Books I Read June 12th, 2023

This is a bit more like it. Thanks to the folk at Borderland books in Haight-Ashbury for having my book, John M. Ford's books.

Living Pictures by Polina Barskova – Faintly interconnected vignettes (both fictional and non) interweaving the author's past with the siege of Leningrad and the fates of various artists. Intermittently effective.

Tentacle by Rita Indiana – In post-apocalyptic Santo Domingo a down-and-outer rewrites history/saves the world. Shades of sci-fi Bolano (which is maybe just to say Bolano), slight but very much its own distinct thing. I'd say I dug it.

The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford – I read this book when I was maybe ten or twelve, during a period of time where I was probably reading a couple of hundred fantasy/sci-fi books a year, the vast vast majority of which either have been or should be forgotten. This one stuck in my mind, however, not so much for the general premise – elves/magic have re-entered the world, brought about a minor apocalypse, and now like to cosplay gangland Chicago – but for its lyrical wistfulness, peculiar pacing and a BDSM subplot. When I pieced together that this half-remembered work was by John M. Ford, writer of the really excellent The Dragon Waiting, I was pretty sure that a re-read would prove it to be that rare example of a work in which my past and current self would find agreement. Huzzah! This is urban fantasy done right, pulpy and fast-paced but also moody and vibrant, a world you want to live in even though you might have your heart broken or get eaten by a dragon.

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson – A high strung co-ed attends a woman's college, is stifled by the patriarchy, descends into madness. A compelling and low key depiction of insanity. I can't exactly say that I enjoyed it but it was excellent, Jackson has an imitable capacity to for unassuming menace. This is a bit more like it. Thanks to the folk at Borderland books in Haight-Ashbury for having my book, John M. Ford's books.