Here are a few books I've read recently that I can recommend:
Hominds by Robert Sawyer--This book won the Hugo for best novel this year. It was originally published as a serial in Analog. I didn't read it at the time, even though I subscribe, because I don't like to wait for the next installment to come out. I found Hominids very enjoyable. The research was meticulous and impressive. Was it the best of the year? I'm not sure. I didn't read all of the nominees, but I wasn't blown away, and it is very obviously set up for a sequel. I'm sure that Sawyer's being a Toronto native had nothing to do with his winning the Hugo at a Toronto Worldcon. Surely. But that has more to do with the nature of awards than the quality of the book.
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix--This was as engrossing a read as all of the other Harry Potter books. I think Rowling's greatest strength is the worldbuilding. I will continue to follow Harry's adventures, but I did not think OotP was among the better installments. It needed editing, and the climax did not do justice to the plot. I am noticing a weakness in Rowling's handling of her characters' emotional lives. Still, the worldbuilding is fun and playful and I couldn't seem to put it down for the entire 24 hours plus that it took to read the thing.
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson--I've met this author on one or two occasions and found her to be lovely and fascinating. She's received many awards and accolades, so I thought it was time to check out some of her work. I wasn't disappointed with Midnight Robber. It's a wonderfully imaginative science fiction/multidimensional romp set in a futuristic Carribbean world in some version of Earth's distant past...okay, if you're confused, I am, too. There's goat curry, and Carnival, and artificial intelligences, and nanotechnology, and...ankylosaurs? The book is written in very heavy dialect, which was, at times a problem for me, since I've had very little exposure to the sort of English/French patois creole whatever that's spoken in the Carribbean. In fact, there were a few words that appeared repeatedly throughout the story that I STILL didn't understand at the end, like bassourdie and duppy. Others I was able to puzzle out from context, like pickney and mako. The worst part is that due to my unfamiliarity with the existant culture and dialect of the Carribbean, I couldn't tell what she made up and what she took as-is. But this is my failing, not the book's. I did lose some of my suspension of disbelief at times, especially toward the end, but I would still recommend Midnight Robber as a fun and entertaining read.
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