What Else Are You Reading - September 2022

[Rob, Roberator]

What books are you reading this month?

[Seth]

Finished A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, which I didn't think was quite as good as the first one, but definitely scratches the same itch.

Started August Kitko and the Mechas from Space which is delightfully ridiculous through the first hundred pages.

[William]

I'm midway through Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky and loving it so far.

This month I'm looking forward to reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers. I thought the first one was gently, beautifully, thought-provoking.

[Mark]

Re-reading all of the Rivers of London comics

https://www.goodreads.com/series/1801...

[Chris K.]

I'm about a third of the way through Night of Knives.

[Colin]

I just finished a second listen of Harrow the Ninth which I still think had a great pay-off at the end but is far more hard work than was really necessary to get there. Still looking forward to the next book later this month and hoping that the re-read has put me in the right head-space for it.

In the meantime, I'm part way through Elder Race, by the unfeasibly prolific Adrian Tchaikovsky.

[Stephen]

Besides the BOM, I hope to get to The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless and Ithaca by Claire North. Should finish up the The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams and start The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison.

[terpkristin]

Stephen wrote: "Besides the BOM, I hope to get to The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless and Ithaca by Claire North. Should fini..."

I read The Grief of Stones last month and devoured it. I hope you enjoy it!

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

I'm reading (listening to) Hyperion

[Stephen]

The Grief of Stones was great. If you like this series, read the Penric & Desdemona novella series. The novellas are reasonably priced. Katherine Addison is the Becky Chambers of Fantasy.

[[deleted user]]

I'm still going with Rivers of London but also getting through The Cartographers and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution also just appeared on my Kindle so I've made a start and I'm also very tempted to crack on with Fire & Blood.

Also slowly making my way through The Fellowship of the Ring with my son for bedtime reading.

Too many great books on the go at the moment.

[Ruth]

Malcolm wrote: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution just appeared on my kindle"

I have a physical copy of Babel (a fancy special edition from my illumicrate book subscription) on my TBR shelf, still in the plastic wrap. I’m a little bit nervous about reading it because it feels like it was written especially for me so it’s either going to be a big disappointment or it’ll make me go feral. I’m going to start reading it later in the month and join in with the illumicrate monthly readalong.

In the meantime I’m still reading Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction and I have a library copy of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo lined up.

In kindle I’m reading The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart and also Infamous by Lex Croucher.

Finally in audiobook I’m listening to a classic: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

[Pumpkinstew]

I'm about halfway through Starship Troopers.
So far... I prefer the film.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finally got started with last month's group read:


Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Sorry. Life keeps getting in the way...

[Phil]

I just finished my annual Heinlein reread. This year it was Have Space Suit—Will Travel. I first, and last, read it some time in the 70's and didn't remember any but the barest bones of the plot. It's one of his "juveniles" and may be one of the best. He certainly doesn't talk down to his readers; there was some math and references that I had trouble with and I've had some fairly extensive science education since I last read the book.
It was written in the 50's and even though it takes place in some unspecified future (my guess is it's supposed to be the 80's) it still seems that society is very fifties-ish with father led nuclear families and soda jerks and black and white t.v.'s. I found it quaint and amusing but your mileage may vary.
Over all I really enjoyed this and would recommend for all ages.

[John (Nevets)]

Phil wrote: "I just finished my annual Heinlein reread. This year it was Have Space Suit—Will Travel. I first, and last, read it some time in the 70's and didn't remember any but the barest bones o..."

I would concur. I first read it when I was 18, in late 1995. And really enjoyed it. I then reread it a few years ago, and still thought it was great. It did have a bit of that idealized 50s Leave it to Beaver feel to it. But it fit into one of my favorite sub genres of smart people doing smart things in the proper situation.

[Iain]

I have been trucking through all the Rivers of London audio books and am now re-listening to Amongst Our Weapons to finish it off. I have enjoyed picking up all the little references to other works. False Value could have been a cross over with the Laundry Files.

