To wrap up this year, I'm running down a list of all the books I've read in 2022, along with a few thoughts on each.
If some of these books don't sound familiar, it's because the two biggest sources for this list are digital galleys for upcoming books, some of which have not been released yet, and obscure vintage pulp paperbacks I’ve picked up from used bookstores in my travels. (I've also got some vintage pulp paperback video reviews up on TikTok.)
My reading device of choice is the Kindle Oasis, which is frankly overpriced and like all of Amazon's Kindle ecosystem, kinda clunky and outdated-feeling. That said, the Oasis is still better than the Kindle Paperwhite, and if you're a serious ebook reader, I recommend it for its slightly bigger screen and physical page turn buttons. (I have not had a chance to try the big-screen Kindle Scribe yet, but here’s the CNET review).
The links below go to each book’s Goodreads page, but my own book, The Tetris Effect, is available on Amazon in physical, ebook and audiobook forms. It's a real-life cold war thriller of how the most important video game ever made, Tetris, was stolen from the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and the international intrigue behind the hunt for the game's profits.
The New York Times said that The Tetris Effect: "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth," and, “When Ackerman evokes this clunkier era ruled by DOS, IBM PCs and Soviet bureaucrats clueless about property rights, the story shines."
The books below are in no particular order, just listed as I remembered them…
Digital books I've read in 2022
Briardark
by S.A. Harian
A little Jeff VanderMeer/Southern Reach trilogy, a little Lost/1899/etc., mysterious TV show vibe, with a touch of cosmic horror. The first part of a trilogy about a team of scientists lost in the wilderness. Drags a bit in the middle, but I'll read the next one.
Suburban Hell
by Maureen Kilmer
Suburban demonic possession story that reminded me a lot of Grady Hendrix's "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires." It starts with a great hook about a haunted "she shed" in a suburban backyard, and even though the story mostly works, I wanted to know more about that shed.
Every Man a King
by Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley is maybe my favorite contemporary author, and this is the second book in his King Oliver detective series. There’s a few interesting twists on the usual Mosley crime formula, making this a good, but not groundbreaking, read. (Bonus! Watch my in-depth chat with Walter Mosley from a few years ago here.)
The Ferryman
by Justin Cronin
I'm generally not a fan of the quirky, hermetically sealed future society as a story device, but Cronin's writing makes up for it. He's one of the masters of literary genre fiction and The Passage trilogy is one of my all-time favorites. One fatal flaw -- the big twist is telegraphed a mile away, and it's exactly what you think it is.
The Mimicking of Known Successes
by Malka Older
Cool little detective story set on a Jupiter colony. Great characters, solid Holmes-and-Watson vibe.
Upgrade
by Blake Crouch
Really great opening that then devolves into a standard framed-guy-on-the-run story.
Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer
by M. Rickert
Fun short horror novel. The "meet some randos who become my friends" vibe reminded me of Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library.
Leech
by Hiron Ennes
Really interesting dystopian future murder mystery. It took a while to connect the title with its meaning in the larger story, but the payoff is fantastic.
Run Time
by Catherine Ryan Howard
For whatever reason, I love novels about strange happenings on horror movie sets. Same vein as Night Film, if not as surreal.
The Scourge Between the Stars
by Ness Brown
Great concept: evil forces loose on a spaceship heading back to Earth after a failed colonization attempt, but it glossed over the third act too quickly.
Daphne
by Josh Malerman
Supernatural slasher about a high school basketball team. Creepy, but runs into the familiar problem of an overpowered monster. Surprisingly gory.
Three Miles Down
by Harry Turtledove
Great concept about finding a sunken spaceship in the 1970s, but ends just when you think it's about to kick off.
The Kaiju Preservation Society
by John Scalzi
Fun monster romp with some timely modern-day tech startup vibes.
Echo
by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Excellent cosmic horror with Lovecraft/At the Mountains of Madness vibes. This is the second book on this list about mysterious mountains that sometimes disappear/reappear. Drags in the middle sections, but picks up at the end.
The Woman in the Library
by Sulari Gentill
Boston-set murder mystery. Took me a few tries to get into, but worth it, especially for the Inception-like triple-nested narrative of a book within a book within a book.
Fellstones
by Ramsey Campbell
I've devoured a ton of Ramsey Campbell novels over the past couple of years. A minor work, but great creepy small town vibe. Slow, but throws some big punches by the end.
