# What are you reading this year 2020?



## trappedslider

Just finished up Killing November by Adriana Mather,it was good. I look forward to the next book due out later this year.



Spoiler



November is as good as dead. She just doesn't know it yet.

At the international Academy Absconditi, there's no electricity, no internet, and an archaic eye-for-an-eye punishment system. Classes range from knife throwing and poisons to the art of deception. And the students? All silver-spoon descendants of the world's most elite strategists--training to become assassins, spies, and master impersonators.
One is a virtuoso of accents--and never to be trusted. Another is a vicious fighter determined to exploit November's weaknesses. And then there's the boy with the mesmerizing eyes and a secret agenda.
November doesn't know how an ordinary girl like her fits into the school's complicated legacy. But when a student is murdered, she'll need to separate her enemies from her allies before the crime gets pinned on her . . . or she becomes the killer's next victim.



_sigh_ Looks like Invisible Sun (Empire Games Book 3) by Charles Stross has been pushed back again to next year

On the bright side   Peace Talks, the next book in the Dresden Files is set to come out July 14th and One of Us Is Next: The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying comes out next week,so i'll be picking that up.


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## GreyLord

I should read more.  This year I'm making a goal to get through the Neuromancer series  and the Wheel of Time series.  Started The Eye of the World and Neuromancer already.


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## Umbran

The Wheel of Time, in paperback, totals something like 12,000 pages.  Good luck not rage-quitting before you reach the end!

I don't have a plan for the year.  I have a vacation coming up for which I am building a reading list.  

The manuscript for Scott Lynch's _Thorn of Emberlain_ was completed back in May, so I am hopeful it comes out this year.


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## Raunalyn

Umbran said:


> The Wheel of Time, in paperback, totals something like 12,000 pages.  Good luck not rage-quitting before you reach the end!




The first 6 books of the series are actually really good reads, and I was able to get through them very quickly. Books 7-10 are total slog-fests...I remember trying to get through them several years back and it taking me almost 3 times as long to finish them as it did for any of the first 6 books. The good news is that the series really picks back up around book 11.

I am currently on book 10. I have a bit of a long commute to work, so I like to listen to the series on Audible during the drive. I started back in April/May.

I was reading Stephen King's Doctor Sleep a couple of years ago before my divorce...didn't finish the book because life happened pretty hard. I am probably going to pick it back up soon; I've had problems focusing on reading since 2018, and I'd like to re-immerse myself in that pleasure again.


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## Ralif Redhammer

Neuromancer is still a great read, still prophetic in a lot of ways.

The Wheel of Time is an undertaking, to be sure. Worth it, though the series has its flaws. Around the middle it becomes a slog, then picks up again. It took me a year, with breaks in between, to read the whole thing.



GreyLord said:


> I should read more.  This year I'm making a goal to get through the Neuromancer series  and the Wheel of Time series.  Started The Eye of the World and Neuromancer already.




Also hopeful. It's been a wait, to be sure.



Umbran said:


> The manuscript for Scott Lynch's _Thorn of Emberlain_ was completed back in May, so I am hopeful it comes out this year.




I finished reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I've got mixed feelings about it, especially since the whole J.K. Rowling anti-trans debacle occurred while I was reading it. On the other hand, I think it's an important coda to the story, showing the effects of PTSD and generational trauma.

Next up is Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse, some light Appendix N reading.


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## Janx

reading Midnight Riot, first book in the Rivers of London series. Another fine book I wish I'd written.

Around July, I expect to be reading Peace Talks by Jim Butcher.

Sometime between now and then, I assume I'll read some other books.


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## trappedslider

I figured just one thread would work better than a monthly thread....


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## Doc_Klueless

Just restarted the John Carter of Mars series (I own the complete works on my Kindle). Re-igniting my love of them.


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## Janx

trappedslider said:


> I figured just one thread would work better than a monthly thread....



ah, that explains it.  I was confused, because it seemed different and far reaching.

Either way, thank you for doing the legwork to keep the conversation about books and reading going.


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## Richards

Doc_Klueless said:


> Just restarted the John Carter of Mars series (I own the complete works on my Kindle). Re-igniting my love of them.



Good call.  I recently read the first three to my nephew as bedtime stories, one chapter at a time.  (After we finished the first three he opted to have us read something else for awhile, so we're now on book three of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.)

As for personal reading, I just finished _Speaking in Tongues_ by Jeffery Deaver, dealing with a smooth-talking lawyer trying to find his kidnapped 17-year-old daughter.  It was very good, with the traditional Deaver twists and turns.  Next up is another of his thrillers, _Edge_, a novel about a killer who likes taking hostage the families of people he wants to force to do things and the man tasked with keeping the familes safe while trying to track him down and bring him to justice.

Johnathan


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## trappedslider

Janx said:


> ah, that explains it.  I was confused, because it seemed different and far reaching.
> 
> Either way, thank you for doing the legwork to keep the conversation about books and reading going.



yeah i should have explained in the OP, but i got the just one thread idea from another forum that I hang out on. Helps keeps it nice and neat.


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## thom_likes_gaming

I grabbed a lot of used books for a buck each at our local con this year, and started reading Rothfuss' _The Name of the Wind_
I'm really digging it. The writing is good, setting seems nice. So, while I'm reading this first of a three-book series, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Rothfuss will deliver part 3 anytime this year


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## Ralif Redhammer

I loved The Name of the Wind. It is not without its flaws, but the absolutely gorgeous prose more than makes up for them.

I would certainly hope that part 3 comes this year, but I've my doubts. Same for the Winds of Winter. I think it much more likely that we'll see The Thorn of Emberlain this year, though.



thom_likes_gaming said:


> I grabbed a lot of used books for a buck each at our local con this year, and started reading Rothfuss' _The Name of the Wind_
> I'm really digging it. The writing is good, setting seems nice. So, while I'm reading this first of a three-book series, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Rothfuss will deliver part 3 anytime this year


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## Blue

GreyLord said:


> I should read more.  This year I'm making a goal to get through the Neuromancer series  and the Wheel of Time series.  Started The Eye of the World and Neuromancer already.




Three years back I read all of Wheel of Time.  (Well, all the main books, not the prequel or other stories).  I had read up to book ... 11? ... previously, and for the first couple books in the series had been rereading the whole thing each time a new book came out.

Anyway, I'm glad I finished a series that I invested so much in.  But I've given away the books afterward because I knew I would never attempt to read them all the way through again.  It was multiple months, and I needed some side-stories in there as well during the middle of the series as it was slow going.  Plus while I like Brandon Sanderson, I feel that his portrayal of some of the characters was not as nuanced and even a bit Flanderized vs. if he had been writing them the whole time - Matt especially.

I'm glad to have read it all through, but my favorite book was book #4 and I would have hoped one of the later ones, especially the climax, would have exceeded it.


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## Blue

Buttercup: Westley, what about the T.O.E_._'s? 
Westley: Thorn of Emberlain? I _think they don't exist_.


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## Richards

Amazon has the release date of _The Thorn of Emberlain_ as 17 Sep 20.  So here's hoping it doesn't get bumped to later....

Johnathan


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## Blue

Richards said:


> Amazon has the release date of _The Thorn of Emberlain_ as 17 Sep 20.  So here's hoping it doesn't get bumped to later....
> 
> Johnathan




As of today, Amazon CA has a release date of Oct 12, 2021. A few years back they had a release date in 2018.

There's been interviews with Scott Lynch back in 2018 that it was just a touch more to be done. 2018. 

He's got a lot going on; I don't begrudge him the time he needs to create something for my enjoyment. But it'll be out when it's out, and I don't want to chase rumors anymore.


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## pukunui

On the topic of the Wheel of Time, I only ever got partway through Book 5 before giving up after feeling like I'd already read the same story multiple times. I think the series could have done with fewer characters. A lot of them felt like carbon copies of each other.

Anyway, what am I reading now? All things I started last year:
*D&D 5e's _Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus_
*D&D 5e's _Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica_
*_Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood_

I really need to find some light novels to read this year. Last year was pretty much all D&D and parenting books.


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## Blue

pukunui said:


> On the topic of the Wheel of Time, I only ever got partway through Book 5 before giving up after feeling like I'd already read the same story multiple times. I think the series could have done with fewer characters. A lot of them felt like carbon copies of each other.




Just to let you know, they add a _lot _more point of view characters before the series reached it's finale.

If this is a good thing or not is up to your interpretation.


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## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse. Next up is, gulp, Sanderson's The Way of Kings. Been a while since I've tackled a book even near that length.


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## Raunalyn

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse. Next up is, gulp, Sanderson's The Way of Kings. Been a while since I've tackled a book even near that length.




Good series! Book 3 is a little bit of a slog and not as good as the previous two, but still really good overall


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## Ralif Redhammer

So far, I'm digging it. There's a great cinematic feel to the tale.



Raunalyn said:


> Good series! Book 3 is a little bit of a slog and not as good as the previous two, but still really good overall


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## Sacrosanct

Been on my list for a while, just never got around to it.  But for Christmas, my partner got me all of the Jim Butcher books.  So that's my 2020 reading list


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## trappedslider

Got done reading the two following books:

Empire of Lies (also called The ottoman Secret in the UK) by Raymond Khoury


Spoiler



Istanbul, 1683: Mehmed IV, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is preparing to lay siege to Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire, when a mysterious visitor arrives in his bedroom―naked, covered in strange tattoos―to deliver a dangerous, world-changing message.

Paris, 2017: Ottoman flags have been flying over the great city for three hundred years, ever since its fall―along with all of Europe―to the empire’s all-conquering army. Notre Dame has been renamed the Fatih Mosque. Public spaces are segregated by gender. And Kamal Arslan Agha, a feted officer in the sultan’s secret police, is starting to question his orders.

Rumors of an impending war with the Christian Republic of America, attacks by violent extremists, and economic collapse have heightened surveillance and arrests across the empire. Tasked with surveying potential threats, Kamal has a heavy caseload―and conscience.

When a mysterious stranger―naked, covered in strange tattoos―appears on the banks of the Seine, Kamal is called in to investigate. But what he discovers is a secret buried in the empire’s past, a secret the Sultan will do anything to silence.

With the mysterious Z Protectorate one step behind, Kamal, together with Nisreen―a fierce human rights lawyer―is caught up in a race across the empire and time itself―a race that could change their world, or destroy it.


 It was an interesting take on time travel,along with a nicely done world building at least in some aspects, things that happened in our time still happened there,but no word is given how or who was involved.

The other book is The Future Will Be BS Free by Will McIntosh


Spoiler



In a Putin-esque near-future America, the gifted and talented high school has just been eliminated, and Sam and his friends have been using their unexpected free time to work on a tiny, undetectable, utterly reliable lie detector. They're all in it for the money--except Theo, their visionary. For Theo, it's about creating a better world. A BS-free world, where no one can lie, and the honest will thrive.

Just when they finish the prototype and turn down an offer to sell their brainchild to a huge corporation, Theo is found dead. Greedy companies, corrupt privatized police, and even the president herself will stop at nothing to steal the Truth App. Sam sets his sights on exposing all lies and holding everyone accountable.

But he and his friends quickly realize the costs of a BS-free world: the lives of loved ones, and political and economic stability. They now face a difficult question: Is the world capable of operating without lies, or are lies what hold it together?


 It was good decent enough YA.


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## Anoth

I just finished rereading heinlein’s To Sail Beyond the Sunset. I am eagerly awaiting the next Dresden File.


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## RangerWickett

So far I've re-read some Ms Marvel comics, and a Legend of the Five Rings novella. I've got a few Christmas gift books to read, including A Darker Shade of Magic.


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## Scott Christian

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.


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## RangerWickett

Scott Christian said:


> Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.




How is that? I almost impulse bought it for the cover, but decided to save my money.


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## GreyLord

Well, I'm two books into the Wheel of Time.  Just finished the Great Hunt today.  We'll see how strong I can be at keeping up this pace.  That's a LOT of pages in a few days!


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## Ralif Redhammer

Around the middle of the series, the pace of the books slows to a complete crawl. It picks back up at the last book before Robert Jordan's death and the pace only gets faster from there. But after thousands of pages spent spinning wheels, it still felt bittersweet to me.



GreyLord said:


> Well, I'm two books into the Wheel of Time.  Just finished the Great Hunt today.  We'll see how strong I can be at keeping up this pace.  That's a LOT of pages in a few days!


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## Raunalyn

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Around the middle of the series, the pace of the books slows to a complete crawl. It picks back up at the last book before Robert Jordan's death and the pace only gets faster from there. But after thousands of pages spent spinning wheels, it still felt bittersweet to me.



I am still on book Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10). The Perrin/Faile/Aiel sub-plot goes on for 3 frikkin' books and just drags and drags and drags. Ugh!!


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## GreyLord

Raunalyn said:


> I am still on book Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10). The Perrin/Faile/Aiel sub-plot goes on for 3 frikkin' books and just drags and drags and drags. Ugh!!



I'm on book 3...I think I just read a spoiler here...


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## Raunalyn

GreyLord said:


> I'm on book 3...I think I just read a spoiler here...



No, not an actual spoiler. Just a very drawn-out subplot. I provided no details


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## Scott Christian

RangerWickett said:


> How is that? I almost impulse bought it for the cover, but decided to save my money.




Great literature. He is an excellent writer, and is on par with the likes of Rothfuss. It is literature, not YA or even straight fiction. The setting is fantastic and fresh. The characters are memorable. And the plot is outstandingly well thought out.

I have two complaints. Big complaints. The protagonist POV; as in he is an unreliable narrator. Which, according to Marlon, is common among much of African folklore. But, a quarter of the way through the book I started to not care. A big "not care." If he's lying, why does any of this matter was the refrain in my head? Two, he pushes the envelope just to push it (imho). Oh, this guy fucks animals. This one likes an old woman's dry *!@%. You get it. I feel like he's just parroting Palahniuk from Fight Club. Let's gross them out just to gross them out. There seems to be very little context for the enveloping pushing.

So for me, it's a mixed bag. He is a great writer (just look at his other works). But, he needs an editor to reign him in. I get it. He's a major award winning author, gay and a person of color. So he's untouchable (just purely talking from an industry standpoint. I don't care about any of that). But, at some point, someone's gotta remind him lit hasn't changed in like 500 years. He may be paving a new trail, one that my old sensibilities don't like. But, I doubt it. He's writing from a pretentious typewriter, and it is a shame. Because, god this guy has some of the best talent out there. And if he dedicated himself to fantasy, it could be the best all time classic to ever exist.


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## Blue

As a short aside from what I am currently reading, I read "Wearing the Cape: A Christmas Carol".  Short (46 pg) side story in the Wearing the Cape universe.

Felt more like a chance to visit with some friends than an actual book, but that's nt a bad thing. Reintroduced a character I wasn't expecting we would have seen again, in such a way to tie it in to what will come in the future. MGH did the same thing with Omega Night, another short side story, which was references several times and becomes very important. And of course with Bite Me, a side story from a different character's PoV that you don't _need_ to have read, but characters from it will reoccur in the main plot.

If I come away from it, it was that it felt light but enjoyable.  As a completionist I'm glad I got it, but for 46 pages I wish there was more for what I paid.


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## dragoner

Bought Shadow Captain by Reynolds today, the sequel to Revenger, even the first few pages are great, looking forward to it.


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## GreyLord

Finished Book 3 and now about half way through book 4.  Still going strong.  Unfortunately, going to be a VERY busy week this week, so unsure how much reading I'll be able to get done.


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## Blue

GreyLord said:


> Finished Book 3 and now about half way through book 4.  Still going strong.  Unfortunately, going to be a VERY busy week this week, so unsure how much reading I'll be able to get done.



I really enjoyed book 4.  Lots happening.


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## Nellisir

I haven't been reading much the past two months. Just an off-season. I gotta find something soon though; I'm headed to Maine for a few days, and there won't be much to do besides read.

Thumbs up for the thread change. I was getting tired of searching out the new thread each month.


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## Nellisir

GreyLord said:


> I should read more.  This year I'm making a goal to get through the Neuromancer series  and the Wheel of Time series.  Started The Eye of the World and Neuromancer already.



I never got past book two of WoT, but _Neuromancer_ still holds up.


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## Ralif Redhammer

Well, this is a rarity for me. I abandoned The Way of Kings today, about a third of the way through. Honestly, the individual parts are good, but there's just too much going on. It's like trying to have a pile of cookies after already having eaten two slices of pie and a big slice of cake. I feel like it would've been the stronger book had it been more focused; I started skimming through whole chapters.

So, next up is the (much shorter) Black Amazon of Mars by Leigh Brackett.


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## aco175

Besides the monthly golf magazines, I am reading again the old 2e FR Faiths and Avatars and the other 2 god books.  I'm getting some information of a module about Summit Hall.


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## Ralif Redhammer

Black Amazon of Mars went quickly. A crackling sharp Sword and Planet tale. It wastes no time and still manages to paint a vivid picture.

Next is Joy Chant's Red Moon and Black Mountain. My edition has a glorious Ian Miller cover.


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## Janx

I finished Magic 2.0 book 5 by Scott Meyer and started Kevin Hearne's giants book set in a new world that doesn't include talking irish wolfhounds.

First 8 pages were everything we tell writers not to do and I almost put it down. Bad Kevin. Then it picked up and got better.


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## Richards

I just started "The Kill Room" by Jeffery Deaver, the 10th book in the Lincoln Rhyme series.  (I've read the first nine and I got book #11 for Christmas so I ordered this one so I could continue to read them in order.)  This time Rhyme's trying to find a government assassin responsible for killing an American in the Bahamas.

Johnathan


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## Blue

Reading Revenant Gun by Yoon ha Lee. Third and final inthe Machinations of Empire series. This series has some of the freshest worldbuilding (well, universebuilding) I've had the pleasure to enjoy in a while. Characterization is good, an the author comes up with some entertaining turns of phrase. This book takes place over a span of years with several point of view characters, making the plot possibly the densest of all three - but this is a third book we've had time to internalize the worldbuilding so that's not a distraction and can keep up with it.

So far so good, but I'm had minor disappointment in the ending of the first so I'll have to see how it wraps up the series.  But I'm expecting good things.


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## the Jester

I'm re-reading the Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. An amazing series, and amazingly influential on my game.


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## Ralif Redhammer

I've only read the first volume, which I enjoyed quite a bit, but my local library only has that and the 1,000-page everything omnibus. Which is a little intimidating.



the Jester said:


> I'm re-reading the Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. An amazing series, and amazingly influential on my game.


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## Blue

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I've only read the first volume, which I enjoyed quite a bit, but my local library only has that and the 1,000-page everything omnibus. Which is a little intimidating.




1000 pages?  That's like what, less than one of the middle Wheel of Time novels.  Easy.


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## Raunalyn

Blue said:


> 1000 pages?  That's like what, less than one of the middle Wheel of Time novels.  Easy.



Less than one half, methinks...


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## Ralif Redhammer

When you put it like that, yeah, it doesn't sound so bad. Heck, I've done those, and even Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is a brick of a book.

I just finished Chant's Red Moon and Black Mountain. Good stuff, with some wonderful language. I think it suffers a little at times from feeling like someone trying to mash The Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings together.

Next up is the short The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark's.



Blue said:


> 1000 pages?  That's like what, less than one of the middle Wheel of Time novels.  Easy.


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## the Jester

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I've only read the first volume, which I enjoyed quite a bit, but my local library only has that and the 1,000-page everything omnibus. Which is a little intimidating.




That is what I'm reading right now- the Great Book of Amber. It actually includes two entire five-book series.


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## Nellisir

the Jester said:


> That is what I'm reading right now- the Great Book of Amber. It actually includes two entire five-book series.



And the books are pretty short. I think each 5-book cycle would be a single novel by todays standards. And the publisher would be pushing him for a third...


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## Nellisir

I just reread _Brightness Reef_, by David Brin. The first book in the second Uplift trilogy. I think I read these before I read the original trilogy, and I'd forgotten (or was uncertain in my recollection) that some characters continue between the two trilogies, so I'm leaning towards starting in the beginning, with _Sundiver_, and working through the original trilogy, then finishing the second trilogy.  I dunno though. Still not feeling super motivated to read.


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## Mercurius

Blue said:


> As of today, Amazon CA has a release date of Oct 12, 2021. A few years back they had a release date in 2018.
> 
> There's been interviews with Scott Lynch back in 2018 that it was just a touch more to be done. 2018.
> 
> He's got a lot going on; I don't begrudge him the time he needs to create something for my enjoyment. But it'll be out when it's out, and I don't want to chase rumors anymore.
> 
> View attachment 117189




It is worth noting that's the paperback  version, so maybe the hardcover is slated for 2020 after all.


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## Mercurius

I'm trying to get back into reading more, after years of reading very little fiction.

I just started reading David Gemmell's _Echoes of the Great Song. _

Not sure what I'll read after that, but some contenders:

*Moorcock's Corum books
*Classic sword & sorcery: Leiber, Moore, Ashton Smith, etc.
*Doris Lessing's Shikasta series (started this last year, really liked it, but  stopped for some reason)
*_Ingenious_ by Darius Hinks
*_Ruin of Kings_ by Jenn Lyons
*_Priory of the Orange Tree _by Samantha Shannon
*_The Three Body Problem_ by Cixin Liu
*_Empire of Silence _by Christopher Ruocchio


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## Imaculata

I'm reading the tales of 1001 nights. 8 very thick volumes written in an old version of my native language, and beautifully illustrated. This will take a while. Also, there are often stories within stories within stories. It's like fairytale-ception.


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## carrot

Im 3/4 through the _The Light that Falls (Book3 of the Licanius trilogy). _I really enjoyed the first two books, but this has been a bit of a slog for the most part - although it might have helped if I'd re-read the first two as it's taken a while for this to arrive. The story is finally starting to pick up now though, and the author is definitely having fun doing nasty things to his characters! And with a story involving time travel, he does seem to have been pretty consistent, which makes a nice change.


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## Ralif Redhammer

Been on a classic S&S/Appendix N kick of late myself. I've heard good things about Priory of the Orange Tree, but haven't read it.

Just finished The Black God Drums. A fast novella, and one that bends genres of steampunk, alt history, and urban fantasy, amongst others. Good stuff.

Next up is William Morris' The House of the Wolfings.  



Mercurius said:


> Not sure what I'll read after that, but some contenders:
> 
> *Moorcock's Corum books
> *Classic sword & sorcery: Leiber, Moore, Ashton Smith, etc.
> *Doris Lessing's Shikasta series (started this last year, really liked it, but  stopped for some reason)
> *_Ingenious_ by Darius Hinks
> *_Ruin of Kings_ by Jenn Lyons
> *_Priory of the Orange Tree _by Samantha Shannon
> *_The Three Body Problem_ by Cixin Liu
> *_Empire of Silence _by Christopher Ruocchio


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## Richards

I'm now starting up _The Skin Collector_, the next Lincoln Rhyme thriller in the series by Jeffery Deaver after _The Kill Room_ (which I finished up this morning).

Johnathan


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## KahlessNestor

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Well, this is a rarity for me. I abandoned The Way of Kings today, about a third of the way through. Honestly, the individual parts are good, but there's just too much going on. It's like trying to have a pile of cookies after already having eaten two slices of pie and a big slice of cake. I feel like it would've been the stronger book had it been more focused; I started skimming through whole chapters.
> 
> So, next up is the (much shorter) Black Amazon of Mars by Leigh Brackett.



Oh, man. Missing out. I really love those books.


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## KahlessNestor

Currently reading _Going Postal_ by Terry Pratchett.


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## Ralif Redhammer

I know, I know... It's really weird that it didn't click for me. I've loved everything else I've read by Sanderson. I don't know if my tastes are changing away from sprawling fantasy wristcrackers (and this as someone that's read the whole of the Malazan Book of the Fallen and Wheel of Time series), or it's just what I'm in the mood for at this moment. Maybe I'll give it another try again later.



KahlessNestor said:


> Oh, man. Missing out. I really love those books.


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## dragoner

Now it is on to Vonda McIntyre's Superluminal.


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## Ralif Redhammer

William Morris' House of the Wolfings proved to be another bust. Sometimes you go to read the inspiration for one of your favorites, and it's like drinking directly from the source. This was not one of those times. Too much of it was someone proclaiming their vision of the future in verse, followed by someone else recounting (also in verse) what actually happened. The archaic language didn't help matters. 

So I've put that one down (it was a free eBook, so no harm done other than to my time) and am reading Saberhagen's The Broken Lands.


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## Eyes of Nine

Janx said:


> reading Midnight Riot, first book in the Rivers of London series. Another fine book I wish I'd written.
> 
> Around July, I expect to be reading Peace Talks by Jim Butcher.
> 
> Sometime between now and then, I assume I'll read some other books.




I also reading Midnight Riot! Great stuff. I also expect to be reading Peace Talks around July.


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## Nellisir

I read _Tiamat's Wrath_, book 8 of The Expanse series, the other day.

I'll admit that when I read Book 1 of the Expanse I thought "Eh. [_creature-feature plural of that moment_] in space. Jumping on the _it-of-the-moment_ bandwagon screws up a decent read; solid, but light."

I was wrong. It's still a fast read, but it's a really good, solid, enjoyable series that hits the mark. And the show is AMAZING.


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## vpuigdoller

Finished in early January the Eberron Mark of Death trilogy and now started a book in spanish i got as a gift during the holidays called La tia Julia y el Escribidor by Mario Vargas Llosa. I'm liking it so far.


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## trappedslider

just finished up The Second Sleep: A novel by Robert Harris. It was good,gave off a Canticle for Leibowitz vibes as I read it.



Spoiler



1468. A young priest, Christopher Fairfax, arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with ancient artefacts--coins, fragments of glass, human bones--which the old parson used to collect. Did his obsession with the past lead to his death?
     Fairfax becomes determined to discover the truth. Over the course of the next six days, everything he believes--about himself, his faith, and the history of his world--will be tested to destruction.


----------



## Zaukrie

My wife and I are starting The Artist's Way. I've been doing the morning pages for a week, but we are just going thru the book this week, and starting the exercises next week. Also, still sort of reading the first Malazan book, but just can't seem to stick with it.....
 I think I don't like reading ebooks as much as paper books.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Saberhagen's The Broken Lands is finished - a fun post-apocalyptic fantasy read. Having read the First Book of Swords a while ago and not been that impressed, I wasn't sure if I would like this. But I did, and now I'm thinking about re-reading the Swords series again.

Now it's Ian Mortimer's Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England.


----------



## Tyler Do'Urden

Zaukrie said:


> I think I don't like reading ebooks as much as paper books.




Absolutely. Except for work reference manuals and game rules/adventures, I don't do ebooks (and gimme PDF, none of this Kindle stuff!). Gotta have my dead tree.

That said, I hardly finished any books last year; probably my worst reading dry spell ever. All I can remember actually completing from start to finish was Neal Stephenson's "Fall: Or, Dodge in Hell", and Colin Wilson's classic study of existentialism, "The Outsider". (And I highly recommend both!)

This year? Still plowing through and trying to process lots of game rulebooks, and I've probably got more financial planning books to read, as well as needing a crash course in blockchain, so probably not much time for fiction. But I think my next fiction will be tackling the annotated volumes of H.P. Lovecraft; those look fascinating...


----------



## Blue

About half way through Leviathan Awakes, the first book of The Expanse. I have not watched the show, so this all coming at me fresh. So far I'm quite enjoying it.

(Oh, and @Nellisir, kindly watch putting spoilers? I was lucky I had gotten past the introduction of what you are talking about, but that was a twist not given until a third or the way more through the book.)

Of other books-made-shows interest, here's a recent interview from the author of the Witcher books about his take on the series (and the games). It's a refreshingly direct interview:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/i-do-not-like-working-too-hard-or-too-long-a-refreshin-1841209529


----------



## Umbran

On vacation I got through Simon Green's _Hex and the City_, John Scalzi's _Consuming Fire_, and P. Djèlí Clark's _The Haunting of Tram Car 015_.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Just finished TJ Bass' _Half Past Human_ and I can heartily disrecommend it.


----------



## Nellisir

Blue said:


> (Oh, and @Nellisir, kindly watch putting spoilers? I was lucky I had gotten past the introduction of what you are talking about, but that was a twist not given until a third or the way more through the book.)




Um. I'm sorry, I guess? The book has been out for 9 years. There are seven sequels. There's a tv show on its fourth season. And...you think THAT'S a spoiler?

Oh boy. Buckle up. 

Edit: I edited my post above so no one accidentally finds out about the hyborean space goblins.

Edit-Edit: I'm still restless reading, so went back and read Book 5 of the Expanse and am halfway through Book 6. I'll read Book 7 next so I _doodle doodle_ catch up to the _doodle doodle_ beginning of _doodle doodle just having fun here_ Book 8.


----------



## KahlessNestor

vpuigdoller said:


> Finished in early January the Eberron Mark of Death trilogy and now started a book in spanish i got as a gift during the holidays called La tia Julia y el Escribidor by Mario Vargas Llosa. I'm liking it so far.




I am still stuck on that Mark of Death. Kindle doesn't have the third book!


----------



## Janx

Finished A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne

The first 8 pages were weak, but then it picked up and got good.

Started Sisters of the Wild Sage by Nicole Givens Kurtz 
It's a a weird west short story collection, just started the first one.  I like it.


----------



## vpuigdoller

KahlessNestor said:


> I am still stuck on that Mark of Death. Kindle doesn't have the third book!



I bought it on audible and listened to it on audio. Yah its a bummer it is not in kindle format.


----------



## carrot

Currently in the middle of _Cast in Wisdom _The latest in the Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara. This used to be an interesting collection of books. (Its been steadily going downhill for a while though). I'm still hopeful it will pick up, but so far it feels like pages and pages of waffle between vague plot points.


----------



## Richards

I stayed up until 11:20 last night finishing _The Skin Collector_ - it was one of those deals where I was close enough to the end that I just couldn't put it down and go to bed until I had finished it.  So now I'm starting up the next book in the Lincoln Rhyme series, _The Steel Kiss_ by Jeffery Deaver.  This time the killer's someone who can use pretty much anything as a weapon; the "steel kiss" of the title refers to him using an escalator to mangle someone's body.  Unfortunately, this is the last book in the series I currently own; I might as well see about getting the last three but then I'll be in the sad state of affairs of having to wait two years between each subsequent new book being released.

Johnathan


----------



## dragoner

I'm reading _A Woman of the Iron People_ SF, first contact.


----------



## Michael Silverbane

I just finished reading Alexandre Dumas's _The Count of Monte Cristo_.

I am about to start Agatha Christie's _Poirot Investigates_.


----------



## Nellisir

Finished up Book 7; rereading Book 8 of The Expanse. Ordinarily I don't reread books, or at least not until 5+ years have passed, so rereading a book I just read a few weeks ago is...different. However, I did read it really fast, and having just reread books 5-7 it's totally worthwhile.

I managed to get another bookshelf up a few weeks ago and unpacked some more boxes; thought I was making progress until I counted and realized I still had 30+ boxes of books. I'm not sure the bookshelves I have planned will be sufficient. :/

The big bookshelf I have planned is going to be totally kickass though. I found a 5' long marble mantelpiece my dad had pulled out of an old house, so rather than a built-in sort of thing the shelves will be a large unit incorporating the marble that I can disassemble and take with me whenever I move again.


----------



## Nellisir

Michael Silverbane said:


> I just finished reading Alexandre Dumas's _The Count of Monte Cristo_.
> 
> I am about to start Agatha Christie's _Poirot Investigates_.



_The Count of Monte Cristo_ is totally balls. I haven't read much Agatha Christie, but next time I go to my ex-mother-in-law's I'll probably grab a bunch.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Yeah, Dumas' writing is so good. Big Three Musketeers fan here.

Just finished reading the Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England. Very readable and enlightening. Definitely will get some use out of it in my gaming, too.

Now it's onto N.K. Jemisin's The Obelisk Gate.



Michael Silverbane said:


> I just finished reading Alexandre Dumas's _The Count of Monte Cristo_.


----------



## Michael Silverbane

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Yeah, Dumas' writing is so good. Big Three Musketeers fan here.




I made the mistake of reading _Man In The Iron Mask_ before the other _D'Artagnan Romances_.  It was so unlike what I expected that it almost put me off Dumas completely.


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Yeah, Dumas' writing is so good. Big Three Musketeers fan here.
> 
> Just finished reading the_ Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England_. Very readable and enlightening. Definitely will get some use out of it in my gaming, too.
> 
> Now it's onto N.K. Jemisin's _The Obelisk Gate_.



I'll have to look for the Time Traveler's Guide. 
Anything by NK Jemisen is a must-read for me. I was considering rereading that trilogy after I finish the Expanse.


----------



## KahlessNestor

I finished _Going Postal _by Terry Pratchett. Then I started Julie Baird's biography of Queen Victoria while I waited for the next Pratchett book. Now I'm reading Pratchett's _Thump!_


----------



## Blue

Finished the second The Expanse book, Caliban's War.  Been enjoying the books a great deal.  Especially the dialog - for me there are genuinely many laugh out loud moments.  I'm early on the third right now, Abaddon's Gate.

As a bit of writer-craft, with the POV characters of the first two books, when I opened the third and for the prologue chapter saw a character I didn't yet know, the dread for them hit immediately.


----------



## trappedslider

Lately while doing other things I've been listening to audio books, World War Z, The Harry Potter series,percy jackson and the lightning thief and I've realized that I like either different VA for the characters (World War Z) or the reader to do different voices (Harry Potter).


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Just finished Jemisin's The Obelisk Gate. What a great, gripping read! The complexity of the previous book is used to weave this story in a simpler, but no less powerful way.

Now I'm reading Gardner Fox's Kothar and the Wizard Slayer.


----------



## jasper

I just finish two. Breaking Silence by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin. Great YA novel and I think book 10 of Serrated Edge series. Elfs and magic are alive in modern times. The gang is training and cleaning up parts of forest after in the last book taking down some dark elves.
Marque & Reprisal #2 of the Vatta's war series by Elizabeth Moon. Another Great YA  space opera novel. Our hero is still picking up strays while villains have killed off most of her family.


----------



## Richards

I'm now halfway through "The Burial Hour," the next-to-last book (so far) of Jefferey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series.  This time they're tracking a killer who starts out in New York City but ends up in Italy.  It's been interesting.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Finished up Book 8 of the Expanse; it was very worthwhile rereading them all at once. Blue, I'm dying of envy.

Read _The Killing Moon_, by NK Jemisen; reading its sequel, _The Shadowed Sun_ right now. Not sure what's after that. Might stop pulling from the archives and go for something new and different. Or maybe not.

Has anyone read the Rivers of London series? Opinions? I flagged it as potentially interesting and the boxed set is sitting on my Amazon list. Wondering if it's actually worth buying sometime.


----------



## GreyLord

Just finished Book 6 of the Wheel of Time and it's dragging.  It was a slog.  I'm having a tough time remaining motivated.

I hear it gets harder to get through the next few books...but I am determined.  Book 6 was LONG.

I hope book 7 (Crown of Swords) speeds up somewhat in it's narrative.


----------



## Imaculata

I'm still reading the Tales of 1001 Nights. I'm one-thirds of the way into the first volume, because I occasionally read one of the tales, rather than reading all of it in one go. And as you can tell by the pictures, these books are MASSIVE. The language can occasionally be a bit demanding to read, because it is pretty old and the phrasing is very elaborate. Like an over-enthusiastic dungeon master, there's a tendency in these tales for a lot of repetition and to go into a lot of unnecessary detail. If for example a character encounters a door, we are also told what kind of wood it is made of.

For example, I just read The Porter and the Three Ladies, where the tale goes into excessive detail regarding all the things one of the ladies buys at the market and has the Porter carry. There's also a ton of poetry in it, which can be a bit of a slog. Also, lots of stories within stories, which was once again the case with The Porter and the Three Ladies. On the other hand, also orgies and gruesome beheadings. This last tale even featured the fabled giant bird known as Rokh, which apparently is all white, as thick as 10 elephants, and as large as 20 camels. Who knew? We also learn what name each of the three ladies has given to their privates. Yes, you read that correctly.

According to wikipedia, the Porter and the Three Ladies is one of the few stories that is included in every known version of the Tales of 1001 Nights.


----------



## dragoner

Finished Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear, and started Outies by Pournelle's daughter Jennifer, a continuation of the Motie series.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I quite enjoyed The Killing Moon (even if it immediately puts the Echo and the Bunnymen song into my head) and need to get to the sequel sometime soon.

Haven't read anything in the Rivers of London, but I am curious about it as well. Supposedly they've optioned it for a TV series, too.



Nellisir said:


> Read _The Killing Moon_, by NK Jemisen; reading its sequel, _The Shadowed Sun_ right now. Not sure what's after that. Might stop pulling from the archives and go for something new and different. Or maybe not.
> 
> Has anyone read the Rivers of London series? Opinions? I flagged it as potentially interesting and the boxed set is sitting on my Amazon list. Wondering if it's actually worth buying sometime.





