What Else Are You Reading - May 2018

[Robert]

Yesterday evening I finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, the first book in her "Farseer Trilogy." It was quite an interesting and engaging novel. The world was unique, as was the magic, and the story was fairly compelling. I hoping I can get to the rest of the trilogy sometime. For now, though, I have one more book that I bought over the holidays to read.

[Troy]

I'm reading Prince of Suck as a Laser and thinking about some of the Naked in Death series next. Is futuristic romance mystery enough of a Laser? I'm torn.

[Rob, Roberator]

Latest round of reviews.

I read Nimona and after a bit of a slow start I really enjoyed this. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Replay: The History of Video Games This turned out to offer a wider breadth of history over other books I've read on the subject. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

The Land: Alliances I'm probably done with this series. I can't stand the main character. - ★★½☆☆ - (My Review)

Does anyone have any recommendations for LitRPG (ideally in audiobook) where the main character isn't an obnoxious dudebro? It seems like the kind of stuff that is mostly self-published. I'm probably better off trying to find some translated manga that likely does a much better job of it.

[David H.]

Nimona is great.

The only LitRPG book I know have on my shelves is Andrew Rowe's Sufficiently Advanced Magic. No idea if the main character is dumb or not. And the only reason I have it is because I got it as a prize. I'm very wary of this genre, and I'm not sure even the Japanese could save it for me.

[Rob, Roberator]

I've watched a fair bit of anime (most/all of which is based on manga or light novels) that I've enjoyed. Then again I'm still playing World of Warcraft..so one could argue I've been trapped in a video game myself for the last 15 years.

[David H.]

The only reason I discount the manga (for this genre) is because I've not read a "fighting" manga yet that's kept my interest (focusing more on cool fight scenes than any kind of interesting story), and I find it hard to imagine that the litRPG scene in Japan is any better.

[Rob, Roberator]

I haven't read them, but I really enjoyed the anime adaptation of Log Horizon, Vol. 1. It doesn't have the same volume of fighting as others I've watched.

I've debated trying to pick it up because I'm not optimistic about more of the story being adapted

[Conal]

David wrote: "Nimona is great.

The only LitRPG book I know have on my shelves is Andrew Rowe's Sufficiently Advanced Magic. No idea if the main character is dumb or not. And the only reason I ha..."

This book has a much younger MC set in a magic school and the RPG factor is much less in your face as it is in The Land: Founding series.

[Margaret]

I finished Places in the Darkness, and am adding it because even though it was listed by Colin back in the December thread, I thought it was brilliant. As Colin noted, a bit of a slow start and I wondered where it was going and whether I liked it, and then it took a vice like grip on my attention that didn't let go to the very end. Hopefully not Brookmyre's only foray into space.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I'm reading Illuminae, which is told in similar fashion to The Themis Files, only is about an illegal mining operation in space that is attached by a biotech company and three ships are on the run, but also dealing with a virus.

[Keith]

Variation on a theme: reading some old school crime pulp by writers better known for scifi and fantasy: Web of the City by Harlan Ellison and The Dead Man's Brother by Roger Zelazny.

[Misti]

I ended up lemming the book pick for this month. So I'm trying to read Breath of Earth. Though I'm liking it, it has been slow going. I think I'm in a bit of a reading slump.

[terpkristin]

Misti, that’s been me all year. Total funk, though I did knock out one book in a day (a popcorn book-a really light mystery).

I’ve started Night’s Master but am struggling with many of the same issues others have noted about plot (or lack thereof).

[Scott]

I finished Night’s Master already. Now I’m working my way through the Witcher books. Currently on Blood of Elves.

[John (Taloni)]

Finished up Night's Master and returned to LA Public Library, so whoever put it on hold after me now has it. And that's really the best I can say about the book.

LAPL also had the other two "Red London" books (technically the "Shades of Magic" Series) so while I am in a bit of a lull for books, starting in on those. They are decent enough bubblegum, but for me the high point of crosstime books will always be Worlds of the Imperium.

[Michael]

I didn't intend to start a Hugo read through, but after finishing The Stone Sky I read Six Wakes and have now started New York 2140. I also managed to fit in a listen to The Age Atomic.

[Silvana]

Just finished Provenance by Ann Leckie. Well, that was one convoluted, uninspiring book. I still have Ancillary trilogy to start but I will keep my hopes real low.

Starting the last book of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet, The Price of Spring.

S&L challenge tally:
Sword: 17
Laser: 11

[Brendan]

Almost finished The Poppy War by Rebecca Kuang and I think this one has deserved the hype. Very excellent for a debut novel.

[AndrewP]

75% of my listen to The Eye of the World and half way through Watchmen, which is living up to expectations.

[Dara]

*Sigh* another book on the Lem pile. Stopped Exo at 53%. It's not the book - it's me. My heart and brain aren't in it. Nothing really feels interesting to me lately. I think I'll wait until after my vacation soon-ish to attempt a new book. My review.

[Phillip]

I jumped genres for a book. It answers that classic literary yarn of what a bartender’s supposed to do when he receives an anonymous package that holds an unmarked pistol and plenty of ammunition.

