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Humor with Bite: Housewitch, Mermaids in Paradise, and The Grendel Affair

8 Jul

The following stories all have varying elements of urban fantasy and wit including a satire of mean moms who are real witches, a honeymoon hijacked by tropical mermaids that slyly harpoons the American dream, and the slapstick humor of monster hunters who find out that an epic literary legend is real.

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

mermaids-in-paradise
Mermaids in Paradise by Pulitzer finalist Lydia Millet defies easy classification.  The mermaids of the title make a splash briefly, but the existence of the supernatural is more a trigger for the novel’s drama than a focus as in a typical Urban Fantasy genre work (for that you can check out Mary Janice Davidson’s Fred the Mermaid series).  Also added to the mix is mystery, romance, espionage, and action.  What holds all these elements together is the caustic wit of Deb whose honeymoon with her new husband, Chip, doesn’t go as planned when mermaids are spotted on a snorkeling trip.  The book satirizes everything from upper middle class privilege, environmentalism, political correctness, relationships, and more.  Along with Deb and Chip there are a cast of quirky characters that Deb describes in biting detail.  I wasn’t expecting the ending, but as with many twists the plot took, I felt that the surprising conclusion still felt organic to the work and added a poignancy to Deb’s sometimes superficiality.

Housewitch by Katie Schickel

house-witch
Allison Darling is a witch, a secret she has kept and tried to ignore since she was abandoned by her mother as a child.  She feels like an outsider in the wealthy town where she lives and never quite fit in with the Glamour Girls, the cool moms in town, until one day her magic begins to manifest whether she wants it to or not.  When her mother passes away, Allison must confront not only her past, but that of her heritage to create a safe and better future for herself and her kids.  Housewitch at times felt like two novels in one; parts felt like a humorous take on the Mommy Wars with magic thrown in to add an air of absurdity to conflicts over things like children competing in a Science Fair and at other times it felt more of a straight urban fantasy with elements of a powerful evil witch and the use of classic nursery rhymes as spells.  For me the humorous parts were stronger elements and I would love to see Schickel focus on this more in her future books since I felt she had a keen eye for satire.

The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin

grendel-affair
Of the three books on the list, The Grendel Affair is the most typical of the Urban Fantasy Genre.  Fans of Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series or Men in Black, will want to check out Shearin’s humorous tale about the SPI (Supernatural Protection Investigations), who keep the monsters in check in Manhattan.  New agent Makeena Fraser can see through any spell or disguise so knows supernatural creatures from werewolves to vampires for their true nature.  She and her partner must prevent descendants of Beowulf’s Grendel from ruining New Year’s Eve in Time Square and revealing the existence of monsters to an unsuspecting world.  Fraser is spunky, but gets herself into a variety of quirky situations along the way to solving the case.  The series starts off with the Fraser already working for the agency and throws the reader right into the action.  The next in the SPI series, The Dragon Conspiracy is also available and is set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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Selections from the Hoboken Public Library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club 2015 Part 1: Starship Troopers, Oz, On Basilisk Station, Practical Demonkeeping, and Ubik

1 Jul

The HPL’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club returned in 2015.  We’ve had some great discussions this year.  Along with the selected works, group members discussed other favorite science fiction/fantasy books, TV shows, and movies.  We would love to have you join us for the second half of the year!  You can also check out my previous posts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) to see what the group read in 2014.  We will be discussing George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones in July, Frank Herbert’s Dune in August, Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park in September, and Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin in October (we read a classic horror novel each year in honor of Halloween)!  Come to the upcoming meetings and you can help decide what we read for the rest of the year.  We will be showing films before some of the Book Discussions.  You can email hplwriters AT gmail DOT com, to be added to the mailing list for the group and find out more information and get reminders about the books being discussed.

Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers

starship-troopers
Starship Troopers was our first book of the year and is a science fiction classic.  This is the second Heinlein book the group had discussed.  In February of 2014, we discussed Stranger in a Strange Land.  I was curious to read Starship Troopers since it is the basis for one of my husband’s favorite movies as well as an inspiration for the Halo video games.  Starship Toopers centers around one recruit’s experiences training for the military in a society where only those who serve have the right to vote in elections.  Military service starts as a way to impress a girl he likes, but becomes for Juan a moral and philosophical imperative.  Those who have only seen the movie may be surprised how much focus is put on the training rather than the battling “the bugs.”  Heinlein’s pro-military novel, which was originally marketed as for Young Adults, was so controversial at the time that it lead him to being dropped by his current publisher.  The group had a lively discussion about the book.  Starship Troopers is available as an audiobook from Hoopla.

Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, and Ozma of Oz

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In May, The Wizard of Oz turned 115. In celebration the book discussion group read the first three of L. Frank Baum’s books in his Oz series. Some of the group also watched the cult classic Return to Oz movie, which is based on The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. The books have been called the first American fairy tale and their quirky sometimes unnerving characters are very different at times from those of the Judy Garland Musical, but the timeless charm of them is undeniable. The group enjoyed the book and movie and felt that they were ahead of their time in some ways.  The group was impressed by the books, which were unusual for the early 1900’s in that they primarily feature female protagonists who rather than staying at home are instead brave, clever, and actively explore the world around them.  The group was split on which was their favorite of the three books.  I think my favorite was The Marvelous Land of Oz with its twist ending.  Some of the Oz audiobooks, as well as the film Return to Oz, are available from Hoopla.  Or you can read the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an ebook from eBCCLS or eLibraryNJ.

David Weber’s On Basilisk Station

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On Basilisk Station is the first in the Honor Harrington series.  Honor was conceived as CS Foster’s Horatio Hornblower rewritten as a female spaceship captain.  Honor is sent with her ship to a distant outpost and despite her crew at first feeling demoralized by what they see as a punishment, they are able to turn things around and Honor proves to be a brave and capable leader.  The group enjoyed the clever references to naval history and the twists and turns the plot took.  My favorite character was Nimitz, Honor’s “pet” treecat who through a telepathic link can tell how she is feeling.  There are currently thirteen books in the series so if you are looking for a new series to immerse yourself in over the summer months this might be an enjoyable choice.

Christopher Moore’s Practical Demonkeeping

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Image via Amazon

Practical Demonkeeping is Christopher Moore’s first novel.  Several characters and the town of Pine Cove, California occur in two of his later works, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and The Stupidest Angel so it is a perfect place to start to get a sense of his quirky, darkly humorous sensibility.  Practical Demonkeeping primarily focuses on a hundred year old immortal, Travis, who accidently released Catch, a human eating demon, and has been trying to minimize the damage Catch causes ever since.  He heads to Pine Cove in hopes of finally banishing Catch.  There are cast of other quirky townies who make the best out of their bad situations, as well as a salt loving genie.  The group felt that the book had a very cinematic quality and several members who were new to his work said they planned to read more of his novels in the future.

Philip K. Dick’s Ubik

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Even if you have not read any of Philip K. Dick’s books, if you are a fan of science fiction you probably have encountered one of the movies based on his work.  In June, we saw another of my husband’s favorite films, Blade Runner (we even have a poster from the movie in our basement hallway), before our Ubik discussion.  Blade Runner is based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and both it and Ubik are set in a near future, and both question the nature of humanity.  Dick is infamous for his mental health problems which included anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations.  He was able to successfully channel these issues into his works which often have a sense of unease and the possibility that reality is not what it seems. Ubik deals with a group who can block psychics from reading their minds and telling the future, as well as people who are placed in a type of half life, in a surreal limbo between living and death so they can continue to communicate with those they left behind.  The group praised the quality of writing and creativity in the novel.  Ubik is available as an audiobook from Hoopla.

I hope you’ll check out these great science fiction and fantasy works (all are available in print from our library or as an ebook on one our eReaders for loan at the reference desk) and join us on July 20 at 6 PM, when we will be discussing George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones! You can sign up here.  We will even have Game of Thrones themed snacks (not including poisoned wine, of course).

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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