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News & ArtsThursday, February 4, 2010
Books Match Book: So You're Into Boneshaker
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Readers ask me for book recommendations in Questionland all the time. Match Book is about helping you find the right book, at the right time.
What books should I get to go with Boneshaker?I like (and have read)everything Ursula K leGuin. Samuel R. Delany, and Kim Stanley Robinson. I like Michael Chabon and Umberto Eco. Is Leviathan good? What else? I need another book or two to get free shipping.
-Jakey Riotllama
Hi, Jakey,
Well, first, I'm going to assume that you don't live near a great independent bookstore with your 'free shipping' comment and thank you for supporting Seattle's largest bookseller from wherever you are.
Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is really great fun, and it covers lots of ground: There's alternate Seattle history, zombies, air pirates, and swashbuckling adventure. Finding books that hit all those points is a tall order, but here's what I came up with:
You also might like Neal Stephenson's early work: The Diamond Age is kind of a grandfather of Boneshaker and lots of modern steampunk work. China Mieville is really an exceptional author who doesn't work in steampunk exactly, but who shares some urban fantasy leanings with Cherie Priest. And Jay Lake's fantasy—one series of books is about a clockwork universe—can do weird things to your brain. You also mentioned Delaney, and I'd like to recommend Dan Simmons's Hyperion series, which, while not as adventurous as Delaney's mammoth series, is just as imaginative.
Sorry to say I haven't read Leviathan, yet. If you do, let me know what you think!
Are you about to go on a long vacation? Have you read everything by your favorite author but you still want more? Do you want to learn about a new subject, but don't know where to start? I can help. Ask me for book recommendations on Questionland
3
Come on Paul I thought you actually understood that local booksellers don't often give anything more of value than amazon. Once local booksellers give a reason to spend more then they will be viable. Relying on altruism to keep local small business alive has not been working out so well in the past few decades. They must change their business model or die.
4
Leviathan is fantastic! Illustrated throughout by Keith Thompson. Please buy your books at an Indy store or head to the library.
Indy Kids bookseller and huge Westerfeld fan
Indy Kids bookseller and huge Westerfeld fan
5
If you like early Neal Stephenson, you might want to check out THE GONE AWAY WORLD by Nick Harkaway. It's like Stephenson, except with endings and without footnotes.
I've loved Neal's work, but seriously - ANATHEM was really opaque. And I'm giving him credit there; I'm assuming the hundreds of pages (it's 900 pages long) where nothing seemed to be happening was really my just not understanding the import of what he was writing.
I've loved Neal's work, but seriously - ANATHEM was really opaque. And I'm giving him credit there; I'm assuming the hundreds of pages (it's 900 pages long) where nothing seemed to be happening was really my just not understanding the import of what he was writing.
6
Leviathan is quite good. Scott Westerfeld is one of the most innovative writers these days. Check out Peeps and the Uglies/Pretties/Specials/Extras series.
7
@3 - my local, independent bookstore gives me candy when I buy my textbooks from them. Amazon doesn't give out candy ...
8
if you enjoyed Boneshaker, Stephenson's A Diamond Age is required reading! great recommendations here paul, per usual.
9
@3 on one point you are right. Change or die is the new name of the game.
But your assertion that local booksellers don't give any more value than Amazon doesn't hold up for me. I've seen firsthand what local bookstores give back to their customers, their neighborhoods, their local economy. And it's not nothing. It's kind of magical, in fact...
So, value is a loaded word. My values are reflected in the fact that I choose to walk into a bookstore and give them my money. And the value that they give me back is about a lot more than cash. I salute Paul for fighting the good fight in this post and reminding people of the issue.
Also - so, Boneshaker is good, huh? I'm curious. I'm not really a steampunk fan ( a little goes a loooong way with me) but I am curious...
But your assertion that local booksellers don't give any more value than Amazon doesn't hold up for me. I've seen firsthand what local bookstores give back to their customers, their neighborhoods, their local economy. And it's not nothing. It's kind of magical, in fact...
So, value is a loaded word. My values are reflected in the fact that I choose to walk into a bookstore and give them my money. And the value that they give me back is about a lot more than cash. I salute Paul for fighting the good fight in this post and reminding people of the issue.
Also - so, Boneshaker is good, huh? I'm curious. I'm not really a steampunk fan ( a little goes a loooong way with me) but I am curious...
10
@5 somehow i read that as
"If you like early Neal Stephenson, you might want to check out GONE WITH THE WIND. It's like Stephenson, except with endings and without footnotes."
YOW!
"If you like early Neal Stephenson, you might want to check out GONE WITH THE WIND. It's like Stephenson, except with endings and without footnotes."
YOW!
11
I agree with the recommendation for Diamond Age. Really, anything by Stephenson is a good read, although his later books get longer and harder to plow through than his earlier books.
I disagree that China Meiville isn't steampunk. I think most of his books from the early 2000s were very steampunk. Depends how you define it, I suppose. Steampunk or not, he's an excellent writer. Highly recommended.
I read Boneshaker, and honestly didn't care for it all that much. Decent, but sort of silly.
I disagree that China Meiville isn't steampunk. I think most of his books from the early 2000s were very steampunk. Depends how you define it, I suppose. Steampunk or not, he's an excellent writer. Highly recommended.
I read Boneshaker, and honestly didn't care for it all that much. Decent, but sort of silly.
14
You like China Mieveille, huh? I only read Perdido Street Station, which came highly recommended. Given the huge amount of hype for him, like, "Revolutionary!" "Reimagining the genre!" "!!!" etc, I found him pretty over-rated. Mid-tier at best. Of course, I feel the same way about Neil Gaiman's prose, which have a wide following, so I may just not be the target demographic, or something.
