Best reads of 2021 post and podcast!

 

Best reads of 2021 post and podcast!

For my 2021 best reads podcast I asked my homey Judge Marc Rothenberg who you might remember from the best horror short stories episode to return and count down our top reads of the year.  Featuring my favoriite Retro reads, non-fiction, honorable mentions and top ten. It features books from Rivers Solomon, Hailey Piper, Stephen King, John Shirley, C.Robert Cargil and more.

Podcast on Apple! 

 The podcast on YouTube

Books

Retro Reads:

 

The Compleat Werewolf by Anthony Boucher

Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

The best of Judith Merril

Void Captain’s Tale by Spinrad

Non-fiction:

 the Divine madness of PKD by Kyle Arnold

In the process of doing the podcast there was nothing in this book about Phil I didn’t know or hadn’t read before. But what makes this book special is Kyle Arnold takes that research and his clear knowledge of the fiction. Paint a vivid picture of the psychological issues Phil had that were made worse by the extensive damage he did to himself.

Favorite PKD I read:

Flow my Tears the Policeman Said.

Honorable mentions:

Lola on fire by RY

Goblin/Pearl/ House on the bottom of the Lake by Josh Malerman

The Book of accidents by Chuck Wendig.

The Blade Between by Sam J. Miller

 

10.  No Gods no Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

For me, there was that awesome feeling of discovery when you find a new voice you know you will return to. No Gods No Masters is a delightfully powerful and unique piece of work. I would recommend it for all fans of modern dark fantasy but for the ones that enjoy deeper political reading, Anarachist werewolf novel you can’t go wrong

9. The last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

 From the very beginning, the book has a disconnected, and strange first-person style. All the clues are there but the amount of confusion it causes is one hundred on purpose. I am fine with confusion as long as I am entertained. The funny, wry prose was enough to carry me but I get that many readers would not be able to hang.  You have to make it to the end but it all pays off. If a cat POV and first-person narrators who lie and contradict each the other narrators or invent characters that don’t exist in one chapter to the next sounds confusing. It is. If you hang it will make sense.

Yeah, I think this is one you should read.

8. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Sorrowland is a radical novel, sure it is gothic, it is horror, science fiction, and fantasy. It is all those things but at the core, it is the most radical of coming-of-age stories. It comes from such a fresh, thoughtful, and intensely unconformist place that I hesitate to imply that I understand it. I felt many things reading Sorrowland, I was moved by it and yet I feel from my position I have only seen the parts of the iceberg above water. It is not every novel that is able to comment on race, gender and personal identity, sexuality, misogyny, racism inherent in the American system, Well-intentioned but misguided radicalism, colonialism, religion, the state experimentations on people of color and do it all while telling a coming of age story of a teenage mother.

 

7. Machinehood by SB Divya

Excellent modern Sci-fi about AI and machine rights.

“Por Que, do you consider yourself enslaved?”

“I belong to you, Welga, but since I don’t have personhood, I can’t be a slave.”

Questions, questions. The book asks plenty of those. The ideas are there that was the most exciting aspect for me. There were times I wished the story committed more to the power cords of Sci-fi action, but in the end, I found the conflict plenty effective.

The grandest of science fiction are the tales you can hold up like a mirror to the issues of today. Even more grand are novels that decades like still feel like they are that mirror. Look at Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar or Butler’s Parable books. I don’t know if Machinehood will have that kind of life. I suspect it will be in conversation during award season. The life of the novel may depend on how slow or fast this future hits us.

6. The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

I cheating a bit as this is 2020 book.  there anything more cosmic in horror when a monster knows you down to the deepest fabric of your heart? A monster that knows what you desire in your core and want more than anything. The greatest scariest moments in the genre of horror can only be achieved if the storyteller creates characters we care about and monsters who threatened them. The Worm is Monique’s fear made real.  

“And here, in the darkest place, Monique found monsters.
Maybe if her parents knew how far she’d fallen, they would at last regret having bashed their only child.
Unlikely. That was her imagination preying on her thoughts with something more painful than monsters in the dark-The illusion that her parents could accept her.”

Goddamn. Amazing stuff, one of the best things I have read so far this year. Some of the best modern to come out of the small press in a long damn time.

