The genre that first interested me
the most in reading was, without a doubt, sci-fi/fantasy. As a kid, I ate it up with a silver spoon and
continue that obsession to this day. The
wonderful thing about fantasy books is that they allow the authors to generate
entire worlds. We as readers can simply
dive in and be immersed by something new, something exciting, and yet nostalgic
and real at the same time. I don’t mean
real in the sense that Daenerys Targaryen is real and we should all be on the
lookout for dragons. I mean real in the
sense that the characters can become so visceral, so well-developed that their
emotions and reactions to circumstances remind us of everyday life. We have shared experiences, even though we
will never actually have a ring of power or ride a hippogriff, as much as we
may want to.
I think that this
is the thing about fantasy or science fiction that is so enticing: it is still
reality, still humanity, that we are dealing with, it’s just an altered reality
that takes us outside of ourselves. In
this way, it is an escape from reality, but not one that we use as a way to
completely avoid our lives (although it can seem that way at times). Instead, these worlds teach us things about
our existence that we wouldn’t normally want to think about or engage in a way
that generates strong, tangible memories.
These memories become the intercession between fantasy and reality. I still vividly remember the first time I
read Lord of the Rings, especially
the battle of the Pelennor Fields (I think the copy of that book still has my
grip marks on it). I remember being
amazed at the fact that four humble hobbits saved the entire world, which was
an incredible revelation for a chubby middle school kid who used to get food
thrown at him. When I re-read Harry
Potter, I still hear all the voices that my dad used when he read the first
four out loud to us (he had the best Dobby, and and even better Hagrid). I also remember being super bummed when I
turned eleven and didn’t get my letter to Hogwarts. Now that I’m older, I realize that I did go
to Hogwarts! And I can go back whenever
I want! All I need to do is curl up with
the book and let the words take me away to a world that is so fantastical and
so magical, yet at the same time so familiar because it is indelibly a part of
all of our lives. So here are some new
memories from different authors that I really enjoy:
1. The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wrecker
Two
immigrants arrive in New York in 1899 who couldn’t have more different
backgrounds. One is a golem, a being
straight out of Jewish folklore, brought to life by a twisted master of
Kabbalah to be the husband of a lonely immigrant. The other is a Jinni, trapped in a flask
thousands of years ago by a wizard, unknowingly released by an Arab metal
worker. The two find that they need to
hide their true nature from everyone for fear that people would either try to
exploit them or kill them. However, when
they meet, they find an unlikely bond in the fact that neither of them are
truly human. Wrecker places this
narrative directly in history, shedding light on a pivotal time in America, all
the while spinning a delightful tale of fantastical beings.
2. The Alchemy Wars, by Ian Tregillis
So
far there are only two books out of this trilogy, The Mechanical and The
Uprising, and I am stuck here waiting for the third with bated breath. This is a brilliant example of speculative
fiction where Tregillis re-writes history by asking the question: what if
alchemy were real? Jax is mechanical
being brought to life by the mysterious powers of alchemy. His life and his soul are bound to humans,
whom he is forced to serve along with the rest of his mechanical kin. He lives in an alternate world where the
Dutch rule through their ownership of alchemy and the French are gripping for
control of what is, in our world, America.
In this world, a war that has been on hiatus starts to bubble again
through a few catalytic clandestine operations, one of which somehow gives
Jax’s soul freedom, changing everything.
Tregillis manages to weave a wonderfully suspenseful story all the while
asking the question: what is a soul without free will?
3. A Darker Shade of Magic, by V.E Schwab
This
is the first book in Schwab’s trilogy, Shades
of Magic. I really need to stop reading
trilogies that aren’t completely published yet because I’m practically living
on pins and needles at this point and it’s killing me. In this series, there are four alternate
worlds grounded by the fact that they all have London. There is Grey London, which forgot magic a
long time ago, Red London, which is flourishing though the use of magic, White
London, a desolate world in which magic is based on power, hierarchy, and
tyranny, and Black London, which was obliterated and sealed off years ago. No one goes there now. A select few beings are able to cross over
between worlds, and they are responsible for carrying information from one
world to the next. Kell is one of these
“Travelers,” with the illegal side hobby of smuggling artifacts from the
differing worlds. When he receives an
artifact from Black London, a dark magic that was forgotten long ago leaks out
into each world. Complete with magic,
wonder, and a total badass female lead named Delilah, this book has it
all. Give it a read, and then wait with
me for the others to come out.
4. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
Bradbury
is one of the original sci-fi kings. You
may have read his book Fahrenheit-451
in high school, which is also amazing, but this is one of his collections of short
stories and it is absolutely dazzling. Every
story is told by a moving tattoo on “The Illustrated Man” and each is as
disturbing as it is wonderful. A planet
where men are driven insane by constant rain, a room made to entertain children
becomes all too real, a world in which dying authors try to fight off humanity
using the monsters in their stories, even orbs of light with the secrets of
God, life, and happiness. All this and
more color the pages of this singular collection from one of the most memorable
voices from the genre. You’ll come for
the exciting science fiction and leave with more realizations and truths than
you know what to do with.
5. The Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut
So,
Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors.
He is as hilarious as he is insightful.
You can read any of his books and be amazed. Slaughterhouse
Five is his most famous book and you should definitely read that too, but I
put The Sirens of Titan on here
because it doesn’t get as much notoriety but is just as good. In this story, Malachi Constant is the
richest man in America. Haughty and naïve,
he doesn’t care much for others and Mrs. Rumfoord knows it. When her husband, Winston, selects Constant
to join him on a series of adventures through time and space, she has no idea
why, but complies due to the fact that her husband is caught in a
Chrono-Synclastic Infundibula and only materializes on Earth once every
fifty-nine days. While materialized, he
informs his wife that he knows Constant and met him on Titan, one of the moons
of Saturn and needs to meet him on Earth during his next materialization. What follows is a bizarre series of escapades
in which time and space become irrational, but morality and humanity are laid
bare. With characteristic whit, Vonnegut
asks some of life’s biggest questions, all the while bringing his readers on an
unbelievably believable journey.
As usual, happy reading everyone! See you next month.
