The Trending Ten: Fall Edition

1. The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett: Even after almost a year no title has managed to budge The Troupe from its place on top of the growing heap of books I've read this year. Even now, more than six months later I consider the characters that became my friends and the nuance of the theme and Bennett’s prose. I haven’t recommended any book this highly since Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. And this one is even better, and I doubt there will be a sequel to tarnish its good name. Though I intend to read American Elsewhere before years end. Maybe Bennett can conquer himself.


2. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey: I don’t do sci fi often, but when I do I hope they are all as good as Leviathan Wakes. Full of complex and unexpected heroes and a heavy dose of commentary on politics and human nature told through a tense and action packed narrative. Even though it's full of battles with bullets and torpedoes alike, it's the internal struggles of the characters that elevate this above a paint by numbers space opera. This book is so good, it’s no wonder it took two guys to write it.


3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: I’m sure Gaiman will land on many “Best of” lists this year, and he deserves to. Gaiman has firmly cemented his mastery as the premier author of fables for adults and children alike. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is packed with Gaiman’s unparalleled talent for weaving modern day mythologies teeming with whimsy and insight. There is a strong sense that this is the reader’s story while also being Neil’s own, which makes this a tale with universal appeal. 

4. No Return by Zachary Jernigan: No Return makes this list for some unusual reasons. Not to say it isn' an excellent novel, because it is. But it was a difficult read for me. The world, characters, and themes of Jernigan’s debut are dense, packed with layers of meaning and subtlety I didn't grasp fully in my initial reading of the novel. Later reflection shone a light on the work that only served to elevate my opinion of the novel and my critical thinking skills moving forward. Jernigan definitely has with important things to say, and he does it in a sweeping style not unlike some of the grandfathers of the genre.



5. The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig: This novel marked my first foray into the mad, profane and bombastic imagination of Chuck Wendig. If you read his excellent blog, you’ll see that the author seems much like his work. The Blue Blazes is blood spattered; noir flavored family drama in an intriguing take on urban fantasy. To sum it up, imagine the characters from Sin City battling the best of Dungeons and Dragon's Monster Manual.  This book is like nothing I’d ever read and I found myself promptly reading two more of Wendig's novels in short order. 

6. Joyland by Stephen King: King is one of the few authors that rate a hardcover purchase with every new release. And Joyland is emblematic of all of the things that King does best. Fans of The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Body shouldn't miss this story of nostalgia, growing up and growing old and the friends and lovers you make along the way.



7. The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu: Chu’s debut novel, a comical mix of spy thriller and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, is a heart warming coming of age story that taps into the finding yourself living a life without joy and purpose and discovering the only way to change your life is to change yourself. Add in the protagonist’s running banter with his resident alien and action sequences that could only be written by an actual stuntman, and there’s no question that Chu has a stellar career ahead of him. 

8. Three by Jay Posey: Jay Posey's atmospheric post-apocalyptic adventure hit my from left field. The story of the titular Three, making his way through a futuristic wasteland with a troubled mother and her enigmatic son is full of world building and imagery as sparse and desolately beautiful as it's setting. Posey's tale of humanity lost and finally found is sure to gather plenty of jaded genre readers in its wake. The ending shocked and puzzled me, and I can't wait to see how Posey constructs a sequel from it's ashes.

9. Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson: I majored in history in college and while it has been helpful in my own attempts at writing, D.B. Jackson has certainly put his PhD to good use. Thieftaker's blend of historical fiction and urban fantasy is a breathe of fresh air and his world weary protagonist, Ethan Kaille is just the hero needed to navigate the treachery of Pre-Revolutionary Boston. Thieftaker succeeds as an exemplary novel in both of the genres it straddles. 


10. Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein: With twenty years as a martial artist, I've an affinity for Japanese culture, history, and most importantly swordsmanship. Bein's blending of police procedural, historical, and subtle urban fantasy struck all the right notes with me. Using the series naming, Fated Blades as characters in and of themselves was a stroke of genius and allows readers to experience Japanese history and cultural through a variety of time periods. I'm anxious to discover what direction the series takes next. 

Joyland by Stephen King

Stephen King is something of a polarizing figure in literary circles. He's viewed as either a hack or a genius, depending on your degree of literary snobbery. But what no one can dispute is that King sells books, having become such a mainstay of the market that he might as well be his own genre. In his latest outing, King proves once again why throngs of people continue reading his books year after year, volume after volume. Joyland is King doing what he does best, telling a tale full of human experience, a dash of the otherworldly, and a heaping helping of nostalgia all told through the eyes of an everyman that has something in common with us all.

It's 1973, Devin Jones is a twenty one year old virgin with literary aspirations who decides to take a summer job at Joyland, a fading amusement park that is more carnival than theme park. During this summer adventure, Devin experiences his first true taste of heart break, makes friends that will last him for the rest of their lives, and finds himself compelled to solve the mystery of the ghost of a young woman murdered inside the House of Horror, years ago. Of course, even with the most straight forward of King stories there is far more to it than that. King skillfully mines his own tropes with a mastery gained from a long career to deliver this achingly familiar tale of first loves, friendship, loss, healing and the slow creep of time that none of us can escape.

