1996 Books of the Week V1 #1
Graphic Novel /Crime
Batman:featuring Two Face and the Riddler
several illustrators
DC Comics 1563891980
Batman is my thing only in small doses. I did however enjoy seeing how he and his adversaries were portrayed over time. Mark (Luke Skywalker) Hamill's introduction is a delight.
Graphic Novel /Nonfiction
The Big Book of Weirdos
Carl Posey
67 illustrators
Paradox Press 1563891808
Accurately called a "Factoid Book" this collection of brief biographies concentrates on the weird facets of various people's lives focusing too much on substance abuse and sexual peccadilloes. I won't list all sixty-seven here but he does provide factoids about Hitler, Idi Amin, Rasputin, Kafka, Houdini, Dali, Tesla, Howard Hughes, the Marquis de Sade, and J. Edgar Hoover among many others famous and not so well known. The assortment of styles by the various artists is fascinating. I found Donald David's woodcut-like illustrations particularly apropos for Kafka and Tony Harris's extreme use of positive and negative space in the Rasputin section compelling.
Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Science Fiction/Time Travel
Dragonflight
Anne McCaffrey
Lela Dowling, Cynthia Martin, and Fred Von
Tobel, illustrators
Eclipse Graphic Novels 0061050032
A good adaptation of McCaffrey's novel. The vivid colors add to the tale of a young woman who rides the queen dragon and through intelligent thought and observation figures out how to save the plant after four centuries free of the peril of thread. Hopefully readers of this graphic novel will be enticed into reading the excellent text version this series.
Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Sandman:World's End
Neal Gaiman
many illustrators
Vertigo/DC Comics 1563891719
Stephen King provides a terrific introduction to an outstanding entry in Gaiman's deservedly popular series. Using the device of stories within stories, sometimes within other stories, Gaiman presents the reader with a rewarding panoply of adventure and fantasy. The old trope of travelers being stranded at an inn and telling their stories has some interesting new facets. Included is a tale of a fairy sent as ambassador to a corrupt country where the secular and religious have dangerously merged, the tale of a young sailor's adventures, a story of a young man destined to be the youngest president of the US, and a story of a land where death is the cornerstone of life and disposing of the bodies a high art.
The Sandman series is the cream of the crop of original graphic novels.
Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Someplace Strange
Ann Nocenti
John Bolton, illustrator
Epic Comics 087135439x
In classic fantasy tradition, two quarreling brothers are transported to a nightmare world where they meet Zebra, a punk artist. Her anger looses a horrifying evil being as the brothers discover what is really important.
This is an excellent example of the graphic novel medium. The story and illustrations are inextricably linked creating a whole that is more than it's parts.
Graphic Novel
The Complete Crumb:Vol.4, Mr. Sixties!
R. Crumb
Fantagraphics Books 0930193806
I wasn't enamored of Crumb's comics in the 60's and I still can't find the appeal now in the 90's even though the teens in my house loved this book. Bare-breasted women, Mr. Natural, and Fritz the Cat are just not my favorite characters. Crumb is a fascinating individual and his introduction makes the reader want to know more about him. The documentary feature film about him and the soundtrack to it were both terrific so I had looked forward to reviewing his comics. I find that I like Crumb far better than his work.
Fantasy/Graphic Novel
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
David Wenzel, Illustrator
Ballantine 0345368584 When a
beloved classic is adapted into a visual format it can never
match the rich beauty imagined by the reader but all the same
Wenzel does a good job of interpreting Tolkein's descriptions. In
a way this reminded me of Julius Lester's Othello
an exquisite retelling of Shakespeare's classic tale. In both
cases the original is not and cannot be improved upon but perhaps
the adaptation makes the story more accessible to those who would
have otherwise missed an essential read. As adaptations go, this
is an excellent one.
Science Fiction/Detection
Adventure/Technothriller
Blue Limbo
Terence M. Green
Tor 0312862822
Mitch Helwig decides to fight back against crime when he is fired from the Toronto police department. Separated from his cheating wife, the only people he cares about are his daughter, his father, and a friend still on the force. He has a penchant for high tech tools, many of them illegal for the police, but now on his own he is free to use them. An other scientific development in this near future setting is the ability to bring the dead immediately back to life for a few weeks in a process that leaves the subject in blue void but able to communicate with the living.
When Mitch's best friend and former supervisor is gunned down and killed he bullies the hospital into giving him the "Blue Limbo" treatment. Armed with the name of the corrupt cop who murdered his friend, Mitch sets out on a rampage for justice and an attempt to rescue his kidnapped dad.
The gadgets are enticing, Mitch is everything a hero should be, and the action is non-stop in this page turner of a thriller. Fans of Arnold, Kurt, Jean Claude, Silvester, and Steven will love it.
