A discussion I had at Albacon this weekend has been on my mind, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Steve Sawicki and I were discussing books, and he asked me what the last great book I’d read was. Not a good book, not one I enjoyed, nor even read to the end and appreciated, but a great book. One that made me want to stay up late to keep reading, one I couldn’t put down, a book that, as soon as I’d finished reading it, I wanted to turn back to the first page and start reading it again.
I really had to wrack my brain to come up with an answer for him, but rather that answering it for you, I’ve decided to pose the question to you. What’s the last absolutely, fantastically, stunningly wonderful book you’ve read. Comment here, and tell us a little something about the book, too, please.
This is easy for me: “Palimpsest” by Catherynne M. Valente. I picked it up after being entranced by her short story “A Buyer’s Guide To Maps of Antarctica” at Clarkesworld.com. I had pretty high expectations following that introduction to her work, and the novel did not disappoint.
“Palimpsest” is a truly fantastic novel, in that it presents a wildly imagined world of completely improbable characters and situations. Yet Ms. Valente more than makes you believe — she makes you yearn for it to be a real place. It is a gorgeous, erotic, mysterious, and utterly riveting work. It’s the only book I’ve ever read that made me seriously consider getting a tattoo (a particular type of tattoo being central to the story).
I will, without question, read this book over and over for the rest of my life.
Eric Francis
North Little Rock, Ark.
»Der Ruf der Schlange« von Andreas Gößling (published by HOBBIT PRESSE KLETT COTTA, Germany). A wonderful fantasybook with a strange idea. The backbone of the humans are captivated snakes. There is a detektive, who follows a serial killer and disappeared backbones. Thrilling, fascinating, inspiring. You should learn German to read it…
Hmm…for me, probably The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg. Library curator turned royal investigator, magic and mayhem, characters not being what they seem, a semi-Renaissance era fantasy setting, and an ending that made me squeak with anticipation for the next volume. I loved it.