Five Reads Ranging From ‘Stellar’ to ‘Devilishly’ Good
1) Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Let me climb to the top of a mountain and sing the praises of this novel! I cannot stop thinking about it, and I don't plan to for the foreseeable future. Easily in my top five (maybe three?) favorite books of all time.
The sun is dimming at an exponential rate, and Earth is now facing a global extinction event. They have years left, but there are problems to solve. Namely, how can we get a group of astronauts into space and send them almost 12 light years away to POTENTIALLY put a stop to this solar decay?
There is so much heart in this story, told from our main character's perspective with a hook that left me craving answers. He awakes from a coma, in space, and he cannot remember who he is or why he's here. But the pieces come together over the course of the novel as the reader traverses the present predicament aboard the starship "Hail Mary" and the past events that lead us here.
Filled with hard science, superb wit, and lovable characters, this story pulls readers in with a dense gravitational well that few will pull free of.
I can't say more without spoilers, but as someone who has grown rather cynical about humanity, this offered a palate cleanser. With its operating premise being that the world must come together or suffer the consequences that much sooner, I found nostalgia and hope amidst these pages as Weir's tale gripped my heartstrings with problem after problem, inching ever closer to humanity's collective doom...
"Home" hits...well, close to home...at least for this small-town Heartland reader.
A shrinking Midwestern town is nearing its end. Businesses are up and leaving, and the citizens who remain are those who have called Oak Hollow, Ohio, home all their lives. They are those too stubborn to give up, or too nostalgic and sentimental to vacate the town they call home, despite it having practically hollowed itself out.
And like many shrinking towns in middle America, Oak Hollow has its idiosyncrasies. The Banana Split festival and 'supposedly' haunted attractions chief among them. So, when a sign appears in the old haunted house on Asher Street, advertising it as the future site of the Mnemic Family Funeral Home, the whispers begin.
With an antagonist similar to that of Stephen King's "Needful Things" and a host of fragile and broken characters that must navigate their way through personal trauma and clandestine twisted machinations, "Home" offers cringe-worthy bargains, dire consequences, and unsettling truths scurrying beneath its cover.
Whether it be the contemporary grief elements or the twisted supernatural repercussions, this story delivers tense scenes and dark consequences that will leave many fearful of what happens next. Almost as if a hollow pit opened up within the book's pages, sucking readers into the horrifying perils awaiting anyone who gets too close.
3) The Fervor by Alma Katsu
A heart-wrenching historical-fiction novel perfectly timed for modern-day America. A mother and daughter interned hundreds of miles away from their home. A pastor whose loss and grief are manipulated for propaganda. A journalist hungry for a breaking story. And the supernatural machinations of those in power to pit neighbor against neighbor and American against American.
Katsu gets into the contemporary meat of the time as Japanese Americans continue to be interned within the fences of internment camps, while spicing things up with little-known truths about this time and a bit of supernatural flare. It gives things a psychological element as internal monologues deal with expectations for reality and the active experience permeating them all.
Despite the end falling a little flat for me, I loved the seamless blending of history with fiction across Katsu's gripping prose and how it brought the characters to life throughout the story. There's drama, suspense, thrills, and most certainly chills...
Trigger warnings abound in this one: Animal Cruelty, Bigotry, Child Abuse, Child Loss, Death, Graphic Scenes, Grief & Loss, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, and Violence.
Cosby hits hard with his iteration of the southern noir procedural mystery. As can be expected from S. A., the antagonist is beyond depraved, and time is of the essence as the protagonist and lead investigator, Sheriff Titus Crown, navigates not only the case but the perils of the past. Both in the blood-soaked soil of the South and in the carnage of Sheriff Crown's previous career as an FBI agent.
How does a small and rural Virginia town supposed to recover when they learn that there have been, not one but three men kidnapping and abusing children for nearly a decade without anyone's knowledge? The pious have faith this can be resolved. The police and law enforcement don't know who to trust, even within their own ranks. And the gentry wants it all swept under the rug, lest their legacy be tainted.
Cosby delivers a dark, twisted, and mysterious tale that fans of True Detective's first season will certainly love, while Cosby's constant readers will recognize similar themes from his past novels with a sinister twist that ups the anti and shifts his typical M.O. away from 'Revenge' to 'Resolution.' Readers will find themselves craving answers all the way to the very end as the story culminates in a thrilling chase that will change everything.
5) The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
This was my introduction to Abercrombie, and now I'm sitting on pins and needles for an announcement about a sequel!
This easily goes down as one of my favorite reads from the last decade. The characters are so well fleshed out that it's surprisingly easy to follow what's happening despite POV shifts between necromancers, street urchins, elves, undead, monks, and even a werewolf.
The dark fantasy element certainly leads the way throughout, but the abundant satire and humor linger in the background waiting to strike as much as any supernatural threat. The prose had me laughing as much as I was holding my breath when the tension built. But the plot delivers plenty of heart, horror, grief, and laughs as well. Don't sleep on this one.
If you've ever played D&D with a bunch of weirdos, then know that's the experience you'll have with this read. I won't stop recommending The Devils for quite some time.
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