Fantasy/Literary
Black Wine
Candas Jane Dorsey
Tor 0312861818
Dorsey's elegant poetic writing makes the reader take time while reading this tale of sex, depravity, and lost memories to savor the prose. This complex, convoluted tale tells of several different women..or is it really only one or two?..in different lands and places in their lives. A waifish slave sneaks food to an old crazy women kept in a cage in the town square. A queen flees her sadistic husband. A mother in a mannerly well-run mountain village deserts her young daughter. A new slave in the royal palace learns the sign language of her mute lover. A trader finds love in a multiple handfasted relationship. A young princess and her half sister watch as their perverted grandmother sexually abuses a slave. Complex, sometimes confusing, the diverse elements of this tale come together eventually to form an intricate whole from what seemed to be disconnected fragments.
Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery/Quest
The Magic of Recluce
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Tor 0812505182
Two of my favorite 20 something friends responded to my query on their current reading likes by saying that they were buying every L.E. Modesitt book they could find. Since one lives in Texas and the other in Colorado I decided that this was definitely a trend to check out and I was suitably rewarded with this satisfying fantasy read.
On the island country of Recluce, order rules, neatness counts, and potential troublemakers are exiled or sent out on a Dangergeld quest. Lerris is bored with order so is sent away from his land where he comes of age in the midst of the almost hidden war between order and chaos.
Romance/Contemporary/Interracial
The Color of Love
Sandra Kitt
Signet 0451184270
Last summer I had the privilege of meeting the gracious and talented Sandra Kitt at a book signing. Never having read any of her work, I asked her to recommend just one of her books to me and The Color of Love was the one she handed me. It is a terrific romance, graced with believable characters with solid conflicts, in a heartwarming story of love overcoming great obstacles. Kitt's observations on bigotry and racism are subtly interwoven into this compelling read.
Young Adult/Coming of Age/Contemporary/Humorous
Babcock
Joe Cottonwood
Scholastic 059033946X
. In this thoroughly delightful tale for younger YAs (middle school) Cottonwood once again returns us to the tiny and remote California hamlet of San Puerco where in previous books, The Adventures of Boone Barnaby and Danny Ain't, we met Boone, Dylan, and Law who are now involved with Babcock in a garage band. This stand-alone installment is about Babcock who is the only Black kid in town. He is also the only person in San Puerco who only has one name. Too late, his parents discovered that when they left the spaces for first and middle names blank on the birth certificate so their son could choose his own name they doomed him to a life of a single name. Babcock's ne'er do well uncle shows up for a visit and instigates a little league team.
Cottonwood imbues his likable characters with a solidity and realness that makes them jump off the page. He adds gentle humor even while dealing with issues of racism, gender discrimination, and size prejudice. In my book Babcock is a definite "Best Book."
Romance/Manly Romance
Historical/1950s
The Big Ballad Jamboree
Donald Davidson
University Press of Mississippi 0878058532
Danny MacGregor, hillbilly singer, will go to any lengths to win the hand of his childhood sweetheart, scholar Cissy Timberlake. He even goes so far as to register and work hard in a class on ballads she is teaching at the local college. This hilarious romp illuminates the early days of country music while providing a tender and realistically humorous romance from a man's point of view. One can't help falling for Danny as he tries to save Cissy from academic politics and a handsome moonshiner.
In the fine tradition of gentle Southern humor, I would recommend this to readers who enjoy Clyde Edgerton and Michael Malone.
Science Fiction/Science Fantasy
The Law of Love
Laura Esquivel
Crown 0517706814
Humankind, in the future, has discovered that reincarnation is real and has developed ways of searching the past lives of individuals to determine their worthiness for jobs and public office. Everybody is also searching for their spiritual twin, a search that is ended when a high level of superiority is achieved.
Azucena has just found her spiritual twin and spent a passionate night with him when he totally disappears. As she searches for him we find that they have known each other in previous lives and been involved in a cycle of murder and betrayal. Political shenanigans leave her and her assembled party in danger as they follow their quest to reunite the spiritual twin lovers from planet to planet and from body to body.
This innovative adventure is enhanced by graphic novel type art that narrates events of previous lives. A compact disk is supposed to be listened to at intervals throughout the book. Unfortunately my public library did not check the disk out with the book so I missed out on the auditory stimuli.
Fantasy/Reference/Biography
The Faces of Fantsy
Patti Perret
Tor 0312862164
Renowned photographer Perret offers fantasy lovers a treat in this visual feast of beloved authors. Photographed in various locales and settings, each portrait searches for an inner vision of the over one hundred writers featured. Terri Windling provides a fascinating historical overview of fantasy fiction in the introduction. All in all an exceptional book and one that is sure to please every fantasy fan. The Faces of Fantasy is one book that would definitely go on my gift wish list.
