What are you reading right now? For 2025

[Audrey]

Just starting The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton

[John]

A bit late, but never mind........yesterday was the International Day of Happiness. What Space Opera book makes/made you happy? (And I don't know my own answer to that question yet!)

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Bob’s Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd made me happy, for one. Lots of others, at least the first time I read them.

[John]

I enjoyed that one too, Teresa.

The "Space Team" books make me happy with their fun humour, and word plays.

Not space opera, but Earth Abides by George R. Stewart makes me happy in a sort of hopeful way.

[Betsy]

John wrote: "A bit late, but never mind........yesterday was the International Day of Happiness. What Space Opera book makes/made you happy? (And I don't know my own answer to that question yet!)"

Hellspark. This is my go to book when I need an emotional lift.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Hellspark is great yes. I reread Mirabile by Janet Kagan more often, as one of my comfort reads.

[John]

Well, that's two more to add to the TBR pile - I love the idea of the 'Loch Moose Monster'!

[John]

Finished reading The Guns of Nana Joan by Barry J. Hutchison last night, and started on my next Culture series book - Matter.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I just started reading Experimental Voyage by R.J. Blain. It’s marked as second in a series but I’m reading it before the first one (since it has a different main character). It’s supposed to be humorous. I’ve read about a dozen fantasy books by this author and the ones that were marked as humorous fit my own sense of humor well, so I have high hopes for this one. It definitely involves spaceships.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished Experimental Voyage. Gave it three stars. Here’s my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ally]

I am binged-reading Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books.
Cage of Soul was amazing, it really kidnapped me in an other world.
Shroud was great with a very alien alien !
Ironclads is a novella happening in the near future, more military sf.
I think the author is afraid of the Corporations taking over the world !

[John]

Ally wrote: "I think the author is afraid of the Corporations taking over the world ! ."

Aren't we all?????

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Quite a few SF authors write books that have the enemy either being big government or huge corporations. Far more believable IMO than an enemy who is a supervillain with a few minions.

[Debrac2014]

Teresa wrote: "Sharon Lee just posted a new short story on the Splinter Universe website, so it is free to read until the next time she bundles short stories into an ebook. Title is “Core Values”, ..."

Thank you! It was wonderful!

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I haven’t found any SF that held my attention in the past several days, HOWEVER tomorrow is April 1st so Diviner's Bow by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is dropping and I’ll be snagging it as soon as I notice it is live on Baen.

[Caitlin]

I’m reading Raven Stratagem, the second book in Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire military space opera trilogy. I read Ninefox Gambit back in February and since our group is reading it now, I hopped on the sequel. :)

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I finished Diviner's Bow by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Four stars.

I just started Friends Indeed by David Weber and Jane Lindskold. This is the latest book in the series about Honor Harrington’s (ancestor? Great great aunt? Something like that) and the treecats. It’s been out for a month. I bought it the same time I bought Diviner’s Bow.

[Drew]

I'm currently reading through House of Cards which is the Star Trek New Frontiers series by Peter David. Peter David is the first author I read that made me want to become a writer, so I figured I would go back and read through some of his ST stuff.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished Friends Indeed by Weber. Here’s a link to my 4 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now to see if there’s anything interesting in my pile of unread free ebooks, most of which are not SF.

[John]

It's getting harder for SF writers to use their art to write of the future while critiquing the present, but some of them have succeeded in reflecting concerns about the neoliberal capitalism that reigned from the 70s until 2008, and about the Techno-Feudalism that occupied the brief period from them until now. But does anyone know of an author/book that touched on the "Gangster Capitalism" that we're now seeing?

Or alternatively, who of our current writers might be the first to include it in a novel - could it be China Mieville, Kim Stanley Robinson, Cory Doctorow....we're all SF geeks - make a prediction!

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Well in Mackey Chandler’s April series, USA forcibly grabbed Canada and Mexico (before the start of the series) so it became the USNA. In one of the books the USNA president is firing and even executing cabinet members and military personnel without due process, and when the security personnel assigned to protect him force him to evacuate during a bombing the president orders that they be shot for doing so. Far from a complete match but definitely similar.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Oh, and Heinlein’s future history had a period called the Crazy Years which from memory was some kind of theocratic bureaucracy.

[John]

Wow Teresa - you have an encyclopaedic recall of SF books! I'll definitely now be having a look at the April series (even thought it sounds a bit too close to reality!!)

Thanks for these suggestions.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I’ve read April five times, and the book with the incident with the USNA president probably four times. I’d already been thinking of the similarities. But then when 9-11 happened my first reaction was that someone had been reading Tom Clancy books (there’s one where terrorists skyjack a jet and crash it into a joint session of Congress).

[Caitlin]

I’ve been reading When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut. I would best describe it as an account of some of the fundamental breakthroughs of physics and chemistry — such as the birth of quantum physics — married to a highly dramatized and fictionalized account of said physicists’ lives and how they reached their breakthroughs.

I’m honestly unsure how I will end up rating it: I love history of science books but some of the fictionalized parts strain credulity. I wish I knew which parts were based on historical record and which were fictional, but unfortunately Labatut doesn’t say in the book.

[John]

Caitlin wrote: "I’ve been reading When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut. I would best describe it as an account of some of the fundamental breakthroughs of physics and chemistry — such as the b..."

I can understand that, Caitlin - I've never been a fan of that type of mixture. I'll be interested to see your final rating.

[Linn]

John wrote: "It's getting harder for SF writers to use their art to write of the future while critiquing the present, but some of them have succeeded in reflecting concerns about the neoliberal capitalism that ..."

I did a search for "Gangster Capitalism," and found this article, which delves into recent history: https://monthlyreview.org/2000/02/01/...

