In no particular order:
"Monster" by A. Lee Martinez
I was sort of wandering aimlessly through Borders a few months back when a particularly garish book spine caught my eye. It was the kind of yellow that you generally only see on traffic signs, and to say it stuck out would be something of an understatement. Naturally, I had to pick it up and read the back (even if it did hurt my eyes a little).Now the excerpt on the back of the book, as it turns out, is the first page. (You can read it on Amazon via their 'Look Inside!' feature.) I'll give you the synopsis from the inside jacket cover:
Meet Monster. Meet Judy. Two humans who don't like each other much, but together must fight dragons, fire-breathing felines, trolls, Inuit walrus dogs, and a crazy cat lady - for the future of the universe. Monster runs a pest control agency. He's overworked and has domestic troubles - like having the girlfriend from hell. Judy works the night shift at the local Food Plus Mart. Not the most glamorous life, but Judy is happy. No one bothers her and if she has to spell things out for the night-manager every now and again, so be it. But when Judy finds a Yeti in the freezer aisle eating all the Rocky Road
No, really. The absurd humor absolutely abounds here, making the misadventures of Monster and Judy into something of the urban fantasy equivalent of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and Monster's partner, Chester - a gnome from a different dimension that possesses a large sheet of paper - is the perfect foil. The book is worth reading for their dialogue alone.
The book seems a little slow for the first half, so if you're looking for something full of bullets-flying, chaotic action, this probably isn't for you. But if you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, absolutely pick this up. It just became available in paperback January 29th, so no excuses. Go get it.
I was actually amazed to find out that this was Carriger's first published work. Honestly, I'd have thought that someone this witty and brilliant would have gone to press so much sooner! And it seems an odd choice to start with a series, but I'm certainly not complaining.
"Soulless" is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series, which is an interesting victorian horror/mystery series with a splash of steampunk. I'm hesitant to even use the term 'steampunk' at all, as any and all technology that would move this novel from historical fiction to alternate history is often fleeting and blends in so well that it's nearly unnoticeable. No one runs around with goggles on their hats or stupid brass contraptions that shoot lasers. This simply isn't that kind of book. In fact, you can read the author's own thoughts on her particular brand of steampunk right here.
There are, however, werewolves. And vampires. The majority of whom are upstanding citizens, and properly behaved aristocrats. After all, this is London. Manners are manditory.
The Publisher's Weekly blurb from Amazon :
The romantic overtones of the novel do narrow the potential fanbase considerably. To be 100% honest, I'd categorize this as being pretty girly, and wouldn't recommend it to any of my guy friends, unlike all the other books listed here. But with that said, I'm not really prone to traditionally 'girly' stuff, and this is the closest thing to a romance novel I've ever read in my life, so if it sounds interesting to you, don't let me discourage you.
It's also worth noting that Carriger has a pretty entertaining blog, and keeps track of her progress on other projects, so if you find yourself taken with her first book, you can see how long you have to suffer without another one. She also has a whole section of her site where you can view bonus materials from the books, like concept sketches and chapters that didn't make the cut.
I was wandering through a local Borders that was closing it's doors (it used to be a Waldenbooks and was recently bought out, and having a tiny in-mall location across the street from a massive, two-floor Borders does seem a bit silly), and there wasn't much left in the sci-fi/fantasy section. There were a couple Laurell K. Hamilton books that I'd already read, a William Shatner Star Trek book (which I grabbed and read, it was better than I expected), and "The Sheriff of Yrnameer." The cover art was strikingly bizzare, but last time I picked up a book because of the cover, I found a real gem, so I figured, why not? If the endorsing blurb on the back from Stephen Colbert hadn't already sealed the deal, a similarly praising note from Seth Grahme-Smith (the author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") on the Amazon page for it certainly couldn't hurt. The praise wasn't unjustified. Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
I find it uncanny that every piece of criticism I've seen for this book compared Rubens to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when the only author who might get compared to them even more, Martinez, couldn't be more different in terms of literary style. The descriptions in "Yrnameer" are kept to a minimum, but the imagery is still consistently strong through off-hand bits of dialogue and pop culture references. Rubens' background as a television writer absolutely shines in his pacing and humor, and his familiarity with the genre gives him the elbow room to poke fun without losing the story and falling into blatant parody. Dialogue is absolutely where Rubens is at his best, and there is never a shortage of interesting characters for our anti-hero to banter with. If Han Solo was your favorite Star Wars character, read this. It will make you smile. I promise.
