What else are you reading - August 2021

[Rob, Roberator]

August is here, what are you reading this month?

[Trike]

Just finished Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To, a non-fiction book that feels decidedly science fictional in its outlook about the possibility of life extension.

Just started an actual SF book, One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Time travel with a morally-gray, humorous narrator. It’s short at 138 pages and I’m already halfway through.

[Robert]

Yesterday I finished Wayfinder by Kaitlin Bellamy, the third book in her Mapweaver Chronicles. To help a god recover his lost memories, the heroes have to break a thief out of a prison in another realm. The characters are great, the plot has some fine twists and turns, and there's growth for our main heroes. I enjoyed this, and I plan on reading the fourth book after I finish a few others.

[John (Taloni)]

Trike wrote: "Just started an actual SF book, One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky."

Looks interesting! And LA Library has it. I tagged it on Hold.

[Chris K.]

I just finished Inside Straight, part of the Wild Cards series. So now I'm on to Busted Flush.

Also decided to give The Player of Games by Banks a try.

[Ruth]

I’ve been listening to a non-fiction audiobook: Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. It’s completely fascinating- I’m never going to look at a mushroom the same way again!

[Misti]

My library hold on The Mysterious Benedict Society came in. It's a middle-grade series so it should be a quick read. I've been enjoying the series on Disney+ and wanted to see how it compares to the book.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Ruth wrote: "I’ve been listening to a non-fiction audiobook: Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. It’s completel..."

Oooooh, I have that one! Must listen to it soon. I came across Merlin (memorable name) through a different book which had a brief section on fungi, and this became a ‘must buy’ but I haven’t found the time for it yet. Soon, I think.

I’m currently working my way through some library books. Just starting A Pocketful of Crows (it looked so pretty!) and in the middle of a really interesting book called A History of Women in Medicine: Cunning Women, Physicians, Witches.

[Silvana]

Citadel by Marko Kloos. Somehow I've a feeling it's not the last book in the series, I hope I'm wrong.

[Robert]

Yesterday I finished The Tea Master and the Detective. It's a novella about a sentient ship and a detective in search of a corpse. There's a real Sherlock Holmes vibe to the story, but the background evokes East Asian cultures. I enjoyed reading it.

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

I just finished Persephone Station High 3 Stars & started last months pick Consider Phlebas which I am really enjoying now that I am into the swing of it. Already got The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry on my loan shelf on Libby, so it's next. Soon after I'm going to listen to Dead Moon by Peter Clines.

[Joseph]

Started N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished


The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started


Wool by Hugh Howey

[Geoff]

I just finished The Thief, which was highly recommended by Lois McMaster Bujold. I was skeptical at first as it is marketed as a YA or even younger. However, it was really good! It reminded me of A Wizard of Earthsea in that is was written simply, without overtly referencing mature themes, and yet completely satisfying for an adult reader.

Next up: The Witness for the Dead, the sequel to The Goblin Emperor.

[Trike]

I read Rabbits, which is billed as SF but it isn’t. Easily one of the worst books I’ve read this year.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Iain]

Just finished listening to Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky which is a pretty darned impressive debut novel (at least I think it is his first). Not surprisingly the best feature is the world building which is impressive. Reads a bit like a D&D adventure but is an enjoyable romp.

Trudging through The End of the Affair for a in person book group and boy is it dreary. Why does "literature" have to be so depressing.

Next onto The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry.

[Sheila Jean]

Finished the audiobook for Nolyn by Michael J. Sullivan. I enjoyed it well enough, though I believe it's the first in a "series" of Stand Alone novels so we should see how they tie together.

Trying out The Sandman Audiobook which I picked up during the promotion of Acts II and III. Just finished the first part and am still unsure what I think of the audio drama format. I don't mind multiple voices, but I'm not sold on the sound effects.

Kinda reading The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker, another Golem and Jinni book. I'm not going to finish it before the book expires and goes to another library patron. I'll probably try to get it out again, but at this point I'm not feeling super invested. I have ideas on where it's going, so I might finish later just to see if I was right.

[Trike]

Sheila Jean wrote: "Kinda reading The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker, another Golem and Jinni book. I'm not going to finish it before the book expires and goes to another library patron. I'll probably try to get it out again, but at this point I'm not feeling super invested. I have ideas on where it's going, so I might finish later just to see if I was right."

I thought the book was slow to start but picked up later, and it ended up being 5 stars for me. YMMV of course.

[John (Nevets)]

Sheila Jean wrote: "Finished the audiobook for Nolyn by Michael J. Sullivan. I enjoyed it well enough, though I believe it's the first in a "series" of Stand Alone novels so we should ..."

