What else are you reading - September 2015

[Stephen]

I am on Dust of Dreams, book nine of the Malazan Tales. Thank goodness for short BOM picks. Also picked up a subscription to digital version of Lightspeed Magazine for a cool $2.99 an issue as I have made a vow to try to read more short stories.

[Rob, Roberator]

Adrian wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "Leviathan Wakes has a pretty good ending. Yes, the books can be a slog. This is a trilogy bumped up to nine books because that's the fashion these days."

Are people enjoying ..."

Personally I thought Nemesis Games was the best one yet.

[Dara]

Adrian wrote: "I'm currently reading and nearing the half way point. I am not really fully into it and wondering if I should keep on. What do y'all think?

Oh, I'm listening to..."

I thought the first book was okay. Fun but had it's issues. The second book, Caliban's War, was fantastic. What aren't you enjoying about the book?

[Brendan]

After I finished Canticle for Leibowitz I've started reading Aurora, the new book by KSR. Currently we're following the life of an inhabitant of one of the middle generations of a multi-generational star ship. Very interesting narrative style and the ship is both a great character and an interesting setting.

I will add my voice to those who did not like Leviathan Wakes. For the massive hype it got I was expecting something.. less dumb? No interest in checking out the sequels.

[Adrian]

Dara wrote: "I thought the first book was okay. Fun but had it's issues. The second book, Caliban's War, was fantastic. What aren't you enjoying about the book? ..."

I agree with Brendan that with all the hype that it was getting, maybe I was over-excited for it? I am also curious about the upcoming TV show in December on SyFy.

For starters, I am not fully enjoying the narrator (which really irritates me when a 'good' audiobook has a not-so-good narrator). Secondly, maybe I am just not as "in to it" as I would want to be? I am just not sure.

My interest is slightly growing as I progress but it's slow. I'll keep on with it more. I have commitment issues (in the reverse way - where I have to finish a book apparently...

[Rob, Roberator]

Adrian wrote: "For starters, I am not fully enjoying the narrator (which really irritates me when a 'good' audiobook has a not-so-good narrator)."

I wasn't thrilled with him at first, but he grew on me. And when they had to use someone else for the 4th book, I missed him badly. He does a lot better with the second book I think, and again in the 5th book.

The 3rd book is a bit fuzzy. I'd have to consult my review to remember.

It's possible the series just isn't for you though. Personally I rank the book in this order:

5, 2, 1, 3, 4.

[Ronald]

I've been in a short story mood lately, so I picked up a copy of The Future Chronicles - Special Edition. Meh. S'okay. Too many "stories" that feel more like scenes. Wouldn't recommend it unless you're Jonesing and there's nothing else around.

[Kristina]

Omg guys-my husband asked me to get him The Unnoticeables: A Novel from the library-so I decided to give it a try before he got home.. it is hilarious. He's going to have to wait till I'm done with it now. It's reminding me of John Dies at the End.

[Cori]

Just finished Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, it is a must read for any fantasy lover!

[Kristina]

Cori wrote: "Just finished Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, it is a must read for any fantasy lover!"

I just added that to my to reads list the other day...have to bump it up maybe.

[Cori]

Kristina wrote: "Cori wrote: "Just finished Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, it is a must read for any fantasy lover!"

I just added that to my to reads list the other day...have to bump it up maybe."

Definitely! If you like audio books the audio on this was beautifully done.

[Cori]

Ronald wrote: "I've been in a short story mood lately, so I picked up a copy of The Future Chronicles - Special Edition. Meh. S'okay. Too many "stories" that feel more like scenes. Wouldn't recomm..."

If you like short Stories I recommend Garth Nix's To Hold the Bridge. This book is even better if you read the Abhorsen Series since there is a short story set in that world (though not with those characters).

[Phil]

Just finished After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress. I have never read any of her books before and I really liked this one although the ending let me down just a little. It's a post-apocalypse setting and I know some people are tired of those and it is a tad short at 189 pages but it's so well written that I give this a high recommendation.
Continuing with Expanded Universe. The Kress book was my "read in bed because it's on my Kindle with the light and my main book is paper" book. My next Kindle book might be Armor.

[Rick]

Finished Warren Ellis' Gun Machine last night. Great book that's not really SF but... kinda is. Tho not.

[Dharmakirti]

Rick wrote: "Finished Warren Ellis' Gun Machine last night. Great book that's not really SF but... kinda is. Tho not."