So, having thoroughly enjoyed "Monster," I decided to give Martinez another shot. I had just gotten a Kindle, so I read the first chapter of a couple of his books for free (easily my favorite feature of the Kindle, since you don't have to sit at a computer or stand around in a bookstore to shop for books and read excerpts). This was the one that grabbed my attention first. You can read more here, but be warned, the synopsis provided by Publisher's Weekly contains spoilers!
Martinez paints an intriguing alternate history background in Empire City, the would-be utopia in which the crime noir is set. The residents are an intriguingly motley crew, from a talking gorilla with a penchant from classic literature to celebrity technophiles and furry mutant police officers. The protagonist, Mac Megaton, is a sentient robot who was built to destroy and conquer, but decided he actually liked people, choosing instead to become a taxi driver. Mac lives a quiet life, and he's close to getting his citizenship when his friendly neighbor and her two children are abducted. Dissatisfied with the local authorities' unenthusiastic search, Mac decides to try and rescue them himself, risking his citizenship and even his functionality.
Much more linear and action-driven than "Monster" but still full of the same brilliant humor, "The Automatic Detective" was a fast read that I absolutely couldn't put down. I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't like this, unless they don't like robots. Or fun.
The book seems a little slow for the first half, so if you're looking for something full of bullets-flying, chaotic action, this probably isn't for you. But if you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, absolutely pick this up. It just became available in paperback January 29th, so no excuses. Go get it.
"Soulless" by Gail Carriger
I was actually amazed to find out that this was Carriger's first published work. Honestly, I'd have thought that someone this witty and brilliant would have gone to press so much sooner! And it seems an odd choice to start with a series, but I'm certainly not complaining.
"Soulless" is the first in the Parasol Protectorate series, which is an interesting victorian horror/mystery series with a splash of steampunk. I'm hesitant to even use the term 'steampunk' at all, as any and all technology that would move this novel from historical fiction to alternate history is often fleeting and blends in so well that it's nearly unnoticeable. No one runs around with goggles on their hats or stupid brass contraptions that shoot lasers. This simply isn't that kind of book. In fact, you can read the author's own thoughts on her particular brand of steampunk right here.
There are, however, werewolves. And vampires. The majority of whom are upstanding citizens, and properly behaved aristocrats. After all, this is London. Manners are manditory.
The Publisher's Weekly blurb from Amazon :
Prickly, stubborn 25-year-old bluestocking Alexia Tarabotti is patently unmarriageable, and not just because she's large-nosed and swarthy. She's also soulless, an oddity and a secret even in a 19th-century London that mostly accepts and integrates werewolf packs, vampire hives and ghosts. The only man who notices her is brash Lord Conall Maccon, a Scottish Alpha werewolf and government official, and (of course) they dislike each other intensely. After Alexia kills a vampire with her parasol at a party—how vulgar!—she and Conall must work together to solve a supernatural mystery that grows quite steampunkishly gruesome. Well-drawn secondary characters round out the story, most notably Lord Akeldama, Alexia's outrageous, italic-wielding gay best vampire friend. This intoxicatingly witty parody will appeal to a wide cross-section of romance, fantasy and steampunk fans.
The romantic overtones of the novel do narrow the potential fanbase considerably. To be 100% honest, I'd categorize this as being pretty girly, and wouldn't recommend it to any of my guy friends, unlike all the other books listed here. But with that said, I'm not really prone to traditionally 'girly' stuff, and this is the closest thing to a romance novel I've ever read in my life, so if it sounds interesting to you, don't let me discourage you.