15
I recently read, and loved, Liar. It's being rec'd in many of the same places as Leviathon -- it's similarly YA-that-adults-like-too, and I liked it more than Boneshaker (which ultimately I enjoyed, but it took a long time for me to really fall into the book).
16
I want to know how you get from Ursula K. Le Guin, Samuel R. Delany, Kim Stanley Robinson, Michael Chabon and Umberto Eco to Cherie Priest in one step. Boneshaker was great, but it doesn't have a lot in common with any of those authors' works.
17
You referenced Stephenson, Lake and Mieville in one recommendation. Are you living behind my bookshelf?
Going with the Umberto Eco theme, I'd recommend Milorad Pavic, who tinges his history with a similar sense of whimsy and literary acrobatics.
Going with the Umberto Eco theme, I'd recommend Milorad Pavic, who tinges his history with a similar sense of whimsy and literary acrobatics.
18
Um, packeteer @comment 3: You CAN'T buy Boneshaker directly through Amazon at the moment. I just checked. It's a Tor title, and Tor is part of Macmillan.
Perhaps "not switching off a sixth of the books published in English when you get into a snit" would fall into the category of "value added." This is who you want to send your dollars to?
Perhaps "not switching off a sixth of the books published in English when you get into a snit" would fall into the category of "value added." This is who you want to send your dollars to?
19
Stephan Hunt's "The Court of Air," and "The Sea of Fire." Stephan Hunt runs SFCrowsnest. His work isn't the typical alt-history steampunk. Most of which is terrible. So its not "steampunk" but the author and fans call it that anyway.
Jeff Vandermeer's "Finch" is one the best Scifi books published last year. Easily better than Bonshaker. Its really really good. It's Phil Marlow being chased by pod people while eating Alice's mushrooms in the Emerald City during the apocalypse, I may have ripped that off from someone.
Robert Charles Wilson's "Julian Comstock: An Adventure of 22nd Ce…" is a combination of Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, and Herman Melville. The most amazing thing about this book is that it works. It takes place in the future after peak oil and a bunch of other stuff happen. Again not strictly steampunk, but it was the best Scifi book published this year. Wilson goes back to a narrative style he used in his hugo award willing novel Spin. With that as his solid foundation he builds on a setting and form similar to early adventure novels. However, his use of language is lush, and the numerous little ornamental phrases he adds take the novel to a level that even the best books don't normally reach.
Jeff Vandermeer's "Finch" is one the best Scifi books published last year. Easily better than Bonshaker. Its really really good. It's Phil Marlow being chased by pod people while eating Alice's mushrooms in the Emerald City during the apocalypse, I may have ripped that off from someone.
Robert Charles Wilson's "Julian Comstock: An Adventure of 22nd Ce…" is a combination of Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, and Herman Melville. The most amazing thing about this book is that it works. It takes place in the future after peak oil and a bunch of other stuff happen. Again not strictly steampunk, but it was the best Scifi book published this year. Wilson goes back to a narrative style he used in his hugo award willing novel Spin. With that as his solid foundation he builds on a setting and form similar to early adventure novels. However, his use of language is lush, and the numerous little ornamental phrases he adds take the novel to a level that even the best books don't normally reach.
20
Another vote for "Julian Comstock" - it's probably stuck with me more than any other book I read in 2009, and I need to read it again.
23
I can't resist sticking my nose into a recommendations thread.
Elizabeth Bear's New Amsterdam was a deal of fun. It's a series of short stories set in an alternative 1800's. The first story stars a vampire Great Detective solving a murder in a zepplin cruising to New Amsterdam. Oodles of fun. Reminds me of Randell Garret's Lord Darcy books, but a bit better written. I'm also currently reading her All the Windwracked Stars and am pleasantly baffled by a tale of a valkyrie heading into the second Ragnarok, in a world of Techno wizardry.
Sarah Monette's Melusine is excellent. It splits the narrator between a mad wizard and his brother, who is an assassin with a heart of gold. Beautiful characterization and a complex world.
Liz William's Detective Inspector Chen books are marvellous. It's set in the near future in Singapore Three and uses Chinese mythology as the basis for the world, with much running back and forth between Hell, Heaven, and our world. Hell does run on paperwork. I believe Snake Agent is the first one.
Elizabeth Bear's New Amsterdam was a deal of fun. It's a series of short stories set in an alternative 1800's. The first story stars a vampire Great Detective solving a murder in a zepplin cruising to New Amsterdam. Oodles of fun. Reminds me of Randell Garret's Lord Darcy books, but a bit better written. I'm also currently reading her All the Windwracked Stars and am pleasantly baffled by a tale of a valkyrie heading into the second Ragnarok, in a world of Techno wizardry.
Sarah Monette's Melusine is excellent. It splits the narrator between a mad wizard and his brother, who is an assassin with a heart of gold. Beautiful characterization and a complex world.
Liz William's Detective Inspector Chen books are marvellous. It's set in the near future in Singapore Three and uses Chinese mythology as the basis for the world, with much running back and forth between Hell, Heaven, and our world. Hell does run on paperwork. I believe Snake Agent is the first one.
24
@19: Agreed that Vandermeer's Finch is superior to Boneshaker. It's a weird noir story. Boneshaker is fun, but in the end it's a kitchen-sink approach to urban fantasy, whereas Vandermeer's world is deeper, stranger, and more original.
26
@19 I wouldn't read Finch without having read at least one previous Ambergris book. There is so much backstory in the books before Finch--which is technically the third of a loose trilogy--that would be lost if it were read first. I would certainly recommend Jeff Vandermeer to this reader, though!
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