[John (Nevets)]

So Stephen gets to see the sci-fi Jets take on the Golden Knights in the next round of hockey. And the Capitol ships also go up against the Lightning hurled by gods in the other series.

[Ruth]

Just started Dark Eden which is... kind of weird but it’s keeping my attention so far.
On Audible I’m listening to a good old-fashioned magic-laden fantasy epic, The Black Prism. I don’t have many credits left in my annual subscription so I’m only buying nice looongg listens atm!

[Stephen]

Almost finished with Age of Swords, kicking myself for not doing it sooner but padding my back for finishing it before the next book comes out July 2nd.
For non fans of hockey, the Golden Knight are in their first year of existence in the beautiful city of Las Vegas and was a 500-1 future bet to win the Stanley Cup, Hockey's and the worlds best trophy. Many Vegas people place a novelty bet as a keepsake but the casinos are looking to take a bath.

[Jonathan]

Reading Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence. I love this series. One of the best I have read in a long time.

[Iain]

Just finished three books in as many days.

Two e-books, Folk which was a strange book full of cod fairy tales that were not quite as good as reading Grimm's. It reads like a scholarly attempt at recreation.

And Another Thing... which tries hard but isn't quit Douglas Adams. A valiant effort but not quite good enough. Better to leave it alone. Arthur Dent should be left alone, poor bugger.

Finished Night's Master in audio book. Lovely narration except for the women voices which all sounded like 12 yo girls. The less said about the subject matter the better (comments will appear elsewhere).

[Rik]

Finished Forging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes. Great book for anyone who wants to read superhero prose. Its mostly told from the perspective of a potential villain (who isn't truly that bad) which gives it an interesting perspective.

Going back to Mountain of Black Glass by Tad Williams. My god Williams needs an editor with the guts to tell him to condense things down. He's got about 1-2 books worth of story that he spread through this whole four book series and the rest is just him creating yet another imaginary cyberspace world for the characters to traipse through to show how clever his imagination is.

[John (Taloni)]

Been reading A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab since the first book in this trilogy was decent. Unfortunately the second book is just blah. I'm halfway through and it's a bunch of vignettes in search of a plot. The first book had some decent crosstime worldbuilding and a fairly interesting plot. The second book follows the angst ridden angstiness of a bunch of angst filled characters. No thanks. I'm not going to lem because it's not truly horrible, but skimming is likely. Going on to the third book in the trilogy will require an outstanding ending, and I'm not expecting that.

Been wanting to catch up on some Cthulhu mythos and I see that Herbert West-Reanimator is free to read. That's next.

[Robert]

Today I finished Throne of Jade, the second Temeraire novel. I enjoyed it, though it wasn't quite as fast-paced as the first book. Still, I do want to continue with the series. It's interesting to read a fantasy series set in alternate-history Napoleonic Wars. My next read will be a novella that's given me the idea for an upcoming story I'll be writing soon.

[Joseph]

Finished Janny Wurts' To Ride Hell’s Chasm and have started Night's Master.

[Ruth]

Ended up Lemming Dark Eden about a third of the way through after there was a rape scene (and the GR reviews I read didn’t encourage me to continue).
I’ve given up on quite a few books for similar reasons. I think I may need to start looking up in advance if a book contains any sexual violence because it’s clearly something that bothers me a lot. I don’t like ruling things out for content reasons without even giving them a try but I’m also fed up with repeated Lems.

[Trike]

I’ve been working my way through Robert Sapolsky’s Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, which is really good but dense. It occupies that middle ground between a pop sci book and a textbook. The entire first section is essentially Neurobiology 101. I think every white person, especially police officers, needs to read the chapter on how our amygdala-based snap judgements are inherently dangerous to POC.

The second Murderbot book, Artificial Condition, showed up at the library, but at this rate I feel like I won’t get to it before the loan expires.

[Kristina]

Geez.. I've been so busy reading I haven't stopped in on this thread! Last month I got a free couple month code for Unlimited and discovered Laura Thalassa. Her Bargainer series was amazing (though last book isn't out yet) so I spent the first part of the month zipping through her Fallen World series.. which was ok. I really really loved Bargainer though-so it had a lot to live up to :P.

Then I was running the bookfair at my sons school and a book came in the teen reads box that caught my attention. I started reading Circus Galacticus and purchased it after 1 chapter. It's a cute story with a really cool setting. Space circus! Definitely need someone to write me a more adult book with kind of setting!

Now I'm working on A Court of Frost and Starlight and enjoying checking in with some of my favorite characters in one of my favorite worlds.... it's going by too fast though. One of those I can't stop reading, but I don't want it to be over conundrums.

[Tina]

Ruth wrote: "Ended up Lemming Dark Eden about a third of the way through after there was a rape scene (and the GR reviews I read didn’t encourage me to continue).
I’ve given up on quite a few bo..."

I hear you. I feel the same way..

I abandoned this month's book club pick for similar reasons, and instead I've decided to listen to the Audible version of Fahrenheit 451 in anticipation of the upcoming HBO series.

