What Else Are You Reading in 2025?

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "It saddens me that this book doesn't get as much attention as The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of ..."
To be honest, I like The Word for World Is Forest a lot more than The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed. I think it was one of those books that sparked my interest in such sci-fi and fantasy stories where good non-humans fight bad humans.
Also, I very much like Planet of Exile. I don't know why.
Rachel wrote: "Yeah the Ewoks in Star Wars are a straight rip off of Word for world is Forest. Sad it isn’t t wider known..."
The Ewoks looked so funny, not to mention so much like stuffed toys, that I couldn't even imagine them being based on the Athsheans. But now I think they were.
Stewart wrote: "Thats interesting, I didn't know that. I kinda had it in my mind that Word for World was a bit like Avatar..."
'The Word for World is Forest' is really similar to Avatar (or rather, Avatar is similar to 'The Word for World is Forest') as a clash between cruel humans and peaceful aliens inhabiting a forested planet is depicted in both stories.
There are some clear differences here. The Athsheans' culture differs much more from that of the humans. Unlike the Na'vi, they were completely unfamiliar with violence before contact with humans and never fought amongst themselves.
Besides, their appearance differs significantly from humans, and they are quite difficult to glamourize and romanticize. And there is no romance subplot at all. Instead, as there always is in Ursula Le Guin books, there's a lot of psychology and philosophy. The Athsheans eventually learnt how to kill, but did it really benefit them?
In terms of plot, there are also major differences, and Avatar is considerably more primitive than The Word for World Is Forest. In Avatar, the poor Na'vi are miraculously saved by a noble human renegade and their goddess. In The Word for World Is Forest, the Athsheans largely save themselves, with the help of other aliens. So 'The Word for World is Forest' is not as human-centric as Avatar, and it completely lacks the tired trope of the white/human saviour.
A dull character like Jake simply doesn't exist in 'The Word for World is Forest'. Instead, there is a very embittered Athshean leader who organises a great rebellion against the humans. In fact, it's probably more accurate to say that 'The Word for World is Forest' is like 'Avatar' if Tsu'tey were the main character in that movie.
Of course, there is also a decent human character who sympathises with the Athsheans, but he doesn't become their leader, nor does he have an Athshean girlfriend, and his fate is much sadder than Jake's.
If books and films could be compared to people, Avatar would be a cheerful girl in her early teens, while The Word for World is Forest would be a wise old lady. This book is much more mature, if I may say so.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "To be honest, I like The Word for World Is Forest a lot more than The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed."

Same. Out of these three books, I found the TWfWiF to be a lot more alive and emotionally charged, and for that reason easier to inhabit. The other two were much more cerebral and abstract; paired with Le Guin's somewhat clinical style of writing, I guess, they engaged a different part of my brain—one that enjoys seeing philosophical thought experiments come to fictional life. Each book had something unique in it that really appealed to me. For instance, I read TLHoD whilst I was on a polar adventure binge, so the section that was almost word for word recapture of Scott's expedition hit so much harder than I could've ever imagined. Still, TWfWiF was special.

Jabotikaba wrote: "If books and films could be compared to people, Avatar would be a cheerful girl in her early teens, while The Word for World is Forest would be a wise old lady."

To this metaphor I would add Piper's Little Fuzzy (which predated TWfWiF by a decade) as a young lady learning about the evils of the real world and the need to take a stand.

[Jabotikaba]

I haven't read Piper's Little Fuzzy, but I guess the aliens in that book were covered in fur, too. Why else would it be called that?
The Left Hand of Darkness is clearly an experiment, a great attempt to understand how non-binary logic might work. I found it very interesting, but honestly, I liked the insert story about a strange prophecy and an ancient lord the best. I don't remember his name because I'm generally bad at remembering names. But the prophecy told him the day and month he would die without naming the year.
'The Dispossessed' is probably also an experiment, but it's more about social structures than non-binary logic. Nevertheless, it's still just an experiment, albeit a very interesting one.
TWfWiF, on the other hand, isn't so cerebral and experimantal. I felt really sorry for both Selver and Raj, and sometimes I wanted to stomp on Davidson as if he were a nasty worm. If a book makes me hate a fictional character as if they were real, it's undoubtedly a great story because it affects both the brain and the heart.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "I haven't read Piper's Little Fuzzy, but I guess the aliens in that book were covered in fur, too. Why else would it be called that?"

