The Sword and Laser discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - May 2019
Sheila, I also thought Skyward was overrated :/Which is weird because I usually gobble up everything that Sanderson puts out. I can't really put my finger on why it didn't click with me though. (I even DNF'd it)
Yesterday I finished reading Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. It was a delightful fantasy novel, told entirely in letters between two cousins. Quite a fun read. I was amazed to learn that the authors chose which cousin to write and that the book started out as a letter game between them.
I liked Skyward for what it was, but it did feel different from his usual fare. I'm glad to have options I can share with my nieces and nephews, though, and that I read a YA that wasn't about a love triangle.Since last I posted I've finished:
The Mere Wife which while I think its messaging had a few flaws, I found the execution to be mindblowing. If you like lyrical allegories and retellings, this is a can't miss.
Assassin's Apprentice was also quite good, I instantly recommended it to a friend. I'm excited to learn more about this world and our hero!
Semiosis was a really cool idea and an inventive narration method, but the plot got away from me a bit.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was ADORABLE!!! I'm so glad I finally got to this. I'll definitely be continuing, though I know the series' tone changes and so do the characters.
Rocannon's World was pulpy fun. Not as delicately wrought as I expect from later Le Guin but still all of the things I love about her writing.
Leviathan was a surprise. I wasn't expecting steampunk alt history war story. Well enough told, but that's not a subgenre I'm terribly compelled to read. Another good one for younger friends!
Dreamsnake was sooo good! I was expecting something much different, but this hit all the right marks for me. Healer woman in a dystopia with snakes and adventures! How can I not like that!
Penric's Demon was my last ditch effort to see if I'd become a Bujold fan and I'm pleased to say it snared me. Hilarious.
Spinning Silver was mind boggingly rich. I was hesitant, as I didn't really like Uprooted, but this was everything I wanted in a retelling.
The Invisible Man was fun! I see why it spurred so many stories.
Arrows of the Queen was just great. This is what I picture when I picture a cozy fantasy. Sure, the plot's a little thin, but the world is rich and the characters were a delight.
The Crown Conspiracy was unfortunately less cozy for me. I tried to read the whole Theft of Swords as this group read it, but I bounced pretty hard off this one.
Bryony and Roses was my first Kingfisher and won't be my last. So much fun--I'm not even a fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings and this still won my affection. Another light read with a bit of a bite to it.
Now reading Dreamer's Pool which was off to a rocky start but seems to be picking up, and Swordspoint, which I've heard good things about but don't have a strong opinion of yet.
I finished reading One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence and The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan. I am reading Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I plan to read Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow next.
Just finished The Magicians which I loved, and found weirdly refreshing and different from the usual fantasy fare despite having an obvious debt to Harry Potter and Narnia.Now starting The True Queen.
I got the The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire (The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter, Unseemly Science & The Custodian of Marvels) by Rod Duncan as an Audible Daily Deal a while back.I'm now listening my way through them and I can recommend.
A steampunk world where technology is held back to a pre-electric 19th Century stage right into the 21st Century
TRP wrote: "I got the The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire (The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter, Unseemly Science & The Custodian of Marvels) by Rod Duncan ..."I liked that series too. I think Duncan has started another series with Elizabeth.
Ruth wrote: "Just finished The Magicians which I loved, and found weirdly refreshing and different from the usual fantasy fare despite having an obvious debt to Harry Potter and Narnia.Now star..."
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I really did as well. I related to Quentin a lot. It was a bit uncomfortable, haha.
Just finished A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Apparently, it's the first in a series (and the only one released), but it comes to a satisfying conclusion after some very compelling political machinations. A good read which reminded me most of Ann Leckie's Ancillary books.
In May so far I've read: War Storm - which seemed a bit like an expected continuation of the story. I wasn't thrilled by it but I'm a completist so there we are.
Mortal Engines - I hated this in a way I haven't hated a book in a while. I'm probably not the right audience for it.
