The Methadone List from The Outlandish Companion
Copyright © 1998 Diana Gabaldon, The Outlandish Companion. All rights reserved.

Violent Wee Buggers - 28 January 2008

I don’t know what it is about Celtic writers, but they seem to have the simultaneous gifts of poetry and majorly gruesome imagination—which is, of course, a combination I personally find irresistible. [g] Here are some of my favorite crime writers—mostly Scots, with an Irishman thrown in, and one American who, whatever his ethnic heritage, has the gift of poetic grue, in spades.

Ian Rankin
Ian’s gotten to be very well-known in Scottish literary circles (and is a cover-boy for the National Trust of Scotland’s publications—yay, Ian!) for his series of crime novels starring Inspector John Rebus. These are police procedurals, set in Edinburgh (and invariably described as “gritty”). Like any good crime book, they deal not only with the solution of the crime, but with the detective’s personal life and how it’s affected by his/her pursuit of evil. Rebus is a fascinatingly flawed character, whose personal life outside his career is largely nonexistent—lonely, cranky, obsessed, alcoholic—but redeemed by his obstinacy, and by the friends who stick by him despite his flaws.

For best effect, the novels should be read in (rough) order, so you can follow the evolution (and convolutions) of Rebus’s private life. They can be read as stand-alones, though, since each novel is a well-structured and self-contained investigation.

Here’s the link to Ian Rankin’s novels on Amazon.com; you can get the reading order from the dates of publication—so far as I know, all the Rebus titles are in print and available.

Adrian McKinty
McKinty is the Irishman, with a stunning trilogy (the “Dead” trilogy—very accurate): Dead I Well May Be, The Dead Yard, and The Bloomsday Dead. All three books deal with the (grisly, hyperviolent, blood-soaked) adventures of a young Irish gangster who comes to New York, promptly runs into trouble—and stays in it. Not for the weak of stomach, but both characters and language are exquisite.

Val McDermid
Val does books which could best be described as thrillers (though they do have the structure of murder mysteries, for the most part), because they move a mile a minute. Most are standalones, though two or three have recurrent main characters. The outstanding feature of all of them is the absolutely horrible psychopathic villains she writes, and the ghastly things they do. She’s also written a series of much milder mysteries (the Kate Brannigan series), though I prefer (naturally) the grisly ones.

Stuart MacBride
A new find! Stuart MacBride’s Logan McRae series is set in Aberdeen, and besides having a wonderful sense of place, is grossly violent, blood-soaked-—and hilarious. He has the best characters, from the massive, candy-munching DI Inch to the cadaverous, chain-smoking lesbian DI who is the bane of McRae’s professional life. To say nothing of criminals given to snipping off people’s fingers joint by joint and forcing them to swallow the pieces… I really wasn’t kidding about the heading of this list. You Have Been Warned. Great stuff, though!

Don Winslow (honorary wee bugger)
Don Winslow is, I think, an American, and I strongly recommend all his books, from earlier titles like The Death and Life of Bobby Z, and the Neal Carey series (A Cool Breeze on the Underground, etc.) which are great but not unduly violent, up to the amazing California Fire and Life and The Power of the Dog—which are. Wonderful characters, plots, and writing—but not, repeat not, for the weak of stomach.

And What Do I Read in the Meantime?!? - 25 July 2007
Excellent question! And-being that I read Absolutely All the Time myself-I have an update to The Methadone List here, with a number of good books to see you through (according to taste; personally, I'll read anything good) until August 28th. [g] Forthwith:

Mistress of the Art of Death, by Arianna Franklin. Great book! One of the best I've read in months. It's a 12th-century forensic thriller, and manages to mix history, crime, forensic medicine, sex, and humor (it's extremely funny-though occasionally in a macabre way) with absolutely wonderful characters. Definitely gruesome in spots, but not really gory.

The Remains of An Altar, by Phil Rickman. Actually, all Rickman's books are very high on my favorites list; this is the latest in his series about Merrily Watkins-a Church of England vicar, who's a widow with an obnoxious teenaged daughter. She's also the official Exorcist for the diocese of Hereford. [g] Rickman's earlier books (which are also excellent) were horror (and genuinely scary), and he handles the supernatural and the atmospheric (his books are all set on the border between England and Wales) with a very fine touch, as well as having terrific characters.

The Bloomsday Dead, by Adrian McKinty. This is the third in a Very Violent trilogy about a young Irish gangster. I'm not kidding about the violence, but McKinty does it in the most poetic way-really a lovely, lovely writer (and he does sex well, too), but seriously not for the weak of stomach. (The first two books in the trilogy are Dead I Well May Be, and The Dead Yard.)

