Proust's In Search of Lost Time is difficult, frustrating, and a masterpiece. The author spins the story of his early childhood full of off-ramps, reevaluations, and digressions. Somewhere, somehow, in the midst of all the sumptuous, labyrinthine page-long sentences, you'll find yourself smiling when he nails down exactly how something feels - exactly how something is, and it's as if the novel is shouting across time to you and you alone. This is one of the extremely rare examples (in my experience) of a book described as "Challenging" that doesn't translate to: "It sucks".



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 27 2021 06:03am

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Roger Zelazny is perhaps the only author conceivably capable of mashing up Eastern mysticism, the ethics of new world colonization, and the Hindu Pantheon in a story that unfolds as gradually, captivatingly, and satisfyingly as a blossoming lotus flower. One of the first science fiction stories I read that demonstrated the unlimited possibilities of the genre by an author with a seemingly unfathomable well of imagination. Pick this up!!

Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Rafael Sabatini

The quintessential swashbuckling, high seas high-stakes tale of doctor-turned-slave-turned-pirate captain Peter Blood. Stuffed to the brim with elan and adventure, this relentless page-turner holds you at musket-point for its entirety, after which you'll go on Amazon and search out the rest of Sabatini's work (Scaramouche is fine, though whiny. Sea-Hawk is solid. Don't buy any Captain Blood sequels, they're just smaller installments of the book you've already read). As the Platonic ideal of this type of story, Captain Blood is iconic.



This post was edited by BuckarooBanzai on May 27 2021 07:20am

The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

I love this book. Chabon ropes in Religion (capital "R"), the Alaskan panhandle, chess, a dead body, and a flawlessly flawed protagonist to create a story and atmosphere entirely its own. While it's clearly grounded in time and place, the narrative is timelessly entertaining, and it's one I come back to again and again. It's simple: pick up this book, sit back, and allow a masterful author to take you on an adventure.

The Eight by Katherine Neville

This book has everything. Chess, Catherine the Great, secret societies, the French Revolution, shadowy corporations, backstabbing, history, romance, everything. Neville does the authorial equivalent of hurling every conceivable conceptual ball into the air, then deftly catches each and every one as the plot points fall into place. It's a performance, it's a magic trick, and you won't even notice as you'll be too swept away in the narrative equivalent of a rushing rapid. Worth a read, then a couple of rereads.