What Else Are You Reading - September 2017

[Joseph]

Finished Night Flower and Bright Thrones (they were short, but very good; although I'd recommend reading Bright Thrones while Poisoned Blade is still fresh in your mind) and started K.J. Parker's The Company.

[Rik]

Finished Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams (audio version) and am starting to listen to The Woods by Harlan Coben. While I enjoy Tad Williams imagination (I've read his Green Angel Tower and Otherland series) I need breaks between his books. I know I either read or listened to The Woods many years ago but I only have the vaguest recollection so its basically new to me. Harlan Coben is basically my brain refresh author - he's utterly compelling in a page turning way but at the same time his books are easy to follow and make me remember why I enjoy reading as he makes me want to read more and more and more to find out what happens next.

[Maclurker]

Finished Helliconia Spring finally. I agree with previous comments: marvelous world-building, but it was hard to connect to any of the characters.

I'm just diving into Cold Welcome, the latest from Elizabeth Moon in Vatta series. It started with a shuttle crash into cold stormy waters and hasn't stopped yet.

[Geoff]

I bailed on The Way of Shadows. It wasn't grabbing me and I didn't really feel a connection with the main characters. I think I also gave up on The Black Prism because of the same reasons.

[Shad]

My hold on Babylon's Ashes finally came up at my library's e-reads site. Looking forward to getting caught up on the Expanse (at least until December).

[Jessica]

I just finished The Changeling, which was okay but had some issues that made it overall just not work for me. Next I'll be starting The Clockwork Dynasty!

[Silvana]

Just finished the very upsetting The Shadowed Sun. I don't like sexual violence as plot device. Less magic and exciting plot. Angsty romance. Gahhh.

I hope my next book, Traitor's Blade, is entertaining.

[John (Taloni)]

About 10% of the way into Helliconia Spring and so far, bleah. Really enjoyed the intro, about Aldiss' writing process and all the scientific luminaries he talked to about the worldbuilding before he got started writing. Then I start in on the book and it's pretty much an Eskimo murder adventure with religious overtones. Er...yay? it felt kind of like the Monty Python bit where the "Ladies' Auxiliary" describes their recreation of the battle of Pearl Harbor, then the "recreation" is them slagging each other in the mud.

I'm a little extra peeved because I got pulled off the fourth "Agent Cormac" Polity book because I didn't manage to finish in time and it went back to the library. It's on request again but will be another few weeks. The third one was okay, not great, seemed like a setup book. That seems to be the case as we get right into some pretty great action right away in "Polity Agent".

But instead of more of that I've got murders in the snow. I reeeaaallllyyyy hope Helliconia Spring gets better fast. I don't recall reading any Aldiss in my youth and there may have been a reason why.

[Rob, Roberator]

I listened to The Android's Dream, which was incredibly silly, but still a lot of fun. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

[Colin]

Quickly read A Wrinkle in Time which I rescued from being donated to charity when my son was cleaning out his room. Neither he nor his older brother had much interest in reading it. Wasn't very impressed in the end, sadly. I've seen so many people referencing it as a classic, but maybe it's one you have to encounter when you're younger?

Next up (in audio) is Death Masks from the Dresden Files. I love James Marsters' readings of this series.

[Joseph]

Finished The Company, which was suitably bleak and witty, and started The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany, which is suitably gorgeous and poetic.

[David H.]

I finally finished Death's End by Liu Cixin. It was definitely hit or miss for me depending on different parts of the book (I loved the fairy tales), and some interesting unexpectedness.

Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen. Anthropomorphic animals in space that speak to ghosts. This ended up a super fun and interesting read for me. Highly recommended.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North--my sister finally bugged me enough to get me to start reading this book, and I'm glad--very engaging and I just loved the whole concept of it.

[John (Taloni)]

David wrote: "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North"

Looks cool. LA public library has it. I tagged it for later reading.

[Ruth]

David wrote: "I finally finished Death's End by Liu Cixin. It was definitely hit or miss for me depending on different parts of the book (I loved the fairy tales), and some interesting unexpected..."

I loved the fairy tales too... I also loved the slip of paper- in the same terrifying-but-beautiful way as the droplet in The Dark Forest.

[David H.]

Ruth wrote: "I loved the fairy tales too... I also loved the slip of paper- in the same terrifying-but-beautiful way as the droplet in The Dark Forest."

Hoo boy, that's for sure.

