Let Me Die by Virginia Babcock

The best Sci-Fi novels are based on fascinating ideas. Let Me Die certainly fits that criteria. The novel's “what if” question is: What if a scientist figured out how to digitize a person's entire being, not only his memories but also his emotions and his capacity to create new emotions? Virginia Babcock's book has been compared to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein but this novel is more about relationships than the creation of a monster, especially the role of sex in relationships.

Nicoleta, the story's main character, experiences a relationship where sex is impossible, then moves on to other relationships where sex is tied to everything from love to sacrifice to rape. I could envision this book opening the door to some important questions in a book club. There are, however, some fairly graphic scenes. The book-club members should be aware of that before taking it on.

The title doesn't seem to fit the way the book plays out. It's as if the author chose a working title then, as novels often do, the story took off in an unexpected direction. However that happened, I'm glad it did. Let Me Die is better for its unexpected turns.

The Geomancer's Apprentice by Yin Leong

If you are a horror fan, The Geomancer's Apprentice is a perfect read for you. It's a well-written novel that includes graphic fight scenes against a horrible shape-shifting creature called a Yaoguai. Yet the book also has well-developed characters in relationships that are thoroughly explored. There's a middle-aged man who always thought he didn't live up to his father's expectations and a young romance that's beginning to take shape.

The book covered subjects I wasn't familiar with in an interesting way. These are feng shui and geomancy. I had heard of feng shui (a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy) but I did not know the related term geomancy (the art of placing or arranging buildings or other sites auspiciously). It was fun to learn a little about these topics.

The story begins when a young woman, Junie, approaches her uncle. His profession is to bless houses and offer advice about furniture arrangement and color choices. Junie's mother has convinced him to hire Junie, provisionally. Once Junie discovers what the job entails, she finds it interesting, researches the subject, and comes to her uncle with some basic knowledge. As time goes on they find she is a good fit to work with him.

Then they get a job at a house with more problems than they expected. Millie, the woman who owns the house, has had a frightening experience with something in her cellar, something she cannot explain. What happens after that is an adventure worth reading.

The Comeback by Lily Chu

 

The Comeback is Ariadne Hui's story. She is a young, Canadian woman who lives and works in Toronto. She starts dating her roommate's cousin and grows quite attached to him before discovering he's a pop star—actually a K-pop idol. This novel could be seen as two books in one, with the first half about Ariadne before she learns Jihoon's full story and the second about her dealing with the crazy fans of a famous person.

I don't know much about K-pop so I found this book fascinating. It delves into the problems for the musicians in those groups, not only the crazy fans but also the corporate control and the lack of respect from other musicians.

I enjoyed the multiple relationship problems that occurred throughout the story. Hannah (who is Ariadne's roommate) and Hannah's mother have some issues. Ariadne has issues with her sister, Phoebe, and both Phoebe and Ariadne have issues with their father. Throw those together with the problems of dating somebody famous and you've got a lot to work through.

When the book starts, Ariadne is a successful lawyer who wants to make partner in her firm but has to deal with racism and nepotism. It's fun to see how she handles her career while in a difficult relationship.

The Comeback is an audible only book, free to subscribers of audible.com. It's well worth picking up a copy.

At the end of Beach Read, Emily Henry wrote a section she called “Reader's Guide: Behind the Book.” In it, she said if she's describing this book to someone who is not a writer she says it's about “a disillusioned romance author and a literary fiction writer who make a deal to swap genres for the summer.” She then says if she's talking to a writer she says it's a book “about writer's block.” I didn't find the writer's block discussions and the pressure from her agent to be particularly interesting. However, the concept of the difficulties with writing the two different genres was fascinating. I believe it is the best part of this book.

The basic storyline of Beach Read is that a woman, January Andrews, who just lost her father discovers that he had a second life with a mistress with whom he shared a house on Lake Michigan. January's father has left the house to her. She goes to this beach house to find a place where she can concentrate on her writing. She is being pressured by her agent to produce a book over the summer and she is having trouble getting started.

January did not know about her father's affair but learns that her mother knew everything. Every time she asks her mother about the affair her mother says, “I don't want to talk about it.” So January is shocked and confused by her father's death, his affair, the way her mother allowed their life to go on without any changes, and how she has now inherited a place she didn't even know existed. Combine all this with the fact that January ends up living next door to Augustus Everett, someone she knew in college, which is, of course, a setup for romance.

The book is a fun read as the two writers get to know each other and rehash their feelings about misunderstandings they had years ago. It's also a serious book about dealing with tragedy and with disappointment in people you love.