Very much so. In fact, it's the same story of colonial greed and decisions to bulldoze over the indigenous population for its profits - if they are not like us, we couldn't give a toss (well, at least until you prove they are sentient, by which point it'd hopefully be too late). You should check it out. It's a really short book and, though it does have some typical to the genre clichés, it is also full of heart, not to mention an occasional desire to stomp on a few characters.

EDIT: John Scalzi wrote a reimagined version of the Little Fuzzy but, in my opinion, had gone the way of the Avatar and lost much of the heart in the process.

[Richard]

I've finished Margaret Killjoy's latest fantasy novel/SF novella, The Sapling Cage and A Country of Ghosts for #PrideMonth:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "I haven't read Piper's Little Fuzzy, but I guess the aliens in that book were covered in fur, too. Why else would it be called that?"

Very much so. In fact, it's the same story..."
Thank you very much! That sounds very interesting. I hope there aren't any boring characters like Jake in there. I thought he was boring when I was a kid, but when I found out who he was based on, I realised that his story was the silliest plot twist in the movie.
Have you read Planet of Exile or Rocannon's World? I highly recommend them. It's a story about two very different societies -- one primitive and one highly advanced -- that exist on the same planet. However, rather than fighting, they're taking it slow and being cautious as they gradually move closer to one another. It's probably another one of Ursula Le Guin's experiments, but the characters are very charming and easy to sympathise with. This story has a sequel, but City of Illusions is an attempt to turn one of the verses from the Tao Te Ching into a novel. It's interesting, but it gets a little weird towards the end.
Rocannon's World is more fantasy than sci-fi, but it's a wonderfully poetic and beautifully written book that isn't at all cerebral.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "I hope there aren't any boring characters like Jake in there."

I think the story is far too short and well narrated to be boring, though I can't promise you won't find any similarities between Jack and Jake :) Look at it more as literary anthropology - it's one of those stepping stones that paved the way to works like TWfWiF, Poul Anderson's Hoka books, Star Wars, and Avatar.

Jabotikaba wrote: "Have you read Planet of Exile or Rocannon's World?"

No, not yet, I'm afraid. Aside from the above 3 books, I've only read The Lathe of Heaven and her short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. I've added your recommendations to my TBR list though, cheers. Oddly, it's the last one, City of Illusions, that sparks most of my curiosity—I love this type of intertextuality.

[Bobby]

I read the first Library of America Hainish Stories book in order and it included Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, and City of Illusions followed by the Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. I really liked every one of those stories although I got turned around with TD changing perspective every chapter. This whole discussion prompted me to buy the second LOA Hainish cycle book. It has the Word for World is Forest along with the Five Ways to Forgiveness and The Telling. I've been wanting to buy the second book for a long time but you gave me the push over the edge talking about Ewoks. :)

[Sheska]

Bobby wrote: "This whole discussion prompted me to buy the second LOA Hainish cycle book"

Ha, and I just got her first three books :) Have a number of books lined up first, so probably won't get to Le Guin until next month though.

I finished Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star yesterday. All in all it was worth the struggle. It's the first time ever that I thought of a book as being "unnecessarily" wordy (and I'm reading blinking Finnegans Wake), yet, still, each time the story skipped to the next location I got irrationally frustrated at having to leave the characters. My favourite plot line was Ozzie and Orion's journey along the deep paths, but that's probably because I love survival stories, plus it reminded me of Hyperion Cantos (and now, come to think of it, The Left Hand of Darkness, minus the love story), so it brought up a lot of positive associations. My least favourite aspect of the book was the lack of futurism and "other-worldliness" in its first half; sections of it might as well have been set in some post WWII Midwest suburbia, in fact the whole thing read like a cold war spy thriller. Still, I enjoyed it enough to want to read its sequel at some point.

