It's a busy publication month for my reviews. Yesterday, my April review column dropped. Click
Today the April 1, 2023 issue of Booklist is live and I have 2 reviews, one by a Lifetime Achievement Award winning Horror authors and the other a long awaited new novel by a best selling authors. Both are great.
Below I have my draft reviews with extra info and of course, my three words.
To begin, I have Justin Cronin's brand new, eagerly awaited new book, a stand alone dystopian novel that well, read the review....
The Ferryman
By Justin Cronin
May 2023. 560p. Ballantine, $30 (9780525619475); e-book (9780525619482).
First published April 1, 2023 (Booklist).
Fans of The Passage series have been waiting for a new book by Cronin since 2016, but thankfully, it was worth it as he delivers a chilling, original, and immersive standalone science fiction tale perfectly rendered for our tumultuous times. Proctor Bennet lives on the island of Prospera, where everyone is protected from the horrors unfolding on the mainland. The people of Prospera are healthy and wealthy, everyone spends their time pursuing their passions, and when their time is up, they retire to the Nursery, an island where they are “reiterated,” their minds erased before being reintroduced back into society. As the head “Ferryman,” Proctor is in charge of this journey, until that is, he is called to the home of his estranged father to facilitate a rare forced retirement, and this unsettling and sinister dystopia begins to implode. At its heart, however, this is a novel about storytelling, a meticulously built tale that begs the reader to allow themselves to be swept away, greatly rewarding those who surrender and trust the designer to sail them to the finish. A great option for fans of the accessible, compelling, and thought-provoking science fiction of authors such as Blake Crouch, Cherie Dimaline, and Neal Stephenson.
Further Appeal:
A line I had to cut: While Proctor is the reader's guide, the narrative is greatly enhanced by the perspective of a few more key characters, so that as the unsettling and sinister dystopia begins to implode, every character and even the reader face an emotional moment of reckoning.
I liked how Proctor is the only first person narrator but we get the perspectives of others. I liked it while reading and after the twist it makes even more sense.
Even people who don't love dystopias will enjoy this because at its heart, this is book about storytelling-- the strengths and weakness of storytelling, the issues present author and reader and characters interact. But it is also a highly entertaining well paced dystopian story. That interplay is very cool.
This is highly unsettling Science Fiction, a dystopia but with a bit more, and yet, firmly rooted in the genre tropes while still pushing their boundaries. Original and totally immersive, with so much to think about once you finish. But again, just read it. Don't try to figure it out; Proctor's confusion is our confusion. There is a puzzle to figure out and we only have the info that Proctor has. Trust Cronin to make it worth it.
Finally, the words designer and sail in the review above are key. This is not a spoiler before you read it, but after you read it, you will appreciate the word choice. I get 200 words, so I have to make them work double duty.
A few more random notes from while I was reading:
- The less you say about plot here the better, not because it will give anything away, but because it is getting lost in the storytelling that will allow you to love this book– very much like Blake Crouch– who readers trust to take them to the finish. Don’t try to figure it out. JUST READ. Old fashioned in that sense and yet, the story is very much driven by right now.
- Takes on so many social, economic, and climate issues, without feeling like it is doing to much. Storytelling!
- Original, thought provoking, and immersive, but most importantly, accessible, Cronin has delivered a standard bearer, a Science Fiction tale for our times, once that seamlessly incorporates many themes and concern of our very best stories.
- Unsettling from the opening prologue, setting itself up as a recognizable sinister, dystopian novel,
Readalikes: Anything by Blake Crouch but especially Recursion w/ a touch of Seveneves by Stevenson and The Marrow Thieves by Dimaline.
A few more readalikes: Paolo Bacigalupi, Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro, Wendig’s Wanderers, Margaret Atwood as well. Some have said Westworld and Lost as TV watch likes but I think those are not as wide in scope and themes as this novel.
Now for something completely different, a well executed. old fashioned, pulp horror novel, but with a twist.
By Owl Goingback
May 2023. 300p. Cemetery Dance, $18.99 (9781587678745); e-book, $4.99 (9781587678851).First published April 1, 2023 (Booklist).
Robert, Janet and 10 year-old Krissy, have come to central Florida for a vacation at a remote fishing camp. On their first canoe trip, they discover an eerie swamp, a swamp that readers know, by way of a visceral and terrifying prologue, was the home of an evil Voodoo priest who was defeated but not destroyed in 1831 by the Seminole Tribe, setting in motion a tale of a vengeful ancient evil, the solitary Semiole Indian who has been left to protect the world from its return, and the young girl who is sucked into the horror. With multiple points of view and a strong sense of place, Goingback adds nuance to what could be stereotypical portrayals, all while the pacing and dread uncomfortably increases, until it bursts open in a horrific finale. Evil Whispers stands as proof that the classic, pulp horror storytelling style can not only remain vibrant but that it can also pay homage to its inspiration while actively casting off the racism and cultural appropriation that anchored so many titles from the Paperbacks from Hell era.Further Appeal: Owl Goingback is a HWA Lifetime Achievement Award winner, a Native American writer who paved the way for so many while writing award winning classics pulp horror. I love how he always takes the recast Native American trope and turns it on its head. Click here for a list of his awards and a bio. Goingback will be a Guest of Honor at StokerCon 2023 and will be appearing at Librarians' Day. Click here for more on that.
In terms of this book, it has everything great pulp horror has-- fast pace, shifting point of view (even to those about to die and only for that moment before they die), a complex and terrifying monster. Speaking of that monster, the reader knows exactly who that is with the terrifying prologue.
Jimmy is the hero, he has agency, and he knows more than everyone else but everyone dismisses him because Native, even though his entire job is to protect the entire world from the "monster."
Speaking of that monster, the reader knows from the start in the prologue, who the extremely evil villain is and that he is in the swamp. We know what is coming as readers, an we can't wait to watch it all play out.
The pacing also harkens back to classic pulps: compelling in part 1 to set up setting and intrigue and danger and faster and faster pedal to metal in part 2.
Three Words That Describe This Book: strong sense of place, revenge, steadily increasing terror
Readalikes: Easiest to begin with the Valancourt line of Paperback From Hell and of course, Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell.
Also the old Leisure books line titles. I will use Brian Keen's Castaways as the example here.
But really the appeal here is in the pulp storytelling from the marginalized perspective; adding new life to this fun storytelling style by allowing new voices to give it a try. The results are AWESOME. Other great examples:
- Mayan Blue by Sisters of Slaughter
- Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper
- Anything by V. Castro but the best match here is Goddess of Filth
- Jackal by Erin Adams
If you take those last 2 suggestions and smoosh them together, you've got a perfect tonal and thematic readalike for Evil Whispers.
I know I have had a lot of reviews to end the week, but look at it as a windfall for your collection development, not as an attempt to topple your TBR.
I am taking Monday off, so see you Tuesday.
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