Young Adult/ Adventure/ Survival
Climb or Die
Edward Myers
Hyperion 0786800267
Danielle and Jake are the family's only hope of survival after the family car crashes on a remote mountain road in a blizzard. Using improvised equipment they climb a 14,000 foot peak to find help at a weather station.
Riviting action and good character development make this an entertaining read.
Crime/Lawyer detectives/Hispanic detectives
The Last Client of Luis Montez
Manuel Ramos
St. Martin's Press 0312139977
Manuel Ramos knows Denver and the Chicano community. He brings it all vividly to life in this third and nearly last adventure of Denver attorney Luis Montez. Luis has gotten his client, the druggie scion of a wealthy family, off on possession charges and ends up spending the night with the client's sexy sister. The next day he discovers his client's sliced up body and is fingered for the murder by Denver's finest. He is also suspected of murdering the policeman who's testimony was responsible for making the police search inadmissible in court. On top of all this his father is hospitalized and the entire family returns to Denver to lurk in Denver General's corridors waiting for word on the old man. Losing his license to practice and worrying about his father, Luis does eventually turn up some leads on the case taking him into a life threatening shoot-out.
Luis Montez is my favorite lawyer sleuth and I hope that he has many more future cases. I particularly loved the part where he was reading a crime book set in Mexico City. My guess was that he was reading one of the Hector Belascoaran Shayne novels by Paco Ignacio Taibo II. I would love to know for sure.
Rex Burns has a series featuring Chicano police detective Gabe Wager set in Denver.
Young Adult/Horror/Werewolves
The Blooding
Patricia Windsor
Scholastic 0590433091
This chilling, utterly believable tale of shapeshifting starts with a young American, Maris, taking a job as an au pair for the daughter of a friend of her harridan mother's. The reader sees the unfamiliar English landscape through Maris's eyes and observes the strange behavior of Mr. Forrest and the strange illness of Barb Forrest. The mundane details make the transformation to wolf all the more believable.
Fans of R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike who are ready for more sophisticated fare will be captivated.
Crime/historical mystery/husband & wife
team
The Wandering Arm
Sharan Newman
Forge 0312858299
In this delightful puzzle set in the twelfth century, headstrong Catherine and her English husband Edgar go undercover in Paris to try to find a lead on missing religious articles and relics. Edgar gains employment in a secret metal worker's studio and Catherine discovers a murder in the cellar of her Jewish uncle's home.
The details of Jewish and Christian life are fascinating. Catherine and Edgar are an interesting couple of sleuths and their ethnic differences add even more flavor to this delightful series. Denee Cody's The Court of Love is set near the same time and also involves the relationships between Christians and Jews of the era.
Crime/Private investigator/husband &
wife team
Storm Surge
T.J. MacGregor
Hyperion 1562827898
Quin St. James and Mike McCleary have quite a history together behind them. Storm Surge is the eighth adventure for the couple but the first to appear in hardcover. They are out to find out who murdered their old friend Charlie who had mailed some mysterious packages just minutes before his death. To get to the bottom of the case they leave their baby daughter with her aunt and off they go to the heart of Miami Beach. Quin goes undercover in the office of a high profile real estate developer who was at odds with Charlie over a historic hotel that is now the home of several aged residents and the only stumbling block in plans for a mega-resort.
This reminded me somewhat of the delightful movie Undercover Blues starring Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner. It has the same flavor of high adventure and married romance.
Crime/Legal thriller
Street Legal: The Betrayal
William Deverell
McClelland & Stewart, Inc. 0771026692
A few years back I placed a star in my day planner next to Platinum Blues marking William Deverell as an author I wanted to watch. After being on the waiting list at my local public library for several months, I was finally rewarded with the opportunity to check this out. It introduces Carrington Barr and her Toronto law office partners in a complex interweaving of several cases. An excellent read.
I'm not much of a television watcher but reading this makes me want to buy a satellite dish so I can tune into Canadian TV where Carrie Barr and her partners appear on a hit television series.
Science Fiction/Space Opera
Ganwold's Child
Diann Thornley
Tor 0312858434
A fascinating tale of a young warrior who has grown up in the midst of an alien culture who sets out with his partner on a quest to save his mother's life that will take him far from home. The first in a series.