Did you read his previous novel, Crooked Little Vein? What a trip!

[Sky]

Dharmakirti wrote: "Did you read his previous novel, [book:Crooked Little Vein|43..."

It was awesome :)

[Rick]

No! (adds to TBR list). thanks!!

Next up is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet which I started last night and looks fun so far (just a couple dozen pages in)

[Dharmakirti]

I just finished The Song of Achilles. Highly recommended!

[Sumant]

Just started Lord fouls bane, so far finding it interesting.

[John (Taloni)]

Ooooh, a convert to Thomas Covenant! It's stark and unforgiving in spots, but definitely worth the read.

[Joseph]

Finished The Shepherd's Crown and I am sad (because it's the last Discworld) and happy (because I have read Terry Pratchett and so cannot be unhappy) in equal parts.

And now starting Dreams of Shreds and Tatters by Amanda Downum, just for something completely different.

[Sumant]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Ooooh, a convert to Thomas Covenant! It's stark and unforgiving in spots, but definitely worth the read."

Ya I am surprised that donaldson has our main hero as someone who is spiteful and has some serious physiological issues.

[Ronald]

Cori wrote: "Ronald wrote: "I've been in a short story mood lately, so I picked up a copy of The Future Chronicles - Special Edition. Meh. S'okay. Too many "stories" that feel more like scenes. ..."

Thanx, I'll check it out. I lemmed The Future Chronicles - Special Edition. Not sure why it got all the 5 star reviews.

[Andy]

I want to throw another plug in for The Library at Mount Char. It is a weird and truly excellent dark fantasy novel.

I hope to finish The Traitor Baru Cormorant this weekend. I really like it a lot. Economic warfare tied in with sexual politics and a great protagonist.

[John (Taloni)]

I finished Lords and Ladies which was completely fabulous. I'm now on to Men at Arms which suffers in comparison as it is merely great.

[Rob]

I fell a bit behind this month as I felt compelled to readHalf a War (solid!) and Armada (waste of paper and time) in August, so only finished Uprooted(excellent) in early September. Thankfully, as a Leibowitz myself, I'd long since read "A Canticle for Leibowitz".

Just finishedYou're Never Weird on the Internet, which was enjoyable.

I've also pushed myself back into Malazan and am listening to The Bonehunters.

I'm starting Secondhand Souls today, but am realizing though I enjoyed A Dirty Job, I barely recollect it!

[Walter]

Read A Canticle for Leibowitz and a BotM for another group, Rosemary's Baby. The film adaptation, which I watched not all that long ago, hewed so close to the novel that the novel almost read like a novelization of the movie.

Now taking a short fiction break with Stock Market Trivia

[Dharmakirti]

I was feeling a little nostalgic today, so I started re-reading The Diamond Throne. David Eddings is the author that got me into fantasy plus the Elenium series features a couple of my favorite characters - the child goddess Aphrael & her priestess Sephrenia.

[Sumant]

Here is my review of shadow of torturer one of the most complex books in fantasy/sci fi.

[Ronald]

Dharmakirti wrote: "I was feeling a little nostalgic today, so I started re-reading The Diamond Throne. David Eddings is the author that got me into fantasy plus the Elenium series features a couple of ..."

I hate that they've messed up that beautiful cover by shrinking the illustration so they can put all the "bestseller" crap on it. I have the original, and it's one of my SFF favorite covers. God, what a blast from the past. It's been 30 years since I read that thing.

[Joel]

Dharmakirti wrote: "I was feeling a little nostalgic today, so I started re-reading The Diamond Throne. David Eddings is the author that got me into fantasy plus the Elenium series features a couple of ..."

It's a classic. No one should miss out on it. In fact I might re-read it soon.

[terpkristin]

I just finished listening to Armada. Wow, what rubbish.

I'm still working on A Canticle for Liebowitz but am looking forward to starting listening to The Aeronaut's Windlass now that I've put Armada behind me...

[Rob, Roberator]

terpkristin wrote: "am looking forward to starting listening to The Aeronaut's Windlass now that I've put Armada behind me.."

I thought it was fantastic, but then I enjoyed Armada too, so YMMV.

[David Sven]

Finished Robert McCammon's The River of Souls on Audible. Review

Starting The Last Wish book one in the Witcher series also on Audible.

[terpkristin]

Rob wrote: "terpkristin wrote: "am looking forward to starting listening to The Aeronaut's Windlass now that I've put Armada behind me.."

