FanLit Asks: November 13, 2012

We recently asked a few of your favorite authors to recommend some books they’ve recently enjoyed.

Gail Carriger: I grew up reading Mercedes Lackey‘s VALDEMAR books but I only recently discovered that she’s been editing and producing an ongoing series of anthologies set in the same universe. I’ve been slowly making my way through all 7 of these books. Since I’ve limited time, it’s nice to read something that isn’t a major commitment. It’s snack-size reading, just one short story whenever I’m able. Many of them feature on-going characters and I’m a particular fan of Sarah A. Hoyt and Kate Paulk’s Ree & Jem whose journey starts in the third anthology, Crossroads.

Jenn Bennett: I really loved this hybrid book called The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell. Half graphic novel, half prose, it features two seemingly different coming-of-age storylines that weave together at the end. The fantastical illustrations are gorgeous, but be warned: the story is heart-wrenching.

Alex Bledsoe: The story collection Turbo’s Very Life by Carroll Dale Short blew me away. Not every story is fantasy or horror, but the overall effect is tremendous. And Kelly Barnhill’s newest, Iron Hearted Violet, is just wonderful.

Jesse Bullington: My favorite read in recent memory is Molly Tanzer’s A Pretty Mouth, which just came out. Molly’s a friend and collaborator, so it’s been especially exciting to see all the attention her debut has received from the likes of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Laird Barron, Mario Acevedo, to name but a few of her fans. The book is really different from anything else I’ve ever read, kind of like if John Hughes directed a darker version of Blackadder, with allusions to everything from Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard to Jeeves and Wooster. I also dug Nick Mamatas‘ newest novel, Bullettime, which is pretty hard to nail down, too — it’s basically the Discordian account(s) of the perpetrator of a school shooting, as told across multiple parallel universes. It’s also about adolescence and bullying and cough syrup abuse. By turns funny and tragic, it’s a close second after Tanzer’s for the best thing I’ve read of late. Currently, I’m in the midst of both Tim Lebbon‘s The Heretic Land and Mervyn Peake‘s GORMENGHAST trilogy, both of which I highly recommend just on what I’ve read so far — Lebbon’s is one of the most enjoyable second-world things I’ve encountered all year, and Peake’s is one of the most enjoyable works I’ve ever read, period.

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KAT HOOPER is a professor at the University of North Florida where she teaches neuroscience, psychology, and research methods courses. She occasionally gets paid to review scientific textbooks, but reviewing speculative fiction is much more fun. Kat lives with her husband and their children in Jacksonville Florida.

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