SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading in 2022?
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Gary
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Mar 13, 2022 03:34PM
Finished reading The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth #2) by N.K. Jemisin. Great follow-up and award winner. I also read The Sixth Wicked Child (4MK #3) by J.D. Barker. It’s the stunning conclusion of the trilogy with a very satisfying ending. I am reading Sharp Ends (First Law World #7) by Joe Abercrombie. It’s a collection of thirteen short stories. I plan to read The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi next. They will publish it on March 22, 2022. Can’t wait, I’m going to start reading it on that day.
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Colin wrote: "Karin wrote: "Redshirts is a must-read for anyone who watched Star Trek, IMO"Agree with you, Karin. If you have watched Star Trek - the original Star Trek - this book is hilarious."
I second that. Such a fun book.
Moon Called: this might have been "the right book at the right time" for me if it had come out in the mid-'90s. As is, meh. The werewolves were too stereotypical, Mercy was too conveniently isolated from other women*, and the story and writing never got its hooks into me, for whatever reason. (review)* I've enjoyed many stories that fail the Bechdel, to be fair. but when I'm struggling to get through a book, I am more inclined to nitpick about things like that.
I just read Iron Heart, the sequel to Crier's War, which blends fantasy with some horror and sci-fi and romance elements really well. The next fantasy book I'm going to read is Skin of the Sea
I'm almost done, The Dragonet Prophecy. My eight year old has been burning through the series, so I thought I'd be a good Dad and see what he's reading - have a little book club kind of thing.
Turns out it is very violent!
There are Dragons fighting in gladiator style arenas, ripping each other to bits, burning each other up...
This is one of those situations where if it were a movie, it might be tramatic for the kid (or me). But, I think this is where books are different. You make up your own vision of things when you read, you envision stuff you can handle.
Maybe I'm totally off?
But, I remember reading war books when I was ten and totally being okay with it. But, thinking back, there were some gruesome things!
Recent and current... Octavia Gone a decent entry in the Alex Benedict series. These are formulaic and mostly entertaining but this was a bit too long.
Current: About 1/3 into The Kaiju Preservation Society. Very fun Scalzi
Also reading Infidel, 2nd in the God's War trilogy. Nyx is very broken but also a really good character and Hurley can write.
On deck: The Sirens of Titan.
Yeah I was reading adult books back then too Mathew as was my eldest. The other two read books but not that much. When my kids were reading anything my husband or I read it too. We never stopped them reading anything but we did make sure one of us had read it just in case they had any questions. That’s how I got into Harry Potter. I got the first one for my middle son when Goblet of Fire was released and read it before I gave it to him. I think he was about 8 at the time. I loved it and so did he. It was then passed around the family and within the month we had all 4 of them and bought the new ones on release day with everyone fighting over them. But yeah any books they had to read for school I’d read them as soon as they got them as well. They had to read some pretty good books for school.
Just a couple of chapters into Sons of Sol by Kevin Mcnally and definitely enjoying it.There's a certain English charicature about the characters that keeps a light-hearted feeling in a serious plot.
Read and really enjoyed Nine Princes in Amber. It wasn't at all what I had expected but was still very good. Does the rest of the series hold up?My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Phrynne wrote: "Read and really enjoyed Nine Princes in Amber. It wasn't at all what I had expected but was still very good. Does the rest of the series hold up? ..."I reread this series a few years ago and came away with mixed but mostly positive feelings about it. The first five books ("The Corwin Cycle") worked best for me. I wish there had been more women who had clearer agency, but that aside these books were a wild and enjoyable ride. These five books are a complete story arc.
The rest of the books ("The Merlin Cycle") pick up again at a later time and with a different primary character. I never warmed up to that character or his story and so some of these dragged a bit for me.
As an aside, I lived near the author when he was writing parts of the series and at times I could see the area reflected in the settings and situations. That was fun.
Thanks Raucous and Michelle. I will definitely move on with the first cycle at least!
I have been reading the Vorkosigan series and haven't been posting the titles as I've been going. I'm reading them in chronological order for the most part. The last two I finished were Ethan of Athos and Borders of Infinity
Borders of Infinity is one of my favorites.
No idea when I last wrote here. This year so far I'm stubbornly completing Eva's series challenge, going mainly for series I can get as audiobooks since my eye reading time has melted down to nearly zero.I've started/finished
"The Echoes of the Fall" by Adrian Tchaikovsky - a series about battling fractions of humans who can turn into respective animals typical for their people. For me on the weaker side of this author.
"Wax and Wayne" by Brandon Sanderson - a heist kind of series 300 years after Mistborn. Fascinating characters, but a plot not so interesting for me.
"The Books of Babel" by Josiah Bancroft - super interesting and entertaining steam punk/pirate series about a man losing his wife in a mysterious tower city. - my series highlight so far this year.
"Uplift Saga" by David Brin - In theory an interesting concept. Däniken's idea of uplifting species through extraterrestrial intervention put in the field. But I bounced off the character writing and plot structure so hard, that I only slogged through it for completion's sake. Not my cup of tea.