Young adult/contemporary/humorous/sports
The Chicken Doesn't Skate
Gordon Korman
Scholastic 0590853007
In this hilarious tale of hockey, friendship, science, and middle school life, Korman once again exhibits his talent for captivating the funny side of real life. He is a Dave Barry for the YA set. A science experiment dealing with a chicken in the food chain brings cute fluffy little chick Henrietta into a sixth grade classroom. Milo, who always refers to her as the specimen, wants to win his scientist father's approval. Seventh grader Adam accidentally discovers that with Henrietta as a mascot the hockey team cannot lose. Kelly Marie discovers that at heart she is a political activist when she sets out to save Henrietta's life. With Henrietta's help, Zachary Gustafson, nerd and screen writer, discovers that he has unacknowledged talents.
Romance/contemporary/category
Family of the Year
Patti Standard
Silhouette 0373191960
Maria Soldata's family has always had bad luck with men. Her father deserted them when she was nine, her older sister's husband ran off with his secretary, her husband died, and her younger sister's husband has disappeared. To escape the stifling heat of a Phoenix summer and to make some much needed money she takes a temporary job as housekeeper for handsome rancher Ben Calder. But she also takes her mother, sister, two kids, and a niece and nephew along to the ranch. Fired the first day, she refuses to leave making herself indispensable and acting as a buffer between Ben and his difficult teen-aged son who is visiting for the summer.
Love slowly and gently blossoms between Maria and Ben but they both have real issues that make a relationship seem impossible. Standard not only brings the central characters to life but she creates believable secondary characters as well, a crusty old cowboy, Ben's recalcitrant son, as well as Maria's mother and the other members of her family.
Family of the Year is the gold standard of contemporary category romance. It is a truly satisfying and heart-warming read.
Crime/amateur detective/women
detectives/human-animal teams
Cat With an Emerald Eye
Carole
Nelson Douglas
Tor 0312862288
Temple finds herself holding hands with a corpse after a Halloween midnight seance to try to contact Houdini. The Mystifying Max and the Divine Matt are also back but Molina only makes a cameo appearance. Louie is up to his whiskers in psychic phenomena and discovers unknown depths to his illustrious ancestry. This is the sixth entry in this satisfying series following Cat in a Diamond Dazzle .
Romance/Romantic Suspense/Western Romance
Montana Sky
Nora Roberts
G.P. Putnam's Sons 0399141227
Three grown sisters meet each other for the first time at their father's funeral where they find out that he had diabolically constructed his will to disrupt their lives. Motherless Willa grew up on the huge sprawling Mercy ranch always striving for her father's acceptance by becoming an excellent rancher herself. Tess, the oldest daughter raised by her showgirl mother is a Hollywood scriptwriter far more at home on Rodeo Drive than on an isolated mountain ranch who wants nothing more than to return to her glamorous life. Sad Lily is the only one who finds their father's provision that they all live together on the ranch for one year in order to inherit a welcome idea. She is on the run from an abusive ex-husband.
Against the magnificent backdrop of the Montana Rockies the three sisters are drawn together finding strength and family ties as a madman stalks the ranch, slashing and mutilating his victims. Amidst gripping suspense all three sisters find true love as they try to keep the ranch safe from the serial killer.
The only quibbles I had with this pageturner of romantic suspense was that the love interests for Tess and Will never came to life. I could not tell them apart even though one was six inches taller than the other. I guess in my mind one tall good looking intelligent rancher is much like another. Roberts did however present a terrific romantic hero in Adam, Lily's guy. Three dimensional, Adam strides right off the page and into the reader's heart. He is manly and sensitive at the same time, a truly memorable character.
Horror/Werewolves/Dark Fantasy
Western/Fantasy/Singular Woman
Nadya
Pat Murphy
Tor 0312862261
Murphy will be remembered as one of the great genre writers of our time. She takes figures from horror fiction, werewolves and ghosts, and develops them into complex characters that come alive dispelling the horror entirely. In Nadya a young female werewolf is orphaned after her parents are killed in their wolfish guises by her lover. She flees disguising herself as a boy. On the trail west she meets up with Elizabeth who was abandoned by her wagon train when her father fell ill. Together the young women head west finding a child, the sole survivor of the massacred wagon train and facing various and sundry dangers. Nadya finds a kinship with the Wolf clan of the tribe that assists them when Elizabeth is snakebitten but they push on facing starvation, thirst, and predators and make it over the mountains to California passing by the camp of the ill-fated Donner party. In Yerba Buena, Nadya realizes that no matter how much she loves Elizabeth she must give her wild wolfish side the wilderness she needs and heads to Oregon where she meets a unique multi-cultural community.
As a western, Nadya tells the story of two very different courageous women who triumph over the travails of the westward trail. As a story of a lone werewolf, it is so powerful that it makes the reader view, for a few moments, the world as seen through lupine senses.
I imagine that Nadya will be a strong contender for the World Fantasy Award.