Vacation Fiction

What do you read when you are offline?

Maybe a better question is if you ever go offline?  If you keep up with e-mail while on vacation, then the answer is no.

Vacations, for me, mean fiction.  Nonfiction is too close to work.

These are the books that I read on the vacation from which I just returned.

Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

Published in April of 2019.

Machines Like Me is an alternative history / speculative fiction novel about sentient robots? It is also a book about relationships, early adulthood, and the economic impact of automation.  McEwan (one of my favorite authors) imagines a history in which Alan Turing does not die in 1954, and instead goes on to lead the field of artificial intelligence. The result is that conscious robots arrive in the 1980s. Machines Like Me tells the story of London resident Charlie (a biological human) buying one of the first synthetic humans (Adam). Reading McEwan’s take on AI, automation, and an imaginary history in which Turing survives, is a pure joy. Those fascinated by the potential emotional and economic impacts of automation should put Machines Like Me on the top of their “must-read” list.

Blood Standard by Laird Barron

Published in May of 2018.

Crime fiction does not come any grittier or more violent than Barron’s hugely entertaining Blood Standard. Isaiah Coleridge, a half Maori, half Caucasian, mafia hitman turned private investigator, is a compelling and complicated character.  If you like books that feature morally questionable protagonists, then you will enjoy Blood Standard. 

The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone

Published in May of 2019.

Rarely do spy novels feature working mothers. The fact that the badass of The Paris Diversion juggles fighting terrorism with parenting and marriage makes this book more interesting than your standard thriller.  I enjoyed both the complicated terrorism and revenge plot of the novel, as well as the detailed descriptions of various Paris neighborhoods.  A fast-paced read for devotees of the spy thriller genre.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

Published in January of 2012.

I read The Rook on the recommendation of my brother, who had researched which book to bring along to a vacation. As usual, my brother’s research proved sound. (He is a data scientist, so research is one of his strengths).  The Rook is pure escapism.  The story follows a secret British organization of spies with various superpowers. The tone is light. The stakes are never too high. The characters, especially the amnesiac superpowered protagonist Myfanwy Thomas, are unfailingly entertaining.  If you like humorous fantasy (a category that I did not know existed), then maybe you should also bring The Rook on your next vacation.

Golden State by Ben Winters

Published in January of 2019.

Golden State is a challenging but rewarding read.  Challenging, as the society that Winter describes in this speculative fiction novel is wildly imaginative and hence somewhat of a challenge to get your mind around.  The book takes place in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles where a new society based on legalized truth-telling has been created.  In the city-state of the novel, the legal and cultural order is built around the necessity to guarantee the veracity of facts. Every action is documented, recorded, and transcribed.  The book follows Laszlo Ratesic, a veteran of the Speculative Service (a police force charged with investigating untruths), as he and his partner try to solve what may be a murder.  I’ve enjoyed reading the other novels from Ben Winters, including Underground Airlines and The Last Policemen trilogy.

What have you read, or plan to read, this year while on vacation?

What are you reading?