I feel like Crown of Swords is faster, but the middle of the series is a pretty deep slog. It really picks up with Knife of Dreams, when you can feel Robert Jordan trying to make up for lost time in the face of his impending death.



GreyLord said:


> Just finished Book 6 of the Wheel of Time and it's dragging.  It was a slog.  I'm having a tough time remaining motivated.
> 
> I hear it gets harder to get through the next few books...but I am determined.  Book 6 was LONG.
> 
> I hope book 7 (Crown of Swords) speeds up somewhat in it's narrative.


----------



## carrot

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Haven't read anything in the Rivers of London, but I am curious about it as well. Supposedly they've optioned it for a TV series, too.




I've really enjoyed this series - its a slightly different take on the urban fantasy novel, but am defintely looking forward to the next book due out later this month.


----------



## Richards

I'm taking a break from Jeffery Deaver mysteries (although I have a few more of those in my hopper) to try out China Miéville's "The Scar."  I've heard really good things about his novels but have never read anything by him; when I saw this book at the library book sale for fifty cents I decided to give it a whirl.  I'm not very far in but it's already intriguing.  I can tell the author's a world-builder along the lines of Scott Lynch and his "Locke Lamora" series - and while so far I've enjoyed Lynch's works much better, I admittedly have seen much more of his world-building than I have of Miéville's.  So we'll see.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished Kothar and the Wizard Slayer, and with it the whole of the Kothar series. For being dated and either a Conan rip-off or satire, it was a lot of fun.

Now I'm trying out some old school sci-fi with Harry Harrison's Deathworld.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished Terry Pratchett's _Thud!_ and am now on to his book _Wintersmith._

Still reading Julie Baird's biography _Victoria: The Queen._

Started reading _Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo_ by Alan Dershowitz.


----------



## Janx

I started book 1 of The Expanse a couple days ago.  it's good.


----------



## Nellisir

Janx said:


> I started book 1 of The Expanse a couple days ago.  it's good.



Gets better.

I read _The Red Pavilion_, a Judge Dee mystery, last night. I'm having trouble articulating exactly what I like about these books, but part of it is "RPG-ness" of them all. Each character is a distinct NPC, and nearly every book seems like it could be adapted into an RPG adventure with minimum effort. The clear winners in this book were the muscular Crab and his friend, the hunchbacked Shrimp, two simple members of the lower class who live quietly in their little shack and grow pumpkins. There's a hilarious passage where Judge's Dee's associate Ma Joong (a reformed bandit) find Crab & Shrimp have taken calmly possession of the cook stove in the kitchen of Dee's lodging house and Crab is teaching Shrimp proper technique for flipping an egg in the frying pan (it's the wrist.)


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Richards said:


> I'm taking a break from Jeffery Deaver mysteries (although I have a few more of those in my hopper) to try out China Miéville's "The Scar."  I've heard really good things about his novels but have never read anything by him; when I saw this book at the library book sale for fifty cents I decided to give it a whirl.  I'm not very far in but it's already intriguing.  I can tell the author's a world-builder along the lines of Scott Lynch and his "Locke Lamora" series - and while so far I've enjoyed Lynch's works much better, I admittedly have seen much more of his world-building than I have of Miéville's.  So we'll see.
> 
> Johnathan




For what it's worth, I would start with Perdido Street Station. It's one of his best. Also the book before the Scar, although they stand alone and I don't think there are any overlapping characters. Or if they are, they are minor in one or the other.


----------



## univoxs

More C.J. Cherryh always. I am in the middle of re-reading Cyteen. I am going to read a bunch of Dune this year in prep of the "Most Anticipated Game" I am being a bit ridiculous about re-reading dune. I don't have a copy of the first book and have a thing about buying a new copy of a book that was printed so many times. I will wait to get my hands on a used copy, regardless of condition. As my table is playing WFRP 4e like mad I have been trying to read the WF novels and so far, they have not been great. The first Genevive book was okay.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

The Warhammer Fantasy novels that I've read have been a mixed bag, like most RPG fiction. Kim Newman's Genevieve is indeed just okay (His Anno Dracula, not Warhammer at all, is quite fun, however).

I enjoyed Gav Thorpe's The Doom of Dragonback a fair bit, and would recommend that for fans of dwarves and Warhammer Fantasy. Some of the Gotrek and Felix books are good, but some are pretty rote.



univoxs said:


> As my table is playing WFRP 4e like mad I have been trying to read the WF novels and so far, they have not been great. The first Genevive book was okay.


----------



## univoxs

Ralif Redhammer said:


> The Warhammer Fantasy novels that I've read have been a mixed bag, like most RPG fiction. Kim Newman's Genevieve is indeed just okay (His Anno Dracula, not Warhammer at all, is quite fun, however).
> 
> I enjoyed Gav Thorpe's The Doom of Dragonback a fair bit, and would recommend that for fans of dwarves and Warhammer Fantasy. Some of the Gotrek and Felix books are good, but some are pretty rote.




My reasons for wanting to read them were that I never played WFRP before, or the wargames, or the videos games. I only knew the lore from the WFRP Core book. Seeing as I was about to run the game, I wanted to have all the lore in my back pocket, know the world off the top of my head to properly invoke the themes. I have sort of boiled down "Grim and Perilous" for myself in the end. I randomly picked up _The Dead and the Damned_ and its fun in the way you could easily use it as a sourcebook for a party of adventurer's to run through the same events. I don't expect a shared world with a game attached to produce amazing writing, I've read enough Dragonlance and Star Wars books to know that. But there is room for it; Thieves World is a great example. I would love to play that old game as well.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

univoxs said:


> More C.J. Cherryh always. I am in the middle of re-reading Cyteen.



Cherryh is the best.
I seriously considered buying up all the Invader series at the used book store yesterday. The Chanur books were my favorite.
Never read her fantasy though - Gate of Ivrel etc. Has anyone else?


----------



## univoxs

chrisshorb said:


> Cherryh is the best.
> I seriously considered buying up all the Invader series at the used book store yesterday. The Chanur books were my favorite.
> Never read her fantasy though - Gate of Ivrel etc. Has anyone else?




Foreigner Book 20 just came out as well as a new Alliance Union book this year. Both are right on the money as always. I have read almost everything she has written and yes go read Morgan Saga that Gate of Ivrel is in. Its her first  an awesome blend of SciFi Fantasy. Its one of those far future ideas where humanity is scattered and regressed to more ancient systems of culture and tech. 

The thing she does so well is have you fallow a character that can allow you to explore the world she has created. A master world builder.

Her fantasy series Rusalka is unique and unlike any other fantasy out there. The Fortress series hues a little closer to typical sword and sorcerery. Paladin is another unique book and I would almost call it alternate asian history over fantasy. The Ealdwood books are more folklore and fairy in tradition but quick reads as the books are short.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Just finished Harrison's Deathworld. It was surprisingly gripping and sharply written. Not groundbreaking sci-fi, but it certainly held up 60 years later.

Now I'm off to re-read Leiber's Swords in the Mist. Finally got that back from my brother.


----------



## Richards

chrisshorb said:


> For what it's worth, I would start with Perdido Street Station. It's one of his best. Also the book before the Scar, although they stand alone and I don't think there are any overlapping characters. Or if they are, they are minor in one or the other.



Well, it's too late for that - I'm 400+ pages into "The Scar."  Had I found "Perdido Street Station" first I'd probably have picked it up, as I purchased it on name recognition and having recalled reading (here, actually) several people enthusing how good an author he was.  But never fear: I'm enjoying this book enough that I'll probably hunt up "Perdido Street Station" at some point in the near future.

Johnathan


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Dragon riders of pern series


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I finished Kothar and the Wizard Slayer, and with it the whole of the Kothar series. For being dated and either a Conan rip-off or satire, it was a lot of fun.
> 
> Now I'm trying out some old school sci-fi with Harry Harrison's Deathworld.



The way i see it there is no such thing as good stories becoming dated.  If it was good I'll bet 20 years later when your kid reads it he'll be thinking huh...old but good just like you.  Beowulf never gets old.  Ive found the same is true of newer but still good stories that are none the less older than a lot of stories these days.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Son of the Serpent said:


> The way i see it there is no such thing as good stories becoming dated.




I don't actually agree. Many stories from the early to mid 20th century are quite racist and/or sexist. There's so much good stuff coming out now, I don't find any reason to go back and read those older books and force myself to ignore those aspects.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

chrisshorb said:


> I don't actually agree. Many stories from the early to mid 20th century are quite racist and/or sexist. There's so much good stuff coming out now, I don't find any reason to go back and read those older books and force myself to ignore those aspects.



With most of those situations its a bit like tom sawyer.  There is racism.  But the author included it because it was authentic to the time.  Not because he hated black people.  For me its a plus.  Not because i support racism, but because it can be a part of making a story believeable which is often times part of making it good.  The world is dark.

But thats my preference.  We all have our preferences.  I am sure you have good reasons for yours.

Ps - also of course some people are just being racist.  That happens too.  Cant be helped.


----------



## univoxs

I'm not seeing all that much love for Malazan books. I only do them as audio. You think there would be a game out for it by now too, especially seeing as it was born orignally from the author learning to play AD&D.


----------



## Nellisir

Son of the Serpent said:


> With most of those situations its a bit like tom sawyer.  There is racism.  But the author included it because it was authentic to the time.  Not because he hated black people.  For me its a plus.  Not because i support racism, but because it can be a part of making a story believeable which is often times part of making it good.  The world is dark.
> 
> But thats my preference.  We all have our preferences.  I am sure you have good reasons for yours.
> 
> Ps - also of course some people are just being racist.  That happens too.  Cant be helped.



The sexism bothers me more than the racism; I find it both more overt and more common.


----------



## Nellisir

univoxs said:


> Foreigner Book 20 just came out as well as a new Alliance Union book this year. Both are right on the money as always. I have read almost everything she has written and yes go read Morgan Saga that Gate of Ivrel is in. Its her first  an awesome blend of SciFi Fantasy. Its one of those far future ideas where humanity is scattered and regressed to more ancient systems of culture and tech.
> 
> The thing she does so well is have you fallow a character that can allow you to explore the world she has created. A master world builder.
> 
> Her fantasy series Rusalka is unique and unlike any other fantasy out there. The Fortress series hues a little closer to typical sword and sorcerery. Paladin is another unique book and I would almost call it alternate asian history over fantasy. The Ealdwood books are more folklore and fairy in tradition but quick reads as the books are short.



What's the Alliance Union book?
I just reread the Cyteen sequel last year; still have to go back and reread Cyteen itself.
I've read almost all* of her SF and love it. I have a harder time with the fantasy. Paladin I did really enjoy; and the Morgaine Cycle is awesome, but I just couldn't parse the first Fortress book and Rusalka didn't draw me in. I'm going to try the Fortress books again though.

*I read the first three or four Foreigner trilogies and then quit, so I'm not up on those.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Nellisir said:


> The sexism bothers me more than the racism; I find it both more overt and more common.



I feel the same way about that as the racism.  Not for everyone.  I like to read stories that include it if its what happened though.  Cant spell devil without evil (or rearranged, vile).


----------



## univoxs

Nellisir said:


> What's the Alliance Union book?
> I just reread the Cyteen sequel last year; still have to go back and reread Cyteen itself.
> I've read almost all* of her SF and love it. I have a harder time with the fantasy. Paladin I did really enjoy; and the Morgaine Cycle is awesome, but I just couldn't parse the first Fortress book and Rusalka didn't draw me in. I'm going to try the Fortress books again though.
> 
> *I read the first three or four Foreigner trilogies and then quit, so I'm not up on those.




Cyteen takes place in the Alliance Union universe, along with books like Hellburner, Down Below Station and Merchanter's Luck. The new Alliance Union book was called Alliance Rising and takes place a bit earlier in the timeline than Cyteen does, before the war mentioned in that book. I believe all her SF is connected, the last Forigner cycle connected itself to Alliance Union, something she intended all along but could not do originally for publishing reasons. Chanuar books are also a part of that universe as well, if only remotely. Faded Sun, Hestia, Hammerfall, and other books all connect remotley, some from distant time periods. Supposedly Morgaine, her first series, is the furthest out along the timeline. 
Fortress is not my favorite either but I liked the last book in the series, Fortress of Ice? I have often jumped into her series right in the middle and gone back. First book I read of hers was the last Chanuar and it made me fall in love with her writing. Take a shot at Fortress of Ice maybe. She is good enough that it usually is not a problem.


----------



## Nellisir

univoxs said:


> Cyteen takes place in the Alliance Union universe, along with books like Hellburner, Down Below Station and Merchanter's Luck. The new Alliance Union book was called Alliance Rising and takes place a bit earlier in the timeline than Cyteen does, before the war mentioned in that book. I believe all her SF is connected, the last Forigner cycle connected itself to Alliance Union, something she intended all along but could not do originally for publishing reasons. Chanuar books are also a part of that universe as well, if only remotely. Faded Sun, Hestia, Hammerfall, and other books all connect remotley, some from distant time periods. Supposedly Morgaine, her first series, is the furthest out along the timeline.
> Fortress is not my favorite either but I liked the last book in the series, Fortress of Ice? I have often jumped into her series right in the middle and gone back. First book I read of hers was the last Chanuar and it made me fall in love with her writing. Take a shot at Fortress of Ice maybe. She is good enough that it usually is not a problem.



I'm aware of the Alliance-Union Universe and the connections, although I hadn't heard that the Foreigner series had been connected. Chanur definitely connects, and I don't think it's very far out in the timeline either. It's just heard to tell because of the viewpoint.
I've been reading her stuff for years. I forget what was first - might've been Hellburner. The Tree of Swords and Jewels I'd definitely read by college, so I was pretty up on a lot of her stuff by then. I pick up the older stuff as I find it; when I unpack books I'll do an accounting and see what's left.

Edit: I recently got most of the Fortress books (somewhere...), so yeah, it'd definitely on my list to tackle again.


----------



## dragoner

Rimrunners was one of my favorites by Cherryh -


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I loved the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Been thinking about doing a re-read soon, but that is no small commitment.



univoxs said:


> I'm not seeing all that much love for Malazan books. I only do them as audio. You think there would be a game out for it by now too, especially seeing as it was born orignally from the author learning to play AD&D.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I don't know about that. There's a lot of fiction that has elements that don't hold up over time, that people once lauded. It's okay to still enjoy problematic works (it's also okay to just be done with them, too), but it's important to address and think about those issues. To read these works uncritically doesn't do anyone any favors.

There's also a world of difference between Beowulf and Kothar. I don't think anyone's featuring Kothar in their syllabus, for starters.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading Kothar, but the rampant sexism bothered me (though I'm still not entirely sure whether Fox was mocking the genre or not). People change, and societal mores change, over time. And heck, even back when the Kothar tales were written, I guarantee women did not enjoy being treated the way they are depicted being treated in the books.



Son of the Serpent said:


> The way i see it there is no such thing as good stories becoming dated.  If it was good I'll bet 20 years later when your kid reads it he'll be thinking huh...old but good just like you.  Beowulf never gets old.  Ive found the same is true of newer but still good stories that are none the less older than a lot of stories these days.


----------



## dragoner

I don't know Kothar, Beowulf is also a language study. Books can be all over the map, I don't think Gor is awesome, and it's not that long ago. Dumarest is sort of young men's adventure where he gets the space princess of the week, and people talk about those a lot. It still goes on, I am reading a friend's books, published by Baen, and there are parts like, oh man ...


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I don't know about that. There's a lot of fiction that has elements that don't hold up over time, that people once lauded. It's okay to still enjoy problematic works (it's also okay to just be done with them, too), but it's important to address and think about those issues. To read these works uncritically doesn't do anyone any favors.
> 
> There's also a world of difference between Beowulf and Kothar. I don't think anyone's featuring Kothar in their syllabus, for starters.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading Kothar, but the rampant sexism bothered me (though I'm still not entirely sure whether Fox was mocking the genre or not). People change, and societal mores change, over time. And heck, even back when the Kothar tales were written, I guarantee women did not enjoy being treated the way they are depicted being treated in the books.



Gonna have to disagree with you.  Oh well.  Happens sometimes.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Leiber's Swords in the Mist yesterday. Definitely a mixed bag. Lean Times in Lankhmar is hands-down one of the greatest Fafhrd and Grey Mouser tales. The Adept's Gambit, the novella that takes up the most space in it, that one just dragged and dragged.

Now I'm trying out The Palace Job, by Patrick Weekes.


----------



## carrot

Just finished _The True Bastards: Book 2 of the Lot Lands _by Jonathan French. It's a mixed bag. It took ages for something interesting to happen, and then just went a bit nuts! I struggled to get through the first half, but it picked up enough that I'll get the next one if/when it comes out.

Now on to _False Value _the latest rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Only a couple of chapters in, but so far I'm enjoying it


----------



## Richards

I was on a business trip all week so I had lots of time to read on planes, in airports, and in my hotel room at night.  As a result, I finished the following:

_The Scar_ by China Miéville - A good read, with some great worldbuilding, so much so that I'm definitely going to track down _Perdido Street Station_ by the same author, which is the book before this one.  However, as much as I liked this second book, with its fascinating world and its multitude of awesome ideas, I kind of wish it had had a stronger ending than it did.

_Verses for the Dead_, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the latest in the Agent Pendergast series to hit paperback.  (My hotel room had a Barnes and Noble within walking distance - score!)  The Agent Pendergast series is on my list of books I'm willing to pay full-price for, sight unseen (although I wait until they hit paperback, as all of the rest of the series I have in paperback and I don't like paying full price for hardcover books - I'll just wait the half a year until they come out in paperback).  But this was an enjoyable read - Pendergast is kind of like a Fox Mulder in a world where the weirdness is constrained to the more technically plausible - so he investigates weird killings but you aren't going to encounter space aliens or Bigfoot or anything.  This one dealt with a strange rash of murders of people who lived in Florida but were killed outside the state and made to look like suicides.

_The Cutting Edge_, by Jeffery Deaver, the last book (so far) in the Lincoln Rhyme series (now I have to wait for his new book every second year, like all the rest of his fans - drat!).  This one dealt with a series of murders involving people in the diamond trade, from those who carve diamonds to those who simply bought a diamond engagement ring.  It had the typical twists and turns in the plot that I haven't ever seen any other writer pull off better.

And now I'm reading _Unsub_, by Meg Gardiner.  It's about a serial killer who went off the grid for 25 years and then all of a sudden picks back up where he left off, although the lead detective from the first string of murders has retired and now his policewoman daughter has been taken from her drug enforcement duties and assigned to the team trying to track down the killer (a psycho called the Prophet, who carves the symbol of Mercury into his victims).  It's the first book I've read by this author and I'm less than a hundred pages in but I'm enjoying it - not so much that I'd necessarily go seek out her other works, but if I see her name on a book at the library book sale I'd probably pick it up.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

My feeling on Perdido Street Station is pretty much the same. The worldbuilding was phenomenal, but the ending left me feeling profoundly unsatisfied.



Richards said:


> _The Scar_ by China Miéville - A good read, with some great worldbuilding, so much so that I'm definitely going to track down _Perdido Street Station_ by the same author, which is the book before this one.  However, as much as I liked this second book, with its fascinating world and its multitude of awesome ideas, I kind of wish it had had a stronger ending than it did.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading _Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo_ by Alan Dershowitz.

Started reading _Cowardly Christians_ by Matt Walsh.

Still reading _Victoria: The Queen_ by Julia Baird.

Almost finished with _Wintersmith_ by Terry Pratchett.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished:

The Palace Job by Weekes. Fun, but not great. After a point, Loch's "always one step ahead" got a bit contrived, but enjoyable none the less.

A Martian Odyssey by Stanley Weinbaum. Charming, but I was questioning its inclusion in Appendix N...then the reference to Iron Rations showed up, and a creature that assuredly inspired the Xorn.

The Magician Nephew by C.S. Lewis. Re-reading this yet again, I think it's good, but not as great as the greatest in the series. Some things don't need to be explained.

Now I am onto reading Rachel Aaron's Minimum Wage Magic.


----------



## Celebrim

Ralif Redhammer said:


> My feeling on Perdido Street Station is pretty much the same. The worldbuilding was phenomenal, but the ending left me feeling profoundly unsatisfied.




I feel all the adulation heaped on China has really hurt his writing.  Most authors get better over time.  China I feel peaked with King Rat.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Yeah, that can certainly happen. One wonders if A Song of Ice and Fire would be done (or at least, closer to the end!) if it had never become the massive phenomenon that it did.

Perdido Street Station was my introduction to Mieville, and remained the only book of his I've read. I wanted to like it very much, but yeah, it felt like it was too many things crammed into one sack, and it all just ended up ripping at the end.



Celebrim said:


> I feel all the adulation heaped on China has really hurt his writing.  Most authors get better over time.  China I feel peaked with King Rat.


----------



## Richards

I finished _Unsub_ and while it was okay, it was ultimately unsatisfying - not only were there some unbelievable aspects to it (it's one thing for a housewife to have the presence of mind to blink a message in Morse code while being filmed by the killer, but to be able to do so while engaging in a letter-shifting cipher?  - not likely), but the ending revealed a big, fat, open-ended question that was apparently just plopped there so the author could crank out a sequel.  No thank you.

So now I'm back to Jeffery Deaver, this time his novel _The Sleeping Doll_ featuring Kathryn Dance, a California Bureau of Intelligence kinesics specialist (the study of body language) up against an escaped killer in the same mold as Charles Manson.  The title refers to the one surviving member of a family he killed, a young daughter overlooked in a pile of stuffed animals and dolls she had in bed with her at the time of the killings.  It's been great so far, and as this is written by one of my most trusted thriller authors I don't expect the rest of it to go otherwise.

Johnathan


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Reading Charles Stross’ A_ccelerando _and appreciating it. Not much character devlopment, but the near future ideas from 2005 (just before the first iphone) are still astonishing. 33% through. We’ll see how the back 2/3 goes.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Victoria: The Queen_ by Julie Baird.

Still reading _Cowardly Christians_ by Matt Walsh.

Finished _Wintersmith_ by Terry Pratchett and picked up his next book, _Making Money._


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished:

Aaron's Minimum Wage Magic - enjoyable, but held back by feeling like Shadowrun with the serial numbers filed off. If you told me this was based on someone's Shadowrun campaign, I would 100% believe it.

Harrison's The Arm of the Law - short, at just 26 pages. It's a cynical and humorous take on what happens when a robot cop arrives at a quiet, semi-corrupt police station on Mars.

I am now re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring. It's been almost four years since I last read it, so it's about time.


----------



## Mercurius

I just finished* David Gemmell's *_*Echoes of the Great Song*. _As with most Gemmell books, it is a brisk read. Lots of great characters and ideas.

I just started *Steven Erikson's *_*Rejoice, A Knife in the Heart* _and love it so far. I really like First Contact stories and this takes a fresh-ish twist.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Julia Baird's _Victoria: The Queen._

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Making Money._

Finished Matt Walsh's _Cowardly Christians._

Started rereading Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings_.


----------



## Zardnaar

Mercurius said:


> I just finished* David Gemmell's *_*Echoes of the Great Song*. _As with most Gemmell books, it is a brisk read. Lots of great characters and ideas.
> 
> I just started *Steven Erikson's *_*Rejoice, A Knife in the Heart* _and love it so far. I really like First Contact stories and this takes a fresh-ish twist.



 Echoes has been a massive influence on my D&D games for over 20 years.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just re-read Dune. So good. Onto The Lair of Bones, book four in the Runelords. I really like his magic system.....Oh, and Arcana of the Ancients, which is a great RPG book so far.


----------



## Garthanos

does it need to be gaming... 




__





						Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves: de Waal, Frans: 9780393635065: Amazon.com: Books
					

Buy Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders



					www.amazon.com


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Julia Baird's _Victoria: The Queen._

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Making Money._

Rereading Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings_.

Started reading Pathfinder 2E Lost Omen's World Guide.


----------



## Richards

I'm now on _Roadside Crosses_, the second book in Jeffery Deaver's Kathryn Dance series.  This one deals with what looks to be a serial killer who kills people along the highway - but, for whatever reason, places a roadside cross advertising the "automobile accident" _ahead _of time.  It picks up almost immediately after the first book in the series, _The Sleeping Doll_, left off, so I'm kind of glad I'm reading them back to back, even though each is a standalone story.

Johnathan


----------



## Blue

Just finished another Expanse book.  You know, the more of them I read, the more I feel like they are a D&D party.

Like my headcanon is that they are played by a D&D group trying a SF game.  No idea if these hold up for those watching the series, I haven't done that.

Holden's player normally likes playing paladins when they are doing D&D. He plays it straight, but doesn't always see when the curves are coming. Drinks Mountain Dew.
Amos' player is the murderhobo of the group.  He's also got decent system mastery and and is good at subbing in intimidation for any other social skills.
Naomi's player likes utility wizards, and played a decker when they tried Shadowrun.   She's not as into the battlemat part of the game, but loves puzzles.  The backstories she writes are never less than five pages.
Alex's player is the quietest of them, though that doesn't mean he's quiet - just most likely to let the others step up and talk.  He does voices for his characters.  He likes making a character that's piles on the bonuses to be really good at something.


----------



## GreyLord

I am having a really tough time getting through the Wheel of Time at this point.  On Book 10.  For some reason which I can't figure, it's just gotten really long and boring to me.  It is a SLOG getting through it.  I'm pushing onwards to try to get through it though.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> Just finished another Expanse book.  You know, the more of them I read, the more I feel like they are a D&D party.
> 
> Like my headcanon is that they are played by a D&D group trying a SF game.  No idea if these hold up for those watching the series, I haven't done that.
> 
> Holden's player normally likes playing paladins when they are doing D&D. He plays it straight, but doesn't always see when the curves are coming. Drinks Mountain Dew.
> Amos' player is the murderhobo of the group.  He's also got decent system mastery and and is good at subbing in intimidation for any other social skills.
> Naomi's player likes utility wizards, and played a decker when they tried Shadowrun.   She's not as into the battlemat part of the game, but loves puzzles.  The backstories she writes are never less than five pages.
> Alex's player is the quietest of them, though that doesn't mean he's quiet - just most likely to let the others step up and talk.  He does voices for his characters.  He likes making a character that's piles on the bonuses to be really good at something.




No surprise there, this random page on the internet says Ty Franck created the world for an RPG.









						Ty Franck
					

Tyler Corey Franck is an American science fiction writer from Portland, Oregon. He currently lives in New Mexico, where he works as the assistant of George R. R. Martin (known for A Song of Ice and Fire) and writes as James S. A. Corey together with Daniel Abraham. Ty Franck initially created...




					expanse.fandom.com


----------



## Eyes of Nine

And apparently in this youtube video (per the footnote on the Expanse book series wikipedia page)


----------



## carrot

GreyLord said:


> I am having a really tough time getting through the Wheel of Time at this point.  On Book 10.  For some reason which I can't figure, it's just gotten really long and boring to me.  It is a SLOG getting through it.  I'm pushing onwards to try to get through it though.




Yeah... That one is the worst in the series... You could almost skip it entirely because it felt like nothing of consequence happens until the last chapter. It does at least get a lot better with the next book.


----------



## carrot

I'm in the middle of _A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings). _It's book 2 in the series and its not really holding my interest at the moment. (I suspect I might have to re-read book 1 because its been a while). As I recall the first book took a while to get going as well, so will stick at it.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished The Fellowship of The Ring's re-read. I find myself growing more and more enamored of the sections not adapted in the movies, like Tom Bombadil and the Barrow Wights.

Now it's Conan the Freebooter, by R.E. Howard with L. Sprague DeCamp. I figure being stuck at home is a good time to read it, as the cover would be something I'm not sure I'd be comfortable seen reading on the bus.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished book 4 of the Runelords series. Like I said, big fan of the rune magic system.....I also really appreciated how book 4 ended. Not everyone will....

I think I'm going to re-read the Black Company next. Or maybe Elric.....I'm pretty mentally involved in trying to start a YouTube series and figuring out how to edit video, so I think a re-read is probably better for me right now than a new book. Plus, Elric is just easy to read.....


----------



## carrot

Zaukrie said:


> Just finished book 4 of the Runelords series. Like I said, big fan of the rune magic system.....I also really appreciated how book 4 ended. Not everyone will....




I really enjoyed that series. The magic system is definitely quite nifty. Its a shame book 9 (the conclusion) has been so delayed. David Farland is apparently still working on it, but his first draft has been sat at 50% for a long time.


Still reading _A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings) - _its picking up, but it swaps between so many (first-person) view points that I'm kinda struggling to keep them all straight in my head. I <will> finish...!


----------



## Richards

I'm now 100 pages into the latest Kathryn Dance novel, _Solitude Creek_ by Jeffery Deaver.  After this one, I'll have to take a break from Deaver for awhile as it's the last unread book of his I own.  But this one has the lead character investigating a psycho who uses artificially-induced crowd panic to kill.  I'm not sure of his motives yet but it's been typically a good read.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Tough call. They're both good, but Elric probably would get my vote, depending on which it's been longer since you've last read.



Zaukrie said:


> I think I'm going to re-read the Black Company next. Or maybe Elric.....I'm pretty mentally involved in trying to start a YouTube series and figuring out how to edit video, so I think a re-read is probably better for me right now than a new book. Plus, Elric is just easy to read.....


----------



## Zaukrie

carrot said:


> I really enjoyed that series. The magic system is definitely quite nifty. Its a shame book 9 (the conclusion) has been so delayed. David Farland is apparently still working on it, but his first draft has been sat at 50% for a long time.
> 
> 
> Still reading _A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings) - _its picking up, but it swaps between so many (first-person) view points that I'm kinda struggling to keep them all straight in my head. I <will> finish...!




nine? ugh. I'm really liking physical copies so much more than ebooks right now.....and I can't go buy more...so that will have to wait. Books 5-8 pretty much the same quality? Tell me the story is different.....at least enough I will care to read it.


----------



## the Jester

I started _the Name of the Wind_ a couple of weeks ago, left it somewhere, and just retrieved it. So that's what I am on now.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

the Jester said:


> I started _the Name of the Wind_ a couple of weeks ago, left it somewhere, and just retrieved it. So that's what I am on now.



I'm waiting for Rothfuss to finish the series before I start...


----------



## Blue

Eyes of Nine said:


> I'm waiting for Rothfuss to finish the series before I start...



Look, if he dies of old age they'll just get Sanderson to finish it.

(This is a joke - he's younger than I am.)


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished Julia Baird's _Victoria: The Queen. _Now reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Making Money._

Still rereading Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings_.

Still reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.


----------



## carrot

Zaukrie said:


> nine? ugh. I'm really liking physical copies so much more than ebooks right now.....and I can't go buy more...so that will have to wait. Books 5-8 pretty much the same quality? Tell me the story is different.....at least enough I will care to read it.




To be honest, not really... The first few books were definitely the best. The writing was good enough for me to want to keep reading 5-8, but the quality of the plot distinctly starts to wane (I want to read book 9 - but mostly from a completionist pov!).


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished the first book in the main Elric saga. Must be the fifth time I've read these. Such a fast read. Which is interesting, given all the stuff going on in his head. The writing isn't the best.... Not on Guy Kay's level, for sure.


----------



## Richards

I just started _The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes_ by Donald Thomas, a biographer with a strong historical background.  The concept here is that these are actual cases that happened in real life that Holmes, were he a real person and not a fictional character, would have taken on later in life had he not retired and become a beekeeper in 1903.  They're written as if by Dr. Watson but not published until 70 years after written, after everyone involved had passed on.  I'm a big Holmes fan but have been a bit leery of others writing new stories; these, however, seemed interesting enough to give the book a shot.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Conan the Freebooter. It's hard to go wrong with Black Colossus and A Witch Shall Be Born in the same collection. The great battle in Black Colossus is one of the most gripping and visceral depictions of warfare in fantasy.

Now I'm giving Andre Norton's Quag Keep a shot. I've heard mixed things about it, but considering its place in D&D history, wanted to give it a shot.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished Conan the Freebooter. It's hard to go wrong with Black Colossus and A Witch Shall Be Born in the same collection. The great battle in Black Colossus is one of the most gripping and visceral depictions of warfare in fantasy.
> 
> Now I'm giving Andre Norton's Quag Keep a shot. I've heard mixed things about it, but considering its place in D&D history, wanted to give it a shot.




I remember really enjoying Quag Keep back in the early 80's when I was playing D&D. But I wonder if it holds up. I just tried reading something by Andre Norton recently (Operation Time Search), and the clear racism (unconscious I hope) of the blond white guy as protagonist and the dark brutish folk and the clear asiatic villain had me putting it down.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I've had mixed results with Andre Norton - some I like, some I don't, and some have some unfortunate stereotypes.

So far, Quag Keep has a Moorcockian feel, with its talk of Law and Chaos, and the burring of identities and dimensions.



Eyes of Nine said:


> I remember really enjoying Quag Keep back in the early 80's when I was playing D&D. But I wonder if it holds up. I just tried reading something by Andre Norton recently (Operation Time Search), and the clear racism (unconscious I hope) of the blond white guy as protagonist and the dark brutish folk and the clear asiatic villain had me putting it down.


----------



## carrot

Finally finished _A Blight of Blackwings (Seven Kennings) - _it was alright. I guess. I'm not sure if I'll be bothered to read any more if/when they come out.
Moved on to the _Art of the Adept_ series by Michael G Manning. That was much much more enjoyable to read. It was complete fantasy cheese, but I couldn't put them down and finished each book in less than a day. Of course I now have to wait for the next one...


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished up Quag Keep. Better than I expected, but not up there, say, with the first Witch World novel. Now I'm reading Andrea Tang's Rebelwing.


----------



## megamania

Reading and taking notes on the horrid 4th ed Darksun novels.


----------



## Antony44

I'm going to read Jenn Lyons "The Royal Remains"https://grilliam.com/


----------



## dragoner

Finishing Stardance by Spider and Jeanne Robinson, thinking Quag Keep is next.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

megamania said:


> Reading and taking notes on the horrid 4th ed Darksun novels.




Horrid in what way? The plot? The actual writing? The characterization? The fiction is horrific?


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Next up for me, 9th book in the October Daye series.









						A Red-Rose Chain (October Daye, #9)
					

Things are looking up.  For the first time in what feels like years, October “Toby” Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a bre...



					www.goodreads.com


----------



## megamania

Pacing and the accuracy of the book.  It has taken them three weeks to travel what takes 2 days in 2nd ed.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

megamania said:


> Pacing and the accuracy of the book.  It has taken them three weeks to travel what takes 2 days in 2nd ed.




Ah, yes that would be an issue. I would imagine the writer had never actually played Dark Sun nor D&D. But WotC or TSR or Random House or whomever should have had an editor reviewing. But depending on when published, that may have been considered a luxury.


----------



## megamania

A lot of it has to do with 2nd vs 4th edition rules.    The sudden possible introduction to metal bothers the DM in me. This can / will unbalance the game world.    See what happens in the last 125 pages I guess.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Tang's Rebelwing. It was enjoyable, but not exceptional. The ending, in particular, felt muddled.

Now I'm re-reading Jack Vance's The Dying Earth. It's probably been around 15 years since I read it. How time flies.


----------



## Fenris-77

I'm picking away at a selection of Sartre and Camus with a little dash of Nietzsche. The philosophy part of my actual schooling was almost entirely Classical and Medieval, so the moderns have been a long term personal project. Existentialism seemed like a good pick for the times.

On the lighter side I've been wading through FF and WEG Star Wars supplements in order to convert things over to Scum and Villainy. I'm not sure I'm desperate enough to read Star Wars novels though. _Soooo_ hit and miss. I'd welcome suggestions on that front though, as I've really only read the Thrawn series from way back in the day.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Camus is solid in a time like this. I'm guessing The Plague? It was powerful when I first read it ages ago. I can only imagine how much moreso it resonates now.

Not as fond of Nietzsche, though. Part of it is some of the baggage he's accrued, part of it is how repetitive and pedantic he can get.



Fenris-77 said:


> I'm picking away at a selection of Sartre and Camus with a little dash of Nietzsche. The philosophy part of my actual schooling was almost entirely Classical and Medieval, so the moderns have been a long term personal project. Existentialism seemed like a good pick for the times.


----------



## Fenris-77

The baggage doesn't bother me. Nietzsche provides an important part of the foundation for both Existentialism and some of the post modern literary theory that I like, so it's almost required reading. I enjoy reading him more than a lot of philosophers anyway, so no worries. As for Camus, I started with the Outsider, and I'm reading Hesse's Siddhartha now, and the Plague with be next. It's a good time to get around to some of those books "you've always meant to read".


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Fenris-77 said:


> The baggage doesn't bother me. Nietzsche provides an important part of the foundation for both Existentialism and some of the post modern literary theory that I like, so it's almost required reading. I enjoy reading him more than a lot of philosophers anyway, so no worries. As for Camus, I started with the Outsider, and I'm reading Hesse's Siddhartha now, and the Plague with be next. It's a good time to get around to some of those books "you've always meant to read".



