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Books Received
Sep. 27th, 2008 05:28 amI've recently received five books from Tor and I wanted to mention them:
ARC: Busted Flush (A Wild Cards Mosaic Novel), Edited by George R.R. martin, assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass (Tor, Dec 2008). What does that mean, assisted by? why not say co-edited by? In any case I have already started reading this, and I expect to like it a lot. I'm especially excited because one of the writers is![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sleigh.
An Evil Guest, by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Sep 23, 2008). Lovecraft meets Blade Runner, they say in the flavor text flier that came with the book. This is described as an homage to the pulp tradition, a supernatural horror novel with a noir atmosphere. If so, the cover is perfect. I've loaned it to a friend who is an avid fan of Wolfe's. Will try to report back later.
Half a Crown, by Jo Walton (Tor, Oct 2008). This is a sequel to Farthing, which I haven't read, and Ha'Penny, which I haven't read either, but the text indicates it may be read on its own as a thriller so I might try it despite not having the background.
The House of the Stag, by Kage Baker (Tor, Sept 23, 2008). I have enjoyed some of Baker's stories and will be interested to find out if this fantasy carries itself as well.
The Night Children, by Kit Reed (Tor Teen, Oct 2008). I have not read Ms. Reed's other writing, but I hope it does not suffer the weaknesses of this, her first YA effort. I fear teens will feel Reed's repetitiveness and simplicity is talking down to them, especially as the young characters in the book (whose ages are not well defined) have fairly shallow characters and what the flavor text calls "willful and immature" thinking patterns. Admittedly the few adults in this tepid thriller of kids running tribal through the World's Largest Mall at the mercy of the world's most bitter, twisted (and of course rich) man and his army of corporate drones are not much better. The book seems a heavy-handed allegory about the tranquilizing evils of the consumerism and mindless entertainment to which our culture too often abandons its children, and I can't say I would recommend it, unfortunately.
ARC: Busted Flush (A Wild Cards Mosaic Novel), Edited by George R.R. martin, assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass (Tor, Dec 2008). What does that mean, assisted by? why not say co-edited by? In any case I have already started reading this, and I expect to like it a lot. I'm especially excited because one of the writers is
sleigh.An Evil Guest, by Gene Wolfe (Tor, Sep 23, 2008). Lovecraft meets Blade Runner, they say in the flavor text flier that came with the book. This is described as an homage to the pulp tradition, a supernatural horror novel with a noir atmosphere. If so, the cover is perfect. I've loaned it to a friend who is an avid fan of Wolfe's. Will try to report back later.
Half a Crown, by Jo Walton (Tor, Oct 2008). This is a sequel to Farthing, which I haven't read, and Ha'Penny, which I haven't read either, but the text indicates it may be read on its own as a thriller so I might try it despite not having the background.
The House of the Stag, by Kage Baker (Tor, Sept 23, 2008). I have enjoyed some of Baker's stories and will be interested to find out if this fantasy carries itself as well.
The Night Children, by Kit Reed (Tor Teen, Oct 2008). I have not read Ms. Reed's other writing, but I hope it does not suffer the weaknesses of this, her first YA effort. I fear teens will feel Reed's repetitiveness and simplicity is talking down to them, especially as the young characters in the book (whose ages are not well defined) have fairly shallow characters and what the flavor text calls "willful and immature" thinking patterns. Admittedly the few adults in this tepid thriller of kids running tribal through the World's Largest Mall at the mercy of the world's most bitter, twisted (and of course rich) man and his army of corporate drones are not much better. The book seems a heavy-handed allegory about the tranquilizing evils of the consumerism and mindless entertainment to which our culture too often abandons its children, and I can't say I would recommend it, unfortunately.
