spryng | Moar Books

Just hit twenty-four books read this year, which is the same amount I read last year. Awesome! I love books so much.

Clementine by Cherie Priest - Although set in the same universe and occurring after the events in Boneshaker, Clementine is less of a continuation or sequel and more of an unrelated story. It's short and follows a captain in pursuit of his stolen airship across the war-torn not so United States. After Boneshaker, my expectations were considerably high and so that may have contributed to some of my disappointment. It's a fine read, but neither the plot nor the characters are particularly memorable and its short form left so much undone and unsaid.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull - Eddi is drafted into a war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, which drastically complicates her struggle to build a new band. I loved Emma Bull's Territory, so I made the logical decision to seek out more of her work. Unfortunately, this one was written some fifteen years prior to Territory and the characterization and evocative descriptions which I so fell in love with were simply not there. Like Clementine, it's a good story and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but my expectations, set by the author's other work, were simply not met. At least with Bull, I can both see how much she as a writer has grown since then and how far the urban fantasy genre has come.

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield - Cass wakes up covered in horrifying wounds and barely alive, but that's of little concern to her when she is missing the most important piece of her life: her daughter. Aftertime is a mother's search for her daughter when the world has been overrun by zombies. I've enjoyed the direction the zombie genre has been taking recently, coming up with new and more awful zombies while exploring the living's relationships and coping mechanisms in greater depth.

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner - In a post faerie-human war world, any sign of magic in humans is feared, and a child who displays fae-like characteristics will be killed. So when Liza learns she has magic, she flees and soon learns that the world is not at all as she thought. It's YA, so the simplicity is somewhat acceptable (it might even be middlegrade, actually), and I am giving mad props for the new twist on not only dystopia, but the faerie subgenre. That said, I wasn't too impressed by the writing itself and felt that the story lacked a sense of place, every event feeling as if it happened in a void.

The Habitation of the Blessed by Cat Valente - What if the 12th century letter describing the kingdom of Prester John were true, complete with the fountain of youth, trees that sprout whole books and sheep as fruit, and every sort of magical creature imaginable? This gorgeously written story imagines just that and more, telling the story of Prester John through the accounts of four different characters in a style that I could just eat. My only quibble is that it's the first of a series and the next isn't out yet. Gah! I need to stop doing that!

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - Toby, a changeling, has been forced to investigate the death of her friend Evening or be crushed by Evening's curse. There are additional elements which tie this self-contained book into a definite over-arching storyline which looks promising. I think Seanan is one of my new favorite authors - she's got an easy style which helps the story flow and her characters are delightfully real. This is the first of a series, but underneath the relatively simple plot is a barely concealed treasure heap of world-building.

the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - A young girl takes the place of her sister in the deadly state-sponsored Hunger Games and is forced into ruthlessness to survive the kill-or-be-killed competition. I'm always wary of the popular books, especially ones with movie deals already in the works, but enough of my friends were excited about this series to propel me past my hang-ups. And it is worth it. This is a fantastically dreadful dystopian society and the set-up is such that you really don't know what's going to happen. I especially loved the psychological flip at the end, which would be more than spoilerific if I said anymore.

Where are the Cocoa Puffs? by Karen Schwartz - When their daughter is diagnosed as bipolar, it's the first step for a family on the long and painful road to not only treatment, but understanding and acceptance. For all it's failings - jumpy POV and messy plotting were the worst offenders - I liked this a lot. It's obvious the writer went through these experiences and emotions herself, but she doesn't make a big woe-is-me of it as some writers are wont to do. At the same time, it could have really benefited with tighter editing.

Feed by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) - This solidified my love for Seanan/Mira. In a world where the zombies have risen and civilization did not wholly collapse, bloggers have largely taken over for traditional news. And presidential campaigns go on. Georgia and Shaun win the bid to be the official news team for that campaign, but a string of "accidents" hint at a conspiracy that could endanger not only the election, but the country. This is a freakin' awesome book, and not only because it takes the zombie genre and runs like a kid hopped up on pixie stix, but the characters are awesome, the intrigue is awesome, and the author actually tried to make the science make sense. I would recommend this whole-heartedly. It's not surprise Feed was nominated for this year's Hugo Award.