Nifty Novels and More from Maryelizabeth

Speculative Fiction

It’s a good season for speculative fiction novels that offer more than just “what if,” but also help readers think about deeper issues (see my review of Sea Change). Mending the Moon thoughtfully explores community, family, creation and destruction, chaos and stability, and the wide-spread impact of an inexplicable assault and murder on both the friends and family of a murdered woman and the murderer in this novel of the magic of connections and caring. And as a comics reader, I would love to read Comrade Cosmos, and appreciated the passionate fan culture Susan created for her fictional series.

- Maryelizabeth

Mystery & Suspense 

Ryan already had a string of awards attached to her writing before winning the Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Other Woman, which is a superlative example of suspense in the MHC tradition. Reporter Jane Ryland committed the unforgivable sin of being wrong on record already – now she’s trying to redeem herself in a new media. But her assignment to do a puff piece on a candidate’s wife will lead her into overlapping conspiracies with fatal consequences. Compulsively readable.

– Maryelizabeth

Speculative Fiction 

This debut novel begins with an epigram from Russian poet Osip Mandelstam that beautifully encapsulates the trials Investigator VissarionLom faces in his alternate Russia. The reader experiences the strange new world, in which reality slips and shifts, through the points of view of the investigator; a terrorist bent on sowing chaos; and an inhuman otherworld presence, among others. One shorthand way to describe this might be Mievielle meets Martin Cruz Smith meets K.W. Jeter – it’s more than all those, but evocative of the extraordinarily weird setting, the frustrating police procedural, and the noir and steampunk elements.

A noteworthy first endeavor.

– Maryelizabeth

Young Adult

Janni concludes her post-apocalyptic Bones of Faerie fantasy trilogy with Liza and her companions coming to terms with more of the long-term consequences of the war between the humans and the faeries. Even though the devastation of the Faerie Winter was overcome through Liza’s summoner powers, a new rot is laying waste to the faerie realm, and will soon destroy our world as well. Not only must Liza face both adversaries and unexpected allies on the Fae side, but she must also confront the limitations and responsibilities of her own magic, and the costs and limitations of love and family, as a reflection of her changing world. Recommended.

– Maryelizabeth

Curated Fiction

Kent Krueger’s new novel belongs on the shelves of readers’ hearts and minds somewhere between Stephen King’s “The Body” and Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine.  At the turn of the 21st Century, Frank Drum reminisces about the summer of his 13th year, growing up the son of a Methodist minister in a small Minnesota River Valley community. A series of events, including accidental deaths, murder, and the revelations of deeply-held secrets, test the characters’ faith and family bonds. Kent creates prose that resonates with readers who will care passionately about this story, even if they have no personal connection to the mid-Century middle America of the setting.

Young Adult

I enjoyed Juliet Immortal, in which Stacey continued the “tale of woe” for the most famous lovers in history, as their spirits journeyed through time, representatives of eternal adversaries in a battle for the souls of young lovers. And when Romeo Redeemed was published, my first question was how could anyone redeem that Romeo? The answer has to do with true love, of course – and forgiveness, and maturity. And an outcast contemporary girl named Ariel, whom Romeo (occupying the body of local bad boy Dylan) is tasked with saving from herself – the same argument that persuaded him to slay Juliet in the 14th Century. Ariel, Romeo, and Juliet all share parts of the story from their perspectives, and Stacey does a wonderful job of conveying the simultaneous conviction and self-doubt of teens, whether they’re 16 years old, or 700 years old.

Young Adult

50 years in the future, teen Drusilla Xao has been living on the Hub, orbiting Earth, as her parents work to construct a space elevator, a significant solution to the high fuel cost of moving objects between space and Earth.  Dru’s videoconference with her girlfriend is interrupted when terrorists destroy the Elevator and everyone on it. Shortly thereafter, Dru and her fellow Spacers are conscripted into the Chinese-American Alliance army to battle the attackers. Colby did a fantastic job making Dru’s narrative in Debris Dreams both heartfelt and one of the most technically conversant understandings of life in space I’ve read. Recommended for teens and adults alike.

– Maryelizabeth

Speculative Fiction 

We all know there’s magic in books, but Hines’ libriomancers are able to access the magic in a special way – those with the talent are literally able to reach into a volume of a work infused with enough collective readers’ belief, and manifest a physical object. Librarian and libromancer Isaac Vanio, aided by his fire-spider Smudge (familiar to Hines’ fans) and dryad Lena, is recruited to track down uber-Libriomancer Johannes Gutenberg and assist in preventing an all-out war with vampire clans (from the Myers to the Harris to the Stoker kind) in this series debut. Questions of predestiny, power limits, and the flexibility of romantic boundaries help infuse this adventure store with Hines’ trademark thoughtfulness. Highly recommended.

– Maryelizabeth

Northern CA college student Ashley Parker is a welcome addition to the new generation of post-“Night of the Living Dead” zombie outbreak survivors; Ashley is the kind of young woman who doesn’t freeze in disbelief when assaulted by the walking dead, but rather goes into flight and / or fight mode. When she discovers the Captain Trips-type bug that’s been leveling the students, faculty and nearby residents is a harbinger of the zombie apocalypse, she is glad to be part of the populace resistant to the infection. She’s not so sure she’s glad the arrogant TA from her “Pandemics in History” class is on Team Survivor. Ashley and her allies must band together as the campus is isolated by the Walker’s flu and the military, struggling in the face of lost friends and family, pets, and social networks. A smart savvy zombie apocalypse novel for the Whedon-horror generation.

— Maryelizabeth