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I don't think I ever posted this. Or if I did, it'll be here twice:
Some Books I Read in 2017
(Brain too dead to keep exhaustive list.)
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
A strange, reflective, fantasy-but-not-really look at life in Britain in the generation or so after King Arthur with an emphasis on the scars of war. The tone has stuck with me more than the plot specifics. It's atmospheric and worth a read and proves that it is still possible to do something original with Arthuriana.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
(I've reviewed it here.) This is one of the best books I've ever read, also one of the most disturbing: three friends' lives in a science fiction alternate history contemporary Britain. But as I praise it to the high heavens, let me be clear: it's excellent but not in a fannish love way.
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
Now, this is excellent in a slashy, fannish way: basically it's a love story about Alexander the Great and his eunuch, Bagoas. For me, Renault's great weakness as a writer is a tendency toward misogyny, and this book, thankfully, doesn't have any major female characters. What's left over is very well researched and written, good characters and "world building," and her background as an army nurse comes through.( Read more... )
Some Books I Read in 2017
(Brain too dead to keep exhaustive list.)
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
A strange, reflective, fantasy-but-not-really look at life in Britain in the generation or so after King Arthur with an emphasis on the scars of war. The tone has stuck with me more than the plot specifics. It's atmospheric and worth a read and proves that it is still possible to do something original with Arthuriana.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
(I've reviewed it here.) This is one of the best books I've ever read, also one of the most disturbing: three friends' lives in a science fiction alternate history contemporary Britain. But as I praise it to the high heavens, let me be clear: it's excellent but not in a fannish love way.
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
Now, this is excellent in a slashy, fannish way: basically it's a love story about Alexander the Great and his eunuch, Bagoas. For me, Renault's great weakness as a writer is a tendency toward misogyny, and this book, thankfully, doesn't have any major female characters. What's left over is very well researched and written, good characters and "world building," and her background as an army nurse comes through.( Read more... )
