Review: The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford

The Shadow Year is the World Fantasy Award winning novel by Jeffrey Ford. Having decided to step back and try to read several of the World Fantasy Award winners, I thought I may as well begin with the most current. Full disclosure: The book did tie with Tender Morsels for the win, so it wasn't complete and total victory. Still, this book sang to me like few books do.

I was wrapped up in the setting of the book immediately. You can tell that the author grew up in the time period that he wrote about, because everything is living and breathing. It reminded me of stories my father used to tell about growing up with his older brother during the same time.

The Shadow Year is a murder mystery/fantasy/coming of age tale. As far as I can remember, the point of view character in the tale doesn't ever get a name. He's just an 11 year old boy. The story manages to blend the everyday life of growing up in the 60s with a child's hunt to catch a murderer. The novel is difficult for me to describe, so I'm just going to say that if you like coming of age tales like To Kill a Mockingbird, then this book is right up your alley.

The Shadow Year (9.5/10) is quick, humorous, frighteningly accurate, and well written to the point that I didn't want to put it down for sleep. I laughed out loud several times while reading the book. The humor inherent in growing up shines like a beacon, and looking back I can see why it beat out The Graveyard Book and the other nominees to win the World Fantasy Award. This isn't my MUST BUY of 2010, since it came out in early March of 2008, but I'm going to take a quick trip back in time and make it my MUST BUY of 2008.

Mr. Monster by Dan Wells

Dan Wells' second effort, Mr. Monster, is the second book in his amazing horror/sci-fi series. It's currently available in the UK, while a US release of his first book, I Am Not a Serial Killer, just took place last month. He's bigger than Strudel in Germany, and hopefully people will catch on to this fantastic author here in the U.S.

That being said, my review of Mr. Monster will undoubtedly be short. In fact, I could just leave the entire thing alone after spewing forth the following sentence (in all caps of course, to further clarify the extreme nature of my fanboyishness): IF YOU HAVE READ I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER YOU MUST ALSO READ THIS. There, it's just that simple. This book is the continuation of John Cleaver's struggle against the demon inside him, Mr. Monster. John tried so hard to stay away from becoming a serial killer, but after the results of book one, it's getting much much harder. He's looked at differently by everyone he knows, especially his neighbor/obsession. Can John keep it together when strange things start to happen in town again?

Everything about this book is better, faster, and creepier. Wells is really coming into his own, which is no small praise since I thought his first effort was pretty darned stellar. John Cleaver is an amazing character, and his interaction with people is even more interesting in this second installment.

Now, for the downside: the book was too short. I got it as a birthday present, and before I could even blow out the candles on the cake, I was through. I do have to remind myself that this is a young adult book, even though it's creepy enough for any adult, so it's naturally going to be a little shorter. It's also not epic fantasy, either. So, the length isn't really all that bad, considering. I just felt like things moved so quickly in the book that I didn't get as much enjoyment as I should have, somehow.

Still, the enjoyment that I did receive was huge. Mr. Monster (9.5/10) is right up there for my MUST BUY of 2010. I'd still say Changes by Jim Butcher had more of a wow factor, but it's the 12th book in the series, so you've gotta cut Wells some slack for doing something so amazing with just his second book in print.