Jan, I'm so glad to see that you've posted this thread, especially since it gives us a chance to talk about books in general that we've really liked. I have several types of books that I like and have read, so for this post, let me tell you about three mystery authors that I have liked tremendously. Interestingly enough--though not comic, or overtly comic--these authors are neither puzzle mystery or the brain candy type - that you read because they hold your attention on a long flight--but don't care if you never read again. But like Pratchett, all three of these authors both entertain (superb storytellers) but equally all of them take you into different worlds to deal with problems that make you think.
Tony Hillerman - Although I must admit that I have my favorites (Dance Hall of the Dead, Coyote Waits if I have to mention two), Hillerman was the first writer (in mystery or other genre as far as I am aware) to set his police procedural mysteries on the Navajo Reservation. He has a tremendous ability to create a sense of place that becomes almost a character, and to incidentally introduce you to a different culture--one with great value and insight, but not well-known to lots of people. But be warned - Hillerman is as addictive as Pratchett & will make you really want (as Tony & I have done) to visit the land he describes.
Margaret Coel - What Hillerman did for the Navajo, Coel has done for the Arapaho who now live on the Wind River reservation in Wyoming. Her detectives--a lady Arapaho lawyer & a white mission priest--will by definition never be more than great friends (though the relationship has a certain tension). Coel explores some of the problems that relate specifically to Native Americans in this brilliant series of mysteries. The Lost Bird, for example, as a background to the plot, deals with the fact that thousands of Indian children were essentially kidnapped and adopted by white families because presumably well-meaning people thought it was better for them to be raised as white. And The Spirit Woman, which weaves the story of Sacajawea (the guide for Lewis & Clark's expedition) into a current mystery was a well-deserved award winner. Coel weaves the frontier history of the Arapaho into the present with a skill few other writers can match.
Peter Bowen has written about 12 mysteries set in Montana and featuring Gabriel Du Pre a Metis cattle brand inspector (in the first of his novels) Coyote Wind and uses him and his family and a mysterious ancient Medicine Man to create novels that explore social problems that particularly affect Native American people but also all of us. The Stick Game (which I am reading now) deals with the sometimes fatal impact of water pollution by mining companies which has caused birth defects and later illnesses both mental and physical. Unfortunately his books have only been published in hardcover, but reasonably priced used copies are readily available on Amazon. I couldn't have summed up his work better than this review of his first book.
"Bowen has taken the antihero of Hemingway and Hammett and brought him up to date....As the best literary novels are able to do, Coyote Wind brings many worlds together and hones the language to create a fresh, memorable character and a profound vision." -Jonis Agee, The New York Times Book Review
Tony Hillerman - Although I must admit that I have my favorites (Dance Hall of the Dead, Coyote Waits if I have to mention two), Hillerman was the first writer (in mystery or other genre as far as I am aware) to set his police procedural mysteries on the Navajo Reservation. He has a tremendous ability to create a sense of place that becomes almost a character, and to incidentally introduce you to a different culture--one with great value and insight, but not well-known to lots of people. But be warned - Hillerman is as addictive as Pratchett & will make you really want (as Tony & I have done) to visit the land he describes.
Margaret Coel - What Hillerman did for the Navajo, Coel has done for the Arapaho who now live on the Wind River reservation in Wyoming. Her detectives--a lady Arapaho lawyer & a white mission priest--will by definition never be more than great friends (though the relationship has a certain tension). Coel explores some of the problems that relate specifically to Native Americans in this brilliant series of mysteries. The Lost Bird, for example, as a background to the plot, deals with the fact that thousands of Indian children were essentially kidnapped and adopted by white families because presumably well-meaning people thought it was better for them to be raised as white. And The Spirit Woman, which weaves the story of Sacajawea (the guide for Lewis & Clark's expedition) into a current mystery was a well-deserved award winner. Coel weaves the frontier history of the Arapaho into the present with a skill few other writers can match.
Peter Bowen has written about 12 mysteries set in Montana and featuring Gabriel Du Pre a Metis cattle brand inspector (in the first of his novels) Coyote Wind and uses him and his family and a mysterious ancient Medicine Man to create novels that explore social problems that particularly affect Native American people but also all of us. The Stick Game (which I am reading now) deals with the sometimes fatal impact of water pollution by mining companies which has caused birth defects and later illnesses both mental and physical. Unfortunately his books have only been published in hardcover, but reasonably priced used copies are readily available on Amazon. I couldn't have summed up his work better than this review of his first book.
"Bowen has taken the antihero of Hemingway and Hammett and brought him up to date....As the best literary novels are able to do, Coyote Wind brings many worlds together and hones the language to create a fresh, memorable character and a profound vision." -Jonis Agee, The New York Times Book Review