For now, though, I've started on Robert Silverberg's Thorns. Only a few pages in and OMG it is awesome. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "I finished Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star yesterday. ..."
Oh my, another Pandora!
Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "I hope there aren't any boring characters like Jake in there."
I think the story is far too short and well narrated to be boring, though I can't promise you won't find any simi..."
I will definitely read this book. Literary anthropology seems like a fascinating subject, and understanding how plots and tropes develop over time and across authors is very educational.
City of Illusions could actually be a great book. The problem is that I didn't recognise the Tao Te Ching quote when I first read City of Illusions, so I couldn't fully appreciate the intertextuality. I was just too young and not familiar enough with philosophy when I first read this book. Now I understand the story's meaning, but reading it left me with a slightly weird feeling.
If you enjoyed The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, you'll definitely enjoy City of Illusions. I think the author did the same thing with The Brothers Karamazov in this short story as she did with the Tao Te Ching in City of Illusions. In The Brothers Karamazov, there's a paradox about how the higher harmony is not worth the tears of a tortured child. In The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, this idea of a tortured child turns out to be very literal. But City of Illusions is much longer and more interesting because it's a story about an alien who has lost his memory and can only regain it by remembering his true name.
I remember trying to read a book by Poul Anderson, but it wasn't like Avatar or TWfWiF. It was a time-travelling story in which one of the characters was a Hun and the other was a Minoan. I didn't enjoy it much, and I can't even remember the title.
Perhaps it wasn't the author's best work.
Bobby wrote: "I've been wanting to buy the second book for a long time but you gave me the push over the edge talking about Ewoks...."
Believe me, the Athsheans are much better than the Ewoks!

[Carol]

Still determinedly reading Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh. Sometime in the future, I'm going to do a timeline read of all her books in the Union-Alliance Story Universe (as long as I can get my hands on the books) I actually love these books. :) I actually own some of them but I've been trying to use my library more.

I'm going to have to see what other Sci-fi I can borrow from my Library too.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "Oh my, another Pandora!"

I know, right :)

Jabotikaba wrote: "If you enjoyed The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, you'll definitely enjoy City of Illusions."

Fab, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I learned of the Omelas story from The Expanse authors, who said it was one of the inspirations for the last book in the series. I've read so many discussions on it since and each time discover some new element to Le Guin's moral dilemma, this is the first time I've seen it compared to Brothers K though. As someone who isn't a fan of it, I'm glad to have something else positive to say about Brothers K, even if only in association with it.

Jabotikaba wrote: "[...] it's a story about an alien who has lost his memory and can only regain it by remembering his true name."

Why does this sound so familiar?! I wonder if it's one of those stories that CJ mentioned that were ripped off from Le Guin that makes me think I've seen it somewhere.

Jabotikaba wrote: "I remember trying to read a book by Poul Anderson, but it wasn't like Avatar or TWfWiF."

Oh yeah, the only reason I mentioned Poul is because his Hokas are yet another forerunner to Ewoks (think Benny Hill caricature kind).

On a separate note, I've finished Silverberg's Thorns. And yes, it totally did not live up to my initial expectations, but I'd be lying if I didn't find it arresting in parts.

[Dave]

I read All Systems Red. Murderbot. I liked it. Started watching the tv show too.

Do folks like the first person perspective like murderbot or third person. First person worked perfectly for All Systems Red.

I've thought about writing first person but presently my books are all third person.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hi Dave! We don't allow folks to talk about writing in any folder other than the Goodreads authors folder. please could you edit your post accordingly? thanks!

[Deborah]

Dave wrote: "I read All Systems Red. Murderbot. I liked it. Started watching the tv show too.

Do folks like the first person perspective like murderbot or third person. First person worked perfectly for All Sy..."

I like first person. I love murderbot. Many Urban Fantasy books are first person.

