Grossman (author of the magnificent The Magicians trilogy) provides an entertaining re-imagining of the King Arthur legend by focussing on a young knight Collum who arrives in Camelot two weeks after the death of Arthur at the battle of Camlann. It is a time of chaos with conflicts between knights and pagan-Christian issues. Can Camelot be preserved, be rebuilt with only a few surviving knights of the round table? There are strong women like Morgan le Fay, Nimue, and yes, Queen Guinevere, imperfect men, quests and, of course, magical fairies. Highly recommended.
Category: Genre
Darwin’s Bastards – selected and edited by Zsuzsi Gartner
Subtitled “astounding tales from tomorrow”, consisting of 23 short stories of future times and parallel universes. There are contributions by some very fine authors: Douglas Coupland, William Gibson, Jessica Grant, Yann Martel, Heather O’Neill, Neil Smith …. Uneven to be sure, but worth a read.
The Last Devil To Die – Richard Osman
This fourth book about the four septuagenarian members of the Thursday Murder Club has the usual crime mystery elements, notably missing heroin and multiple murders. What distinguishes this novel is the emotional content, not just reflections on aging but on dementia and death. Funny, moving and suspenseful, a delicious read.
Beautyland – Marie-Helene Bertino
Adina is an extra-terrestrial sent to earth to a single mother in Philadelphia; she is “born” in 1977, simultaneously with the launch of the Voyager-1 spacecraft. Her role is to observe and report on human behaviour, using a fax machine (!) to communicate with the extra-terrestrials. Her communications are both wistful and insightful, for someone in exile at home. Adina’s life is endlessly surprising – highly recommended, thanks Amy.
Bookshops and Bonedust – Travis Baldree
Readers of this blog will know that I read any book with the word “bookshops “ in the title. This is an entertaining fantasy novel about orcs, dwarfs, elves, wights an evil necromancer and even a homunculus (look it up). Viv, a battle-hungry orc, is recovering from a wound in a small sleepy town, when she is introduced to literature in a bookshop run by Fern, a foul-mouthed rattkin. Key relationships are centered about books, and the main characters are all female. Very entertaining.
Runaway- Alice Munro
The recent death of Ms. Munro prompted me to (re)read this amazing book, consisting of 8 single-word-titled stories. Her literary gift is to write about everyday people ( mostly women) in both common and extraordinary circumstances. There is an unparalleled purity of language – she a national treasure.
A Meditation of Murder – Susan Jubey
Helen is an extremely efficient butler to a super-rich couple in Vancouver. Her calm demeanor is enhanced because she is a practising Buddhist. Helen is “loaned” to help a young woman, an internet influencer, get her life in order. Helen is reluctantly exposed to the toxic work of social media, and then there are murders. Helen’s ability to be a calm observer is tested by people without sound judgement. And finally, the setting is contemporaryy Vancouver and a ranch in BC’s interior. Often hilarious because of contrasting lifestyles, this is a pleasant read.
In The Upper Country – Kai Thomas
The context in this important story is key. It is 1859 in a Candian town, a terminus of the underground railway. A recently arrived Black woman shoots dead an American slave hunter, and surrenders to be imprisoned for murder. A young journalist want to collect the testimony of the old accused woman but what evolves is a remarkable barter, a story exchange. What is revealed is a tapestry of interwoven stories, including relationships between blacks and indigenous peoples. This is a seriously fine book.
Red Queen – Juan Gomez-Jurado
A mystery-thriller set in Madrid features an odd investigative couple: a disgraced police detective and a brilliant female forensic analyst with an uncanny ability to reconstruct crimes. A secretive organization directs their investigation into a ritualistic murder and a kidnapping. This is a very entertaining story with many plot twists, and happily, this investigative team will return in a second book. Thanks Renee, for this recommendation.
What David Read 