Joyland is told entirely from Devin's point of view, but only after many years have gone by. This is a common enough trick for King, one that he combines with another familiar element; using a writer as his narrator. There are other tropes in play here, a fortune teller that actually has a touch of  "the sight", a dying child with similar abilities, even the seaside small town and amusement park has shown up in King's novels. But none of that matters. King isn't trying to sell you something new, he knows that's a 'butcher's game'. He's shilling what his fans know and love. Joyland is a coming of age story in the same vein as some his most enduring of tales. Fans of The Body, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile will find much to love in Devin Jones journey from boy to almost man, and his reflections on the summer where everything changed.

Despite the throwback pulp cover and the promise of a noir crime tale, Joyland is much more than what it appears. While the murder mystery element is well handled, with a few red herrings and a satisfying final confrontation between Devin and the killer, the real draw of the novel is Devin's journey to manhood and his ruminations on the lessons he learns along the way. The ghost story and other otherworldly elements are really only present to flavor and compliment Devin's tale.

And what a tale it is. I was left wanting more time with Devin and the friends he made while working at Joyland. In under three hundred pages, King once again crafted a cast of characters that I have every intention to returning to again and again and a novel that deserves a spot besides the most popular and well received of his staggering contribution to popular and meaningful fiction.

Coming Attractions: Doctor Sleep & Joyland by Stephen King

I've been a Stephen King fan, since my freshman year of high school and have read every single thing he's published with the exception of one out of print novel. When I heard about his newest novel, Doctor Sleep, I was ecstatic. Few of King's novels are as beloved as The Shining and I can't wait to read the further adventures of Danny Torrence. The cover art and publisher's synopsis below seem to indicate that we might see a return to King's horror roots with this novel.

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

But wait, King also has a new release coming from Hard Case Crime, who published The Colorado Kid several years ago. The art and vague synopsis leave me cold, and I think Hard Case should probably consider giving more detail on their releases. But with a marquee name like King's they know the book will sell. Completists like me will definitely be forking over the funds regardless of the lack of details.

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Which of the release from America's Master of Horror are you most excited about? Would more information on Joyland make your decision easier to make? Let us know, in the comments.

Review of the Week: Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

With NaNoWriMo currently kicking my butt, I've found it hard to find the time to read let alone post a review. But since I promise one review a week, I went looking for something short to read and found something that I had been meaning to add to my collection for a while at a used book store while on a visit to Nashville. Stephen King has always been a favorite of mine, and I've read almost everything in his considerable body of work. Cycle of the Werewolf has been one of the holdouts, and I'm glad to report that despite its relatively short length, barely 100 pages, it's definitely worth the read. Adding to the presentation are the fantastic illustrations by Bernie Wrightson, best known for his work on DC Comics Swamp Thing.

Cycle of the Werewolf is the story of the small town of Tarker's Mills and the series of werewolf attacks that plague its citizens over the course of a year. King divides the larger story into twelve smaller short stories, one for each of the months of the year. It is reminiscent in structure to the much more popular The Green Mile, which was released in a similar format but with more significant content in each section of the story.

The first few chapters center on the victims, where King does an excellent job letting us slip into these characters' hearts and minds just moments before their grisly demise. These doomed townspeople are shown to be meaningful and at times you'll find yourself feeling sorry for the lives they have endured, or secretly pleased that they've gotten their just deserts.

We also learn about Tarker's Mills through the seemingly insignificant details scattered throughout the short chapters. King is a master of short stories, able to paint a vivid and meaningful scene in very little space. He wastes no words, often making phrases and descriptions pull double and triple duty addressing character, tone, and theme at the same time.

The werewolf meets his nemesis on July 4th in the form of a paraplegic boy, Marty Coslaw. Marty narrowly escapes being the monster's latest victim and is the first to confirm the rumors that a monster is terrorizing the town, rather than some deranged drifter or local psychopath. Not that anyone takes his account seriously, and he is left to fend for himself. When he discovers the creature is a well respected member of the community a few months later, he concocts a plan to rid Tarker's Mills of the monster for good.

Cycle of the Werewolf is not a complex story, the plot is basic and has very little of the twists and turns of King's longer works. But King's mastery of character and tone make it a work worth reading to anyone who enjoys a well crafted short story. Each 'month' chronicled in the larger arc has something to recommend it, and the way King builds tension, pathos, and setting layer by layer as we move closer to the inevitable confrontation between Coslow and the werewolf is a masterclass on how to do a lot with a little. The price is high, given the amount of actual content, but it is well worth picking up at a used bookstore. King has been awarded the prestigious Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and while Cycle of the Werewolf is not his most prestigious or familiar work, even in this more obscure and admittedly thin volume you can catch a glimpse at what makes him one of the most popular and celebrated authors in recent history.