[Economondos]

Finished up Stranger at the Wedding by Barbara Hambly yesterday.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is nice when an author can take a minor character from a prior novel and show how the world looks through her eyes. And in this case it is a darn good story. 4.7/5

My review here

Changing gears a bit, starting a reread of Oath of Swords by David Weber.

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "Why does this sound so familiar?! I wonder if it's one of those stories that CJ mentioned that were ripped off from Le Guin that makes me think I've seen it somewhere...."
Honestly, I don't know. Before I shifted my interests almost entirely towards fantasy, I used to read a lot of sci-fi books, but they were classics of the genre — things like the Hainish Cycle and Asimov's Foundation. I just can't imagine what lesser writers could have done with characters and plots borrowed from Ursula Le Guin's stories.
By the way, I'm currently reading Little Fuzzy and really enjoying it. This book has made me discover another excellent classic sci-fi author. Thank you!

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "By the way, I'm currently reading Little Fuzzy and really enjoying it. This book has made me discover another excellent classic sci-fi author. Thank you! "

Oh that is sooo cool. I'm really glad you're enjoying it :) I can't speak for the quality of his other books but Little Fuzzy definitely has a warm place in my heart.

I still consider myself relatively new to sci-fi. Up until the pandemic I mostly read non-fiction and thrillers. Fantasy wise, I struggle to recollect anything beyond Pratchett and Tolkien, I'm sure I've read more but somehow that genre never quite captured me the way sci-fi has (although I absolutely adore the above two authors). In a way, I'm kinda doing what Stewart and Bobby mentioned earlier in this thread—trying to read as many of the classics as I can, making up for lost time as I keep telling myself. I know my experience of something like Foundation or Neuromancer would always be vastly different to reading those books when they first came out, but it's so much fun seeing them from this point in time and being able to find the threads of those same ideas in more recent works. My tastes aren't particularly refined (or informed for that matter) but I'm having an absolute blast discovering all these new to me authors and worlds.

P.S. I love the fact that you've read Goodall's book. Wish more people in my life had read it. It's such a gem of a book.

[Economondos]

H. Beam Piper was a great author who suffered from crippling self-esteem issues. His early death robbed all of us of more of his offerings. I really like Four Day Planet and Lone Star Planet, Space Viking, and Uller Uprising.

[CJ]

Four Day Planet might be my favorite Piper that I've read. Amazon, many years ago, had a bunch of Piper's works (along with some other classic SF writers, like Harry Harrison and Lester Del Rey) for free in ebook format, but I think all those free versions have been removed and replaced by cheapo versions of questionable formatting.

[CBRetriever]

Gutenberg has a lot of H. Beam Piper's books for free (totally legal)

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...

[Sheska]

CBRetriever wrote: "Gutenberg has a lot of H. Beam Piper's books for free (totally legal)"

Yeap, that's where I got most of his books from.

Economondos wrote: "H. Beam Piper was a great author who suffered from crippling self-esteem issues. His early death robbed all of us of more of his offerings."

I remember reading about this after I finished his book a couple of years ago. He really was a troubled man.

CJ wrote: "Four Day Planet might be my favorite Piper that I've read."

I need to read the Little Fuzzy sequels first and then I'll add this to my list for sure.

[Brian]

I just started reading the Sword of Shannara. I bought this book at used book sale when I was ten, but it was way over my head at the time. Forty years later, I came into another copy.

I'm really enjoying it. While it definitely has some LOTR vibes, I'm really taking to the characters and setting. I would have loved this as a kid. I don't think I'm "onboard" for a series. At least not yet. But I'm curious about where it takes me.

