[personal] Miscellaneous updatery on a slow Saturday

dreamnnightmare

the_child

Field of Fire by James O. Born [ Powell's | Amazon ] — First of a new series from established mystery writer James O. Born. Born is a long time DEA agent now working as a state agent for Florida, and his experience is all over this book. ATF agent Alex Duarte chases a series of labor-related bombings through a shuffling series of bad guys while also battling labyrinthine bureaucracy and interagency wrangles. Great stuff if you like guys-with-guns fiction. (I think I'm going to start reading a lot more mystery and crime in the near future, to lay the groundwork for eventually branching out as a writer — suggestions welcome.) First in a series.

Goblin War [ Amazon | Mysterious Galaxy ] by jimhines — The most recent (and almost certainly not final) installment in the misadventures of Jig the Goblin. I was very taken with the first book in the series, Goblin Quest [ Powell's | Amazon ]. Hines did something I've seen only rarely (Mary Gentle's Grunts! [ Powell's | Amazon ] comes to mind), which is take hero/monster fiction from the monster's perspective. That was in a sense the sustaining gag of the first book. The problem Hines has now is that he's created a likeable (albeit still monstrous) character in Jig, and given Jig a life. Good, funny adventuring ensues in following volumes. Third in a series.

Canticle by kenscholes [ Tor Books, forthcoming ] — The (almost completed) manuscript of Ken's second Named Lands book, due out from Tor after next spring's Lamentation. He's got epic, character-driven fantasy mashed up with high concept litfic. These books are going to have massive fan appeal, while still delighting our writing hearts. A trick I'd sure like to learn someday. I'll give more detailed reviews of both books when the time comes.

The Emperor of Scent [ Powell's | Amazon ] by Chandler Burr — I can't recall who recommended this to me, possibly kenscholes. This is a fascinating work of narrative non-fiction about a new theory of smell, and more to the point, about the eccentric, erratic man who came up with the theory — Luca Turin and Vibrationism. Some really nifty nuts-and-bolts biophysics in here, as well as a close view into the politics of research and scientific publishing.

Next up on the reading list: Blue Highways: A Journey Into America [ Powell's | Amazon ] by William Least Heat-Moon.