On The Shelf
The Sheriff of Yrnameer by Michael Rubens – I've been looking for the heir to Douglas Adams for a long, long time. I thought I found him in Terry Pratchett, but then Pratchett had to go and be mortal, so I'm looking at the end of my beloved Discworld books soon. Jasper Fforde is pretty great, but not exactly sci-fi. While it doesn't have the same heart as Pratchett's books (who does?), I have to say that Michael Rubens is off to a good start with Yrnameer. The tone is very similar to Adams, with a lot of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat thrown in for good measure.
The Sentry by Robert Crais — The latest Joe Pike novel. Pike is a machine, but Crais shows what happens when someone slips under the armor plating and pierces his heart. As always, a great blend of action and character.
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly — Connelly brings two of his franchise characters together here. (Yes, I know I'm late to this one.) It's much more effective to see Harry Bosch from an outsider's perspective — in this case, through the eyes of Mickey Haller, a criminal-defense attorney introduced in The Lincoln Lawyer. (And soon to be played on the big screen by Matthew McConaughey.) Connelly can do these books in his sleep and still come up with surprises, but watching Bosch as a relentless, sometimes spooky avenger of the dead is worth the price of admission alone.
The Coffin by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston — A remarkable twist on the super-hero and horror genres. The art, in black and white, is both surrealistic and stark, and the story manages to be compelling, plausible and freakish all at the same time. I missed this when it was first released 10 years ago. Very glad I got to see it in this lovely hardback edition.
The Glass Teat by Harlan Ellison — I first found this in paperback in a used bookstore for a buck at a time when a buck was a serious dent in my budget. I made the mistake of loaning it out, and the next edition I found — again in a used bookstore — cost me almost five dollars. I would have paid ten times that. Ellison is the first writer I read with the idea of actually making a living at this, and his words were like a zero-bullshit, how-to manual. I'm reading it again right now, and it holds up: surprisingly immune to nostalgia and other degrading effects of time. Ellison talks about TV to talk about the whole world spinning around him.
Ghost Country by Patrick Lee — The sequel to The Breach starts a bit slower than the first book — it would have to, since Breach opened with the cold-blooded murder of the First Lady of the United States — but soon dives into a plot to prevent a terrifying future from becoming reality. Lee has real skill at turning the action thriller upside-down, and makes the sci-fi accessible enough that it never slows the action. My only regret: now I have to wait for the next installment.