So that was the one I Beta read last year. I believe you were the one who mentioned they were looking for new to him reviewers. I think I'm going get a chance to read the final version, but haven't yet. It will be interesting to see what changed and what stayed the same.

[Robert]

Yesterday I finished The Runabout: A Diving Novel. It's the sixth book in the Diving Universe series.

Boss and her team are in "The Boneyards," an area of space where there are derelict Fleet starships. While attempting to recover on of those Fleet ships, they spot a runabout with a star drive. However, a ship that small isn't supposed to have such a drive. They take risks in trying to figure out what the runabout is.

It's follows on the fifth book in the series, but also carries on the series overall. It's fast and exciting. I really am liking this series.

[Stephen]

I finished Nolyn in two days. On to this months pick, and an old Star Wars book Heir to the Jedi because sometime you need sound effects in your audiobook.

[Rob, Roberator]

Silvana wrote: "Citadel by Marko Kloos. Somehow I've a feeling it's not the last book in the series, I hope I'm wrong."

Not sure if you've finished yet, but I'd be curious to hear the verdict on that. I liked his Frontline series but I feel like it's dragged on too long.

[Ruth]

Finished Any Way the Wind Blows which was a satisfying conclusion to the unintentional fantasy YA trilogy from Rainbow Rowell.

Now reading The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, a horror book I picked up at Fantasy Con in October 2019 because it came recommended for readers of Paul Tremblay. Enjoying it so far.

[Colin]

Just finished up The Woman Who Died a Lot - the last (for now?) of the Thursday Next novels. Not my favourite of the series, but it's been on my TBR for ages so at least I feel a little bit satisfied for having ticked it off the list.

Continuing the Thursday theme (which is appropriate today!), I've started The Thursday Murder Club by British TV celeb turned author, Richard Osman. No S&L content, just seemed like it would be a pleasant diversion.

[Tamahome]

Dresden Files #2 review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Think youtuber Brian Lee Durfee is getting me to read the first James Lee Burke Robicheaux thriller book The Neon Rain next. NEON RAIN / James Lee Burke / Book Review / Brian Lee Durfee (spoiler free) I liked Tommy Lee Jones playing him in In The Electric Mist movie. In the Electric Mist - OFFICIAL TRAILER

[John (Taloni)]

Read three of the St. Mary's time travel books by Jodi Taylor - No Time Like the Past, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, and Lies, Damned Lies, and History. These are largely satisfying short books that visit events both large and small from history. Major ones like the stand at Thermopylae or Joan of Arc's execution, and little ones like a coronation with a spurned wife outside the church.

There's plenty of ongoing intrigue with a set of rogue time agents screwing with the main group. Many intriguing takes on historical events.

I did notice a bit of sameness after a while. The historical events chosen are those a person with a classical British education might select. We go as far as Troy and Alexandria, but not to Asia or South America.

The only real mention of the US is that it's closed off somehow. There's also a mention of Communism as a negative force. When I saw that I flashed on the Cultural Revolution of China, so eloquently depicted in The Three Body Problem. Or the brutal killings of Cambodia's Killing Fields. Perhaps the Soviet Georgian famine or the gulags. No, instead the author wanted to complain about McCarthyism. Not the best moment in US history but a pale breeze compared to the hurricane of death in other situations.

Other authors start with a focus and grow beyond it. Gail Carriger begins in the Steampunk mainstay of Victorian London, but by the third book they are exploring Italy. The Custard Protocol takes us to South America and then Asia.

Or one of my other faves, Poul Anderson. Known both for historical time travel works and hard SF, his early time travel works are set in the Scandinavia that he knows and loves. Later on he has characters in Asia and the Americas. Or for that matter Andre Norton, who begins in the past of Northern Europe, but then through an admittedly silly "past regression" technique, has characters bringing forth the history of the Russian Steppe peoples as well as Native Americans.

Anyway, the modestly provincial outlook of the St. Mary's books don't kill the fun for me. They are intricately designed, well plotted, and have just the right touch of humor. It's just that the moment of "hey wait, there's so much else that never gets looked at" takes it down perhaps from a raging five stars to four and a half. I'll still read all of them and the short stories too. Just would have been nice for the author to broaden the scope.

[John (Taloni)]

Of course, while reading a bunch of time travel books, I then picked up..another time travel book! It's One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky. There's a beautiful setup that I won't spoil, and a slow set of reveals that takes you on a roller coaster ride. The sly language kept me smiling throughout.

