The audiobook for Silent Night, Victor Loshak #3, is live on Audible now. Grab it here:
Silent Night on Audible
The first audiobook in the series was nominated for an Independent Audiobook Award, and our narrator, Curt Bonnem, went above and beyond once again with this new one. I laughed out loud multiple times while listening.
Oh, for Pete’s sake. Grab the audiobook! Treat yourself.
Silent Night on Audible
Looking for other reading material? Aren’t we all?
Well, you’re in luck. Here are some fresh recommendations from the vault of Vargus/McBain. We’ve got a bit of a theme going this time, so I guess you could call this our loving tribute to some of our favorite black authors:
The Ballad of Black Tom and Slap-Boxing with Jesus by Victor Lavalle. Lavalle’s writing is vivid, visceral, and moving. I originally read his short story collection, Slap-Boxing with Jesus, long, long ago and found it awesomely disturbing. His more recent Lovecraftian novella, The Ballad of Black Tom, might be my favorite of his so far, though. It won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award and is a blend of creepiness, political relevance and touches of almost Alice in Wonderland level surreal details that brought a sense of awe to the story.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Here’s one of my all time favorite dystopian/post-apocalyptic books and one of the reasons we wanted to write in the genre. The depictions of the collapsing society in this one are among the most brutal and striking that I can remember reading. They feel very real, very much conjuring how it might feel if our world disintegrated, and I think in a lot of ways this one was way ahead of its time. That bleak setting paired with the vulnerable, hyperempathetic lead character, Lauren is just an unbelievably compelling combo.
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. I just read this one a couple weeks ago due to George R.R. Martin recommending it in a quarantine reading blog post. It’s another award winning novella, taking home the Hugo and the Nebula a couple years back. The world-building and vulnerability of the main character were the stars of this show for me. It captured my imagination pretty much instantly and affected me deeply, especially for something that I read in one sitting. I can’t wait to read more Nnedi Okorafor.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X I read this one when I was 15 years old, and I still consider it one of the best books I’ve ever read and think of it often. Almost never do you encounter such a dramatic, sweeping character arc as you do in the true story of Malcolm X’s life. From his rough childhood, to his days as a pimp known as “Detroit Red,” to his time in prison, to his rise as a charismatic prophet, and then his great change as he left the Nation of Islam and took a trip to Mecca that greatly altered his personal philosophy. Rarely do I say that something enthralled me. Rarely do I say that a book is powerful. This book is both of those things. Captivating is not strong enough of a word.
Do you have any recommendations? If so, we’d love to hear them.
-Tim & LT