[Richard]

I'm finding more and more fantasy novels to enjoy after years of resisting them. I really enjoyed Tonia Laird's Indigenous anti-colonial fantasy novel, Seventhblade , and reviewed it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "By the way, I'm currently reading Little Fuzzy and really enjoying it. This book has made me discover another excellent classic sci-fi author. Thank you! "

Oh that is sooo cool..."
This book has taken up a small and fuzzy and warm place in my heart, too. I think I'll write a review, but first I need to think about how to do it a proper way.
When I was a kid, I read a lot of classics, as well as sci-fi and fantasy. This was because I grew up in a house literally stuffed with old paper books. I could easily reach out and read City of Illusions, Foundation, LOTR, or anything else. But I gradually developed my own preferences and realized that I prefer epic fantasy and non-fiction, mostly historical, psychological and, occasionally, biological research. I think I like fantasy so much because of its traditional settings. If you're a history buff, you'll definitely enjoy stories set in pseudo-historical settings with swords and bows, free from the laughable inaccuracies traditional in historical novels. Epic fantasy books also often depict clashes between different cultures, nations, and even sentient species, much like science fiction featuring aliens. They also make reference to some of the darker pages of human history, just like Avatar and TWfWiF.
Nevertheless, I still enjoy reading well-written sci-fi featuring aliens and space travel. However, it seems to me that fewer books like that are written these days than in the past when people believed that aliens could live on Venus or Mars. So thanks again!
Oh, and Goodall's book is a really precious gem. She also has a very interesting book about hyenas.
CBRetriever wrote: "Gutenberg has a lot of H. Beam Piper's books for free (totally legal)

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear..."
There's also a great site called openlibrary.org. I think it's legal, too, and it has lots of books in lots of languages.

[Economondos]

Finished up Oath of Swords by David Weber this morning.

My rating: 4.3 of 5 stars

I like Weber's other series, and this book shows he can write fantasy as well as SF.

My review here

Continuing on with The War God's Own. My copy has teeny tiny print, so it will require reading glasses the whole way through. Or maybe a microscope.

[Economondos]

Also finished my slow listen to the audio version of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind yesterday.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wish I had remembered the book from many years ago as the one with the long torture chapters. Never would have bought it no matter how attractive the price for a bundle of this series. The last quarter of the book is the best part, but it ain't much fun to get there. 2.75/5

My review here

Next audiobook will probably be something from Pratchett. Maybe Maskerade.

[CBRetriever]

I'm reading

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

it's kinda like a mix of the Murderbot books and A Psalm for the Wild-Built in that the main character is a literal (very literal) robot. It's really funny and light and the logic conversations between various robot/AI entities is really entertaining. Much, much different that Shroud

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "When I was a kid, I read a lot of classics, as well as sci-fi and fantasy. This was because I grew up in a house literally stuffed with old paper books."

I've always been surrounded by books, just rarely sci fi or fantasy (I can't say fantasy now without thinking of Terry Pratchett's interview where he spoke in defence of fantasy, essentially saying that most of fiction is some form of fantasy.)

Jabotikaba wrote: "If you're a history buff, you'll definitely enjoy stories set in pseudo-historical settings with swords and bows, free from the laughable inaccuracies traditional in historical novels. Epic fantasy books also often depict clashes between different cultures, nations, and even sentient species, much like science fiction featuring aliens. They also make reference to some of the darker pages of human history, just like Avatar and TWfWiF."

You've just reminded me, I also read all of the G.R.R.M.'s ASOIAF books and loved that world. So, yeah, I'm definitely not averse to the genre (though I tend to gravitate toward comic fantasy). I do have a couple of books fairly high up on my TBR list that I've been meaning to get to for a while.

One is Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, because I've heard fantastic things about the Malazan series. Someone said it has quite a cerebral and complex plot, which I tend to enjoy. I've actually read the first two pages and it's one of those books that immediately captured my imagination, so I'm really looking forward to exploring that world at some point.

The other is John M. Ford's The Dragon Waiting. One of the Expanse authors was singing its praises, so I've been wanting to check it out since.

Oh, and I've recently got book 2 in the Convergence audiobook series by Craig Alanson. His Expeditionary Force sci fi series is my guilty pleasure, so I've decided to give his ?urban? fantasy a go too. The first book was a bit of a meh but I didn't mind it too much, plus it had plenty of comic relief.

