Mutiny On The Bookcase
There are several (well, more like 40) contemporary fantasy books sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me to write a review about them. Some of them have been waiting for almost a year if not longer. As such, they’re not too happy with me right now. Every time I walk by I swear I hear them hissing at me. Or perhaps that’s just the ghost in the house.
If you’re a fan of urban fantasy novels I believe your bookshelf (at a minimum) should include works by Kelly Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, and Patricia Briggs to name a few. I’ve read almost all of their books and since some of them are a few years old I don’t plan to write full reviews of them. Instead I plan to offer up “mini-reviews” of the books that cover the key plot points JUST IN CASE there are folks out there that haven’t gotten around to reading them.
Well, that’s not the main reason.
You see, there’s something weird going on in my home. When I look at the fantasy books on my bookshelf or walk by them something odd happens: I get the sense that some of the fantasy books are upset with me. I just added newly purchased books in that genre to my collection but I don’t get that “vibe” from them. They know that I plan to read them very soon and publish reviews of them. No, it’s the older books I’m concerned about.
I think they’re plotting something.
Do you remember the movie Gaslight with Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman? Filmed in 1944, it focuses on a husband’s attempts to make his wife believe she’s going insane. The husband (Boyer) removes pictures from the wall, randomly dims and brightens the gaslights throughout the home, and walks around at night in their sealed attic. Before the film ends the wife indeed believes she’s going mad.
I think there’s a parallel between that movie and the books on my bookshelf. I keep waiting for them to start flying through the air at my head. Even as I’m writing this article I keep glancing at them to make sure they’re not inching closer. And lately I’ve been careful about turning my back on them.
So I’ve decided to give them their due, ergo the mini-review idea. I haven’t decided what I’ll call the series yet. How does “5 Min. Minis” or “3 Minute Quickies” sound? Yes the idea needs some work.
But just in case something happens to me before I’ve written all of the reviews please tell the police that I’ve had concerns about the older fantasy books for some time now. Point them to this article as evidence (I can use the traffic). Tell the CSI team to look for page fibers and dust bunny filaments. If they find the new books on the floor and the older ones sitting on the bookshelf you’ll know who to point the finger at.
Sshh. Did you hear that? I think one of them just moved.
Scarlett Moore writes reviews of contemporary, urban, and science fiction fantasy books. Come explore your darker side at Best Fantasy Stories.