Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
As another year winds down we folk who review things bring out our lists of those things we deem the best of the year gone by. Realistically these lists are of no real value to anyone as they’re incredibly subjective and reflect the views of the person writing them and nothing more. However, they’re fun to put together and a good way of reminding yourself there were some things of quality released along with the dross.
For all the claims people make about traditional publishing being in trouble or a thing of the past, there were a number of quality books released from various houses. While the news of the proposed merger between Random House and Penguin Books generated more doom and gloom predictions regarding the traditional book industry, authors are still writing and presses are still printing. Unlike previous years where I was hard pressed to find enough books to fill a top ten I could easily have filled 15 places. Oh, and none of the books were self-published.
Of the books I read published in 2012 the following were the ones to leave the strongest impressions. Some are from big publishers while others from small presses but no matter who published them they all made my life more interesting. For all the modern technology at our disposal and the ever increasing options available for amusing ourselves, I’m still happiest curling up with a great story. Nothing anybody’s invented yet comes close to stimulating the imagination or taking you out of yourself for hours on end. You don’t need any special tools or appliances to experience a book–just your mind, enough light to read by, and you’re off…
William S Burroughs Vs. The Qur’an by Michael Muhammad Knight. Continues the author’s examination of the various manifestations of Islam in America. In this book he looks at those members of the Beat movement of the 1950s who claim to have embraced Islam and tries to find ways in which he can relate to them. Another fine work of scholarly introspection on the nature of faith and religion and the history of Islam in America.
Tough Shit: Life Lessons From A Fat Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith. Smith is irreverent, rude, crude and probably offensive to any number of people. However, he also has more intelligent things to say about the nature of art and what it takes to be an artist than any of his contemporaries. Scatological and brilliant in equal measures.
Throne Of The Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. For those who are tired of lily white fantasy heroes and swarthy villains battling in worlds based on Western myths this book will be a wonderful tonic. A great story filled with wonderful characters set in a world filled with djinn and other beings from Middle Eastern/Northern Africa mythology. First book in what promises to be a great series
The Modern Fae’s Guide To Surviving Humanity Edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray. A wonderful anthology of quirky, sometimes scary and often funny tales about how the fae are getting by in the modern world. Whether a transgendered werewolf living in the East Village in New York City or the Unseelie Court running a chain of discount department stores (putting a glamour on their “greeters” so they can get through a shift without killing anyone), they’re doing their best to blend but not always with the greatest of success.
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account Of Native People In North America by Thomas King. It’s the land stupid. Not really a history of Native people, more a history of what’s happened since Europeans came to North America. They wanted land and had to figure out what to do about all those people who were already inconveniently living on it. King recounts the various methods used to separate the indigenous population of North America from their land. From massacres to removal, the policies may have changed over the years, but the goal still remains the same today–get those Indians off the land they aren’t putting to “proper” use.
Sacre Blue by Christopher Moore. The art world will never be the same. One of Moore’s best books in years is set in Paris during the late 19th century. The impressionist movement is taking the art world by storm, and its various artists are being targeted by the mysterious colour man and his beautiful accomplice. This wonderfully wise and comic tale is part mystery and part exploration of the nature of art. Populated by a mixture of fictional and some colourful characters from art history, Moore’s latest shows why he is one of best comic writers of his generation.
Forge Of Darkness by Steven Erikson. What do you do for an encore after writing a brilliant 10-book epic fantasy series? Why start writing a new series set in the first one’s pre-history of course. After bringing The Malazan Book Of The Fallen to a successful conclusion, Erikson hasn’t wasted any time in finding new aspects of the universe he co-created to life. Equal parts fascinating and frightening, readers of the previous series will run into some familiar characters, but in totally new circumstances, as he delves into the history of the enigmatic Tiste Andi, worshippers of Mother Dark. Another brilliant piece of world building from this master story teller–Erikson is the gold standard against which all fantasy work should be measured against in the future.
Except The Queen by Mydori Snyder and Jane Yolen. The number of women writing fantasy seems to be few and far between these days. (I don’t count the romance novels with vampires and werewolves they call paranormal romance as fantasy–Harlequin with fangs doesn’t fantasy make.) Mydori Snyder and Jane Yolen have always been two of the best and this latest co-authored offering shows why. Not only do they have splendid imaginations they can also weave a wonderful web mixing the exotic and the mundane. Their talents are on full display here as they tear the fabric between our world and fairy allowing them to intermingle with startling results.
Blood and Bone by Ian C Esslemont. While Steven Erikson delves into the past, Ian Esslemont continues to recount events occurring during the time of the Malazan Empire in the world they created together. Here Esslemont takes us to a part of the world which up until now has been shrouded in mystery. A dark and dangerous continent ruled by strange magic and haunted by a cataclysmic past is the sight of a convergence of a variety of forces. Will history repeat itself or can those involved manage to find what they’re looking for without destroying themselves and the continent in the process? A great adventure filled with characters who will both frighten and delight you.
The Art Book New Edition by Various Editors. One of the great pities about North American society is how we’ve managed to make the fine arts inaccessible to the majority of the population. What great works of art we have are stashed away in galleries which seem more designed to intimidate than welcome most people. Even when collected into books they are out of most people’s reach due to cost. The Art Book: New Edition not only provides readers with the chance to see quality reproductions of great works of art at a remarkably affordable price, it does so in a far less intimidating manner than any other collection of its kind. While art historians might be put off by the work being arranged in alphabetical order according to artist’s name, the rest of us can revel in the joy of seeing examples of modern and medieval art side by side. With each piece accompanied by a short explanatory note explaining the significance of the work, this book serves as a great introduction to the wonders of the visual arts.
