I tried to read as many of the 2014 must-read books I could… but of
course I couldn’t get to them all. It was a busy year for me. Writing
one big book, editing three others, plus a little thing called Life. I
read the books I could and the ones I missed will have to wait for next
year… or the year after… or the year after that. You know how it goes.
Anyway, here are my Top 10 favorites released in 2014.
1) The Martian by Andy Weir
– My number one favorite book of the year. The story of an astronaut
left behind on Mars sounds like a grim thriller but it’s actually
hilarious thanks to Weir’s humor and a wonderful main character. I loved
this book and would recommend it to basically everyone. I’ll be reading
this one again someday. Read my full review at Goodreads.
2) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
– Historical fiction isn’t usually my thing, but I was drawn in by all
the reviews. And hey, the critics got it right with this one. It’s not
wrong to call this a coming-of-age story set during WWII, but leaving it
at that really doesn’t do the book any justice. This is a wonderful
novel. Beautiful prose, strong characters, and a compelling plot – this
book has it all. It’s also… don’t tell anybody this… the only book on
this list that managed to make me cry. Just a little, you understand.
Not a lot. Not very much at all! But yes, there were tears, it’s true. Read my full review at Goodreads.
3) Bird Box by Josh Malerman
– Tense thriller that plays with horror ideas in an interesting way.
Basically, the world’s come to an end thanks to the arrival of these
creatures. What do they look like? Nobody’s sure. If you see one of them
you go insane and promptly kill yourself. Now, this book is going to
bother some people who want (need?) to know what monsters lurk in the
shadows. Because of the very nature of the creatures you are largely
denied any hard information on what exactly is going on beyond the
blindfold. Personally, I really liked this approach. I’ve always been
more scared by the horror that’s just out of sight and Bird Box tapped into that fear extraordinarily well. Read my full review at Goodreads.
4) The Troop by Nick Cutter
– Holy shit this was disgusting and awful and awesome and holy shit oh
my GOD it’s just so fucking YEUUWHY… Hmm. Yes. That describes my
feelings for this book quite well, actually. The Troop is a good, tough
horror story. Unputdownable. I doubt I will ever read The Troop again—it’s just so nasty—but I can’t wait for Nick Cutter’s The Deep in 2015 and whatever else he’s cooking up for the future. Read my full review at Goodreads.
5) Othella by Therin Knite
–Despite being an ‘indie author’ I really don’t read as much
self-published fiction as I should. Sorry, guys. Still, from the 2014
indie fiction I have read, I think Therin Knite’s sci-fi novel Othella
was the best of the best – and, if you want to make a thing out of it,
yeah it was a whole lot better than most the traditionally published
books I read this year. It’s a sci-fi thriller about a world on the
brink, a technological society of geniuses who are tasked with bringing
civilization back from the edge, and the dark secrets that threaten to
bring it all down. It’s just really cool. I look forward to the sequel. Read my full review at Goodreads.
6) The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey – The book’s description doesn't want you to know what the book is really about. I’m gonna SPOIL
it for you... It’s about zombies. Yeah, I know. I’m tired of them, too.
They’re everywhere and I fail to understand why. But I gotta give it up
for an author who manages to do something fresh and new with the tired
genre. The Girl with All the Gifts is both horrific and sweet,
featuring my favorite zombie girl in all of book & film. The book
made this bored “fan” of the genre very happy. Read my full review at Goodreads.
7) The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
– A book that I found I admired more than I actually enjoyed. But
still, the book succeeded in taking me deep into its epic story. I don’t
agree with all of its choices – particularly leaving most of the world
building for page 500 – but there’s a lot to like about the book. It’s
hugely ambitious, and among other things it presents us with perhaps the
most believable and depressing vision of the near future I’ve ever
read. Read my full review at Goodreads.
8) Landline by Rainbow Rowell
– This isn’t my typical kind of book. It’s a dialogue driven
bittersweet romantic comedy with a Magic Fucking Phone that talks to the
past. Yep. Landline was so far from being on my radar that I
hadn’t heard of it until Goodreads voters named it one of their favorite
books of the year. I also confess I don’t really know who Rainbow
Rowell is (I had heard of her book Fangirl, though). So yeah, I am
pretty far from the intended audience for this book. But I wanted to
give it a go based on all the craze praise… and it’s really, really
good. Rowell writes fantastic dialogue. Landline made me laugh
out loud, which is rare. She’s a great writer. I do think the book
overstayed its welcome just a bit. The concept started to tire sometime
before the end. But still, it’s a book well deserving of praise. And
hey, sometimes it’s cool to read something outside of your typical
genre/comfort zone. I’m glad I gave Landline a try. Read my full review at Goodreads.