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good - A set of short stories about an elderly lady, who is up to no good. I enjoyed this much more than I expected, given that I picked it based on the cover for an "extreme reader" challenge for my local library.
The Peripheral - this has been on my to-read for a while and I decided to just go for it. I remember soaking up William Gibson novels and I didn't find myself quite so engrossed in this one. It's good, just not great.
Crooked Street - another installment in the quick-reading mystery/thriller Frost Easton series. These are like popcorn, I'll just keep going until there are no more.
Good Behavior - a set of short stories. Why is Blake Crouch so hit or miss for me? This was a miss.
Theft of Swords - finally came up in my holds list. I didn't love it, to be honest.
Walkaway - I didn't go into this book with any expectations and I loved it. I guess now I need to read other Cory Doctorow books.
Still stuck with my three nonfiction reads (all of them became a slog after a while) so I came back to fiction and will start reading Revelation Space tomorrow, and if it sucks, I'll switch to Artificial Condition since I know I'll like it.
Allison wrote: "Leviathan was a surprise. I wasn't expecting steampunk alt history war story. Well enough told, but that's not a subgenre I'm terribly compelled to read. Another good one for younger friends!Dreamsnake was sooo good! I was expecting something much different, but this hit all the right marks for me. Healer woman in a dystopia with snakes and adventures! How can I not like that!"
I have these two in my wishlist!
^^ Do you like Niven's Known Space? This book feels like an updated followup to that. I loved parts of it, slogged through others, and was about to call it a 3 when I got to a really excellent ending. This is hard SF all the way through though, and the end involves the physics of a Neutron star. I loved it, others may not.
Recently finished:Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence. Awesome!
Children of Time by Aidrian Tchaikovsky. The spiders were interesting, the humans were frustrating.
Currently reading:
The End by Charlie Higson
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in audio.
Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett.
I shelved Nemesis Games for now. I've read it before so no big deal. Picked up Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster as I am super into Chernobyl on HBO right now.
Spent the week asking Hadrian’s Wall, listening to books and reading books 📖. Finished The Warship which was workmanlike and predictable. Neal Asher is stuck in a rut and this may well be the last series I read of his.
Finished The Emerald Storm which leaves our heroes in a bad place (this is a cliff hanger in the vein of Empire Strikes Back), How will our heroes survive.
Also read The Night Masquerade which is a fantastic short book. These three are a must for any SF fan. Interesting world building in minuture
Started reading The Poppy Warand listening to Dark State which are both excellent.
Had a great talk in a B&B with a bloke who was interested in SF and fantasy. His son introduced him to Sanderson by way of The Way of Kings. He then mentioned he also liked Rothfuss but was never going to start a long series again until it is finished... Nearly broke a rib laughing....
John (Taloni) wrote: "^^ Do you like Niven's Known Space? This book feels like an updated followup to that. I loved parts of it, slogged through others, and was about to call it a 3 when I got to a really excellent endi..."Is this about Revelation Space?
The only Niven work I read was Ringworld which I hated.
Anyway, I don't actually have any expectation for RS. It's also my first Reynolds :)
I'm re-reading The Grim Almanac of Georgian London and I have just finished Botanical Folk Tales - which was awesome:)
Silvana wrote: "Is this about Revelation Space?"Revelation Space was a good book with three mediocre books stapled to it. It would have been way tighter if it dropped about five sub-plots.
I'm close to finishing The Priory of the Orange Tree which I am enjoying, and I have started the audiobook for Under Heaven. I think next up has to be Moon Rising, I loved the first two and have been saving the final installment for too long..
Finished book 9 of The Wheel of Time, Winter's Heart. I think this must be the low point of the series, not as much happened overall as in book 8 as there are several detailed POV's going on. A significant event at the end though.Also working my way through Blue Mars to finish up this trilogy. Not an easy ready to be sure.
