The Orphan Master's Son

This one is a doozy. It feels like historical fiction, because everything about North Korea's oppressive regime seems like something that should no longer exist in the world. It feels like satire, or parody, for the same reasons. It's almost reminiscent of Catch-22 in some parts...but then you stop reading and start Googling to get more information on North Korea and...you stop smirking. Quickly.

What Adam Johnson has written is a sweeping tragic romance /adventure story; a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that explores what might be lost by people living in a society where every intimacy is suspect and self-expression is a dangerous endeavor. And imagines what they might be able to hold onto, despite it all. It took me a few chapters to get into it - I almost felt a little culture shock. But by the half-way point, I couldn't put it down. The story of Jun Do, an orphan, wanders improbably from nefarious missions to fishing boats to Texas (!) to prison camps...and that's just the first half. Johnson never loses the thread, and his characters are beautifully and hauntingly realized. Even when inserting a real-life figure into his fiction, it's done skillfully and naturally enough that you don't find yourself raising your eyebrows and saying 'Hey! That guy!' (aka The Forrest Gump effect).

Read this book. Go where it takes you. Learn more - and consider a donation. Feel all the things!

4.5 Dear Leaders out of 5.

The Lies of Locke Lamora

You know those tumblrs that are mash-ups of Game of Thrones with lines from other TV shows? Arrested Westeros is obviously the best. Others are somehow less than the sum of their parts. This book is like if someone made an amazing Game of Thrones x Ocean's 11 tumblr (A Song of Heist & Fire? That's a freebie; go for it), but, surprise! the tumblr is actually a great fantasy novel with a terrible cover. As you can see.

But inside! You got your lovable band of con-men tricksters, your mysterious villains, your sexy shark-fighting ladies, your sky-high towers made of alien glass, and capers oh so many capers and cons and heists. It's so fun. It should be made into a movie, or, better yet, an HBO miniseries (so hot right now) so we can all spend more time with Locke Lamora and his lovable cabal of mischievous orphan tricksters, The Gentlemen Bastards. That last part sounds pretty cheesy but I promise you, no one breaks into song, and Scott Lynch throws in plenty of swear words and blood & guts.

The world-building is fantastic, just enough detail without overwhelming. I almost wished I knew more about the setting, a Venice-like city called Camorr full of alchemical gardens & floating markets. They have cinnamon lemons there - how good would cinnamon lemonade be? Hey, if there's a nerd out there reading this, please throw a Gentlemen Bastards party with themed food and invite me (I'm nerdy enough to attend, but not host, such gatherings).

Lynch also borrows from the George R.R. Martin school of fuckery and "things that cause readers to yell at your book" at a few points. A great book giveth, and a great book taketh away.

5 cool, refreshing glasses of nerd-brewed cinnamon lemonade out of 5.