9) Revival by Stephen King – Despite the hype that this is ‘vintage King’, I really don’t see Revival
as a horror novel. It’s a dark saga of two men intertwined by tragedy
and curiosity. Their curiosity brings them face-to-face with some
horrific stuff along the way, but should the novel be considered horror?
Ehh, I don’t know. So, I kind of went into Revival with
certain expectations. Once I got past the fact that the book wasn’t what
I expected I began to enjoy it a lot more. King’s fantastic writing
makes it one of my favorite books of the year. ALSO: I quite liked
King’s Mr. Mercedes. Read my full review at Goodreads.
10) Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
– I’m relatively new to Murakami’s work, but I think I’m getting a
pretty good idea of what to expect from his books. When I first read Colorless Tsukuru I
was rather disappointed (as shown in my review). I thought the book
started off brilliantly but slowly became repetitive before coming to a
completely anticlimactic ending. But in the months since reading it,
I’ve found that my feelings towards the book have softened. More than
that, I’m surprised by how much the book has stuck with me. I think on Colorless Tsukuru more than I think of many other books I read this year. Read my full review at Goodreads.
One of my other favorite reads of the year was Joe Hill's Locke & Key comic book series. I feel pretty good calling Locke & Key one of the greatest comics of all time.
The 2014 books I’m most disappointed I missed (and most looking forward to catching up with) are Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, Jesse Ball’s Silence Once Begun, Hugh Howey’s Sand, Stuart Keane’s All or Nothing, James Ellroy’s Perfidia, Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation, and Ksenia Anske’s Rosehead.
Of course those books must compete with the classics that I gotta read
and the new 2015 books that are coming out. I can’t wait to read Nick
Cutter’s The Deep and Joe Hill’s The Fireman.
How about you? What are some of your favorite books from 2014?
What are some of the books you’re most looking forward to in 2015?
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
DEATH'S GOOD INTENTIONS now available
Release day! My new book DEATH’S GOOD INTENTIONS is now available for
sale.
You can find the ebook for $2.99 at Amazon.com and £1.85 at Amazon.co.uk.
Death’s Good Intentions is Book 1 of the dark, urban fantasy
series The End of the World and Some Other Things. The series is about the man
chosen to become Death, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. Death rejects
his role in the coming Apocalypse, making himself an enemy of both Heaven and
Hell. While he hunts down his Four Horsemen brethren, Death is unaware that he
is also being hunted. A secret order called the Gatekeepers believes Death must
be destroyed. However, the woman leading the hunt is conflicted, believing that
Death could become a formidable ally...
-- Kyle
P.S. -- I expect the paperback to be available before the day is done. Also coming soon, ebooks for iTunes, Kobo, Nook, and Smashwords. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Coming soon... IN THE SHADOW OF EXTINCTION
I love monsters. Always have. Always will. Some of the first
movies I can remember seeing were things like Godzilla and Jaws. They left
lasting impressions on me. And while I enjoy monsters of all shapes and sizes,
I have a soft spot for the kaiju popular in Japanese cinema. I'm talking
Godzilla, Gamera, Anguirus, King Ghidorah, and so on. I crave these
stories and so I decided I'd like to write my own.
While I probably could write a loving homage to the Godzilla
films of old (complete with alien invaders, monster allies, laser weapons,
mystical prophets, plucky journalists, and a goofy nerd who saves the day with
his otherwise useless invention), this book isn't that. I mean, I think you
should know that the love is still there -- I wouldn't be writing the book if I
didn't love the genre -- but my story is a different kind of kaiju adventure.
I’m calling it IN THE SHADOW OF EXTINCTION: A KAIJU EPIC.
For now. Working title. May change.
Look, a synopsis!
It started with earthquakes and dead whales. Volcanoes erupt
along the Ring of Fire, killing thousands and displacing millions. But none of
that can compare to what happens when the Yellowstone caldera erupts, killing
all plant and animal life for hundreds of miles around, and spreading ash
across much of the United States.
Then the beasts started crawling out from the fissures in
the earth.
An armored bipedal burrower crawls out of Mt. Fuji and
reduces Yokohama to dust and rubble. An eel-like sea monster terrorizes ships
in the busy Pacific shipping lanes. Swarms of insect-like creatures lay their
eggs in flooded California and quickly overrun the entire state. And somewhere
in the dark, ashen landscape walks a predatory behemoth with a hunger that only
other giants can hope to satisfy.
