I thoroughly enjoyedThe Yiddish Policeman’s Union . The combination of alt-history, exotic-to-me jewish and Alaskan culture, and noir detective thriller was just the kind of thing I needed to read right now. But more than the concept, I was engaged by the characters of Landsman and Berko Schemets. Science fiction has been accused of not having memorable characters, and I support that opinion. I can name the number of memorable SF/F characters on one two hands. It takes both my hands and feet just to name the memorable characters from Dickens. There’s a definite difference there. For the strong characters alone, I’m inclined to say this is more lit fic than sci fic.
The second book I read in October was Emmissaries for the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro. This was a freebie at WorldCon, snatched up at the same party I got the Chabon book. I forget the publisher holding that party, but I owe JJA for getting me in. It was the best event I attended at the con, and not just because I got eight books out of it. I had some nice conversations with some really sharp people.
As to the book itself, it was transparent to me that this is a freshman outing. I’ve been reading Castro’s short fiction for some time, but I don’t think he has found his footing in the novel realm yet. I picked this one up because it too had a noir murder-mystery pitch on the back cover, but with the added appeal of a strange constructed ecosystem with sensuwunda appeal. Unfortunately, the narrator’s personality grated on me. Andrea Cort, but I don’t know that I will remember her six months from now. I don’t want to go into too much detail about this book because I would rather you read some of it yourself and decide whether it’s for you than go on my opinion. It undoubtedly suffers from following so closely my reading of the Chabon, which is a little unfair. But I finished it, which is more than I can say about the last half-dozen SF novels I’ve tried to read.
