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July is “Beach Reads” season. People are reading books on the sandy shores of various large bodies of water all over the place. More importantly, blogs and news outlets across the country are releasing their annual lists of the best books to read on the beach. Some of those lists are fine, some of them are bad, some of them are full of funny little jokes. What none of these lists offer is the special Dang Dude touch. That is, none of those lists were put together by me. As the owner of a burgeoning book recommendation business (really! See here) I figured I’d better offer my own, perfect, list of the best beach reads. So, without further ado, here they are:
10. Jhereg – Steven Brust
Lots of lists will try to tell you that only some books are some beach reads. That there are certain criteria that books must meet to qualify for beach read status. That’s bullshit. Any book is a beach read if you read it on the dang beach! But enough grandstanding. Jhereg is a book about a snarky assassin and his pet beast living in a world where humans are a minority. Twisty, fun, and clever, Jhereg is a perfect introduction to Brust’s long running series.
9. The City of Brass – S.A. Chakraborty
A newer work of fantasy, this book follows Nahri, a con woman living in an alternate version of the 18th-Century Ottoman Empire. Full of demons, djinn, and raucous adventures, City of Brass is perfect for reading while you lounge at the beach. Chakroborty has created an incredible world, mixing real history with her fervent imagination. A great read.
8. Anno Dracula – Kim Newman
Nothing gets pulpier than this. A re-telling of both the Jack the Ripper story and the original Dracula, it takes place in an alternate England where vampires exist. Featuring a number of characters from classic British novels, Newman reimagines them in a number of wide and wonderous ways. The story moves at the speed of light, and not even some killer waves will convince you to put this book down.
7. Gideon the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir
Gideon the Ninth was THE book when it came out. It received tons of press and climbed up a number of best seller lists. While the sequels have not received the same attention as the original, it’s still worth a read. Set in an imaginative future, where necromancers control much of the galaxy, Gideon the Ninth is both a love, coming-of-age, and adventure story. Plus, it’s pretty funny. It keeps the sci-fi stuff pretty light as well, for those who don’t love love outer space stuff. Don’t understand that personally, but I guess that’s true for some people.
6. The Black Opera – Mary Gentle
I love a good original magic system. In The Black Opera, music is the basis of magic. Gentle doesn’t just do good world-building. She also creates intriguing characters and gives them interesting stuff to do. Hard to beat that in a book. Read this while downing a mixed drink or two and sitting under one of those nice sun umbrellas.
5. The Outsider – Stephen King
Stephen King is, well, the King when it comes to beach reads. One of the few true masters of fiction, The Outsider is one of the best of his recent works. A supernatural murder mystery, The Outsider combines hardboiled detective antics with King’s singular horror touch. It also got made into a pretty decent HBO series. One of the few decent King adaptions out there.
4. The Tombs of Atuan – Ursula K. LeGuin
LeGuin is the Queen for a reason. Tombs of Atuan is geared at slightly younger readers, but still contains much for adult readers. As an added bonus you can probably finish it in an hour or two if you want. While technically a sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea, this can be read as a standalone novel without losing out on anything. A tale of a lonely kid in a lonely and frightening world.
3. Borne – Jeff VanderMeer
I’ve mentioned this before but VanderMeer name searches on Twitter. I know this because I made fun of his politics without tagging him and now, I’m blocked. Which is fine. You never want to meet your heroes. Despite his desperately centrist political outlook, he is a great fiction writer. Borne is one of his quicker reads, imagining a world being retaken by nature. Full of fantastic creatures, mysterious corporations, and a giant bear, Borne is a love story set during a slow apocalypse. I read this on the beach in Barcelona so I can personally guarantee that it’s a great beach read.
2. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold – John LeCarré
A banger. Sometimes winter is best experienced on a warm beach, as the salt air flows through your locks. LeCarré’s novel follows British Intelligence forces in East Berlin during the height of the Cold War. Full of twists and turns and the usual LeCarré introspection, this book is both insightful and action-packed. It’s also pretty short, which is a bonus.
1. The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson
These days Stephenson is known for writing 500+ page near-future thrillers. But he first made his name with books like The Diamond Age, a shorter cyberpunk thriller. The Diamond Age is one of his best early novels, imagining a future world split apart into small micronations. It follows a young father as he tries to make a place in the world for his daughter, and a young orphan who wants to change the world completely. Full of fun inventions and a fully realized world The Diamond Age is a wonderful potboiler.
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