The City & The City
by China Miéville
Ever since seeing a TV miniseries adaptation several years ago, I've wanted to read this. Noir mystery set in twin cities occupying the same space, but whose citizens refuse to acknowledge each other. Really a story about the overpowering influence of bureaucracy. Highly recommended, and China Miéville feels like a very relevant author right now.
Up Against It
by Laura J. Mixon
A recently re-released 2011 sci-fi novel (originally written under the pen name M.J. Locke) that follows several threads among settlers on an ice-mining asteroid cluster. Part mystery, part political thriller. Could have easily been an Expanse-like TV series.
Friend of the Devil
by Stephen Lloyd
An insurance investigator gets mixed up in demonic doings at a private school. Seemed fine, but honestly, I barely remember anything about it.
Last Exit
by Max Gladstone
Really intriguing interdimensional road trip. I liked it a lot, but had two issues: The action picks up many years after a much more interesting backstory. The ending is so vague and muddled, I was never really sure what actually happened.
The Way of the Worm
by Ramsey Campbell
Third part in a Lovecraftian trilogy from one of my favorite authors, following a trio of English schoolchildren and an eldritch conspiracy. Each book takes place decades apart. The first volume, set in the 1950s, was the best, but it’s worth reading all three -- the entire series is called The Three Births of Daoloth.
These Prisoning Hills
by Christopher Rowe
Shortish novella about the aftereffects of a humans-vs-AI war. The story was going along great and then abruptly ended. I'd definitely read a full novel-length version.
Nothing But Blackened Teeth
by Cassandra Khaw
Haunted house novella with a Japanese folklore twist. Had some buzz when released, very readable, but didn't really go anywhere.
Vintage paperbacks I've read in 2022
They Walked Like Men
by Clifford D. Simak
Real estate sci-fi from 1962. Shape-shifting aliens are literally buying all the real estate on Earth so they can conquer the planet in an entirely legal way. Dated, but loved it. Watch my TikTok review here.
Time's Last Gift
by Philip Jose Farmer
I'm on a bit of a Philip Jose Farmer kick right now. This is a great time travel story that spends some interesting cycles on the mechanics of time travel, but also slides into soap opera territory at times.
Out of the Deeps
by John Wyndham
From the author of Day of the Triffids, this is a story about...basically underwater Triffids, but not as good.
All Judgment Fled
By James White
I really wanted to like this story about scientists intercepting a derelict spaceship. It reminded me of the opening chapters of Colin Wilson's The Space Vampires. But a major plot point revolves around the scientifically unsound idea of people instantly exploding in the vacuum of space if they have even a tiny hole in their suits, Outland-style, and that really pulled me out of it.
The Wind Whales of Ishmael
by Philip Jose Farmer
Another trippy Philip Jose Farmer book, this time a sequel to Moby Dick, where poor Ishmael is transported billions of years into the future. Slight, but fun. Watch my TikTok review here.
Meeting the Bear
by Lloyd Zimpel
Early '70s speculative fiction about racial tensions in a future America. A lot of the language is dated, but parts feel incredibly timely, from "fake news" discussions to reactionary right-wing politics. Watch my TikTok review here.
Deep Freeze
by H. Walter Whyte
Irresistible concept. Guy from 1977 gets frozen (by mafia doctors!) and wakes up in 2008. Goes absolutely nowhere, but I love how bonkers this version of 2008 is. Flying cars, yes. But also everyone wears one-piece color-coded jumpsuits and eats coffee pills.
The Status Civilization
by Robert Sheckley
Slim novel about a prison planet that somehow turns into a sociology survey once our protagonist inevitably makes his way back to Earth. It’s like two books in one, and the exploration of an addled Earth society in the second half is much more interesting.
Tunnel Through the Deeps
by Harry Harrison
In an alternate history, the US lost the Revolutionary War and George Washington was executed as a traitor. In the 1970s, his descendent, Gus Washington, is an engineer in charge of building a giant Chunnel-style underwater railway from England to New York. If you're expecting a mind-bending multiverse story like Man in the High Castle....well, no it's actually mostly about the actual engineering challenges of building an underwater tunnel. Bit of an odd narrative choice, but I couldn't help but like it anyway.
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Plugs!
Buy my book, The Tetris Effect, at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Tetris-Effect-Game-Hypnotized-World-ebook/dp/B01DWX9T7G/
“Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth...the story shines” — The New York Times
Buy my tabletop game, Techlandia, at TechlandiaGame.com!
“A fun mix of quirky social commentary and Lovecraftian horror.” — Gizmodo