Books like Esperance — picked by fans

I loved the style of this book, the way the writer had used a pastiche of each of the eras it's set in: Georgian, in letters between the characters and diary entries, Victorian, a third-person novel with bold themes and wonderful scenery description, and a hint of the supernatural; present day, a snappier, more casual style. I thought the plotting was so clever, following the painting through the centuries (I learned a lot about art too), and linking the characters - all that really kept me engaged with the story. When I got to the end I wanted to read it all again and find the clues I'd missed, and I loved the surprise at the end - I didn't see that coming. I found each of the three stories moving in a different way: I believed in all the characters, and wanted things to end well for them.

We all heard about the horrors of Canadian schools for indigenous children - torn from their parents, their culture denied them, many killed and buried in unmarked graves. Churches were burned by angry protesters, and Pope Francis visited Canada and apologized on behalf of the Catholic church. Except, as this book shows in meticulously researched essay after essay, the whole story began with one archaeologist suggesting the possibility of graves in the orchard, and was picked up by the media. After that it snowballed; then went quiet. No bodies were ever found. Record-keeping by the institutions showed that no children went missing. School log books showed teachers had to be fluent in indigenous languages, and children shared native crafts, songs and dances. This book was a welcome reminder of the power of media and the dangers of instant indignation culture. In this case, the lie really did get right round… show more.

I find that Frankenstein transcends eras by posing critical questions about the ways we develop and use new technology.

I first read a comic-book version in elementary school and have returned to Shelly’s novel over the years because it stimulates my critical thinking about technology, particularly the current rise of AI and our response to it. Frankenstein raises a fundamental ethical question about technology in real life: just because humans can create something, should they actually create it?

For me, the novel also creates the opportunity to explore questions about how we engage technology once we choose to invent it. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, and the creature becomes an angry monster. I ask myself, is this an allegory for our own response to technology?

I dearly loved Isaac Asimov's vision of the robot. Although the idea of a mechanical man has entertained audiences for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, Asimov dealt with the reality of how humans will coexist with our intelligent creations. 

Prior to Asimov's three laws we had always thought of robots delivering evil as surrogates of their evil masters. And always with human intent. Evil emperors trying to rule the world is typical. But Asimov showed us the danger of machines that are their own masters. 

Machine learning and reasoning are now a reality different from anything humans can conceive. We are limited in our comprehension of machines by our biology and evolutionary context. But they are not limited in their comprehension of us or themselves. Just ask AlphaGo move 37. I am certain Asimov's three laws will never be enough to ensure our survival in a world where we… show more.

Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day meets Rashomon in this country house murder mystery where the narrator is as much a puzzle as the murder itself. The narrator lurches into the novel as a witness to a killing so dreadful they’ve lost their memory. Then awakes the next morning to live the same day again as a different character with a different viewpoint: a bizarre twist that repeats itself until we have, as the title suggests, seven different versions of what happened, and enough information, finally, to get to the “truth.” Come for the strange, mind-bending trip, leave with a beautifully constructed conclusion.

This may be one of my favorite mysteries; I could barely put the book down. Granted, this title is not full of examples of faith precisely, but Agatha Christy was a devout Anglican (like C.S. Lewis). If one is going to write mysteries, one must appreciate Agatha Christy. She was an incredibly prolific author of some truly high-quality fiction. 

This was the first title I read of hers, and it set me on a path to begin collecting her books. This tale has so many elements that build tension and create a great mystery—from the isolation of the setting to suspicion and general confusion. It is a masterpiece of a whodunit.

I'm always looking for a good detective series while waiting for the next Rebus (by Ian Rankin) to come out, and the owner of the local book store recommended Galbraith to me. It contained interesting characters and was a good mystery that lead me to searching out nore of the series. I was also tickled that Galbraith (a pen name for J. K. Rowling) also spent a lot of time sitting in a coffe shop writing with Rankin before they were each eventually "discovered".

Susan Ryeland, former publisher (and hero with Atticus Pund in The Magpie Murders), runs a small hotel with her boyfriend in Greece. When a couple visit and describe a murder in their daughter’s wedding hotel, and on the same day—Ryeland’s intrigued. 

Susans’s former client and the writer/creator of the Atticus Pund series knew the victim and writes a book about the murder (Atticus Pund Takes the Cake). It convinced the couple’s daughter that the man convicted is innocent. Now she’s missing. Ryeland leaves Greece to investigate. 

Horowitz is a mastermind of mystery, famously so. And this book is as full of the twists, turns, and clues as The Magpie Murders which I loved. The complexity and the characters are re-delivered. Fantastically!!

In Tana French’s brilliant crime novel, a single woman and a single man are detectives who are passionate about the work they do together investigating murders. Their banter is adorned with astute and irreverent commentaries on the ways in which couples flaunt their coupledom and expect single people to stay in their place. 

The detectives’ relationship is complex, real, and deep. It is a friendship, and in a true tribute to friendship, it does not morph into romance.

Long before Captain Kirk and Starfleet, Smith’s Galactic Patrol served to protect the galaxy from the evil designs of those who would do us harm. First serialised in Astounding magazine in 1937 and then published in book form in 1950, Galactic Patrol is the great-great granddaddy of galaxy-spanning space opera, both military and otherwise. Make allowances for when it was written (woke, it ain’t), and it is difficult to think of a modern space opera theme that Smith didn’t play around with beforehand.