A Saturday Reading Update

Our visitors

Yesterday, Clyde and I went out for our noontime walk and as we were walking up our street two American bald eagles flew past us and lighted on one of the trees in our back yard. Needless to say, I kept Clyde close at hand as we walked up our driveway and home. Beautiful birds.

I got one new book (graphic novel) yesterday and will provide the synopses for it. I plan to read it before the end of the month as it's short and always exciting. I haven't completed anymore books since my last update but will provide synopses of 4 books that I plan to read in the near future. I'll also continue with my look at women authors whose work I've been enjoying.

New Book

1. Something is Killing the Children, Vol. Three by James Tynion IV (2021).

"As the House of Slaughter arrives to clean up the situation by any means necessary, Erica will find that the true threat to those around her isn’t who - or what - she ever expected. And the cost of saving the day may be too high for anyone to pay...

NOT ALL MONSTERS HIDE IN THE DARK.

Archer’s Peak is in lockdown, as Erica Slaughter has lost control of the situation and news of the killings has spread outside the town. But as the House of Slaughter arrives to clean up the situation by any means necessary, Erica will find that the true threat to those around her isn’t who - or what - she ever expected. And the cost of saving the day may be too high for anyone to pay..."

Upcoming Reads

1. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (Harry Hole #7 / 2007).

"SOON THE FIRST SNOW WILL COME.

A young boy wakes to find his mother missing. Their house is empty but outside in the garden he sees his mother's favourite scarf - wrapped around the neck of a snowman.

AND THEN HE WILL APPEAR AGAIN.

As Harry Hole and his team begin their investigation they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years.

AND WHEN THE SNOW IS GONE...

When a second woman disappears it seems that Harry's worst suspicions are confirmed: for the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his home turf.

...HE WILL HAVE TAKEN SOMEONE ELSE."

2. Crime Machine by Giles Blunt (John Cardinal #5 / 2010). This is the last book in this series that I've to read.

"A year after the death of his beloved and troubled wife, Catherine, John Cardinal has moved into a new, but very humid, condo. He has fallen into an easy routine of work on cold case files and platonic movie nights with friend and colleague Lise Delorme. The quiet of a snow-covered Algonquin Bay is shattered when the decapitated bodies of two people are found in a summer home on Trout Lake. The victims, visitors from Russia, are in Algonquin Bay attending the annual fur auction. This is by no means a routine murder investigation as Cardinal soon discovers, but a horrific piece of a very twisted puzzle. Blunt has, once again, given us a page-turning plot, a remarkable cast of characters and the comfort of John Cardinal at the helm."

3. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Todd Family #1 / 2013).

"On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can — will she?"

And now for a new author for me....

4. The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer (2024).

"In 2059 two very different groups have their minds uploaded into a quantum computer in Waterloo, Ontario. One group consists of astronauts preparing for Earth's first interstellar voyage. The other? Convicted murderers, serving their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But when disaster strikes, the astronauts and the prisoners must download back into physical reality and find a way to work together to save Earth from destruction."

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Ai Jiang

Ai Jiang

Ai Jiang is a Canadian author whose work I discovered last year. She writes 'horror' or as described in Wikipedia, speculative fiction. And also poetry, although I haven't tried any of that yet. She was born China in 1997 and moved to Canada 4 years later. She attended my alma mater University of Toronto where she got her BA (so did I. 😊) She has published 3 books so far and also had a short story published in a compendium). Thus far I've enjoyed one book and the compendium and have one more on my book shelf. Let's take a look, shall we?

1. Linghun (2023).

"Linghun is a novella, along with a couple of short stories and one essay, by Canadian author, Ai Jiang. I was pleasantly surprised by it, such great writing.

In Linghun, Wenki and her mother and father move to the town of Home. Normally when a home is vacant in this town (or more just a street I guess), there is an auction so the Lingerers (more on them later, if I remember) can try to buy one. In Wenki's case, they bought the house from cousins who moved out.

So the reason people move to Home is to try to make contact with the spirits of dead family members. In Wenki's case, it is her older brother who died when Wenki was just a youngster. Wenki's mother is desperate to find Tianqi and basically ignores Wenki and her sympathetic husband. Wenki must try to live a normalish life by going to school, which basically lives in the past and the last class of the day is a round table where the children tell of the success or lack thereof in seeing their dead kin.

The story is told between three characters, Wenki of course. There is Liam, a fellow student, a Lingerer. So, Lingerers are families who move to Home but can't afford a home and basically live in the yards of those who have homes, hoping to acquire a home through the auction. (Think of The Lottery, but darker, when you think of the auction process) The third character is Mrs., an older mysterious woman who lives across the street from Wenki.

