What Are You Reading this August?

[Kivrin]

Just started Seveneves, and I'm kind of in love with Neal Stephenson right now.

[Michael]

I've posted my review of Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice - I had a few minor issues with it, but on the whole it's good science fiction:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Jim wrote: "I just finished The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester & gave it 4 stars in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It was a blast from the ..."

The Stars My Destination is one of my all-time favorites. Glad to see you enjoyed it, Jim!

[Shaitarn]

I've started The Golden Fool, part 2 of the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb.

[Brendan]

Finished reading The Summer Queen, an intense space opera epic that's taken me most of August to read. Excellent book, a great sequel to the fantastic The Snow Queen. About 75% of the way through, however, something had begun to bother me. Nobody "says" anything in this book. Instead, everything is "murmured." When I finished the book I did a word search, and murmurs happen an astounding 476 times! I know authors have pet words, but when it is that frequent, that borders on the ridiculous.

Just starting in on the book I've most been looking forward to all year, The Obelisk Gate.

[Shaitarn]

Started Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb. After this I'm going to read a couple of stand alone novels before plunging back into trilogies, quartets and (god help us) multiple volume book series...

[Berk]

Finished The Calling by James Frey and very hyped to get second book, I've wrote something about it in my profile, what are your thoughts? Have you read it? To be honest, one of the best book I've ever read, I'm not a bookworm and just started to read properly and I'm amazed of all those books and their universes. Wish I found reading it early.

[Hillary]

G33z3r wrote: "I'm wondering if five books is really it for The Craft series."

Looks like there will be at least a Book 6: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sc...

[Dylan]

I read American Gods during the first half of August, and now I am reading The Three Body Problem.

American Gods was good and a fun read, but I felt like I needed to read it again to really see all the connections between the various details.

The Three Body Problem is great so far. It's a little weird, but I like that.

Both books have been giving me strange dreams at night, full of vivid imagery.

[Michael]

I love American Goods - it's my favourite Gaimen book.

And Three Body Problem is another excellent read - it's a little different to most contemporary sci-fi.

[[deleted user]]

I finished The Shadow Throne & The Price of Valour, books 2 & 3 of The Thousand Names... and turns out it's not a trilogy! OK, I found it an entertaining military Gunpowder Fantasy (is there non-military Gunpowder Fantasy? Hmmm, yeah, but I call them Gaslight Fantasy instead. I mean, what's the point of gunpowder if you're not shooting all the time?) Anyway, I'm OK with more Thousand Names, and as it happens book 4, The Guns of Empire, just came out 2 weeks ago, so I've queued it up as my first novel of next month, before I forget what it's about.

[Andrea]

Looking foward to The Guns of Empire myself, but don't want to read it just after reading Promise of Blood, and what with the Gunslinger coming up as the group read might need a break to let all that gunsmoke clear...

There are also a couple short stories to go with the 5 main books (there will be one more after Guns of Empire), and one is (or at least was) available for free.

[[deleted user]]

Andrea wrote: "Looking foward to The Guns of Empire myself, but don't want to read it just after reading Promise of Blood, and what with the Gunslinger coming up as the group read might need a break to all that gunsmoke clear...."

I originally meant to re-read Promise of Blood last week for the current group discussion, but through coincidence and poor planning I was reading the Wexler books, and didn't want to try to interleave two such similar military gunpowder fantasy novels, because I'm easily confused. And I think I'll go on to The Guns of Empire, and be even later to the Promise of Blood discussion. Sigh.


Andrea wrote: "There are also a couple short stories to go with the 5 main books (there will be one more after Guns of Empire), and one is (or at least was) available for free...."

Yeah, I've read The Penitent Damned, will probably get to the other side stories sooner rather than later. (I read all the Promise of Blood side stories, too.)

[Mike]

I've got Promise of Blood on my to-read list, but probably won't be reading it for a few months, and I'll post my thoughts on the thread for it whenever I get there. I've never read any gunpowder fantasy, but I've enjoyed the TV series Turn and it has sparked an interest in the flintlock era in general on my part.

[Jim]

I just finished a couple of short story books. Low Port edited by Sharon Lee was very good & interesting. It featured characters & areas that are usually only peripheral or supporting. It was mostly SF, but there were a few fantasy & general fiction stories, too. I gave it 4 stars in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

After the Apocalypse by Maureen F. McHugh was good. I expected more SF, but she can really write characters & moods. Unfortunately, the thrust of her stories can be too vague at times. There were a couple of very good stories, though. I gave it 3 stars over all in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...