You could read Huis Clos (No Exit). Sort of feels like my house in these times...


----------



## Fenris-77

I'll put that on my list. I'm currently _also_ reading some texts on japanese sword and associated martial arts techniques (aiki jujutsu) to flesh out roleplaying the seven lightsaber forms with some panache. My reading queue is a busy place.


----------



## Zardnaar

Fenris-77 said:


> I'm picking away at a selection of Sartre and Camus with a little dash of Nietzsche. The philosophy part of my actual schooling was almost entirely Classical and Medieval, so the moderns have been a long term personal project. Existentialism seemed like a good pick for the times.
> 
> On the lighter side I've been wading through FF and WEG Star Wars supplements in order to convert things over to Scum and Villainy. I'm not sure I'm desperate enough to read Star Wars novels though. _Soooo_ hit and miss. I'd welcome suggestions on that front though, as I've really only read the Thrawn series from way back in the day.




 Thrawn Trilogy and Duology is good along with anything by Zahn. 

 The X-Wing books are good espicially the Wraith Squadron books. 

Han Solo Trilogy is good
Darth Bane trilogy is good

 That's off the top of my head.


----------



## Fenris-77

Thanks man! I'll take a look at those.


----------



## Zardnaar

Fenris-77 said:


> Thanks man! I'll take a look at those.




Hit/miss ratio is a lot higher in the comics even with the new Disney ones, the Vader ones are good.

IDK if you can get them though.
Individual Books

 Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
Darth Plageus
Shadows of the Empire (Episode 5.5)
Courtship of Princess Leia.


----------



## Fenris-77

I found the Darth Bane books, I'll start with those tomorrow. All in the name of campaign prep of course. I may have a lead on all the books (330 whatever of them), we'll see if it pans out. That would be fun, I love owning books, even electronically.


----------



## trappedslider

America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar 



Spoiler



In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it.

We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius.

Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president.

From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans.

We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election.

Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.


 and

Red Metal by Mark Greaney , H. Ripley Rawlings 



Spoiler



A desperate Kremlin takes advantage of a military crisis in Asia to simultaneously strike into Western Europe and invade east Africa in a bid to occupy three Rare Earth mineral mines that will give Russia unprecedented control for generations over the world's hi-tech sector. 

Pitted against the Russians are a Marine lieutenant colonel pulled out of a cushy job at the Pentagon and thrown into the fray in Africa, a French Special Forces captain and his intelligence operative father, a young Polish female partisan fighter, an A-10 Warthog pilot, and the commander of an American tank platoon who, along with his German counterpart, fight from behind enemy lines in Germany all the way into Russia.

From a daring MiG attack on American satellites, through land and air battles in all theaters, naval battles in the Arabian sea, and small unit fighting down to the hand-to-hand level in the jungle, Russia's forces battle to either take the mines or detonate a nuclear device to prevent the West from exploiting them.


----------



## Zardnaar

Fenris-77 said:


> I found the Darth Bane books, I'll start with those tomorrow. All in the name of campaign prep of course. I may have a lead on all the books (330 whatever of them), we'll see if it pans out. That would be fun, I love owning books, even electronically.




They're decent enough. Drew Kapewhatever is good. They're set around 1000 before ANH and deal with the rise of the rule of two.


----------



## ccs

ATM I'm about 3/4 the way through _The End of All Things_ by John Scalzi.
It's a sci-fi book of 4 or 5 intersecting stories set in the Old Man's War series - Earth/Human colony planets vs a many multi-species alien coalition with a Human/Alien faction trying to cause trouble/war between them.

I picked it up out of a (heavy) discount bin while 2019 Christmas shopping.  Before that I'd never heard of this author or series.  Cover caught my eye, dust jacket description sounded interesting enough, & I needed something random to read.  It was also only $5.  So....
It's not the deepest reading, but it's not bad as far as a throw away sci-fi book goes. 
Maybe I'll look into the other 5 books in the series.  Or maybe I won't.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

ccs said:


> ATM I'm about 3/4 the way through _The End of All Things_ by John Scalzi.
> It's a sci-fi book of 4 or 5 intersecting stories set in the Old Man's War series - Earth/Human colony planets vs a many multi-species alien coalition with a Human/Alien faction trying to cause trouble/war between them.
> 
> I picked it up out of a (heavy) discount bin while 2019 Christmas shopping.  Before that I'd never heard of this author or series.  Cover caught my eye, dust jacket description sounded interesting enough, & I needed something random to read.  It was also only $5.  So....
> It's not the deepest reading, but it's not bad as far as a throw away sci-fi book goes.
> Maybe I'll look into the other 5 books in the series.  Or maybe I won't.




I found the novels in the series fun.


----------



## Richards

I'm now reading a very strange novel, _Of Tangible Ghosts_ by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.  It's a science fiction mystery in a world where ghosts are not only real but able to be seen by everyone - only it's also an alternate history world, where the Dutch are apparently the main global power, although there's an Austro-Hungarian empire on the rise with some decidedly Nazi-like traits.  It's very unlike anything else I've ever read and I'm not sure I'm fully enjoying it at 84 pages in.  But I'll stick with it, as my to-be-read pile is starting to dwindle.

In the meantime, I'm also rereading some graphic novels: _The Boys_ and _We3_ of late.

Johnathan


----------



## Zardnaar

Umbran said:


> The Wheel of Time, in paperback, totals something like 12,000 pages.  Good luck not rage-quitting before you reach the end!
> 
> I don't have a plan for the year.  I have a vacation coming up for which I am building a reading list.
> 
> The manuscript for Scott Lynch's _Thorn of Emberlain_ was completed back in May, so I am hopeful it comes out this year.




 I made it to book 7 or 8 and gave up circa 2000/2001.


----------



## Garthanos

Zardnaar said:


> I made it to book 7 or 8 and gave up circa 2000/2001.



I actually felt book 8 or was it 9 finished the core interesting story line (tainting of the male side of the one power) and the other element I was interested in was being so drug out that well sigh. I similarly couldn't get interested in the last few.


----------



## Zardnaar

Garthanos said:


> I actually felt book 8 or was it 9 finished the core interesting story line (tainting of the male side of the one power) and the other element I was interested in was being so drug out that well sigh. I similarly couldn't get interested in the last few.




 Started off well, first 3 were good.


----------



## Garthanos

Zardnaar said:


> Started off well, first 3 were good.



It had some sparkling characters which evoked myth and legend well


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished book 5 in the Elric saga......not sure how many times I've read this, but I forgot two things about the saga

1. So much of it is in his angsty head. Which is why I'm not sure how a tv show would work.
2. So much time jumping.

Oh, and he writes very, efficiently. No dozens of pages with descriptions and characters that aren't all that important. It's an amazing sparse series, really. I know it was party (mostly?) published as pieces originally, or something like that. But even then, very sparse.


----------



## Garthanos

Zaukrie said:


> 2. So much time jumping.



That part has World of Warcraft ... reminding me of the Elric Stories


----------



## Nellisir

Zaukrie said:


> Oh, and he writes very, efficiently. No dozens of pages with descriptions and characters that aren't all that important. It's an amazing sparse series, really. I know it was party (mostly?) published as pieces originally, or something like that. But even then, very sparse.




That's common in many authors of the period. The complete 10-volume Books of Amber could be two books today.


----------



## Nellisir

I've lost track of what I've read. Currently reading the _The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_; have read the Sun-Wolf trilogy by Barbara Hambly (gods I love those books); and a few more Judge Dee books. And _The Book of Three_ by Lloyd Alexander.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> I've lost track of what I've read. Currently reading the _The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_; have read the Sun-Wolf trilogy by Barbara Hambly (gods I love those books); and a few more Judge Dee books. And _The Book of Three_ by Lloyd Alexander.



Oh, good reminder on the Judge Dee books. Will have to pick those up again. It's been 30+ years, read at least one in high school/early college.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Oh, good reminder on the Judge Dee books. Will have to pick those up again. It's been 30+ years, read at least one in high school/early college.



They're excellent. They all scream D&D adventure.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Exegesis

Annihilation (far better than the movie. The movie is okay. The book is amazing.)

The rest of the books by the authors of either of the above

Sillamarillian (yeah...im dyslexic...i apologize in advance)

The sagas

Rigg veda

Dante's inferno

Paradise lost

Dragon riders of pern

The chronicles of prydain

Beowulf

The screw tape letters (amusing book in the format of stationary letter correspondance between two demons concerning a mortal one of them is assigned to if hell is a corporatocracy and they, the demons are employees of varying ranks in the corporate beuruecreatic hierarchy of hell)

Man im dyslexic...


----------



## Nellisir

_The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_ was pretty good. Not amazing. Faster read than I expected; thick, high-quality paper and a lot of endnotes.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Making Money._

Finished Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings _and now halfway through the next book _Words of Radiance._

Still reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

KahlessNestor said:


> Still reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._
> 
> Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Making Money._
> 
> Finished Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings _and now halfway through the next book _Words of Radiance._
> 
> Still reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.



Terry Pratchett...now there's a man who's stories have inspired a LOT of d&d.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

KahlessNestor said:


> Finished Brandon Sanderson's _The Way of Kings _and now halfway through the next book _Words of Radiance._




How long is that series supposed to be? 4 books published so far? (I haven't started Kingkiller Chronicles yet due to slowness of releases. Treating Stormlight Archive the same)


----------



## Nellisir

KahlessNestor said:


> Still reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.




How has that changed from the first campaign setting guide? Did they advance the timeline or something?


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Vance's The Dying Earth yesterday. If anything, I love it even more, re-reading it many years later. The world is so weird and vivid, filled with characters good, evil, and indifferent.

Now I'm reading something more modern, C.S.E. Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Have you read the Viriconium books?





__





						Viriconium - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## hawkeyefan

Currently catching up on my Abercrombie having received the first of his new trilogy as a gift for Christmas. One of my favorite authors, but the last couple of years have seen my reading plummet to what it had once been. 

On _Heroes _now, which is very good so far. Then I’ll read _Red Country_. After that, I’ll read the new one, _A Little Hatred. _

I have a stack of books that has built up over the last 5 years. And also a list of books I’ve been making of things I want to check out. Need to really ramp up to get where I once was. 

The quarantine hasn’t helped. Still working full time, and also have the kids at home at all times.


----------



## carrot

Eyes of Nine said:


> How long is that series supposed to be? 4 books published so far? (I haven't started Kingkiller Chronicles yet due to slowness of releases. Treating Stormlight Archive the same)




Apparently 10... Sanderson has said 2 sets of a 5-book story arc. He does seem to have slowed down in his writing, so that may be a while.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

If anyone likes mystery stories, and also likes YA or novels set in high schools, then they'll appreciate Truly Devious. I just blew through volume 1; and its definitely a multi-parter. Recommended.









						Truly Devious (Truly Devious, #1)
					

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Elli...



					www.goodreads.com


----------



## Blue

Just came across my copy of Soon I Will Be Invincible - I forgot I loaned it to my eldest and it's been in her room forever.

While superheroes aren't my normal genre, I do find that I like deconstructions (and reconstructions) of the genre, as long as they have a good story to go with them. SIWBI (above) is one of them even if there are the occasional cringeworthy chapter. There's a decent amount in the Wearing the Cape series as well as The Legion of Nothing web series. But I've also been disappointed with some, such as All Of Those Explosions Weren't My Fault, though that could be because they mixed in vampires with supers and that's not chocolate & peanut butter.

So, what superhero deconstruction/reconstruction fiction with a good story would you recommend?


----------



## Ryujin

Just received an advanced copy of the next book in Todd Downing's "Airship Daedalus" pulp series, "The Arctic Menace"


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> So, what superhero deconstruction/reconstruction fiction with a good story would you recommend?



This web-series was VERY good.








						Worm
					

A Complete Web Serial




					parahumans.wordpress.com


----------



## KahlessNestor

Eyes of Nine said:


> How long is that series supposed to be? 4 books published so far? (I haven't started Kingkiller Chronicles yet due to slowness of releases. Treating Stormlight Archive the same)




Book 4 will be out this autumn. There is a 5th book scheduled for "Era 1" of the Stormlight Archives to finish it out. I believe there will eventually be another 5 books for an "Era 2"

Sanderson is really good every December about doing a "State of the Sanderson" blog post about what he did that year, and about his writing plans for the future, often going out even 5 years! He also has a progress tracker for his writing on the site, as well.

State of the Sanderson


----------



## KahlessNestor

Nellisir said:


> How has that changed from the first campaign setting guide? Did they advance the timeline or something?




Yes, they have. They incorporated a lot of events that occurred in the Adventure Paths and Pathfinder Society during 1st Ed. So the World Wound has been closed. There is a new Pirate King in the Shackles. There is a new country that broke off in rebellion against Cheliax. A new Empress in Taldor. Fall of the Technic League and new goddess in Numeria. The Big Bad is the returned lich from that island in the middle of Lake Ecanthen (sp?). That's what I'm remembering off the top of my head. The most important/biggest change is the returned lich and the destruction of Lastwall.


----------



## KahlessNestor

carrot said:


> Apparently 10... Sanderson has said 2 sets of a 5-book story arc. He does seem to have slowed down in his writing, so that may be a while.




Yeah. He has so many projects on his plate. After Stormlight 4, I think he is going to finish Era 2 of Mistborn. There is a Warbreaker sequel up soon (important for Stormlight Archive). And his sci fi series Starlight is due a final book.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Blue said:


> Just came across my copy of Soon I Will Be Invincible - I forgot I loaned it to my eldest and it's been in her room forever.
> 
> While superheroes aren't my normal genre, I do find that I like deconstructions (and reconstructions) of the genre, as long as they have a good story to go with them. SIWBI (above) is one of them even if there are the occasional cringeworthy chapter. There's a decent amount in the Wearing the Cape series as well as The Legion of Nothing web series. But I've also been disappointed with some, such as All Of Those Explosions Weren't My Fault, though that could be because they mixed in vampires with supers and that's not chocolate & peanut butter.
> 
> So, what superhero deconstruction/reconstruction fiction with a good story would you recommend?




I don't know about deconstruction/reconstruction, but I really enjoyed Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, Calamity). It rides the line between adult/YA (protagonist is 18).


----------



## WayneLigon

I've been on a short fiction kick. Asimov's, Analog, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and more. I don't get as much reading time as I used to have, so it takes me about half a month to go through a single issue (since most of these are double issues done every other month), leaving me with a little time for novels near the end.

The latest thing I'm reading is Exploded View by Sam McPheeters.  Near-future crime drama in LA, where the LA cops make use of real-time smart-surface tech and ubiquitous surveillance to solve crimes via augmented reality. For instance: tracking a subject through his daily routine simply because no matter where he goes, he can be tracked. And of course all the ways around such tech, and how it's employed, and why. 

Other recent things:
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Levinson, Marc
Light of Impossible Stars: An Embers of War Novel by Powell, Gareth L.
Bonds of Brass: Book One of The Bloodright Trilogy by Skrutskie, Emily
Re-Coil by Nicholas, J.T.
The Subjugate by Bridgeman, Amanda


----------



## the Jester

I'm out of books to read so my mom is kicking some of her stuff to me- it's not my preference, but it's definitely better than nothing! I just finished a Jack Reacher novel (don't remember the title) and am now working on Book of Bones. But we have a handful of stuff on order, and it should arrive in a couple of weeks.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

WayneLigon said:


> I've been on a short fiction kick. Asimov's, Analog, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and more. I don't get as much reading time as I used to have, so it takes me about half a month to go through a single issue (since most of these are double issues done every other month), leaving me with a little time for novels near the end.
> 
> The latest thing I'm reading is Exploded View by Sam McPheeters.  Near-future crime drama in LA, where the LA cops make use of real-time smart-surface tech and ubiquitous surveillance to solve crimes via augmented reality. For instance: tracking a subject through his daily routine simply because no matter where he goes, he can be tracked. And of course all the ways around such tech, and how it's employed, and why.
> 
> Other recent things:
> The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Levinson, Marc
> Light of Impossible Stars: An Embers of War Novel by Powell, Gareth L.
> Bonds of Brass: Book One of The Bloodright Trilogy by Skrutskie, Emily
> Re-Coil by Nicholas, J.T.
> The Subjugate by Bridgeman, Amanda




Bonds of Brass is on my to-read list. Non-spoiler thoughts?


----------



## trappedslider

I'm currently reading: America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar and once i'm done with it,i'm going to look at getting a copy of An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know (I'm having a slight interest in ConLaw developing) 

and for fiction,i'm reading Red Metal by Mark Greaney , Hunter Ripley Rawlings


----------



## Umbran

We're doing a bit of a book club thing, with video conference meetings every week or two.

The first book was _Every Heart a Doorway_, by Seanan McGuire. I am not generally a fan of McGuire's work, but this was evocative and the prose style engaging.

Now, we are reading, _A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet_, by Becky Chambers.  Only part way through, but the book reads far more "slice of life" than "there's a plot of important events here".  So far, excellent worldbuilding.


----------



## Doc_Klueless

With Conan 2d20 about to hit FG (see *here* ), I've almost completed my Complete Conan Omnibus (all the REH Conan published stories) and am dabbling with the Conan 2d20 ruleset/books in between cases in the OR.

REEEEeeeally looking forward to testing the FG ruleset for Conan 2d20 out.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep. Holy carp, was it good! If I had to describe it, I'd say it was like if the movie Labyrinth was set in Victorian times and written by Clive Barker. 

Now I'm re-reading Karl Edward Wagner's Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane, which, like The Dying Earth, I haven't read in about 15 years. Apparently the volume is out-of-print now and going for in excess of $200 online.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

I decided to go through my backlog of graphic novels. One more to go, Invisible Kingdom by G Willow Wilson. But of what I have read so far:

*Trees V3:* Warren Ellis, Jason Howard (art). Ok addition to the Trees storyline. This volume tells one story of one place. It advances the overall plot of the Trees a bit; but it's still unclear how the trees influence human cognition and emotion. I gave it 3 stars.

*Sleeper and the Spindle*: Neil Gaiman, Chris Riddell (art). Classic Gaiman - taking a fairy tale or two, mashing them up; modernizing the perspective so that women have some agency. This is technically an illustrated novella or even a short story. The art is great, Chris Ridell I'm a fan. If you like Gaiman, you'll like this. If not, well - you've been warned. 

*Unearth Vol 1:* Cullen Bunn, Baldemar Rivas (art): Well, the art is sufficiently creepy and distorted to be perfect for this storyline. I'm not sure what I was expecting - maybe some body horror; some mystery; maybe even some discovery. 



Spoiler



Well I got all those; but the mystery turned out to be related to a particular fictional universe that as far as I'm concerned has been done to death; and the creator was an avowed racist. This took a new perspective on that old mythos; but as soon as someone said "Ftaghn", I was so done.


 I gave Unearth 2 stars.

*Coda Vol 1:* Simon Spurrier, Matias Bergara (art):
I bought this book for the art. It's like a psychedelic version of Asterix's Albert Uderzo. Then the writing is by Simon Spurrier, who I've been enjoying his run on the new Dreaming book from DC.

It's post-apocalyptic; but it's post a fantasy world. So the magic is supposed to be dying, although there is something called "akker" which I guess is mainlining magic power. However, the way it's created is grisly and revealed in the 2nd/3rd chapter. The main character - called Sir Hum by some of the others in the novel - is scornful of the old days. He's practical, and focused on finding his wife, who is with the Urken. That tale unfolds with a delicious twist in chapter 4. Anyway, this first volume was a fun read, and I'll definitely keep up with the series. I gave this one a 4 of 5 stars.

*Fairlady Vol 1: *Brian Schirmer, Claudia Balboni (art): If you like mysteries, hard boiled detective stories, and fantasy, then you’ll like this. I mean come on, the first panel is an overhead shot of a town built in the ruins of a colossal mech or metal golem or construct. It gets better from there. The art style is clean line; and they really lean into a bunch of fantasy/D&D type tropes. I give this one 5 of 5 stars. Highly recommended.


----------



## Nellisir

Just finished the Chronicles of Prydain. I had never read the complete series before - just _The Book of Three_ and (maybe) _The Black Cauldron_. Full props to Lloyd Alexander for a series that  does everything the blurbs claim and more. These books deserve the praise and awards they've gotten over the years. 5/5


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Nellisir said:


> Just finished the Chronicles of Prydain. I had never read the complete series before - just _The Book of Three_ and (maybe) _The Black Cauldron_. Full props to Lloyd Alexander for a series that  does everything the blurbs claim and more. These books deserve the praise and awards they've gotten over the years. 5/5



I see you too are a man of culture

But in all seriousness, good series to draw inspiration from for d&d campaigns

So is dragonriders of pern series (if you wanna throw a little bit of inconspicuous yet signifficant clark-tech in your games)


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Umbran said:


> We're doing a bit of a book club thing, with video conference meetings every week or two.
> 
> The first book was _Every Heart a Doorway_, by Seanan McGuire. I am not generally a fan of McGuire's work, but this was evocative and the prose style engaging.
> 
> Now, we are reading, _A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet_, by Becky Chambers.  Only part way through, but the book reads far more "slice of life" than "there's a plot of important events here".  So far, excellent worldbuilding.



"Small angry planet"

I instinctively thought "='s earth?"

Gave me a good laugh.

Ive never heard of those.  Gonna have to read them now.

Edit:

Being a physicist i shouldnt spread misinformation like that though (sheepish look).  I thought of earth not because its a small planet but because i always think of it as a speck in the universe.  Actually, as planets go its pretty good size.  Its not monstrous or tiny.  There.  Ive done my duty.  Corrected my wrongs.


----------



## Richards

I finally finished _Of Tangible Ghosts_ last night - it took me a lot longer than a book that size normally would because I really couldn't get into it: it was very slow-paced with not much going on and now that I'm done with it I still couldn't tell you all of what happened - I think the main character was supposed to have been possessed there by a ghost for awhile or something, but I couldn't swear to it.  Confusing and boring (despite the main character being a former spy!) - I think that's all I ever need to read of L. E. Modesitt, Jr.  (There are apparently two sequels; I'll pass.)

I'm trying out an urban fantasy novel next: _Magic to the Bone_ by Devon Monk.  We'll see how that one goes - I've never read anything by her before.

Johnathan


----------



## Eyes of Nine

I barely remember _Of Tangible Ghosts_... I recall being sort of like, "huh, that was a book". He came to a signing at my store *for that book*, and was a cool guy. Turns out we went to the same small college, albeit 20 years apart...


----------



## Nellisir

Son of the Serpent said:


> So is dragonriders of pern series (if you wanna throw a little bit of inconapicuous yet signifficant clark-tech in your games)



I read Dragonriders ages ago. No particular urge to revisit it.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

Nellisir said:


> I read Dragonriders ages ago. No particular urge to revisit it.



Ah.  Well, to each their own.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

The Chronicles of Prydain are just absolutely magical. From beginning to end.

If you haven't already read it, the The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain is well worth the read as well.



Nellisir said:


> Just finished the Chronicles of Prydain. I had never read the complete series before - just _The Book of Three_ and (maybe) _The Black Cauldron_. Full props to Lloyd Alexander for a series that  does everything the blurbs claim and more. These books deserve the praise and awards they've gotten over the years. 5/5


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> The Chronicles of Prydain are just absolutely magical. From beginning to end.
> 
> If you haven't already read it, the The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain is well worth the read as well.



There's a chance I have it, but not in the format of the rest of the series. I won't know for a little while - I still have 20-30 boxes of books that need sorting & shelving. It's definitely on my "find or buy this book" list.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> The Chronicles of Prydain are just absolutely magical. From beginning to end.
> 
> If you haven't already read it, the The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain is well worth the read as well.



Recently re-read - unlike many series and books I loved as youth that I have re-read now in this century to disappointment (Hello Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'm looking at you...) - Lloyd Alexander's books HOLD UP.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished a re-read of the Elric series. I like it a bit less than before, but then I've loved it before. They 100% hold up, but they aren't great literature by any means.

Next up? A Black Company re-read? Maybe a Pathfinder book I got at a sale?


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._ Actually really makes you consider how good we have it, even if we are all "sheltered in place." I mean, they continued with life while bombs were falling on their heads.

Finished Terry Pratchett's _Making Money. _The next book is on order, but there's no next day delivery of books right now given the pandemic.

Still Reading Brandon Sanderson's _Words of Radiance._

Still reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.


----------



## Son of the Serpent

KellyGrin said:


> finished *The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley* and as it stands, I'd have to go 4/5 stars. Absolutely loved it,



There is a sequel just so you know.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

KellyGrin said:


> finished *The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley* and as it stands, I'd have to go 4/5 stars. Absolutely loved it,




If "Absolutely loved it" gets you 4 stars, what does an author have to do to get 5 stars? Deliver the book with a case of toilet paper?


----------



## Blue

Eyes of Nine said:


> Recently re-read - unlike many series and books I loved as youth that I have re-read now in this century to disappointment (Hello Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'm looking at you...) - Lloyd Alexander's books HOLD UP.



That series was the first to introduce my youngest daughter to Fantasy years ago.

Now she's in two D&D campaigns.

Mission: Accomplished.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._

Starting Terry Pratchett's _Unseen Academicals._

Finished reading Brandon Sanderson's _Words of Radiance._

Started and finished Brandon Sanderson's _Edgedancer._

Started reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._

Finished reading Pathfinder 2E _Lost Omen's World Guide_.

Started reading 5e's _Explorer's Guide to Wildmount._


----------



## Doug McCrae

The War Hound and the World's Pain (1981) Michael Moorcock. It feels very, very Warhammer-y.


----------



## Richards

I finished _Magic to the Bone_ and while it was a good read - interesting characters, fascinating worldbuilding as far as how magic fits into the real world, cool plot - I was disappointed in that this ended up basically being a novel-length prologue to the real story, which will no doubt unfold in subsequent novels.  I'll probably pick them up if I stumble across them but I'm not left with a desperate need to know what happens next.

Now I'm reading Terry Pratchett's _Thief of Time_.  You pretty much can't go wrong with a Discworld novel.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished reading Karl Edward Wagner's Midnight Sun. Honestly, I loved the writing, the horror-infused fantasy, the weariness of eternity you feel through Kane. But eventually Kane wore out his welcome. By the time "A Gothic Touch" came along with the guest appearance of Elric and Moonglum, I was feeling less than charitable as their presence was mostly used to exalt Kane some more.

Now I'm reading the Maker of Universes, by Philip Jose Famer.


----------



## Nellisir

Finished _Witchmark_, by CL Polk. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I expected, and have tagged the second book for purchase soon. Solid 4/5

I'm in a pretty comfortable place right now bookwise. I've picked up, and been reading, _The Explorer's Guide to Wildemont_ and _Eberron: Rising From the Last War_. Both have ups and downs. I've also read the DtRPG's _Moonshae Isles Regional Guide_ (a warmed-over rehash of FR2 with minor updates; 2/5) and _The Border Kingdoms_ (TBH a hundred pages of Ed Greenwood is...a bit much. He leans on his stock personalities a LOT. And cutesy "local flavor", like "in the Viscounty of Whizzbang ale is served in measures called dragonflagons, and the more potent Guzzer's Red in gondshots, by Haila Woodenstockings, the cheerful and buxom proprietess (who is secretly a 13th-level wizard and Harper ally who slept with Elminster once; the stableboy is her polymorphed copper dragon companion, who ALSO slept with Elminster)" and "the local military force, known as Green Glaives, and their leaders, the High Emerald Glaives (who are secretly all Zhentarim horses and slept with Elminster once)")  Snide commentary aside, there's a lot more to work with in _The Border Kingdoms_ than the Moonshae Guide, and there's been work to update the Kingdoms since Greenwood's 3e-era article series on the WotC site, so thumbs up for that.

(For the record, my gold-standard for campaign setting books is the 3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. And the lack of a serious, comprehensive, in-depth guide to the Moonshaes is _criminal_. I bought _Darkwalker on Moonshae_ when it first came out, and thought the Moonshae's would be a major factor in the Forgotten Realms. I'm still getting over pissed about that one.)

I'm waiting on two Calidar books, and several fiction books have shown up. The new Murderbot novel isn't released until May though, so that sucks. Murderbot is AWESOME.

Edit: On reflection I'm not "getting over" it. I still want my heavy-Celtic FR, dangnabit.


----------



## Nellisir

I read _The Lacquer Screen_ (a Judge Dee mystery) and _Otto of the Silver Hand_ (by Howard Pyle). Both good/interesting.


----------



## GreyLord

I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.


----------



## Zardnaar

GreyLord said:


> I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.




 You made it two books further than I did.


----------



## carrot

GreyLord said:


> I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.




You are almost there... bear with it... The last chapter has something interesting happen. The next book is better and the final three books are a lot better!


----------



## Zaukrie

GreyLord said:


> I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.




That's 6 books further than I could get......


----------



## ccs

Thunderhead, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.

After finishing the sci-fi book I'd been reading the other week  i needed something new.  Unfortunately with everything locked down I can't really go browse the local Barnes & Noble....
So I randomly pulled this off the pile of stuff my brother & I are cleaning out of my mothers house (mom passed away back in Jan).

It's an adventure/thriller based on searching for the Anassazi indians city of gold.
I'm only about 50 pages in, so no real idea if its good/bad/otherwise yet.
I think this was probably one of Dads books as its not really my mothers style of read.

I figure at about 500 pages it'll last me though May reading a bit each evening.  Unless it turns out to be really good - then I'll zip through it in about two weeks max.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

GreyLord said:


> I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.




Life is too short and there are sooooo many books to waste time reading a book you don't like.

Here's what I do. If I am bored or tired of a book at the beginning, I'll give it until page 100. If by page 100, I'm like "Nah", then I put it down and don't ever look back. Occasionally, I've had to invoke this. Lies of Locke Lamora was like that. Page 80 - "These characters are awful, why do I care?" to page 98 "These characters are interesting, let's just see what's going to happen, eh?" to the end "That was actually pretty darn good!".

But anyway, I give a book to page 100, then done. With Wheel of Time, you've read already what, 10,000 pages or so? I think you can quit.

After all, the book will still be around in 5-10-20 years if you want to go back and read.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

ccs said:


> Thundered, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.
> 
> After finishing the sci-fi book I'd been reading the other week  i needed something new.  Unfortunately with everything locked down I can't really go browse the local Barnes & Noble....
> So I randomly pulled this off the pile of stuff my brother & I are cleaning out of my mothers house (mom passed away back in Jan).
> 
> It's an adventure/thriller based on searching for the Anassazi indians city of gold.
> I'm only about 50 pages in, so no real idea if its good/bad/otherwise yet.
> I think this was probably one of Dads books as its not really my mothers style of read.
> 
> I figure at about 500 pages it'll last me though May reading a bit each evening.  Unless it turns out to be really good - then I'll zip through it in about two weeks max.




I've heard good things.
Condolences about your mom.


----------



## Richards

ccs said:


> Thunderhead, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.



I have enjoyed almost everything I've read by those two, either separately or together.

Johnathan


----------



## Blue

GreyLord said:


> I've gotten slogged down reading the WoT.  Currently stuck near the end of Book 10 and I just can't even make my self look at the book anymore.  Started reading other things (read the first 3 books in the enchanted forest for example instead of continuing the WoT).  I don't know, but I am really sick of the book series at this point.  It's crazy, but I just have this dread of resuming Book 10.  I think it's just that it is taking soooooooo long for anything really to happen.  It's like I'm reading and making no progress or some weird thing like that.




I didn't want to discourage you when you were starting, but I too felt it slog down to where nothing was happening.

I can tell you that Book 11 - the last Robert Jordan book - does get better.  Things happen.  And then you are onto the Brandon Sanderson books, and he's aiming to get to the end.

So there's light, and it's not even too far away.

In the words of Dory: Just keep reading, just keep reading.
_(Dory doesn't remember which way it was, so won't contradict me.)_


----------



## Blue

I finished the last book of The Expanse.  Or rather, as I found out with an inarticulate shout that startled the family, the last book published so far.

I started Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer, an author I have not read before.  Complete tonal shift from the Expanse books, which I am both enjoying but also adjusting to.  I am just a few pages into it, and the writing style has caught me - it is as much a character as, well, the characters are.  Perhaps more at this point, we're still getting introduced to them.  But it really is a character, because what we are reading it "written" by another character in the time the book takes place - and you get the feeling they may not be the most reliable of narrators.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Agreed. It's bitter sweet, because you can almost feel Robert Jordan racing against the illness that would claim his life, after so many books of spinning his wheels.



Blue said:


> I can tell you that Book 11 - the last Robert Jordan book - does get better.  Things happen.  And then you are onto the Brandon Sanderson books, and he's aiming to get to the end.




I finished reading Philip Jose Farmer's The Maker of Universes. Not a bad read at all. While it's not as weird and beautiful as Vance, nor as action-packed as Leiber or Howard, it's clearly the kind of tale Gygax enjoyed. It's got genre mash-ups, technology and magic mixing, and is a definite influence on the planes of D&D.

Now I'm to Lord Dunsany's The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories.


----------



## KahlessNestor

KellyGrin said:


> Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archives). 10/10. It's the best series I've read in a while, and maybe of all time. The fantasy world-building is amazing and there's so many cool, small details in the scenery and culture that are delightful. The characters are so believable and distinctive, and the magic system is uniquely creative.




I'm on my second read of Oathbringer, doing a reread of Stormlight Archives, and I agree. Sanderson is amazing! Did you see the new Bridge Four movie poster out for the Kickstarter?


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished The Sword of Welleran. Gorgeous stuff. I then did a quick read of P. Djeli Clark's "A Dead Djinn in Cairo." This short story has a great cinematic feel, and moves at a quick pace (at 40 pages, it has to).

I'm currently reading Doc Smith's Triplanetary, the first Lensman book. And honestly, it's a bit of a slog. I'm quickly realizing why the Lensman fandom faded away, despite it being so influential.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished a Pathfinder novel, _City of the Fallen Sky. _Not bad, not great. I mostly enjoyed it.

edit: wrote a review, too.









						A Review of City of the Fallen Sky - Mike's Thoughts
					

City of the Fallen Sky is a novel in the Pathfinder Tales series from Paizo. It is a good book, if you like fantasy novels. 3/5 stars



					mikesixel.com


----------



## hawkeyefan

I finished “Heroes” by Joe Abercrombie a couple weeks ago. It was great and I’ll be moving on to the next one, “Red Country” in the near future.

In between, I’m well into “NOS4A2” by Joe Hill, which is a lot of fun. I always like his work. It moves at a good pace and the characters are well depicted.


----------



## atanakar

Underwhelmed by «Blue Remembered Earth», Alastair Reynolds. I have no appetite for rich spoiled kids rumping around the Solar system on a wild goose chase instigated by their grand-mother before death. Very weak characterization, descriptions and plot. Definitely not at the same level as Revelation Space.


----------



## Doug McCrae

The Devil Rides Out (1934) Dennis Wheatley. The magic system was inspired by Wheatley's reading of Magick in Theory and Practice, written (and presented to Wheatley) by the notorious occultist, Aleister Crowley. Wheatley portrays the world as a battleground between the forces of light and darkness that transcends any one religion. Druids, frex, are considered to have been on the side of light, and so, by the logic of the novel, the heroes can use Stonehenge as a sanctuary. There's an element of magical relativism derived from Crowley - crucifixes work in England because of its history as a Christian nation.

The novel is both racist and ableist. Almost all the Satanists are either non-white, have a disability (such as a cleft lip, albinisim, or a missing arm), or both. Voodoo is held to be evil.


----------



## Nellisir

Got, and read, and finished, _Network Effect_, the most recent Murderbot book. Had a conversation with my gf about it, and the difference between a great book and a book that just...pushes all your buttons in the BEST way. Honestly, I can't tell how good these books are, except that a) many other people love them; b) I've loved other Martha Wells books (but not all of them); and c) OMG how can you not?? 

I really really want to go dig out the earlier books now. It's only been a year since I read them, but SO. MUCH. FUN.


----------



## vpuigdoller

I just started Star Wars: Ashoka. Liking it so far.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Dennis Wheatley's novels are definitely rooted in British Orientalism, and all the negative things that came with it. It's this weird blend of mysticism and jingoism.



Doug McCrae said:


> The Devil Rides Out (1934) Dennis Wheatley...The novel is both racist and ableist. Almost all the Satanists are either non-white, have a disability (such as a cleft lip, albinisim, or a missing arm), or both. Voodoo is held to be evil.




I ended up giving up on Triplanetary. When they cut to a pages-long description of a new alien planet and lifeform in the middle of raging space battle, that was the final straw for me.

Now I'm back to my Dying Earth re-read, with the Eyes of the Overworld. Oh, that reprobate Cugel the Clever!