I didn't love the ending, so that reduced the fun just a little bit. Didn't hate it, just found it okay-ish. Still a solid read. Some other people might think the ending adds to the enjoyment. Either way, a definite recommend.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the last of the three-volume collection of original Conan stories:


The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the fifth book in the Discworld series


Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

[Jerimy]

Finished:

To Venus! To Venus! by David Grennell, a science fiction novella depicting a race between Russia and America to be the first to land on Venus. A little dated, but I envisioned an entertaining movie that could have been made from it.

In a Glass Darkly by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, a collection of Gothic Horror short stories and a full-length novella. Aside from all of the misprints, it was fun to read.

Currently reading,

The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis. This is another gothic horror. I have made it nearly to the end and have to admit that the story is appalling. That doesn't mean that I don't like it, just that it is taboo and strange. The book was originally published in 1794.

World War Z, by Max Brooks. This book is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror. A little over 100 pages deep right now. I like the way it is written. It is an oral history of the "Zombie War," written in the fashion of interviews with survivors, and those who had a hand in what happened.

Blind Spot in the Mind, by Manly P. Hall. This is a short work about how not to worry so much. It's worth a read, but be aware that Manly P. Hall was also known for his occult associations.

[Joanna]

Caught up with the newest Becky Chamber’s novella A Psalm for the Wild-Built , another one in which not much happens in an engrosing way.
Started Suzanne Palmers’ The Scavenger Door , and I already want to hug a large green five-legged spider ;-)

[William]

Finally finished Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Loved it but wish it was shorter. Doorstopper fantasy is good but takes forever to read, and then by the time I'm done, I've forgotten about half of it. Ah well. Now I'm reading some old comics and Chris Reis's memoir, co-written with his dad. Interesting read. I went to high school with Chris, so it's fun to know a former NFL player-turned-published author!

[Ruth]

I’ve just started The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, author of previous S&L pick The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Also reading The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson.

In non-fiction, I recently devoured One of Them by Musa Okwonga, a memoir of life at Eton which is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the British class system and politics.

[Richard]

I'm going to attend DisCon so I am reading the nominees as fast as I can before the voting deadline. I'm reading the sequel to Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. What a surreal experience so far. Next will be Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, since we already read Trail of Lightning, so I'm families with her work.

[Joseph]

Decided to do a dive into Appendix N with Fred Saberhagen's Empire of the East. (I read some number of the Swords and Lost Swords books back in high school, but at that point I didn't realize they were continuations of an earlier trilogy.)

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Started reading Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman

An indigenous aboriginal sci-fi tale about colonial Australia.

This book has been on my radar for a few months and with Tom "likely" to choose this as September's book pick, I thought I'd get a head start. I would have read it soon anyway.

I can't say too much about why it's sci-fi, as that would be a huge spoiler. It's "Rabbit Proof Fence" meets another big movie I won't mention because it is spoilery 😉

[Iain]

Tassie Dave wrote: "Started reading Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman

An indigenous aboriginal sci-fi tale about colonial Australia.

This book has been on my radar for a few months..."

The book is fantastic. The audiobook is tremendously good as well (great voice actors) I have this one 5 stars.

[John (Taloni)]

Hm. Well, I do have a spot in my reading list. And there's a copy at the LA Public Library. Some people say it's not really SF, what's your thoughts? I also hear that it's very important to avoid spoilers for this book so vague thoughts please. :)

...I went ahead and checked it out of the library so it's up next after "Young Flandry," a three book compilation by Poul Anderson that I'm almost done with. Will be quite a change from "James Bond in space."

[Geoff]

Joseph wrote: "Decided to do a dive into Appendix N with Fred Saberhagen's Empire of the East. (I read some number of the Swords and Lost Swords books back in high school, but at that ..."

Wait... what? Same, I read the Swords books way back, and had no idea that there was a related series. I don't think I ever finished the Lost Swords books either, because they were still being written. I'm not sure I want to go back though.

[Sheila Jean]

Finished off the audio for The Sandman and I stand by my original assessment that I'm not a big fan of the sound effects. I enjoyed most of the stories and narration. Will consider Act II when it comes out of I'm looking for a new listen.

Went on to finish off the 4th Chronicles of St Mary's book, which was overall a light easy listen as expected.

Now, I've just started Project Hail Mary. I keep thinking the character is someone from another Ray Porter narrated book, but I'm sure that will pass as I continue.

On the ebook front I'm waiting for another chance to check out another copy of The Hidden Palace since (as expected) I did not finish before the overdrive library gods took it back for another patron.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I'm 80% through Terra Nullius and it is excellent. It would make a great pick, if Tom does choose it.