Weakened by both the volcanic activity and the monster's
might, we turn to the nuclear solution as a means of saving humanity. Cities
are destroyed beneath mushroom clouds all around the world in an attempt to
kill the monsters. However, the monsters prove immune and their numbers keep
growing. Our efforts to stop them have only aided the beasts in reducing our
world to ruin.
Mankind's final war lasts only weeks.
This is the story of what comes after.
Governments are disbanded. Our once great cities are deemed
potential danger zones. Entire countries are decimated. But there are survivors...
Word is spoken of a great city capable of holding off any
monster’s attacks. Pilgrims from around the world make their way over the burnt
landscape, walking in the shadows of great monsters, hopeful to find this safe
haven in the west.
They call it New Detroit.
But what the pilgrims and the leaders of New Detroit do not
know is that the monsters are growing hungry. Following the traveling pilgrims
will eventually lead the beasts to Detroit, where the fate of the world will
finally be decided.
End synopsis!
The plan is to release the book at the end of the summer. But
for now, I'm still working on it. Keep checking back here for future updates,
like release dates, cover reveals, and sneak previews!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
BRAIN MOLD Goodreads giveaway (ENDED)
While you're at Goodreads, feel free to say hi! I'm new to the site, but it's pretty cool and I like it so far. I hope to see you there.
Click HERE to enter today!
Good luck and thanks!
Update 3/31/14: This giveaway has ended. Thanks to the nearly 600 people who entered. The winners have been notified by Goodreads and the books will be in the mail shortly. --K
Saturday, January 18, 2014
2013 in review: Books
My favorite reads of 2013
I must confess that I did not read any 2013 novels (at least
I can’t remember any—so if I did, they’re not worth mentioning). Most of my
reading was focused on older books, some of them published long before I was
born.
Top 3 favorite novels read in 2013:
1) The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut—One of my favorite
books of all time is Slaughterhouse Five, which I read a few years back. Since
then, I’ve been picking up a new Vonnegut book whenever I can. The Sirens of
Titan ranks as my third favorite of the Vonnegut books I’ve read so far (behind
Slaughterhouse Five and Mother Night). It’s epic, funny, sad, endlessly
imaginative, and perhaps the most challenging of all Vonnegut’s novels (a main
character has a name change half-way through, without warning or immediate
explanation). The Sirens of Titan is the work of a genius author.
2) Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz—Friends and family had been
recommending this book to me for years. Finally picked it up and found the book
well-deserving of their praise. At first, I must admit, I did not like it. I
was not prepared for the hour-by-hour storytelling (most the book takes place
over a few days). Once I got past that, I found the book very readable, with a
charming lead character, and a full universe of weird characters and
supernatural weirdness. This is my favorite Dean Koontz book. I may read the
other Odd books later on.
3) Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut—Perhaps Vonnegut’s
funniest novel. A story full of weird, sideways looks at the meaning of life,
God, humanity’s madness, and used cars as only Kurt Vonnegut could tell it.
It’s a little light on plot, but it has all the other goods.
Favorite graphic novel/comic:
Godzilla: The Half-Century War by James Stokoe—Hey, I think
this was a 2013 release! Okay, I don’t read a whole lot of comics anymore, but
I try to keep up with the good ones, and the releases related to my favorite
fandoms. I love Godzilla. Half-Century War features some awesome art and an
original Godzilla story, spanning 50 years of one soldier’s obsession with
killing/hunting/understanding Godzilla. I really enjoyed it.
Short Story:
Zombie by Chuck Palahniuk—Ooo, this was from 2013, too! How
‘bout that? I haven’t read many of Chuck Palahniuk’s books, but I love this
little short. It’s sad, strange, and kind of wonderful. Telling the story of
the youth of the nation willingly lobotomizing themselves with the use of
defibrillators to avoid responsibility and conflict, Palahniuk navigates some
dark territory, but I think he ends the story in a beautiful way. It can be
read online on Playboy’s safe for work website. Here: http://playboysfw.kinja.com/zombie-a-new-original-short-story-by-chuck-palahniuk-1465542446
Non-Fiction:
A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla
Series, Second Edition by David Kalat—Did I mention I like Godzilla? I do! I
also like David Kalat, he’s a great film historian and has recorded some really
good film commentaries over the years. This is a great textbook detailing
behind-the-scenes information and the deeper meanings behind the Godzilla
films. Whereas most are willing to write off Godzilla movies as brainless
entertainment, Kalat raises some interesting points about the political subtext
in the finer films, but isn’t afraid to admit when a movie sucks. I think this
is the best book I’ve ever read on the Godzilla series. (note that the book cover presented here is for the 1st edition, not the expanded 2nd edition which I read)
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