Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Review of List 1: Connie Willis: Too Good To Miss

It's time, finally time, to do a list review. I bet y'all thought I'd forgotten mwahahahahahaha. *ahem* *cough* However, since this is not really a thematic list in the first place, I imagine that this review will be somewhat different from reviews I cobble together in the future.

Looking back over the list, I have to say that I enjoyed every book on there. I haven't managed to find a copy of Firewatch in any of my local libraries so I will probably break down and buy myself a copy but I feel that I can assess it as a list at this point.

I think when Pearl put this list together she just listed every novel and collection of short stories available at the time. As a living author this list is bound to grow. For a complete bibliography of Connie Willis' works click here. I think the important thing to say is that Willis is brilliant. She explores interesting concepts and it truly feels like much of her fiction spirals out of a 'what if' kind of question. The other thing to say is that, despite apparent subject matter, Willis books are not easy reads. I would not recommend reading her works rapidly and back to back the way I did. Eventually, it gets hard to continue reading even though the writing is not suffering and the plots are not less interesting.

It's hard for me to pick a favorite from this list so let me pick a couple.

Favorite:

Willis book over all: Doomsday Book - I simply couldn't put it down.

Fantasy: Water Witch

Piece of speculative fiction:Bellwether closely followed by Lincoln's Dreams

Short story: Even the Queen (Impossible Things)

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