Fantastic Metropolis

This was a banner year for Fantasy fiction in all its various lengths and forms. So much great stuff that I couldn’t fit it all on my list. I stuck mostly to novels and collections of a speculative nature here but also threw in a graphic novel, a film and a biography I really loved.

What I found most heartening was all of the work from “newer” writers, like Alex Irvine’s remarkable first novel, A Scattering of Jades, or David Herter’s second book, Evening’s Empire. In the realm of the short story, I have been tracking work by newcomers like Chris Barzak, Ben Rosenbaum, Alan DeNiro, William Shunn, Kristin Livdahl, Richard Butner, Theodora Goss, Charles Finlay, Neil Williamson, Glen Hirshberg (looking forward to Hisrshberg’s new novel, The Snowman’s Children). Their work bodes well for the continued health of the genre and more great reading experiences for me in the future.

As for more established writers of short fiction, I am pleased to note that Richard Bowes has continued his Time Rangers series, Stepan Chapman had a great piece (“State Secrets of Aphasia”) in Leviathan 3, Michael Swanwick has stuck to the periodic table and his Goya (Los Caprichos) project at The Infinite Matrix with Zen-like commitment, Kelly Link’s new piece, “Lull,” in Conjunctions 39??, is a twisting, meandering, comic thing of beauty, and Karen Joy Fowler’s terrific story, “What I Didn’t See”, at SciFiction caused the kind of shit storm of controversy that can only be healthy for the genre. Hands down, the funniest story of this year and many others was Leslie What’s “Sex and Grease at the King of Chicken” in The Journal of Pulse Pounding Narratives. The first two paragraphs of this piece are worth the cover price of the anthology.

So here it is, in no specific order, my own myopic view of the best of the year. I know I am forgetting some things I wanted to mention, but…

The Scar, China Miéville

I think what I admire most about Miéville’s writing are his powers of description. His imagined world is not some lurching, clay golem with instructions rolled up under the tongue, being put through its paces, but a bristling, organic beast with a life and mind of its own.

Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang’s greatest hits, volume 1. What more do I have to say? For me, as a writer, reader and lover of short fiction, it doesn’t get any better than this. Really dug “Hell is the Absence of God.” Chiang isn’t afraid to ask the big questions. His fiction has all the technique, craft and style to carry their weight and make it look effortless.

City of Saints and Madmen (hardcover), Jeff VanderMeer

Even if you have the paperback, it’s worth the freight to get this one as well. There’s another whole book’s worth of material original to this volume. It’s a brilliant, fun, puzzle of a book, but don’t miss the forest for the trees. Beyond the literary gamesmanship, VanderMeer is a great story teller and stylist. Nice illustrations by Eric Shaller. Heads up in 2003 for VanderMeer’s Veniss Underground. You won’t be disappointed.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Kim Deitch

If you ever wondered whether you would find a graphic novel that had the complexity of plot, compelling characterization, and imaginative impact of your favorite conventional novel, wonder no more. Deitch is probably the best writer in comics and his page layouts are mind blowing.

Things That Never Happen, M. John Harrison

Harrison is a new discovery for me this year. I read Viriconium over the summer and was amazed by it. This collection from Nightshade Books is, in my opinion, even better. One story, “Egnaro,” became an instant favorite of mine, and there are many more terrific pieces equally as good. Read these two books back to back to get a sense of the incredible range of this writer.

Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester Pres Young, Douglas Henry Daniels

The new, very necessary, biography of Lester Young; the greatest saxophone player who ever lived. I know you Charlie Parker fans are going to kick my ass, but I’m sticking to my guns here. Young’s life holds all the interest of the best novels. Get a couple of CD’s first and listen to Young. After that, no one will have to suggest you read this book.

White Apples, Jonathan Carroll

Matters of life and death as only Carroll can do it. This book is both zany in its cosmic scope and profound in its depiction of human relationships. All this and a good dose of humor to boot. The appearance of one of his novels is like a holiday for me.

The Mount, Carol Emshwiller

As with Harrison, Emshwiller is another discovery for me this year. This story of invasion, masters and slaves, coming of age, is wonderfully written and very moving. If I could find more Science Fiction out there like this, I would read more Science Fiction. Emshwiller’s collection from this year, Report to the Men’s Club is a nice companion to this novel as it shows her diversity of theme and style. I’ll be hunting down her other work in the coming years.

The Impossible Bird, Patrick O’Leary

I think I mentioned this one on my list last year, but fuck it, I’m mentioning it again. O’Leary dives deep in this book. There’s an engaging science fiction plot here that will have your head spinning, but what he brings to the surface about the meaning and importance of the bonds of family, specifically brothers, is the real treasure.

Spirited Away, Hayao Myazaki

A truly inspirational fantasy film. Like no other animated film I’ve ever seen. My wife and two sons and I went to see this together and we all loved it. Complete agreement on anything is a rarity in the Ford household. It’s been months since I’ve seen this, and the creatures, the characters and the scenery are all still vividly alive in my memory.

Nowhere Near Milkwood, Rhys Hughes

Thank Christ, a Hughes collection that doesn’t cost 45 dollars. There are no easy phrases to describe Hughes’ fiction; it’s so exotic. These stories are surreal and yet utterly real unto themselves. His writing is incredibly precise and at the same time his imagination is so unfettered. You can chew on one of these stories for a week before going on to the next. Now I’m kicking myself for not dropping the money on the early books of his I have let slip through my grasp. Don’t let this one get away.

The Horned Man, James Lasdun

An idiosyncratic novel about a college professor losing it. I know, nothing unusual in that plot, but what distinguishes this book is the great writing and the wicked sense of humor. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this sorry son of a bitch. There’s a compelling mystery here as well, and the bard of Avon rears his eloquent head.

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

I spent years reading to my sons, and now, though they are off reading on their own, I still peruse the childrens’ and YA shelves of the book store for interesting works I would have liked to have read to them. These, I sometimes buy and read myself. I was almost turned off Coraline by all the hype surrounding it, but luckily I got a copy and read it. Gaiman knows what children demand in a good book—honesty. There’s no sugar coating here, but a very real character with real desires and fears. Great writing and wonderful art by David McKean. Good for adults and good for kids, but I suspect best shared by a parent and child.