What a Wonderful World This Could Be by Lee Zacharias

What a Wonderful World This Could Be is a fascinating character study of a woman coming of age in the early sixties. Alex was a loser in the lottery that determines our parents. She was the illegitimate daughter of a father who committed suicide and a mother who seemed to believe parents owe their children food, clothing, shelter, and little else.

Alex becomes a young woman searching for guidance in a world where she'd always been alone. Instead of making her own choices, she follows whatever paths her life throws her way. She becomes a photographer because the first man in her life was a photographer. The second love of her life is a leader in the political counterculture, supporting civil rights and opposing the Vietnam War. She follows him into a collective where she lives with members of the Weathermen branch of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). The Weathermen (named after a line in a Bob Dylan song: “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,”) was a branch of SDS who believed in using violence to achieve their goals.

Alex is a brilliant choice for the main character. She is the perfect foil for a study of the people drawn to The Weathermen. She is also concerned about traditional values such as love, family, and kids at a time when society is moving on from the repressive fifties. This novel is not just an exploration of the politics of the time. It touches on multiple aspects of that time. 

 

Circle of Darkness is a beautifully written story set during the 1930s at an upscale Louisiana Inn, located near the site where the Norwegian Wood Plantation once existed. The spirits of the people involved in a tragedy at that plantation, decades earlier, have a presence in that area.

Sonja Shivera is a twenty-four-year-old woman who supports herself as a paid companion to a mean-spirited elderly woman. They don't like each other but Sonja needs the job and the woman, Althea Stone, needs someone to help her with daily tasks such as dressing. They are staying at the Moorcroft Inn where Althea enjoys playing cards and talking with her friends. Meanwhile, Sonja meets some people closer to her age. Among those are two men she finds interesting, Freddie Marsh, who seems to like her, and Hajime Tanaka, a mysterious figure who floats in and out of her presence. There's also a woman named Anya Cambion whom Sonja finds disturbing.

Sonja has unusual qualities. She often drifts off into her thoughts, losing touch with the world around her. Here's a section describing her first conversation with Hajime Tanaka:

My movements as well as my thoughts were burdened by a confusing fogginess. When I glanced toward the other diners, it appeared that a pale, shimmering mist separated our table from theirs. I blinked to dispel it and made an effort to focus on Mr. Tanaka's words.

Circle of Darkness is filled with complex characters and Sonja is certainly one of them. I loved her realistic relationship with her employer and with Freddie. I also loved the slow build of the writing as Sonja discovers her role in the mysterious events occurring around her.

The Reeking Hegs by Pete Peru

The Reeking Hegs is a satire beginning in the form of a noir fiction novel. Nick Seighton is sitting around his office with his secretary Gina Lorrabitchinner when a call comes from Dogsson, the district commissioner. Nick is offered a case to chase the politician Atiqtalik who is running for office even though an offensive letter has been discovered among the entrails of a pregnant woman known as White Cow Walrus. The noir style is quickly abandoned and this book changes into something closer to an adventure story.

The novel is filled with characters with names such as Reverend Fullalov, Judge Aswell Whynot, King Solid Fume III, Rob Roy Rogers, and Little Knowing What, who is often referred to simply as What, which allows the author to do a little parody on the Abbott and Costello routine. As these names demonstrate, the humor in the book often comes from words used in strange ways: misusing terms, running words together, or simply putting in phrases in weird contexts. An example of this last one is “We listened intently. Sometimes there seemed to be more than one voice, making it difficult to make out individual words. But the message itself was clear: ‘Eat at Joe’s.’”

The satire is not confined to book genres. Other subjects are also targets of its pointed humor. Here the authors are taking on politicians:

Atiqtalik sensed that everyone in the crowd was watching, waiting to hear what she’d say next. She was centre stage, and almost in control. Power was, she conceded, a large pleasure and her desire for more knew no bounds. This was before she developed her unbearable loathing of eyes. She felt like belting out a verse or two as the edge of the precipice rushed towards her and leapt. Swinging her fists she pumped out a dance hall chorus, “Man ist was man ist!”

Characters in the book die often, then reappear later without much of an explanation, like something out of the old Roadrunner cartoons. The story has sections where the villains are molluscs allowing lines such as “To be safe I searched for the salt cellar in my leggings - never trust a mollusc.” It also has an odd scene where one of the main characters attempts to turn into a fish.

I loved the humor but felt it became redundant as the book went on. Perhaps this style would be better suited to a shorter format. I recommend this book to someone who likes satire and is looking for a unique read.