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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020, #’s 8 & 7

In an effort to read more science fiction, which I hadn’t really done for a while, I asked for recommendations, and got Becky Chambers. Fun, character-driven space opera; a little different from me, but the emphasis on character really drew me in. I’m always up for a book by Peter Cameron. His 2012 novel, Coral Glynn came in at #6 for that year’s list. I really loved the stylized manner in which he wrote this newest dark, surreal novel.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet#8 – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The plot of Becky Chambers’ science fiction novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is fairly thin, but that’s not really the point. Instead, Chambers creates a thoroughly entertaining story about a ragtag, interspecies crew of The Wayfarer, a space ship that bores tunnels through space to allow for interstellar travel. Our entry into this tight knit merry band is Rosemary, a young woman hired to be the clerk, and keep their paperwork in order. Rosemary has a family secret in her past that she keeps from the crew, but as they welcome into their family, and we learn about each of the diverse characters, she gradually lets her guard down and secrets are revealed. Yet while Rosemary is terrified that her secret will turn her newfound colleagues against her, instead she learns what real family is.

I love the way Chambers explores each member of the crew, sprinkling in just enough tension and danger to keep the book engaging, all the while creating a beautifully moving character study of disparate characters who prove to each other, and the reader, that family isn’t about who you’re related to by blood, but by who you choose to spend your lives with. I could definitely read more books about this fascinating batch of characters, all of whom come from fascinating and imaginative backgrounds. 

What Happens At Night#7 – What Happens at Night by Peter Cameron

Mysterious and inscrutable… much like life. Peter Cameron’s What Happens at Night tells the story of a couple traveling to a far off European city in order to adopt a baby. The woman is dying of cancer, and this will most likely be their last act together… the retrieval of a child for the man to continue on with as a family. They arrive at this tiny, northern European town as a dark, forbidding winter descends and every day that passes seems like part of one long, endless night. Things happen that are unexplainable, aggravating, wondrous, perplexing, hateful… things that neither would do during the light of day, but what happens at night… well that’s another matter.

Cameron writes with stylish grace, creating a mood from the very first page that establishes everything you need to know about setting, time, tone, which is not a whole lot. Yet, the journey taken by the reader, while not as harrowing personally, is the one taken by these two lost people, and our hope is only that when morning comes again, they will no longer be lost. It’s beautiful and unsettling, and unique. Filled with bizarre supporting characters, and a simple story that is complicated by the things that make us human, What Happens at Night is a journey worth taking.

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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020 – #’s 10 & 9

As we enter the Top 10 books read for 2020, we’ve got an season writer, and a newcomer for me. Jo Walton has impressed me with her unique takes on science fiction, fantasy, and the creative process in general. In 2015, Walton appeared on my Top Books list at #5 with The Just City; in 2014, she came in at #6 with My Real Children; and in 2012, the first book of hers I read, Among Others came in at #5. So, while this year is a slight dip for her, all the books of hers that I’ve read has ended up in my Top 10 for the respective year!

Sam J Miller was a new author for me, and I read his 2018 novel, Blackfish City totally randomly. The ARC had been on my bookshelf at work for a couple of years, and when I was looking for something to read, the cover art featuring Inuit-style artwork, caught my eye, so I gave it a chance. And now, preparing to write this blog entry, I noticed that Sam has a new book that just came out, so I will be reading that soon as well. Love finding new, intriguing authors, and thanks to Virginia Stanley and the fun-loving crew at HarperCollins for keeping me up-to-date on the publishing world and making me laugh!

Or What You Will#10 – Or What You Will by Jo Walton

Jo Walton is a writer’s writer, and her latest book, Or What You Will is more so than most. Exploring the creative spark, and how a writer creates the worlds and characters that they populate their books with, turns into a whole fantasy meta-novel in Walton’s hands. Along the way, she deconstructs works by Shakespeare, mothers who withhold love, modern-day and pre-renaissance Florence, domestic abuse and more. Most fascinating for me, was her exploration of grief in the context of a world that has abolished death. It’s not the main point of the novel, but a beautiful and fascinating diversion that Walton does so beautifully.

Not all of Walton’s diversions work for me however. A detailed, and overwrought chapter describing an actual restaurant in Florence that serves food that is so sublime it cannot be described (although there is an entire chapter trying to do just that) that seems a pretty unnecessary bit.

Still, that’s a minor quibble when you think about the scope of Walton’s story, and the masterful way she weaves together the art and science of writing, an actual historical fantasy tale, and ruminations on mortality and grief, and Or What You Will proves that however Walton manages to create entire worlds, like a mythological god, it’s worth going on the journey with her.

Blackfish City#9 – Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

When it comes to dystopian societies, Sam J. Miller sure has created something complex that borrows from pop culture, Inuit myth, capitalism and environmental collapse just to name a few! In fact, the rich threads that Miller weaves into Blackfish City threaten at first to overwhelm the story, making it difficult to breakthrough and stick with it. But perseverance is worthwhile, as the story of a family torn apart by genocide who unite to combat oppression (or maybe just to get revenge?) and at about the halfway mark, things start to really come together and race forward nicely.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and a lot of different storyline threads, as I mentioned, but most of them don’t need all that much effort. A thread about an AIDS-like virus that is transmitted sexually, but involves communal memory and mental disjointedness sometimes feels like something from another story. Yet Miller manages to weave that thread smoothly into the larger tapestry.

Clearly the most compelling story for me, the bonding between man and beast as exemplified by the strange woman riding on the back of an orca, takes the longest to get its due, but once it does it does so beautifully. Still, with political corruption, organized crime, post-punk technology, climate change, gender identity and generational memory all added to the mix, there’s probably something for everyone. Hopefully readers will not find that there is too much for everyone.