Words on a page

[nightdog_barks]

So here are the books I've read recently ...

Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch. I liked this, as I've liked every book in Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, but I didn't like it as much as I've liked the others. I don't know; it just didn't grab me, and I thought the ending was really abrupt. Still put in an order for the next in the series, though. :D

Melmoth, by Sarah Perry. I know this has been getting mixed reviews, but you guys, I loved this. What to say? This is a book of stories within stories, ranging from present-day Prague to the Holocaust to WWI-era Turkey. Everyone has secrets. This is just as good as her previous book, The Essex Serpent. It's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up and a strong recommendation.

Currently reading Rachel Kushner's The Mars Room, and so far (about 90 pages in) it is quite good.

Also -- not a book, but a movie. Watched Splice the other night, and omg chiclets it was BONKERS. It's actually a lot better than the 5.7 IMDB gives it, but it's still absolutely bananas.

SCIENTISTS: We'll use the latest gene-splicing techniques to create this new life form that looks like a kangaroo rat, and it'll be viable and grow up to look like Delphine Chanéac!
SCIENTISTS: But she'll still have kangaroo legs! And a stingray tail!
ME: I don't think that's the way genes work ...
SCIENTISTS: And she'll fall in love with Adrien Brody, who raised her as his daughter!
ME: what

:DDDD

Comments

[jadesfire]

I am a HUGE Rivers of London fan, and definitely agree about the ending of Foxglove Summer. It seemed to come out of nowhere and leave too much unsaid. I liked the overall impression of the book, but it didn't hook me in like the others. Are you going for The Furthest Station next, or skipping to The Hanging Tree? The latest one has gone straight on my Christmas List, as I like the audio versions better. The narrator is so good, that Aaronovitch has said that this is the voice he hears for Peter now, which is pretty cool :)

[nightdog_barks]

I will PROBABLY read The Hanging Tree next, only because Amazon lists it as Book 6 and Foxglove Summer was Book 5. At least on US Amazon, The Furthest Station is just kind of ... hanging out there, like HERE IS A PETER GRANT NOVELLA WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT GOES JUST ROLL WITH IT OK? :DDDD

[jadesfire]

I think one thing I love about Rivers of London is that it isn't just a series of novels, it's a whole WORLD that he's already fully created and fleshed out. So there are graphic novels and short stories and novellas along with the main novels. There are times it feels like he's writing fanfic in his own universe, if that makes sense. Taking a small element and spinning it out into something bigger, while being careful not to impact his own continuity.

The Furthest Station and A Rare Book Of Cunning Device can fit in pretty much anywhere in canon. The first is definitely worth reading. The second is okay. The graphic novels are superb, especially if you like the minor characters, and highly recommended. They flesh out Nightingale well too, which I like.

[silverjackal]

I found the ending of _Foxglove Summer_ to be very abrupt as well, and the book as a whole felt a bit rushed to me. That said, I greatly appreciated the atmosphere even though I had worked out the "twist" almost immediately on my own. _The Hanging Tree_ is superior, IMO, and there will be a new book coming out soon!

[nightdog_barks]

Yes, I think "rushed" is really what it was, and I just wasn't engaging with it. I think I cared about all the other characters but the missing girls. But I'm looking forward to The Hanging Tree (and the novella). :D