What Are You Reading in Q1 of 2025?

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

Please let us know what you’ve been reading in the first quarter of 2025 (January, February, March). All genres welcome here!

[Michelle]

I'm reading the last one in Robert McCammon's historical fiction/fantasy/horror series: Leviathan.

[John]

Reading Dune Messiah this month :)

[Christina]

I'm about 70% of the way through Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, and I'm having a hard time focusing on it. Finished so many good books last month and I think this one is just OK.

[Christina]

well, I finished Furies of Calderon. I would give it 3.5 stars. While not perfect, it was still good. And I think this might be the first book Jim Butcher ever published (I think...) so I'm sure this will get better as the story progresses.

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

Christina wrote: "well, I finished Furies of Calderon. I would give it 3.5 stars. While not perfect, it was still good. And I think this might be the first book Jim Butcher ever published (I think...) so I'm sure th..."

I enjoyed that series—I remember it taking some interesting twists & turns.

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

In January I read or listened to:
Seven Dials by Anne Perry, 7/10. A rare occurrence—I figured out a couple twists before they were revealed in the story. It seemed like Thomas Pitt for sure should have made a few connections more quickly than he did. The perspective on Egypt was interesting.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune, 9/10. Maybe because of the way I listened to this book, I felt like it was 3 books tied together: Arthur’s testimony & the whole trip with Linus to the city where the hearing was held, the integration of David the yeti into the family, and the interactions & confrontations with Miss Marblemaw & Rowder from DICOMY/DICOMA.
The messaging was very strong and explicit in this book, even more so than in the first book featuring Arthur, Linus, and the magical children. (Some reviewers thought it edged over into “preachy”, but I’m on the fence about that). Certainly there is plenty of storyline to balance and complement the message—humorous and poignant vignettes of the characters’ lives, lovely and detailed descriptions of the settings and characters, and the excitement and drama of the various adventures and confrontations.
But it is those themes of caring, hope, and empathy that give the story its depth—acceptance, openness to change, the power of kindness and love, the importance of standing up for what is right. This is, at its heart, a story of true “found family”—not just for Arthur & Linus and their children, but for Zoe, the villagers, and all those who chose to visit and/or move to Marsyas.
I would not recommend reading this without having first read The House in the Cerulean Sea.

War Master's Gate by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 9/10. This is the 9th book in a 10 book series, so the various plots are threads are starting to come together. The author does a good job balancing the large battles with the smaller, more personal skirmishes, the Apt technological advances with the Inapt mysteries and magic, the action with the introspection. I continue to find it hard to keep track of all the characters (and there are a lot of them) and the way seemingly secondary characters suddenly move to the forefront.
I was reminded frequently of the line from the Broadway musical “Hamilton”: Who lives, who dies, who tells your story…

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt, 6.5/10. This was a fun romp through history, a whole lot of time travel, and several glaring weaknesses.
The lack of preparation prior to visiting various time periods just would not have worked, and showing photographs to ancient Greeks or medieval Europeans, using their “gooseberries” (Blackberries) in front of them, and speaking either American English or modern forms of the appropriate languages—these anachronisms would have led inem into far more trouble than what they experienced. In addition, the book describes the dangers of the “cardiac event”, yet they jump back and forth, often within minutes or even seconds of the previous jump without ill effect. They are warned to avoid paradoxes, yet at one point we have 2 Daves in the same place at the same time, with no apparent disastrous result.
But it was a romp, as I said, and I enjoyed it enough to overlook the problems. I loved seeing the times & places they explored, although they limited themselves to mainly western (Eurocentric & American) people (mainly men), places, and events. Art, theatre, philosophy, music—not just politics or war—I was glad to see that. And the ending made me smile.

The Last Guardian by Michael R. Miller, 9/10. My comments are in our group discussion of The Dragon's Blade trilogy.