It seems like a rather dry subject for Space Opera, but it might be possible to dress it up with the kind of palace intrigue that occurs in Dune. I predict Brandon Sanderson does it first, because I imagine it being similar in scope and length to his other offerings.

[John]

Linn wrote: "John wrote: "It's getting harder for SF writers to use their art to write of the future while critiquing the present, but some of them have succeeded in reflecting concerns about the neoliberal cap..."

That's quite an old article Linn - for Gangster Capitalism now you need look no further than Trump, Putin and Netanyahu. I plan to try the April series that Teresa mentioned.

[Trike]

John wrote: "Finished reading The Guns of Nana Joan by Barry J. Hutchison last night, and started on my next Culture series book - Matter."

I’m a few books ahead of you in Space Team. Just wait till you get to the time travel one! Oh boy!

[Trike]

Teresa wrote: "Quite a few SF authors write books that have the enemy either being big government or huge corporations. Far more believable IMO than an enemy who is a supervillain with a few minions."

…and then there’s Elon Musk with his idiot intern minions breaking everything, so it seems we can have both.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Since Mackey Chandler says a new book in the Family Law series is dropping in May, I’m going to reread the most recent one: A Reluctant Sovereign.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished A Reluctant Sovereign. No clue what I’ll read next. Have several books started that I haven’t given up on yet but they aren’t tempting me.

[Trike]

Teresa wrote: "Finished A Reluctant Sovereign. No clue what I’ll read next. Have several books started that I haven’t given up on yet but they aren’t tempting me."

I’ve been enjoying the silliness that is Space Team. The longer it’s gone the more invested I’ve become. Just started the 12th and final book this morning. First one is Space Team. I’ve been listening to the full cast dramatization by GraphicAudio and they’re once again knocking it out of the park.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

New Family Law book just out on Amazon only (sigh). “I Never Applied for this Job” by Mackey Chandler.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished I Never Applied for This Job by Mackey Chandler. I’ll probably have a book hangover for a day or two now.

[Audrey]

I just started Family Law by Mackey Chandler. I am only a few chapters in and enjoying it so far.

[Walter]

Reading Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Just started, but WOW!

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Audrey wrote: "I just started Family Law by Mackey Chandler. I am only a few chapters in and enjoying it so far."
I loved it the first time I read it. Rereading it I skip a lot of the parts that are set on Earth but still love the parts where Gordon and Red Tree fight against USNA.

[John]

Trike wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Finished A Reluctant Sovereign. No clue what I’ll read next. Have several books started that I haven’t given up on yet but they aren’t tempting me."

I’ve been enjoying the silliness..."

I agree Trike - Space Team are totally silly, but great fun. I'm currently (slowly) re-reading the whole series, and might listen to the Graphic Audio dramatisations after that.

[John]

I've just received the latest "Charlie Parker" novel - The Children of Eve - from John Connolly - so all other reading will go on the back burner until I've read this. I've been addicted to Connolly's supernatural/private detective novels since the very first book 26 years ago.

Its also reminded me that its very hypocritical of me to sometimes turn up my nose at authors who written a high number/long series of books - I think I've now passed the 30-book mark with Connolly - and I hope to read a few more!

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I bought a month of Kindle Unlimited so I’ve been getting my money’s worth of that lately. Not finding much good SF in KU that I haven’t already read so mostly I’ve been reading fantasy, paranormal, and romance.

However, I’m currently reading an SF book that I might actually finish instead of DNF. First of a series, with third book due out the end of May. Parallax by C.J. Dragon. Scenes on space ships and on alien planets. One character is a nature photographer who tends to focus too much on his art so doesn’t notice dangers around him. Another character is his bodyguard. I’m 20% in and the bodyguard has already saved him once.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished Parallax. Gave it three stars. Multiple times the photographer was saved by the bodyguard, sometimes ending up in sick bay. Once the bodyguard was saved. It eventually turned into more romance and less visiting dangerous planets. Not worth rereading but I’ll try the sequel which seems to feature two new main characters. I’m not going to nominate either book for Limited Pick.

[Trike]

Teresa wrote: "Finished Parallax. Gave it three stars. Multiple times the photographer was saved by the bodyguard, sometimes ending up in sick bay. Once the bodyguard was saved. It eventually turned into more rom..."

I saw that the other day but the blurb was so badly written that I didn’t even bother looking at the book.

[Caitlin]

I’ve been reading our May Reader pick - The State of the Art by Iain M Banks. I am now into the titular novella and it’s quite good so far.

[John]

Caitlin wrote: "I’ve been reading our May Reader pick - The State of the Art by Iain M Banks. I am now into the titular novella and it’s quite good so far."

You're way ahead of me Caitlin, but I had to break off to read the new novel from John Connolly. I finished that tonight, so I'll now get back to State of the Art. I'm up to about page 70 and enjoying the book so far. Thanks for nominating it!

[Caitlin]

You’re welcome! Banks is reliably great and it’s interesting to see what he does with the short story format.

[Betsy]

I was reading Ripe, our current Limited selection, but having trouble getting into it. So I'm going to switch to re-reading All Systems Red, in preparation for watching the initial episodes of the Murderbot TV series this weekend. I want the details of the book to be fresh in my mind.

[John]

I'm having a break with some light-hearted space opera - Return of the Dead Guy by Barry J. Hutchison - part of the Sapce team series.

[John]

I've just finished reading Return of the Dead Guy for the third time - hilarious!

[John]

Does anyone know what happened to book 13 in the Space Team series - All The President's Space Men? Its listed on Goodreads, complete with ratings, but I can't find it on Amazon (or anywhere else).

Do any "Space Team' fans in the group know what happened to this book?