 

5. Later by Stephen King

I always point to Stephen King's Delores Claiborne as an example where the narrator NEVER cheats.  Later is GREAT first-person written in a kid's voice and it NEVER cheats. SK has skill for writing children and speaking in their voices. In this novel he is doing subtle and genius things to those moments of young person’s POV. Jamie is telling this story as a young man and SK is in perfect command of this. The word LATER is so important to the narrative not just because it is the title. Jamie is telling this story of his childhood with the gift of insight insight, so he often gets ahead of the boy in the story. I didn’t understand that until later, or I would learn later. In my opinion this is the best King novel since Doctor Sleep or maybe 11/22/63. It might be his best in this century. The quality is up there with his Full Dark novellas like Good Marriage or 1922. It may sound like hyperbole but I really happy to report this. I don’t want to spoil the twists but the first one is gnarly and scary, the second is just gross and disturbing. I don’t entirely know how I feel about accept once again King got me in the feels.

 

4. Good neighbors by Sarah Langan

Good Neighbors is a novel that resists tight genre distinction but if you really want to know it is I would call it a horror social satire. What blows my mind is that I read a few reviews so far and not one seems to notice or comment on the intentional in your face word for word tribute to the classic Twilight Zone episode The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. The ultimate modern suburban horror novel, the monsters have indeed arrived on Maple Street. With a heep of Cli-fi involved too. Do yourself a favor and read Good Neighbors. This book does for the burbs what American Psycho did for Wall Street assholes and I am here for its scares and biting satire.

 

3. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

There have been thousands of ‘end of the world’ movies, and read as many novels. One of my favorites is Sunshine, and I admit this starts with a similar set-up. I feel like Andy Weir came up with this watching that movie and saying I can come up with something more plausible.   I know I am a broken record pointing out the parallels and reversals that make up my favorite stories but this what makes the best stories tick and here Weir sets up a doozy. You see early in the story Grace accepts that he is here and he must be there as a hero.  Through the unfolding memories it is revealed he didn’t want to go save the human race he was dragged kicking and screaming.  One of the best portrayals of alien contact, on many levels this novel worked for me.  Combines Weir’s hard science problem solving with stakes of human survival and first contact. Great Science Fiction.

 

2. Stormland by John Shirley

Stormland is a warning novel no different from classics like Alas, Babylon or 1984. The issue at hand is the temperature in the Atlantic ocean. The linage is more directly connected to the eco-Science Fiction of John Brunner's bleak horror novel The Sheep Look Up.  The best we can hope for is the world moves to avoid this fate.

 A welcome return of the master of social satire science fiction with a razor-sharp punk edge. It is a fierce and angry book that confronts climate change with the proper venom the topic needs. It is written with skill and a quality of prose that will remind you quickly how strong of a voice John Shirley has honed over the years. It is not too far from tone and attitude he expresses with a rock and roll beat. It is every bit as urgent. A must science fiction read for 2021.

 

 

1. Day Zero by C.Robert Cargill

Day Zero is such an effectively told story that even as Cargill is manipulating my emotions and I can see the storyteller behind the curtain I am nothing but impressed. Day Zero is not exactly a masterpiece of science fiction per se but it is a masterpiece of storytelling. As such C. Robert Cargill will always have my attention.  I say this with utmost respect Day Zero feels more like Spielberg and Amblin than Asimov. I really like the two very different takes and remember there is no right or wrong way to tell the story of the AI uprising.

Day Zero is a more straightforward narrative-wise than SOR, in the sense that it has human characters and an easy-to-pitch set-up. The swings between action and sugary sweet moments are what make me think of Amblin movies and senor Spielberg.

Book Review: All About Me! by Mel Brooks

 

All About Me! by Mel Brooks

Hardcover, 480 pages

Published November 2021 by Ballantine Books 

 

Just as this book was released Mel Brooks did an interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. I really enjoyed that interview. You can see the roots of this book, the man is a natural storyteller and at 94 years old I am sure he has told these stories a million times. You can see the roots of this book in the acknowledgments he mentions that he spent his lockdown writing this book based on stories he told many times.