[Christina]

I see you read Somewhere Beyond the Cerulean Sea by Klune. I still have The House in the Cerulean Sea on my TBR that I need to read. Both sound fantastic, and I've read other books by him that I enjoyed very much. In the Lives of Puppets was excellent.

I just finished Onyx Storm, which I loved and Artemis by Andy Weir. Artemis kinda fell flat for me, and I can't pinpoint why other than I was expecting it to be like Project Hail Mary, and it wasn't. I'm almost up to date with the books in the world of Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs. Just finished Wild Sign, which I absolutely loved. One book left to go then I'll be up to date.

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

Christina wrote: "I see you read Somewhere Beyond the Cerulean Sea by Klune. I still have The House in the Cerulean Sea on my TBR that I need to read. Both sound fantastic, and I've read other books by him that I en..."

I’ve only read the 2 books from the Cerulean Chronicles and the stand-alone Under the Whispering Door, which was my favorite. I’m sure I’ll read more by this author.

[Andrew✌️]

Today I started The Lost Metal, last book in the Mistborn second series and I can't wait to know how this series will end.
For a better reading, I last week I reread the previous one, The Bands of Mourning

[Jessi]

Currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora and loving it so much that I went ahead and grabbed the next books in the Gentlemen Bastards series.

[Christina]

I absolutely loved The Lies of Locke Lamora. such a great book! I never continued the series though.

I'm currently listening to the first Maistborn book by Sanderson. Really good so far. And I'm reading A Fate Iked in Blood, which I'm really enjoying.

[Andrew✌️]

I'm Currently reading Theft of Swords, an omnibus including the first two books of the series "The Riyria Revelations".
This is my second reading and this time I'm determined to finish the whole series!✌️

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

Andrew✌️ wrote: "I'm Currently reading Theft of Swords, an omnibus including the first two books of the series "The Riyria Revelations".
This is my second reading and this time I'm determined to fin..."

I enjoyed that series, as well as his Legends of the First Empire series. I still need to read the Riyria Chronicles series, though.

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

So far in February I read:
Seal of the Worm by Adrian Tchaikovsky, final book in the Shadows of the Apt series, 10/10. It’s challenging to effectively wrap up a 10 book series, but the author does so in a very satisfying fashion. It’s not tied up with a fancy bow—there are untidy ends here and there, but that just makes it more realistic and fitting in a world as complex as this one, populated with so many kinden, both Apt and Inapt.
Strengths: Tchaikovsky does not shy away from death, both the multitudes who die in battles or other mass events and the individual deaths of major and secondary characters. Some are grubby deaths, some are noble, and some just are deaths. (view spoiler)[Totho’s sacrifice was redemptive, Stenwold Maker’s was bittersweet (I am glad he had his time with Paladrya before he returned to Collegium and then to battle), Seda’s was well-deserved IMO, and Tynisa’s was just sad. (hide spoiler)]
Over the span of 10 books, the author not only shows us the changes that come to the worlds of the Inapt (who struggle against them) and the Apt (who embrace and nurture them), but also the changes in ideas and style as leadership passes from one generation to the next.
The world-building is first-rate, and overall, the characters are fascinating, complex, utterly human as well as incredibly alien.
Weaknesses: I did find some of the secondary plot lines to be less interesting. One example—Milus’s (and Lazlo’s) obsession with Lissart, whose only significance as a character seemed to be as the object of obsession and, eventually, an agent of revenge.
The pacing was somewhat uneven, not just in this book, but across the series.
And having so many characters, so many plot lines, and such a wide world—it meant that the reader is pulled from one storyline to another, sometimes within the same chapter. I was occasionally jolted out of the story while I tried to remember what had been happening last time we were with these characters (and just who are they again?). Just about the time I would be settling in to that storyline, whoosh! off we went someplace else. I understand the necessity, especially at this point in the series, but it still made the overall story a bit choppy.
A lingering question—(view spoiler)[the centipede-kinden were banished because of their need/drive to destroy any kinden who were unlike themselves, or else somehow remake everyone else to be the same as themselves, to basically negate the other kinden. This seemed to be their nature before the great magic that established the Seal thousands of years ago, trapping them underground and eventually causing the creation of the mindless, all-devouring Worm-god. Yet, at the end, we see Messel as a representative of the Underworld Assembly. I understand that many other kinden were trapped underground when the Seal was created—are they the only survivors after the destructions of the Worm, or are there centipede-kinden as well? I know some of the Scarred Ones survived, but what of the others, and all the children? Weren’t some of them centipede-kinden? Has their long banishment changed their nature? (hide spoiler)]