I've been reading a lot of grim books recently and have a few more on my immediate TBR list, but once I'm done I intend to pick up one of the above.

P.S. I look forward to reading your review of the Little Fuzzy.

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "When I was a kid, I read a lot of classics, as well as sci-fi and fantasy. This was because I grew up in a house literally stuffed with old paper books."

I've always been surro..."

I haven't read this interview, but the idea that most fiction is a form of fantasy seems perfectly reasonable to me.
But I have mixed feelings about the ASOIAF books. Of course, I understand that they are very well written and interesting in their own right. However, the problem is that these books are clearly inspired by the Osten Ard series by Tad Williams. As far as I know, George Martin himself does not hide this fact. This situation is very similar to that with TWfWiF and Avatar.
So when I read the ASOIAF books, it is very difficult for me to forget about this. I cannot help but see ASOIAF as a weird and distorted version of the Osten Ard books. What's especially strange is that I really enjoy some of George Martin's sci-fi books. I especially like Windhaven. The fate of the main protagonist seems typical of any reformer. In trying to make slight corrections to her society, she ended up completely changing it and turning it into something new. The changes she inadvertently brought about were stronger than her. So, George Martin is first and foremost a great sci-fi author for me.
My favourite fantasy books, which are alike to historical novels set in fictional worlds, are the Osten Ard books, of course, and The Witcher. There is also The Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliott. A few months ago, I praised this series so much in another group that I turned my post into a review.
But there's another book that I'm a little hesitant to recommend because it has a rather strange cover. It's very well written, though, and its characters belong to different cultures, one of which is very archaic and not really human. Some episodes are very cerebral and seem to have been written by a professional historian, while others are very ironic and seem to have been written by someone like Terry Pratchett. Yet they complement each other very well. But this book is definitely closer to Osten Ard or ASOAIF books than to Ursula Le Guin's stories.
Gardens of the Moon is a great book and unique in that the author has created an original world. When you read about Westeros, you can easily recognize medieval Western Europe, and you can guess that the Qumans in Crown of Stars are based on the real Cumans (who were also called Kuns and Kipchaks) and the Avars and the Mongols. But it is almost impossible to find certain prototypes for the numerous nations and races in The Malazan series.
But there are a lot of characters in this series, and the writing style is rather dry. It's like The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but set in a fictional world. I enjoyed the series, but I'm not sure if others will like it. So I rarely recommend it.
And I'll write a review of The Little Fuzzy, of course!

[CBRetriever]

Jabotikaba wrote: "I have mixed feelings about the ASOIAF books. Of course, I understand that they are very well written and interesting in their own right. However, the problem is that these books are clearly inspired by the Osten Ard series by Tad Williams. As far as I know, George Martin himself does not hide this fact. "

I don't see that especially as he, himself, says that he was inspired by the War of the Roses and Maurice Druon's The accursed Kings series (Martin even states this fact in the introduction to the translated into English version of Druon's series. The first ASOIAF book really mirrors the first book in Druon's series even to some of the characters being almost the same

"there are strikingly similar casts - a feeble but sadistic prince (Louis in the French book, Joffrey in Martin's) a vengeful princess (Isabella, Cersei), and competing Machiavellian schemers (Robert of Artois, Littlefinger). "

and right on the cover of the books: 'This was the original game of thrones' George R.R. Martin

and try this article

https://racefortheironthrone.wordpres...

it will either wipe the Osten Ard influence from your mind or dilute it somewhat.

[Jabotikaba]

CBRetriever wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "I have mixed feelings about the ASOIAF books. Of course, I understand that they are very well written and interesting in their own right. However, the problem is that these books..."

I think even a lobotomy could hardly wipe the Osten Ard influence from my mind.
I haven't read Maurice Druon's books, unfortunately, but I know a thing or two about the War of the Roses. In theory, I could give you a link to a site where fans of Ted Williams rather ironically list plot twists and characters from ASOIAF based on plot twists and characters from the Osten Ard books. I'm not one to engage in lengthy debates.
Also, I'm open to the idea that a writer could draw inspiration from different sources.