Look as the son of a Jewish man who died in his 80s who told many stories there was a vibe I found familiar. While my father was a political scientist his lunch group was Indiana university executives and not Hollywood filmmakers when Brooks talked about his lunch groups this book made sense to me.

Mel Brooks was a veteran of WW II, he was a comedian, a comedy writer, A filmmaker as a writer, director his life is fascinating. Look it is his life and he has the right to tell his story how he would like to. He talks about his struggles as a kid, in the army but once we get into his adulthood it is all Rosey. If I didn’t know better I would have thought Brooks was married once and had one son. It was kinda weird that only the famous wife and son got mentioned through the book. Like I said his choice.

Look as a huge fan of his work, Get Smart has one of my favorite gags of all time. I love Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World part 1…you name it. So it was fun to get some inside details.

I enjoyed this book but Solarbabies is the only one of Brooks Hollywood challenges he mentions, and that in the context of how he managed to take a stinker and save the production and make money in the end. Dracula Dead and loving it was a bomb, and being honest might provide insight.
In the end, I would say that the Fresh Air interview might enough for most fans. I laughed a bunch. Learned some details. Glad I read it. I enjoyed the book but not entirely sure this is a must-read. 

Book Review: She who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan

 

She who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan

Hardcover, 416 pages

Published July 20th 2021 by Tor Books 

 
The best fiction is a result of an author thinking of a story that only they can tell. In the case of She Who Became the Sun, it is a story told multiple times but what makes this novel unique is the voice that put it together. I know nothing about Shelley Parker-Chan except what I read in the author bio, but I feel like I got to know her voice well in the pages of this debut novel. I have to repeat that, debut novel and it is a powerful well written Wuxia novel with a silk-punk fantasy edge. Not that there is any Lightness-kungfu there is not but this more or a modern progressive fantasy feel.

It is hard not to compare to Wuxia films but this book that has a historical fantasy feeling that a movie like Jet Li’s The Warlords had, but from a subtle but perfect queer point of view. I make fun of publishing marketing that often say “It is Gone Girl meets the Matrix” or some other silly combination but in the case of She Who Became the Sun saying Mulan meets Song Of Achilles is absolutely spot on.  In the acknowledgments, the author said this came out of a group of friends brainstorming books they wanted but had not seen. Thanks for that. It is not just the story, this novel has a certain depth that many in this genre lack, and Parker-Chan is a good wordsmith who has a knack for moments of pretty prose that help the reader envision the world.

That starts in the opening paragraph. “All around there was nothing but bare yellow earth, cracked into a pattern of a turtle’s shell, and the sere bone smell of hot dust.” If that doesn’t put you in the environment of the story I don’t know what will.  

In this re-telling of the Ming dynasty's founding starts in China in the 14th century still under Mongol rule. We open with a young brother and sister trying to survive drought and famine. The brother Zhu Chongba is told by a monk that he has a great destiny, he will become a great leader.  Early in this book, this provides a powerful catalyst for the story.

“The fortune-teller was silent. The girl felt a chill drift over her. Her body broke out in chicken skin and she huddled lower, trying to get away from that dark touch of fear. The candle flame lashed.
 

Then, as if from a distance, she heard the fortune-teller say: "Nothing."

The girl felt a dull, deep pain. That was the seed within her, her fate, and she realized she had known it all along.”

My memory could be wrong but The Girl is never named. After Bandits raid their village and kill their father, it is Zhu who can’t hang with the despair. His sister, The girl takes his identity and lives as a boy becoming a monk and living in the temple. We only know her as Zhu. The other characters in the book know her as a boy.

You see where this is going. Pretending to be a man, a leader, a warrior and rising in the ranks through a series of adventures. This story has been told before but like I said it is the depth. It is the humble beginning, and various methods Zhu uses to rise. Powerful stuff.

You would think Mulan as a serious Trans narrative would have happened at this point. Yes, Mulan was always living as another gender but has the story ever gotten serious and deep about what that means.

“If you want a fate other than what Heaven gave you, you have to want that other fate. You have to struggle for it. Suffer for it.”
 