"The Poppy War" by R.F. Kuang, the super brutal story of mean people doing mean things to each other in the name of winnig a war. Very well written, but perhaps not the best reading material for people who are emotionally involved in the ongoing war in RL atm.
"The Carls" by Hank Green - this was a surprisingly nice read about some youths taking on the world via their internet pop culture influencer status after extraterrestrials land on Earth. Good food for thought about the power of social media.
"Sleepless" by Nancy Kress - a series about the next stage(s) of humans become transhumans and the consequences for society. Very good concept and in parts good writing, yet a bit bumpy in other parts.
"New Crobuzon" by China Miéville - I totally adored the first book and was severly disappointed by the second (I could not connect at all). Now I'm dreading to go on with the third (cause it costs me an audible credit) - but being a completionist ...
I’ve recently picked up the Vorkosigan Saga again. I’m listening to Cetaganda ATM. Somehow I missed it, so I’ve read some that chronologically come later. I haven’t read Borders of Infinity though yet.
Gabi, I feel the same way about the Uplift Saga, although I can’t put my finger on why I haven’t loved them. I listened, so maybe they would’ve been better as an eye-read? I’ve only read the first 2. I will read the 3rd but leave it there. I loved the full-length Beggars in Spain (although the ending was just weird), but haven’t read any of the others in the series. You might like her Probability trilogy. I love Probability Moon, but haven’t read the others.
DivaDiane wrote: "Gabi, I feel the same way about the Uplift Saga, although I can’t put my finger on why I haven’t loved them. I listened, so maybe they would’ve been better as an eye-read? I’ve only read the first ..."I also have listened to the Uplift Saga and indeed I think some of my problems with books might be caused by the audiobook narrator. I'm still of the opinion that a really good story can't be destroyed by a mediocre narrator - but a mediocre story can be brought down for sure.
But it is also the character writing. There are so many authors with really good ideas, but a character grasp that feels a bit like pulp fiction - and that kills it for me every time. (and for what is worth it: I liked the last three books less than the first three)
I will definitely read more Nancy Kress. I like how her brain works.
Stephanie, I LOVED The Count of Monte Cristo!! Isn't the dialogue great in that book?
My recent reading has been all over the place. As far as our genre is concerned I’ve been into Tolkien: read The Fall of Gondolin for the first time, reread The Silmarillion and Tom Shippey’s J. R. R. Tolkien, currently reading Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth, which I haven’t read before.
I've recently stumbled across the Castle Waiting series. Super fun! Sadly there don't seem to be any more.Castle Waiting, Vol. 1
Castle Waiting, Vol. 2
Finally started reading/listening to Gideon the Ninth. Don't know why I waited so long to start this series. I've already ordered Harrow the Ninth and will no doubt pick it up as soon as Gideon is done.
Other titles I've been working on are:
The God of Lost Words
Mickey 7
1632
When I'm finished with Gideon my next audiobook will be Under the Whispering Door.
Stephen wrote: "My recent reading has been all over the place. As far as our genre is concerned I’ve been into Tolkien: read The Fall of Gondolin for the first time, reread [book:The Silmarillion|9..."Stephen,
From that list of books, you would be someone who would appreciate The Prancing Pony Podcast. Their main discussions have covered The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and the first half of The Lord of the Rings (currently doing Book IV), and their other segments have touched on pretty much everything Tolkien has written.
Thread duty:
I am reading Star Trek: Q-in-Law by Peter David, Dune: House Atreides by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, and Queen: All the Songs by Benoit Clerc.
Brandon wrote: "Stephen wrote: "My recent reading has been all over the place. As far as our genre is concerned I’ve been into Tolkien: read The Fall of Gondolin for the first time, reread [book:Th..."Thanks Brandon, I’ll check it out.
I've just begun T. Kingfisher's Paladin series. Oh my goodness. I have laughed out loud during the first one. Loved it! Now onto book two.
Gabi wrote: "No idea when I last wrote here. This year so far I'm stubbornly completing Eva's series challenge, going mainly for series I can get as audiobooks since my eye reading time has melted down to nearl..."My library has the first Hank Green book (The Carls) so I'm going to try it. I'm not usually much for YA, but I'll give this one a go. Nothing to lose.
I read Nancy Kress's Probability Moon quite some time ago and remember liking it, but can hardly recall the content of the book. I'm pretty sure I read Probability Sun as well. Maybe it's time to revisit Nancy Kress. Ugh. Autocorrect keeps changing it to Nancy Dress. No, machine, it's Kress!
Jan wrote: "... Ugh. Autocorrect keeps changing it to Nancy Dress. No, machine, it's Kress"Mine autocorrects Scalzi to Scampi.
On a related note, I've been listening to The Kaiju Preservation Society. It's got a beach read feel to it (and I did listen to it on the way to the beach last week). The plot is kinda fun but the dialogue is annoying - enough that I'm unsure about finishing it.
I'm also reading Chaos on CatNet. I loved the first book in this series, Catfishing on CatNet, but this sequel comes across as more YA angsty to me. It hasn't pulled me in yet like the first one did.
