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2017 Media Round-Up: Books!
Dec. 26th, 2017 11:12 am2017 was the year of quantity over quality. As I was contemplating doing another media round-up, I was struggling to think of which books I really bonded with. Fortunately, I wrote them down because there were a number that I do want to talk about. There are still a few days to add to the list, but tbh I am currently reading an embarrassing and engrossingly bad fantasy series at the moment and it wouldn't make my list of recommendations. I mean, I was up until 1 reading it, but not because it was good.
Let's talk about what was good!
Everything Belongs to the Future, Laurie Penny and The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion, Margaret Killjoy
Everything Belongs to the Future is about age-extending technology, available only to the super-rich and the few regular people they need to keep alive, and the anarchist cell determined to steal it. The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion is about—what do you know?—another group of anarchists, who have discovered magic in a post-apocalyptic future. They use it to raise a god: a god of prey, who raises animals from the dead and kills anything that attempts to seize power.
I'm pairing these up as problematic faves. They both have a lot to recommend them: Gorgeous writing, excellent politics, splendid worldbuilding, and they both have exactly the same glaring flaw: too fucking short. Okay, Sabs, the worst thing you have to say about these two books is that they're too short? Novellas are teases; I want more story. I want to know more about these tantalizing, carefully constructed worlds and the dense, complex political intrigues within them. You can read both in an hour or two and then we can all scream together about how the authors need to write some more.
It Can't Happen Here, John Sinclair
This one upset and unsettled me enough that I wrote a whole entry begging you to read it.
Seven Surrenders, Ada Palmer
I raved about her last one, Too Like the Lightning. This continues the story and also ends on a cliffhanger, because apparently she is going to keep on writing this Byzantine, intricate, spectacular universe for a very long time.
The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin
If you're into sci-fi at all, you've likely heard about this already when it won all the awards. It's about the Cultural Revolution, aliens, and orbital mechanics, and is one of the most well-constructed sci-fi novels I've come across in ages. I've been told to not read the sequel.
Moonglow, Michael Chabon
Chabon is one of those authors who is pretty much guaranteed to make my lists when he comes out with a new book. Moonglow is a memoir about a dying man's confessions to his grandson, who is Michael Chabon, except that the story is entirely fictional. It's structurally weird and dense, and to say much about it would both spoil the story and also not be terribly informative. Er, if you like Cold War things, and space exploration, and family secrets, and unreliable narrators, you will probably enjoy it as much as I did.
The Last Policeman series, Ben H. Winters
I read all of these on planes in Eastern Europe and couldn't put them down. An asteroid is about to strike the Earth, killing everyone. There is absolutely no chance of humanity surviving. With this as a backdrop, a police detective (promoted because all of the other cops decided "why bother?") is determined to solve a murder, even though both he, the murderer, and anyone else who cares, will be dead in a few months. It's darkly funny and I guess less depressing than you'd think, given the premise?
Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, James S.A. Corey
The Expanse absolutely makes my list of great TV in 2017 (it's a bit like Game of Thrones but with no rape and it's in space—watch it), so I've been working my way through the novels it's based on. Which are pretty much like the show, except that Avasarala, who is the best character in the show, is even better in the books. It's space opera that feels very well-researched (and according to the authors, is absolutely not, which delights me), but the focus is less on the tech or the aliens and more on the complicated political dance between a dying, overpopulated Earth where much of the population is on basic income, a militaristic Mars, and the anarchic, oppressed Outer Planet Alliance. It's full of flawed people doing their best in the face of, as Iain M. Banks would put it, an Out Of Context Problem.
The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin
I loved her Inheritance series but I love this one even more. Set on a world where climate catastrophes are relatively common (the titular "Fifth Season" refers to phases where the planet goes completely out of whack and kills nearly everyone) and a small number of people, called orogenes, are able to control earthquakes, it follows an orogene as she navigates prejudice, community, and hope in the face of an impending apocalypse. It's gorgeously written and heartbreaking and manages that rare task of being an intensely political novel without ever becoming heavy-handed or preachy. I'm very much looking forward to and dreading the third and final instalment.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship Of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente
I have complained a lot this year about having to read so much YA for work, but then there's this little book to remind me that writing for children doesn't need to be simplistic or condescending. It's portal fantasy; a 12-year-old girl named September is whisked away to Fairyland, but September has read all the books and knows all the tropes and thus is well-equipped to befriend wyverns and magical lamps, and naturally, overthrow the government. It is delightful.
