The cover is gorgeous, and conveys a sense of the complicated world of Ancillary Justice.I must admit to an extra hint of pride in this book’s appearance here, because Ann was a member of my Clarion West class back in 2005, when she was first wowing all of us with her Radchi universe. Ann and I also know each other through SFWA and our shared agent, Seth Fishman.
What:Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is a fabulous space opera with an unusual protagonist whose struggle will pull the reader in. It is, alas, not a particularly long book, and I could have read at least twice more the length happily.
Who: read this if you like space opera or action-filled but character driven SF. Read it if you want to hear the latest in the ongoing conversation about gendered pronouns held between SF writers for decades now. Read it for the sake of enjoyment and rejoice to know it’s the first of three.
Many writers have an artistic side, and Ann Leckie is no exception. Here's a lovely pink pin she made for me and which is among my treasures.When: read this when you have time to devour great chunks in one sitting, because otherwise the story will haunt you, will keep calling you back while you are spending time at other tasks, making you remember exactly where you laid the book down, calculating when you can return to it.
Why: Read this because it will be appearing on many of the awards ballots this year and rightly so. Read it so you know why you’re voting for it. Read it because it does new and interesting things. Read it because it’s good.
Where/how: This is ideal for a while-away-some-hours situation, depending on your reading speed. Leckie’s world is immersive, intelligent, and interesting.
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
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You Should Read This: More Notable Young Adult and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction of 2013
September Girls managed to do something new with mermaids, which is something that gets increasingly hard to do.I blogged last week about some of my favorite YA of 2013 and I wanted to add some more books to that list. These are all books that I wold’t have run across if I hadn’t been reading for the Norton jury, and I’m very pleased to have found them. With each I’ve identified both the genre (fantasy vs. science fiction) and the gender of the lead character, since I know that may affect some buying decisions.
For what it’s worth, the overall breakdown here is: 4 male authors, 7 female authors; 6 fantasy, 5 sf; and
5 female leads to 6 male leads.
The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond. Fantasy, female lead. I love the premise: “Five years ago, the gods of ancient mythology awoke around the world.” This is the setting for seventeen-year-old Kyra Locke’s adventures in search of her missing father and his secrets.
Homeland by Cory Doctorow. Science fiction, male lead. The sequel to Little Brother, Homeland stands on its own legs, with plenty of action and a lead character, Marcus Yallow, who is beleaguered by questions about releasing information in a plot that seems extraordinarily timely.
When We Wake by Karen Healey Science fiction, female lead. When sixteen-year old-Tegan Oglietti is unexpectedly moved forward a century in time, she finds herself in a future that’s far from benign, and one that will force her to act in order to keep others from sharing her fate.
Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson Science fiction, female lead. Johnson’s past books have been terrific and this one is no exception. It’s an interesting take of a future society that is fresh and well-written.
September Girls by Bennett Madison Fantasy, male lead. This book is set on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and therefore had me from page one. It’s a beautiful, evocative book that treats mermaids in a poetic and (I would argue) feminist take that is gorgeous and has a fabulous mythic quality.
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal Fantasy, male lead. The narrator is the ghost of one of the Brothers Grimm…and it goes from there. There’s a slight resonance with Neil Gaiman’s American Gods that comes at a jarring moment, but overall, a terrific and interesting novel.
More than This by Patrick Ness Science fiction, male lead. I will admit I don’t usually like books where the protagonist wakes up amnesia, because it’s a situation that’s been done to death. But the place where Seth awakens is odd enough that I reluctantly found myself drawn into his explorations.
Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron Fantasy, male lead. Boy is, in fact, Frankenstein’s monster, and his plight is touching and funny and lovely, particularly when he runs away with the granddaughters of Jekyll/Hyde. This is a funny book in the way funny books should be, and will make your heart hurt even while you’re laughing.
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters Fantasy, female lead. Reviewers aren’t supposed to talk about the book as a physical object, but I still want to note that this is a handsome book with evocative illustrations that really add to the experience. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black has been sent to San Diego during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. When she begins to hear the voice of her recently-killed lover, she becomes involved with the Spiritualist movement. Rich historical details add a lovely texture to the book as well.
You Should Read This: The Birthday Problem by Caren Gussoff
Ever wondered what it would be like to wander through plague-ridden Seattle in the future? This book’s a good approximation.In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that Caren’s a close friend. But beyond that The Birthday Problem is terrific SF, and a great example of interweaving narratives that is a) highly enjoyable to read and b) highly instructive to take a look at.
The Birthday Problem of the title is a common mathematical puzzle: find the probability that, in a group of N people, there is at least one pair of people who have the same birthday. (Hint: it’s a much lower number than you think. You can find out more about it on Wikipedia if you want to understand why.) The book is about odd ties and coincidences, set in a crumbling Seattle in a world plagued by nanobots that make people crazy.
Why’s it instructive to take a look at? Because Gussoff confronts two problems that speculative writers often face. The first is a complicated scientific or mathematical concept, like the birthday problem, which the reader needs to understand. Gussoff manages to convey it to the reader with no “As you know, Bob” or overly pedantic moments.
The second is that it’s constructed in a way that is incredibly hard to do: overlapping points of view, and plenty of them. When you switch POVs, you bounce the reader out of the story just a little, and Gussoff does it in a way that swiftly gathers the reader back in.
I like to include a beginning chunk of the book I’m discussing to show you what the author’s prose style as well as what they set. Here’s the first three paragraphs from The Birthday Problem:
Chaaya wasn’t surprised when she woke up and saw lips aimed directly over her face. It was beginning. It’d been just a matter of time.
It begins with one, good solid hallucination.
That was how it had happened to her Nani.This is how it would happen to her.
Gussoff also makes the most of her setting in a way that will delight Seattleites. There’s a joy to imagining Pike Place Market as a post-apocalytic trading post or the SF Museum hosting a cadre led by an aging rock musician.
If you’re interested in more of Gussoff’s work, she’s got a novella appearing this January from Aqueduct Press, Three Songs for Roxy. Its main character is an alien raised by Romany, and Gussoff draws on her own heritage to create a realistic, unromantic, and absolutely appealing narrative.
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