The second book of short stories related to the Shadows of the Apt series, A Time for Grief, 7.5/10. These tales take place throughout the time period from book 4 through book 10 of the novel series, adding insights and more depth to some of the characters, places, and events of the novels.the title story, A Time for Grief, was my favorite, but they were all good.

A Charlotte & Thomas Pitt mystery by Anne Perry called Long Spoon Lane, 8/10. Since Thomas Pitt has moved from regular police work to Special Forces, his cases are no longer traditional mysteries, but there are still murders, multiple plots, informers, and dangers. Political plots and strange partnerships… a good story!

The second-last book in the World of Tiers series by Philip José Farmer, Red Orc's Rage. Almost a DNF, 1/10. I thought this was a rather self-indulgent book on the part of the author, using his own books as a tool for projective psychotherapy. It matters little to me that a real psychiatrist actually chose the World of Tiers series to use in his therapy groups. I found the gratuitous drug use, violence, and sex to be juvenile (fitting, I guess, since the main character is a teen) and unappealing, though apparently it was somewhat ground-breaking at the time it was written. The prose was too pulpy and the plots, both in Jim’s world and Orc’s world, were ridiculously shallow.

I’m currently reading/listening to:
For Love of Distant Shores by Adrian Tchaikovsky, his third book of Tales of the Apt
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan

[Gary]

I’m about half way through the final book of the Tawny Man series by Robin Hobb and what an incredible author she is just wish the publishers actually proof read it before publishing. So many errors in grammar.

[Christina]

I read 2 books recently that I really loved. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo was a 5 star read for me. It's set in the Spanish Inquisition and the MC is a woman who performs small miracles. If you haven't read it, I would recommend it.

The other book I read wasn't fantasy. Funny Story by Emily Henry is basically a romqntic comedy. This author is becoming a favorite of mine.

[Kathi, There’s no such thing as too many books!]

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman, 7.5/10. Not the story I was expecting, but a good one nonetheless. I listened to an audiobook & the narrator did a fine job. Each POV character was distinctive, both in the writing & the narration. The mysteries around which the story revolves are really secondary to Maddie’s life & development as an independent woman, which is the heart of the book.

For Love of Distant Shores by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 6.5/10. The 4 stories in this collection all feature Professor Phinagler (yes, he does finagle things) and his assistant Fosse, following them on adventures to parts of the kinden world that are less explored in the main Shadows of the Apt series. The author, in his Afterword, describes how he deliberately made the tales rather “pulpy”—not my favorite styles of writing. And the final story, For Love of Distant Shores, is heartbreaking in many ways. Overall, not as strong a collection as the first two Tales of the Apt collections.

The Scent of Tears by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 6.25/10. I enjoyed about half the stories in this collection, the final book in the Tales of the Apt. The selections are bookended by Adrian Tchaikovsky’s own stories, but all the authors wrote convincingly of the world of the Apt and Inapt and the various kinden races. Favorites stories: The Scent of Tears, Wonder, The Unforeseen Path, The Poor Little Earwig Girl, Recipes for Good Living, and The God of Profound Things. Worst stories: Forwards, The Message, and The Promise of a Threat.

