Hello and welcome to my February 2024 book review round-up. As laid out in my February preview post, I had quite a lot of books to work my way through last month, and I have to say I’m pleased with how I fared. I’ve never really set reading challenges before, but I found it helped focus my reading, and helped me make sure I carved out time to work through as many books as possible. As expected, I didn’t quite make it through all of them, but with only one (and a half) book left out, I consider it a job well done.
The Classic in Waiting
The book I was most concerned about reading was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. If I didn’t enjoy this 650-page behemoth, it was going to destroy any chance I had of reading my February pile. I need not have worried.
It did still take a good eight or nine days for me to work my way through it, but there is a reason why it has been so critically acclaimed and why it won the Pulitzer Prize. A reworking of David Copperfield (which I haven’t read), the novel is set in a rural community in the Appalachian mountains and examines the deep-rooted problems of poverty and addiction. It is not a cheery read, but it is a compelling one.
Much as Dickens used his works to highlight the societal inequalities of Victorian Britain, Kingsolver uses Demon Copperhead to examine how rural America is marginalized, left prey to unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies, and generally forgotten by the rest of the world. Her story is one of adversity, friendship, and the debilitating nature of chronic poverty.
Whilst arguably not very much happens in the book, I found the unfolding of Demon’s life made for addictive reading. This book deserves all the plaudits it has been awarded and I thoroughly recommend it.
Children’s Books
I read three children’s books in February and one book about children’s books.
Why You Should Read Children’s Books Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell (Author of Impossible Creatures) is 80 pages that I think most parents will relate to. It is a wonderful elegy to the power of children’s books and their ability to enthrall. For those of us who are slightly embarrassed to admit they enjoy books written for 12-year-olds, this essay is the most soothing of balms.
My favorite book of the month was The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Haggar-Holt. This is a wonderful book about the recent history of the LGBT+ community and a celebration of diversity and acceptance. It should be required reading for everybody, everywhere. You can find my full review, here.
The Black Hole Cinema Club is a reality-bending story by Christopher Edge, who is a master at taking complicated concepts of physics and repackaging them into wonderful tales for readers, aged 10 upwards. This book releases in the UK in March, so I shall do my full review in a couple of weeks, but this story of a fully immersive cinema experience, takes its readers to whole new dimensions. It is well worth a look.
Shadowhall Academy is a spooky mystery story that merges classic British private school capers with good old fashioned ghost story. Phil Hicks treats his readers (again from around 10 upwards) to a tale that keeps you reading and that is genuinely creepy. Never shocking or too scary, Shadowhall Academy is a flowing read that will entertain your children’s inner goths!
(Not) The End of the World
Paul Hardisty is back in February with a follow-up to his eco-thriller The Forcing. The Descent is a companion novel, and the two combine to make a greater whole. Hardisty delivers a chilling portrait of unstoppable climate change and egomaniac billionaires in this all too plausible morality tale. Check out my full review, here.
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner has a post-apocalyptic vibe to it, with the action taking part after a cataclysmic battle. It features a world-rebuilding much like the recently reviewed Eidyn Saga. Both books feature beleaguered kings and trusted aides working at their side, and whilst they are very different in tone, their plots have a pleasing symmetry. I very much enjoyed Godkiller. It’s a great character-driven fantasy with an innovative magic system. I feel like I write that about every fantasy book I read, so maybe I’m a sucker for magic systems; the inventiveness of fantasy authors never ceases to amaze me.
What I enjoyed most about the book was its ruminations on faith. Gods in the book, are generally seen as a bad thing. They have caused a lot of angst, and a host of deaths; yet despite all the drawbacks, people cling to them. The examination of the good and not-so-good about faith and superstition makes for an interesting read. Oh, and there are awesome sword fights.
I’ve only half read the brick that is The Dragons of Deepwood Fen. The author Bradley P. Beaulieu stakes claim to the influences of Tolkien, Hobb, and Martin, and it’s easy to see these as we read. The world is complex, both in its physical and political structuring; there is much to decipher in the opening 250 pages about who is who, how magic and religion work, not to mention all the different types of dragon. It has taken a bit of work to get into, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the final half of the novel pans out. It’s the first book in a trilogy, so there is a long way to go yet. I shall report back later in March what I thought of the novel as a whole.
So that was it for me in February. Some great books for me to sink my teeth into and I ended up being very glad of the extra day to get through my pile. I didn’t quite manage it, and looking at what I have set aside for March, this month won’t be much different. The perils of an inveterate book buyer.
Disclosure: I received review copies of most of the books in this article. Links to Bookshop.org are affiliate links.
