Last week I posted my nonfiction reads for 2024. Here’s the fiction, with links to reviews on my website.
Classics: Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca Upton Sinclair, World’s End, Between Two Worlds, Dragon’s Teeth, and Presidential Mission Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day H. G. Wells, When the Sleeper Wakes and A Story of the Days to Come P.G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves I’ve gotten thoroughly hooked on Upton Sinclair’s Lanny Budd series, about an art dealer who becomes a WW2 secret agent by getting close to high-ranking Nazis. They’re long, but definite page-turners. And there’s a lot of insight about Americans and Europeans who sided with the fascists in that era — some of it scarily familiar. Rebecca and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day are both great at conveying a mood (one sinister, the other light). I had to grit my teeth at the romanticization of domestic violence in both of them (but only when a woman “deserved” it, of course), both by women authors. The two H.G. Wells books are set in the same future England, and were prescient about some things (like television), but were more about the situation than the characters. Romance: Byron Lane, Big Gay Wedding Casey McQuiston, The Pairing Courtney Milan, The Governess Affair, The Duchess War, A Kiss for Midwinter, and The Heiress Effect Axie Oh, XOXO and ASAP Nikki Payne, Pride and Protest Big Gay Wedding was heavier than the description let on; there was a lot of dealing with homophobia, terminal illness, and pet death. Straight romances included historicals with strong heroines (Courtney Milan’s Brothers Sinister series), young adult stories set in the world of Korean pop music (Axie Oh’s books), and a modern reimagining of Pride and Prejudice with characters of color (Pride and Protest). The Pairing is a second-chance romance by the author of Red White & Royal Blue, and is arguably hornier and boozier than the latter. Both main characters are bisexual, and they’re on a vividly described food-and-wine tour through Europe. Mystery & Thriller: Sarah Caudwell, The Sibyl in Her Grave Julie Mae Cohen, Bad Men Janet Evanovich, Dirty Thirty David Lagercrantz, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye and The Girl Who Lived Twice Karin Smirnoff, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons Spencer Quinn, The Dog Who Knew Too Much I like mysteries with a side of comedy, which I found in The Sibyl in Her Grave, The Dog Who Knew Too Much (narrated by the dog), and Dirty Thirty. The latter book threatens to resolve the 30-book love triangle for Stephanie Plum, but I’ll believe it when she actually makes it down the aisle with Joe and/or Ranger. Bad Men is a dark comedy about a female serial killer. The Lagercrantz and Smirnoff books are continuations of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series by the late Stieg Larsson. I enjoyed seeing the characters in action again, but feel like the new authors don’t quite grasp the feminist core of Larsson’s story, which was always about Lisbeth up against men who hate women. Historical Fiction: Ros Barber, The Marlowe Papers John R. Gordon, Drapetomania Jeff Greenfield, Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics Morgan Llywelyn, Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas Markus Zusak, The Book Thief Drapetomania is an amazing love story between two men in the era of slavery. When one is sold, his beloved takes drastic risks to find him. The Marlowe Papers is a novel in verse, about my favorite literary conspiracy theory: that Christopher Marlowe faked his own death and wrote the works attributed to Shakespeare. You don’t have to believe it to enjoy the story (but Marlowe did have a very plausible motive for faking his death). There’s a memorable scene of him disguised as a woman. The Book Thief is set in Holocaust-era Germany and narrated by Death, and still has some uplifting moments. Then Everything Changed contains plausible scenarios: JFK dies sooner, or RFK survives the assassination attempt, or Ford defeats Carter. But the book has that over-researched feel: too much detail and not enough story. Similarly, Grania is based on a real pirate in the era of Elizabeth I (her nemesis), but gets bogged down in politics. Miscellaneous Fiction: Laura Esquivel, Swift as Desire Benjamin Gorman and Zack Dye, eds., Shout: An Anthology of Resistance Poetry and Short Fiction Erica Jong, Sappho’s Leap Eileen Myles and Liz Kotz, eds., The New Fuck You: Adventures in Lesbian Reading Tommy Orange, There There Kevin Morgan Watson et al, eds., What Dwells Between the Lines Not sure how to categorize some of these. Sappho’s Leap starts out as a historical novel about the legendary poet, but winds up as a sort of reimagined Odyssey with some love poetry thrown in. Swift as Desire is the fictionalized story of the author’s parents, with a touch of magical realism. There There is told from the points of view of a variety of people traveling to Oakland for a powwow. We’re warned early that a gun will be used. The New Fuck You is a 1990’s anthology of lesbian poetry & fiction. Shout is an anthology from the (first, sadly) TFG era. SF, Fantasy & Horror: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars Remy Apepp, The Blessed C.J. Cherryh, Tripoint Percival Everett, The Trees Karen Joy Fowler et al, eds., The James Tiptree Award Anthology Volume 3: Subversive Stories About Sex and Gender Cait Gordon, Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! Drew Hayes, The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant Carol Hightshoe, The Dragon’s Hoard 2 Robyn Huss, ed., Hidden Villains: Betrayed Mary Robinette Kowal, Shades of Milk and Honey Ronald Linson, Agent of Change Jacques Lob and Jean Marc Rochette, Snowpiercer 1: The Escape David Mitchell, Slade House Deborah J. Natelson, The Land of the Purple Ring Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant John Scalzi, Starter Villain Rebecca Schmid, Askefise: Tales of Redemere Wen Spencer, A Brother’s Price H. Claire Taylor, Lucky Stars Catherynne M. Valente, Radiance Andy Weir, The Martian If you like your SF and fantasy light and fun, there’s Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!, set in a future where accommodating disability is the norm, with an optimistic Trek-like vibe. Fred, the Vampire Accountant reminds me of Robert Asprin’s Myth books, with an ever-expanding found family. Shades of Milk & Honey is Regency romance with a touch of magic. The Fifth Elephant is from the City Watch books (my favorite part of Discworld). Starter Villain has a fun plot, talking cats, and arguably the universe’s greatest book cover. And Lucky Stars is sorta like “The Cosmic Turkey, but naughty.” If you prefer dark and dystopian, Snowpiercer is an allegorical graphic novel about income inequality. And Chain-Gang All-Stars is set in a near future where the most popular sport is watching prisoners in gladiator duels to the death. The reality-show aspect makes it almost believable, and the dark satire is pitch perfect. I’m a wimp about horror, but did read a few for the challenge this year. The Blessed is an unreliable-narrator monster story that’s probably technically dark fantasy rather than horror. Slade House is a haunted house story by the author of Cloud Atlas. And The Trees (by the author of James) is a story of supernatural revenge on lynchers and other nasty racists. It even has a cameo appearance by a cowering TFG. For fans of straightforward SF, there’s Tripoint (not Cherryh’s most memorable book IMO), Agent of Change (a time travel novella), and The Martian (which manages to be entertaining, despite the narrator being alone and having to explain a lot of science). On the fantasy side, Askefise is a dragon-shifter story with a whole lot of political intrigues. A Brother’s Price is set in a matriarchy with a 95% female population, but the matriarchy isn’t the story — it’s the backdrop for an entertaining, swashbuckling adventure combined with (polygamous) romance. And if your preference is “books too weird for me to adequately describe in a single post,” try Radiance or The Land of the Purple Ring. Hidden Villains: Betrayed and The Dragon’s Hoard 2 are themed fantasy anthologies….and each contains a story of mine.
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