2016 Booklist #26: Liquor

By Poppy Z. Brite.  OMG - How charming is this book! Poppy Z. Brite was already on my QUILTBAG author list, but the recommendation for this particular series came from a particular friend (Thanks T!).  I'm not sure how to quite categorise this book - cheffy thriller comedy? Ricky and G-man are lifelong friends, lovers and setting up a new restaurant. I loved the level of detail  given about the New Orleans food scene and restaurants in general.  I loved both hot headed Ricky and sensible and calm G-man.  I loved the earthy dialogue, and I have ordered the next two to read.

2016 Booklist #25: Burial Rites

By Hannah Kent.  This was reminiscent of my recent read, Hild, as it's fiction based on true events,  in this case the execution of the last woman in Iceland (Agnes Magnusdottir). It's very well written, and absorbing tale of life in Iceland - I am pretty sure this is the first book in Iceland that I've read! (though written by an Australian). The book weaves 'present day' (which is the incarceration of Agnes with a farming family before the execution), and the events leading up to the murder that she has been charged with.  It seems evident that Kent has meticulously researched the history of the period and the events them selves, I do wonder how much inference she has made about 'what really happened', though I also wonder how important that is (or why I feel it is important to me). Definitely recommended!

2016 Book List #23 and 24: The Drowning Girl and The Red Tree

By Caitlin Kiernan.  It think it was probably a shame that I read these back to back, and that I read The Drowning Girl first, because they have very similar themes/ characters, unreliable narration and even literary references (esp The Mick Turtle's Song from Alice in Wonderland), and I think that 'The Red Tree' was better (but lost impact having read Drowning Girl immediately beforehand).  The main difference I would say between them is that the Drowning Girl is more about a haunting - unsettling but not super scary, whereas The Red Tree is more definitely horror, with an evil presence that brings genuine dread.  I almost felt inclined to reread The Red Tree again, to try and piece together the story better, but ultimately did not, as that would have technically been my third Caitlin Kiernan in a row... (I did go back to recheck a few things in the preface/intro)

There's no doubt that they're both very well written,  but I do feel a bit wary reading more Kiernan, as I don't know whether the similarities were a reflection of her overall writing, or I just lucked out by picking very similar books to read. At some point,  I want to revisit the Writer and the Critic Podcast, where they review the Drowning Girl to see what they say, in part because it was Kirstyn who brought Kiernan to my attention in the first place.

2016 Booklist #22: All the Birds in the Sky

By Charlie Jane Anders.  I LOVE the cover of this book (apologies for the picture being sidewise!). However, perhaps it gave me higher expectations of how much I would love the book, which I'm afraid I feel a bit underwhelmed about. I think part of the problem was the style, which I think was trying to angle for a fairytale/fable feel.  Which is fine,  but I did find both Patricia and, to a lesser extent, Lawrence's families quite unbelievably horrible.  In Patricia's case in particular,  I did wonder if there was a point of view element to how horrible her family was to her, because it appeared to be so completely irrational. I loved the idea of the two types of magic coming together, and the magic school, part Hogwarts, part Hunger Games (sort of).  I loved the potential 'epic-ness' of the story, but I'm not sure the book was big enough for the story it wanted to tell, and to be honest, a week or so after finishing the book, I can't actually remember how it ended...

2016 Booklist #21: Hild

 

By Nicola Griffith.  What a remarkable book! In terms of the historical detail, it reminded me of Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall.  This is, i think, an amazing interweaving of historical scholarship with and an absorbing narrative.  However, the best thing about the book was the point of view.  Hild lives in a very female world.  The main protagonists (or antagonsts) are women - like her mother and the Queen.  Yes,  the king is 'all powerful'  but he is portrayed as someone who is not really in control, influenced by superstition and emotion. He is really a side character in the main character.  I loved how intelligent Hild is. Her power in court is due to her place as King's Seer ( in niece),  but there is no supernatural angle to he skill.  She is observant and canny (and a little lucky).  I look forward to reading the next planned books in the Hild trilogy

2016 Booklist #20: Leviathan's Blood

By Ben Peek. This is book two in 'The Children' trilogy (though the cover is very subtle about this fact!). To be fair: there is a short report/historical document that neatlys summarises the action from the first book, so you could probably go into this book 'blind'. Things that I love about this book: beautifully written, and full of diverse characters - both in terms of gender and race (and I guess god-status :D). This book expands from the first book with more point of view characters and action happening in very different areas of the world - i liked the introduction of Ooila and the (rather fraught) court of the First Queen. The story is a bit more fractured than the first (where everything was happening in the same city - more or less), but the chapters are really well organised, in terms of building to the climax. The book ends on more of a cliffhanger than the first book (which is not unwelcome!) At this stage I have no idea how this is all going to end...