The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough vs. number9dream by David Mitchell
There were moments in both of these books where I why they were unfolding as they did. But while Mitchell always makes me glad to be along for the strange and genre-hopping ride, I never did parse out why The Healer's War is a fantasy novel, other than that it's a genre Scarborough had previously published in, or at least an adjacent one. It's not bad, but even older David Mitchell is more likely to please me. That's not to talk down The Healer's War - I'm very glad I included it in my "Post-War Science Fiction" book club theme, and it gave us interesting things to talk about. It just doesn't go any further in this tournament.
Winner: number9dream
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid vs. The Last Policeman by Ben Winters
Well, there's really no contest here, is there? I hated I'm Thinking of Ending Things for a lot of reasons I go into in the review, so almost anything could have knocked it out. It's just chance that it's up against the first book in a trilogy I read all of and enjoyed thoroughly last year. There's really no question what the result is going to be. Bye-bye, I'm Thinking....
Winner: The Last Policeman
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater vs. They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson
I think I enjoyed The Dream Thieves most of the three Ravencycle books I've read so far - with Ronan at the centre, the narrative had a real drive that I haven't necessarily felt otherwise. So that gives this book a fairly easy win over Plum Johnson's memoir of her family, which is interesting, but doesn't do quite enough to justify its own existence, other than the natural and understandable desire to commemorate family.
Winner: The Dream Thieves
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst vs. The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent
Of all the first-round matches so far, this is one that is giving me pause - neither are books that I loved, both are books that I respected. So do I go with sexuality and hypocrisy in Thatcher's Britain, or a gender-segregated future? I think the writing style gives this one to Hollinghurst.
Winner: The Line of Beauty
The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross vs. Coming Home by Jack McDevitt
I feel like I'm getting spoiled by the new seeding, even though I know full well that I'll pay for it when all the books I liked most come up against each other in a round or two. But for the moment, I'll remain happy that it's easy to knock out the Futuristic-Clive-Cussler Coming Home in favour of Stross' Laundry series. We're in the U.S. with this one, with evangelical Cthulhu cults trying some fairly nasty business.
Winner: The Apocalypse Codex
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