2021 in Review

These are the books I read over the last year—and a bit of what I thought about them…

The Stranger — Albert Camus

This book is about a man that gets caught up in a neighbor’s drama and ends up killing the neighbor’s rival in cold blood. It is well written—but rather empty. The protagonist is boring, doing only what is easy, and excusing his crime as caused by the heat. It is a strange and curious work.

Redwall — Brian Jacques

This is a children’s story about the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey, anthropomorphized animals. It is an easy and energetic read, as there is always something happening to Matthias and his numerous friends. Full of mirth and mystery, Brian Jacques has created a complicated, yet approachable yarn!

Redemption — Will Jordan

I bought this book because I love the reviews Jordan does on Youtube as The Critical Drinker. It is a fast paced tale of action and intrigue. It is a touch pedestrian, but considering it is his first work, I am quite happy with it. I look forward to the next Drake novel (of which there are currently 8).

Return From Tomorrow — George G. Ritchie & Elizabeth Sherrill

In December 1943, George Ritchie got sick and died. This book is about what he experienced on the other side and is both riveting and poignant. It is a quick and foreboding story about the lives lived by the damned.

Mossflower — Brian Jacques

This is book two of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series and tells of the founding of the legendary Abbey. Once again, Jacques sends our heroes on an incredible adventure, filled with dangers and delights. Easy to read and overflowing with action and mirth, Mossflower is a welcomed addition.

Cockroach Milk — Scott McKenzie

Cockroach Milk is a fun bit of pulp, gimmicky and full of inside jokes for anyone that follows the No Agenda podcast.

A touch absurd—but then, isn’t life?

Mattimeo — Brian Jacques

The third installment of Brian Jacques’ Redwall series follows the young son of Matthias as he is kidnapped with a number of his friends and taken to the dark kingdom of Malkariss. Once again, the story is crammed with action, wit, and tragedy. My only complaint is that my expectations for the next installment are now nearly as high as the walls of the Abbey.

Water in Plain Sight — Judith D. Schwartz

All too often, books about societal problems and the research done to study them are dry and unapproachable, written in an academic style that is anathema to the layman. Not so with this brilliant treatise. It explores not only the importance of water—but also the abundance—if only we know where to look. An excellent product!

Mostly Harmless — Douglas Adams

Mostly Harmless is the fifth and final book of the Hitchhiker Trilogy. Although it is a pleasant addition, it is not the strongest of the series.

Mariel of Redwall — Brian Jacques

Seriously?! How many books did Brian Jacques write about Redwall? Well, there are currently 21, and if they keep going as they go, I’m gonna read all 21 of them…

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead — Olga Tokarczuk

Olga has a engaging voice and tells her tale with verve and panache. Unfortunately, it comes off a bit preachy, and the mystery aspect is never much of a mystery at all.

Love Between the Lines — A. D. Brazeau

Love Between the Lines is a straight forward romance, well told, and full of heart. Perhaps it is a bit too simple for my taste—or maybe I just require the convoluted? I must say, this is certainly not a genre I often read. Still, it is both engaging and entertaining—though I wish Marlowe weren’t quite such a shrinking violet.

Ender in Exile — Orson Scott Card

When people ask me, “what is your favorite book?” My answer is always Ender’s Game. Not because it is the best book I ever read (how am I to judge such a thing when I have read so many incredible books?!), but because it exposed me to the fact that I want to write.

With that said, I haven’t been keeping track of the Ender-verse since all the Shadow stuff started. Indeed, I didn’t even know Card was still writing of Ender, or the Hegemon, or the Hive Queen at all; so when I saw this book, I was intrigued. Who knew there was a book about Ender taking place between the events of Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead that isn’t part of the Shadow series? I had to have it!

As soon as I opened it, I couldn’t put it down. Orson Scott Card is a master of the craft. At turns poignant and funny, Ender in Exile is a welcome addition to one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time.

Shadow of Earth — Phyllis Eisenstein

I discovered Phyllis Eisenstein a few years ago when I bought a copy of Sorcerer’s Son at a garage sale. Although I bought a stack of books, hers was the best. I quickly caught up on what I thought was her entire catalog of works (there were only four)—so imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered she wrote a story about a girl that gets stuck in a parallel universe?!

To start, Celia strikes me as both a touch entitled and a bit vapid—though she undergoes an incredible metamorphosis—as she comes to grips with a world so very different from the 1970’s Chicago she once knew. It is quite a study in women’s psychology, and goes to lengths to promote the advantages of scientific progress, especially the pill.

Eisenstein has a masterful voice and tells a story that dwells primarily in the emotions. She sets an engaging pace and peppers the work with growing intrigue. Of the five Eisenstein books I’ve managed to collect, this is my favorite.

Shadow of the Hegemon — Orson Scott Card

I gave up on the Ender-verse after Ender’s Shadow because I already read Ender’s Game and therefore know the general course of these books. I get that an author might want to flesh out the story of his greatest protagonist, but I worried that Card might have run out of ideas. Instead of doing something new, he’d simply gone back to the well. In a world where there is so much to read, did I really want to waste my time on another rehash?

But then, Card is one of my favorite authors…

Although I knew essentially what Shadow of the Hegemon was about, Card did a good job of pacing and narrating. Overall, I rather enjoyed the story—though it always felt safe. In the end, I guess that sometimes you just need a drink of water, and what better place to go than the well?