What else are you reading - December 2020

[Silvana]

Finally finished Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora after slowly reading it since last month. What a wonderful anthology, a good starting point if you're curious about Afrofuturism.

I also finished The Bone Shard Daughter. It has a promising magic system yet the characters did not engage me much. I still probably continue with the sequel if there's a discount.

I am listening to The Empress of Salt and Fortune now and will soon start The Stone Wētā, which likely will be my last SFF book this year.

[TRP]

Just read New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction by Kingsley Amis
This is a non-fiction survey of Science Fiction from 1960.
It was interesting how the author manages to mention a lot of (for him) recent authors and books that are regarded a classic now.
He also talks about how science fiction authors are not afforded the respect that more literary authors get when they dabble in science fiction.

[Tamahome]

84% through The Way of Kings.

[Louie]

Louie wrote: "I wanted to try this last year, but could not get a copy from the library early enough, but I plan on reading A Christmas Carol, as I believe Tom once said he tries to read it once a year in December."

Now I remember why I did not read this last year. The only version my library had available was the annotated edition, with a 114 page introduction. And for a first read, I want just the plain text without all the added stuff. Maybe next year, again.

[John (Taloni)]

^ Y'all know it's available for free from Gutenberg Press, right?

http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/46

[Louie]

John (Taloni) wrote: "^ Y'all know it's available for free from Gutenberg Press, right?"

I'd much prefer a paper edition.

[Trike]

Louie wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "^ Y'all know it's available for free from Gutenberg Press, right?"

I'd much prefer a paper edition."

You could print it. It’s only like a 60-page novella.

[Iain]

Trike wrote: "Louie wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "^ Y'all know it's available for free from Gutenberg Press, right?"

I'd much prefer a paper edition."

You could print it. It’s only like a 60-page novella."

Standard ebook. https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/cha...

[Rick]

His name crossed my path, so I checked out some Timothy Zahn. Not his SW tie-ins, but the first of a several book series, Night Train to Rigel. It's a fun, pretty standard plot (former secret agent recruited by mysterious faction to prevent catastrophe, but not all is as it seems) with SF trappings.

It's one of those books to grab when you want to read something that just flows through a plot that's involved enough without being obtuse and with good but not super-complex characters. That might sound like faint praise, but I *like* those books sometimes and they definitely have a place, at least in my library.

[Tamahome]

I heard Zahn say in an interview once he creates suspense in another way besides threatening the life of the characters?

[Sheila Jean]

Finished A Deadly Education which was a relatively easy YA read. Also read two novellas this weekend: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir and Take a Look at the Five and Ten by Connie Willis.

Still have to finish The Burning God, which I should be able to do once I sign off work for the year later today.

In audio I've finally started Rhythm of War. I'm a whole 3 hours in! Earlier this month I finished Regenesis (long for what actually happens) and The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith which I found to be a decently fun second installment in this world.

[Robert]

I’ve read three planetary romances by Leigh Brackett: “Enchantress of Venus,” “Queen of the Martian Catacombs,” and “Black Amazon of Mars.” They had exciting plots but were also quite moody. I quite enjoyed them, and I’m planning on reading a few more of her novellas.

[Tamahome]

100% of the way through The Way of Kings. Where is my Shardblade? https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Calvey]

I am listening to Ready Player Two. About 1/2 way through. I think I like where it is going...but reserving my right to change that.

[Geoff]

I finished The Golden Wolf. A worthy wrap to the trilogy. More historical fiction than fantasy (based on Norse sagas), but S&L readers would probably enjoy it.

Next up a re-read: The Fall of Hyperion. I really enjoyed re-reading Hyperion, so I'm looking forward to this one. Not sure if I'll go on to the Endymion follow-ups, though.

[Rick]

Tamahome wrote: "I heard Zahn say in an interview once he creates suspense in another way besides threatening the life of the characters?"

Hmm... well there's one long scene where the characters are under mortal threat but it's done to get to a reveal, so I'll give it a partial pass.