The Huntress by Michael R. Miller, 6/10. An engaging novella that doesn’t add much to the backstory of The Dragon’s Blade trilogy (of which this is a prequel). Elsie’s story is both courageous and sad; we only get glimpses of the other characters and only from her perspective. I listened to this & was a little surprised that the narrator chose to use Scottish accents for the human characters.

The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan, 7/10. Who can sort out and make sense of Ireland’s history? The author captures, in this fictionalized account, one year in the long, tortured, tumultuous, sad story of Ireland’s woes—hopeful yet hopeless, English, Irish, French, rich, middle-class, poor, Protestant, Catholic, property owners, property managers, tenants, landless, priests, teachers, clerics, shopkeepers, crafters, soldiers—all set against each other and themselves. From another reviewer: “It tackles the ugly sectarian, social, political, economic and cultural divisions that renders conflict and hatred inevitable.” On the plus side: obviously meticulously researched, descriptive writing rich with details, distinct and mostly authentic characters. It’s a thorough account of this particular rebellion and I learned a lot! On the minus side: too detailed (really, how many times must the bogs and huts be described, often using the exact same words?), a touch too stereotypical (yes, I know the stereotypes are rooted in reality, but so few exceptions—the author sometimes paints the characters with too broad a brush). And while I know Irish history is depressing and the many rebellions over the centuries were doomed, it still makes for unrelentingly bleak reading, and the author did little to relieve the darkness.

I read 2 more books in Anne Perry’s Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series of historical mysteries: Buckingham Palace Gardens & Treason at Lisson Grove. Both were better than the last few I’d read, and I rated them 9/10 & 8.5/10 respectively.

I wrapped up my read of Philip José Farmer’s World of Tiers series with More Than Fire, 4/10. I am happy to be done with it—too pulpy, too much needless gore, too many double-crosses, too many dead relatively important characters, and a major unresolved plot thread from earlier in the series. The only decent characters were Anana, who was reduced to being a motivation for Kickaha rather than an active character, and Manathu Vorcyon, the Mother Goddess. Hmmm, only the female characters were at all appealing? Interesting.

I also read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, 7.5/10. 7.5/10
First, this review reflects my thoughts & feelings about this book, not the author’s life aside from this book nor the allegations against him. I wanted to love this book. I’ve been meaning to read it for a long time & was looking forward to a magical experience. And it certainly had its moments of magic, with some exceptionally descriptive passages and some imaginative occurrences and creatures. It’s very atmospheric & evocative. But there didn’t seem to be much character development, especially in the narrator (the main character) or his family, who certainly experienced some unusual & possibly life-changing events. The reader never learns much of anything about the narrator as an adult. I don’t mind some unanswered questions or mysteries left unsolved for the reader to muse about, but there were some major dangling threads—(view spoiler)[whose funeral was the narrator attending (not his sister, so maybe a parent?); was there any fallout from affair between Ursula & the narrator’s father; just what was the nature of the “fleas” and where did they come from; were there others like the Hempstocks living in other places and helping protect “our” world; were there 3 female Hempstocks or 3 aspects of just 1 Hempstock; did the narrator die when the “cleaners” removed the last bit from his heart & Lettie then exchanged her life for his or did Lettie “die” protecting the narrator? (hide spoiler)] Overall, I’m glad I read the book and I do recommend it.

Currently listening to The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis and reading Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott.

[Christina]

After I finished One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig, I can't seem to get into much. I'm sure it has more to do with RL than the books I have tried, so I'm giving new material a break and returning to the Dresden Files with Grave Peril and will probably read (listen) through the rest of the series again. I have them all on audio and they're favorites.

I remember reading The Ocean at The End of the Lane years ago, but I honestly don't remember much about it. I remember I liked it, but I don't think it knocked my socks off.

[Christina]

I should probably also say that I did like the Rachel GIllig books. The first book had more romance than the first did. But both were still mostly fantasy and worth the read. The magic system was unique and I loved the world.