Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Book Review: Tongues of the Moon by Philip Jose Farmer
Book Review: Inter Ice Age 4 by Kobo Abe
Inter Ice Age 4
228 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
(full review on the way)
Book Review: The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
304 pages, Hardcover
The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
The first book I finished this year is a doozy. As established as Ballingrud is, with a TV show and a movie already based on his work, it is hard to believe that this is his first novel. The quality is also well above what anyone would reasonably consider to be a first novel. The quality of ideas and execution never at any time feels like a first novel. A loving tribute to pulp Westerns and science fiction. I had this book on my radar because I asked a friend if he knew any SF inspired by Bradbury, the way many novels play with Lovecraft or PKD.
I really loved this cool retro Western that just happens to be set on Mars. Is it a realistic look at the red planet? No, this is more of Mars as the golden age authors like CL Moore, Burroughs, Brackett, and Bradbury wrote about it. The Songs My Enemies Sing by James Reich. One of my favorite 21st-century SF novels took the same approach to Mars, and I am here for more of it. The Strange has more alternate history involved. This is a trick I enjoy on TV with For All Mankind or one of my top reads last year, New Tomorrow by Cody Goodfellow. That is to say, I like a wildly different history now and again.
I didn’t know that The Strange was a retro/alternate history story, and so the slow reveal over the first couple of chapters was delightfully confusing. The first time 1931 and Satchel Page were mentioned, I was confused. This excellent reveal through world-building really worked for me. I was not spoiled because I didn't read the description, but it is all there, so don´t @ me.
Certainly, elements of this story also share vibes with Clinton Portis as much as Bradbury. Anibelle runs a diner with her father, and a bandit comes in with bad intentions. Some of the frontier elements are setup by the isolation from Earth, which happens when signals and ships from Earth go dead. Something the Martian colonists called “the silence.” The elements that weave SF and western are part of the story, so perfectly woven into the story. Anibelle’s motivation is getting the stolen recordings of her dead mother’s voice; she chases the thief across the Martian landscape with her robotic dishwasher. Get set up.
I LOVE this novel. Haunting, weird, character-driven pulp homage that kept me turning pages.
Book Review: Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
368 pages, Hardcover
Published 2019 by Riverhead Books
One of the best books I read this year came in after I posted my best of the year, and that has been known to happen. This was a book I read entirely because of an article about in the issue of Science Fiction Studies I picked up at SFAM in LA last year. The theme of the issue was Southeast Asian speculative fiction. I see no sign that this was marketed as a genre novel, but anyone reading my reviews knows how I feel about that.
I have no proof other than a similar literary device, but I often thought of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell while reading this book. It is built on the concept of a single house over many decades, starting in the past and stretching into the future, which highlights the city as a character. Yes, it is the story of Bangkok that stretches into the future look at the effects of climate change. That is where the book gets speculative. That might lose some readers, in either direction. There are just a few SF elements early, not enough for some readers and others will think it gets too weird.
That said, those readers are wrong. BWTR works on every level. The speculative elements of this novel are more obvious in the back half, but that doesn’t mean they are not present in the early chapters, and that is stronger in the case of this novel. This becomes clearer the longer you get into the narrative. The novel is lyrical and powerfully written, and some might find it challenging to connect everything, but I was fine.
I know some elements of this story are over my head, as I don’t understand the history of Siam/Thailand or the people, as well as the folks who lived it. That is OK, that is one of the joys of reading international literature; I often choose books for that reason, it is a lens on these cultures. Thai-ness and the vibe of the city we know as Bangkok is a huge part of this novel.
SF novels about cities have a long tradition, and I was surprised a few times to get the feeling of Delany’s Dahlgren or Shirley’s City Come a Walkin’, but this novel is never quite that strange. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of strange speculative elements. What is really neat is how the nature of the city changes thanks to climate change, the characters adapt to nature and use technology. As with many of my favorite speculative fiction works, the nature of reality is a question woven into the fabric of the tale. Pitchaya Sudbanthad creates a vibe of the city; you feel the heat and humidity drip off the page. Each of the interconnected sections feels lived in, even the fantastical.
A towering achievement for a first-time novelist. Very impressed.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)