[Silvana]

Halfway through The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch. I won't ever get enough of this series. So refreshing. Also finished a novella set before it, The Furthest Station, which is a nice ghost/abduction story.

Sword: 19
Laser: 11

[Ruth]

Tina wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Ended up Lemming Dark Eden about a third of the way through after there was a rape scene

I abandoned this month’s book club pick for similar reasons.."

Yep, I didn’t last long with Night's Master either!
I’ve now moved on to Steelheart, a YA offering from Brandon Sanderson (so I’m going to trust it doesn’t have any gross sexual violence) which is so far an interesting take on the superhero concept.

And I’m also reading Grace and the Fever by Zan Romanoffwhich is a fantasy book- in the sense of being about the fantasy of meeting your favourite band, and how that compares to the reality.

[Colin]

I just read and quite enjoyed Sleeping Giants. The unconventional narrative structure (the events are all told in interview transcripts, personal journal entries and so forth) might be seen as a bit of a stunt, but it made for a quick read. The final chapter twist was perfectly calculated to make me add the next book to me reading list!

I've started on Children of Time (mentioned in last month's thread) which is really engaging so far.

[Mark]

Silvana wrote: "Halfway through The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch. I won't ever get enough of this series. So refreshing. Also finished a novella set before it, The Furthest Station, which is a nice ghost/abduct..."

If you haven't already found it, there is an audible story too (maybe audible only?) It's terrific

A Rare Book of Cunning Device

[AndrewP]

Mark wrote: "If you haven't already found it, there is an audible story too (maybe audible only?) It's terrific

A Rare Book of Cunning Device ."

If you havn't discovered this already, the entire series is amazing on Audible:)

[Melissa]

Finished Circe and I really enjoyed it. I love Greek mythology so it was definitely a win. Madeline Miller's other novel, The Song of Achilles has now moved up my "to read' list. Started Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian yesterday. I liked the sample, but now I'm not too sure. But I'll give a chance.

[Melissa]

Rik wrote: "Michele wrote: "I'm up to Nemesis Games in my Expanse re-reading. This one is tough - I feel like I'm just slogging through the set-up because I know what's coming, and I'm super-excited about gett..."

All this talk of re-reading The Expanse is making me think that should be my next project... Nemesis Games is my favorite too.

[Rick]

Melissa wrote: "Finished Circe and I really enjoyed it. I love Greek mythology so it was definitely a win. Madeline Miller's other novel, The Song of Achilles has now moved up my "t..."

Song... is on sale right now for $2 FYI

[John (Taloni)]

I guess I'm alone in finding The Expanse to be fun reading, but not the kind of story I'd re-read. Don't get me wrong, the two people making up "James S.A. Corey" have a nice way with words, but they do go on and on. For me the last book was mostly a rehash anyway, a redo of storylines already done, so they can stretch the series out to nine books. I'll gladly show up for the remaining installments, but have no desire to reread.

[Rick]

John (Taloni) wrote: "I guess I'm alone in finding The Expanse to be fun reading, but not the kind of story I'd re-read. Don't get me wrong, the two people making up "James S.A. Corey" have a nice way with words, but th..."

Obligatory "why do you hate the expanse, John" post... :)

Full disclosure: I never went past the first book so I've no opinion on the series past that.

[Melissa]

Rick wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Finished Circe and I really enjoyed it. I love Greek mythology so it was definitely a win. Madeline Miller's other novel, The Song of Achilles has no..."

Rick wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Finished Circe and I really enjoyed it. I love Greek mythology so it was definitely a win. Madeline Miller's other novel, The Song of Achilles has no..."

Yep! Already peeped that and bought a copy!

[Silvana]

Riding with the Mad Lancers and Riflejacks in McClellan's new book Wrath of Empire. Anyone reading it as well?

AndrewP wrote: "Mark wrote: "If you haven't already found it, there is an audible story too (maybe audible only?) It's terrific

A Rare Book of Cunning Device ."

If you havn't discovered this already, the entire ..."

Yep, already got it, can't wait to start listening :D

Too bad Audible books is so damn expensive. I do hear lots of good things about the narrator.

[Ruth]

Melissa wrote: "Finished Circe and I really enjoyed it. I love Greek mythology so it was definitely a win. Madeline Miller's other novel, The Song of Achilles has now moved up my "t..."

Circe is next on my list!

[Rob, Roberator]

Silvana wrote: "Riding with the Mad Lancers and Riflejacks in McClellan's new book Wrath of Empire. Anyone reading it as well?

AndrewP wrote: "Mark wrote: "If you haven't already found it, there ..."

Yeah. I'm doing the audio with a few friends in my other group

[Ryne]

Finished Dax Harrison now I'm finally taking the time to read Goldenhand . I've put it off for far too long, but I wanted to reread Lirael and Abhorsen first.

[AndrewP]

Silvana wrote: "Too bad Audible books is so damn expensive. I do hear lots of good things about the narrator."

See if your local library has them via Overdrive. If found a few of them that way.