----------



## atanakar

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Now I'm back to my Dying Earth re-read, with the Eyes of the Overworld. Oh, that reprobate Cugel the Clever!




Classics.

Have you read Big Planet? A short read that I really enjoyed.








						Big Planet - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Just finished _Have Spacesuit will Travel_ by Robert Heinlein. It's a fun YA novel of a youth who yearns to go to space, but when he finally does, it ain't what he expected - not by a long shot! I found the casual sexism off-putting to some degree; but otherwise it's a light, quick fun read.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I have not...yet. Vance was so prolific that while I'd say I'm reasonably well-read with his works, there's still a metaphorical (but maybe literal) ton I've not gotten to.



atanakar said:


> Have you read Big Planet? A short read that I really enjoyed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Big Planet - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Eyes of the Overworld is done. Such fun. Cugel is terrible, and yet I find myself wondering how he was going to get out of the scrapes he got himself into (but also hoping that he wouldn't).

Now I'm over to Nehwon with Swords and Ice Magic. As I recall, it's the last decent read before The Knight and Knave of Swords.


----------



## Richards

I just started _Resistance_ by J. M. Dillard, a _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ novel that picks up immediately after the events of the last ST:TNG movie, with Riker and Troi having been reassigned to the USS Titan and Picard feeling some weird twinges left over from his time as Locutus.  (Apparently this is going to be a Borg-threat novel.)  It's going along okay so far, with the right "feel" for the characters - a definite must for me when it comes to Star Trek books (or any book using established characters; I hate it when the author can't get the tone right).

Johnathan


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

I recently finished Dragon's Egg and Starquake. They're very well written books.


----------



## dragoner

Finished Triton by Samuel R Delaney, and found a trade paperback of the sfwa "Science Fiction Hall of Fame" published in 1970, seems interesting enough.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just started a re-read of the Black Company.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

dragoner said:


> Finished Triton by Samuel R Delaney, and found a trade paperback of the sfwa "Science Fiction Hall of Fame" published in 1970, seems interesting enough.



I read Triton probably in early 80's as a teenager. Didn't really grok it. Maybe time for a re-read. Was it as disjointed as I remember?


----------



## dragoner

Eyes of Nine said:


> I read Triton probably in early 80's as a teenager. Didn't really grok it. Maybe time for a re-read. Was it as disjointed as I remember?



Yeah, kinda. It's fairly couched in the 70's, and he has a calculus of metalogic thing going on, which I'm good with calculus, the metalogic thing sort of lost me, it's more of a language deal than math, and I'm sort of meh on language. Otherwise, it's interesting, solid sci-fi.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I really need to do more exploring of Delany's work. I have Babel-17 on my Kindle, but I've only read one of the Neveryon books so far. Unfortunately, I think that wasn't a great choice for an introduction, because I found it a little too talky.


----------



## dragoner

Delany's Nova and Dhalgren stand out in my memory, though I should probably read them again to give a solid recommendation.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

I am newish to D&D, and am finally getting into the Dragonlance books.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Leiber's Swords and Ice Magic. It was good, but not as good as prior installations. It was weirder, which I could appreciate, but the Piers Anthony-ish elements are definitely creeping in at this point in the series.

Now I'm onto Saberhagen's The Black Mountains.


----------



## Kaodi

I read an actual fiction book this month: Lisa Foiles' Ash Ridley and the Phoenix. Though we are not really the target audience Lisa is a huge dork like all of us and it is her first book.


----------



## the Jester

Just started China Mievelle's _The Scar. _I mostly love his work, though he had one or two books that I read that were kind of meh.


----------



## Richards

I just started a novel by Jeffery Deaver - one of his earlier ones, actually - called _The Lesson of Her Death_.  I was starting to get to the dregs of my pile of unread books and decided to order some Deaver novels I haven't read yet and the first two showed up in the mail today.  I'll probably now be reading Deaver books through the end of June!

Johnathan


----------



## cbwjm

Just about to start reading the first of the Elminster series. Read some of this series when they first came out and was thinking about the forgotten realms and felt like reading them again. Times like this I really love kindle.


----------



## Lem23

Almost finished Rebecca Roanhorse's _Black Sun_ (out later this year) which is excellent, set in a meso-American style fantasy setting. 

I just finished MR Carey's_ Book of Koli,_ which was ok but a little disappointing if I'm being honest. I'll pick up the second in the series when it's out, but it's not at the top of my must-read list. The "would of" / "could of" stylistic choice really rankles (and if you're going to use a linguistic style of a book set in post-apocalyptic West Yorkshire, put in some actual Yorkshire dialect or idiom and way of speaking, not something like that), but I felt the plot was a little meh at times too, and the ending really fizzled for me - it was more like a chapter ending than a book ending, even for a book in a series.


----------



## Nellisir

I read _The Day of Atonement_, by David Liss (part of his Benjamin Weaver series, though not featuring Benjamin Weaver as the protagonist). Good book.

And I read _The Broken Sword_, by Poul Anderson.

I feel like Poul Anderson might not get enough credit for his influence on D&D. He's certainly cited, particularly for _Three Hearts and Three Lions_, but reading this book was about as close as reading a direct transcription of a D&D setting into a novel as I've ever seen. It's often hard to point exact fingers, of course, and particularly in cases where one author (Anderson) might filter or refract a concept from another author (Tolkien), and Gygax read both, but....
_The Broken Sword_, btw, was first published in 1954, and republished in 1971 with some revisions by Anderson.

Here are a few of the things I noticed.
- Gnomes. I feel like I read a few blog posts recently talking about gnomes and D&D and laying them out as half-dwarves, or variant dwarves, and how they didn't have a good precedent in fiction. So here's Anderson on gnomes in _The Broken Sword_: "Often he would be out in the forest to speak with the little folk who lived in it, humble gnomes with gray and brown clothes and long stocking caps and the men's beards hanging to their waists. They dwelt in gnarly comfort beneath the largest trees, and were glad to see the elf children." That's pretty much D&D gnomes right there. And they're very distinct from dwarves.

-Elves. Of human height and mostly human habit. A variety of elves. The ocean-going northern elves; the Pictish wild elves, who are shorter, stronger, and darker than other elves; the noble southern elves with their forgotten glories; green haired, white skinned sea elves; elves with dwarf blood (master smiths of the elves); and the high elves of Elfheugh. 

- Other races. There are other races of fey from around the world mentioned that I'm not going to list. Trolls are not D&D trolls, but squatter, shorter, and green skinned. Goblins are midway between trolls and elves, being small and green, but not wholly unattractive. Leprechauns, sprites, fauns. The Sidhe of Ireland are similar to, but distinct from, the elves, being half-gods. Skafloc, who is stolen by the elves and raised by them, is easily half-elven. Valgard, who was the changeling left for Skafloc and the offspring of an elf and troll, could be a half-orc.

- Elves live longer than humans, but humans learn faster because of it.

- Dwarves are dwarves.


----------



## Zaukrie

Reading Shadows Linger, book 2 of the Black Company. I had completely forgotten how much of this book was not about the Black Company. As someone that would like to be published someday, I'm fascinated by it, actually.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Totally agree. So much of D&D's world-building can be found in Anderson's books.



Nellisir said:


> And I read _The Broken Sword_, by Poul Anderson.
> 
> I feel like Poul Anderson might not get enough credit for his influence on D&D. He's certainly cited, particularly for _Three Hearts and Three Lions_, but reading this book was about as close as reading a direct transcription of a D&D setting into a novel as I've ever seen. It's often hard to point exact fingers, of course, and particularly in cases where one author (Anderson) might filter or refract a concept from another author (Tolkien), and Gygax read both, but....
> _The Broken Sword_, btw, was first published in 1954, and republished in 1971 with some revisions by Anderson.


----------



## Richards

Well, I plowed through _The Lesson of Her Death_ at warp speed.  I was less than halfway done with it at 8 PM last night and decided I'd go to bed early and read for an hour or so.  At 11:25 PM I finished it, saw the time, realized I was going to be one tired puppy today (and I was right: I am!), and went immediately to bed.  It wasn't one of Deaver's absolute best books, but he kept ending paragraphs on cliffhangers and then picking up previous dangling plot lines with other characters at the beginning of the next chapter, so I kept wanting to read _just one more chapter_ - until I ran out of chapters by hitting the end of the book.  And he kept up with the surprises all the way through, which kept me guessing.  (He's a good one for misdirection: several times I thought I'd figured out a minor mystery and found out I'd been led by the nose once again.)

Tonight (ironically) I'll start Jeffery Deaver's _Praying for Sleep_, a thriller about an escaped paranoid schizophrenic man who's going after the woman responsible for getting him committed.  It apparently takes place over the course of 24 hours, so it's likely to be a page-turner.  (I may purposefully wait until tomorrow night to even start it; I'll see how tired I am at bedtime tonight.)

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

For comparison purposes. I dug out _Three Hearts and Three Lions_. Overall, I preferred _The Broken Sword_. It's more original, and there's more world-building. Aside from trolls, 3H3L is a good book but not very outstanding or distinctive, and has the annoying conceit of the protagonist trying to "rationalize" magic and find "scientific" rules for it, which was very vogue for a while. And frankly, it's a conceit that doesn't really go anywhere or get used. Just there to annoy me, I guess.

It's a weird thought that this was first written as a novella in 1953, which makes it almost 70 years old.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading Eric Larsen's new book _The Splendid and the Vile._ Excellent to read how the Brits kept up normal life while bombs were dropping on their heads while we hunker down in fear of a virus.

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Unseen Academicals._

Still reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._

Still reading 5e's _Explorer's Guide to Wildmount._

Started reading Amity Schlaes' history on the Great Depression _The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression._


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished up The Black Mountains. Good stuff. I had thought that I didn't like Saberhagen's writing, but I guess either my tastes change or I was wrong.

Now I'm putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, and am finally reading Delany's Babel-17.


----------



## Deathmaster Banak

Clark Ashton Smith for the win!




__





						The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies, Vol. 1 (The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith): Amazon.co.uk: Smith, Clark Ashton: 9781597808361: Books
					

Buy The End of the Story: The Collected Fantasies, Vol. 1 (The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith) Reprint by Smith, Clark Ashton (ISBN: 9781597808361) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.



					www.amazon.co.uk


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

CAS is so darn good. It took me forever to track down one of his collections (for a while, much of his work was OOP), but it was well worth it.



Deathmaster Banak said:


> Clark Ashton Smith for the win!


----------



## Blue

I finished Ada Palmer's _Too Like the Lightning_.  An engrossing book.  Fantastic and fresh world building (much like the Yoon Ha Lee _Machinations of the Empire_ I read a few months back in being very fresh and expecting the reader to be able to pick it up).

Too Like the Lightning is told by a somewhat-reliable narrator writing an account of the earlier days, with a very Victorian England feel to the writing and dialog.  It's in the future, and the culture and the implications of it are very well explored.  The plot is of interest, but almost take a side seat to the boldly imagined characters you meet.  There are a number of philosophical diversions, but they support the story, not derail it.  There's a tonal shift after a particular set of big mysteries are revealed, very intentional but a bit jarring to me.

When I got to the end and found it wasn't a stand-alone book (happily - the ending would have been horribly rushed as we got deeper and things got more convoluted), I immediately ordered the second and third ones.  (It's a quartet.)  Take that as proof that I liked it, but a portion of that is I _must_ know where they are going.

While waiting for that to arrive I'm reading two other books.  I'm reading _The Sword of Summer_, the first of Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series.  Same author as Percy Jackson, but this one is Norse.  It's ... decent.  It has the same type of earnest, snarky and likable but somewhat clueless protagonist thrown into a tense, imminent, and world-alerting event they (explicitly they) need to resolve with plucky, competent, quirky companions.  I enjoyed the Percy Jackson first series.  This feels ... like popcorn.  It's a fun read but isn't catching me the same way.  I'm more interested in one of the companions then Magnus Chase -- though that may have been true for the Percy Jackson books as well as I really enjoyed Annabeth.  Who happens to be the cousin of this book's protagonist.  I'm a bit more than halfway through, we'll see how it ends up.

Then I have my "kindle" book for reading while my wife is asleep.  Unfortunately my kindle was lost for a while, so I'm jumping back into a story with a big gap.  _Redshirts_ by John Scalzi has that unfairness going against it, but everything is writ so large (and the characters were such tropes) that it's easy to pick back up and get into it again.  Only a few chapters last night, I don't want to rate on that.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Rick Riordan's books (the Egyptian ones, and then the Norse ones) are playing off the same tried and true tropes. I'm glad he's making a ton of money off them.

But for me, I finally bailed out of them. That was after 13-14 novels.

However, I've really been thinking about the "you are special in some way, and also about to start secondary school, AND the secondary school you are going to is specifically for people of your ilk" genre of stories. Taking place in modern times. Tales like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments, even Wizards of Waverly Place. Currently more along the lines of world building, as opposed to figuring out what the player core loop is (although I can imagine a couple of different ways to handle).


----------



## trappedslider

Eyes of Nine said:


> Rick Riordan's books (the Egyptian ones, and then the Norse ones) are playing off the same tried and true tropes. I'm glad he's making a ton of money off them.
> 
> But for me, I finally bailed out of them. That was after 13-14 novels.



Book 5 of The Trails of Apollo is due out later this year,and Dresden Files next two books are due out this year,july and September


----------



## Eyes of Nine

trappedslider said:


> Book 5 of The Trails of Apollo is due out later this year,and Dresden Files next two books are due out this year,july and September




Oh, you invoked Dresden Files! I'm definitely a fan, but have been missing the series. 

Here's the trailer for Peace Talks (Trailer for a book, what?)


----------



## trappedslider

Eyes of Nine said:


> Oh, you invoked Dresden Files! I'm definitely a fan, but have been missing the series.
> 
> Here's the trailer for Peace Talks (Trailer for a book, what?)



Yeah trailers for books are a thing and have been for some time apparently...


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Blue said:


> While waiting for that to arrive I'm reading two other books. I'm reading _The Sword of Summer_, the first of Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase series. Same author as Percy Jackson, but this one is Norse. It's ... decent. It has the same type of earnest, snarky and likable but somewhat clueless protagonist thrown into a tense, imminent, and world-alerting event they (explicitly they) need to resolve with plucky, competent, quirky companions. I enjoyed the Percy Jackson first series. This feels ... like popcorn. It's a fun read but isn't catching me the same way. I'm more interested in one of the companions then Magnus Chase -- though that may have been true for the Percy Jackson books as well as I really enjoyed Annabeth. Who happens to be the cousin of this book's protagonist. I'm a bit more than halfway through, we'll see how it ends up.



I agree. The original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was the best of Riordan's books. The Kane Chronicles are good as well, but I do prefer the original percy jackson series. The Heroes of Olympus are also well written, but the Trials of Apollo and Magnus Chase feel more of comedy books than mythology in modern days in theme.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished reading Delany's Babel-17. Wow, was it good. Glad I gave Delany another shot.

Now I'm reading the Thieves World volume, Storm Season. I don't think I've read it since nineteen-eighty-something, so I'm looking forward to spending time with this old favorite.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished reading Delany's Babel-17. Wow, was it good. Glad I gave Delany another shot.
> 
> Now I'm reading the Thieves World volume, Storm Season. I don't think I've read it since nineteen-eighty-something, so I'm looking forward to spending time with this old favorite.



Oh I loved Storm Season. Man this thread is bringing up so many memories of my youth and the books I loved then. If I had the time to read like I did then...

[edited to add Maybe if I spent less time on EnWorld, and more time reading...?


----------



## Nellisir

Just read _Maze of Stars_ by John Brunner. Man, was that a slog.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

My brother and I read and re-read the Thieves World books when we were kids. Those books are really groundbreaking - not only for presenting a grittier fantasy, but for the collaboration of multiple authors, when it all was done by snail mail.

I always try to make time to read before I work, on my lunch break, and after work (previously I would spend my commute to work reading, but working from home means not commuting further than from upstairs to downstairs). Not quite like when I would spend days on end reading when I was young, but I do what I can.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Oh I loved Storm Season. Man this thread is bringing up so many memories of my youth and the books I loved then. If I had the time to read like I did then...
> 
> [edited to add Maybe if I spent less time on EnWorld, and more time reading...?


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> My brother and I read and re-read the Thieves World books when we were kids. Those books are really groundbreaking - not only for presenting a grittier fantasy, but for the collaboration of multiple authors, when it all was done by snail mail.
> 
> I always try to make time to read before I work, on my lunch break, and after work (previously I would spend my commute to work reading, but working from home means not commuting further than from upstairs to downstairs). Not quite like when I would spend days on end reading when I was young, but I do what I can.




Yeah the shared world concept blew my mind; but also led to some uneven results. More so in the Aces series edited by George RR Martin - which I also really liked. 

Sometimes I decide to read during lunch, other times I decide to exercise, and then sometimes I work through lunch, which I'm trying to stop doing...


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished Shadows Linger and White Rose. There is something about the way these books are written that I really like. Not sure I can put my finger on it w/o thinking about it more. Next? Unsure what is next, but I have dozens to choose from......


----------



## dragoner

Finished the SFWA Science Fiction Hall of Fame, short stories and novelette; one can really see sci-fi hitting it's stride in the late 50's early 60's with Bester's Fondly Fahrenheit and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Now I am reading Norton's Moon of Three Rings, another inadvertent score from the bottom of a box of books.


----------



## Nellisir

Just read Raum, by Carl Sherrell (pub. 1977). Not groundbreaking, but much more enjoyable than I expected.


----------



## trappedslider

Just started The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) and omg...


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

I started the Conan series. They're very simple and entertaining reads, but no high quality literature is contained in the book.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

trappedslider said:


> Just started The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) and omg...



omg good or omg bad or omg other?


----------



## trappedslider

Eyes of Nine said:


> omg good or omg bad or omg other?



omg good and other..I'm feeling sorry for someone i'd never thought i'd feel sorry for


----------



## KahlessNestor

trappedslider said:


> omg good and other..I'm feeling sorry for someone i'd never thought i'd feel sorry for




I have that in my cart to order the next time I'm ordering books. Good to hear it's good.


----------



## dragoner

So just finished _Moon of Three Rings _by Andre Norton, sort of a specialty of hers, mixing fantastic and mundane; this story follows the crew member of a Free Trader that is on a medieval planet for a trading fair, who gets involved with machinations involving a competing trading "combine" and humanoid aliens, where they trade bodies to become a wolf-like animal. 

Next up is _Year of the Unicorn _by Andre Norton, last one from the find of books I didn't know I had.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

dragoner said:


> So just finished _Moon of Three Rings _by Andre Norton, sort of a specialty of hers, mixing fantastic and mundane; this story follows the crew member of a Free Trader that is on a medieval planet for a trading fair, who gets involved with machinations involving a competing trading "combine" and humanoid aliens, where they trade bodies to become a wolf-like animal.
> 
> Next up is _Year of the Unicorn _by Andre Norton, last one from the find of books I didn't know I had.



Sounds like a Traveller adventure...?


----------



## Richards

I finished _Praying for Sleep_ and while it was a good story I'm afraid I've become attuned to Jeffery Deaver's more recent works, such that reading one of his earlier novels like this made it all too easy for me to spot the plot twists coming.  I suspected almost at once that the escaped mental patient wasn't quite the way he had been depicted and I also suspected the killer at the end for what he was about halfway through the book.  So still a good read but not as exciting as it would have been had this been one of the first of his books I'd ever read.

That said, I'm about to start another of his earlier works, _A Maiden's Grave_, about a hostage negotiator dealing with a madman who kidnaps a bus-load of deaf girls and their teachers.  Apparently a movie was made of this, with James Gardner - I've never seen it.

Johnathan


----------



## dragoner

Eyes of Nine said:


> Sounds like a Traveller adventure...?




Almost exactly, Norton's Free Traders, Solar Queen series especially, had to be a huge influence on Traveller, most written in the 60's, about 10 years before Traveller was published.


----------



## Nellisir

Just reread CJ Cherryh's _The Goblin Mirro_r. Like all her fantasy stuff, it kinda gives me a headache, but I did better than I have in the past. It's a decent enough book. Nice little micro setting.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

dragoner said:


> Almost exactly, Norton's Free Traders, Solar Queen series especially, had to be a huge influence on Traveller, most written in the 60's, about 10 years before Traveller was published.




Ok, adding it to my list.



Nellisir said:


> Just reread CJ Cherryh's _The Goblin Mirro_r. Like all her fantasy stuff, it kinda gives me a headache, but I did better than I have in the past. It's a decent enough book. Nice little micro setting.




Ah, have the Fortress series (_Fortress in the Eye of Time_ et al) on my to read list. But I experienced similar headaches after reading Cyteen. Her writing is great (loved Chanur series, liked _Downbelow Station_ and _40,000 in Gehenna_). Guess I'll need to not read late at night.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Just started reading the Da Vinci Code series. Finished Angels & Demons already, and am 2/3rds of the way through Da Vinci Code. 

Both books are well written and have interesting plots, even though they are basically filled with inaccurate historical speculation.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

AcererakTriple6 said:


> Just started reading the Da Vinci Code series. Finished Angels & Demons already, and am 2/3rds of the way through Da Vinci Code.
> 
> Both books are well written and have interesting plots, even though they are basically filled with inaccurate historical speculation.



Enjoyed Da Vinci Code - read it because I wanted to see the movie (but usually like to read the books first). Then never did see the movie lol.

We can talk Lost Symbol when you've finished that too. I will say in Lost Symbol though there's one scene description that still sticks with me of a bunch of floating candles on an underwater lake/cistern/ or something. I don't recall what it's place was in the narrative, but just that it was a really cool setting.


----------



## dragoner

Eyes of Nine said:


> Ok, adding it to my list.




First one of the Solar Queen series is _sargasso of space_ written as Andrew North, though later reprinted as Norton:







If you like e-books, project gutenberg also has a couple more of the series, _plague ship, _and _voodoo planet: _








						Books: andre norton (sorted by popularity)
					

Project Gutenberg offers 62,275 free ebooks for Kindle, iPad, Nook, Android, and iPhone.




					www.gutenberg.org


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Ah, have the Fortress series (_Fortress in the Eye of Time_ et al) on my to read list. But I experienced similar headaches after reading Cyteen. Her writing is great (loved Chanur series, liked _Downbelow Station_ and _40,000 in Gehenna_). Guess I'll need to not read late at night.




I've read almost all of her sci-fi (I eventually quit the Foreigner series after it started on the 19th trilogy or whatever), and most of her fantasy. The SF I can handle but my brain hurts. The fantasy is generally just...confusing. I read the first book of the Fortress series and didn't bother with the rest, because I had no idea what had happened. But...I've gotten almost all of them used, so I'm going to try again.
Her earliest stuff is excellent and readable.
I do wish her characters would sleep. They're all so TIRED!!!


----------



## AmerginLiath

I’m surprisingly not a fiction guy, so I’m taking advantage of being stuck alone in an apartment for a few months to read a lot of classical philosophy. I spent the first two months plus reading the complete works of Aristotle (although I’ll admit to skimming a bit through the animal biology works), and I’ve moved onto a survey of Neoplatonism (The Enneads of Plotinus, various fragments of Porphyry, now partly into Iamblichaus’ On The Egyptian Mysteries) ducking back into bits of Plato as needed for reference. Depending on how long I’m able to spend time doing this, I want to get around to going through Early Christian Neoplatonism and Jewish Aristotelianism to meet at being able to reread Thomas Aquinas with all the peremptory philosophical bases covered.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished reading Storm Season. It was like going home; Thieves World was a series much beloved by me when I was just getting into D&D.

Now, gods help me, I'm reading Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters.


----------



## Nellisir

AcererakTriple6 said:


> Just started reading the Da Vinci Code series. Finished Angels & Demons already, and am 2/3rds of the way through Da Vinci Code.
> Both books are well written and have interesting plots, even though they are basically filled with inaccurate historical speculation.




I have to admit, I thought _The Da Vinci Code_ was an excellent example of write-by-numbers. Paragraph A, exposition. Paragraph B&C, location description. Paragraph D, action event. Repeat.
That said, it's a bestseller and I'm all for anything that gets people reading.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Nellisir said:


> I have to admit, I thought _The Da Vinci Code_ was an excellent example of write-by-numbers. Paragraph A, exposition. Paragraph B&C, location description. Paragraph D, action event. Repeat.
> That said, it's a bestseller and I'm all for anything that gets people reading.



I just finished the book. It's good, though there are some glaring falsehoods in the book. A good, amusing read, but don't believe nearly anything it says.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading 5e's _Explorer's Guide to Wildmount._

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Unseen Academicals._

Still reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._


----------



## Lem23

Solutions and Other Problems. Allie Brosh (Hyperbole and a Half)'s new book out later this year. It's very good.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Just finished Octavia E. Butler's _Parable of the Sower_, the first in a duology. What a chilling portrayal of the collapse of our society as ecological/climate devastation, economic injustice, and the fraying and eventual obliteration of societal norms finally result in a slow-pocalypse. The main character is relatable.

Highly recommended.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Almost done with Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. It's a good book, I recommend reading it.


----------



## Blue

Just sat down to read all the parts of _Xanathar's Guide to Everything_ I hadn't before.  I found I was missing out - good stuff there.

In the last half of _Seven Surrenders_, the second book in the Terra Ignota quartet by Ada Palmer.  Quite enjoying it, but having a big event of the past shoved on me after 1.5 books that isn't foreshadowed or referecens anywhere else, just so that there can be a shocking revelation about it three pages later - there was no opportunity for me to get invested.  And this is after the author had done a great job laying pipe for other things.  And the tonal shift that happened in the later half of the first book is the norm for this book.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

It is an exceptional read, truly. Frightfully prophetic, too.

I just finished Mazes and Monsters. Lacking the cheese of the movie, it's a little more banal and trite. I can say it kept my interest. It explores everyone's backgrounds more than the movie, though it mostly waltzes right past all the psychological issues of the main characters to point the finger solidly at RPGs.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Just finished Octavia E. Butler's _Parable of the Sower_, the first in a duology. What a chilling portrayal of the collapse of our society as ecological/climate devastation, economic injustice, and the fraying and eventual obliteration of societal norms finally result in a slow-pocalypse. The main character is relatable.


----------



## dragoner

_Lilith's Brood_ by Butler is awesome, which I read as Xenogenesis, pretty much on the "must read" list for any science fiction fan.









						Lilith's Brood - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Nellisir

Finished _Walkers On The Sky_, by David J Lake. (pub. 1976). An interesting bit of world-building, otherwise unremarkable.


----------



## Richards

I finished _A Maiden's Grave_ this morning and it was simply fantastic - interesting twists and turns throughout, some of them easy to see coming and some of them coming out of nowhere (but fully logical once you got the full story - that's one of the things I really like about Deaver's writing).

Now I'm reading _The Never Game_ by Jeffery Deaver, one of his newest - it's the first novel in a new series about a guy named Colter Shaw who makes his living collecting rewards for missing people.  He's an expert tracker and was raised by his family in a survivalist compound; I'm just a couple chapters in so far so I haven't gotten the full back story on that just yet.  But I'll be flying tomorrow so I'll have plenty of time to read on the plane.

Johnathan


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

I just finished the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. It's a good, competent, interesting book, while it does have some strange, unanswered questions.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Poul Anderson's The High Crusade. What a rollicking read, what a bonkers read. Medieval English knights get a hold of a spaceship and hijinks ensue.

Now I think I'm going to read Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished Poul Anderson's The High Crusade. What a rollicking read, what a bonkers read. Medieval English knights get a hold of a spaceship and hijinks ensue.
> 
> Now I think I'm going to read Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway.



Will be interested to hear your reaction to Every Heart a Doorway. I'll withhold comment until you are finished, except to say it's a quick read. More like a novella than a novel.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading Terry Pratchett's _Unseen Academicals._

Started reading Terry Pratchett's _I Shall Wear Midnight._

Started reading _Coolidge_ by Amity Shlaes.

Still reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

It was a quick read, that's for sure. But it packed such a punch; I loved it. Magical and wondrous, but also melancholy, as it should be. Every Heart a Doorway succeeded at something that (I think) The Magicians failed at - getting at portal fantasy from a modern perspective while still maintaining that sense of wonder and discovery (I enjoyed that series, but the cynicism sabotaged some of the things it was trying to get at).

Now I'm onto another portal fantasy-related tale, Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold. Somehow I made it out of the 80s with never having read it, despite being a Shannara fan.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Will be interested to hear your reaction to Every Heart a Doorway. I'll withhold comment until you are finished, except to say it's a quick read. More like a novella than a novel.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> It was a quick read, that's for sure. But it packed such a punch; I loved it. Magical and wondrous, but also melancholy, as it should be. Every Heart a Doorway succeeded at something that (I think) The Magicians failed at - getting at portal fantasy from a modern perspective while still maintaining that sense of wonder and discovery (I enjoyed that series, but the cynicism sabotaged some of the things it was trying to get at).
> 
> Now I'm onto another portal fantasy-related tale, Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold. Somehow I made it out of the 80s with never having read it, despite being a Shannara fan.




Yes, you hit it on the head with Every Heart (EHaD). I really liked it. However, she's spun a series out of it, which I've resisted reading so far. I felt like EHaD was SO good, that reading sequels may only detract. I really liked the Magicians as a mashup of CS Lewis and Bret Easton Ellis; but they did decline as they went forward as I didn't really find myself liking any of the characters.

Terry Brooks never read. Take that back, I started Sword of S back in the 90's, and got bored. I _think_ I gave it my standard 100 pages, and then jumped. Maybe I need to try again.


----------



## Richards

I finished up _The Never Game_ - it was good and I'm looking forward to reading the sequels, as it was the first book in a new series - but I'm currently out of Jeffery Deaver novels again and thus have turned my attention to the small stack of books I've picked up at library book sales.  I just started _Babylon 5: Thirdspace_ mainly because I'm a fan of the author, Peter David, not only for his Star Trek novels (which have been some of the best in that line, in my opinion) but also for some of his standalone novels and even before that the Marvel comic books he wrote.   (His multiyear run on _The Incredible Hulk_ was fantastic.) So far it's been good; his depictions of established characters are as good as ever (although it's taking me some time to recall who some of the lesser-known characters are - it's been quite awhile since I watched the "Babylon 5" series) and it looks like the main plot involves discovering some ancient alien artifact of incredibly dangerous power.  I'm enjoying it so far.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Finished _Faery in Shadow_, by CJ Cherryh...same comments as always with her; my head hurt, the writing is convoluted, the characters need to get some f*ing sleep. Nothing memorable about this one; dunno if it was done to fill a contract or what.  Started _Bait of Dreams_ by Jo Clayton - it's definitely my throwback year. I've loved some of her stuff; been unimpressed by others, but haven't read any of it in decades so why the heck not.


----------



## Zaukrie

Apparently I missed the fact there were Books of the South in the Black Company series, and read one out of order. Now, where can I find a used hard copy with everything closed up? Sigh. I own a TON of ebooks, but I really prefer hard copies. But as a person looking for work, new isn't a good idea right now. I wonder if the library has them (heck, I don't even know if the library is open!)


----------



## Zaukrie

Zaukrie said:


> Apparently I missed the fact there were Books of the South in the Black Company series, and read one out of order. Now, where can I find a used hard copy with everything closed up? Sigh. I own a TON of ebooks, but I really prefer hard copies. But as a person looking for work, new isn't a good idea right now. I wonder if the library has them (heck, I don't even know if the library is open!)




Not the library, alas.....


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Ah, yes. My town's library is closed too, sadly.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Brooks' Magic Kingdom for Sale-Sold. Really surprised I didn't get to it sooner. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's no deep tale, but it has plenty of charm and heart.

Now I'm reading David Mogo, Godhunter, by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. It's described as Nigerian God-Punk, and that sounds hecking interesting.


----------



## dragoner

Just finished Norton's "The Last Planet (Star Rangers)" written in 1953, it is high quality standard SF, and the whole "collapsing empire" theme is well done.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Just finished "Origin" by Dan Brown. It's a great book.


----------



## Richards

I started a new urban fantasy novel last night, "Queen of Shadows" by Dianne Sylvan.  According to the back cover, it's going to have the practically obligatory handsome vampire love interest (sigh), but what appealed to me was the main character: an empath scraping a living as a singer in Austin, Texas, manipulating the audience's emotions to feel good while listening to her music.  That's not something you see every day.  I'm one chapter in but it got interesting right from the get-go.  Of course, handsome vampire love interest just showed up so I'll bet we take a little side trek into just how dreamy he is for awhile, but I'm interested to see what happens with the main character.

Johnathan


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Richards said:


> I started a new urban fantasy novel last night, "Queen of Shadows" by Dianne Sylvan.  According to the back cover, it's going to have the practically obligatory handsome vampire love interest (sigh), but what appealed to me was the main character: an empath scraping a living as a singer in Austin, Texas, manipulating the audience's emotions to feel good while listening to her music.  That's not something you see every day.  I'm one chapter in but it got interesting right from the get-go.  Of course, handsome vampire love interest just showed up so I'll bet we take a little side trek into just how dreamy he is for awhile, but I'm interested to see what happens with the main character.
> 
> Johnathan



I actually read the entire Sookie Stackhouse series (basis for the True Blood tv show). I found it pretty enjoyable. I'm ok with romance; as long as the action or mystery is solid - which in the Southern Vampire series it was.


----------



## Richards

I've heard good things about the Sookie Stackhouse series (from a former boss) - I may have to look them up, although having watched the TV show (at the same boss's recommendation - she even loaned me the first three seasons on DVD) I imagine there wouldn't be much in the way of surprises for me.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished David Mogo, Godhunter. For a book under 400 pages, it packs a lot into it. Magic, gods, the apocalypse.

I'm back to Saberhagen's Empire of the East now, with Changeling Earth. The one specifically mentioned in Appendix N (the third book in the series, oddly).


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading Terry Pratchett's _I Shall Wear Midnight. _ I have the next Discworld book _Snuff_ coming from Amazon

Finished reading _Coolidge_ by Amity Shlaes.

Started reading _William Tecumseh Sherman: In Service of My Country_ by James Lee McDonough.

Started reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow after watching the musical twice this weekend.

Still reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._ I'm in the Sanderlanche ending, so almost done.


----------



## Eltab

My Public Library opened this weekend - hooray !
(But the virus terms and conditions makes it sound like they do not really want any people to show up.)

This upcoming weekend I'm going to try to pick up a few books anyways.  This does mean, if I succeed, I won't be on my electronic gadgets as much ... which is probably a good thing overall.


----------



## Cadence

Got a kindle for Christmas and have read 30 or so of the Prey, Flowers, and Kidd books by John Sandford that I hadn't read before (well, except for three the Library doesn't have e-copies of and I need to ask them why).  The early Prey books are the ones I like least, and recent events make much of that series seem more problematic.  Kidd was better than I was expecting.

Follow the author on Twitter, so finally read "True Porn Clerk Stories". Enjoyable read.

Re-reading the first 9 Garrett novels by Glen Cook. In book 6.

Re-reading (for me) LotR to my 10yo.  Just started the Two-Towers.  (We've already done Narnia, original reading order except the last and Earthsea - with heavy editing in some parts of books 4-6 - in previous years).


----------



## dragoner

Still chugging through Andre Norton stuff, just finished Catseye, Lord of Thunder before that, and am now on to Dread Companion. She is a solid writer, her common themes are of "Lost Terra" and "Alien Ruins" are pretty catchy, she also likes telepathy, esp w/animals, which is ok, but not great.


----------



## Nellisir

Finished Bait of Dreams by Jo Clayton. Pretty decent. Nice worldbuilding, which I've realized is definitely a metric of mine.
Read_ Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr_, by John Crowley. Good book. Kinda...meditative? Reflective? I'm of the opinion that any "best fantasy list" without _Little, Big_ is crap list, and this isn't _Little, Big_, but it's pretty cool.

Also found and am reading _The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith, Vol. 4: Maze of the Enchanter_. I gotta say, I expected more. His writing is...not florid, not ornate exactly, but similar. Leaning hard on the thesaurus. It's decent writing. But very little tension or excitement or suspense, really. None of the stories are sticking with me.  But again, really good worldbuilding.


----------



## Nellisir

I also read_ Locksley_, by Nicholas Chase. A Robin Hood book that tweaks things quite a bit. Not bad.


----------



## the Jester

Currently reading _the Scar, _by China Mievelle, and _Shadow Captain, _by Alistair Reynolds. I'm enjoying both, though definitely liking the Reynolds book more. I'm also sorta-reading, sorta-just-looking-at the _Art & Arcana _D&D coffee table book.


----------



## Nellisir

the Jester said:


> Currently reading _the Scar, _by China Mievelle, and _Shadow Captain, _by Alistair Reynolds. I'm enjoying both, though definitely liking the Reynolds book more. I'm also sorta-reading, sorta-just-looking-at the _Art & Arcana _D&D coffee table book.



I'm not sure I've seen _Shadow Captain_, and I like Alistair Reynolds a lot. I'll look for it.