I recently finished The Emperor's Soul. The combination of the setting, magic system, plot, and the characters really made this one work. This is the first story I've read by this author (hard to believe, I know) and I was impressed.
Phrynne wrote: "Read and really enjoyed Nine Princes in Amber. It wasn't at all what I had expected but was still very good. Does the rest of the series hold up?"
YES!!! This is an amazing series. First 5 books follow Corwin, second 5 books his son. There are official prequels as well written by John Betancourt.
As you may guess, I'm a big fan of the series.
I started reading The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha. I am really enjoying it so far! The structure of the story is like the "Choose your own Adventure" books that we read in the 90s. Each "choice" leads you to a different short story that often examines themes of femininity, the meaning of home, and the desire to travel, in all its various forms. The main character is from Indonesia and her reactions to traveling and being in America are pretty interesting.
I started Destiny of the Dead last night, the sequel to Fate of the Fallen. I really like these characters, so I hope that they all survive the dire prophecy given in the first book. There's still some great macabre humor, although I have read a little less than 30%.
Raucous wrote: "I'm also reading Chaos on CatNet. I loved the first book in this series, Catfishing on CatNet, but this sequel comes across as more YA angsty to me. It hasn't pulled me in yet like the first one did."100% agree. Also way too much religious cult, ugh. I think I said "more clowder, less cult, please" upon finishing. I'll read anything new in the series/universe though!
Oh! I didn’t know the sequel to Fate of the Fallen had come out! I’m going to see if I can find it anyway in my libraries and services!
Finished Infidel, very good book. DNFed The Sirens of Titan - it's too of its time for me. Read The Kaiju Preservation Society which is Fun Scalzi at his best. Reading Suicide Kings, #7 in the Eric Carter series by Stephen Blackmoore. don't even think of starting the series here but the series is excellent. On deck: Kundo Wakes Up
Diane, Hoopla doesn't have it, but maybe you'll have better luck than me!
I pay a sh*t ton of money fir Scribd and they have it!! Yay!
That makes me want to go renew my Scribd subscription…
We may have to organize a Buddy Read!
Raucous wrote: "Jan wrote: "... Ugh. Autocorrect keeps changing it to Nancy Dress. No, machine, it's Kress"Mine autocorrects Scalzi to Scampi."
LOL.
Jan wrote: "Raucous wrote: "Jan wrote: "... Ugh. Autocorrect keeps changing it to Nancy Dress. No, machine, it's Kress"Mine autocorrects Scalzi to Scampi."
LOL."
well, I was going to refrain from saying Scampi is better than Scalzi.... However seeing it two times broke my restraint. I love shrimp.
DivaDiane wrote: "We may have to organize a Buddy Read!"I'd be up for it Diane! I ended up just requesting it from my library, lately I'm struggling with ebooks. It has to arrive from one of the other libraries in the system but it should only take a week or so.
Let me know when your hold comes in from the library, Schix. I’m super full up with Buddy Reads in April, and I’ll be traveling for 2 weeks of it, so I don’t know if I’d manage that soon, but anytime after that, I’m sure I can squeeze it in.
DivaDiane wrote: "Let me know when your hold comes in from the library, Schix. I’m super full up with Buddy Reads in April, and I’ll be traveling for 2 weeks of it, so I don’t know if I’d manage that soon, but anyti..."No worries Diane! I'm always here to chat about it whenever you get around to it. I should've planned ahead but I lost track of this release.
Rick wrote: "Read The Kaiju Preservation Society which is Fun Scalzi at his best"Even though I am not a monster movie fan I loved this one.
@Raucous remarked that they found the dialog annoying and it is not this first time I had heard that criticism but for me Scalzi's snarky dialog is a large part of the charm.
My 5 star review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DivaDiane wrote: "I’ve recently picked up the Vorkosigan Saga again. I’m listening to Cetaganda ATM. Somehow I missed it, so I’ve read some that chronologically come later. I haven’t read Borders of Infinity though ..."Been trying to pick up the Vorkosigan saga too, but it's hard to find! at least at local book stores! I'll have to special order them!
So curious about the murderbot series! I just picked them all up, reading Ancillary Justice now but oh so tempted to stop and start them!
@Esther - Scalzi's snark is how I talk a lot so... :P @Marc - AJ is excellent. I'd finish it if you're liking it but you can stop there for a bit before moving on. There's enough of a wrap up to AJ that you don't need to immediately jump into the second book. Murderbot is very different and the first book is a novella, so it's a quick read.
Marc wrote: "So curious about the murderbot series! I just picked them all up, reading Ancillary Justice now but oh so tempted to stop and start them!" There have been some comments that the main characters in both Ancillary Justice and Murderbot share some similarities.
The Book of Salt: not my cuppa at all and I DNF-ed it. This is my second 2-star in a row, which usually immediately brings on a reading slump, but I'm midway through another book I'm liking a lot better, so maybe I can evade the curse! (review)
Just finished The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy which I very much enjoyed. Highly recommended if you enjoy thought provoking, absurd satire, though not quite as absurd as it should be. My review here.
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