Natural Born Charmer, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Phillips is one of my very favorite romance writers; I've loved all her books, and this is one of her best. She has the knack of creating bigger-than-life characters who are still totally human and very engaging-and is one of the best plotters around.

Nefertiti, by Michelle Moran. I'm hoping this is out, now; I read it when the publisher sent it to me with a request for a cover blurb. Terrific, classic historical fiction, with wonderfully-drawn characters (not that you can go wrong with a character like Nefertiti), wonderful details of early Egyptian history and culture, and a great plot. My younger daughter, who also read it, describes it as "Sincerely awesome!"

The Blooding of Jack Absolute, by C.C. Humphreys. This is absolutely [g] classic historical adventure, by someone who really knows the 18th century. Battles, duels, love-affairs, rivalries…and "To be or not to be" in Mohawk. Can't beat that! (It's a prequel to Jack Absolute, by the same author, which is also wonderful.)

Smuggler's Bride, by Darlene Marshall. All Marshall's books (there are three at the moment, including Pirate's Price Price and Captain Sinister's Lady) are hilarious pirate romances; nonstop humor and 3-D characters with great sex.

Death Comes for the Fat Man, by Reginald Hill. Hill's one of my longtime favorites; wonderful writer, with one of the best series going-a long-running series of contemporary English police procedurals featuring detectives Peter Pascoe and his boss, the fat, irascible, and always-right Superintendent Andy Dalziel. The characters are marvelous, but Hill also is a master at twisty plots, a very insightful writer with a great compassion for humanity (and a great sense of humor), and an artist with language. This is the latest in the series, and one of the best-though if you have a choice, I'd start with one of the earlier books (there are at least twenty of them), so you can appreciate the development of the characters through the series.

So-with luck, that will keep you going for the next month or two. [g] Enjoy your summer reading!

03 January 2006

Buy Bob's Book! (Er…ROB, I mean)

The minute I finish a book, I begin getting email from people who've already read it, and want to know a) when is the next one coming out? (how would I know? I haven't written it yet, for goodness sake), and b) what else can they read while impatiently waiting?

In answer to the second of these queries, I started The Methadone List some years ago, and continue to post new additions—recommendations of some of my own favorite books and authors, which you might enjoy.

Well, now I've got something special to recommend—my excellent, talented, and delightful brother-in-law, Rob Palmer (we call him Bob, but he writes as Rob; evidently his publisher thinks that looks better on the cover) has written an excellent and delightful thriller, titled No Time to Hide. Official pub date is today, January 3, and so I wanted both to congratulate him on the book—and, of course, to urge y'all to go have a look at it, at www.robpalmerbooks.com. (You can, of course, get it at www.amazon.com , www.barnesandnoble.com, or your friendly neighborhood bookstore.

This is a terrific book, starring Ben Tennant, aka "The Laundryman," whose job with the Witness Protection Program is to launder people's pasts, and present them with a shiny new identity. But what about the people who are too hot for the FBI to handle? He helps them disappear, too—on the side.

One of these hot potatoes is Patrice Callen, a beautiful con artist. She's disappeared, all right—but now the CIA wants her back. Ben can find her, but will he give her up? The story plays out like a game of Chinese boxes, in a charade of lies and secrets, against a back-drop of high-stakes arms smuggling, international politics…and the thing inside the very last of the boxes.

Anyway, for anyone looking for a good read for the New Year, I can't recommend this one highly enough. And as if that were not significant inducement….

My dear sister is offering the recipe for the Famous Gabaldon Holiday Fudge (highly addictive) to anyone who buys a book before Easter (after Easter, I believe you get a gaily dyed—but possibly slightly stale—hardboiled egg. Maybe with a few petrified marshmallow Peeps thrown in. In case you need an incentive to Act Now [cough]), her email address, for fudge-redemption purposes, is tam.gabaldon@gmail.com).

I understand that the publisher, also hugely behind the book, is offering a special contest, with an exotic cruise as prize, but I don't have the details on that—see www.dorchesterpub.com for these.

Happy New Year, and Good Reading!

New Methadone Suggestions - 25 January 2004

And in the meantime, do allow me to recommend four more excellent authors for your reading pleasure:

Martin Cruz Smith - This gentleman is a wonderful writer of both historical and contemporary (more or less) fiction. I say "more or less," because some of his best books are the mysteries starring Arkady Renko, set in the USSR, while it still was the USSR (though the last book, Havana Bay, takes place post-breakup). These include Gorky Park, Polar Star, and Red Square. I love the Renko books, but would also recommend Rose (which takes place during the Industrial Revolution in England), and December 6, set during the days leading up to WWII in Imperial Japan.