Oooo...sequel to _Revenger_. Cool.


----------



## the Jester

Nellisir said:


> I'm not sure I've seen _Shadow Captain_, and I like Alistair Reynolds a lot. I'll look for it.
> 
> Oooo...sequel to _Revenger_. Cool.




Yeah, these two are stylistically different than most of his work- much lighter on the science, and much more character focused and less space opera-ish.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished Saberhagen's Changeling Earth. Which is sort-of the conclusion to the Empire of the East series? I dunno, it looks like he wrote a fourth volume 33 years later. Anyway, I dug it. It's a wild blend of post-apocalyptic sci-fi and fantasy, one that is pretty influential (see The Shannara Chronicles, Bakshi's Wizards, The Broken Empire, and so on). Not to mention, its influence on D&D with a demon-lord Orcus.

I figured out how to take Kindle books out from my library, so I'm continuing to give Stephen King a try, after decades of embargo. I'm reading his Night Shift collection.


----------



## dragoner

Nellisir said:


> I'm not sure I've seen _Shadow Captain_, and I like Alistair Reynolds a lot. I'll look for it.
> 
> Oooo...sequel to _Revenger_. Cool.




There is a 3rd _Bone Silence _it is still hard SF, just more YA oriented, and future fantastic.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Started reading Terry Pratchett's _Snuff._

Still reading _William Tecumseh Sherman: In Service of My Country_ by James Lee McDonough.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Finished reading Brandon Sanderson's _Oathbringer._

Started reading _Don't Burn This Book_ by Dave Rubin.


----------



## Nellisir

Finished the CAS thing. The extensive notes were helpful; my critiques were not in any sense new ones. CAS himself knew plots were not his strength, and he basically liked writing ornately elegant little word-pictures that masqueraded as stories.

Went to book sale; bought books. Pic below (yeesh it's big. sorry). Read _Slow Bullets_ by Alistair Reynolds; reading _Marrow_ by Robert Reed. (which isn't shown because I forgot to grab it.) I've been looking for Alif for years so that was nice. $48 total.

*Edit:* Finished _Marrow_. Pretty decent. It goes where you don't expect it, and the ending comes up like Mr. Reed got a note that he only had 30 more pages to finish so he kinda slammed it in there, but it moved along. 7/10.  Moved on to _Artemis_ by Andy Weir.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I think Stephen King is finally clicking for me, after years of avoidance. I enjoyed Night Shift quite a bit. Reading it, I realized why there are so many bad Stephen King movies - much of the horror comes from the lack of resolution, the reader left to speculate, calling on the fear of the unknown. And that doesn't always translate well to the structure of a film, especially in the hands of a mediocre director.

Now I'm reading Spymaster, by Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes. Very curious to see what her contemporary work is like.


----------



## Blue

My copy of Jim Butcher's Peace Talks showed up, and I'm rereading Skin Game to get up to speed.  My wife decided on the long route and is restarting from book 1: Storm Front.  I've reread the series multiple times myself.

Just finished the three Magnus Chase books from Rick Riorden and am reading the short story collect 9 for the 9 worlds (or something like that) with 9 shorts from the PoV of other characters from the Magnus Chase trilogy.  It's ... not as good as the actual Magnus Chase books, which were well below the Percy Jackson books.  Disappointed, but it's still readable.


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I think Stephen King is finally clicking for me, after years of avoidance. I enjoyed Night Shift quite a bit. Reading it, I realized why there are so many bad Stephen King movies - much of the horror comes from the lack of resolution, the reader left to speculate, calling on the fear of the unknown. And that doesn't always translate well to the structure of a film, especially in the hands of a mediocre director.




The early (first 3?) short stories collections are amazing. I'm still waiting for an adaptation of "Mrs Todd's Shortcut", and while I haven't read "Ladyfingers" for 30 years, it regularly creeps me the heck out.  I've read very few of his newer books, but all of his earlier stuff when I was younger.


----------



## Maxperson

I'm very much looking forward to two new Dresden Files books and the new Stormlight Archive book.


----------



## Cadence

Up to book 8 in rereading the Garrett Files by Glen Cook for the x-th time (classic hard boiled detective but in a fantasy city). First six were as great as I remember.  Seven gets a bit over the top with some of the woman chasing in a few spots and there's some non-PC LGBTQ+ things in that one. Not horrific, but it stuck out).


----------



## trappedslider

Blue said:


> My copy of Jim Butcher's Peace Talks showed up, and I'm rereading Skin Game to get up to speed.  My wife decided on the long route and is restarting from book 1: Storm Front.  I've reread the series multiple times myself.




My copy showed up today too,and i'm almost done with it. I'm gonna go back to I think Grave Peril (I think that's the book with the party) read up from there once i'm done with Peace talks.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

Blue said:


> Just finished the three Magnus Chase books from Rick Riorden and am reading the short story collect 9 for the 9 worlds (or something like that) with 9 shorts from the PoV of other characters from the Magnus Chase trilogy. It's ... not as good as the actual Magnus Chase books, which were well below the Percy Jackson books. Disappointed, but it's still readable.



I agree, the Magnus Chase books aren't as good as the Percy Jackson books, but they still are good.


----------



## ccs

After all these years I've finally gotten around to reading _Master & Commander_ (at least the 1st book of the series).
Right now I'm somewhere in Chapter 3 & it's looking to be a long slow read....


----------



## KahlessNestor

ccs said:


> After all these years I've finally gotten around to reading _Master & Commander_ (at least the 1st book of the series).
> Right now I'm somewhere in Chapter 3 & it's looking to be a long slow read....




He is very detailed and historical, and the plotting is slow, but he somehow still managed to keep me interested. I've read the entire series, even the unfinished final book. I enjoyed them.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading Terry Pratchett's _Snuff._

Still reading _William Tecumseh Sherman: In Service of My Country_ by James Lee McDonough.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Still reading _Don't Burn This Book_ by Dave Rubin.


----------



## dragoner

Finished Dread Companion by Norton, and The Good Soldier Schweik by Hasek, now starting Miners in the Sky by Murray Leinster: "Savage explorers of forgotten moons battle for treasure in the lawless rings of outer space."


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I avoided Stephen King for decades. All because the biggest fan of Stephen King I knew was also someone that, while reading, would idly tear off the corners of the pages and eat them. For the longest time, I just couldn't get that image out of my head to read any Stephen King.



Nellisir said:


> The early (first 3?) short stories collections are amazing. I'm still waiting for an adaptation of "Mrs Todd's Shortcut", and while I haven't read "Ladyfingers" for 30 years, it regularly creeps me the heck out.  I've read very few of his newer books, but all of his earlier stuff when I was younger.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

KahlessNestor said:


> He is very detailed and historical, and the plotting is slow, but he somehow still managed to keep me interested. I've read the entire series, even the unfinished final book. I enjoyed them.



Same. I;ve been thinking of going back and re-reading.


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I avoided Stephen King for decades. All because the biggest fan of Stephen King I knew was also someone that, while reading, would idly tear off the corners of the pages and eat them. For the longest time, I just couldn't get that image out of my head to read any Stephen King.



lady fingers they taste just like lady fingers

(Read _Skeleton Crew_. And the story is "Survivor Type", not "Ladyfingers. My error. And...apologies in advance if you can't ever sleep again. Apparently that story even bothers Stephen King....)


----------



## Nellisir

Just read _War Dogs_ by Greg Bear. Pretty good. Doesn't break any new ground. Maybe 6/10?
*Edit: *Apparently I forgot to note I finished _Artemis_. I liked it a lot. 8/10

_War Dogs_ is set (mostly) on Mars. Before _War Dogs_ I read _Artemis_ (set on the Moon), by Andy Weir, who wrote _The Martian_. _War Dogs_ has a character named Alice. I also have a book to read called _Sister Alice_, by Robert Reed, who wrote _Marrow_ (about what's inside a fake world/spaceship), and I have another book, _Century Rain_, by Alastair Reynolds about a link to another world inside a ruined Earth. And, cycling back to _Artemis_, the main character is an Arabic woman grifter/smuggler with shady connections who gets in trouble and has to hide from the bad guys, and the main character in _Alif the Unseen_ is apparently an Arabic hacker who gets in trouble and has to hide from the bad guys. (This is all back-cover stuff, people, no spoilers.) Given that I pick what I read, it's not surprising there are similarities; I'm just feeling them resonate right now.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Reading _Way Station_ by Clifford Simak. It was published in 1963, and amazingly has almost no racism or sexism in it, at least so far. I'm enjoying the story, although it has a similar



Spoiler: thing to Have Spacesuit Will Travel



wherein the protagonist becomes the sole representative of Earth and Humanity in the face of a spanning galactic civilization. In Heinlein's Have Spacesuit will Travel, I didn't find the protagonist's argument particularly convincing, personally and overall thought the plot resolution weak.



We'll see if _Way Station_ suffers from the same. I'm hoping not.









						Way Station
					

Enoch Wallace is an ageless hermit, striding across his untended farm as he has done for over a century, still carrying the gun with whic...



					www.goodreads.com


----------



## dragoner

Reading "The Stars Are Ours!" by Norton. I should read the short story collections by King again, such as Night Shift or Skeleton Crew.


----------



## Richards

I finished the urban fantasy novel I'd been reading and picked up another one by a different author but it looks like it's got another "sexy good vampire love interest" so I'll put that one on hold for awhile.  So instead, I started the first of three novels (I'll bet there are more) by Deborah Blake in her "Baba Yaga" series.  This one is called "Wickedly Dangerous," and in it Baba Yaga isn't just an individual, it's a title.  Baba Yagas are women who deal with the weird stuff; the main character in this novel goes by Barbara "Baba" Yager, lives in an extradimensional Slipstream trailer, and has a large white mastiff who's really a shapechanged dragon in charge of the Water of Life and Death (which grants Baba Yagas their longevity; Barbara's apparently 81 years old or something despite looking like she's in her 30s).  The plot involves a search for some missing children, in which she's helping to the local Sheriff in the small New York county where the kids went missing.  I'm hoping it's good, because I've got _Wickedly Wonderful_ and _Wickedly Powerful_ lined up behind this one, in my waiting-to-be-read pile, each featuring a different Baba Yaga.  (I got them for 50 cents each at a library book sale some months back - a small investment on my part.)  But so far, so good; I'm several chapters in and the characters are interesting, the worldbuilding's intriguing, and I'm eager to see what happens next.  What more can you ask for in a fiction novel?

Johnathan


----------



## Blue

Jim Butcher's Peace Talks came.  I reread the preceding book, Skin Game, which I enjoyed - I remember when I first read it that I felt it was a pulling back of the sphere of important of what Harry was doing compared to the book before and had some reservations, but when I read it by itself just now I enjoyed it.

Anyway, I then read Peace Talks.  I won't post any spoilers except to say that I am expectantly waiting for the next book, which I believe is this November.  And I have a guess about why it was delayed so long.

After that I read some short stories in the collection The Ogre's Wife.  The author has "fable" down pat as a story type - and I find that I'm not into fables.  It's not that they are bad, short stories aren't my thing to start with, and this format isn't for me.  It's not the stories in the book.

(Yes, I just did a "It's not you, it's me" for a book.)


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Richards said:


> I finished the urban fantasy novel I'd been reading and picked up another one by a different author but it looks like it's got another "sexy good vampire love interest" so I'll put that one on hold for awhile.  So instead, I started the first of three novels (I'll bet there are more) by Deborah Blake in her "Baba Yaga" series.  This one is called "Wickedly Dangerous," and in it Baba Yaga isn't just an individual, it's a title.  Baba Yagas are women who deal with the weird stuff; the main character in this novel goes by Barbara "Baba" Yager, lives in an extradimensional Slipstream trailer, and has a large white mastiff who's really a shapechanged dragon in charge of the Water of Life and Death (which grants Baba Yagas their longevity; Barbara's apparently 81 years old or something despite looking like she's in her 30s).  The plot involves a search for some missing children, in which she's helping to the local Sheriff in the small New York county where the kids went missing.  I'm hoping it's good, because I've got _Wickedly Wonderful_ and _Wickedly Powerful_ lined up behind this one, in my waiting-to-be-read pile, each featuring a different Baba Yaga.  (I got them for 50 cents each at a library book sale some months back - a small investment on my part.)  But so far, so good; I'm several chapters in and the characters are interesting, the worldbuilding's intriguing, and I'm eager to see what happens next.  What more can you ask for in a fiction novel?
> 
> Johnathan



That sounds awesome. I just read all the novel descriptions on GoodReads, and Barbara Yager returns in Book 4 (as do the other 2 BY's from books 2 and 3). Need to get an income stream that gives me 8 hours a day to read books that I want to read...


----------



## trappedslider

Blue said:


> Anyway, I then read Peace Talks.  I won't post any spoilers except to say that I am expectantly waiting for the next book, which I believe is this November.  And I have a guess about why it was delayed so long.




September 26th,and the initial draft of Peace Talks turned into a David Eddings level Doorstopper. The publisher gently suggested to Butcher that perhaps it would be better served as a two-part story. Butcher split up the character developments, came up with a second Action Plot and re-wrote both parts into the final Peace Talks and Battle Ground.  

The other reasons behind the gap between Peace Talks and Skin Game were Jim had gotten divorced, his dog had died, he'd remarried and moved to another state but then got stuck living in a crappy apartment with no writing space for years while an even crappier contractor failed to build him a house.


----------



## Nellisir

Finished _Gypsy in Amber/Canto For A Gypsy_, by Martin Cruz Smith. They're early books by him (1971/1972 respectively), but still really enjoyable/good reads. (And yes, he deals with the gypsy stuff respectfully and, insofar as I can tell, well.)  I really like his stuff.

Probably _Sister Alice_, by Robert Reed, next.


----------



## carrot

Blue said:


> Anyway, I then read Peace Talks.  I won't post any spoilers except to say that I am expectantly waiting for the next book




Me too 
It was nice to get a Dresden fix. I'm glad its not too a long wait for the next one though.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Was going to take a break from novels for a bit and read some game books (hello Eberron HC!) and graphic novels. But then some books I had reserved at the library came in so...


----------



## Blue

trappedslider said:


> September 26th,and the initial draft of Peace Talks turned into a David Eddings level Doorstopper. The publisher gently suggested to Butcher that perhaps it would be better served as a two-part story. Butcher split up the character developments, came up with a second Action Plot and re-wrote both parts into the final Peace Talks and Battle Ground.
> 
> The other reasons behind the gap between Peace Talks and Skin Game were Jim had gotten divorced, his dog had died, he'd remarried and moved to another state but then got stuck living in a crappy apartment with no writing space for years while an even crappier contractor failed to build him a house.




That was my guess - that it ended up getting split.

I had heard some of his trials and tribulations but not all of them.  That sucks.  Thanks for the info.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished Terry Pratchett's _Snuff. _Have to wait for payday (Friday) to get _Raising Steam._

Finished _William Tecumseh Sherman: In Service of My Country_ by James Lee McDonough.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Finished _Don't Burn This Book_ by Dave Rubin.

Starting _The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe_ by Heather MacDonald.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Read several graphic novels this weekend.

_Invisible Kingdom Vol 2 _by G. Willow Wilson and art by Christian Ward

_Ether Vol 3 the Disappearance of Violet Bell_ by Matt Kindt and David Rubín

_Usagi Yojimbo Bunraku and other stories_ by Stan Sakai

Listed above in the order I enjoyed them from least enjoyable to most.

Just started:
_An Unkindness of Ghosts_ by Rivers Solomon
_Glass Houses_ by Louise Penny
_Mouse Guard RPG_ by David Peterson and and Luke Crane


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished Weis and Krammes Spymaster. A quite enjoyable read, and a world apart from Dragonlance, with its Golden Age of Piracy meets Dragons meets magic meets airships. There's a lot going on, but it all flows together pretty seamlessly. Will definitely be following up on this series.

Next up is back to something older, with Gardner Fox's Kyrik: Warlock Warrior.


----------



## Pawndream

I've been reading N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series. 

Completed the first two books and will pick up the third from the library this week. They have been fascinating reads, but also frustrating at times. There have been a few points where I have been tempted to give up on it, but then I buckle down and refocus. Overall, it's been an enjoyable, if not challenging read.

After I read this next book and complete out this series, I am going to read a popcorn book series for a change of pace, probably Cleric Quintet (which I've never read).


----------



## Nellisir

Pawndream said:


> I've been reading N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series.
> 
> Completed the first two books and will pick up the third from the library this week. They have been fascinating reads, but also frustrating at times. There have been a few points where I have been tempted to give up on it, but then I buckle down and refocus. Overall, it's been an enjoyable, if not challenging read.
> 
> After I read this next book and complete out this series, I am going to read a popcorn book series for a change of pace, probably Cleric Quintet (which I've never read).



I gotta say, NK Jemisin has become one of my favorite authors. Broken Earth didn't quite do it for me, but the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms certainly does. And I'm going to reread Broken Earth because I read it as it was released, which always messes with me a bit because of the year-long wait between books...

I finished _Sister Alice_, by Robert Reed. Overall, I gotta say 4/10. It's technically fine. Just pointless and...I mean, I finished it a day and a half ago, and I can't remember the ending. Draw your conclusions accordingly. Lots of hard sf buzzwords and concepts that don't go anywhere or do anything except serve as an excuse to handwave people into gods (not really kidding there.) This is basically 2/0 for Mr Reed. I've liked his short story work in collections, but it's not cutting it in novels.

Have started _Century Rain_, by Alastair Reynolds. I like it better already. 
Also bathroom-reading my way through _The Mythic Odysseys of Theros_. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of WotC's "Here's a new setting and a bunch of character options to explore a new way of motivating/aligning your character and possibly the campaign" model (looking at you deities of Theros/guilds of Ravnica/dragonmarks of Eberron). I like the theory, but it's starting get old. Theros, at least, doesn't feel like it necessarily gets enough support in the book to run a campaign without a lot of extra work.


----------



## Pawndream

Nellisir said:


> I gotta say, NK Jemisin has become one of my favorite authors. Broken Earth didn't quite do it for me, but the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms certainly does. And I'm going to reread Broken Earth because I read it as it was released, which always messes with me a bit because of the year-long wait between books...




Yeah. As I mentioned, Jemisin is definitely talented, but the three narrators the story is told from is sometimes jarring and I have a hard time understanding some of the "magic-babble". But still, going to finish out the series and will look for the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms as a future read...after I read something light and breezy


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is so darn good!

So, here's a question for my fellow book-minded people. I'm trying to remember the title and author of a book I had a long time ago. The cover was similar in style to Boris Vallejo, if not by him, and featured a man (wearing army fatigues maybe) with a grenade launcher facing off against a demon. The book itself was a portal fantasy and the main character was some sort of current or former military. It would've been published in the 80s most likely. Anyone got any ideas? My google-fu hasn't been able to turn it up.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is so darn good!
> 
> So, here's a question for my fellow book-minded people. I'm trying to remember the title and author of a book I had a long time ago. The cover was similar in style to Boris Vallejo, if not by him, and featured a man (wearing army fatigues maybe) with a grenade launcher facing off against a demon. The book itself was a portal fantasy and the main character was some sort of current or former military. It would've been published in the 80s most likely. Anyone got any ideas? My google-fu hasn't been able to turn it up.



Emoji =   because I can't think of anything...


----------



## dragoner

Sorry, drawing a blank as well.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Yeah, I'll keep searching, trying to dredge something up. There might have been a motorcycle on the cover as well, but maybe not. Parts of it sound like Mary Gentle's Grunts, but I know that's not what I'm thinking of.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is so darn good!
> 
> So, here's a question for my fellow book-minded people. I'm trying to remember the title and author of a book I had a long time ago. The cover was similar in style to Boris Vallejo, if not by him, and featured a man (wearing army fatigues maybe) with a grenade launcher facing off against a demon. The book itself was a portal fantasy and the main character was some sort of current or former military. It would've been published in the 80s most likely. Anyone got any ideas? My google-fu hasn't been able to turn it up.



Is it...















the Doom one looks the closest


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Heh, Doom did come up a lot in my searches. But I think I found it! I decided to try searching by artists similar to Frazetta. This came up when I looked for covers by Ken Kelly:





Published in 1988 and it mostly fits the details.


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is so darn good!



Hundred Thousand Kingdoms pushes my buttons like they're broken. And that scene? Where whats-her-face gets seriously pissed off at the thing? 

Anyways, Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a "lighter" read than Broken Earth. More traditional, but still amazingly well-written. Some authors have a gift for writing that's effortless to read; NKJ is up there. (BE gets twisted because of the shifts in narration. HTK doesn't have those shifts.)


----------



## Pawndream

Nellisir said:


> Hundred Thousand Kingdoms pushes my buttons like they're broken. And that scene? Where whats-her-face gets seriously pissed off at the thing?
> 
> Anyways, Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a "lighter" read than Broken Earth. More traditional, but still amazingly well-written. Some authors have a gift for writing that's effortless to read; NKJ is up there. (BE gets twisted because of the shifts in narration. HTK doesn't have those shifts.)




Good to know. I just came back from the library with the 3rd book in the Broken Earth trilogy and was telling my wife that the narration shifts were part of the problem. But it's also the techno-magic babble that ops up from time to time too.

Definitely keeping my eyes out fr the Thousand Kingdoms books. Thanks!


----------



## Pawndream

Read the graphic novel, Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D: Rise of the Dungeon Master today. 

Quick read. Good topical/biographical overview and homage to one of the creators of RPGs. The author also did a good job of showing D&D's connection/influence on computer games and pop culture in general. Artwork was nice and reinforced the story in creative ways.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Heh, Doom did come up a lot in my searches. But I think I found it! I decided to try searching by artists similar to Frazetta. This came up when I looked for covers by Ken Kelly:
> 
> View attachment 124240
> 
> Published in 1988 and it mostly fits the details.



So, ummm... That looks like it could be a really cool D&D (a la Barrier Peaks) setting... Please do let us know how it is. 
Ah, a bit of reading reveals that it's the 2nd volume in a trilogy that never was completed due to the passing of the author.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Trying to find the book above, I came across author Jo Clayton (not to be confused with Jo Walton, which I did at first). Anyone have any feedback? 

Here's her longest series.





__





						Diadem Series by Jo Clayton
					

Diadem from the Stars, Lamarchos, Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters, The Nowhere Hunt, Ghosthunt, The Snares of Ibex, Quester's Endgame, and Shadow of the Warm...



					www.goodreads.com


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I will. I ordered the first volume to start, because I'm not a heathen.



Eyes of Nine said:


> So, ummm... That looks like it could be a really cool D&D (a la Barrier Peaks) setting... Please do let us know how it is.
> Ah, a bit of reading reveals that it's the 2nd volume in a trilogy that never was completed due to the passing of the author.




That's a read full of charm, definitely. If you haven't already, Empire of Imagination, which is also a biographical work on Gary Gygax, is worth checking out. The point of view used takes some getting used to, but it's pretty solidly researched.



Pawndream said:


> Read the graphic novel, Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D: Rise of the Dungeon Master today.
> 
> Quick read. Good topical/biographical overview and homage to one of the creators of RPGs. The author also did a good job of showing D&D's connection/influence on computer games and pop culture in general. Artwork was nice and reinforced the story in creative ways.




I finished Kyrik Warlock Warrior. It was a quick read, and serviceable. But it lacked the vitality and brawling good spirit of the Kothar tales. Next up, I'm finally getting around to reading Orwell's 1984.


----------



## Richards

I finished up _Wickedly Dangerous_ today and am starting up the next book, _Wickedly Wonderful_, which features a completely different Baba Yaga (it turns out there are three of them currently assigned to the US).  I thoroughly enjoyed the first book so I'm looking forward to this one, which takes place on the California beach and will involve various aquatic fantasy races, apparently.  It should be interesting.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Trying to find the book above, I came across author Jo Clayton (not to be confused with Jo Walton, which I did at first). Anyone have any feedback?
> 
> Here's her longest series.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Diadem Series by Jo Clayton
> 
> 
> Diadem from the Stars, Lamarchos, Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters, The Nowhere Hunt, Ghosthunt, The Snares of Ibex, Quester's Endgame, and Shadow of the Warm...
> 
> 
> 
> www.goodreads.com



So, I actually just read a Jo Clayton book a month or two ago. In my teens & early twenties I read bits and pieces of several of her series. She tends towards SF more than fantasy, but it's SF seen through a "fantastic" filter, if you will. (Not a lot of technobabble; technology isn't distributed evenly and, while clearly technological, it's not endlessly "explained".)  She's definitely one of the authors that shaped my reading.

I highly recommend Drinker of Souls if you can find it. It's unabashedly fantasy (it got turned into a trilogy later with SF flavoring, didn't care for that), and just cool in many ways. It epitomizes a certain flavor of fantasy that doesn't seem to exist anymore (I think of it as '80s-style). Not bad or dated, just not done.


----------



## Cadence

Finished re-reading books 8 and 9 of Glen Cook's Garrett Files.  Maybe stronger than the first six (which are spectacular) in terms of world building, but there are about four pages worth of text scattered over a few dozen pages of books seven through nine (flirtation and pick-ups) I really wish could be re-written.  Those parts were pretty bad.  My memories of the next several are that I didn't like them as much, so I'm switching series for a break and am re-reading his Dread Empire series now.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Ordered and awaiting _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Still reading _The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe_ by Heather MacDonald. 

Reading _Star Wars Edge of the Empire: Far Horizons _sourcebook.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished 1984 and oof! It's the kind of book that will always feel prescient, for it understand power and the abuse of power so well. 

Now I'm reading Tamsyn Muir's Harrow the Ninth. I am absolutely giddy - I've been waiting a year for it.


----------



## Richards

I finished book two and have started book three of Deborah Blake's "Baba Yaga" series, _Wickedly Powerful_.  Thus time it focuses on the third (of three) Baba Yagas currently assigned to the US, Bella, whose powers are more fire-based.  (The previous two were earth-based and water-based, respectively.)  And I discovered something I had not noticed before: on the spines of the paperbacks, in small print, is the legend, "Paranormal Romance."  Well, that certainly explains why each of the two previous books has a hunky (human) love interest then, doesn't it?  Oh well, they've been interesting reads nonetheless, but as this is the last book of hers in this series I own (although she's written more than these three), I think I'll take a little Star Trek novel break or something after this one, as I have another "supernatural woman dealing with a hunky vampire guy" book waiting in the wings.

Johnathan


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Richards said:


> I finished book two and have started book three of Deborah Blake's "Baba Yaga" series, _Wickedly Powerful_.  Thus time it focuses on the third (of three) Baba Yagas currently assigned to the US, Bella, whose powers are more fire-based.  (The previous two were earth-based and water-based, respectively.)  And I discovered something I had not noticed before: on the spines of the paperbacks, in small print, is the legend, "Paranormal Romance."  Well, that certainly explains why each of the two previous books has a hunky (human) love interest then, doesn't it?  Oh well, they've been interesting reads nonetheless, but as this is the last book of hers in this series I own (although she's written more than these three), I think I'll take a little Star Trek novel break or something after this one, as I have another "supernatural woman dealing with a hunky vampire guy" book waiting in the wings.
> 
> Johnathan



The library ordered the paperback for me from Amazon - for free! All I have to do is return it to the library when I am done. Something called "zip books" or something.

Either way, it's behind a couple of other books, but I will get to it!

I just finished An Unkindness of Ghosts. 

Really good book, hard though. Here's my Goodreads review:



> This book was tough.
> 
> But I have never felt in the skin of someone oppressed like I did while reading this book. The protagonist Aster is POC, queer, and neuro-atypical. And she is incredibly smart, capable, and beautiful - while also being vulnerable, scared, and loved.
> 
> The story itself takes place on a generation ship that has been traveling for 325 years. As expected, the social order has frayed, and the bullies are now on top. It is no coincidence that the elites are white, and hetero; and that “traditional” gender roles in the upper decks are maintained. Meanwhile on the lower decks gender is more fluid, and the people of color are relegated there.
> 
> This tale is an allegory that punches you in the face.
> 
> But that it is not subtle does not in any way detract from its power. And Solomon’s lyrical prose carries the reader along for the ride.
> Part of the benefit of telling the story from Aster’s point of view (mostly) is that she is infinitely curious, and her autism causes her to question the norms around her, just as we try to understand this new world.
> 
> The only criticism I might raise is that like Aster being a bit detached as a defense mechanism, I found myself becoming a bit dulled by the continuous scenes of violence, abuse, and degradation.
> 
> I reminded myself that due to aspects of my identity that are due solely to my birth, I am privileged to be able to put this book down when I am done and walk away from oppression. Others in real life in this real world are not so lucky. This book brings that oppression home.
> 
> 
> CW lots of sexual assault, violence, totalitarianism, some torture.


----------



## Wishbone

I'm reading _Parable of the Sower_ by Octavia Butler and _Experiments in Ethics_ by Kwame Anthony Appiah.


----------



## WayneLigon

Last two things: 
*Bonds of Brass: Book One of The Bloodright Trilogy -- Skrutskie, Emily*
First book in a trilogy that is not yet finished.

Ettian and Gal are fighter pilots on the cusp of graduation in the Umber Imperial Academy on the planet Rana. Seven years ago, Rana was the heart of the Archon Empire, before Umber decided it needed Archon resources and invaded. Ettian was a native of Rana. For years he's been Gal Veres best friend.

Then a plot by Archon separatists reveals Gal as a the sole heir to the Umber Empire. The Rana planetary governor plans to use Gal in his own power play. Then Ettian and Gal escape to an even more uncertain future.

Almost YA space adventure, (You could put it there because all the protags are older teens and there is no sex), good sharp characterization of even secondary people. I liked it a lot. Eagerly awaiting the next books.

*One Man: A City of Fallen Gods Novel by Harry Connolly*

Kyrioc was once the scion of a powerful noble family in Koh-Salash, a city built on the bones of two three-mile-tall gods who were murdered while_ In flagrante delicto_; Returning scarred and traumatized from his failed rite of passage, he lurks among the drunks, addicts,and gangs until he sees a chance for redemption, of a sort.

Great book, hugely long book, stand-along fantasy. Lots of great characters, situations, subplots, and some definite derring-do.


----------



## Nytmare

"Finished" the last of the first three Black Company books.  All told it probably took me about six months start to finish.  I blew through the first one in about a week, went maybe five pages into the second book, and then put them down till about 4 weeks ago.  The last 100 pages of the third book were probably the most painful for me, and I found myself trapped in a kind of Zeno's paradox where I'd read half the remaining pages every night.  I finally called it quits with just three pages left, and put it back on the shelf.

I started reading them because they had been inspiration for Band of Blades, and that inspiration was the only thing about the books I enjoyed.  Skirting nervously past the weird rape passages, I found it lacking description, depth, character growth, narrative, and suspense.

Sort of overlapped with those, I read King's latest collection of short stories "If It Bleeds" without realizing it was a collection till the end of the first story.  I enjoyed all of them, particularly the continuation of the Holly Gibney series.  I think it's funny that the TV Holly Gibney has 100% supplanted the book version in my mind, I'm really looking forward to another season/continuation of that TV show. 

Next up is McNally's Gamble, a gift I received 20+ years ago and I don't think I ever got around to reading.  The pandemic has me unpacking the last of the boxes from my move almost 4 years ago, and I realized that my "to read" stack takes up a little too much of my library.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Parable of the Sower is fearfully relevant and a powerful read.



Wishbone said:


> I'm reading _Parable of the Sower_ by Octavia Butler and _Experiments in Ethics_ by Kwame Anthony Appiah.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nytmare said:


> "Finished" the last of the first three Black Company books.  All told it probably took me about six months start to finish.  I blew through the first one in about a week, went maybe five pages into the second book, and then put them down till about 4 weeks ago.  The last 100 pages of the third book were probably the most painful for me, and I found myself trapped in a kind of Zeno's paradox where I'd read half the remaining pages every night.  I finally called it quits with just three pages left, and put it back on the shelf.
> 
> I started reading them because they had been inspiration for Band of Blades, and that inspiration was the only thing about the books I enjoyed.  Skirting nervously past the weird rape passages, I found it lacking description, depth, character growth, narrative, and suspense.




I won't ever read another one of those Black Company books. Someone loaned me the first one (I think it was the first?), so I read it more as a favor. Everything you said applies. Life is too short to read books I won't enjoy.

(I recently calculated that until age 73, I have about 110,000 waking hours left. Why I picked 73? Because why not?)


----------



## SehanineMoonbow

I am usually reading multiple books at a time, my genres of choice being fantasy or male/male romances (with the subgenre either being fantasy or historical fiction), and I also enjoy reading nonfiction books on Japan. 

I just finished _Rage of Dragons _by Evan Winters this morning, and am currently reading _The Assassin's Dragon _by WM Fawkes, _Dance in the Storm _by Megan Derr, and _Queerqueen: Linguistic Excess in Japanese Media _ by Claire Maree.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> I won't ever read another one of those Black Company books. Someone loaned me the first one (I think it was the first?), so I read it more as a favor. Everything you said applies. Life is too short to read books I won't enjoy.



I like the Black Company, but Glen Cook is a weird writer and definitely not for everyone. That's cool. There are critically acclaimed and best-selling authors (Rarely the same!) that put me to sleep. Read what you like, it's the best way!


----------



## Nellisir

I finished _Century Rain_ (good but not great for A. Reynolds, which is still very good; 7/10) a few days ago and started _Endymion_. I've put off reading this for years because I got sucked into _Hyperion_ so hard, but I probably waited too long - I really can't remember what happened. Oh, well.

Also reading the normal comics (X-Men-related series) now that those are on again. And picking my way through the Warlords of the Accordlands World Atlas, a 3e setting book from way back when that I picked up cheap. Nothing super stands out yet, except I'm actually reading "ye big history chronicle" all these things have and not hating it. So that's weird.

Im definitely jonesing for some kind of game related material, but nothing is catching my eye. :/


----------



## Imaculata

I just started on *House of Leaves*, after hearing a lot of weird and positive things from friends. House of Leaves is a maze of a book. It is bizarre, surreal and puzzle-like. Everything is odd about this book. From the weird title, and the cover that is slightly shorter than the pages. From the opening pages, where the word 'house' is always written in blue (which is consistent throughout the whole book), and starts off with the words 'this is not for you'. Heck, even the chapter list is bizarre, running from roman numerals to normal numbers. Many chapters in the book also have footnotes, which may be references to other books, but occasionally they are entire side stories of their own. Fonts can also differ from character to character, and the lay out on some of the pages reflects the weirdness of the story. The book encourages the reader to unravel the mystery of the story and judging by the reviews, this may deserve more than one reading.

The book revolves around a fascinating concept: A house that is larger on the inside than on the outside. Lets see how deep the rabbithole goes.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Still reading _The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe_ by Heather MacDonald.

Finished _Star Wars Edge of the Empire: Far Horizons _source book.

Started reading where I left off in the _Star Wars Adventures _core rule book.

Started rereading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.


----------



## dragoner

Finished Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, it was ok, I felt the ending wasn't so great. I had picked up three of the Forerunner series books by Andre Norton, except realized there were more, I read Storm Over Warlock on my kindle from Project Gutenberg, now I am reading Ordeal in Otherwhere. I also bought Night of Masks, which is related to Catseye, and Forerunner, plus other related books Judgement on Janus, and Victory of Janus; then two more in the Moon Magic, or Free Traders, or Moon Singer series: Flight in Yiktor and Dare to Go A-Hunting. Her writing is somewhat pulp, good however, and filled with the sci-fi tropes of free traders, aliens, colonies gone wrong, and more; easy to use in making an SF setting material from.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I absolutely loved that book. With a lot of stories of great warriors, it all comes so easily to them (or you get at most a chapter of training montages), but Tau's great skill felt earned, bit by painful bit. 

And it looks like the sequel is coming in November!



SehanineMoonbow said:


> I just finished _Rage of Dragons _by Evan Winters this morning,


----------



## Eyes of Nine

dragoner said:


> Finished Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, it was ok, I felt the ending wasn't so great. I had picked up three of the Forerunner series books by Andre Norton, except realized there were more, I read Storm Over Warlock on my kindle from Project Gutenberg, now I am reading Ordeal in Otherwhere. I also bought Night of Masks, which is related to Catseye, and Forerunner, plus other related books Judgement on Janus, and Victory of Janus; then two more in the Moon Magic, or Free Traders, or Moon Singer series: Flight in Yiktor and Dare to Go A-Hunting. Her writing is somewhat pulp, good however, and filled with the sci-fi tropes of free traders, aliens, colonies gone wrong, and more; easy to use in making an SF setting material from.



Andre Norton is a linchpin of SF Tropes - especially those types found in Traveller. I really loved her work as a youth. I tried reading one of her books recently, and it didn't hold up. Maybe I should revisit the BeastMaster series or start off with either the Forerunner books or the Solar Queen...