It's a strange story as these varied people try to find ways to see their dead kin, some successfully, some not. Wenki and Liam basically want to leave, try to get back to a normal existence. Will they be able to? The discussion of death, coping / or not, living for the present or the past and making it such a fascinating story, a page turner, impressed me deeply. Ai Jiang elaborates on her thoughts on this matter in a follow-on essay and then also provides two short stories; Yongshi and Teeter - Totter just for additional enjoyment. Beautiful writing, dark setting, super story / stories. (4.5 stars)"

2. Smol Tales from Between Worlds (2023).

"This edition of TFBPresents features a varied collection of short fiction from rising star, Ai Jiang.

Hopping from fantasy, to horror, to literary pieces and more, Smol Tales From Between Worlds announces a major talent that is just getting started.
"Jiang is widely considered to be one of the most exciting young voices in science fiction, fantasy, and horror."
– Dark Matter Magazine

TFBPresents focuses on the fiction of a single author per edition, complete with author notes on each story and a wide-ranging interview, it's a must-have publication for fans of genre fiction."

3. Odd Jobs: Six Files from the Department of Inhuman Resources (2024). A collection of short stories, edited by TJ Price, with one story by Ai Jiang.

"(Full Disclosure - One of the authors asked if I would be interested in reading this new book and I said yes because it sounded interesting.)

Odd Jobs: Six Files from the Department of Inhuman Resources is a collection of short stories by six horror authors. The book is edited by T.J.  Price and they purport to be a series of files that have been released by an employee of the Dept. of Inhuman Resources, a dangerous undertaking that might result in his death... or maybe firing. 

The six stories highlight odd jobs, some for the Company, presenting either a dystopic world or strange happenings.

1. Lips Sealed, Steeped in Oil, Pores Opening like Mouths by Ai Jiang

2. Rags to Riches by Ivy Grimes

3. These Little Tyrants by Erik McHatton

4. In the Lights of their Bones by Carson Winter

5. Investigation into a Disappearance by Christi Nogle

6. Future Portraits of the Unhappy Dead by Caleb Stephens

The stories themselves aren't horrifying, rather more creepy and unsettling, each author presenting their story in their own unique style. The only writer of the group who I've tried previously is Ai Jiang, the author of Linghun.

In Lips sealed, a young lady begins working for the company. She wants to be an environmentalist but decides to work for this 'oil' company first. It's a limited term and it will give her the money to switch to environmentalist issues, so she believes. But the experience will leave her incapable of living in the 'real' world. This oil world seeps into the real world, destroying forests, animals, people. But it also sinks into her very skin, her very pores, her soul. 

(Oh yes, at the beginning of each story, a personal or performance report or mental evaluation is provided on the main character. It's a neat touch)

In Rags to Riches, Penny works in the Bookstore, a strange sort of place. She is filled with ambition and wants to rise to the executive level. Each level strikes her as odd and she wants to change things. The Owner is watching her and moves her along quickly. But it's not what Penny expects. (Although quite different, it did make me think of a graphic I'd read about the Albertan oil sands, Ducks0

In These Little Tyrants, the main character is being abused by her boss Michelle, being made to perform the most mundane of tasks. She complains to Bill, a potential boyfriend, who disappears suddenly. However she finds herself being promoted, but not to where she expects. She is moved to production, cleaning pink slime from vats in the basement and sees many strange things... (I'm somewhat reminded of Soylent Green... somewhat).

In the Light of their Bones - A young man begins a new jobs, after a 'pandemic' of sorts. It's not completely explained but it seems a 'light' has done something to the insides of people. Finally allowed outdoors, he joins a clean-up crew. Released from the safe zone each day, they move to empty apartment buildings, homes, cleaning out any bodies, the furniture, sanitizing the homes. But something happens to the young fella.....

In Investigation into a Disappearance, an English professor is interrogated by a.... police officer? about the disappearance of one of her students or a girl she mentored. Only briefly mentioned, the various departments; Fine Arts, History seem to be empty, falling into disrepair. When the investigator doesn't show up one day, the Professor tries to find Debi, this budding author she tried, unsuccessfully to mentor. We now move to Debi's house... (now this had me thinking of House of Leaves, or Doctor Who).. The house is not what it seems from the outside. What had Debi done? (Oh one of the Classic Twilight Zones is about a young boy who has very strong mental powers....)

Finally, there is Future Portraits of the Unhappy Dead where we meet Ronald Hart who works for a telephone / computer repair shop in a small town in Texas. Ronald begins seeing things in the phones / laptops where people are being abused or killed and after not doing anything the first time, he decides he has to stop the perpetrators. He also loves the girl in charge of the shop, but she only has eyes for another fella. (Think the Dead Zone with this one).

Every story is interesting and different. They leave you feeling unsettled at the very least. The endings are always open to your interpretation. A neat concept and an entertaining collection. I think it's worth checking out the individual authors works. (4.0 stars)" 

You can find out more about Ai Jiang on her own web page or also check out Wikipedia.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.