LTR’s Superfantastic Mid-Month Reading List Update
February 15th, 2005I’m reading these in alphabetical order! So far. Not really on purpose.
Hell’s Half Acre, by Will Christopher Baer
Baer’s third Phineas Poe book is not as good as the first, and perhaps better than the second, but it does provide some much-needed continuity for the series. It’s just not a Phineas Poe book without Jude!
Jennifer Government, by Max Barry
Fast-paced satire with cookie cutter characters and nothing really insightful to offer.
The Man Who Was Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton
An extremely effective surrealistic mystery/thriller. Some laughs and some action, but at its heart this is a story about the slippery boundaries of order and chaos.
Falling Angel, by William Hjortsberg
As good as its supposed to be. An occult detective novel that has Harry Angel, your typical noir P.I. in late 1950s NYC, follow the trail of a forgotten crooner who got himself mixed up in voodoo. It starts as good as any hard-boiled novel and slowly introduces supernatural elements. It’s also got Coney Island circus freaks, Harlem jazz, and a few trips to the New York Public Library. Excellent.
The Seven-Percent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer
Powers of Detection, ed. by Dana Stabenow
The Year of Our War, by Steph Swainston
Haven’t read these yet!
February 16th, 2005 at 4:03 pm
I liked Jennifer Government well enough. Terse writing style and little character development, yes. Not much in the way of new ideas, no. But fun? For me it was.
February 16th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
Fair enough. And we both do agree at least on Mr. Timothy, which I read right around the same time…
February 17th, 2005 at 4:07 am
Hmm. I’ve been a little skeptical abt Jennifer Govt since leafing through a friend’s copy - I suppose now I can read it without unfair expectations. I wonder what you’ll think of the Swainston - it was a rather huge let-down for me, considering the sheer hype around it.