RatCreature (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ratcreature) wrote2008-04-08 01:20 am
ratcreature) wrote2008-04-08 01:20 am
looking for book recs...
My to-read pile of actual books is getting rather smallish. I mean, I still haven't read Water Logic by Laurie Marks, and Amazon assures me that my copy of the newest Dresden Files will get to me in the near(ish) future, but I'm looking for recommendations what to read after that. And since my f-list is much more widely read than me, I thought it can't hurt to ask.
As for what I'm looking for, the most important thing for me to enjoy a book is that there is at least one likable main POV character to identify with. Generally I can't stand books where the hero is a jerk, or you end up hating everybody. I also dislike ambiguous endings. There are exceptions to that, but in general I prefer plots to be resolved when the book ends, unless it's setup for the sequel. Also, I prefer there to actually be a plot with stuff happening rather than all internal and relationship conflicts. And for the plot to make sense and have not too many holes. OTOH I can overlook slightly clunky language (see the above example of the Dresden Files, though the later novels aren't quite as bad as the earlier ones). I guess I'm rather lacking in avantgarde sensibilities...
As for genres, I like sf and fantasy, unless the worldbuilding sucks, but I also like mysteries, though not so much the serial killer genre. Thrillers rarely do anything for me, nor does romance as the main plot. Another of my quirks is that I don't cope well if a ton of characters are introduced in quick succession. I have nothing against an epic scale in principle, if characters are added slowly, but I don't remember names easily, something which results in me being confused a lot with a certain kind of mystery for example, where you'd be introduced to a dozen people over a few pages.
So do you have any suggestions for me?
As for what I'm looking for, the most important thing for me to enjoy a book is that there is at least one likable main POV character to identify with. Generally I can't stand books where the hero is a jerk, or you end up hating everybody. I also dislike ambiguous endings. There are exceptions to that, but in general I prefer plots to be resolved when the book ends, unless it's setup for the sequel. Also, I prefer there to actually be a plot with stuff happening rather than all internal and relationship conflicts. And for the plot to make sense and have not too many holes. OTOH I can overlook slightly clunky language (see the above example of the Dresden Files, though the later novels aren't quite as bad as the earlier ones). I guess I'm rather lacking in avantgarde sensibilities...
As for genres, I like sf and fantasy, unless the worldbuilding sucks, but I also like mysteries, though not so much the serial killer genre. Thrillers rarely do anything for me, nor does romance as the main plot. Another of my quirks is that I don't cope well if a ton of characters are introduced in quick succession. I have nothing against an epic scale in principle, if characters are added slowly, but I don't remember names easily, something which results in me being confused a lot with a certain kind of mystery for example, where you'd be introduced to a dozen people over a few pages.
So do you have any suggestions for me?
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I'm also big on Elizabeth Bear at the moment, though I've not yet finished anything by her. So far, Hammered is quite good, and she's one of the writers behind Shadow Unit, which I also recommend.
Nalo Hopkinson is on my list to read more of. I really liked Brown Girl in the Ring - defly an interesting look at near-future Toronto after riots caused wealthier citizens to move away and the government to stop providing social services. Dialog is largely dialect, which I found a little challenging to get used to, but I really appreciated how much Caribbean culture & religion she wove into the story.
Ah, and mysteries! I adore Dana Stabenow. All her books are set in Alaska (skip the thriller (which is OK but not nearly as good) & go right to the mysteries), and filled with incredibly quirky characters, and her sense of place is amazing. Especially in the early ones, the endings do tend to stab you in the heart (which makes sense - in a rural area with little population, murder is almost always committed by someone you know) - the later ones are not quite so much. They're so good, I just keep reading them. The Kate Shugak series is my favorite - how can you go wrong with a female Native Alaskan PI?
The Donald Strachey mysteries are a hoot. He's an out gay private eye in the 70s, so you get a look at gay male culture in the US in the 70s as well as a mystery. In the noir realm - I've only read the first, but will read more as I find them.
You mentioned not being into thrillers, but I will mention Thomas Perry just in case. I read Vanishing Act recently, about a Native American woman who helps people disappear, and it was quite good. Definitely intense, and excerpts from future books in the series look to be even more so, but I found the premise & lead character to be quite compelling, and I'm very curious to read more & learn more about her (and have 2 more sitting on my coffee table waiting for me).
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