Here the novel is talking about more than gender, it is also about the hard work Zhu has to put in to reach the destiny that was promised to her brother. By taking his identity it was not handed to her. She trained as a monk, rose in the ranks of the rebellion, and lived as a man. Not something she so much wanted to do but felt the need to do, so as the story progresses Zhu also has to come to peace with who they want to be.

“She saw someone who seemed neither male nor female, but another substance entirely: something wholly and powerfully of its own kind. The promise of difference, made real.”

 Early there is a great scene when the other monk she grew up tells her that he knew all along.
 
Xu Da shrugged. “What difference does it make it to me?” You’re my brother, whatever is under your clothes.”

I don’t want to oversell the trans narrative because it is a fun action and adventure story, with wonderful and powerfully written prose. So before I get into elements at the end of the book, this is a book I recommend to fantasy readers. Wuxia is the only fantasy I really enjoy so fans of Wuxia should also be interested. I would love to see a Mandarin-language movie of this novel. So yeah thumbs up and now back to the prose and most powerful moments of the book.

“Memories spooled through her like falling ribbon.  Single moments, flickering faster and faster until they ran faster and faster until they ran together into a nightmare version of reality. She saw the plain, and the dark forest of the Yuan army’s spears.”

Powerful writing. This is a minor spoiler but it all comes together in a powerful moment in the final act when the Red Turban rebels capture the throne.  All the struggle all the fighting…
 

“Esen said, puzzled, “this is it?”

That seat of emperors, the symbol that the Red Turbans had so desperately sought, was nothing but a wooden chair scabbed with gold leaf like the fur of a mangy dog. Ouyang, watching Esen with an ache in his heart realized afresh that Esen had never been able to understand the values that made other people’s worlds so different from his own. He looked but he couldn’t see.”

After all the fantasy novels and films that are about struggling for thrones, or magic swords it was amazing to see a novel filled in intrigue, drama, and battles both small and grand build to a moment like this.  They go on to argue about what the city means but I found this to be a powerful moment.

This is the first book and we know a new dynasty has been formed. As an origin story, it stands on its own but I am very interested to see where this goes. Shelly Parker-Chan is talented as hell. I am excited to see what comes next.

Best Movies of 2021 Post & Podcast with Issa Diao of Good Clean Fun!

 

Here are my Ten Favorite movies of 2021! Joining me on the podcast Is Issa Diao, he is a filmmaker, having written and directed a film with the same name Good Clean Fun as his long time band. As lead vocalist of Good Clean Fun Issa traveled toured internationally and he is a total movie nerd.  In this episode we talk about our favorite movies of 2021. 

We greatly expand on the movies in the podcast and Issa gives his favorites! 

Podcast with Issa on Apple Podcasts!

On Spotify 

 With video on YouTube

Honorable mentions (more thoughts on the podcast)

Blood Red Sky - German vampire on a plane with hostage takers! Better than it has any right to be.

No time to Die - Fitting end to Craig's Bond.

Reminiscence- Pretty cool Sci-fi starring Hugh Jackman directed by Westworld's Lisa Joy.

Judas and the Black Messiah - Great biopic.

Censor - cool Meta horror movie.

 

Worst movie :

Senior moment- A rom-com starring William Shatner and Jean Smart with Hallmark channel production levels. Yikes.

 

10. Space sweepers

Totally bonkers Korean Sci-fi movie! I have seen this compared to Guardians of the Galaxy, which is fair in terms of humor, moments of breezy tone, and fun that are all over this movie. That said the setting is dystopia cli-fi with an evil mega-corporation choking the earth and the sweet little kid is actually a bomb filled with nano-bots. Some of the design is Blade Runner-ish but the action is swift and fun. I really liked it, the only ding is the English language actors are awful. ha-ha.

Space Sweepers Trailer

 

9. Nobody

Nobody with Bob Odenkirk was super fun. If you always wanted to see Saul go John Wick here you go. Don't overthink it RZA and Christopher Llyod are natural screen partners. The bus scene was my favorite. Great to see Michael Ironside on screen again. Pure dumb fun.

Nobody Trailer

 

8. Candy man

Best score of the year. Smart sequel that tied in social issues to the existing franchise. It grew on me over time.  I am confused that there was no story credit for Clive Barker, the closest thing was a character reading Weaveworld in one scene. Seems against WGA rules, but whatever It is hard to talk about without spoilers but if you are fans of the OG movie then I think it is worth updating. Very well directed. I was a bit hurt in the moment that I watched Take Shelter the night before I saw it, and that might be a better horror movie.

