What I've Been Reading

       It occurs to me that I've spent several posts talking about writing, but not many about reading. For me the two activities are intrinsically intertwined and I've never met a writer who wasn't also a voracious reader. Lately I've expanded the breadth of my reading to include non-fiction, which I've found essential to crafting good fiction, regardless of genre. I've always read a lot of science, but not much in the way of history or biography.
    Two books I recently read and enjoyed tremendously are Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss by Philip Carlo, a biography of Lucchese underboss Anthony Casso, and Merchant of Death by Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, a bio of Viktor Bout, a notorious arms dealer, who was the basis for the main character of the film Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage. A lot of my fiction includes crime, even if just as a background element, so reading these bios has helped shape my understanding of criminals and how they think.

      As for fiction, I've recently read the SF novel Necropolis by Michael Dempsey, published by Night Shade Books. I can't recommend this one enough. It's a cool concept: NYC has been hit by a virus that reanimates the dead, and a dome has been constructed over the city to keep the infected contained. But these aren't zombies. They're living, breathing people alive and well just as they were when they died, only they age backwards. The story follows a hardboiled cop who comes back and must investigate his own murder. Along the way he discovers the origin of the virus, and the dark secret behind the corporation that controls the city. The book is dark, funny, and clever, a brilliant combo of noir and cyberpunk. Think Blade Runner meets Raymond Chandler.

       I've also just finished a brilliant short story collection by Jeffrey Thomas called Terror Incognita, which includes one of the most disturbing stories I've ever read. If you like horror, you can't go wrong with this collection. Read "Empathy" and you'll never look at a lamp the same way again. I'm also reading The Angels of Life and Death, a collection by Eric Brown. I encountered Brown's fiction awhile ago, when I picked up a copy of Helix, and I must admit, I'm now a huge fan of his short stories. Personal favorites include "Venus Macabre" and "Bengal Blues." 

     You can't go wrong with any of these books. All of them can be found on Amazon, but I was only able to get The Angels of Life and Death and Terror Incognita through Kindle. I'm sure they're also available through Nook and iBooks. Anyway, that's it for me. Happy reading!