I also listened to A Prayer for the Crown-Shy which was a very good follow up to the first book in the series. The is a book I needed to read right now.

In the IRL book club at the library we read Hamnet which was historical fiction with a dash of Fantasy. Makes Agnes Hathaway the central character and it works brilliantly. Well worth a read if you are after something different.

[Joseph]

Phil wrote: "I just finished my annual Heinlein reread. This year it was Have Space Suit—Will Travel. I first, and last, read it some time in the 70's and didn't remember any but the barest bones o..."

A few years ago (well, I think it was 2016?) I was visiting my childhood hometown and I stopped in the public library (which is an entirely new, very nice building; the old one was torn down sometime in the 1990s). And one of the books I found on the shelf in the SFF section was what I am sure is the very same hardcover copy of Have Space Suit-Will Travel that I was checking out back in the 70s & 80s.

(Oh, and for myself, I'm currently reading Broken Blade, first in Kelly McCullough's Fallen Blade series.)

[Chris K.]

I finished Night of Knives which was pretty good and now I'm reading the latest Patrica Briggs, Soul Taken.

[Iain]

Just finished my reread (or first listen to most) of the Rivers of London books. Amongst our Weapons neatly ties up a lot of the story lines and themes of the first major "arc" of the series. Peter is in a good place in spite of his recklessness.

Enough story seeds have been sprinkled around for future books which I am looking forward to.

Just starting the Nona the Ninth audiobook.

[Ruth]

Started a new audiobook : The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Ruth wrote: "Started a new audiobook : The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon"

I loved that book.

[Jonathan]

I have read the two books Anthony Ryan has written so far in his Covenant of Steel Series: The Pariah and The Martyr. I absolutely loved both of them! I look forward to the third book of the series when he fishes it!

[Seth]

Tried Penric's Demon and liked it enough to move on to the next in the series right away.

Also liked Sisters of the Vast Black.

[Joseph]

Tassie Dave wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Started a new audiobook : The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon"

I loved that book."

I tried to read that book. But there's some weird glitch where that one, specific title won't open on my Kindle, even after I deleted it and redownloaded it. So I read The First Binding instead, which was quite good. (This was back in August, though -- currently, I'm reading Kelly McCullough's Fallen Blade series, specifically the third book, Crossed Blades.)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the classic Science-Fiction novel (by my favorite SF author)


The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the "authorized" sequel to The Time Machine by H.G. Wells


The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter

and the first book in the Academy series


The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

[William]

I'm starting a reread of The Vampire Knitting Club series to refresh my memory before the release of the new book. I needed funny/cozy reading right about now in any case.

[William]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I started reading the "authorized" sequel to The Time Machine by H.G. Wells"

I absolutely loved that book, I've read it a few times, each time straight after the original. It's seamless.

[Iain]

Just finished listening to Nona the Ninth. Damn this book was fun. Crammed through it in a rush and now I want Alecto the Ninth now, Damn it!! Now!!!!

The third book in the series with yet another distinct character voice and writing style which shows different sides of the various characters. Muir does a very good job of writing interesting well rounded characters. My only complaint with the audio book is that I need the list of characters from the previous books because I crap with names.

Props for having New Zealand show up in a SF book (first I think I have read since I read Earth by Brin... Not sure I can forgive her for the (view spoiler)[Destruction of Melbourne, OK the rest of the world soon followed.... (hide spoiler)]

And we get to find out what's going own with Gideon (view spoiler)[You can just bugger off and read the book, no spoilers (hide spoiler)] .

[John (Taloni)]

Haaaa, New Zealand featured in Eternity by Greg Bear which I just finished. And after a detour to Firewalkers, Nona the Ninth is next.

Must...not...open....spoilers!

[Silvana]

Reading Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution and soon to start The Spear Cuts Through Water. All fave authors, so I am pretty stoked.