[CBRetriever]

Jabotikaba wrote: "Also, I'm open to the idea that a writer could draw inspiration from different sources."

Kinda hard to do in my case as within the first few chapters of Druon's series, there's a complete description of Robert Baratheon

I'm not denying the Osten Ard series are very similar (I've read most of them), but Druon hit, for me, on far too many similarities.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "[...] I have mixed feelings about the ASOIAF books. Of course, I understand that they are very well written and interesting in their own right. However, the problem is that these books are clearly inspired by the Osten Ard series by Tad Williams. "

Ah, this is where my lack of exposure to fantasy becomes apparent. I've not read any of the books you or CBRetriever had mentioned so couldn't possibly comment. I am, however, now curious to see how similar these books are, and since I've really liked the ASOIAF, I can see myself reading those books too, so thank you for bringing them to my attention.

As for G.R.R.M. being a sci fi author, I've been meaning to read his sci fi for such a long time but always get distracted with something else. This is a reminder to myself to check him out. The Witcher is also on my TBR, although I've heard that these books are a bit of a hit and miss.

[Ozsaur]

There Is No Antimemetics Division - just finished this and was blown away. Even though it's related to the SCP Foundation, it stands alone.

Also finished the audiobook for Automatic Noodle - completely different from the other book, but also well done.

[Richard]

My "Them"s reviews:
Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
&ndashand–
Them: Why We Hate Each Other - and How to Heal by Ben Sasse
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Brett]

Starting Sarah McCammon's, Exvangelicals, about leaving the white evangelical church.

[Colin]

Read The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence. This is an astonishing book. It is portal fantasy with time travel and multiverse components. It fits with the law that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. It incorporates components of philosophy and religion. It sets a puzzle for the reader. Yeah, all of that! The story centers on a seemingly infinite library that holds every book ever written anywhere that is located in a city under attack by a hostile, different species. It is the story of a boy (Evar), who grows up very isolated in the library, and a girl (Livira), who is a refugee from the marauders outside the walls. It follows their growth, a romance, and their coming of age. Quite a tale overall. Sly humor is sprinkled throughout ((view spoiler)[ The robotic raven that is an important guide in the library answers to "Edgarallan." (hide spoiler)]). There are flaws. Other than Evar and Livira, the secondary characters are very thin, some are stereotypic. Pieces here and there don't seem to work with the setting or sequence, although some of this may be because it is book one of a trilogy. (view spoiler)[ I find having a huge army camped before the walls while in a desolate wasteland a problem. (hide spoiler)] I would recommend this to readers who enjoy fantasy, like working through a puzzle, and are patient with the story as this is more of a slow burn at the beginning.

[Jabotikaba]

CBRetriever wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Also, I'm open to the idea that a writer could draw inspiration from different sources."

Kinda hard to do in my case as within the first few chapters of Druon's series, there's ..."
This sounds very intriguing!
As I understand it, Druon's series is about Philip IV the Fair and his children. I'm afraid I don't really understand which of them could have been the prototype for Robert Baratheon. He's definitely a character who's very hard to describe as 'the Fair'.
Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "[...] I have mixed feelings about the ASOIAF books. Of course, I understand that they are very well written and interesting in their own right. However, the problem is that these..."
I highly recommend reading at least the first trilogy of books in the Osten Ard series, i. e. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. The world is complex, and the writing style is similar to classic fantasy, yet the characters are morally ambiguous, much like those in modern fantasy. I don't know how to explain it without revealing too much, but, as with ASOIAF, many things in the Osten Ard books turn out not to be what they seem.
The Witcher is another great series, full of satire and dark humour. Like Ursula Le Guin's books, it nurtures the reader's mind, as if injecting antibodies to counteract nasty things like xenophobia and aggression.
However, I don't know how much of this is noticeable in the English translation, as I read the books in Polish. In the original, it's an unmistakable masterpiece.