I have been trying to read The Raven Tower but it's a real struggle. I absolutely loved the Imperial Radch. Provenance which was published after the trilogy but set in the same universe, was not as good but not horribly bad. This one is a fantasy and I just can't get into it. I know her books usually start slow and build up but man... it's a slog. I'm wondering what other poeple's experience has been and if it's worth the struggle.
Adva wrote: "I have been trying to read The Raven Tower but it's a real struggle. I absolutely loved the Imperial Radch. Provenance which was published after the ..."I struggled with the narration. The reason for the choice is clearly a spoiler.
(view spoiler)
Iain wrote: "Adva wrote: "I have been trying to read The Raven Tower but it's a real struggle. I absolutely loved the Imperial Radch. Provenance which was publish..."Hmmm... I'm a little curious now. I guess I will give it a little more time. Thanks.
Mod
I was happy to see it held up on my reread. I was finding reasons to keep listening each day, and stretching my memory to recall details I had long forgotten. It made for a few surprises and aha moments with regards to his current First Empire series Age of Myth.
Here's my original - ★★★★★ - (Review)
Rob, Age of Legend is coming July 8th, really July 7 at 9 PM, but who is counting? So that means a June re-read of the First Empire series to hit the ground running. Right now I was able to squeeze in the audiobook of Semiosis by Sue Burke and I am finding it super interesting and the split of narration by male and female performer makes the generational shifts easier to follow. just do not play the audio in front of any house plants!
Anthony wrote: "Just finished: StardustCurrently Reading: The Fifth Season and Altered Carbon
I really enjoyed Altered Carbon but it was just gruesome and violent enough to not make me want to re read it. The Netflix series was not bad and less disturbing.
Mod
This was my first reread of any of his books. I'm not sure if I'll reread the first empire books before the final book, but probably. I have too many other things to read to do a reread before the 4th though.
Currently reading: Red Moon Rising by K.A. Holt, a non-fiction book about how Obamacare got done called America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Back-Room Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System by Steven Brill, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Vol. 6: Save Our School by Brandon Montclare.
Continuing down my essay collection route I started Meaty. I'm liking it in the early going and at the very least it's an extremely fast read. These conversational essay collections never drag. Finished Rise of Empire and will get book 3 early next month with my next Libro token.
Adva wrote: "Iain wrote: "Adva wrote: "I have been trying to read The Raven Tower but it's a real struggle. I absolutely loved the Imperial Radch. Provenance whic..."I loved The Raven Tower and thought the ending was well worth the slow buildup. But then, I found the unique narrative style intriguing from the start. If you’re finding it a slog it may simply not be the book for you. Also worth noting that I listened to the audiobook of this one and Adjoa Andoh’s performance certainly enhanced my enjoyment.
Just finished The Poppy War which was a slog at times but ended with devastating brilliance.Now starting the audio book of Rosemary and Rue as read by Mary Robinette Kowal.
In ebook I’m starting The Tea Master and the Detective.
And in dead tree book I’m still on The True Queen which is a delight.
Yesterday I finished Sister Light, Sister Dark. I knew it was the first book in a trilogy, but I thought it might be a stand-alone that became a trilogy. It's not a stand-alone, but it is a good book and I plan to get to the other books sooner rather than later.
I finished up a bunch of Aliette de Bodard's shorter fiction (including Scattered Among Strange Worlds and some other Xuya stories and novellas) and, having gotten a bit of an epic fantasy jones from watching Game of Thrones, started The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham.
In the last 24 hours LA Public Library dropped not one but TWO doorstop tomes on my Kindle app: Tiamat's Wrath and Heir of Novron. Welp, am about 15% of the way through Tiamat's Wrath.First 7% I was bored stiff. Was thinking "they'd better get some advancement of the ancient war or this series will end badly." A few more percent in it looks like I got my wish.
Still seems derivative. The idea of (view spoiler) Plus the acceleration gel and oxygen-rich fluid has been done to death in Banks' Culture books. Power armor is in, well, everything. At this point I'm not sure who's stealing from who. This book has the opportunity to be a rollicking space opera even if it isn't wholly original.