Candyman Trailer

 

7. Pig

I have mixed feelings on the movie. Nic Cage is great, while Mandy is still his best movie of this century he has not been this good on screen since Leaving Las Vegas. The trailers will mislead people to think this John Wick with a Pig. Nope this is a somber movie about grief and uses the Portland foodie culture as a metaphor for the game we play to be part of civilized life.  As an Animal rights person, the idea that Cage's character is so motivated by the love for his Pig is great but the movie misses a chance to make that point more clearly and then undercuts the message near the end.  Liked it overall but not as much as I hoped to.

Pig movie trailer

 

6 Gunpower Milkshake

I know it is not high-art, and many will hate it but I LOVED Gunpowder Milkshake. It takes place in a world where men only exist to be mowed down. Karen Gillian (I think of her from Doctor Who, even though she is more famous from the MCU) leads this movie that will get John Wick comparisons but it is more stylized and surreal. Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, Lena Headey, and Carla Gugino are all awesome, but Basset gets my most serious Laugh out loud moment.  I had a few nitpicks but the fun stuff outweighed the bad.

Gunpowder Milkshake Trailer

 

 5 Swan Song

Swan Song (AppleTV) is a great movie. A slow burn creepy tear jerker about a father/husband played masterfully by Mahersala Ali who hides the fact that he is dying from his family so he can replace himself with a clone. There certainly is a PKD what is human question posed by this concept. However, there is little surreal or off-beat. This is a drama at its heart.  I am sure many will be bored by the pace but I found the creepy build effective. No horror tale works if you can't put yourself in the shoes of the character. The question of what makes me who I am? Can I be replaced?  Powerful themes of grief.

Swan Song Trailer

4 Boss Level

A time loop movie with a surprising serious cast for a movie that feels like a B-action movie. I say that with affection, not judgment. This movie stars underrated action star Frank Grillo. This movie had a movie theater opening and was a few weeks from national release. Joe Carnahan the director has made a few above-average movies Narc & The Grey for example. With a cast of Grillo, Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson, and a cameo by Michelle Yeoh. This movie has an 80s action movie tongue-in-cheek feel, it has lots of laughs, a few solid moments of emotion pulled off by the actors, and lots of great action. I am kind of overtime loop movies but I had lots of fun with this one.

Boss Level Trailer

3 Last Night in Soho

Last Night in Soho was not perfect but a really cool horror movie. Edgar Wright clearly was overdue doing a non-comedy. Visually it was amazing, super influenced by Giallo and Argento. Anyone who has seen those movies knows they are super awful towards women. Wright uses this story to deconstruct the genre and flip it. A not-so-subtle story about the haunting nature of misogyny for victims of harassment and rape culture.  Thomas Mackensie is great, Matt Smith is perfectly awful.  General Zod was great. Big thumbs up. Only thing I didn't like. It was a little long, the police station scene could've gone. The music was overbearing and didn't always work for me.

Last Night in Soho Trailer

 

2 Dune

I know I can't divorce the four times I have read the novel from my viewing experience but it is interesting watching the difference in how people are new to the universe. Lots of nitpicks that the characters are two-dimensional and flat. I have to disagree. First off I think people new to to Dune are probably overwhelmed by the visuals and the world. I love the novel but this movie has way more depth.  I heard this knock going in so I was looking for smart ways DV and the movie gave characters more depth than ever before. Take the Box test scene. Lady Jessica's visible fear, Paul and Duncan Idaho's joy at seeing each other. Paul has always been hesitant to take the throne. The Baron is always Capitalism embodied. Leto's fear when facing the Baron, also i understood his desire to save his people from Shai'halud on a deeper level.

You don't need the Dune trailer really...Come on...

1  Stillwater

Matt Damon is great in the movie sure, but it is not the movie in the trailer. It is not the movie you think it is. A very surprising movie that made me feel tons.  Absolute best movie of the year. It is hard to talk about without ruining the things that make it surprising. 

Stillwater trailer