Books in December 2020

Six non-gaming books this month to bring the year to an end. 

The Darkest Part of the Forest (Holly Black)

I bought this on impulse and I'm glad I did. It's a little more Young Adult than I expected but there's an energy and simplicity to the storytelling that fits the fairy-tale vibe. The people of Fairford (in the USA) live at the edge of a forest which is enchanted and inhabited by the fey. Tourists flock there and sometimes disappear or meet horrible fates in the woods. They're attracted by a fairy-prince who lies in a glass casket, horns on his head, never waking, never dying.
The story follows Hazel and Ben, two teenagers who live in Fairford and have links to the Fey, the woods and the sleeping prince. Hazel is the protagonist, and she becomes entwined in fairy machinations once the prince's body disappears from the broken casket. I found the story enjoyable and fresh, and I'd happily read another in the same setting.

Last Stand in Lychford (Paul Cornell)

The Lychford books come to what appears to be a conclusion in this short novella. Lychford is under siege from an enemy from outside this world which threatens our reality, and Autumn (the magic shop owner) and Lizzie (the CoE vicar) must work together to protect the people of the town and multiple realities. Don't read this if you haven't read the originals; this is a straightforward plot, and the reader will only get the most out of it if they've read the other books. It's a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Babylon Berlin - the Graphic Novel (Arne Jysch & Volker Kutscher)

This is the graphic novel version of the first of the Gereon Rath stories. It's a reasonably faithful adaptation of the book (so if you come to it from the TV series you will find many differences), and competently illustrated in black and white (which feels appropriate). It's an enjoyable take on the story, but in my case, it suffers a little because my visual imagery of the characters and locations is driven by the TV show.

Seven of Infinities (Aliette de Bodard)

Another novella by Aliette de Bodard in her Xuya universe. There are shadows of 'The Tea Master and the Detective' in this, as this is an investigation involving a starship mind and a scholar. It's a delightful read, as a lower class scholar tries to stop her world unravelling against the class structures of the Empire after a body is found.

The Labyrinth (Simon Stålenhag)

The latest Simon Stålenhag artbook tells the tale of Earth after alien spheres arrive and start to change the atmosphere. The protagonists are survivors, recruited into the military project set in the Kungshall bunker with the aim of preserving civilisation. They're sent out on a scientific mission some years later, and it all goes wrong. 

This is very dark, both as a story and in the art. All the exterior artwork is deep green in colour, reflecting the changed atmosphere that the world is suffering from. You have to look at it carefully to draw the details out, but it's worth taking the time. It's a good book and (once again) could easily be used for a gaming setting.

Night Falls on Berlin of the Roaring Twenties (Boris Pofalla, Robert Nippoldt)

This is a glorious artbook, tracing the journey of Berlin during the Weimar Republic. The book is populated with superb black and white illustrations, rather than photographs, and is full of fascinating facts and descriptions of places, people and events. It's not a book that can be read lightly, as it demands the time to explore. I really enjoyed it, and the CD which is included has recordings of music from the time which are referenced in the text so you can put them on at the appropriate time. An excellent book to finish the year on.

1 January 2021