[Louie]

David wrote: "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North--my sister finally bugged me enough to get me to start reading this book, and I'm glad--very engaging and I just loved the whole concept of it."

I really enjoyed it as well. Surprises me every time I think about how young Claire North is, and that she was first published at the age of 14. - Also, I have been meaning to read Replay by Ken Grimwood, which is very similar in plot.

[David H.]

I just looked up her age. Wow. Also, she seems about due for a name change.

And yes, Replay should be be an interesting read, too, whenever I get to it. I think what got me about the North book was having to relive the baby/childhood years. Made for some interesting scenes later on! Haha.

[Joseph]

Finished The Book of Wonder (it was short) and decided it was time to get caught up on Guy Gavriel Kay, so am reading Children of Earth and Sky.

[Ctgt]

David wrote: "Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen. Anthropomorphic animals in space that speak to ghosts. This ended up a super fun and interesting read for me. Highly recommended."

One of my favorites from last year.

[Geoff]

Having read Startide Rising, the idea of anthropomorphic animals feels less ridiculous to me than when Barsk came out. I might check it out.

[Allison]

David wrote: "I just looked up her age. Wow. Also, she seems about due for a name change.

And yes, Replay should be be an interesting read, too, whenever I get to it. I think what got me about the North book wa..."

? A name change? You mean because she has so many pen names?

[David H.]

Allison wrote: "? A name change? You mean because she has so many pen names? "

Yep--according to Wikipedia, she wrote as Catherine Webb for 8 years (2002-10) with 8 books, then Kate Griffin for 5 years (2009-13) with 6 books, then now as Claire North for 3+ years (2014-now) with 5 books (7 if you count the Gameshouse novella trilogy as 1 or 3 books).

Just a silly joke on my part, but I only just noticed that her pseudonyms don't really overlap with each other and so was only suggesting that she can only write so many under one name before changing. No idea if this was an artistic, stylistic, or marketing decision. I've been wanting to read the Matthew Swift books under her Griffin name, though!

EDIT: Just looked it up--sounds like it was more a branding issue than anything, so the good kind of marketing vs. the bad kind (i.e. books under one name tanked). All the Webb books are YA fantasy, and the Griffin name was used for adult urban fantasy so YA readers wouldn't get confused. And then I guess because the Griffin name was so associated with the urban fantasy books, and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August were so differently written, Orbit & Webb thought it'd be better to use yet another pen name for this and further works.

Sounds like the same issue that Rachel Aaron had with using Rachel Bach for her SF since it's not as PG-13 as her Eli Monpress books. Or the Tom Holt had when writing on the K.J. Parker name, a guy known for comic fantasy writing gritty fantasy.

[Rick]

The Matthew Swift books are good - start at the beginning (Madness of Angels) or the later stuff will make a lot less sense.

The Claire North books are... good. I like them, but they all have a sameness (protagonist with a nearly unique, perhaps unique thing that sets them apart from humanity and how they deal with that)

[TRP]

Just read Ken MacLeod's The Star Fraction. I thought it was good and will be continuing with the series and his other books.
From the reviews around here it looks like some people are spooked by the complimentary talk about socialism and communism in his books. It doesn't bother me but it seems to worry some people.

Also in a perverse way of marking hurricane season I re-read Stormy Weather by Carl Hiaasen and Wyatt's Hurricane by Desmond Bagley. Neither exactly science fiction or fantasy but are highly recommended.

[Brendan]

Read Guns of the Dawn, A fantasy novel about women and guns. I like the former but don't much care for the latter. ★★★☆☆.

Also read The Sparrow, which is a lesson about why space travel is best left to professionals. ★★★☆☆.

Currently reading: Kushiel's Dart

[AndrewP]

Brendan wrote: "Also read The Sparrow, which is a lesson about why space travel is best left to professionals. ★★★☆☆."

I agree with you 100%. It's amazing how somebody claiming to be such an academic couldn't spend 5 mins Googling Newton's Laws.

[Ctgt]

TRP wrote: "Just read Ken MacLeod's The Star Fraction. I thought it was good and will be continuing with the series and his other books.
From the reviews around here it looks lik..."

I loved The Night Sessions but haven't really ventured on into any of his other books.

[TRP]

I started to read She by H. Rider Haggard. It's OK if you can deal with the Victorian attitudes to race, religion and sex and, technically speaking, it counts as a "Sword" book (2000 year old priestess/queen able to strike people dead with lightning etc.).