----------



## dragoner

Eyes of Nine said:


> Andre Norton is a linchpin of SF Tropes - especially those types found in Traveller. I really loved her work as a youth. I tried reading one of her books recently, and it didn't hold up. Maybe I should revisit the BeastMaster series or start off with either the Forerunner books or the Solar Queen...




I wound up reading her again by finding Moon of Three Rings in a box of stuff, and realizing I hadn't read it. Now I'm sitting here with ten Andre Norton books I haven't read before. haha

I'm always looking for new stuff, I have read up through Shadow Captain by Reynolds, Banks has died, and others I read, aren't always that good, or not filled with the modern tropes, in particular the future being a dystopia, which in turn just feels like grim-dark teen angst. At least some of the older authors didn't automatically go in that direction, not to say they are perfect, because they are not at all, just more varied.


----------



## WayneLigon

Gamerchanger by L.X. Beckett 

First there was the Setback. Then the Clawback. Rubi Whiting is a member of the Bounceback generation, the first free from the trials and troubles of the late 21st century.  She works as a freelance solicitor (all work is freelance, contracted for short terms to supplement your basic income) and so she comes across Luciano Pox. Pox is being persecuted by an unknown and unidentifiable entity that has driven his global social score into the toilet, something that is very hard to climb back out of. Because the entity might be an emergent Strong AI, an investigator attached to the UN AI monitoring agency also gets involved. 

Good mystery, great characters, twisty-turny plot and - best of all - a bright and hopeful future.


----------



## Wishbone

Nellisir said:


> I like the Black Company, but Glen Cook is a weird writer and definitely not for everyone. That's cool. There are critically acclaimed and best-selling authors (Rarely the same!) that put me to sleep. Read what you like, it's the best way!




I remember reading the first book in _The Black Company _on a scifi fantasy kick my senior year of high school and enjoying the book for what it was but not picking up the series. My favorite fantasy series from that era was The Culai Heritage three-parter (_Magician's Law_, _Demon's Law_, _Death's Law_).



Nellisir said:


> I finished _Century Rain_ (good but not great for A. Reynolds, which is still very good; 7/10) a few days ago and started _Endymion_. I've put off reading this for years because I got sucked into _Hyperion_ so hard, but I probably waited too long - I really can't remember what happened. Oh, well.




Wow, I've had the _Hyperion _audiobook for something like 5 years and never finished it after giving up on it a few chapters in. Might be a good thing to put on for walking the dog.


----------



## Richards

I finished the Baba Yaga trilogy I'd been reading; very enjoyable, and the third novel leads into a new trilogy that sounded intriguing enough for me to poke my nose into Amazon.com to see if they were available...unfortunately, at least one of them is out of print.  So on to other things (at least for now).  I picked up a science fiction short story collection edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, entitled _Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories: 20_.  This one has a dozen short stories that were all originally published in 1958.  Some of them I've read before, but it had been long enough ago that they were still a good read.  I'm about halfway through despite only starting the book yesterday, but I was on a plane most of the day and that provides for a lot of reading time.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Wishbone said:


> Wow, I've had the _Hyperion _audiobook for something like 5 years and never finished it after giving up on it a few chapters in. Might be a good thing to put on for walking the dog.



Reading _Endymion_, I'm remembering what it was like reading _Hyperion_. I don't know how it translates to audiobook, The writing isn't convoluted; the characters are understandable; the story moves along well, with little mysteries popping up and being solved fast enough to keep things moving, and the big mysteries are regularly brought up and examined so they're familiar when we do finally confront them.


----------



## Wishbone

Nellisir said:


> Reading _Endymion_, I'm remembering what it was like reading _Hyperion_. I don't know how it translates to audiobook, The writing isn't convoluted; the characters are understandable; the story moves along well, with little mysteries popping up and being solved fast enough to keep things moving, and the big mysteries are regularly brought up and examined so they're familiar when we do finally confront them.




The hardest thing was honestly keeping characters straight while listening on audiobook and trying to do other things. I've listened to way more podcasts since so I hope I'm better trained to listen and absorb spoken content now.


----------



## WayneLigon

Eyes of Nine said:


> Andre Norton is a linchpin of SF Tropes - especially those types found in Traveller. I really loved her work as a youth. I tried reading one of her books recently, and it didn't hold up. Maybe I should revisit the BeastMaster series or start off with either the Forerunner books or the Solar Queen...




It's not a surprise that some of her older work does not hold up. An interesting thing to take a look at is the Andre Norton Reread which is going through all her books, great and small.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> Reading _Endymion_, I'm remembering what it was like reading _Hyperion_. I don't know how it translates to audiobook, The writing isn't convoluted; the characters are understandable; the story moves along well, with little mysteries popping up and being solved fast enough to keep things moving, and the big mysteries are regularly brought up and examined so they're familiar when we do finally confront them.



I liked Hyperion a lot; but bounced hard off the first couple of chapters of Endymion. Maybe I need to re-attempt. But so many books, so little time. Especially since my RPG playing has increased in this pandemic via online tools. So am I complaining? No. But still - so many books so little time.


----------



## Pawndream

Finished The Stone Sky by Jemisin, and not going to lie, it was a bear to get through and there were many times I almost threw up my arms and gave up on it. But stuck with it and the final two chapters kind of made up for it.

Overall, I enjoyed the Broken Earth trilogy, but I also found the books incredibly frustrating. Knowing what I know now, I might not have read the series, but I don't regret reading it...just have mixed feelings about it.

Now I am reading something way lighter, Book1 Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore... a popcorn book that's easy to pick up and put down and doesn't require a lot of thought.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Still reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Finished _The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe_ by Heather MacDonald.

Started reading _How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps_ by Ben Shapiro.

Still reading the _Star Wars Adventures _core rule book.

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished Muir's Harrow the Ninth. I loved it, though perhaps not as much as Gideon the Ninth. It asks a lot of the reader, positively attacking them with its mysteries. It was such a relief to finally have them answered, but then it went and piled some more on for good measure.

After the last two reads, I need something much lighter, so it's an Appendix N read next with Philip Jose Farmer's The Gates of Creation.


----------



## Richards

I'm giving a Star Trek book a cautious try.  I say cautious because it's called _A Time for Love_ and I've read a few in the "A Time for _______" series (there are something like eight of them, I think - I've read two others) that were...let's say sub-optimal.  Which is why it's been sitting on my ever-decreasing "books to be read" pile.  I only picked it up now because I'm eagerly awaiting Scott Lynch's _Thorn of Emberlain_, which should be out next month, and I have another, more promising science fiction novel on my "to be read" stack but it clocks in at over 500 pages and I don't think I'll have time to finish it before Lynch's new book hits.  (And I'm not one of those people who can read multiple books at the same time, with the possible exception of a fiction book and a non-fiction book).

Anyway, I'm only in the first chapter but it doesn't suck so far, so that's good.  It's a Next Generation novel that looks like it'll be involving Riker's father, set in the time right before Riker and Troi left the Enterprise so Riker could Captain his own vessel, the _USS Titan_.  All I'm really hoping for is a decent novel of higher entertainment value than the other ones I've read in this mini-series thus far.

Johnathan


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Recently finished _the Last Emperox_, final book in the trilogy by John Scalzi. I like his blog, but this book I'll give 3 stars. I'm mildly amused by his literary shtick - light and snappy dialog, light and fizzy science, light and likeable characters (even the villains). I would think in the 2020 dumpster fire, I'd want light - but somehow overall it felt lacking.

Another trilogy capper I read was _The Hand on the Wall_, a straight-up YA mystery series, with the trilogy called "Truly Devious". A good finale and the author is really good at mysteries. However, the ending felt a bit too pat; especially when everything coalesced for the detective. I would have liked her to dig a bit more. Also, 95% of the mystery was solved (the main part); but the author left some danglers for a future volume...

Speaking of mysteries, I think I"ve mentioned the series here before, but the Armand Gamache and the Surete de Quebec series by Louise Penny is incredibly excellent. The humanity of the main characters is so deftly drawn; and the way they solve crimes so empathic; they are really good. There's a reason Penny continues to win awards in the mystery genre.

Not sure if I commented on _Peace Talks_ the newest Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher. I'm waiting for the second half; as it definitely ended right in the middle. Supposed to come out in a couple of weeks. I thought it was ok, and I _think_ it's the beginning of the final 2 trilogies that will finish of the series. I'll be along for the ride for sure.

Another urban fantasy series I'm reading is the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Like Dresden, she's a private investigator, at least at the beginning. Unlike Dresden, there are no vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc etc. In addition, the main character, October (Toby) Daye spends most of her time involved with the non-human world. Solid stuff, and thankfully I believe she's also gearing up for the roll down to series completion.

Final book on my stack is recent Hugo award winner _A Memory Called Empire_ by Arkady Martine. I know nothing about this book, but am excited to give it a read. (And if people talk about it here, I'll be the guy with his fingers in his ears saying "la la la la la").


----------



## Cadence

Just finished "Peace Talks".  Glad "Battle Ground" comes out in a month and a week.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Farmer's The Gates of Creation. It's essentially a fun extraplanar romp (albeit at times pretty brutal for the characters!). Definitely digging this series and its clear influences on D&D.

Now I'm onto Justina Ireland's Dread Nation.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Dread Nation was darn good. Frightfully topical, too.

Now I'm re-reading Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. I got it from the library four years and I finally got around to picking up my own copy.


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

I just read the Rosie Project in one sitting. It took me awhile, but I couldn't stop reading it. It's a great book, I recommend it.


----------



## ART!

I've been actively seeking out fantasy and science fiction from non-white-dude authors, with a focus on fantasy that doesn't use European history as it's touchstone. 

I started on a few that didn't grab me. _Sisters of the Deep Black _by Lina Rather wasn't rivetting, but was really interesting, and a quick read. I just started on _Children of Blood and Bone_ by Toni Adayemi. I like the way it's written and it seem promising.

Next on the to-try pile is _The Dragon Republic_, by R.F. Kuang

Oh, and I read the pretty massive graphic novel _Grass_ by Keum-Suk Gendry-Kim and it was very, very good.

Also: am assortment of Bronze Age comics that I find in my collection, and semi-random comics on Hoopla.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Started _Gideon the Ninth_. Enjoying so far.


----------



## trappedslider

ART! said:


> I've been actively seeking out fantasy and science fiction from non-white-dude authors, with a focus on fantasy that doesn't use European history as it's touchstone.




Aftermath by LeVar Burton (yes THAT Levar Burton) is okay and it's moved into Alternate History since it's setting is 2019, but it's still sci-fi due to a number of elements.


----------



## Nellisir

I finished _Endymion_ and just...hit a slump. (_Endymion_ is good, btw.) The only thing I've finished in the past few weeks has been _The Nowhere Hunt_, by Jo Clayton. I'm still sorting out how I feel about this book.

On one hand, it's a bog-standard mid-series (The Diadem series) little book that assumes you know the protagonist and her abilities (has magic sci-fi energy crown thing) that plots like Writing 101. Protagonist, impetus for action, complication, etc, etc. There are developments, but they only make sense or have meaning in the greater scope of the series. It's a bit dull, and character development is largely either non-existent or actually going in reverse.

On the other hand, there's a second story and second protagonist  woven in that exist largely outside the ken of the first protagonist. It's hard to say more without spoilers, but imagine a heroic action-adventure tale of Christopher Colombus discovering the New World...except interwoven into it is the story of a Native American woman and her tribe who bear the very real consequences of said "discovery".

I can't tell if it's a scathing take-down of the blithe optimism in (functionally) first contact SF; a writer trying to dress up a dry interlude  story with a "simultaneously playing in the background" story that eclipses the main story; some kind of authorial conceit; or something else entirely.


----------



## carrot

Recently finished the latest _Ben Aaronovitch_: _Tales from the Folly_. It was good, but it's just a few short stories. Looking forward to the next "proper" story.

I'm gradually working my way through _The Wounded Kingdom_ trilogy by _RJ Baker_. Its got a nice premise (most of the gods are dead, and magic use is based on draining life force - a bit "dark sun" - so all mages are persecuted) and the story was interesting even though the narrative feels a little clunky at times. It was engaging enough for me to continue with the second book. The story is still good, but main character has started to get a little bit too whiney now though and seems to make some very strange choices at times. I'll push on through and see if it gets any better.


----------



## Jeff Albertson

_The Culture of Narcissism_ by Christopher Lasch.

Explains a lot of of what has gone wrong in the last 60 years or so.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

So darn good! I need to give it a re-read at some point.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Started _Gideon the Ninth_. Enjoying so far.


----------



## trappedslider

Chapters 1 and 2 of Battle Ground are up to read


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished my re-read of Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. As I've read more Zelazny since then (though still only having scratched the surface), this one still remains my favorite of his works.

Now I'm finally getting to Novalyne Price Ellis' One Who Walked Alone, about her time with Robert E. Howard. I saw the movie adaptation (The Whole Wide World) a while ago and have been meaning to read this ever since.


----------



## Nellisir

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished my re-read of Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. As I've read more Zelazny since then (though still only having scratched the surface), this one still remains my favorite of his works.



It's very high on my list as well.


----------



## Nellisir

I just got _Early Riser_ by Jasper Fforde, and all of my other readings are cancelled until I get through this one.   I love me some Fforde.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> I just got _Early Riser_ by Jasper Fforde, and all of my other readings are cancelled until I get through this one.   I love me some Fforde.



I tried reading the first book of his... whatever the series is - ah yes, the *Thursday Next *series. You would think it was right up my alley - SF/Fantasy, Mystery, and English lit references dropped like chicken poop all over the coop (as an English Lit major, that should be my bang). With a tone that reminded me of Sir Terry Pratchett (who I loved for the first 20 novels or so).

But for some reason it was a bit too much "wink wink nudge nudge" for me. I don't think I finished the first book.

And yet...

Maybe there's another series I can start with to ease my way into his oeuvre?


----------



## Nellisir

I think _Thursday Next_ _The Eyre Affair_ was his first; he might have softened or refined his technique later...but to be honest, he deals with absurdity by adding more and more. "Thursday Next" is the series, and protagonist. There's just a high degree of ridiculousness to deal with. I was actually just thinking that he doesn't really deal in fantasy worlds, or our world with secret oddities - he deals with outright alternate worlds, where England is a subsidiary of Manchester Chocolates & Upholstery Inc, thanks to an unusually good year in upholstery in 1953 and a really bad bet on the Prime Minister's part involving a chicken, two dice, and the contents of a 14thC. soup tureen that had been unearthed in the car park.

Just to give a fictitious example.

_Shades of Grey_ is really good and less absurd, but part one of a trilogy that hasn't seen a part two in a decade plus.

Maybe the two Nursery Crime Division books?


----------



## KahlessNestor

ART! said:


> I've been actively seeking out fantasy and science fiction from non-white-dude authors, with a focus on fantasy that doesn't use European history as it's touchstone.
> 
> I started on a few that didn't grab me. _Sisters of the Deep Black _by Lina Rather wasn't rivetting, but was really interesting, and a quick read. I just started on _Children of Blood and Bone_ by Toni Adayemi. I like the way it's written and it seem promising.
> 
> Next on the to-try pile is _The Dragon Republic_, by R.F. Kuang
> 
> Oh, and I read the pretty massive graphic novel _Grass_ by Keum-Suk Gendry-Kim and it was very, very good.
> 
> Also: am assortment of Bronze Age comics that I find in my collection, and semi-random comics on Hoopla.




Try Neil Gaiman's _Anansi Boys._ It's based in West Indian/Caribbean and West African story traditions.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Nellisir said:


> I just got _Early Riser_ by Jasper Fforde, and all of my other readings are cancelled until I get through this one.   I love me some Fforde.




I need to get back to Fforde. I think there might be a Thursday book I missed!


----------



## Richards

Gah!  I finished _A Time to Love_ - the novel, at least, if not the story: that's continued in _A Time to Hate_ by the same author!  This one didn't even have a proper ending, it just cut off with a "to be continued" in mid-story.  And it's not even like the story was that interesting in the first place, definitely not interesting enough for me to hunt down the rest of the tale contained in the sequel.  Total, massive fail!

I think I'm going to go reread some Jack Vance short stories to cool down from this fiasco.  Thanks for nothing, Robert Greenberger!  You've earned yourself a place on my "never read anything else by this author" list.

Johnathan


----------



## Cadence

Reread Glen Cook's "A Cruel Wind" omnibus.  Contains 3 of the 8 Dread Empire books - A Shadow of All Night Falling, October's Baby, All Darkness Met.   In some places they almost read like sketch of novel, but they have some nice world building.  Taking a break for some Appendix N reading, and then will jump back into the prequels.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Finished reading _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow.

Still reading _How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps_ by Ben Shapiro.

Still reading the _Star Wars Adventures _core rule book.

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Starting to read _The Rape of Nanking_ by Iris Chang.


----------



## trappedslider

so this came out a couple of days ago and it makes me giddy


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Just finished 2020 Hugo Award winner _A Memory Called Empire_. Would recommend.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Just finished 2020 Hugo Award winner _A Memory of Empire_. Would recommend.



I think that's on my list to get. I'll prioritize it.

I just finished _Early Riser_, by Jasper Fforde. Good, enjoyable, but not as...(dynamic?) as some others. I don't think alternative worlds is really what he dabbles in, more like...nonsense worlds. In Early Riser people hibernate. The world is largely glaciated. Wales is a vacation destination on the Albion Penninsula. You can take a day excursion to a mammoth farm and milk a mammoth. Tom Jones exists, and _Rawhide_, and Canada_._

It's a little hard to pigeonhole, actually. Not a comedy. Mostly mystery?


----------



## Levistus's_Leviathan

The trailer for Dune is out.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Just finished 2020 Hugo Award winner _A Memory of Empire_. Would recommend.



_A Memory Called Empire_, by Arkady Martine?


----------



## Cadence

Inspired by



Doug McCrae said:


> Shorter Appendix N




I ordered and finished Three Hearts and Three Lions.  I thought it was better executed (or maybe just more serious) than De Camp and Pratt's Harold Shea, and I can see where it influenced D&D.  In spite of my love of 6/7ths of Narnia, and one-time really liking Thomas Covenant, I apparently have more trouble getting in to Crossworlds Fantasy than the just in that one world kind.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> _A Memory Called Empire_, by Arkady Martine?



Yes, will update my post, thanks. I was literally looking at the Goodreads page too. Ah brain-meat, always so squishy.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I like the breezy tone of Harold Shea, but Three Hearts and Three Lions is absolutely one of the key texts of Appendix N. And I don't think anyone would disagree with the statement that Anderson was the better author than De Camp and Pratt.



Cadence said:


> I ordered and finished Three Hearts and Three Lions.  I thought it was better executed (or maybe just more serious) than De Camp and Pratt's Harold Shea, and I can see where it influenced D&D.  In spite of my love of 6/7ths of Narnia, and one-time really liking Thomas Covenant, I apparently have more trouble getting in to Crossworlds Fantasy than the just in that one world kind.




I finished reading One Who Walked Alone. An absolute must for any fans of R.E. Howard. It's a fascinating view into who he was, but Novalyne Price is also pretty interesting. Driven, opinionated, with strong views on equality.

Next up, what else could I read but some R.E. Howard. It's Conan the Usurper. With the aforementioned De Camp.


----------



## Nellisir

Cadence said:


> I ordered and finished Three Hearts and Three Lions.  I thought it was better executed (or maybe just more serious) than De Camp and Pratt's Harold Shea, and I can see where it influenced D&D.  In spite of my love of 6/7ths of Narnia, and one-time really liking Thomas Covenant, I apparently have more trouble getting in to Crossworlds Fantasy than the just in that one world kind.




Try _The Broken Sword_ too, also by Anderson. I read both earlier this year. 









						What are you reading this year 2020?
					

I read Triton probably in early 80's as a teenager. Didn't really grok it. Maybe time for a re-read. Was it as disjointed as I remember?  Yeah, kinda. It's fairly couched in the 70's, and he has a calculus of metalogic thing going on, which I'm good with calculus, the metalogic thing sort of...




					www.enworld.org
				











						What are you reading this year 2020?
					

I read Triton probably in early 80's as a teenager. Didn't really grok it. Maybe time for a re-read. Was it as disjointed as I remember?  Yeah, kinda. It's fairly couched in the 70's, and he has a calculus of metalogic thing going on, which I'm good with calculus, the metalogic thing sort of...




					www.enworld.org


----------



## Cadence

Finished rereading Glen  Cook's Dread Empire prequels, The Fire in HIs Hands and WIth Mercy Towards None.  Reading the three books in the main sequence and the prequls back to back shows how much his writing imporved from 79 to 85.   The Fire in His Hands is particularly well done. 

Storm Bringer/Stealer of Souls hasn't arrived yet, so I'm starting the next Dread Empire book instead.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Finished reading _How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps_ by Ben Shapiro.

Finished reading the _Star Wars Adventures _core rule book.

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _The Rape of Nanking_ by Iris Chang. 

Started reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Started reading the Pathfinder 2E _Advanced Player's Guide_.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Conan the Usurper. Good stuff. Even though it's tempting to just go with the R.E. Howard-only collections (which is what I did for years), for Appendix N explorers, the Ace/Lancer books are important reads.

Now I'm onto another Appendix N read, the sadly out-of-print and hard-to-find The Shadow People, by Margaret St. Clair.


----------



## dragoner

I Finished a couple series by Andre Norton:

*Forerunner*
Featuring the Forerunners, an incomprehensible yet powerful vanished alien race whose artefacts survive them. This series is also tied to the "Janus" and "Dipple" books.

_Storm Over Warlock_ (1960)
_Ordeal in Otherwhere_ (1964)
_Forerunner Foray_ (1973) – also in Dipple series
_Forerunner_ (1981) – the first book published by Tom Doherty Associates under the Tor Books imprint
_Forerunner: The Second Venture_ (1985)
and

*Moon Magic, or Free Traders, or Moon Singer*

_Moon of Three Rings_ (1966)
_Exiles of the Stars_ (1971)
_Flight in Yiktor_ (1986)
_Dare to Go A-Hunting_ (1989)
I liked the Forerunner series better, except the Moon Magic ended strange but good with Fae as "aliens". I have five books left (finish The Stars are Ours, with Star Born, Time Traders and Galactic Derelict, Night of Masks) and then I think I am done with her for a bit.


----------



## albrechtmyers

The Wheel of Time


----------



## billd91

I've been reading a lot of the Walt Longmire murder mysteries. But right now, I'm working through *Remain in Love* by Chris Frantz, drummer for the Talking Heads. He has a lot of glowing things to say about a lot of people - and some very negative things about a few other, well-deserving targets.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished reading Margaret St. Clair's The Shadow People. Definitely enjoyed it more than her Sign of the Labrys. It's fairly influential on the underdark concept - there's even a gray dwarf. The book sort of sticks hippies, folklore, and a touch of dystopia into a stew.

Now I'm reading Brian Lumley's The Burrowers Beneath. Supposedly the cover of this book was the inspiration for mind flayers. I remember enjoying the Necroscope series, but have never read anything else by Lumley.


----------



## Cadence

In honor of Hobbit day, I'll note that I'm a chapter or two into reading book 4 of LotR (Hobbit road trip to Mordor) to my 11yo.  I've got a Smeagol voice down ok, but keep losing Sam's.  [11yo could of course read them himself, but I'm holding on to bed time stories as long as he'll let me].


----------



## Richards

I was on a business trip this past week (since Monday), so I've had a lot of reading time on planes, in airports, and in hotel rooms.  I've read the following since Monday:

_Old Bones_, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  This is likely the first in a new series, featuring as the two main characters Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson, the latter a new FBI agent.  Both were support characters in previous novels in the Agent Pendergast novels but now they're working together (quite by accident this time around, but likely on purpose in future novels).  The main plot is an archaeological dig of the Lost Camp of the Donner Party (the Old West settlers who ended up resorting to cannibalism during a bad winter), which gets tied into a hunt for buried treasure and a series of assaults upon the buried corpses of a particular family line.  It was a good read and I'll look forward to more in this particular series, should it expand in such a direction.

_The Silent Corner_, by Dean Koontz.  This is the first book in a new series (and there are apparently at least five novels thus far) about an FBI agent, Jane Hawk, whose ex-Marine husband inexplicably kills himself for no apparent reason.  Jane, on a leave of absence from the FBI, discovers there's been a rash of such inexplicable suicides and ends up against a powerful group of people responsible, ending up on the run from the law as she tries to bring the bad guys to justice (and, okay, a fair bit of revenge).  It kind of works as a standalone book, but there's obviously more to the overall story; I equate it to his previous series starring Odd Thomas, which if memory serves went for eight novels before coming to a close.  I'll be seeking out the rest of the series thus far and look forward to reading the whole story to its eventual conclusion.

Those were the only two I brought with me on my four-day trip, but yesterday I realized I would finish the second book by that evening and have nothing for the return trip today, so I picked up _The Outsider_ by Stephen King, which has apparently already been made into an HBO Plus series.  It's been really good - involving a case against a Little League coach and all-around great family man arrested for the horrific killing of an 11-year-old boy - and there's ample proof he did it (eyewitnesses, fingerprints, DNA), as well as an equal amount of proof he didn't do it (three people who were with him in a different town at the time of the killing, fingerprints placing him in that other town, video documentation corroborating his alibi).  The problem is, King started out as a horror writer and then went for a while writing straight fiction, and I'm not sure where this one falls just yet.  (I started it this morning and am about halfway through it.)  There is the possibility of a supernatural creature involved, but so far the only times it's been spotted could easily be the nightmare of a young girl (the accused killer's young daughter) and the near-death hallucinations of a dying man.  So we'll see.  It's been a great read thus far and I'm eager to see which way it ends up going.

However...none of these books were my Plan A for this business trip.  I had fully intended to be reading _The Thorn of Emberlain_ by Scott Lynch, Book Four of the Gentlemen Bastards series, and spent last weekend trying in vain to find it.  According to a site I found while doing frantic Google research, apparently the release date has now been bumped from "September 17th, 2020" to just "2021."  What a bummer!

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Richards said:


> I equate it to his previous series starring Odd Thomas, which if memory serves went for eight novels before coming to a close.



OK, somehow I completely missed that the movie was based on a book by Koontz. I'm going to the book sale in a month; definitely something I'll look for.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished The Burrowers Beneath. It was fine. No great read, but you can definitely see the signature elements of Lumley's Necroscope saga starting to emerge. It's got shadowy organizations that fight evil, eldritch and monstrous foes, the blurring of magic and science, psychic powers.

Now I am reading Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto. I haven't read that one since I was a teenager.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> OK, somehow I completely missed that the movie was based on a book by Koontz. I'm going to the book sale in a month; definitely something I'll look for.



I would definitely recommend Odd Thomas (first in the series). After 8 books though, it left me with a lot of unanswered questions...


----------



## Blue

dragoner said:


> I Finished a couple series by Andre Norton:
> 
> *Forerunner*
> Featuring the Forerunners, an incomprehensible yet powerful vanished alien race whose artefacts survive them. This series is also tied to the "Janus" and "Dipple" books.
> 
> _Storm Over Warlock_ (1960)
> _Ordeal in Otherwhere_ (1964)
> _Forerunner Foray_ (1973) – also in Dipple series
> _Forerunner_ (1981) – the first book published by Tom Doherty Associates under the Tor Books imprint
> _Forerunner: The Second Venture_ (1985)




I remember she also had forerunners in The Zero Stone / Uncharted Stars.  Do you know if they were connected?  I really liked Zero Stone when I was a kid.  (And it's such an Ioun Stone IIRC.)


----------



## Blue

So, I keep saying that modern Superhero fiction isn't my bag, and then coming up with some exceptions I like.  So I figured I'd give the genre a chance.  Cheapest way was there was a 3-montsh for $5 total Kindle Unlimited offer.

I started reading the Arsenal series (okay, "Full Metal Superhero" is the name of the series) by Jeffery Haskell. Started with a "oh look, a Tony Stark expy who knows far too many types of sciences with a really powerful AI", but the main character (a paralyzed from-the-waste-down young woman) grew on me. It had none of the deconstruction I call out enjoying in the books I liked, but I found myself reading all of them. Light and enjoyable.

I had intended to skip between different authors and series, but I was still going at book 9, which ended up with a corssover to book 4 of another series in the same world with a dark vigilante. So I read that series. I didn't like it as much,but it wasn't bad and it was quick. And now I'm back on book 10 of the orignal series, which is also a crossover with those two, but back to the original POV.

After this, don't know.  There's a LOT of modern superhero fiction on kindle unlimited.  Feel free to make suggestions.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> So, I keep saying that modern Superhero fiction isn't my bag, and then coming up with some exceptions I like.  So I figured I'd give the genre a chance.  Cheapest way was there was a 3-montsh for $5 total Kindle Unlimited offer.
> 
> I started reading the Arsenal series (okay, "Full Metal Superhero" is the name of the series) by Jeffery Haskell. Started with a "oh look, a Tony Stark expy who knows far too many types of sciences with a really powerful AI", but the main character (a paralyzed from-the-waste-down young woman) grew on me. It had none of the deconstruction I call out enjoying in the books I liked, but I found myself reading all of them. Light and enjoyable.
> 
> I had intended to skip between different authors and series, but I was still going at book 9, which ended up with a corssover to book 4 of another series in the same world with a dark vigilante. So I read that series. I didn't like it as much,but it wasn't bad and it was quick. And now I'm back on book 10 of the orignal series, which is also a crossover with those two, but back to the original POV.
> 
> After this, don't know.  There's a LOT of modern superhero fiction on kindle unlimited.  Feel free to make suggestions.



I recommend this superhero story.








						Gestation 1.1
					

Next Chapter Brief note from the author:  This story isn’t intended for young or sensitive readers.  Readers who are on the lookout for trigger warnings are advised to give Worm a pass. ■ Cla…




					parahumans.wordpress.com
				




It's about 2 million words long, but it's a fast read. Only available afaik in the web browser interface.


----------



## Blue

Eyes of Nine said:


> I recommend this superhero story.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gestation 1.1
> 
> 
> Next Chapter Brief note from the author:  This story isn’t intended for young or sensitive readers.  Readers who are on the lookout for trigger warnings are advised to give Worm a pass. ■ Cla…
> 
> 
> 
> 
> parahumans.wordpress.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's about 2 million words long, but it's a fast read. Only available afaik in the web browser interface.




I've started reading that as well.  So far good, but I'm not too deep.  But yeah, quality recommendation.

Talking about web series, in the past I also read Legion of Nothing.  It was good until the seeming inevitable "Iron Man Gets Nanites/Reconfigurable Metal" that always seems to hit armored heroes.  (Heck, it happened to me running an armored hero in Champions!)


----------



## trappedslider

I recommend Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain - Kindle edition by Roberts, Richard. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.


----------



## dragoner

Blue said:


> I remember she also had forerunners in The Zero Stone / Uncharted Stars.  Do you know if they were connected?  I really liked Zero Stone when I was a kid.  (And it's such an Ioun Stone IIRC.)




Probably not exactly the same, she uses the term "forerunners" for any earlier group of aliens fairly often. Her output of books was enormous, she touched upon a lot of tropes, either original work or expanding on other ideas, like the Ioun Stones.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

trappedslider said:


> I recommend Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain - Kindle edition by Roberts, Richard. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.



I really like that title.


----------



## trappedslider

Eyes of Nine said:


> I really like that title.



The whole series is called "Please Don't Tell My Parents " lol


----------



## Cadence

Continuing on


Doug McCrae said:


> A shorter Appendix N




I finally read the Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer (originally published 1961-1964) - using the 2008 Del Ray edition.  It looks like it has the original magazine versions. 

Moorcock mentions in a 1963 essay later that he cleaned some of it up for when it appeared in the early editions of the books. and says  "I'm not heavy with any of the magazine stories as they stand and have made, in places, quite heavy revision."   It makes me wish I had purchased a different edition with that editing in it.  The writing itself in the early stories was not good.  Not surprisingly though, for someone in there very early 20s, it got better quickly, although it still isn't always solid.

If Law and Chaos has one wondering if Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions" was a big influence, Chapter 3 of Doom Lord's Passing seals it I think.  He credits both 3H&3L and Zoroastrianism for the Elric cosmology.  In regards to Anderson, as of 1963 he thought "The Broken Sword" was the high point and the later stuff wasn't as good.  In regards to Moonglum, Moorcock mentions being a big fan of the Mouser.

Moorcock's introduction at the beginning and his acknowledgements at the end give me a different (more positive) impression of him than some of the earlier snippets I've read of his.  Alan Moore's foreword was bizarre (but not unexpected).

I'm not sure, based on these two if I'd call it Sword and Sorcery.  Maybe I'd have to read the other volumes to get that? And I'm not sure I'm interested enough based on what's here.  Anyone have a recommendation for jumping in for more to get that flavor of it?  I might follow Moorcock's suggestions and get The Broken Sword or check out Mervyn Peake's works for the time being.


----------



## Nellisir

Cadence said:


> Continuing on
> 
> 
> I finally read the Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer (originally published 1961-1964) - using the 2008 Del Ray edition.  It looks like it has the original magazine versions.
> 
> Moorcock mentions in a 1963 essay later that he cleaned some of it up for when it appeared in the early editions of the books. and says  "I'm not heavy with any of the magazine stories as they stand and have made, in places, quite heavy revision."   It makes me wish I had purchased a different edition with that editing in it.  The writing itself in the early stories was not good.  Not surprisingly though, for someone in there very early 20s, it got better quickly, although it still isn't always solid.
> 
> If Law and Chaos has one wondering if Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions" was a big influence, Chapter 3 of Doom Lord's Passing seals it I think.  He credits both 3H&3L and Zoroastrianism for the Elric cosmology.  In regards to Anderson, as of 1963 he thought "The Broken Sword" was the high point and the later stuff wasn't as good.  In regards to Moonglum, Moorcock mentions being a big fan of the mouser.
> 
> Moorcock's introduction at the beginning and his acknowledgements at the end give me a different (more positive) impression of him than some of the earlier snippets I've read of his.  Alan Moore's foreword was bizarre (but not unexpected).
> 
> I'm not sure, based on these two if I'd call it Sword and Sorcery.  Maybe I'd have to read the other volumes to get that? And I'm not sure I'm interested enough based on what's here.  Anyone have a recommendation for jumping in for more to get that flavor of it?  I might follow Moorcock's suggestions and get The Broken Sword or check out Mervyn Peake's works for the time being.




Just a quick note looking at that list: _Nine Princes in Amber_ and _The Guns of Avalon_ are only two books in a 5-book cycle, which is itself the first half of a 10-book series. There's almost no resolution in just reading the first two books; read the whole Corwin Cycle. Compared to modern books it's not a particularly long read - if published now all 5 would probably be a single book.

Also, as you may have guessed from previous comments, I agree with Moorcock. _The Broken Sword_ is better.


----------



## Cadence

Nellisir said:


> Also, as you may have guessed from previous comments, I agree with Moorcock. _The Broken Sword_ is better.




Thank you for the recommendation. Helped me decide to just click the button to order it.


----------



## Nellisir

Cadence said:


> Thank you for the recommendation. Helped me decide to just click the button to order it.



"I feel like Poul Anderson might not get enough credit for his influence on D&D. He's certainly cited, particularly for _Three Hearts and Three Lions_, but reading this book was about as close as reading a direct transcription of a D&D setting into a novel as I've ever seen."

Re Zelazny: For the record, I would happily read Zelazny's grocery list. His writing is amazing. I recommend anything by him.


----------



## Doug McCrae

Nellisir said:


> read the whole Corwin Cycle



My main purpose was to read the texts as influences on D&D, particularly 1974 OD&D, rather than for their literary merit. Only the first two Amber books were published before 1974.


----------



## Janx

Been awhile.  Finished Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, Binti by Nnendi Okorafor.  Next to Last Stand book by Craig Johnson and just started Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished re-reading Castle of Otranto. There's certainly a reason that I read it decades ago and it slipped out of mind. It's like someone took Shakespeare, stripped out the clever and gorgeous language, and amped up the melodrama. It may be considered the founder of the gothic lit genre, but it certainly is more notable for what it would inspire than its own merits. In essence, its short hundred page length dragged.

Next up I'm back to some Appendix N literature, with Manly Wade Wellman's Who Fears the Devil? I'm not particularly happy with the cover of this edition, but it was the most affordable in the best condition. Such a shame that these stories are so out of print.


----------



## Zaukrie

Richards said:


> I was on a business trip this past week (since Monday), so I've had a lot of reading time on planes, in airports, and in hotel rooms.  I've read the following since Monday:
> 
> .......................................................
> 
> However...none of these books were my Plan A for this business trip.  I had fully intended to be reading _The Thorn of Emberlain_ by Scott Lynch, Book Four of the Gentlemen Bastards series, and spent last weekend trying in vain to find it.  According to a site I found while doing frantic Google research, apparently the release date has now been bumped from "September 17th, 2020" to just "2021."  What a bummer!
> 
> Johnathan




I love that first book by Lynch, and really like the next two. But, man, whatever his issues are, he's really struggling getting this next book out. I still think these would be great HBO shows.....