It's also worth noting that Carriger has a pretty entertaining blog, and keeps track of her progress on other projects, so if you find yourself taken with her first book, you can see how long you have to suffer without another one. She also has a whole section of her site where you can view bonus materials from the books, like concept sketches and chapters that didn't make the cut.
"The Sheriff of Yrnameer" by Michael Rubens
I was wandering through a local Borders that was closing it's doors (it used to be a Waldenbooks and was recently bought out, and having a tiny in-mall location across the street from a massive, two-floor Borders does seem a bit silly), and there wasn't much left in the sci-fi/fantasy section. There were a couple Laurell K. Hamilton books that I'd already read, a William Shatner Star Trek book (which I grabbed and read, it was better than I expected), and "The Sheriff of Yrnameer." The cover art was strikingly bizzare, but last time I picked up a book because of the cover, I found a real gem, so I figured, why not? If the endorsing blurb on the back from Stephen Colbert hadn't already sealed the deal, a similarly praising note from Seth Grahme-Smith (the author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies") on the Amazon page for it certainly couldn't hurt. The praise wasn't unjustified. Publisher's Weekly had this to say:
A down-and-out space faring rogue finds himself the protector of a bunch of peacenik artisans in this lighthearted, adventure-filled debut from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart writer Rubens. Space adventurer Cole is a liar and a thief and a cheat, and he owes a lot of money to Kenneth, an alien who wants to incubate eggs in the deadbeat's brain. Cole's escape from Kenneth lands him in the middle of a scheme to deliver a batch of freeze-dried orphans to the backwater planet of Yrnameer, which turns out to be under attack from Cole's archenemy, the outlaw Runk. Cole's ludicrous exploits keep the laughs coming as Rubens grandly ignores the niceties of world building and coherent plotting in favor of clever pop culture references and a rocket-fast, knee-slapping narrative.
I find it uncanny that every piece of criticism I've seen for this book compared Rubens to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett when the only author who might get compared to them even more, Martinez, couldn't be more different in terms of literary style. The descriptions in "Yrnameer" are kept to a minimum, but the imagery is still consistently strong through off-hand bits of dialogue and pop culture references. Rubens' background as a television writer absolutely shines in his pacing and humor, and his familiarity with the genre gives him the elbow room to poke fun without losing the story and falling into blatant parody. Dialogue is absolutely where Rubens is at his best, and there is never a shortage of interesting characters for our anti-hero to banter with. If Han Solo was your favorite Star Wars character, read this. It will make you smile. I promise.
"The Automatic Detective" by A. Lee Martinez
(Technically, "The Automatic Detective" came out in 2008, but it didn't make it to mass market paperback until 2009, so I'm including it. Deal.)
(Technically, "The Automatic Detective" came out in 2008, but it didn't make it to mass market paperback until 2009, so I'm including it. Deal.)
So, having thoroughly enjoyed "Monster," I decided to give Martinez another shot. I had just gotten a Kindle, so I read the first chapter of a couple of his books for free (easily my favorite feature of the Kindle, since you don't have to sit at a computer or stand around in a bookstore to shop for books and read excerpts). This was the one that grabbed my attention first. You can read more here, but be warned, the synopsis provided by Publisher's Weekly contains spoilers!
Martinez paints an intriguing alternate history background in Empire City, the would-be utopia in which the crime noir is set. The residents are an intriguingly motley crew, from a talking gorilla with a penchant from classic literature to celebrity technophiles and furry mutant police officers. The protagonist, Mac Megaton, is a sentient robot who was built to destroy and conquer, but decided he actually liked people, choosing instead to become a taxi driver. Mac lives a quiet life, and he's close to getting his citizenship when his friendly neighbor and her two children are abducted. Dissatisfied with the local authorities' unenthusiastic search, Mac decides to try and rescue them himself, risking his citizenship and even his functionality.
Much more linear and action-driven than "Monster" but still full of the same brilliant humor, "The Automatic Detective" was a fast read that I absolutely couldn't put down. I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't like this, unless they don't like robots. Or fun.
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