Patricia Finney - I've already recommended the Robert Carey mysteries, which are written by this author under her pseudonym of P.F. Chisholm. Under her own name, though, she's written three marvelous Elizabethan novels--espionage thrillers, really: Firedrake's Eye, Unicorn's Blood, and now a new one in the trilogy, Gloriana's Torch. All of these are wonderful; detailed, suspenseful, intermittently hilarious and heartbreaking, and totally engrossing.

Jennifer Crusie - Crusie writes enormously funny comic romance novels. Much more thoroughly developed stories and characters than Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels (which are excellent in themselves), but equally hilarious.

(If you aren't primarily a reader of romances, though, you might want to check carefully the original date of publication on Ms. Crusie's books. Her more recent titles (Welcome to Temptation) are excellent stories with broad appeal. However, as with many authors whose later books "break out" into hardcover and find popularity beyond their original genre limits, the publisher has started re-releasing some of her earlier titles. This gives the illusion that the reader is getting a new book--while in fact, it's a book done ten or more years ago (e.g., Strange Bedpersons). These earlier books are fine, but they were written according to the limits of the genre as defined at the time, which means they may appear dated, or not up to the level of complexity and accomplishment of the later novels.)

And last, but by no means least...Kathleen Eschenberg is a writer of wonderful Civil War romances. Her first novel, The Nightengale's Song, is difficult to find, but her newest, Seen By Moonlight, has just been released. Her books are lyrically written, beautifully researched, and combine heart-wrenching drama with sophisticated plotting that takes realistic account of the historical complexities of the time.

One of the features of The Outlandish Companion was “The Methadone List”--in answer to the plaintive cry of “But what shall I read while I’m waiting for your next book?” [g] I.e., it’s a longish list of assorted books and authors that I like to read, from an assortment of genres, including the indescribable.

I think I did post a small sample of The Methadone List here, when the Companion was published, as an indication to the reading public of the delights to be found therein.

However, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to periodically put up additions to this list, whenever I come across great new books or authors--since people might conceivably want something new to read sometime between now and whenever The Companion, Part Deux appears (Part II will have (among other things) the recipes, the costumes, and the comprehensive index to the series--but that means I can’t write it until the series is finished, which might be a good while).

So, forthwith, here are two excellent additions, for those who like historical mysteries (or just excellent historical novels, mysterious events notwithstanding):

P.F. Chisholm/Patricia Finney

This author has two separate Elizabethan series--hence the double name.

As P.F. Chisholm, she writes about Robert Carey (who was a real historical character, and a pretty cool one, too), half-nephew to Elizabeth I. Deputed by the Queen to ride herd on the violent Scots and equally violent English along the Border, Carey stars in a series of adventures that are as vividly exciting as they are
hilarious.

The titles in the Carey series (in order) are:

A Famine of Horses
A Seasons of Knives
A Surfeit of Guns
A Plague of Angels

As Patricia Finney, she has two related books (not precisely a series, but with overlap of characters) that are also set in Elizabethan times, but that are quite different in character from the Carey books. Firedrake’s Eye and Unicorn’s Blood are more complex, more dense, and more lyrical than the Chisholm books. Not nearly so funny, but equally good.

Both series are excellently researched and beautifully written--strongly recommended!

Owen Parry

Owen Parry writes an unusual series of mysteries set during the American Civil War--starring a Welshman. Abel Jones is a Welsh immigrant, who served with the British Army in India as a young man, and is now an officer in the Union Army.

The mysteries are good, the settings and details vivid and well-researched--but as with all the books I especially like, they’re distinguished by the character(s). The books are narrated in the first person (and don’t you dare tell me you don’t read books written in the first person--that’s a ridiculous prejudice, and I won’t hear of it) by Abel Jones, and one of the joys of the series is the wonderful job Parry does in capturing the Welsh cadence of Jones’s speech.

Jones’s cultural perspective and his musings on warfare are remarkably powerful, though the books do also have amusing touches.

Faded Coat of Blue
Shadows of Glory
Call Each River Jordan
Honor’s Kingdom
Bold Sons of Erin

[NB from Rosana: The following list was put together by Diana. It is an abridged (excerpted) version of the complete list which will be published in The Outlandish Companion (Through the Stones). I realize that many of you have read and enjoyed Sara Donati’s Into the Wilderness, and wonder why it isn’t on this list. I don’t know the answer, however, if you’ll notice, there is a pattern to the list -- all of the books/authors listed are book series, as opposed to individual books. It’s possible that it will be on the unabridged list. Thanks for writing.]

Well, I’m slow. Or at any rate, it definitely takes me longer to write these books than it takes readers to read one. Consequently, a number of people have asked whether there are any other writers who write books like mine, so they will have something to read while waiting for the next in the "Outlander" series.

I’d be hard-pressed to recommend books like mine, because I like to think mine are unique. There are, however, quite a few excellent books that are also unique, and that might appeal to readers of my books, as a result of their inclusion of various elements.