----------



## Ryujin

"Calico Kids" by friend Todd Downing is next on my list. Was supposed to start on it over the weekend, but got all wrapped up in other stuff. It just dropped on Amazon, last Friday. It's a '80s retro SciFi/Horror, based on a short story that he wrote a fairly long while back. He also posted the '80s playlist that he used for inspiration, somewhere. I could likely dig it up if anyone is interested.


----------



## trappedslider

Janx said:


> Been awhile.  Finished Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, Binti by Nnendi Okorafor.  Next to Last Stand book by Craig Johnson and just started Dread Nation by Justina Ireland.



Battle Grounds just came out..i'm waiting for my copy to show up.


----------



## carrot

Finished _The Wounded Kingdom_ trilogy by RJ Barker. It was ok, but don't think I'll read any more if the author decides to continue the story. 

I then read _Ink and Sigi_l by Kevin Hearne. It's an Iron Druid series off-shoot. It's not as good or as interesting unfortunately, but I'll probably read more if and when it arrives.

Moved on to the latest entry of the _Cycle of the Scour_ - _The Black Book_ by Edward W Robinson. I'm not really a fan of this side-series, and I'm just waiting for him to get back to his main story The Cycle of Galand which I find much more interesting. 

Ooo Battle Grounds has just arrived... It's tempting to go read that now


----------



## Older Beholder

I posted this in a different thread a few weeks ago, but this is a better place for it.

I Just wanted to mention the new Susanna Clarke novel : Piranesi 
Whilst it's very different to her first novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, it's a much easier read for one, it's no less interesting or enjoyable.

I've been pretty slack this year though, I found it hard to concentrate during the early stages of lock down and have read very little.
The only other things I've managed this year were a couple of Jeff Vandermeer books:
Dead Astronauts
The Strange Bird


----------



## KahlessNestor

Blue said:


> So, I keep saying that modern Superhero fiction isn't my bag, and then coming up with some exceptions I like.  So I figured I'd give the genre a chance.  Cheapest way was there was a 3-montsh for $5 total Kindle Unlimited offer.
> 
> I started reading the Arsenal series (okay, "Full Metal Superhero" is the name of the series) by Jeffery Haskell. Started with a "oh look, a Tony Stark expy who knows far too many types of sciences with a really powerful AI", but the main character (a paralyzed from-the-waste-down young woman) grew on me. It had none of the deconstruction I call out enjoying in the books I liked, but I found myself reading all of them. Light and enjoyable.
> 
> I had intended to skip between different authors and series, but I was still going at book 9, which ended up with a corssover to book 4 of another series in the same world with a dark vigilante. So I read that series. I didn't like it as much,but it wasn't bad and it was quick. And now I'm back on book 10 of the orignal series, which is also a crossover with those two, but back to the original POV.
> 
> After this, don't know.  There's a LOT of modern superhero fiction on kindle unlimited.  Feel free to make suggestions.




Read Brandon Sanderson's superhero series "The Reckoners," starting with Steelheart. Kind of some deconstruction in there. Also, his series of three "Legion" novellas are more sci-fi, but sort of super-heroish. Would make a good quirky detective series like Monk or Psych. Even Sanderson's fantasy tends toward superhero.


----------



## Janx

trappedslider said:


> Battle Grounds just came out..i'm waiting for my copy to show up.



yeah, I realized that and put Dread Nation aside (only at chapter 2) and downloaded Battle Grounds last night before the internet spoils everything.  I'll resume Dread Nation after.  It looks like a good read.


----------



## trappedslider

Janx said:


> yeah, I realized that and put Dread Nation aside (only at chapter 2) and downloaded Battle Grounds last night before the internet spoils everything.  I'll resume Dread Nation after.  It looks like a good read.



I read Dread Nation when it came out, but that's all I remember lol. I'll read Battle grounds while I wait for someone to return The living Dead started by  George A. Romero before he passed away then finished by Daniel Kraus to the library. I've also got Dawn of The Dead on my wish list.

EDIT: However, I just now saw that The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo, The Book Five) (Trials of Apollo, 5) comes out next week,so that will jump to the head of the line after BG lol


----------



## Blue

I have put aside everything else I was reading as Battle Ground arrived yesterday.

My spoiler-free review is - I have cheered out loud several times, and am about 20% through it. Also, Harry may have some snarky lines.

My _very_-slight-spoilers review is that like other Dresden books it has lots of callbacks.  Having read the side stories as well as the main books will bring even more enjoyment.


----------



## TwoSix

Janx said:


> yeah, I realized that and put Dread Nation aside (only at chapter 2) and downloaded Battle Grounds last night before the internet spoils everything.  I'll resume Dread Nation after.  It looks like a good read.



If you happened to be peeved with Peace Talks "all setup and no payoff" (I wasn't, but I know people that were), I'll say only that Battle Grounds has significantly more payoff.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I thought Dread Nation was quite good. I am curious about Romero's novel. The Empire of the Dead comics were pretty enjoyable. 

I thought it a shame that he never did get to make his final zombie movie (which sounded like it was going to return to the main continuity, rather than the soft reboots of Diary and Survival). Zombies in a demolition derby sounds pretty wacky, but it's not like he hadn't slowly been hinting at increased intelligence.



trappedslider said:


> I read Dread Nation when it came out, but that's all I remember lol. I'll read Battle grounds while I wait for someone to return The living Dead started by  George A. Romero before he passed away then finished by Daniel Kraus to the library. I've also got Dawn of The Dead on my wish list.


----------



## Cadence

Continuing my gradual reading of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books.   If unfamiliar, picture something like a reclusive American Mycroft Holmes (Nero Wolfe) who is partnered with a classic American radio show type detective like Johnny Dollar or Richard Diamond (Archie Goodwin).   There were 47 volumes published from 1934 to 1975, and a posthumous one in 1985.  Several of those contain multiple shorter works, and some modern collected volumes contain a few of the 47.

I was inspired to try it based on reading that Glen Cook's Garrett P.I. books were partially inspired by them   (they are not particularly similar beyond the surface) and by the spectacular voice of Sydney Greenstreet in the radio show.  I have since since seen an episode or two of the A&E TV show from 2001-2002, and a bit of the old pilot with Shatner as Archie, and a bit of the William Conrad TV version... and should get to those at some point too.  It's hard not to miss Greenstreet's voice if you heard the radio show first.

After exhausting the university and county library systems over the past few years, I had been slowly buying used copies when I ran across them or trying inter-library loan.  Of course, now that ILL is only partly working and I don't have a ton of book space, but do have a kindle, it finally occurred for me to get one that way. And so, #21 "Prisoner's Base" - I thought it was a particularly strong volume, with several nods that those familiar with the characters would definitely appreciate (much of the fun in reading the series is the characters more than the mystery).  There's one bit about the reveal that I wish had been resolved, but can't have everything.

For anyone wanting to try reading the series, It's not particularly important to read them in order, but I might suggest reading the first few to get a feel for the character before jumping around (and it looks, so far, like most of the recurring characters start somewhere in the first 11).  I would be careful to read #13 "And Be a Villain", #15 "The Second Confession", and #17 "The Best Families" and not until having read several others.

And now I have to resist ordering the next one so that I can actually do some work!


----------



## Janx

TwoSix said:


> If you happened to be peeved with Peace Talks "all setup and no payoff" (I wasn't, but I know people that were), I'll say only that Battle Grounds has significantly more payoff.



Nah, I knew it was a big novel chopped in half by the publisher.   Plus as a writer who studied Butcher, I have a decent grasp of why he does things.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Cadence said:


> Continuing my gradual reading of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books.   If unfamiliar, picture something like a reclusive American Mycroft Holmes (Nero Wolfe) who is partnered with a classic American radio show type detective like Johnny Dollar or Richard Diamond (Archie Goodwin).   There were 47 volumes published from 1934 to 1975, and a posthumous one in 1985.  Several of those contain multiple shorter works, and some modern collected volumes contain a few of the 47.
> 
> I was inspired to try it based on reading that Glen Cook's Garrett P.I. books were partially inspired by them   (they are not particularly similar beyond the surface) and by the spectacular voice of Sydney Greenstreet in the radio show.  I have since since seen an episode or two of the A&E TV show from 2001-2002, and a bit of the old pilot with Shatner as Archie, and a bit of the William Conrad TV version... and should get to those at some point too.  It's hard not to miss Greenstreet's voice if you heard the radio show first.
> 
> After exhausting the university and county library systems over the past few years, I had been slowly buying used copies when I ran across them or trying inter-library loan.  Of course, now that ILL is only partly working and I don't have a ton of book space, but do have a kindle, it finally occurred for me to get one that way. And so, #21 "Prisoner's Base" - I thought it was a particularly strong volume, with several nods that those familiar with the characters would definitely appreciate (much of the fun in reading the series is the characters more than the mystery).  There's one bit about the reveal that I wish had been resolved, but can't have everything.
> 
> For anyone wanting to try reading the series, It's not particularly important to read them in order, but I might suggest reading the first few to get a feel for the character before jumping around (and it looks, so far, like most of the recurring characters start somewhere in the first 11).  I would be careful to read #13 "And Be a Villain", #15 "The Second Confession", and #17 "The Best Families" and not until having read several others.
> 
> And now I have to resist ordering the next one so that I can actually do some work!



Love Archie and Nero. Also am a fan of Fritz and the tantalizing mentions of delicious foods (blackened eggs? What even are they?). At some point there was a Nero Wolf Cookbook, which I'd love to own. I'm sure it's got way more salt and butter than modern cooking recommends; but there's a reason Wolf was a 7th of a ton.

Similar to your project, I have been thinking of reading the following Golden Age of Mystery authors in publication order. All together, year by year.
Dorothy Sayers (Peter Wimsey)
Agatha Christie (Poirot, Marple)
Ngaio Marsh (Alleyn)
Rex Stout (Wolfe/Goodwin)
Josephine Tey (Alan Grant)
John Dickson Carr (Mostly Gideon Fell)
Georges Simenon (Maigret) (in the original French? Maybe...)
Margery Allingham (Albert Campion)

And then write a quick blog post about each one as I go... It would be interesting to see how a) technology progresses in the novels and b) how major geo-political events impact each novel. For example, my sense is post WWII, many of series got a bit darker in feel.


----------



## Cadence

Eyes of Nine said:


> Similar to your project, I have been thinking of reading the following Golden Age of Mystery authors in publication order. All together, year by year.
> <snip author list>
> And then write a quick blog post about each one as I go... It would be interesting to see how a) technology progresses in the novels and b) how major geo-political events impact each novel. For example, my sense is post WWII, many of series got a bit darker in feel.




I'd certainly be interested in reading the non-spoilery parts! Do you have a favorite that you've started reading?  (A friend loves Ngaio Marsh, so I might do her next).

For Wolfe, I'm up to 1953 right now reading consecutively, and have read five more random ones up to 1965.  I haven't noticed them being darker as it's gone, but the technology has definitely changed - and is particularly noticeable in "The Doorbell Rang" in 1965.  Geopolitics has popped up a few times along the way.

I've been tempted to order the cookbook.  And, if the Greenbrier were cheaper, might think about that for a vacation based on it inspiring the resort in one of the books where cooking was a big part of the set-up.


----------



## trappedslider

Got and finished battleground.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _The Rape of Nanking_ by Iris Chang.

Still reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Finished reading the Pathfinder 2E _Advanced Player's Guide_.

Started reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.


----------



## Cadence

Finished Rex Stout's "The Golden Spiders"  (Nero Wolfe #22 from 1953).

I was expecting a little more outward rage, but thinking about it, the signs of inner rage were all there.  He's really hit his stride writing them by this point.


----------



## Richards

I finished Stephen King's _The Outsider_ (and it definitely fell into the supernatural realm by the end) and am now reading _Touch the Dark_ by Karen Chance, a fantasy novel about a psychic (who can see ghosts and such) on the run from the vampire mob.  The first chapter started off very strong so I'm hoping for good things from this; the book was another library book sale purchase for fifty cents whose back cover blurb looked interesting enough to give it a shot.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished Manly Wade Wellman's Who Fears the Devil? While it's not the most influential work on D&D in Appendix N, I'd definitely rank it as one of the best-written. The Appalachian horror-fantasy is so evocative.

Now I'm reading Stephen King's The Shining. Officially on my second King work, after a lifetime of avoidance.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Now I'm reading Stephen King's The Shining. Officially on my second King work, after a lifetime of avoidance.




Why the lifetime avoidance? (I have done the same, mostly)

And then why go in after a lifetime of avoidance?


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Way back in the day when I was a kid, there was another kid that loved Stephen King. And also, whenever he was reading, would tear of strips of paper from the margins and eat them. That squicked me out for decades, despite it never really having anything to do with King's writing.

The change really happened as a result of my wife. She loved the It original movie series and other Stephen King adaptations. Eventually I decided to give his books a try, starting with The Running Man and have been slowly going from there.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Why the lifetime avoidance? (I have done the same, mostly)
> 
> And then why go in after a lifetime of avoidance?


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Way back in the day when I was a kid, there was another kid that loved Stephen King. And also, whenever he was reading, would tear of strips of paper from the margins and eat them. That squicked me out for decades, despite it never really having anything to do with King's writing.
> 
> The change really happened as a result of my wife. She loved the It original movie series and other Stephen King adaptations. Eventually I decided to give his books a try, starting with The Running Man and have been slowly going from there.



Hah, me too - that story squicked me out for another 20 years of no King. Thanks!


----------



## Cadence

More Nero Wolfe.  Kindles are dangerous.

#23 "Three Men Out" is a three parter:
Invitaion to Murder - A let down after the last few. Characters didn't stick out, a weak breaking of one of the main schticks of the series to.
The Zero Clue - An interesting math conceit.  This one was short but fine.
This Won't Kill You - The main conceit was too over the top.  There was a nice getting out of a jam, but that was about it.

#24 "The Black Mountain" is one that had several surprises.  It was solid but not spectacular.  Lots of background on Wolfe, and a bit too much physical activity.

#27 "Might as well be Dead" is another solid but not spectacular one. A lot of the supporting cast involved in this one.  Kind of a let down afer #21 and #22 which I thought were particularly good.

(I'd read 25 and 26 before).


----------



## Blue

Finished Battle Ground.  My wife said that she enjoyed watching me read it almost as much as the book she was reading - all of the exclamations I was making, and shouting at characters, and having things dawn on me.  It takes a book that has me invested to do that.

As mentioned before, this and Peace Talks were originally going to be a single novel.  My comment is the pacing on them works better if you read them back-to-back.

Oh, and I freaking loved it.  But I'm such the Harry Dresden fan, that was the likely result.  But I do critique them when I feel they were weak.

Reading The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., and some kindle unlimited urban fantasy schlock that is a step above not finishing, but I hope has a good payout.  It has 4.5 stars and four or five books in the series, but it's a bit too transparent about everything, and the main character is a repressed Mary Sue.

On the other hand, TRaFoDODO is a decent read.  I love some of the wordplay, while other parts the wordcraft feels more pedestrian - I wonder if the two authors each took point on different parts.  The plot and characters are entertaining so far.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> Reading The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., and some kindle unlimited urban fantasy schlock that is a step above not finishing, but I hope has a good payout.  It has 4.5 stars and four or five books in the series, but it's a bit too transparent about everything, and the main character is a repressed Mary Sue.
> 
> On the other hand, TRaFoDODO is a decent read.  I love some of the wordplay, while other parts the wordcraft feels more pedestrian - I wonder if the two authors each took point on different parts.  The plot and characters are entertaining so far.



Had to skip half your post, still waiting for BG from the library...

TRaFoDODO was a fun read. Time travel books usually leave me cold; and Stephenson is a mixed bag for me. Some of them are a delight, and a plunge through them (Snowcrash); other times I struggle to complete (Cryptonomicon). Fortunately, DODO was more like the former than the latter - and the time travel stuff didn't get too convoluted.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading _Raising Steam_ by Terry Pratchett.

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Finished reading _The Rape of Nanking_ by Iris Chang.

Still reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Started reading _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Started reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Eyes of Nine said:


> Had to skip half your post, still waiting for BG from the library...
> 
> TRaFoDODO was a fun read. Time travel books usually leave me cold; and Stephenson is a mixed bag for me. Some of them are a delight, and a plunge through them (Snowcrash); other times I struggle to complete (Cryptonomicon). Fortunately, DODO was more like the former than the latter - and the time travel stuff didn't get too convoluted.




Try Connie Willis. Her Oxford Time Travel books are AMAZING! And each one is different in tone. It starts with the short story _Fire Watch_, then _The Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, _and then _Blackout/All Clear _(was supposed to be one book, but got too long and was turned into two). Each book focuses on a different main character, but you will have appearances by characters from previous books pop up in later books. They don't read like time travel books really, because you can only go into the past, and she does meticulous research on the historical periods she uses. The time travel premise is fairly simple too. It's like a good Brandon Sanderson hard magic system. Here are the "rules" for how time travel works. By the end of the book, they find out something new about how it actually works. _The Doomsday Book_ might be one of the best books I have ever read. A good pandemic read


----------



## Blue

Eyes of Nine said:


> Had to skip half your post, still waiting for BG from the library...
> 
> TRaFoDODO was a fun read. Time travel books usually leave me cold; and Stephenson is a mixed bag for me. Some of them are a delight, and a plunge through them (Snowcrash); other times I struggle to complete (Cryptonomicon). Fortunately, DODO was more like the former than the latter - and the time travel stuff didn't get too convoluted.




I tried to be spoiler-free about BG, but the only way to know that is to risk spoilers.  So good call.

There's an interesting series of pulp SF time travel books written mid-80s to early-90s, TimeWars by Simon Hawke.  Each is a short read, mostly episodic - until the later books (12 total) where suddenly a bunch of threads start coming together and it really becomes cohesive.  But how they treat time travel is well done for such pulp books, including alternate threads well before that was popular/common.


----------



## Blue

KahlessNestor said:


> Try Connie Willis. Her Oxford Time Travel books are AMAZING! And each one is different in tone. It starts with the short story _Fire Watch_, then _The Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, _and then _Blackout/All Clear _(was supposed to be one book, but got too long and was turned into two). Each book focuses on a different main character, but you will have appearances by characters from previous books pop up in later books. They don't read like time travel books really, because you can only go into the past, and she does meticulous research on the historical periods she uses. The time travel premise is fairly simple too. It's like a good Brandon Sanderson hard magic system. Here are the "rules" for how time travel works. By the end of the book, they find out something new about how it actually works. _The Doomsday Book_ might be one of the best books I have ever read. A good pandemic read



Thanks!  Well done time travel is a pleasure (and poorly done time travel is ... not).  I'll give these a try.  I've enjoyed Connie Willis in the past, I'll give these a try.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

KahlessNestor said:


> Try Connie Willis. Her Oxford Time Travel books are AMAZING! And each one is different in tone. It starts with the short story _Fire Watch_, then _The Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, _and then _Blackout/All Clear _(was supposed to be one book, but got too long and was turned into two). Each book focuses on a different main character, but you will have appearances by characters from previous books pop up in later books. They don't read like time travel books really, because you can only go into the past, and she does meticulous research on the historical periods she uses. The time travel premise is fairly simple too. It's like a good Brandon Sanderson hard magic system. Here are the "rules" for how time travel works. By the end of the book, they find out something new about how it actually works. _The Doomsday Book_ might be one of the best books I have ever read. A good pandemic read



So, I loved Doomsday Book when I read in the 90's. Then I read To Say Nothing of the Dog within the past 5 years, and liked it. But the Blackout/All Clear books didn't do it for me. Part of it is WW2 as a setting is meh. I did a big Connie Willis binge all around the same time, including Bellwether (cute) and Remake (I completely forget it) and Lincoln's Dreams (also forgot anything about it).

The time travel stuff is good. But it doesn't grab me so much. That's what I mean, even the best of the bunch - Connie Willis - leaves me feeling meh. Maybe it depends more on the setting the characters go to back in time? Like I liked the Crusades and the Victorian era; but WW2 didn't do it for me...


----------



## Nellisir

I've been off in my reading for awhile, but did read _Planetfall_ by Emma Newman. I have to admit, books that are described with the words "beautiful" and "heartbreaking" are rarely my cup of tea, and this was no different. 2/5
I also read _Mountains of Majipoor_, by Robert Silverberg. I was struck by how much clearer Silverberg's worldbuilding was than Newman's. There was a Place, and a Person, and a Culture or two. (I realize that wasn't the focus of _Planetfall_, but I'm a bit puzzled about why it was SF at all.) It's always nice to watch a master work. _Mountains_ is a slight work, but made for a nice hour or two. 3/5

Read _Wee Free Men_ by Terry Pratchett. My GF wanted me to love the crap out of it; I thought it was a nice, straightforward, very Pratchett-y book. 3.5/5?


----------



## trappedslider

Nellisir said:


> (I realize that wasn't the focus of _Planetfall_, but I'm a bit puzzled about why it was SF at all.)



Takes place in the future on another planet among other sci-fi elements ( I haven't read the series, just the article  on wiki)

I picked up the following from my library:

The Living Dead by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H. G. Parry


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Finished _Harrow the Ninth_. Enjoyed - author took a risk, and I think she pulled it off. Now waiting for the conclusion.
Next up, _Battle Ground_, which others have said they have read. Looking forward to it.


----------



## Richards

I finished _Touch the Dark_ today and was seriously underwhelmed.  The plot was confusing and the author has this bad habit of name-dropping just about all of her vampires - it's not enough that this vampire here is hundreds of years old, he has to be someone of historical significance: Rasputin the Mad Monk, or the man behind William Shakespeare (who was just an actor portraying the vampire bard's public persona), or the inspiration for the Man in the Iron Mask.  And even the practically-obligatory sex scene between the incredibly handsome vampire and the human woman protagonist caught up in the supernatural goings-on was protracted to a ridiculous level, spanning several chapters.  A sex scene kind of fails to work when the reader's reaction is, "Oh, for Pete's sake, let's just get on with it already, this is boring!"  Add to all this the fact that the whole novel seems like a setup for a continuing series and I think I've found another author I'm dropping from my list.

Fortunately, in anticipation of another business trip (which I just found out today has been canceled), I stocked up on some books I know ahead of time I'll enjoy.  (I don't mind taking chances on new authors I haven't read before when at home, but when away on a business trip I prefer to hedge my bets and make sure my primary form of entertainment won't fall through on me.)  So today I started book two in Dean Koontz's "Jane Hawk" series, _The Whispering Room_.  I enjoyed the first one so much I have no worries about this one at all.  Plus, Dean has an excellent track record: I've probably read about 50 of his books over the years and he's only failed me twice.  I'll take those odds.

Johnathan


----------



## WayneLigon

Lots of stuff since the last update. 

*Mad Amos Malone* is fantasy/old west, with a generous dollop of American Tall Tales thrown in for good measure. Amos is a mountain man, a relic even in the time he occupies, taller than most men and broader than most bears. He has a rep for dealing with the strange and unusual. Like a dragon ripping the gold shipment off stagecoaches, or witches taking up residence where they are not wanted. Collected short stories. This volume includes everything in 'Mad Amos', plus eight newer stories. 

*Sixteenth Watch* is the story of the Coast Guard presence on the Moon, and their desire to head off a shooting war with China over H3 mining rights. Our protagonist is the Rear Admiral put in charge of winning the annual Boarding Party competition with the Navy, Marines, etc. (In this future, military competitions are the latest reality TV rage). By doing this, they hope to get public opinion on their side in order to force a de-escalation of military might on the Moon. 

*Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City* is the story of a siege against the Imperial Capitol. Our unlikely hero is a career engineer in the Imperial Engineering Corps (the people who build roads, bridges, fortifications, etc), using his wide and deep knowledge of bureaucratic chicanery to hopefully turn the tide long enough to save the city. 

*Catfishing on Catnet* is related to Naomi Kritzer's Hugo-award-winning short 'Cat Pictures Please'. Steph and her mother are on the run from Steph's abusive and murderous father, changing names and schools every few months. The only stable point in Steph's life is her friends on CatNet, a friendly social media site with no spam, no ads, none of the toxic drivel of other sites. Mainly because it's run by the worlds' first and to it's knowledge only AI. Who takes the welfare of it's friends very, very, personally. 

*Hella *is Gerrold's quasi-sequel to the StarRider series (Jumping Off The Planet, etc); Hella is the colony world those people were going to, and mdway through the book several of the previous series characters make their appearance. This, though, is the story of Kyle and his family's life and survival on Hella - where everything is hella-big and hella-dangerous. This is the first part of a series, but it can certainly be read as a stand alone book. 

*One Man* is a stand-along fantasy novel from Harry Connolly, who did the Twenty Palaces urban fantasy series (which is also amazing). It's a sweeping story of revenge and redemption set among the gutter thieves of a massive city built on top of the bones of two gods who were murdered while _in flagrante delicto_.


----------



## Nellisir

trappedslider said:


> Takes place in the future on another planet among other sci-fi elements ( I haven't read the series, just the article  on wiki)



Yeah, guess what got almost zero attention in the story and probably detracted from it overall? The fact it was set on another planet in the future. 

I DID read the story.


----------



## Nellisir

So an acquaintance was cleaning out her house, and asked if I was interested in her (deceased) husband's books. 

<sigh>

413 (yes, my gf & I counted) mass-market paperbacks, and three fairly large boxes of Analog magazine.
Dude was really into military SF. Lots of names I recognize but haven't read, like John Ringo. Some overlap with my preferences.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Decided to throw on the Douglas Adams detective novel _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency_ because I binged the two series on Hulu this weekend.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Folks might appreciate my "To Read" shelves. They are in planned reading order, with lower right being next; and upper left being last (I don't know why I did it that way...).

Note, in front of _Get a life Chloe Brown_ is a Zinequest 2 zine _i'm sorry, did you say street magic_ which is short so I'll just give that a quick read. More Zinequest zines after _Assassin's Quest, _including Egg Embry's _Dreamr _game from Zinequest 1.

And wow, I don't think I'll ever get to the end of these...


----------



## Zaukrie

Someone just put _Infinite Jest_ in my little library.....not sure I can do it, but I'm tempted.....


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Folks might appreciate my "To Read" shelves.



Ha! Nice!!  Someday I'll post mine, and you can all weep with me.

You've got some good stuff coming up though. Looking specifically at Robin Hobb, _Jack of Shadows_, _Witch World_, and _The Diamond Age_.



Eyes of Nine said:


> They are in planned reading order, with lower right being next; and upper left being last (I don't know why I did it that way...).



So new books are added at upper left. I can understand that feeling "right".
I'm nowhere near that organized. I try to keep "read" and "unread" separate (its been hard with moving several times recently), but I just pluck what I feel like reading right then off the shelves. I try to mix things up a little; keep some variety going. I've been rereading a fair amount of books though, which is a new thing for me to do in any quantity.


----------



## Mad_Jack

Currently getting back into Lee Child's _Past Tense_, one of the _Jack Reacher_ books... Started reading it last year, but got distracted and stalled out on it. (It had kind of a slow start.) Spent the time inbetween cycling between other hobbies. Just now got back into a reading mood.

My current "to-read" list is about three dozen books long (three stacks of books about up to my knee, sitting on my bedroom floor, lol), including the Game of Thrones books and a Harry Dresden hardcover I picked up on clearance for $5... No clue when I'll get around to them, though.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Mad_Jack said:


> My current "to-read" list is about three dozen books long (three stacks of books about up to my knee, sitting on my bedroom floor, lol), including the Game of Thrones books and a Harry Dresden hardcover I picked up on clearance for $5... No clue when I'll get around to them, though.




Yeah, that's where they have been for the past couple of years. We recently came into another room in the house, which also came with a couple of bookshelves (long boring story). So I thought hey, good time to put that stuff in order.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Jack of Shadows is, so far, my favorite Zelazny book. Jack is petty and spiteful, but also driven and entertaining to read about his exploits. Witch World feels both rooted in its time and ahead of its time, somehow. The blur of fantasy and sci-fi is indicative of older genre work, but the feuding of kingdoms feels like it presages A Song of Ice and Fire, but the pages also have plenty of strong women.



Nellisir said:


> You've got some good stuff coming up though. Looking specifically at Robin Hobb, _Jack of Shadows_, _Witch World_, and _The Diamond Age_.


----------



## Blue

Finished some mediocre schlock off Kindle Unlimited.  It's interesting - the author writes under (at least) two pseudonyms.  they have an extraordinary number of books out over the past few years.  All of the books have high (4.5 or higher, 4.8 evens) ratings with 300-600 reviews each.  Most of the reviews are 5 star praise, and then there's a bunch of 2-3 star reviews that go into actual details.  I wonder if they are using some sort of review stuffing to pop up in Amazon Page Rank.

I'm now early in Sidekicks, also on Kindle Unlimited. "Only" a 4.4 with 57 reviews, but so much better. It's about a sidekick-to-be who wipes out, and then -- well, that would be spoilers.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> Finished some mediocre schlock off Kindle Unlimited.  It's interesting - the author writes under (at least) two pseudonyms.  they have an extraordinary number of books out over the past few years.  All of the books have high (4.5 or higher, 4.8 evens) ratings with 300-600 reviews each.  Most of the reviews are 5 star praise, and then there's a bunch of 2-3 star reviews that go into actual details.  I wonder if they are using some sort of review stuffing to pop up in Amazon Page Rank.
> 
> I'm now early in Sidekicks, also on Kindle Unlimited. "Only" a 4.4 with 57 reviews, but so much better. It's about a sidekick-to-be who wipes out, and then -- well, that would be spoilers.



4.8?!? That's not usual. Even for award winning books. I mean... my 3 is "good book".


----------



## Blue

Eyes of Nine said:


> 4.8?!? That's not usual. Even for award winning books. I mean... my 3 is "good book".



Yeah.  I specifically didn't mention the author or title because I think I'm this close to thinking they are doing review padding.  The fact that all of their books seem to be in the 300-600 review range, and the fact that the 5 star ones talk about "favorite author" and such but rarely give actual details from the book outside the genre.

I did a quick google search about if Amazon had a place to report such a  thing, but you have to do it for each individual review.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading _Warbreaker _by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Still reading _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency._


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished reading King's The Shining. Right now is either the best time or the worst time to have read this novel. Not sure which. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was also unnerved by it.

I also read the recent reprint of the old Usborne's Ghosts book. Loved that as a kid.

And now I'm reading some even older horror in the form of William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland.


----------



## trappedslider

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I finished reading King's The Shining. Right now is either the best time or the worst time to have read this novel. Not sure which. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was also unnerved by it.



May I suggest The Stand? heehee


----------



## Bohandas

I'm currently reading _The Burrowers Beneath_, _House of Leaves_, and _Flatterland_, but I don't know if I'll get completely through any of them. They're all in print format, which is prone to damage and inconvenient to bring around to places.


----------



## HawaiiSteveO

Just finished reread of Oathbringer in preparation of Rhythm of War on 11/17.

Also started listening to Riftwar book 1 , read this series 25 years ago! Fun stuff


----------



## Richards

I just started _Carte Blanche_, a James Bond novel, not because I particularly wanted to read James Bond (although I've read most of Ian Fleming's Bond novels years ago) but because I'm a big fan of the author, Jeffery Deaver.  I'm hoping for good things.  And then I'll probably try to finish off Dean Koontz's "Jane Hawk" series, having enjoyed the first two.  (I just found out that series concludes with book five, which has already been published, so I should be able to finish them off back to back instead of with interminable gaps between the novels.)

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished The House on the Borderland. That was an excellent piece of cosmic horror - in the literal sense, even. I don't recall seeing the dying of the sun and earth used so chillingly before. That the reader has every reason to question the sanity of the narrator, makes it all the more eerie.

Now I'm reading Vivian Shaw's Strange Practice. Something still spooky, but a little lighter on the palate than these last two reads.


----------



## TwoSix

Finally read Abercrombie's First Law trilogy in August.  I've been using the r/Fantasy subreddit's Top Fantasy Novel guide as kind of a roadmap of what to read, and that was the last series in the top 10 I hadn't finished, so I was glad to get that crossed off.  It was also a great (if dark) series, so that was a bonus. 

Wanted a palate cleanser after First Law, so I read Will Wight's two biggest series (Cradle and Of Kings and Killers) the past few weeks, squeezing Battle Grounds in between.  They aren't top-tier prose, but a light, refreshing take on modern fantasy tropes (especially the "progression fantasy" of Cradle).  

Trying to decide if I'm brave enough to start Malazan or finish up Riyria Revelations before Rhythm of War comes out.


----------



## Richards

I finished _Carte Blanche_ and while I'm generally a fan of Jeffery Deaver's novels, this was the blandest James Bond I've ever read.  He mentions in the back that he's a friend of the Fleming family and was hand-picked to write this novel, which leads me to believe he was specifically asked to "tone down" Bond from the normal womanizer he was originally depicted as.  And there were too many times when, during the course of reading the novel, the reader was faced with "this definitely happened" at the end of a chapter only to have the next chapter start off with "no it didn't - were you fooled?"  It got to be tiresome.  I can't really recommend it to Bond aficionados nor to Deaver fans - it definitely wasn't one of his better works.

So now I'm moving on to book three in the "Jane Hawk" series, _The Crooked Staircase_ by Dean Koontz.

Johnathan


----------



## Alzrius

I've managed to finish all of Terry Mancour's Spellmonger series of books to date; a dozen in the main series, plus two anthologies, and three books in the "Hawkmaiden" spin-off series.

Ironically, what got me into it was the Kickstarter for the Pathfinder (First Edition) conversion of the series. It popped up on my radar and intrigued me enough that I started looking into the actual books.


----------



## Blue

Been reading Arthur Mayor's Superhero Chronicles series.  (Yeah, kinda generic name for a series.)  It's all on Kindle Unlimited.  I'm on book 5, there are 6 books out - not sure if that's the end of the story or just the most recent.

Sidekicks, Heroes, Vigilantes, Villains, Assassins, and Obelisk are the names of the individual books.  If the name of the first doesn't give it away, our protagonist starts as a sidekick.

Been enjoying it.  It's full of well done action, investigation, and drama.  Real roller coaster that doesn't let up.  It's very first person, and the protagonist is quite snarky.  Though in the most recent book I'm reading (#5) he's broken the fourth wall some in his interior monologue which I found a bit jarring.

I've been sucking these down, ignoring a physical book by one of my favorite authors.  Something about them is working well for me.  Entertaining and worth a read, especially if you're already paying for Kindle Unlimited.


----------



## Richards

Well, despite the book being 579 pages long, I blew through _The Crooked Staircase_ in a day and a half and am now about to start book 4 in the "Jane Hawk" series, _The Forbidden Door_ by Dean Koontz.  It helps that I just got a new computer on Friday and have been loading my music collection onto it all weekend - plenty of time to read while the computer's doing its thing, one CD at a time.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Book sale haul. Better selection this time than last time. Might go again next weekend; still lots of interesting stuff in Mystery and other section. 

Not shown is the AMAZING haul of games I scored at a going-out-of-business sale  at a game store I pass by periodically. I stopped on a whim, and they were selling nearly pristine demo games for 90% off or more. Mansions of Madness for $10; Dungeonquest for $5; and those were the most expensive. Jaipur was $2, I think. 

I need more shelves so bad.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

What a grand haul! Eyes of the Overworld, numerous Barbara Hambly, Roger Zelazny, and Leigh Brackett volumes, and Nightwatch and Daywatch.



Nellisir said:


> Book sale haul. Better selection this time than last time. Might go again next weekend; still lots of interesting stuff in Mystery and other section.
> 
> Not shown is the AMAZING haul of games I scored at a going-out-of-business sale  at a game store I pass by periodically. I stopped on a whim, and they were selling nearly pristine demo games for 90% off or more. Mansions of Madness for $10; Dungeonquest for $5; and those were the most expensive. Jaipur was $2, I think.
> 
> I need more shelves so bad.
> <photo of awesomeness>




I finished reading Shaw's Strange Practice. A charming book, though I wonder how it feels for someone that hasn't read The Vampyre and Varney the Vampire.

Now I'm reading Bruce Coville's The Monster's Ring. I last read this YA volume back in the 80s, so I'm excited to revisit it. Shouldn't take long to get through.


----------



## Nellisir

Read Year Zero, by Rob Reid. I'm not sure if I've read it before, so I decided to grab it yesterday. (At a $1.50 for trades, why the heck not?)

I also skimmed the Skaith books. Turns out I read those - I thought I had book 1, but I actually had an omnibus. It's cool to have the MMPBs though. And I bought A Song for Arbonne to have another copy I can give away. 

Having finished Year Zero...I still don't know if I've read it before. I liked it though. Solid 4/5.