This particular book is more of a mystery within mystery (was the protagonist really hired for the stated reason or is there more going on?) so I don't know that there's a lot of suspense in the sense of will they live, will they win, etc?

It's a good, easy read and if you're looking for a SF mystery it's worth grabbing from the library or at a reasonable price. I don't mean that as faint praise at all; it's a 3-3.5 star read for me (where 3 stars is 'good, recommended). It's not "OMG best book I read this year!" material but it was involving, kept me picking the book up and reading.

It IS the first book in a series but you don't need to keep reading. It's complete in itself and one of those that you can continue on with or stop, as you wish.

[db]

Just finished, Things In Jars, a mystery with magical realism set in Victorian London. Suspenseful, mysterious, dark...

[db]

Just finished, The Midnight Library, which is a magical realism story about living many lives and traveling in time.

[Calvey]

I just finished listening to Ready Player Two. I liked it though I have some problems with it. (view spoiler)[ Being a Prince fan, I didn't care for the Prince planet/boss fight, it felt like it ran on forever. Then at the end it seemed rushed for the last 2 shards. (hide spoiler)]

I am curious if they will make it a movie...and (view spoiler)[ I would use an ONI headset...so get that tech here now!...Unless Mark Zuckerberg creates it, then I may pause. (hide spoiler)]

[Louie]

Calvey wrote: "I just finished listening to Ready Player Two. I liked it though I have some problems with it. [spoilers removed]

I am curious if they will make it a movie...and [spoilers removed]"

I felt the same about that first spoiler. And there is a movie in development. But who knows if it will make it to cinemas at this point.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished


Blackout by Connie Willis
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

[Geoff]

I just finished The Fall of Hyperion, a re-read. I enjoyed it, and really appreciate how it tied together all the wacky shit from the first book in a way that sort of actually made sense. I was not as engrossed by it as I was with Hyperion, though. Also, that makes 60 books read in 2020, a record for me as an adult! Yay Coronavirus!

Next I am reading The Aeneid in support of my daughter who is reading it in high school (and also because I've always wanted to read it).

[Tamahome]

The Shelf Wear podcast just talked about the Hyperion books. https://www.shelfwear.com/book-6-hype... (Scott is from Sffaudio and A Good Story is Hard to Find)

[Geoff]

Tamahome wrote: "The Shelf Wear podcast just talked about the Hyperion books. https://www.shelfwear.com/book-6-hype... (Scott is from Sffaudio and A Good Story is Hard to F..."

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

[Ruth]

Finished reading The House in the Cerulean Sea which was every bit as delightful as I’d been informed.
Now starting Blood of Elves in a bid to have more idea of what’s going on by the time season 2 of The Witcher drops on Netflix.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Some of my longterm library holds came in so I am reading:

Network Effect by Martha Wells, still in audio (my library does audio through Libby now, which is a change)

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

[Trike]

Just finished Not Your Sidekick, which is a bit of a hot YA mess.

My holds for Mexican Gothic, Empire of Wild and Falling in Love with Hominids all came in yesterday. I wonder if I can squeeze in two more?

I’m also halfway through The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power, which is awesome so far. Definitely 5-star material.

[AndrewP]

I was looking for some seasonal tales so picked up The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Lot's and lots of stories, but the problem is it's a BIG book. 650 pages of what must have been very small print in the dead tree edition.

[Trike]

AndrewP wrote: "I was looking for some seasonal tales so picked up The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Lot's and lots of stories, but the problem is it's a BIG book. 650 pages of what must have be..."

Ironically made from pine trees.

[Iain]

Finished my years reading with Network Effect. A good finish to a crap year.... Now onto 2021...

[Trike]

Finishing the month/year out with Mexican Gothic, one of my top two Science Fiction novels of the year.

You read that right. The spoiler-hidden part of my review explains why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Silvana]

Finished a wonderful cli-fi novella The Stone Wētā. Highly recommended!

[Joseph]

I started Child of Flame and given that it's 900+ pages long, I very strongly expect it's the last book I'll be starting in 2020.