A great book set in Oz. Written by an Indigenous black trans lesbian Aussie woman. It ticks off a lot of diversity boxes.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Hm. Well, I do have a spot in my reading list. And there's a copy at the LA Public Library. Some people say it's not really SF, what's your thoughts? I also hear that it's very important to avoid s..."

Very important to avoid spoilers and it is, most definitely, Sci-Fi.

[Jerimy]

Joanna wrote: "Caught up with the newest Becky Chamber’s novella A Psalm for the Wild-Built, another one in which not much happens in an engrosing way.
Started Suzanne Palmers’ [book:The Scavenger..."

Just started "Long Way to a Small Angry Planet" I really like the way Becky uses dialog to tell the story. This is the first book I have looked at of hers. What do you like about the books that you are reading?

[Iain]

Tassie Dave wrote: "I'm 80% through Terra Nullius and it is excellent. It would make a great pick, if Tom does choose it.

A great book set in Oz. Written by an Indigenous black trans lesbian Aussie woman. It ticks of..."

It is a slow burn.. The pay off is immense and trust in the reader is definitely repaid. Her other book The Old Lie is more straight forwardly SF touching similar themes. It looks like another book is due out next year...

[William]

Ruth wrote: "I’ve just started The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow, author of previous S&L pick The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

Also reading [book:..." How is Once and Future Witches? I've read Ten Thousand Doors of January and loved it!

[Ruth]

William wrote: "How is Once and Future Witches? I've read Ten Thousand Doors of January and loved it!"

It's good so far, an intriguing setup with three sisters' intertwining lives.
I haven't made much progress on it yet because I've also started reading The Secret Lives of Colour, a non-fiction book about the history of different colours and pigments which is extremely fascinating.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Joseph wrote: "Decided to do a dive into Appendix N with Fred Saberhagen's Empire of the East. (I read some number of the Swords and Lost Swords books back in high school, but at that ..."

I need to get around to those Swords books.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

I finally read The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (she writes so fast I had two books by her on my eARC backlog! I made myself read this one before Velvet Was the Night)

It's like... alt history or just nameless vague regency plus a little bit of telekinetic magic. No Mexican folklore or mythology elements that I can identify although some reviews have labeled it as "telenovela" - perhaps only because of who the author is? It has quite a few similarities to Shades of Milk and Honey but the pacing is quite slow - I found myself skimming to the parts between Nina and Hector.

[John (Nevets)]

Finished both Fall or, Dodge in Hell and The House in the Cerulean Sea this week. It has taken me about 18 months or so to work through the first and less then 7 days for the later.

I started Fall as something I would read on airplane flights, and then 2020 happened. I also was in the middle of the book at the time, and it was feeling a bit like a slog, after starting out really strong, so I was in no rush to finish. So I read several other books before picking it up again. I got through the sluggish part, and actually really enjoyed the ending. I'm not sure why, but it just really worked for me. But it also might have been just a good feeling of being done with something that had taken me so long to finish.

House was a bit of a rush through, since I only had a 7 day loan from the library for the audiobook, and it had taken a few months to get to the front of the line. I can say I enjoyed that book from beginning to end, and the narration was excellent. The beginning gave me a bit of surprise since the Linus had a few similarities to myself, and I wasn't sure how I thought about that. But in the end the story was great, and it was fun to see him and the rest of the characters grow.

[John (Taloni)]

I misread that first one and now want to see memes about Doge in hell. Maybe we can work in the fall of Dogecoin.

[Rick]

Aside from re-reading Snake Agent (great fun), I read the last of Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim books, King Bullet, a very good conclusion to the series. If you like urban fantasy, the Sandman Slim stuff is well worth checking out but *DO NOT* start here as it's, well, the end. Start at the first book (duh). Kadrey got better as the series went on and Stark ( the main character) actually became much more fully realized and his arc more complex over the last third of the series.

I also grabbed and read Beck Chambers' new novella A Psalm for the Wild-Built which I liked but felt a little too like it was working through some issues. For me, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within was much superior (read that last month).

[Silvana]

Starting a nonfic but since it's a Hugo nominee it should still be relevant for this thread: A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler

Rob wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Citadel by Marko Kloos. Somehow I've a feeling it's not the last book in the series, I hope I'm wrong."

Not sure if you've finished yet, but I'd be..."

Well, it is still a bit draggy, lots of setups in this third novel. I have a feeling the series might run as long as Frontline (which has not even finished).