Caroline's Reads in 2020

I've been on LibraryThing since 2006, but I haven't participated in a group in many years. The amount of books I have read in those years went down considerably. When our annual Top Five Books list came around this year I realized I couldn't name 5 books that I really enjoyed and would proudly recommend to others. Maybe I could recommend 3 books out of the 10 I read, but that's it. This shocked me, so I decided that this year I would make an effort to read more.

My challenge is to read 25 books this year. I will list what I read and then post reviews for each book.

1. The Nine Lands by Marie Brennan - finished
2. Splinters of Truth by Storm Constantinen - finished
3. The Mammoth Book of Southern Gothic Romance by Trisha Telep - finished
4. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - finished
5. A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee by Danny Fingeroth - finished
6. Authority by Jeff VanderMeer - finished
7. Mythos: The Greek myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry - finished
8. Heroes by Stephen Fry - finished
9. Down a Street That Wasn't There by Marie Brennan - finished
10. Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer -finished
11. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne -finished
12. London Centric: Tales of Future London by Ian Whates - finished

Good luck on your challenge!

Thank you!

>1 craso: Welcome to the group, Caroline, ☺️.

>1 craso: Welcome and good luck. if you have any questions please feel free to just ask.

Thank you, Carol and Sergeirocks!

1. The Nine Lands by Marie Brennan 4 stars

This is an anthology of seven fantasy short stories set in the Nine Lands, a world created by the author while she was in high school and college. These stories are among the first written by Marie Brennan to see print. Even though they were written at the beginning of her career, they do not read as if written by a novice. The tales are interesting and enjoyable reads. The author’s interest in anthropology shows in the fully formed world with its societal structure, traditions, and rituals. Any of the tales could be used to introduce a new series of novels set in the Nine Lands. Unfortunately, the author has moved away from that world, though she mentions she may visit it again in the future.

Welcome to the Group Craso, you’ve found the right place if you want to increase your reading. There will be no shortage of good books recommended by us all.

>9 Andrew-theQM: thank you for the welcome!

2. Splinters of Truth by Storm Constantine 4 Stars

This e-book was sent to me by accident, when the publisher sent it instead of the Early Reviewer book I was picked to receive. After sending me the correct book, which I read and reviewed, I decided to read this book and review it as well. I'm glad I made that decision because I enjoyed the majority of the stories and found a new author to read.

The tales in this anthology were inspired by bits and pieces of anecdotes Storm Constantine was told by friends. She embellishes them with fantasy elements to create engaging and atmospheric tales. The stories vary in amount of fantasy elements used. One story tells of a bored woman who walks down a familiar street that becomes a new reality full of exotic sensations. Another story I enjoyed is a coming of age story set during a Summer holiday. A story that has stayed with me is about a cousin that is passed from one relative to another because of his strangeness. Like all anthologies, some of the stories are better than others. I was impressed with her writing and will look for more of her works.

3. The Mammoth Book of Southern Gothic Romance by Trisha Telep 3 1/2 stars

This is an anthology with each story set in the American south; from Southern California to Georgia. The South is a good setting for such Gothic stories. There are a lot of plantation houses and crumbling mansions. The atmosphere is hot, humid and rainy with swamps, Spanish moss, and kudzu.

I always enjoy Gothic ghost stories but I rarely read romances. I liked the stories that were light on romance and heavy on supernatural elements. I skipped a few stories that were too steamy and one that was very silly. The supernatural elements include; past life memories, ghosts, shape-shifters, vampires, and witches.

“The Devil Went Down” by Sonya Bateman has many elements I enjoy, the Civil War, past life memories, and angels and demons in a classic fight between light and dark. “Wylde Magic” by Erin Kellison is a great shape-shifter story. “Dream, Interrupted” by Jill Archer is a retelling of the story of Persephone, one of my favorite myths. “Return to Me” by Elle Jasper is another past life story with a very Gothic setting; a dark storm night and an old dark house. “Pretty Enough to Catch Her” by J. D. Horn is a great noir thriller. “Love, Sugar” by Tiffany Trent has the typical goth trope of an old house inheritance that comes with a ghost love interest.

If you enjoy crumbling mansions, kudzu, tragic love affairs, and supernatural elements delivered with a southern flare, then you will enjoy reading this anthology.