[CBRetriever]

Jabotikaba wrote: "As I understand it, Druon's series is about Philip IV the Fair and his children. I'm afraid I don't really understand which of them could have been the prototype for Robert Baratheon. ."

the description of Robert of Artois is much like Robert Barathson as he is described as a big bear of a man

[Nicholas]

Echopraxia by Peter Watts
Currently reading the sequel to Blindsight

Almost finished, actually. Peter Watts' writing style is so dense and complex and technical that it takes a little longer to read than most science fiction. Not that I'm complaining...this book is exceptionally compelling.

[Richard]

Wearing the Lion , new myth-retelling novel by Nebula- and Locus-Award winner John Wiswell, got 4.5* here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Beth]

Just a couple completions this month, and you know what, that's fine. You could even say... usual for me. :D Two online groups I follow both took breaks in June, and it was nice to take a brief vacation from that kind of thing.

The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 1 by Natsu Hyuuga: an emotionally distant young woman finds that her experience as an apothecary's assistant in the red-light district also makes her well-suited for a similar role in the emperor's rear palace (where the concubines reside). Mysteries ensue. (review)

Burning Chrome by William Gibson: I read some portion of this book almost 40 years ago. As usual, some of it holds up pretty well, and some of it very, very poorly. It was worth a second visit. (review)

[Jabotikaba]

CBRetriever wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "As I understand it, Druon's series is about Philip IV the Fair and his children. I'm afraid I don't really understand which of them could have been the prototype for Robert Barat..."

Thanks. I see what this is all about now. At first I thought that it was Robert Baratheon who was based on Philip IV the Fair, because they were both kings and both died at the start of the book series.
Oh, and I read Little Fuzzy, which Sheska recommended to me. My review is here.

[Economondos]

Yesterday, took some time to finish up The War God's Own by David Weber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good follow-on to Oath of Swords. Recommended, but not as a stand-alone.

My review here

Next up is Windrider's Oath in the same series. For audio I decided to go with Pratchett's witch sub-series of Discworld novels. I skipped Equal Rites and went with Wyrd Sisters.

[Sheska]

Jabotikaba wrote: "However, I don't know how much of this is noticeable in the English translation, as I read the books in Polish. In the original, it's an unmistakable masterpiece."

I used to regularly commute to work and see the same young man reading every time. One day I struck up a conversation over his copy of one of the Discworld novels and after we would occasionally exchange recommendations or comments about our current reads. It was he who got me onto Witcher. He too read it in Polish and had similar observations. Will definitely let you know how I find it.

[Jabotikaba]

Sheska wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "However, I don't know how much of this is noticeable in the English translation, as I read the books in Polish. In the original, it's an unmistakable masterpiece."

I used to re..."

I think the translators' skills will be very important. This author has a unique writing style. In The Witcher, for example, he constantly switches between very old and elaborate language fitting for medieval chronicles and nearly slang, and this makes even grimdark episodes incredibly funny. So you need to find a really good translation.

[Colin]

Went to non-fiction and read Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson. This is less a biography than a presentation of how his Stoic philosophy developed through his life. It is well-written and easy to read. The problem is that it is too short, not a full biography, not a real history of his times, and not detailed about Stoicism. That is a pity because Marcus was a fascinating character: the absolute ruler of an empire who had to cope with a devastating plague, multiple wars on the northeastern frontier, and a revolt of seven legions in the east aiming to dethrone him, and managed all of it while adhering to his philosophical approach to life. (He pardoned everyone who revolted against him - not the norm for those times.) Since the only recent biography of Marcus intended to be definitive has significant issues - see the reviews on Goodreads - I was hoping for more from this one. I would recommend it to those who would like an introduction to this character, especially if they have read (or read about) his Meditations but have not previously read about him or his times.

[Michael]

Reading Wheel of Time finally after putting it off for years. Currently on book 4. Pretty good so far...I fear the slog, though. 😅

[Jabotikaba]

Fuzzy Sapiens by H. Beam Piper