Well, it is August, and that means more books for the shelves. Yes, we know we said the same thing about March and June, and will probably say it again in November, but it is the constant refrain around here. "Well, another week, another stack of new books." It's good thing we never tire of saying snarky lovely things about them.
We're going to depart from our usual pattern for a moment and note the passing of Stuart Woods. Woods, who came to novel writing almost accidentally, has been cranking out Stone Barrington novels at a rather pulpy clip. He even spun off a few characters to co-writers, which meant if you were a fan of the Woodsverse, there was always another book coming.
Well, Black Dog, the 62nd Stone Barrington novel comes out this week. In it, Stone flies his jet, wines and dines a sexy socialite, and demonstrates a loose understanding of how the law works. Enemies surface, flirtatious behavior occurs, and then Stone flies his plane somewhere else.
What? It's a regular and comfortable routine. At some point—probably around book number twenty-three—Woods and his audience came to an understanding that they weren't showing up for the long game. They wanted regular and comfortable, and Woods (and his publisher) were happy with "regular and comfortable" deposits into a bank account. Everyone wins.
Until, of course, someone has to leave the building. Awkward. Well, there's at least one more book in the pipe, so you don't have to worry yet about what to do with yourself during reading time. Hang tight. Putman has a plan. They won't leave you hanging.
Of course, while 62 volumes in a series that doesn't go anywhere is hardly impressive when you compare that accomplishment to some manga series. One Piece, for instance, whose 100th volume is out this week. Started in 1997, One Piece is the story of a pirate lad, whose bones are like rubber, and his crew of charming miscreants. It's the only manga series that has sold more than 1 million copies of each of its published volumes. We dare you to start at the beginning.
And speaking of starting at the beginning, here's a curious little thing. Stories (Within) is a collection of short stories—contemporary, fantastic, futuristic, and historical—that nest inside one another. That's right. It's a puzzle box collection, as each piece is interrupted by another tale, until you get to the middle, and all the stories start collapsing back on themselves. Will you read it straight through? Will you skip the middle bits? Will you start one story, finish another, and then lose yourself trying to find out your starting spot? Who knows! But it'll be fun.
And speaking of fun, Poisoned Pen Press is continuing their efforts to reissue the delightfully satisfying crime novels of John Dickson Carr. Till Death Do Us Part is a classic locked room mystery, wherein fortune tellers are murdered, lovers are spurred, and lots of poison is spilled about. Can Dr. Gideon Fell figure out whodunit? before they strike again?
That was more question marks than that sentence really required, but the weather is still warmer than we would like, and if an extra question mark or two can deflate that heat dome, then we might pepper a few more into this edition.
Like: What's this? A book about otters using tools?
Too easy? Okay, how about Can You Discover an Alien??
Yes, that's a double question mark. Because the first one is part of the book title, and the second is because we asked a question. Don't believe we can get away with that? Ooh! Another one! We are going to singlehandedly fight climate change with our excessive punctuation.
It's totally a thing. We're making it a thing. There should be t-shirts. Or wristbands.
Anyway, Jamie Ford is back this week with The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. Ford, author of the bestselling The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, delivers another masterful novel of generational love, trauma, and healing. Transcendent! Timely! Haunting! Blurbed by Hugh Howey! It's got something for everyone.
Meanwhile, Mohsin Hamid is back this week with The Last White Man. It's a moving story of empathy and rediscovery as a subtle change leads to a deeper transformation. Hamid's Exit West was one of those genre/not-genre books that got under our skin, and we expect The Last White Man will be a book that will linger on for quite a while after you finish it.
And we're quietly intrigued about this next one. Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters is about a family who do just that: they eat books. But, aha!, they retain all of the content of the book after they ingest it. Naturally, things get dark, and the family's secrets are put in danger as they try to navigate an unexpected arrival in their midst. Who hasn't thought about eating the pages of a book? Who's actually nibbled a bit? Oh, come on. You know what a fine Abbey Wove tastes like. You're among friends.
And speaking of things friends tell friends about, there's a new Dragonlance novel. Right? Well, it looks like Weis and Hickman have a few more tales in them. Dragons of Deceit is the first volume in the Dragonlance Destinies line, and it's got a gushing quote from Joe Manganiello, which, honestly, isn't as strange as Hugh Howey blurbing a Jamie Ford novel. Joe, after all, has been pretty vocal about his love for D&D.
Anyway, in Dragons of Deceit, there's a favored Child of Destiny, who has to fetch a Device of Time Journeying, and then, without missing any of her saving throws, must find a SECOND magical artifact—the most powerful and dangerous ever created, in fact. Because it's that sort of campaign, dear readers. You don't expect Weis & Hickman to run a "For Level 1-5 Characters" adventure, do you?
Anyway, fabled Hero, Magical Trinkets, Dragons & Dragons, and End of Time. You know how it goes: a bit of the ole "regular and comfortable."
And, with that, we'd like to end with a debut novel. This is Hayley Scrivenor's Dirt Creek, which is the story of what happens to a community when a child disappears and . . . Oh, crap. It's Jane Harper's The Dry meets Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End.
Fine. Whatever. Routine and comfortable it is.
