With the summer months now in full swing, it’s time to start taking a crack at the backlog of reading that’s been piling up on my shelf for the past few months. All those recommendations from friends, family, and coworkers are about to receive a long overdue read. Who knows, maybe I’ll even crack open a few favorites and give them another look or two. With that said, here are a few titles I’m planning to read that might be of interest to the rest of you.
1. The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
Having been a regular visitor to the lands of Middle Earth and Narnia for many years, I’ve finally decided to take a trip to another famous world of high fantasy, the realm of Earthsea. Like many of her contemporaries and predecessors, Le Guin spent years crafting an intricate and engrossing world that spans numerous volumes of work. The series has been adapted twice, once as a mostly maligned TV movie and the other as a rather dull and uninspired anime movie. Not satisfied with either of these renditions, I decided it was high time I turned to the source material itself and give them a read, starting with the first entry in the cycle, A Wizard of Earthsea. The novel follows the life and times of a young boy named Ged, who despite his humble beginnings as the son of a bronzesmith, learns that he has quite a knack for the magical arts. After saving his village from a group of raiders, he soon finds himself in the company of other magic users like himself and begins his journey into mastering the ways of the arcane.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about the series from friends and I’ve often seen it cited as one of the more influential fantasy series. I look forward to reading the first few books in the main series and if they prove to be as interesting as they seem, chances are I’ll find myself taking a look at some of the short stories and companion pieces to the books.
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I always like to revisit my favorite novels every year or so. With the recent release of the trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of Fitzgerald’s most famous piece, I decided to revisit the familiar shores of East and West Egg. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 87 years or your high school never required you to read the novel (shame on them), chances are you’re familiar with the story of The Great Gatsby. For those of you who don’t know the story, here’s a brief introduction:
Gatsby tells the story of the naïve but endearing Nick Carraway’s life in bustling and uproarious 1920s New York. Shortly after his arrival in West Egg, Nick begins to form a close friendship with his neighbor, the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby. The two soon discover that they have some common threads among them, the most critical of which becomes their mutual acquaintance, Daisy Buchanan. What follows is tale of opulence, reckless abandon, loss of faith, and above all else, the pursuit to change the past.
What makes The Great Gatsby so interesting is the characters that populate the novel. Nick, Gatsby, and the rest of the cast are all multifaceted and well written. Fitzgerald has a gift for making his larger than life cast of characters come to life and making the reader feel like they’re right in the heart of the action, partying in Gatsby’s lavish estate or eating brunch on the Buchanan’s lawn. Be sure to give this classic a read, and if you’ve already read it once, give another go. You’ll be sure to find something new and entertaining with each read.
3. The Gunslinger by Stephen King
As a fan of King’s horror and mystery novels, I’ve been interested in reading The Dark Tower books for quite some time. Interestingly enough, I’ve had a copy of the first entry in the series, The Gunslinger, sitting on my shelf for several months now and have sadly yet to pick it up. Now that I have a bit more free time, I figured I should crack open my copy and give it read.
Incorporating elements of fantasy, horror, western, and science fiction, The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, the last of a knight-like order known as the gunslingers, as he journeys across Mid World in search of the fabled Dark Tower. The world evokes images of the old west but also contains trace elements of magic and feudal society.
King has stated that he considers The Dark Tower series his magnum opus and has even begun the process of revising the novels. Before these works receive a new coat of paint, I plan to see where they all began as I venture forth into Mid World for the first of what I hope to be many visits.
4. Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena
Another old favorite of mine. Parasite Eve is the first entry in what would eventually become a series that spans several mediums. The novel explores one of the more frightening concepts I’ve come across in a science fiction novel, the rebellion of mitochondria. Yes you read that right, mitochondria, the portion of cells that serve as the primary source of energy. Parasite Eve explores a scenario where these tiny organelles develop an intelligent conscious life-form, the titular Eve, which has waited throughout history for the necessary conditions to allow mitochondrial life to awaken its true potential and consume and control all eukaryotic life-forms.
How does Eve go about achieving this goal you ask? I’ll just say that it involves things like car crashes, organ transplants, spontaneous combustion, and an attempt to birth the perfect life form. The concept alone is interesting, but Sena’s execution and plot make for an amazing and often disturbing read. Some of the more medically oriented portions of the novel can be a bit confusing, but are by no means a deterrent.
As I mentioned earlier, the novel eventually spawned a franchise of sorts including a movie (worth a watch), and a trio of videogames. I was introduced to the series through the first videogame, also titled Parasite Eve, and instantly fell in love with the plot, main character, and the gruesome and twisted monster designs. I highly recommend the novel and if you enjoy it as much as I do, be sure to give the movie and the first two games a try (the third game is best left untouched).
5. Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka
Rounding out my list is something a little different. As a longtime fan of anime and manga, I decided it was time I start delving deeper into a series by one of the great authors of the genre, the “God of Manga” himself, Osamu Tezuka. Here in the US, Tezuka is primarily known for one his earlier works, Astro Boy as well as TV series like Kimba the White Lion. Tezuka is also known for his large stable of characters, many of whom cross over into other works regularly. There are plenty of interesting and multidimensional characters amongst Tezuka’s body of work; my absolute favorite of his creations is the rogue doctor Black Jack.
The eponymous protagonist of the series is a doctor who no longer has a medical license, but continues to perform surgeries for anyone from the poor everyman, high ranking diplomatic figures, and even crime lords. Of course like any skilled doctor, his services come at a price, typically in the form of an absurd amount of cold hard cash. What makes Black Jack so interesting however is the way he handles each patient, often scrutinizing their personal history, in an attempt to learn as much as he can about them. If a patient’s story moves him, Black Jack will retract his medical fee.
For a western parallel, Black Jack is like House, only without the drug addiction or diagnostic medicine team. Vertical Press has spent the last year or so releasing translated hardcover collections of the manga at a reasonable price. With 17 volumes available, I’ve got plenty of stories filled with mystery, intrigue, and medical marvels to take in.