Rider Haggard went to the same school as me and there is a display cabinet there which has a fragment of desk where he carved his initials. Apparently vandalism is OK if you become a bestselling Victorian novelist.

[Rob, Roberator]

I listened to Six of Crows - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

[Gary]

I am currently reading The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (Book #2 of Powder Mage Trilogy) and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #3). I plan to read Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland next.

[Allison]

Gary wrote: "I am currently reading The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (Book #2 of Powder Mage Trilogy) and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson ..."

HOW DID YOU GET OATHBRINGER.

Sorry, didn't mean to yell. I meant to ask oh, how is THAT YOU ARE READING OATHBRINGER RIGHT NOW?

[Lena]

They are releasing bits on Tor. Anyone can read it. I'm still on book one. I'm not going to kill my self catching up.

[Gary]

Yes, on Tor.com they are posting pre-release chapters every Tuesday. The prologue and chapters 1 to 12 are up so far with chapters 13 to 33 to come.
https://www.tor.com/2017/09/19/oathbr...

[Allison]

Oh okay! I knew about that. I thought you had the whole thing. Crisis averted! :)

[Kelli]

Early this month, I finished up Nemesis Games. Oh, man! I absolutely LOVE this series! I'm holding off reading the next book until closer to December so I don't have to wait too long for the new release.

After quitting Helliconia Spring at about the 40% mark, I needed something light and fast. Night of Cake & Puppets to the rescue! It's an adorable novella in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.

I also finished listening to Blood Rites. I'll start book #7 soon.

I read and enjoyed The Warded Man.

Now I'm reading The Last One and can't put it down.

[Dara]

Finished my re-read of Deadhouse Gates. Moving on to Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Gaiman usually doesn't work for me but in combination with Pratchett's humor... it is.

[Colin]

Finished and very much enjoyed Ninefox Gambit. I think this would make for a good 'Laser' pick to read in the group if Tom can be persuaded.

I failed to get Rivers of London (AKA Midnight Riot) selected during March Madness, so I'm just getting around to reading it for myself anyway.

[Ruth]

Tried reading Barkskins for a bit of litfic (I like a break from the SFF every now and then) but found it too similar to Helliconia Spring (i.e. The landscape is the main character and the actual plot and characters are unengaging, overall a slog) so I've put that back on the shelf and I'm starting Kushiel's Dart instead.
Also reading (in audio book form) Last Year

[Misti]

Sadly, I had to return A Wrinkle in Time before I could finish listening to it and there is a waiting list. I think I'll just pick up a copy. It's been hard for me to find time to listen to something in two weeks.

Anyhoo, I'm a little over halfway through Welcome to Night Vale. I love the podcast and have been enjoying the book so far.

[Silvana]

Finished with Guns of the Dawn. It was nice but McClellan's Powder Mage is better.

Starting Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee. High hopes for this one.

[Viola]

Reading The Long War.

[Walter]

Just started The Concise History of the Crusades. At just over 200 pages, concise indeed, but still learning a lot.

[Iain]

Just finished The Liberation which was an enjoyable romp. By far the second book was the best in the series.

Karma paid off. I visited the library last week and a brand new copy of The Stone Sky was sitting there waiting to be snatched up. So far it is living up to expectations and is possibly the best book of the three. Now off to read some more (bloody preparation for term is getting on my nerves)

[Jessica]

Just started The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard. I remember enjoying her On a Red Station, Drifting and have meant to start this series of novels of hers for a while now.

[Rick]

Jessica - if you like Bodard don't miss her Obsidian & Blood series, set in Aztec times and lands.

[Eric]

Just finished Golden Son: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Started Leviathan Wakes

[Joseph]

I finished Children of Earth and Sky, which was one of the best things I've read this year (unsurprisingly) and started Ann Leckie's Provenance, which I'm very much looking forward to.

[Peter]

Reading Wizard and Glass from The Dark Tower series and Kingkiller Chronicles book 2 - Wise Man's Fear

[Trike]

Finishing up with The Voyage of the Basilisk, the best entry in this series to date.

Next up is the non-fiction Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake, but I'll probably read a couple graphic novels tomorrow.

[Jessica]

Rick wrote: "Jessica - if you like Bodard don't miss her Obsidian & Blood series, set in Aztec times and lands."

That sounds amazing!