Read This: Steampunk Westerns

I have a new review in Shelf Awareness this morning, talking about two recently published Wild West steampunk novels—of the two, I have a preference for Joe R. Lansdale’s Flaming Zeppelins, which I love because it’s just plumb crazy. You’ve got Buffalo Bill Cody’s disembodied head being kept alive in a jar, guiding his Wild West Show to Japan on airships so they can rescue Frankenstein’s monster from the Shogun, after which they run into parodies of two classic Jules Verne and H.G. Wells characters? And that’s just the first of two novellas? Sign me up for some of that.

Mike Resnick’s The Buntline Special is entertaining, but it comes off as tame in comparison to Lansdale’s stories—in part, I suggest in the review, because Resnick is basically sticking to the established narrative of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, just adding some steampunk and fantasy glosses to the events. The characters hold up, but they’re being put through their paces—Lansdale allows for a lot more unpredictability, and it makes for more wildly enjoyable storytelling.

In a footnote, I mention that either book might make good follow-up reading for folks who liked Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker, set in an 1870s Seattle that’s been cordoned off after a zombie outbreak… in fact, reading these two books reminded me that I ought to make some time for Priest’s sequel, Dreadnought. Priest’s tales may not be as flamboyantly weird as Lansdale’s, but Boneshaker is surprising and strange enough to keep you from becoming complacent, so I’m eager to see how another story set in the same universe plays out.

21 December 2010 | read this |

Ariella Papa’s Holiday Gift Suggestion

It had been a while since I’d heard from Ariella Papa, who I first met a few years back when she was part of Harlequin’s band of “chick lit” novelists publishing under the Red Dress Ink imprint, when I ran into her at the Little Women horror mashup reading last spring, but I’m glad she’s stayed in touch since. She’s just come out with a new novel called Momfriends, about a trio of New York City women, each coping with a unique set of parenting and relationship diificulties—and it’s great to see she hasn’t lost her knack for getting inside a character’s head. Like many authors these days, she’s selling this new novel exclusively as an e-book; you can learn more about it (and her earlier books!) by visiting her website. Meanwhile, if you’re still looking for a gift idea for somebody this week, Ariella’s got a great suggestion…

When I give someone a book as a gift I want it to be a transformative experience that in no way resembles their real life. I don’t want the recipient to feel I am trying to imply anything or impose my style on them. I just want to give a good read, baggage free. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver works for everyone from my babysitter to my oldest friend to my brother-in-law. This book is epic. Through emotional turmoil and political unrest, we follow the Price family for over thirty years starting in 1959 when they begin their Christian mission in the Belgian Congo. What I love most is the way the novel is narrated by the five women in the family. Kingsolver creates five distinct characters and lets these strong -somewhat flawed-people make a case for themselves and their actions. Each woman has a unique response to Africa and her situation. I am in awe of Kingsolver’s mastery of voice. I was inspired by her style. It’s a crowd pleaser.

20 December 2010 | gift ideas |