[Martha]

Just finished Elder Race. Love anything by Tchaikovsky. Before that I read This Way to the Universe (non-fiction), and three of the Forward Novelettes: Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin, Summer Frost by Blake Crouch and You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles. I’m about to start Stephen King’s Fairy Tale.

[Seth]

Listened to Too Like the Lightning and liked it, so I'll probably continue on in that series, but will take a break if I get my hands on the new Thursday Murder Club book.

[Iain]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Haaaa, New Zealand featured in Eternity by Greg Bear which I just finished. And after a detour to Firewalkers, Nona the Ninth is next.

Must...not...open....spoilers!"

They are very minor spoilers….

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau!

[Anne]

I'm reading Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution like it feels everybody else (apart from this group). Also started Once Upon a River as an audio book.

[Misti]

Finished Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel yesterday. It was a fun read but I think I prefer The Courtship of Princess Leia from the original Star Wars timeline more. It would have been a short read but I paused midway because my library hold of Where the Drowned Girls Go became available.

I'm thinking of reading The Well of Ascension next since Tor has been dropping the Mistborn sequels for free. It's been so long since I read the first one, though, I may go back and re-read it.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

William wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I started reading the "authorized" sequel to The Time Machine by H.G. Wells"

I absolutely loved that book, I've read it a few times, each time straight after the orig..."

Glad to hear it! I didn't realize until I started reading it that Baxter is the Vice President of the H.G. Wells Society and has been since 2006 (this would explain why he gets to write the "authorized" sequels to Time Machine and The War of the Worlds). Also, did not know there was an H.G. Wells Society.

[Ruth]

Anne wrote: "I'm reading Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution like it feels everybody else (apart from this group). Also started [book:Onc..."

I’m reading Babel too!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished reading the latest by the author of World War Z


Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

I loved Devolution! I just listened to Blood and Rain 3.5 stars. It's a werewolf story. [howl]

[Calvey]

I just finished listening to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - nice change from the Sept pick and some fantasy for my shelf! Good for October reading I am thinking, if you want some easy witchy reads.

[Dana]

I’m reading Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. I’m enjoying the Amazon series so I am reading the book. First two chapters are hard to get through but once you get past them things get interesting. There is a letter that Tolkien wrote to a friend included in the book that is well worth reading.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started the third book in the Dragonriders of Pern series (first in the Harper Hall trilogy)


Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

[John (Taloni)]

^ Yeah, the first six Pern books are best read in publication order: Flight, Quest, Song, Singer, Drums, White Dragon. The "trilogies" are kind of made up. In fact White Dragon doesn't really fit anything.

Then there's the unevenness of the rest. I found the book Moreta's Ride a strange interpretation of what had been suggested as her story by reference to the song. Dragonsdawn, great stuff; Renegades, puzzlingly long backstory dump; All the Weyrs of Pern, uneven, too much deus ex machina, but absolutely necessary to the overall plot. Anyhoo, enjoy! If you do the whole thing the shorts are a must for overall understanding.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

John (Taloni) wrote: "^ Yeah, the first six Pern books are best read in publication order: Flight, Quest, Song, Singer, Drums, White Dragon. The "trilogies" are kind of made up. In fact White Dragon doesn't really fit a..."

Thanks, John. I'm pretty sure I'll read the first six but not sure if I want to go further than that and if so how far.

[Colin]

Apart from the September pick, I’ve also enjoyed Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Explores the adage that “ Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” by telling a story from two POVs on opposite sides of that distinction. Nicely done.

Also enjoyed the the most recent ‘Dispatcher’ story from John Scalzi - Travel by Bullet. Listening to stories like this makes me think that Scalzi would probably be excellently suited to writing for TV or movies.

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

Hidden Pictures

[Rob, Roberator]

I finally got around to starting Locklands

[Madelief]

I just finished way of kings and just ordered words of radiance. will read rivers of london while I wait.