Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeerPhenomenal follow-up to the indie cult smash City of Saints and Madmen. Once again, we're in the city of Ambergris, this time learning about art critic Janice Shriek and her cranky historian brother Duncan. A family saga that is intricately intertwined with the events of the city itself, enduring the violent Festival of the Freshwater Squid, a catastrophic war between rival publishing houses, and, even worse, academic discreditation. VanderMeer's prose has reached another peak here, with a level of storytelling comparable to his influences in Angela Carter and Vladimir Nabokov. (Full review here.)