Christmas carols are floating down the stairs to where I sit in our little living room. Across from me, our Christmas tree is lit, glowing its halogen reminder of what time of year it is. The dogs are dozing peacefully (for now), and the boys are having a bit of quiet time. It’s a quintessential Christmas-season afternoon. The outdoors are a little less on-theme; it’s unseasonably mild and raining steadily.
It’s good weather, in other words, to snuggle up with a book. Or to talk about books!
Last month I only got through about four books, mostly because I’ve been busy writing. I decided to start a new project for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which meant I was effectively juggling four projects (two novels in their rewrite / revision stage, one being prepped for audiobook release, and the new one for ‘Wrimo). This left little time for reading. Still, two of the books I read were incredible. Can’t wait to talk about them. But first…
Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Welcome to Nightvale is the novel based on the podcast of the same name. I’ve never listened to the podcast, which may have impacted my enjoyment of this novel. But I don’t think so.
Nightvale, the titular town, is a bizarre and isolated community in the middle of the desert. The town is populated with strange people, and strange things happen as a matter of routine. The story is ostensibly about several residents of the town and a strange man who shows up and starts handing out mysterious notes.
At first the strangeness of the town is entertaining and speaks to some great mystery lurking underneath it. Then it becomes clear that the strangeness is largely a coat of paint overtop of an underwhelming story that might have to do with accepting responsibility and something about family. The absurd idiosyncrasies that are at first amusing, quickly become predictable beats smothering an otherwise barely coherent narrative. Anytime something remotely noteworthy is mentioned, it will be surrounded by inane absurdities.
I love bizarre stories and I’m rarely bothered by things being weird for the sake of being weird, but this one rubbed me in many of the wrong ways. Don’t take my word for gospel, though. This book is pretty darn popular and has a solid following.
Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher
If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you might smirk to yourself or shake your head when you read that title. The Dresden Files is sort of a guilty pleasure for me, one that I have a love/hate relationship with.
The books are far from highbrow literature, which is nothing to complain about. They follow Harry Dresden, a wizard-for-hire who operates as sort of a spell-wielding gumshoe detective. The stories are entertaining adventures filled with all manner of monsters and magic. They also contain their fair share of inconsistencies and downright cringeworthy moments.
Blood Rites follows Dresden as he attempts to stop the actresses and female production crew of a pornographic film from being murdered. Monsters, demons, vampires, and fairies all play a role in this latest adventure. Also a puppy.
I can’t bash these books because I keep going back and reading them. So I guess that speaks to their appeal. If you want to give Butcher’s Dresden Files a go, I strongly recommend starting with the first in the series.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
This year has been a great one for books, in large part because I’ve finally read some classics that have long been on my list. Early this year I read both The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring (planning on making Two Towers the first book I start in 2024) and I remember feeling glad I got to read them for the first time so late in life, but also a little salty with myself for sleeping on them. I feel the same way about Dracula, probably more given my love of horror.
Stoker’s classic vampire tale is ridiculously good. It’s packed with atmosphere, creepy settings, and truly gothic horror. Of course I already knew it inspired much of what horror is these days, but I had no idea how much. Bram Stoker really was a literary genius, at least as far as this book is concerned.
Right off the hop, we’re thrown into Dracula’s castle, following poor Jonathan Harker into his nightmare. Reading the descriptions of the castle, after being immersed in the horror genre for so long, is like stepping into the halls of a museum.
Dracula’s coming to England is truly epic. I can see now why an entire movie (The Last Voyage of the Demeter 2023) was made based on his voyage at sea. The storm described in the book is terrific.
The whole investigation of Dracula’s reign of terror is engaging and familiar. It’s become the formula for monster hunts across the horror genre.
I could rant for pages and pages about this book. It’s absolutely earned a spot in my very fluid top five books of all time, a list that will likely forever remain locked in my mind, changing to suit my mood from moment-to-moment. The challenge will be resisting reading it again in the next year.
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
Christopher Buehlman has been a favourite horror author of mine for the past couple of years, ever since I read his werewolf novel Those Across the River. And while I love his horror novels, this journey into fantasy is my favourite yet.
The Blacktongue Thief follows a—you guessed it—black-tongued thief named Kinch, an indebted member of the Taker’s Guild. Owing the guild money, he embarks on a quest along with a knight named Galva. But while Kinch’s journey is to serve the Taker’s Guild, Galva’s is much more noble.
Coming across all manner of monsters, fighting their way through cities, sewers, and mountains, and meeting tons of interesting folk along the way, Kinch and Galva’s adventure is truly epic.
Buehlman’s imagination is one of the finest out there as far as I’m concerned. From the creatures he comes up with to the characters he breathes life into, his worlds are overflowing with life and magic. The dialogue and first-person narration are snappy and often hilarious.
I’m very excited for the follow up to this one, which I believe is expected next year.
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So that’s it, like I said, just the four. Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments, on Instagram or Facebook @authorchristophersweet, or by shooting me a message using the contact page.
Thanks very much for reading!
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-Chris