Which books you might like in this list probably depends on which elements of the "Outlander" books you find most appealing. Those people who are most taken by the time-travel premise or the fantastic elements will be more likely to enjoy books on the Fantasy or Historical Fantasy list, whereas those of you who especially enjoy the historical details might prefer the "straight" Historical list, and might not like some of the others.

Still, I can enthusiastically recommend most of the writers on this list, from my own experience as a reader; a few were added that I haven’t yet read myself, but have heard excellent things about. Try them, and I hope you’ll like them!

Historical Fantasy

These are books with a skeleton of straight historical fiction, fleshed out in various forms of fantasy.

Judith Merkle Riley

She writes historical fiction (from different periods), with a little romance, a good sense of humor and excellent research--and she also has a touch of the supernatural or paranormal in all her stories.

A Vision of Light
In Pursuit of the Green Lion
The Oracle Glass
The Serpent Garden

Fantasy

Laurell Hamilton

A unique series, dealing with the adventures of Anita Blake, licensed vampire executioner and working zombie-raiser, who--in the course of the series--is courted by a werewolf and a vampire, and battles just about everyform of supernatural creature I’ve ever heard of--and not a few I hadn’t. Extremely violent and bloody, but never gratuitously so. Nonstop action, but the most interesting aspect of the series is the increasing complexity of the moral questions asked, as the chief character explores her own powers in greater depth, and begins wondering what the differences are, between the humans and the monsters. Quite a lot of sexual tension, too.

Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
The Lunatic Cafe
Bloody Bones
The Killing Dance
Burnt Offerings
Blue Moon

Historical Fiction

Jack Whyte

His books deal with pre-Arthurian Britain, and include characters such as Merlyn and Arthur himself--but are straight historical fiction, with no hint of fantasy or magic. As Jack says, "I wanted to figure out how the sword got into the stone--and how the kid pulled it out--without having to invoke magic." He’s succeeded, and in the process, gives a detailed and absorbing picture of just what happened in Britain, when the Roman Legions folded their tents and went away, leaving the remnants of the Roman settlers to deal with the local Celtic tribes and the struggle to preserve their notion of civilization.

The Skystone
The Singing Sword
Brood of Eagles
The Saxon Shore
The Sorcerer" (part I)
The Sorcerer" (part II)

Historical Fiction series

For those who--having found a good thing--want it to go on and on. These are excellent series, some based on historical events, some merely using historical settings for fictional adventures--but without any fantastic overtones.

Patrick O’Brian

He is the most renowned of the sea-faring historical novelists. His series (the first book is Master and Commander), featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and ship’s surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin, is set during the Napoleonic Wars. Great characters, wonderful language, excellent historical detail. The Aubrey/Maturin series: (I think this is seventeen books now - don’t have all the titles in hand, but will provide them in the The Outlandish Companion listing.)

Historical Mysteries

Anne Perry

She has two series, both set in Victorian London. One involves a married couple: Thomas Pitt (a policeman) and his wife, Charlotte. The other series involves Edward Monk, a policeman who wakes up in the first book of his series (A Stranger’s Face), in a hospital, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Both series are excellent in terms of period detail and social issues; good plotting.

Contemporary Fiction/Mysteries

Sharyn McCrumb

Also has another series of mysteries, rather light and humorous, starring Elizabeth MacPherson, and two sci-fi satires (Bimbo’s of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool). These are certainly entertaining and worth reading, but I think the Appalachian "Ballad" books are most likely to appeal to folk who like the Outlander books. The "Ballad" books are lovely, complex novels, with a setting in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee; while all are contemporary stories, all of them also include tie-ins with historical stories, and have faint overtones of the supernatural. I recommend them highly.

The Appalachian Series:
If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter
She Walks These Hills
The Rosewood Casket
The Ballad of Frankie Silver

Scottish Fiction
(meaning fiction either written by Scottish writers, or with a Scottish setting and characters)

Iain Banks

His other books are probably good, too--he’s one of the most popular modern Scottish writers--but these are the ones I’ve read so far and can personally recommend. Some of Banks’ books are classified as sci-fi, others as "Fiction." He has a wide range of style and character; immensely talented writer.  

The Crow Road
Complicity
Feersum Endjinn
The Wasp Factory

M.C. Beaton

This series, dealing with Hamish McBeth, the village constable of Lochdubh, is very light, quick reading, but with considerable charm and a sense of affection for the long, lanky, red-haired Highland policeman who is its hero.

Death of a Nag
Death of a Hussy
Death of a Traveling Man
Death of a Gossip
Death of a Glutton
Death of a Perfect Wife
Death of a Charming Man
Death of a Macho Man
Death of a Dentist
(and possibly a few more I’ve forgotten the titles of)