What else are you reading - December 2022

[Aaron]

Rob wrote: Travis Baldtree does audio books for other authors. I was kind of surprised when I saw he had a book coming out because I just thought he was a narrator."

Legends & Lattes is his debut novel.

https://www.tor.com/2022/09/28/legend...

[Colin]

Still dithering over a review and a rating, but I finished Children of Memory - which will just get me over the line on my Laser reading challenge.

Fans of the series so far should definitely read it.

[Calvey]

I just finished Legends & Lattes and it is a 5 star joy. It is a delightful treat that you should gift yourself this Christmas. I almost feel like I should end my book reading for the year to end on a high note.

I don't write reviews often - but my link https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tamahome]

Finished Assassin's Apprentice. Leisurely paced but it has its charms. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Should I go to the 2nd book Royal Assassin with the animal companion or the Liveship Traders (sentient boats) series instead. Hmmm...

Actually I'm speed dating like 6 ebook samples...
Abaddon's Gate
A Taste of Vampire
It
Swan Song
Ship of Magic
The Fortress of the Pearl

[John (Taloni)]

^ Finish out the trilogy eventually. I read straight through. You'll want to read fast enough so details of the previous book stay with you.

It does get rather grim, and I skimmed several sections. That's more me than the material. As Fantasy-Tourism this series satisfies with its high level of detail. Many payoffs for the many threads in the series.

[Stephen]

I am finishing up the year with Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire which is quite good so far. 70% in and still keeping me guessing.

[Jumana]

Just finished the expanse. Trying to decide what I think of the ending. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with most of the series and the same is true of the end.

[John (Taloni)]

^ Yeah, I found it kinda bogus. What was the proof that those sets of actions would have the desired result? They could take away their ability to use the wormholes and have the nameless-dread aliens come in and kill them anyway. It's like assuming Cthulhu is a benevolent god.

[Ruth]

Finishing the year with some light-hearted non-fiction I picked up in the Waterstones Boxing Day sale: Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller.

(For any confused non-Brits: Waterstones is a British bookshop chain (I guess it’s our version of Barnes & Noble) and Boxing Day is what we call the day after Christmas. It’s a public holiday and traditionally when the shops start discounting all the stuff. This year Waterstones has a “half price hardbacks! For 3 days only!” offer)

[Joseph]

Into the Riverlands, Nghi Vo's third Singing Hills novella.

[AndrewP]

Ruth wrote: "(For any confused non-Brits: Waterstones is a British bookshop chain (I guess it’s our version of Barnes & Noble)."

Not really, Waterstones is far superior as a bookstore. Barnes and Nobles sells all kinds of other junk, toys games etc.

[Joseph]

Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers.

[Trike]

Probably won’t finish them this year, but:

The Silver Ships
Brightness Falls from the Air
Strange Academy: First Class

[Phillip]

Trike wrote: "Probably won’t finish them this year, but:

The Silver Ships
Brightness Falls from the Air
Strange Academy: First Class"

Are you enjoying The Silver Ships? I couldn't get past the main character going from normal to god status in a few pages.

[Trike]

Phillip wrote: "Are you enjoying The Silver Ships? I couldn't get past the main character going from normal to god status in a few pages. "

I just started (chapter 5) so he hasn’t godmoded yet. But it’s really well-written. Reminds me of Larry Niven or Andy Weir, with a very smart, competent protagonist.

Which some people call a Marty Stu/Mary Sue, but that’s inaccurate in these instances. These people actually exist in real life. For instance Tom Cruise, or super-genius astronaut Story Musgrave.

It still has plenty of time to crap the bed, though. 😆

[Phillip]

Trike wrote: "I just started (chapter 5) so he hasn’t godmoded yet. But it’s really well-written. Reminds me of Larry Niven or Andy Weir, with a very smart, competent protagonist."

I remember loving the opening chapters when he saved himself. Once that was resolved, it went downhill fast for me. Hopefully, you find a silver lining I didn't.

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

[Trike]

Oh, I’ll tear it up if it warrants, have no fear. 😂

[John (Taloni)]

Read Legends and Lattes, which was...okay. A solid 3 stars. People here have raved about it and I was hoping to be swept along, but nope. The book "subverts expectations" like everything else these days so it isn't really subversive. An amusing enough story about the creation of the first StarbOrcs coffee shop.

Plot points arrived with the subtlety of a bludgeon. The romance proceeded along at an excruciating pace considering how obvious the cover makes it.

If anything tho I find the idea of orcs, gnomes, elves, succubi and hobbits living together in peace with humans more plausible than a benevolent mafiosi. The Goodfellas model seems more likely.

Enough fun bits to make enjoyable reading. Book picked up after the halfway point.

Book ends in a way that doesn't leave itself open to a series and I'd say "not that I'd be interested," but actually, one piece does stick. Scalverts are going extinct because of the actions of the MC and people like her. How about an eco-sequel where the group moves to protect them? I've regularly wanted characters to give more back. Really feel like there should be scenes of Aquaman tending sea habitat, and actually comics Namor makes more sense because he is regularly taking the surface dwellers to task for polluting the ocean.

The author wrote the book in NaNoWriMo and yeah, it does feel rushed. In classic Indie fashion he used his network to polish the book and then promote it. He's making money hand over fist, more power to him. I'm sure there will be more from him, perhaps take a little more time now that he's broken through.

[Tamahome]

The author made games for 20 years, then became an audiobook narrator. He narrates the Cradle series starting with Unsouled.

[Geoff]

My New Year's resolution is to post SFF books I've read here. Might as well get started early!

I finished Elric of Melniboné, having read this originally probably 40 years ago. I thought it was quite good. It feels like it's in the legacy of the pulp fantasy novels of yore, as opposed to the epic fantasy branch of Tolkien, with sparse world-building (and word count), and character-centered plotting instead "end of the world" questing.

I want my next SFF read to be Children of Memory, but it looks like it's not out yet. I'll probably continue with Elric for now.

[John (Taloni)]

Finished up Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World. Fabulous nostalgia read! Was as good as I remembered.

For those who have been in this thread a long time, I had been wondering where I read a bit where a time traveler gets caught in France and is about to be ambushed. So he says "Merde!" Fake trips and goes off a bridge.

Yep, it's this book. But it's London in an England conquered by Napoleon. Also he says "Mayerd!" probably to sneak it past censors.

Anyhoo, great larcenous hijinks from burglar-turned-spy "Slippery" Jim DiGriz. Some modest "Fridging" (but nowhere near Moorcockian proportions) as his wife is victim of the time war, but she comes back in impressive fashion. DiGriz is a self-described male chauvinist, but it's mostly done to show he's wrong.

Plenty of crosstime action and a fun romp through occupied London, including two aristocrats joyously battling the occupiers. Even a time loop. Loads of fun, good end to the year.

I may pick up the remaining Stainless Steel Rat books altho I hear they drop off in quality. Only read the initial trilogy in my youth.

Hard to believe this is the same guy who wrote "Make Room Make Room" which is the basis of Soylent Green. When Harrison does comedy he does it right.