Ruth wrote: "Adva wrote: "Iain wrote: "Adva wrote: "I have been trying to read The Raven Tower but it's a real struggle. I absolutely loved the Imperial Radch. [book:Provenance|2..."I'm giving it a second chance since everyone keeps mentioning the great ending. So now I'm curious...
Catching up on things, I finished Theft of Swords, which I still enjoy. I also started and finished The Martian Chronicles (overall: meh, I liked the beginning more than the end). Now, I'm listening to Nimona, which is a short story I guess (under 3 hour audiobook) and is so far fun.Up next? Who knows. Life is weird right now.
Finished Semiosis which was a great, solid SF audiobook and now moved on to the audio of Season of Storms. Nice to be in the Geralt of Rivia's World again. Still plugging away at Dune .
Just finished a reread of The Final Empire. It was just as good as it always is! Also finished Ones and ZeroesStarted listening to Death Bringer and started reading Active Memory.
Silvana wrote: "Allison wrote: "Leviathan was a surprise. I wasn't expecting steampunk alt history war story. Well enough told, but that's not a subgenre I'm terribly compelled to read. Another good one for younge..."I can't wait to see what you think!!
Terpkristin, that's interesting you're reading Nimona as audiobook! I read it as a graphic novel and it was adorable. Curious how they'd handle it in audio, but I imagine well enough--I listened to Book Thief which apparently has pictures in it in the eye-reading version.
Still reading the other two I mentioned, but made a quick dive for The Birthgrave (her earlier stuff is even weirder than Night's Master!) and Clockwork Boys which was cute but not really written for me.
And then idk what happened, but I started reading Strange the Dreamer and hooolyyyyy sh** I am just blown away!
Juts finished The Poppy War -- Man that was depressing. The book is well written and the characterisation works. I just didn't need to go there this week.(view spoiler)
I think I need a break from SF and will read The Shepherd's Hut
Finished Finder, Suzanne Palmer's debut novel. Very generic but solidly plotted sci-fi.Currently reading Ted Chiang's new collection which is obviously great.
Allison wrote: "Terpkristin, that's interesting you're reading Nimona as audiobook! I read it as a graphic novel and it was adorable. Curious how they'd handle it in audio, but I imagine well enough--I listened to Book Thief which apparently has pictures in it in the eye-reading version."It's cute! And it's a full-cast recording (such as there is a full cast), which makes it more fun.
About the finish Little Fires Everywhere on audiobook and downloaded Calypso which is about the exact amount of time it takes to drive up north and back. Little Fires Everywhere has given me seething frustration toward some of the privileged suburbanites and I regret that this is not a GoT-style epic fantasy where heads will start being lopped at some point. There are some heads primed for lopping IMO.
Finished Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. I really enjoyed the book. It was informative and also horrifying. My review.Now I'm re-reading A Game of Thrones.
Well, the Game of Thrones finale left me hankering after the final books in ASoIaF... sadly they don’t exist yet.Fortunately, fanfic exists.
So I’m starting The North Remembers which is an epic conclusion to the series. I’ve only just started but the first few chapters are as well-written as anything GRRM has produced.
Ruth wrote: "Well, the Game of Thrones finale left me hankering after the final books in ASoIaF... sadly they don’t exist yet."Yet.
Heh.
I admire your optimism.
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Witchmark (other topics)Six of Crows (other topics)
Godblind (other topics)
Rosemary and Rue (other topics)
Calypso (other topics)
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Seanan McGuire (other topics)Douglas Adams (other topics)
Douglas Adams (other topics)
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C.J. Cherryh (other topics)
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In print I just finished Tropic of Kansas which I think I got a while back as a random book from being a supporter on Patreon. I didn't read it for a long time because I wasn't sure the post apocalyptic USA self destructing story was my thing. So, not my favorite book or subject by any means but I thought it was an easy read with lots of very short chapters swapping between two viewpoints.
Not sure what to read now. I seem to be in a slump. Maybe I should just listen to some music for a while and reset.