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Books, still
Aug. 14th, 2010 12:33 amDay 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
I am torn somewhat here. On the one hand I would very much like to put forwards Kraken, by China Mieville. It is the best thing he's done since Perdido Street Station and combines many of my favoure elements in fantasy fiction. It has the London setting, which appeals to my incurable Londoner. It has museums, which appeals to my inner nerd (particularly a certain scene in the former Commonwealth Institute, as I spent a lot of my childhood there and that bit was just perfect). And it has an excellent pair of villains, very strongly reminiscent of a certain Messrs. Croup and Vandemar. The only reason I'm not definitely picking this one is that, well, I'm probably going to mention Mieville a fair bit in this list, and I wouldn't want to come off as a fanboy.
So, as an alternate I'm going to put forwards All My Friends Are Superheros by Andrew Kaufman. It's quite short, more of a novella really, but genuinely brilliant. A weird mix of romance and a comedic look at superheroes in a world where superheroes are common and not all that super. And the ending is one of very few books to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. (If it doesn't make you go "Awwwww" then I'm afraid you have no soul.
I am torn somewhat here. On the one hand I would very much like to put forwards Kraken, by China Mieville. It is the best thing he's done since Perdido Street Station and combines many of my favoure elements in fantasy fiction. It has the London setting, which appeals to my incurable Londoner. It has museums, which appeals to my inner nerd (particularly a certain scene in the former Commonwealth Institute, as I spent a lot of my childhood there and that bit was just perfect). And it has an excellent pair of villains, very strongly reminiscent of a certain Messrs. Croup and Vandemar. The only reason I'm not definitely picking this one is that, well, I'm probably going to mention Mieville a fair bit in this list, and I wouldn't want to come off as a fanboy.
So, as an alternate I'm going to put forwards All My Friends Are Superheros by Andrew Kaufman. It's quite short, more of a novella really, but genuinely brilliant. A weird mix of romance and a comedic look at superheroes in a world where superheroes are common and not all that super. And the ending is one of very few books to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. (If it doesn't make you go "Awwwww" then I'm afraid you have no soul.