I thought it was fantastic, but then I enjoyed Armada too, so YMMV."

I'm cautiously optimistic. Cline's record with me was a very small sample size, pre-Armada. Now it's still a small sample size but cut in half. ;)
I've definitely liked Butcher's stuff and the different things he's done..

[Rob, Roberator]

I was lucky enough to get an early review copy of the audio book of the first book in Jim Butcher's new series: The Aeronaut's Windlass. I thought it was fantastic: My Review

[Rick]

I finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and loved it. Review up shortly, but let me put it this way - if I were a Hugo nominator this would make the list for my consideration.

[Misti]

I finished The Dragon's Path yesterday. I liked it but I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or not. Now I'm about 50 pages into Small Favor.

[Lindsay]

Read Witches of Lychford. Excellent novella. I'd like to see a series of these. My Review.

Read Lord of Light. Trippy. My Review.

Read The Tyrant's Law. Moving along with this great series. My Review.

Reread The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Even better on a reread, and it was superb the first time around. My Review.

Currently reading Bright of the Sky.

[Cori]

Just started reading the October Daye series. First book seems fun and light thus far. Probably going to continue reading the series, I'm enjoying the authors style. This series involves a changeling P.I navigating Fae politics and solving mysteries. Reminds me of The Dresden Files.

[Esther]

Joanna wrote: "Ronald wrote: "You might be the third or fourth person in a row who said Windup Girl didn't do anything for them...." " liked it because I had never seen anything like it before, between the post-climate-change future with the springs and the biotech, and the setting..."

I really enjoyed the The Windup Girl although I didn't dislike the first guy as much as most seem to (maybe because I've red a lot of 1920-40s 'colonial' literature?)
My favourite character was the Windup girl herself.
The world was refreshingly imagined if not totally novel. Having previously read Oryx and Crake which I found stuffy and dated I suddenly felt that this book was the 'modern' way to envision bio-genetic engineering.

[Dara]

Finished The Dragon Keeper this weekend. Took me a while but I liked it. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also read Mr. Kiss and Tell. I liked it a lot. Can't go wrong with Veronica Mars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now reading Into the Wild.

[Joseph]

Finished Dreams of Shreds and Tatters, which was excellent in a disquieting way, and started Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear.

[Brendan]

Esther wrote: "My favourite character was the Windup girl herself."

I felt like Emiko was kind of a wasted opportunity in the story. There's a lot of places Bacigalupi could have gone with her in the story but she felt to me more like an example of an exotic fetish object rather than a commentary against them.

I finished Aurora, and I quite liked it. Not as much as 2312, which I loved, but probably a lot less divisive. Lots of feels in this novel too, which was pretty unexpected.

I've got a couple weeks before Empire Ascendant comes out, so not sure what I'm going to read until then.

[Rick]

Got and read Nnedi Okorafor's new novella Binti which I quite liked. 86 pages or so for something like $3. Hard to beat for such great writing.

[AndrewP]

Still trying to finish Robin Hobb's Live Ship Traders trilogy but for me she walks a bizarre fine line between 'love it' and 'lem it'.

[Kristina]

I have so much cool stuff on hold at the library! Hurry up library! For now I'm reading Timeless while I impatiently wait. I have enjoyed the whole series so far.. anyone know off hand.. does this book end it?

[Lindsay]

Yes, but there's a sequel series that follows Alexia's daughter. (And a prequel series as well, but it's not as strongly connected).

[Misti]

Gail Carriger has said on her blog that for now she isn't planning any more with Alexia but there is the spinoff series with her daughter. The Finishing School series also takes place in the same universe. There's some character crossover there.

[John (Taloni)]

Finished Men At Arms, which was okay, but put me off a bit. The general Discworld setting is still great, but the character development here was awful. I didn't like the class warfare rhetoric. Rich people are portrayed as either racist jerks or dilettantes like Lady Ramkin. So much for the capitalist system that let Pratchett get rich.

Vimes is marrying the richest lady in Ankh-Morpork, but so what? We never see their romance here. Yes, it's in an earlier book, but was barely developed there. Vimes doesn't seem to love her and is giving in to class pressure because she's his social better and desired him. No thanks. As for Ramkin, she seems to have no understanding of his work and simply wants to pluck him out and plant him in her world.

It all works out okay, and the descriptions of Carrot, Angua and the Watch are all interesting enough. I just expected better of Vimes and Ramkin.