RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s Comments

RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Note: RJ - Slayer of Trolls is not currently a member of this group.

HALFWAY DONE:

#26 in 2021:

I finished:


Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon
Rating: 2 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

I've started listening to audiobooks more than I used to, usually when I'm driving. My mind wanders so it's still not my preferred method of experiencing a book but I have found that it's a good way to re-read a book that I've already read. There are some cool "exclusives" on Audible that I've enjoyed too.

Sue wrote: "I'd like to nominate Cloud Atlas
Why? - The reincarnation of a soul travels through time in an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one..."

That is a great book!

I finished reading the first in the Inspector Montalbano series:


The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

I also started reading, for the Evolution of Science Fiction group read:


Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon

Joy D wrote: "At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft - 4 stars - My Review"

I liked that one also, Joy. I recently read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe which was the origin of the "tekeli-li" cry Lovecraft used in At the Mountains of Madness. It's interesting to see how the two stories could almost fit together.

Meredith wrote: "I've recently discovered a love of Fantasy. I need to be swept away. Does anyone have any recommendations?"

I haven't read a lot of the more recent fantasy offerings, but here are some good portal fantasies that also have romantic elements:

- The Fionavar Tapestry: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay

- Mordant's Need: The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through by Stephen R. Donaldson

- Tredana Series: The Broken Citadel, Castledown, and The Great Wheel by Joyce Ballou Gregorian

Happy reading!

#25 in 2021:

I finished reading the first in the Inspector Montalbano series:


The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

I also started reading, for the Evolution of Science Fiction group read:


Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon

I finished the third book in the Vampire Chronicles:


The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Psycho by Robert Bloch

...which I heard they made a movie out of a few years back?

#24 in 2021:

I finished the third book in the Vampire Chronicles:


The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Psycho by Robert Bloch

...which I heard they made a movie out of a few years back?

I finished the second book in the "Ripliad" - the sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley:


Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the first book in another series (as part of a group read for the Mystery, Crime and Thriller group here on Goodreads):


The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

Joy D wrote: "The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith - 4 stars - My Review"

Good review Joy. I just finished a Highsmith book myself. I'll have to look for a copy of The Tremor of Forgery.

#23 in 2021:

I finished the second book in the "Ripliad" - the sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley:


Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the first book in another series (as part of a group read for the Mystery, Crime and Thriller group here on Goodreads):


The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

I finished the penultimate book in the Amber series (which is also the fourth book in the Second Chronicles of Amber):


Knight of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I am going to read a story from


The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard

before I get started on the FINAL book in the Amber series:


Prince of Chaos by Roger Zelazny

#22 in 2021:

I finished the penultimate book in the Amber series (which is also the fourth book in the Second Chronicles of Amber):


Knight of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I am going to read a story from


The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard

before I get started on the FINAL book in the Amber series:


Prince of Chaos by Roger Zelazny

I finished


The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Christie's first novel, Hercule Poirot's first appearance...
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith - book 2 of "The Ripliad" (or, the sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley if you prefer)

#21 in 2021:

I finished


The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - Christie's first novel, Hercule Poirot's first appearance...
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith - book 2 of "The Ripliad" (or, the sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley if you prefer)

Blagica wrote: "RJ I am so thrilled to see that you have made such a dent in your reading! Are there any books you think I should add to my list?"

Thanks for asking Blagica. I looked at some of your reads using the Goodreads "Compare Books" and Compatibility tools, and it seems like we overlap in a few areas. You like some mystery/thriller books, classics, and historical fiction. Based on that, the books I've read this year that I think you might enjoy are:

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

and you might also try the Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis. I'm reading All Clear right now which is the fourth book in the series and the second part of the duology started with Blackout. Although it is "science fiction" (in perhaps the loosest sense of the term) there's not much emphasis on science - it's really just historical fiction with protagonists who have a modern viewpoint and of course a sense of how everything is going to turn out. Start with Doomsday Book or To Say Nothing of the Dog (the first is a bit more serious, the second is funnier, especially if you've read Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome).

And if you haven't read any Agatha Christie you might enjoy her Hercule Poirot series, the first of which - The Mysterious Affair at Styles - I am reading now.

I finished two books yesterday:


The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 edited by Jonathan Lethem and Otto Penzler, the annual mystery/crime anthology series which isn't quite as good as usual in this edition
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Kings of Cool by Don Winslow - the prequel to Savages, the film version of which was directed by Oliver Stone
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, her first novel and the first appearance of Hercule Poirot


Old Venus edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, a follow-up of sorts to their anthology Old Mars, containing stories styled after the Golden-Age idea of the solar system (little green men, etc.)

#19 and #20 in 2021:

I finished two books yesterday:


The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 edited by Jonathan Lethem and Otto Penzler, the annual mystery/crime anthology series which isn't quite as good as usual in this edition
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Kings of Cool by Don Winslow - the prequel to Savages, the film version of which was directed by Oliver Stone
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, her first novel and the first appearance of Hercule Poirot


Old Venus edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, a follow-up of sorts to their anthology Old Mars, containing stories styled after the Golden-Age idea of the solar system (little green men, etc.)

I finished listening to the audiobook


Ender's Game Alive: The Full Cast Audioplay by Orson Scott Card
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Not as good as the original, and not the best way to experience the story for the first time. Harlan Ellison makes an appearance though, although I can't figure out which part he played (I'm guessing (view spoiler)[Mazer Rackham (hide spoiler)]).