Books Finished in March

1. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
2. Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
3. Paladin of Souls (audio book) by Lois McMaster Bujold
4. The White Darkness (audio book) by Geraldine McCaughrean
5. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
6. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
7. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
8. Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Books Still in Progress at the End of the Month:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and Blue, poetry by George Elliott Clarke

REVIEWS:

1. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Discussed elsewhere.

2. Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

Discussed elsewhere.

3. Paladin of Souls (audio book) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Discussed elsewhere.

4. The White Darkness (audio book) by Geraldine McCaughrean

This novel is as bleak and beautiful as the continent upon which it is set. Every step of Sym’s journey has this sense of disaster about it. As her “Uncle” takes her deeper and deeper into Antarctica in a desperate attempt to reach the entrance to Hollow Earth, there’s this brutal sense of foreboding that this all is going to end in such a terrible way, while also this tendril of hope (about to snap any second) that maybe everything will be all right although you can’t possibly see how. It’s rather interesting, too, that part of what upholds this slender thread of hope is Sym’s imaginary love, a mental recreation of Titus Oates, who died in the Antarctic 90 years before her own journey.

While the writing style is gorgeous, the story is intense to the point of being uncomfortable. It was a vicious experience, leaving me nearly depressed sometimes, to the point where I felt like the character in that I wasn’t sure I would go on. I’m glad I did, that I reached the end, but I’m not sure it’s and experience I would want to go through again.

I will certainly be checking out some other of Geraldine McCaughrean’s work, though.

5. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Discussed elsewhere.

6. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams

I know I read this before, but I have little to no memory of the experience. I don’t know why. This story is wacky good fun in the way only a Douglas Adams story could be with holistic detectives, electric monks, annoyed horses, breaking and entering, wayward ghosts, angry secretaries, and other oddities. Quite humorous and enjoyable, as long as you don’t get lost along the way.

In related news, I’ve just learned that there is a Dirk Gently miniseries. Based on the trailer, the miniseries tries to play it as straight as possible and there doesn’t seem to be evidence of the science fiction elements from the novel, but I would have to watch the series to be sure, which I am certainly willing to do.

7. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This deeply unsettling dystopian novel follows the story of Todd, a boy about to become a man in a town where everyone can hear everyone’s thoughts in a constant stream of Noise. I don’t really want to relate any more than that, because this book is full of surprising discoveries and once you think you have a handle on how the world works, something new is discovered that complicates things further.

The story that unfolds is brutal. It goes down dark and disturbing roads of what it means to be human and then punches the reader in the gut. I was unsettled many times and at one point crumpled up into weeping. While not a happy read, it’s well wrought and beautifully told with subtle and not-so-subtle details of language and style revealing a lot about this world and the people in it.

As with a few other readers, my one complaint was the ending, which is a cliffhanger and leaves the reader in the lurch. I felt really let down by it and would have preferred something more solid to rest on at the end. Regardless, I’ll be reading the second book because I really need to know what happens to these characters.

8. Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Not at all what I expected, Midwinterblood is a series of beautiful interconnected stories about Blessed Island. The stories weave through time, sometimes unsettling, sometimes sweet, but coming together into a powerful conclusion.

I can’t quite figure out why this was marketed as a YA novel, not because teens wouldn’t enjoy it — I’m sure they would — but because the themes are rather adult themes. Instead of dealing with teenage concerns normally presented in YA (such as growing up, figuring out who you are, dealing with friendship and first love and the feeling of being an outcast and so on), the book mainly presents adults with adult concerns, such as regret, life not having gone as expected, the love of work, death and mourning. There’s a emotional maturity here that I just didn’t expect and it makes for a wonderful and beautiful read.