The Universal Harvester, John Darnielle
This is a weird little story about a video store clerk in the 90s in a small town in Iowa. Customers return some of the tapes, complaining that there is unsettling footage spliced in to the movies. "Midwestern Gothic" would be my descriptor here: it skirts the edge of horror, but never goes predictably where you think it will, and is as much about empty spaces, soon-to-be obsolete technologies, and loss, as it is about anything else.
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Cathy O'Neil and Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner: A Story About Women and Economics, Katrine Marçal
Hi my name is Sabotabby and I read economics books for fun. Both of these are critical-but-accessible reads that explain how inequality is reinforced by bad mathematics. Weapons of Math Destruction looks at what can best be termed algorithmic violence—how our collective belief that programming is neutral leads to worse outcomes in education, the workplace, and the carceral state. It is chilling and incredibly important. Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner is about what Marx terms "reproductive labour," and how unpaid and underpaid work done primarily by women distorts our understanding of economic forces. Spoiler: Adam Smith, the intellectual architect of capitalism, lived at home with his mom.
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Memoir, Shulem Deen
The story of a man in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect who discovers he doesn't actually believe in God is non-fiction, but it has all the elements that draw me to really good science fiction and fantasy. It's a portrait of a world in equal parts familiar and uncanny, and just a really compelling, engaging read.
Finally, my pick for the best book of 2017 is...
You guessed it! October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a very detailed, very in-depth look at what happened in Russia during the month of October, 1917, except that it's written by my favourite living fiction author, so it's also a sparkling, poetic gem of the variety of prose Miéville writes when he's very, very excited about a thing. It reads like historical fiction, and the inevitability of the outcome doesn't mean that the suspense or exhilarating action is dampened in any way whatsoever. If you know nothing about the October Revolution or if you maybe have read a gazillion books about the subject, read this one anyway because it is the best one. If you have no interest in the October Revolution you should probably read it anyway and then you'll have one. Obviously Miéville is a Trotskyist, but this has surprisingly little impact on his analysis, because again, he's approaching the events and figures as a novelist, not as an ideologue. It's just brilliant.
Let's talk about what was good!
Everything Belongs to the Future, Laurie Penny and The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion, Margaret Killjoy
Everything Belongs to the Future is about age-extending technology, available only to the super-rich and the few regular people they need to keep alive, and the anarchist cell determined to steal it. The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion is about—what do you know?—another group of anarchists, who have discovered magic in a post-apocalyptic future. They use it to raise a god: a god of prey, who raises animals from the dead and kills anything that attempts to seize power.
I'm pairing these up as problematic faves. They both have a lot to recommend them: Gorgeous writing, excellent politics, splendid worldbuilding, and they both have exactly the same glaring flaw: too fucking short. Okay, Sabs, the worst thing you have to say about these two books is that they're too short? Novellas are teases; I want more story. I want to know more about these tantalizing, carefully constructed worlds and the dense, complex political intrigues within them. You can read both in an hour or two and then we can all scream together about how the authors need to write some more.
It Can't Happen Here, John Sinclair
This one upset and unsettled me enough that I wrote a whole entry begging you to read it.
Seven Surrenders, Ada Palmer
I raved about her last one, Too Like the Lightning. This continues the story and also ends on a cliffhanger, because apparently she is going to keep on writing this Byzantine, intricate, spectacular universe for a very long time.
The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin
If you're into sci-fi at all, you've likely heard about this already when it won all the awards. It's about the Cultural Revolution, aliens, and orbital mechanics, and is one of the most well-constructed sci-fi novels I've come across in ages. I've been told to not read the sequel.
Moonglow, Michael Chabon
Chabon is one of those authors who is pretty much guaranteed to make my lists when he comes out with a new book. Moonglow is a memoir about a dying man's confessions to his grandson, who is Michael Chabon, except that the story is entirely fictional. It's structurally weird and dense, and to say much about it would both spoil the story and also not be terribly informative. Er, if you like Cold War things, and space exploration, and family secrets, and unreliable narrators, you will probably enjoy it as much as I did.