>12 craso: Ghost stories! I'll have to get this one. I can skip the romance parts:)

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer 4 stars

This is the first novel in the Southern Reach Trilogy. We are introduced to Area X, a pristine wilderness that has been explored eleven different times; each previous expedition ending in failure. This is the story of the twelfth expedition. The team includes a biologist, a surveyor, an anthropologist, and the leader, a psychologist. The biologist narrates the story. They go through rigorous training including hypnotic suggestions to keep them calm. The team is told to take samples and make journal entries. There is something very strange going on in Area X and no one can escape contamination.

The author does not explain what is going on and you will have no clarification about what is causing the changes to Area X by the end of the book. The story reminded me of “Roadside Picnic” by Arkady Strugatsky, a novel about aliens landing on Earth and contaminating an area with items they leave behind. Items that no human can ever understand. This novel also reminded me of the writings of Stanislaw Lem. Lem’s novel “Solaris” took place in a space station observing a planet that could never be understood.

I intend to read the rest of the trilogy. I enjoyed reading this book, even though Area X won’t be explained until the next book in the series. The narrator grabbed me from the beginning and it was hard to put the book down. It was a short, quick read. If you don’t need to have everything clarified in a novel, then this will be a fun read for you.

So, I am off work with pay from the library for 2 weeks. The library district I work for hasn't said what will happen after the two weeks are up, because they have no idea. The bright side is that I have more time to read. :-)

Right now I am reading A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee by Danny Fingeroth. I will post a review soon.

A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee by Danny Fingeroth – 4 Stars

In this biography, Danny Fingeroth concentrates on Stan Lee’s time as editor and promoter of Marvel comics. I think of Stan as the cute little old man with the big smile who did cameos in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Others know him as the co-creator of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. Still others remember him as editor of the letters page in Marvel comics. Stan spoke on college campuses during the late 60’s and early 70’s and narrated Marvel animated TV series. No one can think of Marvel comics without seeing and hearing Stan Lee.

He was a controversial figure in the comics industry. Fingeroth doesn’t shy away from what Stan did as editor at Marvel. He was hired through nepotism; his uncle owned the magazine publishing company that published what would become Marvel comics. Stan set up a situation where artists were hired on a freelance basis with the company owning their artwork. Stan claimed that because he came up with the idea for the Spider-Man character and other legendary Marvel characters that he was their creator. The artists felt that they created the characters, because they drew them and brought them to life. Many artists had to sue to get money from Marvel for these popular and lucrative characters. Later in life, Stan would say in interviews that he co-created these famous characters with the artists who drew them.

However you remember Stan, either the man who made Marvel what it is today or the man who kept others from getting the money and adulation due to them, he will always be considered one of the most important figures in comic book history. Fingeroth gives an even-handed portrayal of Stan’s life at Marvel. I recommend this book to fans or comics and comic book movies.

>16 craso: Thank you for this review. I'm glad to hear it was even-handed; Stan Lee receives such one-sided adulation and I often wonder what else was going on behind the scenes.

Hope you're doing well - is your library back to open mode?

>17 threadnsong: Your comment about Stan Lee is interesting. I have always heard that he had a big ego and didn't give credit where credit was due. I guess because of the popularity on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the fact that all the artists he worked with have died, he gets all the adulation. It's hard not to like Stan, he was full of energy and always had a smile on his face. I guess there are two sides to everyone's personality.

Thank you for asking about me and my job at the library. We are not opened, but all full time employees are back working and we have started curbside delivery of holds. We are offering virtual programs on our website and have a lot of digital resources. We will be brain storming soon on what a phased reopening will look like.

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer - 4 stars

“Authority” is the second book in the Southern Reach series. This novel takes place at the Southern Reach, a government agency devoted to studying Area X. Area X is an expanse of land shut off by an invisible border. The Southern Reach has sent many expeditions into Area X and all of them have been failures. The agency is floundering, the previous director disappeared into Area X with the last expedition. The new director, John Rodrigues, aka Control, has been brought in by the government to assess the facility. What he finds will test his sanity.

You need to read the first book, “Annihilation,” before reading this book or you will not understand what is going on. The first book takes you into Area X. This book introduces you to the government agency trying to understand Area X. The new director of the Southern Reach is the main character. You see the agency through his eyes. His character is well developed with an interesting back round story. The author does a good job of creating a setting of desperation and hopelessness. The characters at the Southern Reach know that everything they do is futile. I have enjoyed reading this series so far and look forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, “Acceptance.”

Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry – 5 Stars

I really enjoy Greek mythology. I have read Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” and Robert Grave’s “The Greek Myths.” This book by comedian, actor, and writer, Stephen Fry is the most enjoyable summary I have read on Greek mythology. When I first opened it, I was afraid it was too scholarly; with footnotes and photographic illustrations like an academic textbook. Yet, it turned out to be a very well written story of how the world was created and all the gods and creatures that came to populate it. The myths are organized chronologically with the creation story and then move to the origins of each god and the poor mortals who’s lives became intertwined with these deities. The only thing this book lacks is the epic hero stories and adventures.

The good news is that, Mr. Fry wrote another volume that includes those heroes and myths.

Heroes by Stephen Fry - 4 1/2 Stars

This book is a follow up to Stephen Fry's "Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined". The author retells the stories of the Greek heroes who were tasked with ridding the earth of monsters and evil doers. This volume includes the adventures of Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason, Atalanta, Oedipus, and Theseus. The way the stores are retold by Fry are a little to modern at times. The author uses modern slang or phrases to make the stories relatable. I found it a bit distracting. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others who enjoy stories from Greek mythology.

Down a Street That Wasn't There by Marie Brennan 4 Stars

I received this e-book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. I have read many of Marie Brennan's short story anthologies through this program and I have never been disappointed with her writing.

This is an urban fantasy anthology made up of previously published short stories. My favorite stories are the stylistically unusual ones. One tale, "Selection", describes the application, testing, and interview process to be selected to become one an elite group. Another story, "Comparison of Efficacy Rates for Seven Antipathetics as Employed Against Lycanthropes" reads like the results of scientific experiments to find the perfect way to kill werewolves. The last and best story is "The Genius Prize" which made me think of a found footage film. All of the stories are very enjoyable and I recommend this anthology to those who like modern day fantasy tales.

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer 4 Stars

This is a satisfying conclusion the Southern Reach Trilogy. The novel is told from the perspective of four characters, The Lighthouse Keeper, The Director, Ghost Bird, and Control. The Lighthouse Keeper’s story is about the very beginning of the strange phenomena known as Area X. The Director of the Southern Reach research facility has a connection to Area X and the Lighthouse Keeper that makes her job personal. Ghost Bird is a double of the Biologist from the twelfth expedition and understands Area X better than anyone. Control is a pawn who has been used by others throughout his life and is drawn to helping Ghost Bird.

The Southern Reach series is like one long novel that has been broken into three books. The first book gives you a glimpse of Area X. The second story is about the people researching Area X. The last book gives you more of an idea of how Area X came into being, but keeps it mysterious, as everything truly alien should be.

House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne 3 1/2 Stars

This novel was a struggle. I had read it before, but I forgot about the difference between how modern novels are written and 19th Century novels are written. Hawthorne cared more about the themes in the story and less about telling an engaging narrative. He spends one whole chapter on a dead character in the house and all the things he was supposed to do that day just to show what kind of person he was and the fact that his death by natural causes was actually a good thing for our heroes. Whenever their was dialog I was so excited since it was few and far between. I didn’t necessarily enjoy reading the book, I admired the author for his use of language to get across the tale of a little group of people haunted by what their ancestors had done, much like Hawthorne himself who had an ancestor who was a judge during the Salem witch trials.

Well, looks like I will read 12 books again by the end of the year like I do every year. I was really hoping I could read 25 books by the end of the year. Maybe I should have made my challenge 13 books and try reading 1 more book each year.

London Centric: Tales of Future London by Ian Whates 4 Stars

Another great short story anthology from New Con Press. This is a companion to “Soot and Steel” a compilation of fantasy stories regarding the industrial age in London. The editor decided to look at London in the future with “London Centric.” Among the more entertaining stories are: a couple of cyber-punk adventures, an interesting story that takes CCTV cameras and advances them into AI, a sweet parallel universe story, the aftermath of a time bomb dropped on London, and a virtual commute to work that may never end. I enjoyed reading what different authors thought about the future of the British capitol. Some authors took technology that was already a part of London and advanced it in interesting and exciting ways. Other authors created odes to London; naming streets and neighborhoods and adding science fiction or fantasy elements. I was caught off guard by a few stories that mentioned the present-day issues of COVID-19 and Brexit. This is an enjoyable anthology and is highly recommended.