----------



## Richards

Not surprisingly, I finished book 4 of the "Jane Hawk" series and have moved on to book 5, _The Night Window_ by Dean Koontz.  It's kept up the pace of the rest of the series and remained an interesting and enjoyable read, but one thing has become quite apparent to me in reading these last three books: Koontz had apparently, while writing this series, stumbled across the word "darkle" and immediately fell in love with it.  It's not a very common word, infrequently used by novelists in my experience thus far, but Koontz has latched onto it and it pops up quite often throughout these last three books, at least.  So much so, in fact, that it tends to stand out, dropping me immediately out of the scene at hand to mentally acknowledge his use of his new word-toy once again.

But it's still a good series and I recommend it to anyone looking for a lengthy (around 2,600 pages or so, when you add up all five books), modern-day thriller series dealing with technological conspiracies.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Read To Die in Italbar, by River Zelazny. I didn't realize it's set in the same universe as Isle of the Dead, which I happened to read a few weeks ago. Apparently Zelazny didn't think much of it, but I thought it was decent enough. 4/5

Also read The Eyes of the Overworld, by Jack Vance. I've had difficulty getting into Vance before, but this was much better/easier/more enjoyable. 5/5


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished The Monster's Ring, Bunnicula, and The History of the Caliph Vathek to round out the Halloween season. The first two were still charming, the last one was an easier read than The Castle of Otranto as far as early Gothic lit goes, but still dated with a lot of Orientalism.

Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.


----------



## Zaukrie

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Finished The Monster's Ring, Bunnicula, and The History of the Caliph Vathek to round out the Halloween season. The first two were still charming, the last one was an easier read than The Castle of Otranto as far as early Gothic lit goes, but still dated with a lot of Orientalism.
> 
> Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.



War for the Oaks is good.


----------



## Blue

Ralif Redhammer said:


> Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.



Recently reread War for the Oaks.  Really enjoy it.  Great reference for how to play the fey courts.  And I'm old enough to get the music references.


----------



## Richards

I started a two-volume hardback series, _A Treasury of Great Science Fiction_, edited by Anthony Boucher.  It was published in 1959 and the introduction states that these stories were collected not because they were the absolute best around, but because they were the best around that hadn't already been collected in other anthologies - in other words, Boucher was trying to gather together stuff he thought the reader might not have seen before.  It's a collection of 8 short stories, 12 novelets (I think the term "novella" is more commonly used today), and 4 full-length novels, and the introduction uses the now-rather-humorous phrase "modern (1938-1958) s.f. which had been overlooked by earlier anthologists."  I'm still on the first story, a 125-page novella (or novelet, if you prefer) called "Re-Birth" by John Wyndham (author of "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Midwich Cuckoos," if those ring any bells), which is an engaging story of a post-nuclear apocalypse world filled with religious "pure strain humans" (to borrow a Gamma World term) who feel they must slay all mutants and their recent discovery of a band of mutants who outwardly look human but have - gasp! - telepathic powers!  Fortunately, the mutants are in telepathic communication with a band of mutants from the two-island paradise of "Zealand" who are coming to their rescue before the religious hordes get to the renegade telepaths.

I'll probably be skipping two of the novels - _The Weapon Shops of Isher_ by A. E. van Vogt and _The Stars My Destination_ by Alfred Bester - because I've already read them, but I don't recognize any of the other works in the set so I'll press on with them.

Johnathan


----------



## Nellisir

Richards said:


> I'll probably be skipping two of the novels - _The Weapon Shops of Isher_ by A. E. van Vogt and _The Stars My Destination_ by Alfred Bester - because I've already read them, but I don't recognize any of the other works in the set so I'll press on with them.
> 
> Johnathan



_The Stars My Destination_ is SO GOOD.

I read _Soon I Will Be Invincible_, by Austin Grossman. It's a "superhero" novel, in that the world depicted has superheros, with superpowers, and magic, and alien races. It's got all the cliches: capes, fancy helmets, accidental origins, the works - but with a great big dose of humanity filtered in. I thought it was excellen, 5/5. Reviews were decent, but the reviewers seemed really hung up reassuring readers that this is a PROSE novel about COMIC-BOOK SUPERHEROES. BUT IN PROSE. WITH NO PICTURES. IN PROSE. COMIC BOOKS. 

I hit the booksale again, and grabbed a bunch more books. I'll post another pic later.


----------



## carrot

Richards said:


> I'm still on the first story, a 125-page novella (or novelet, if you prefer) called "Re-Birth" by John Wyndham (author of "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Midwich Cuckoos," if those ring any bells), which is an engaging story of a post-nuclear apocalypse world filled with religious "pure strain humans" (to borrow a Gamma World term) who feel they must slay all mutants and their recent discovery of a band of mutants who outwardly look human but have - gasp! - telepathic powers!  Fortunately, the mutants are in telepathic communication with a band of mutants from the two-island paradise of "Zealand" who are coming to their rescue before the religious hordes get to the renegade telepaths.



I read that story in school (many many moons ago) and really enjoyed it - I’d been trying to remember the title/author for ages, so thank you


----------



## Erekose

Recently read Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword - easy to see where Moorcock drew his inspiration from! Currently two books into Glen Cook’s Dread Empire series. I’ve read all of his Black Company books and didn’t realise at first these were written first. Not sure what to make of them yet but I can see the threads of later stories. I think I slightly misled myself by reading the Dread Empire short story, Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat, in his ”Best of ...” book first! Good but very different!


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

One of the things I've grown to really appreciate about Poul Anderson is how his entire tone and writing style can shift, depending on the needs of the story he's writing. I haven't read the Broken Sword in ages, and should probably do so again soon.



Erekose said:


> Recently read Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword - easy to see where Moorcock drew his inspiration from!


----------



## GreyLord

Got really bogged down in the Wheel of Time books 9-11 for a while.  Have finally forged through and got into the Gathering Storm and have gotten almost done with it very quickly.


----------



## trappedslider

Finally picked up The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo, The Book Five),so i'll start reading it tonight. I love the fact that one of my favorite authors, Harry Turttledove is willing to interact via twitter with his readers/followers. I asked him a question a couple of months back about a detail in one of his series and he answered me.


----------



## Zardnaar

Wrong thread my bad.


----------



## Richards

I'm still reading my "modern" science fiction collection from 1938-1958, but it's a larger hardcover book and I'm off on an overnight business trip tomorrow, during which I prefer to read paperbacks because they're smaller and take up less room.  So I swung by the library book sale yesterday and picked up _Hell's Kitchen_ by Jefferey Deaver, the third in one of his first series, this one about a movie location scout who frequently finds himself involved in various types of trouble.  This time it's a series of arsons he gets involved in trying to stop.

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished War for the Oaks yesterday. It really was as good as people said, and influential. And it gets so much right about the magic of being in a band, of writing a song, of being on stage.

Now I'm reading Philip Jose Farmer's A Private Cosmos. Shouldn't take too long, which is good because my copy of Evan Winter's The Fires of Vengeance just arrived!


----------



## KahlessNestor

Finished reading _Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity -- And Why This Harms Everybody_ by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsey.

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Finished reading _Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency._

Started reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.


----------



## Blue

I'm seeing people discuss books I come back to time and time again.  War for the Oaks.  The Stars My Destination. (Though "The Demolished Man" I think beats even that.)  Soon I Will Be Invincible.

I do reread books, but I've got some that I just reread a lot more often than others.  They aren't even my favorites, some I just go back to.  What are yours?

Here's some of mine in addition to the above.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.
Emerald Eyes & The Long Run by Daniel Keyes Moran
Wearing the Cape series by Marion Harmon
The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook (same Glen Cook as The Black Company and Garrett, P.I.)
The first N Honor Harrington books, before it jumps the shark.
U.S. Robotics era Asimov robot short stories.
Pliocene Exile saga by Julian May
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson
Legend by David Gemmell
Gosh, I'm surprised I have time to read anything new.  

Mind you, some of these are on my favorites list, but some of them aren't but still occasionally have this irresistible draw. The Dragon Never Sleeps I can pick up in the middle, or only read the A plot or the B plot. And I have a lot of favorites that aren't on my reread regularly (every few years) list.

So I'll repeat  my question from above: what are your go-to rereads?


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Top of the list is definitely Tolkien. For years, I would routinely cycle from The Silmarillion to The Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings. 

Other than that:

J.G. Ballard's Crash
Moorcock's The Elric Saga
Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea
Billy Martin's Lost Souls and Drawing Blood
William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch
Ellis' American Psycho
Bradbury's The Halloween Tree
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser books (specifically the first four)
R.E. Howard's Conan yarns



Blue said:


> So I'll repeat  my question from above: what are your go-to rereads?


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Blue said:


> I'm seeing people discuss books I come back to time and time again.  War for the Oaks.  The Stars My Destination. (Though "The Demolished Man" I think beats even that.)  Soon I Will Be Invincible.
> 
> I do reread books, but I've got some that I just reread a lot more often than others.  They aren't even my favorites, some I just go back to.  What are yours?
> 
> Here's some of mine in addition to the above.
> 
> Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.
> Emerald Eyes & The Long Run by Daniel Keyes Moran
> Wearing the Cape series by Marion Harmon
> The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook (same Glen Cook as The Black Company and Garrett, P.I.)
> The first N Honor Harrington books, before it jumps the shark.
> U.S. Robotics era Asimov robot short stories.
> Pliocene Exile saga by Julian May
> The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
> The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
> Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson
> Legend by David Gemmell
> Gosh, I'm surprised I have time to read anything new.
> 
> Mind you, some of these are on my favorites list, but some of them aren't but still occasionally have this irresistible draw. The Dragon Never Sleeps I can pick up in the middle, or only read the A plot or the B plot. And I have a lot of favorites that aren't on my reread regularly (every few years) list.
> 
> So I'll repeat  my question from above: what are your go-to rereads?



I haven't re-read anything in a long time; too many good new books. But desert island books - probably 
Oz books, 
Bujold's Chalion and Vor series; 
Tolkien Hobbit and LotR; 
a kids baseball book called Heart for Baseball; 
Sandman GN series;
I can re-read Agatha Christie and Rex Stout and Ngaio Marsh over and over since they all start to blend into each other and I always forget the answers (except Roger Ackroyd).
That's off the top of my head...


----------



## HawaiiSteveO

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson in preparation for Rhythm of War out this coming Tuesday  . Same day as Tasha’s... lots to read!

As a side note, recall seeing something about interactive vampire storyline book ... details escape me that sounded intriguing.


----------



## Richards

I just started _Watchlist_, which is pretty different: it's a series of two novellas, _The Chopin Manuscript_ and _The Copper Bracelet_, written as serial thrillers: Jeffery Deaver, who came up with the main characters and the concept of each story, starts and ends each novella but each chapter is written by a different thriller writer.  Contributors include Lee Child, Joseph Finder, Lisa Scottoline...there are 22 authors in all.  It ought to be interesting.

Johnathan


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Started reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.

Just finished watching _The Queen's Gambit _and _Pawn Sacrifice_, so I am going to do a reread of _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

As for the reread question, I rarely do, but some that I have:

Just finished rereading all of the _Stormlight Archives _books by Brandon Sanderson in preparation for _Rhythm of War._

I've reread my favorite novel _The Brother's Karamazov_ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

I've reread _The Red Badge of Courage_ by Stephen Crane.

There are probably a few more that I am not recalling. I wouldn't mind rereading David Edding's _Belgariad _series.


----------



## Mercurius

Currently re-reading Patricia McKillip's *Riddle-Master *books, and loving them. 

I have a ton of books in the queue - a mixture of pre-Tolkien classics (especially drawn from the Ballantine Adult Fantasy), more re-reads of old favorites, some books I missed along the way, and a bunch of newer stuff.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Mercurius said:


> Currently re-reading Patricia McKillip's *Riddle-Master *books, and loving them.



Those are on my to be re-read list. I think I read the first 3 back in the 80's. I definitely was not yet 30.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

McKillip's writing is gorgeous. She writes these ethereal stories that feel like folktales that might have been (see also Lord Dunsany).



Mercurius said:


> Currently re-reading Patricia McKillip's *Riddle-Master *books, and loving them.
> 
> I have a ton of books in the queue - a mixture of pre-Tolkien classics (especially drawn from the Ballantine Adult Fantasy), more re-reads of old favorites, some books I missed along the way, and a bunch of newer stuff.


----------



## Mercurius

Ralif Redhammer said:


> McKillip's writing is gorgeous. She writes these ethereal stories that feel like folktales that might have been (see also Lord Dunsany).



Yep. Love Dunsany, who I see as arguably the second most influential fantasy writer, after Tolkien -- and one of the greatest.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Definitely hugely influential and of amazing quality. I also think, as far as I've seen, he is the first person to put a black blade in a fantasy tale (the magic sword in The King of Elfland's Daughter).



Mercurius said:


> Yep. Love Dunsany, who I see as arguably the second most influential fantasy writer, after Tolkien -- and one of the greatest.


----------



## Pawndream

I finished The Cleric Quintent, a five novel series by R.A. Salvatore this week. I had heard positive things about this series over the years, particularly about the unique characters, but have mixed feelings about the collection.

On one hand, R.A. Salvatore is a gifted writer when it comes to creating light page turners that don't require a lot of thought, but on the other hand, I thought his combat descriptions were unnecessarily lengthy, detailed, and at many times, highly unbelievable. I know, I know, it's fantasy, but still. Also the main character having essentially a Yo-Yo as a primary weapon was a major suspension of disbelief for me.

At any rate, there were fun moments in the books, but also large spans where I wanted the author to narrate through combat rather than providing play-by-play announcer and color commentator for every. single. battle.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Pawndream said:


> Also the main character having essentially a Yo-Yo as a primary weapon was a major suspension of disbelief for me.



But what about - Sukeban Deka?





And Mamiya from Fist of the North Star




And of course Jun the Swan from Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets


----------



## Richards

It seems as if wearing a short skirt is a requirement for wielding a yo-yo as a weapon...funny how Cadderly managed to get around that.

Johnathan


----------



## Pawndream

I wasn't aware the Yo-Yo weapon thing was so prevalent.  I was not familiar with any of those characters you posted, but apparently it's a thing


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Richards said:


> It seems as if wearing a short skirt is a requirement for wielding a yo-yo as a weapon...funny how Cadderly managed to get around that.
> 
> Johnathan



That's more a function of anime norms. Kirby (the video game character) also used a yoyo.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

The hyper-detailed combat descriptions definitely do tend to drag. I think the problem is that too often, their narrative influence is limited to who wins and loses. They rarely provide character, thematic, or plot development. There is little depth to them beyond the action being depicted.

I remember back in the day that the press blurbs were stuff like "R.A. Salvatore worked as a bouncer, which informs his realistic depictions of combat." <Insert wry chuckle>



Pawndream said:


> I finished The Cleric Quintent, a five novel series by R.A. Salvatore this week. I had heard positive things about this series over the years, particularly about the unique characters, but have mixed feelings about the collection.
> 
> On one hand, R.A. Salvatore is a gifted writer when it comes to creating light page turners that don't require a lot of thought, but on the other hand, I thought his combat descriptions were unnecessarily lengthy, detailed, and at many times, highly unbelievable. I know, I know, it's fantasy, but still. Also the main character having essentially a Yo-Yo as a primary weapon was a major suspension of disbelief for me.
> 
> At any rate, there were fun moments in the books, but also large spans where I wanted the author to narrate through combat rather than providing play-by-play announcer and color commentator for every. single. battle.


----------



## Nellisir

Bit of a slowdown recently. Read _Rhialto the Marvellous_, by Jack Vance, and _Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk_, by Boris Akunin. Boris Akunin is apparently a very popular Russian mystery writer, and I suppose it says something that he apparently wrote Sister Pelagia as a three-book diversion from his normal writings, and I'm angry about it. I don't care who his normal protagonist is, I want more Sister Pelagia!! I've read two and one more is Not Enough. 

Not sure what I'll read next; kinda thinking I should look for something at least a little different...oh, I think I know.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Finished _The Shepherd's Crown*, *_the last Terry Pratchett novel.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Still reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Started _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Started _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.


----------



## Pawndream

After finishing up The Cleric's Quintet I dove right back into another power fantasy by R.A. Salvatore, Legacy of the Drow. This is a collection of five books featuring the classic characters Drizz't Do'urden, Wulfgar, Bruenor Battlehamer, Cattie Brie, Regis. I am only 50 pages into the first book, but it's been nice revisiting with the characters from the Crystal Shard series.

Why the R.A. Salvatore power fantasy kick lately? After finishing up N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, I desperately needed something light and figured I would check out some 'classics' of the pulp fantasy genre.


----------



## Pawndream

The bit about R.A. Salvatore working as a bouncer prior to hitting it big as a writer, as proof of his "realistic depictions of combat" is laughable.


----------



## tardigrade

Pawndream said:


> Why the R.A. Salvatore power fantasy kick lately? After finishing up N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, I desperately needed something light and figured I would check out some 'classics' of the pulp fantasy genre.



Hah - just finishing up book 3 of Broken Earth myself. What did you think?

Although I may have to put it on pause for a few days - I have to read War with the Newts before a SF book club meeting on Monday...


----------



## Pawndream

tardigrade said:


> Hah - just finishing up book 3 of Broken Earth myself. What did you think?
> 
> Although I may have to put it on pause for a few days - I have to read War with the Newts before a SF book club meeting on Monday...



Honestly, it was a frustrating read.  Parts of the Broken Earth series were really engaging, but there were large swaths of what I call meta magical babble I really struggled to get through. 

The use of alternate narrators was a neat concept, but also confusing because I wasn't sure who was who until maybe the end of the 2nd book. For the longest time I thought it was an unreliable narrator.

Overall, I am torn on Broken Earth trilogy.


----------



## Nellisir

Read _Sandman Slim_, by Richard Kadrey. Good solid read, 4/5. I bought it and a sequel at the book sale this fall, but I can't remember where I put the second one so probably reading something else. Edit: Found the other book, have started it.
Also finished up the _X of Swords_ crossover (I've read the X-comics for...33 years now), and been reading misc gaming stuff. Got _Tome of Beasts II_ and _Tasha's Everlasting Cauldron_ last week; the _DCC Lankhmar_ boxed set; the _Basic Fantasy_ rulebook and the _Basic Fantasy Field Guide_; also last week, and _Hunters in Death_, a hexcrawl setting/mini-campaign fanzine by Gothridge Manor yesterday. So lots to browse through.
(_X of Swords_ is definitely the tightest plotted crossover I've probably ever seen; amazingly good throughout. T_ome of Beasts I_I was excellent; _Tasha's_ is fine but not blowing me away; _DCC Lankhmar_ absolutely blew me away with the insane production values; not so much with the vast number of pages taken up by situation specific charts (this is my first encounter with the DCC rule system and...wow. What a waste of space in this BEAUTIFUL product!!!); _Basic Fantasy_ was fine (knew what I was getting); the _Field Guide_ was actually very good; _Hunters in Death_ was also very good/recommended.)


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> Read _Sandman Slim_, by Richard Kadrey. Good solid read, 4/5. I bought it and a sequel at the book sale this fall, but I can't remember where I put the second one so probably reading something else.
> Also finished up the _X of Swords_ crossover (I've read the X-comics for...33 years now), and been reading misc gaming stuff. Got _Tome of Beasts II_ and _Tasha's Everlasting Cauldron_ last week; the _DCC Lankhmar_ boxed set; the _Basic Fantasy_ rulebook and the _Basic Fantasy Field Guide_; also last week, and _Hunters in Death_, a hexcrawl setting/mini-campaign fanzine by Gothridge Manor yesterday. So lots to browse through.
> (_X of Swords_ is definitely the tightest plotted crossover I've probably ever seen; amazingly good throughout. T_ome of Beasts I_I was excellent; _Tasha's_ is fine but not blowing me away; _DCC Lankhmar_ absolutely blew me away with the insane production values; not so much with the vast number of pages taken up by situation specific charts (this is my first encounter with the DCC rule system and...wow. What a waste of space in this BEAUTIFUL product!!!); _Basic Fantasy_ was fine (knew what I was getting); the _Field Guide_ was actually very good; _Hunters in Death_ was also very good/recommended.)



Tasha's you kind of have to read, just to keep up on everything - especially if the players are asking to include it. I do like the optional feats; I'll be allowing them.

Sandman Slim I liked, the 2nd one was pretty good too. I haven't gone on to read the rest; but apparently Kadrey produced the final one in the series this year. I like series that come to an end. (Ah, a quick glance at GoodReads, 12th book coming out next summer will be final volume.) Maybe I'll get back on the train and try to read the rest before the end.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Tasha's you kind of have to read, just to keep up on everything - especially if the players are asking to include it. I do like the optional feats; I'll be allowing them.



Agreed. It doesn't seem bad, I guess, but I don't run or play a game currently so it's just homework for me.



Eyes of Nine said:


> Sandman Slim I liked, the 2nd one was pretty good too. I haven't gone on to read the rest; but apparently Kadrey produced the final one in the series this year. I like series that come to an end. (Ah, a quick glance at GoodReads, 12th book coming out next summer will be final volume.) Maybe I'll get back on the train and try to read the rest before the end.



12 volumes. Sheesh.
Mike Carey's Felix Castor series is only 5 books and pretty similar in tone, if you like that genre. I liked the series.


----------



## Aeson

Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic: Atheist in American Public Life

A book about politics and religion. It's an excellent history book thus far. It starts off in the early colonial days. I'm finding it fascinating.


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## Nellisir

Found, and read, _Kill the Dead_, the second Sandman Slim book by Richard Kadrey. Decent, not spectacular. I don't mind looking for more but I'm not going to go nuts about it. 3/5

I've got non-SF/Fantasy books piling up, so going to try and switch gears for a bit and read those. We'll see how it goes.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

The DCC Lankhmar boxed set is a wonderful work. Even if you're not planning on running it, seeing all the information about Lankhmar codified and centralized is just grand. As for the tables and charts, DCC RPG definitely leans in on those heavily - it's one thing I'd say is a flaw in an otherwise lovely product. Every spell having its own caster chart is just too much.



Nellisir said:


> _DCC Lankhmar_ absolutely blew me away with the insane production values; not so much with the vast number of pages taken up by situation specific charts (this is my first encounter with the DCC rule system and...wow. What a waste of space in this BEAUTIFUL product!!!);




I finished reading Farmer's A Private Cosmos - it's a rollercoaster of a read, though I think I preferred Wolff as the protagonist. Winter's The Fires of Vengeance was amazing. Evan Winter is a phenomenal new voice in fantasy literature. And I finished Lord Dunsany's The Book of Wonder. I loved it, but maybe not quite as much as other works by Dunsany. 

Now I'm reading Robert Adams' Stairwell to Forever. Last time I read this was when the book was new, and that was some time ago.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Still reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Still reading _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Still reading _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.


----------



## HawaiiSteveO

Dawnshard was dope 

About 1/3 through Rhythm of War, wow! Broken people saving the world, what could go wrong..? Storms!


----------



## dragoner

After the Norton kick, I have been reading some Delaney: Driftglass (shorts), The Einstein Intersection; except I do have a Ben Bova book waiting - Exiles of Earth Omnibus that I want to read.


----------



## Nellisir

I couldn't sleep and started _Don't Look Back_, by Karin Fossum, a Norwegian author. VERY readable. Flows right along. Biggest hassle was putting down the book to try and sleep again.

In the general category of "things that are written", I actually got a pile of Christmas cards addressed yesterday and filled a good chunk of my new address book. This is stuff I've been meaning to do for years and I'm quite chuffed about it. It's awful trying to think of exactly what to write on each card, though.


----------



## Zaukrie

Just finished _Everything All at Onc_e by Bill Nye. Someone put it in our little library months ago....not bad, not great. I wouldn't buy it. I have a huge number of books to read next. Waiting for my Sanderson books to come in the mail (though I have Stormlight? one here.....).


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I finished Robert Adams' Stairwell to Forever, and I was glad to be done with it. Hoo-boy, there's a lot to unpack. It's so very 80s, but in a bad way. Imagine if the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe began with finding a treasure in Narnia, then spent 75% of the book detailing the main characters getting rich selling it in our world and having to defend his wealth from "furiners" and "the guvamint." Just about everyone but the main characters are written speaking in some sort of crude and stereotypical dialect, and it starts to feel insulting to the people depicted. In general, the book feels very sordid.

In conclusion, it was a trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. Also, I can't believe I read the thing when I was 12.

Next up is Seanan McGuire's Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which is already a much better portal fantasy.


----------



## Alzrius

I just finished reading Nic Kelman's _Girls: a Paean_, which I'd picked up mostly because of the controversy surrounding it.

Next up: Elisa Teague's _Girls on Games_.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> I finished Robert Adams' Stairwell to Forever, and I was glad to be done with it. Hoo-boy, there's a lot to unpack. It's so very 80s, but in a bad way. Imagine if the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe began with finding a treasure in Narnia, then spent 75% of the book detailing the main characters getting rich selling it in our world and having to defend his wealth from "furiners" and "the guvamint." Just about everyone but the main characters are written speaking in some sort of crude and steI reotypical dialect, and it starts to feel insulting to the people depicted. In general, the book feels very sordid.
> 
> In conclusion, it was a trainwreck that I couldn't look away from. Also, I can't believe I read the thing when I was 12.
> 
> Next up is Seanan McGuire's Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which is already a much better portal fantasy.



Never heard of Robert Adams, but sounds like a book I can take a pass on. 

I did really enjoy Every Heart a Doorway. Just haven't gotten back to that series yet. Trying to catch up on October Daye series first from her. She is PROLIFIC.


----------



## Richards

I just started a new thriller, _Giri_, by Marc Olden.  It involves a mass murderer in modern-day New York City and a Detective Sergeant assigned with finding the killer.  He'll apparently team up with a Japanese swordswoman, if the cover has anything to say about it.

Johnathan


----------



## Zaukrie

Started and almost finished _Monkeewrench _last night. I would have finished, but my wife left the light on in the bedroom, so I felt bad about staying up another half hour......I got like 50 books (counting some omnibus books as 10.....) on sale a few weeks ago. Not sure what's next....maybe Mistborn or Aurora.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

The sequel was pretty darn wonderful. Like, some of the stuff about what it's like growing up as a twin is spot-on.



Eyes of Nine said:


> I did really enjoy Every Heart a Doorway. Just haven't gotten back to that series yet. Trying to catch up on October Daye series first from her. She is PROLIFIC.




Next up I'm re-reading The Two Towers. It's been a while.


----------



## Alzrius

So my reading plans got disrupted when my local library informed me that my hold request for the latest Dresden Files book, _Peace Talks_, had arrived. I picked it up and devoured it over the course of two days.

I won't spoil it for anyone here, but it left me wanting more in a way that was vaguely dissatisfying. As the plot progressed, I kept glancing at the pages left in the book and realized that it wasn't going to delve into the full scope of what was happening nearly as much as I wanted to, which was a tad frustrating. (At the risk of sounding like an entitled fan, that frustration was magnified by this book coming out six years after the last one, where previous books had come out at roughly one per year for quite some time...fortunately the next one is already out, so it's all good!  )


----------



## TwoSix

Alzrius said:


> So my reading plans got disrupted when my local library informed me that my hold request for the latest Dresden Files book, _Peace Talks_, had arrived. I picked it up and devoured it over the course of two days.
> 
> I won't spoil it for anyone here, but it left me wanting more in a way that was vaguely dissatisfying. As the plot progressed, I kept glancing at the pages left in the book and realized that it wasn't going to delve into the full scope of what was happening nearly as much as I wanted to, which was a tad frustrating. (At the risk of sounding like an entitled fan, that frustration was magnified by this book coming out six years after the last one, where previous books had come out at roughly one per year for quite some time...fortunately the next one is already out, so it's all good!  )



The reason for the weirdness at the end of Peace Talks is that Peace Talks/Battle Ground was essentially one giant book, and then was split in 2 with a little extra padding to fill out the space.  

Any issues you have with Peace Talks leaving you dissatisfied will almost assuredly be ameliorated by Battle Ground.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Ralif Redhammer said:


> The sequel was pretty darn wonderful. Like, some of the stuff about what it's like growing up as a twin is spot-on.
> 
> 
> 
> Next up I'm re-reading The Two Towers. It's been a while.



Sounds like you are a twin...

Two Towers - the older I get the more I like Two towers. I remember reading it as a youth and not appreciating it.


----------



## Zaukrie

A Canticle for Liebowitz

Not seeming to be a page turner.....


----------



## trappedslider

Zaukrie said:


> A Canticle for Liebowitz
> 
> Not seeming to be a page turner.....



It's a slog for some,but if you make way through it,you may see why it's held up as one of the best Sci-fi/post-apocalyptic books from it's time or of all time depending on who you talk to.


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Finished reading _Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin_ by Howard Blum.

Still reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Still reading _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Still reading _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.

Started reading _The World of Critical Role: The History Behind the Epic Fantasy_ by Liz Marsham & the cast of Critical Role.

Started reading _The Long, Dark Tea Time of the Soul_ by Douglas Adams.


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

I am! We've been gaming together since we were nine. My wife says we regress to about that age when we get together...



Eyes of Nine said:


> Sounds like you are a twin...
> 
> Two Towers - the older I get the more I like Two towers. I remember reading it as a youth and not appreciating it.




I absolutely devoured A Canticle for Liebowitz.



Zaukrie said:


> A Canticle for Liebowitz
> 
> Not seeming to be a page turner.....


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Finished the Two Towers. Not much more to be said after re-reading it countless times. The back cover of my copy just came off, so I'll need to tape that back together.

Next up is Fritz Leiber's The Night of the Long Knives.


----------



## Ulfgeir

Finished reading Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutcher. Will have to watch the tv-series late on.
Also read Nordiska Väsen (English title is "Vaesen") as well as the game The Dune Rose.

Also done lots of proofreading this year on various rpg-products. Call of Cthulhu Sverige, Kopparhavets Hjältar, Chock åter från Graven, Leviathan, Rotsystem.

Now, started reading the expansion-book to Good Society - A Jane Austen rpg, called an Expanded Aquintance.

Also reading a book of short stories called Sisterhood of the Blade. It is about the adventures of 3 womens who kind of acts as the queesn's musketeers. One a japanese samurai woman who ws amrried to a french guy and is now a widow, one the daughter of a general, and thus trained in swordfighting , and one a young woman who grew up along pirates. Quite fun so far.

Also still reading a book about archery training and coaching. Not quite relevant to me as I don't do recurve (olympic style)


----------



## dragoner

Just finished Ben Bova's Exiles trilogy, which is somewhat based on Starlost - The Starlost - Wikipedia It was sort of mediocre. Now starting Panshin's Rite of Passage, and also I have Delaney's The Fall of the Two Towers waiting.


----------



## trappedslider

The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy: New, Updated and Completely Revised 4th ed. 2019 Edition by Lawrence Freedman (Author), Jeffrey Michaels (Author)


----------



## Eyes of Nine

trappedslider said:


> The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy: New, Updated and Completely Revised 4th ed. 2019 Edition by Lawrence Freedman (Author), Jeffrey Michaels (Author)



Does it include Trump's actions?


----------



## trappedslider

Eyes of Nine said:


> Does it include Trump's actions?



Not really sure what you mean


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Finished reading _Dawnshard_ by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Still reading _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Still reading _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.

Still reading _The World of Critical Role: The History Behind the Epic Fantasy_ by Liz Marsham & the cast of Critical Role.

Finished reading _The Long, Dark Tea Time of the Soul_ by Douglas Adams.

Read _Uncanny Collateral_ by Brian McClellan.

Started reading _Blood Tally _by Brian McClellan.

Started reading _Rhythm of War _by Brandon Sanderson.


----------



## Zaukrie

Copied from my Facebook page.....

Medium book review 

A Canticle For Liebowitz

Regarded as one of the most important science fiction books.....I kind of devoured it once I started. 

It is three novellas that take place in one church after we nuked the world.  These stories take place hundreds of years apart, give our take.  

I'm unsure how I feel about it.  For one, there is a lot of tedious church stuff, which is kind of the point, but it's tedious.  For another, despite a lot sort of happening, not much actually happens. Lastly, it is depressing. 

You see a lot of present movies and books here.... it clearly is influential.  It is well written.  It makes good  points, as does all great science fiction.  But, I doubt I can recommend it.  As I said, depressing and lots of tedium.  

Interestingly, though, it will influence my next DnD campaign.....


----------



## Richards

I'm 100+ pages into _Godzilla FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Monsters_, by Brian Solomon.  My son got it for me for Christmas, knowing of my long-time love for the kaiju movie genre.  It's been a good behind-the-scenes look at the making of the various Godzilla movies.

Johnathan


----------



## Zaukrie

When we moved, I sold most of my books and gaming stuff, as I thought I'd move every 5 years and not buy a house again....turns out that wasn't the plan, so I re-bought some books, including what I'm re-reading now.....A Song for Arbonne


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Still reading _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Still reading _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.

Still reading _The World of Critical Role: The History Behind the Epic Fantasy_ by Liz Marsham & the cast of Critical Role.

Finished reading _Blood Tally _by Brian McClellan.

Still reading _Rhythm of War _by Brandon Sanderson.

Started reading _Hillbilly Elegy _by J. D. Vance.


----------



## Richards

I'm just starting _Crooked River_, the latest in the Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which I got as a Christmas present.  I'm almost afraid to start it, though, because once I do I'm liable to want to just keep reading through the end and I have a lot of prep stuff to do here at home: tomorrow we're scheduled for our first D&D game session since August!

Johnathan


----------



## Ralif Redhammer

Yeah, my experience with it as well. It was a little depressing, but quite powerful.



Zaukrie said:


> A Canticle For Liebowitz
> 
> Regarded as one of the most important science fiction books.....I kind of devoured it once I started.




I finished Leiber's Night of the Long Knives. For a short novella, it casts a long shadow. You can easily see its influence in Mad Max and Fallout.

Now I'm reading Moorcock's The Knight of the Sword. Of the big four (Elric, Erekose, Hawkmoon, Corum), I've yet to get to Corum, so I figured it was high time I did so.


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Good news, I got a bunch of books for Christmas (I'll share later, have to jump into a work meeting).
Bad news, my 2 (TWO!) shelves of to be read have now officially overflowed...


----------



## Nellisir

Zaukrie said:


> When we moved, I sold most of my books and gaming stuff, as I thought I'd move every 5 years and not buy a house again....turns out that wasn't the plan, so I re-bought some books, including what I'm re-reading now.....A Song for Arbonne



That's a GOOD book.


----------



## Nellisir

Eyes of Nine said:


> Good news, I got a bunch of books for Christmas (I'll share later, have to jump into a work meeting).
> Bad news, my 2 (TWO!) shelves of to be read have now officially overflowed...



Two? TWO????  
Oh man. That's it. You're done now. It never gets better. You'll be chasing the high for the rest of your life.


----------



## Nellisir

I've read a few things, mostly been noodling around. Got Obama's memoir for Christmas, and expecting a few more books, but went really light on it this year. I've got so much "to be read" it's kinda insane, plus 30+ years of Analog magazine to go through if I want (it's recent years, not the vintage years, quit drooling).


----------



## Eyes of Nine

Nellisir said:


> I've read a few things, mostly been noodling around. Got Obama's memoir for Christmas, and expecting a few more books, but went really light on it this year. I've got so much "to be read" it's kinda insane, plus 30+ years of Analog magazine to go through if I want (it's recent years, not the vintage years, quit drooling).



I eventually had to end my sub to Analog because I couldn't keep up. Although maybe my fiction acquisition habit just transferred to novels... :-/


----------



## KahlessNestor

Still reading _Exploring Eberron_ by Keith Baker.

Still reading _Searching for Bobby Fischer._

Still reading _Proven Guilty_ by Jim Butcher.

Still reading _The Last Threshold_ by R. A. Salvatore.

Still reading _The World of Critical Role: The History Behind the Epic Fantasy_ by Liz Marsham & the cast of Critical Role.

Still reading _Rhythm of War _by Brandon Sanderson.

Still reading _Hillbilly Elegy _by J. D. Vance.


----------



## Mercurius

As the year ends, I'm savoring Algernon Blackwood's _The Centaur. _Having read only only of his long short stories, "The Willows," and just a half dozen chapters in, I can say that Blackwood has vaulted into my top five or so spec fic authors.


----------



## Bohandas

2020 having been 2020 I went throught the Book of Revelations at least twice


----------



## dragoner

I have been reading Galactic North, short stories from the Revelation Space setting, I thought I had read it, except I hadn't, so this is a happy occurrence and I am thinking of re-reading Revelation Space because of it.


----------



## Nellisir

dragoner said:


> I have been reading Galactic North, short stories from the Revelation Space setting, I thought I had read it, except I hadn't, so this is a happy occurrence and I am thinking of re-reading Revelation Space because of it.



I enjoyed those books.


----------



## Nellisir

Link to new thread.


----------



## Older Beholder

oops, didn't notice the thread had moved


----------



## Nellisir

ModernApathy said:


> oops, didn't notice the thread had moved



I had no desire to linger in 2020.


----------