The Last Policeman series, Ben H. Winters
I read all of these on planes in Eastern Europe and couldn't put them down. An asteroid is about to strike the Earth, killing everyone. There is absolutely no chance of humanity surviving. With this as a backdrop, a police detective (promoted because all of the other cops decided "why bother?") is determined to solve a murder, even though both he, the murderer, and anyone else who cares, will be dead in a few months. It's darkly funny and I guess less depressing than you'd think, given the premise?
Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, James S.A. Corey
The Expanse absolutely makes my list of great TV in 2017 (it's a bit like Game of Thrones but with no rape and it's in space—watch it), so I've been working my way through the novels it's based on. Which are pretty much like the show, except that Avasarala, who is the best character in the show, is even better in the books. It's space opera that feels very well-researched (and according to the authors, is absolutely not, which delights me), but the focus is less on the tech or the aliens and more on the complicated political dance between a dying, overpopulated Earth where much of the population is on basic income, a militaristic Mars, and the anarchic, oppressed Outer Planet Alliance. It's full of flawed people doing their best in the face of, as Iain M. Banks would put it, an Out Of Context Problem.
The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin
I loved her Inheritance series but I love this one even more. Set on a world where climate catastrophes are relatively common (the titular "Fifth Season" refers to phases where the planet goes completely out of whack and kills nearly everyone) and a small number of people, called orogenes, are able to control earthquakes, it follows an orogene as she navigates prejudice, community, and hope in the face of an impending apocalypse. It's gorgeously written and heartbreaking and manages that rare task of being an intensely political novel without ever becoming heavy-handed or preachy. I'm very much looking forward to and dreading the third and final instalment.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship Of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente
I have complained a lot this year about having to read so much YA for work, but then there's this little book to remind me that writing for children doesn't need to be simplistic or condescending. It's portal fantasy; a 12-year-old girl named September is whisked away to Fairyland, but September has read all the books and knows all the tropes and thus is well-equipped to befriend wyverns and magical lamps, and naturally, overthrow the government. It is delightful.
The Universal Harvester, John Darnielle
This is a weird little story about a video store clerk in the 90s in a small town in Iowa. Customers return some of the tapes, complaining that there is unsettling footage spliced in to the movies. "Midwestern Gothic" would be my descriptor here: it skirts the edge of horror, but never goes predictably where you think it will, and is as much about empty spaces, soon-to-be obsolete technologies, and loss, as it is about anything else.
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Cathy O'Neil and Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner: A Story About Women and Economics, Katrine Marçal
Hi my name is Sabotabby and I read economics books for fun. Both of these are critical-but-accessible reads that explain how inequality is reinforced by bad mathematics. Weapons of Math Destruction looks at what can best be termed algorithmic violence—how our collective belief that programming is neutral leads to worse outcomes in education, the workplace, and the carceral state. It is chilling and incredibly important. Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner is about what Marx terms "reproductive labour," and how unpaid and underpaid work done primarily by women distorts our understanding of economic forces. Spoiler: Adam Smith, the intellectual architect of capitalism, lived at home with his mom.
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Memoir, Shulem Deen
The story of a man in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect who discovers he doesn't actually believe in God is non-fiction, but it has all the elements that draw me to really good science fiction and fantasy. It's a portrait of a world in equal parts familiar and uncanny, and just a really compelling, engaging read.
Finally, my pick for the best book of 2017 is...
You guessed it! October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a very detailed, very in-depth look at what happened in Russia during the month of October, 1917, except that it's written by my favourite living fiction author, so it's also a sparkling, poetic gem of the variety of prose Miéville writes when he's very, very excited about a thing. It reads like historical fiction, and the inevitability of the outcome doesn't mean that the suspense or exhilarating action is dampened in any way whatsoever. If you know nothing about the October Revolution or if you maybe have read a gazillion books about the subject, read this one anyway because it is the best one. If you have no interest in the October Revolution you should probably read it anyway and then you'll have one. Obviously Miéville is a Trotskyist, but this has surprisingly little impact on his analysis, because again, he's approaching the events and figures as a novelist, not as an ideologue. It's just brilliant.
