Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion
What We've Been Reading
>
What have you been reading this November?
message 51:
by
Robin
(new)
Nov 12, 2025 10:30AM
Hi Audrey, "If it was the author that got the difference I'd consider it." I can't speak for trad publishing but with my indie books, I actually used to make more on the e-books. Well meaning chums would say, "I bought the paperback, you know, because you'll make a bit more on that." I would politely thank them for their thoughtfulness but in fact I would earn about 30 to 50pence more from the Kindle edition (depending on the size of the book). This was partly because of Amazon's pricing rules but mostly because I wanted to keep the hard copy books affordable. Many people (my nephew for one), refuse to buy e-books on principle.
reply
|
flag
Hi Bonnie, thank you (and welcome to the group by the way). My reading crisis is averted for the time being( I picked up V E Schwab's ' A Darker Shade of Magic' ) but I am always on the lookout for titles to add to my WTR shelf.🙂Yes, the Amazon deals vary wildly by country. I have picked up titles at 0.99p that are full price in the US or Australia and vice versa.
Robin wrote: "Hi Michelle. Yes, that does look like my kind of thing and I already have a Kingfisher on my 'want to read' shelf (Hemlock and Silver). But... Clockwork Boys is currently £9.99 for the Kindle editi..."I loved Nettle & Bone
A Darker Shade of Magic is pretty impressive so far by the way (but it 's early days yet)😁
The writers I know say they get more (in royalties) from ebooks than paper books and even more of the cut if you buy from them directly. (Not all are set up for that.)I did get Hemlock & Silver back over the weekend; just have to finish it before it's due. I have liked every Kingfisher so far.
I keep trying V E Schwab because the premises always sound so good, but I am always terribly disappointed.
Finished reading Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Documentary Journey into Vampire Country and the Dracula Phenomenon so I can finally knock off another BINGO slot (I'm soooo behind). This is my Non-Fiction SF/F book. It was actually pretty interesting, going into Stoker's biography, his writing process, vampires in folklore and in tales written pre-Dracula, and then covered publishing history and then the influence Dracula has had on us ever since (to the dismay of Romanians, heh). Its always fascinated me how one book, say Dracula, goes essentially viral (even if it takes 50 years before it really kicks in) and others like say Varney or Ruthven, don't. I mean, Varney is a terrible example since the writing is pretty terrible but you know what I mean :)
Also finished Allies of the Night
Starting on The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin which will fill my Dreampunk BINGO.
I finished The Silent Hand (2), which I liked a lot less than the first book in that series. Nonetheless I am starting the third volume, The Presence Malign.
Michelle wrote: "Oh, darn it. the U.S. kindle version is only $3.99! Sorry about that, Robin."It is a constant source of irritation the number of e-books on sale or just cheaper in the US compared to Australia and Canada.
I am about 3/4 of the way through Hot Moon, which has been fun to read, although some of the political decisions made in this alternate history seem a tad unlikely - Nixon pulling out of Vietnam in the late 60s to concentrate on the moon race because the Soviets were ahead. Which led to no Watergate and Nixon completing his second term and Reagan becoming President in 76 instead of 80. Anyway, it hasn't had a major impact on the story. Due to problems with either the headset I had, or the in-flight system, the movies on my trip back from Thailand were unwatchable - plenty of volume on the music, no volume on the dialogue - so I churned through a significant number of the 700 pages of the book.With the announcement of the upcoming Prime Video series, I picked up a copy of Fourth Wing. Due to a Prime Day deal, the paperback (at $14 AUD) was cheaper than the Kindle version ($16.99 AUD), so I bought that. No real hurry to read it though, as I believe the series won't debut until 2027.
I have finished Hot Moon. Certainly an interesting alternate history, with some plot twists I didn't see coming. The author provided several pages at the end discussing the events that he changed from our history, and how he thought they would develop, which was an interesting read. There are two sequels, but I think they will be getting more into being SF rather than alternate history, and I don't feel a real need to dive into them straight away.
Acorna: The Unicorn Girl
since I'm deciding which series I want to start for me 12 plus 4 challenge this month (which I will also be mostly able to use on this groups Bingo/series challenges in 26 as they are mainly going to be fantasy/sci fi series.) I'm not loving it, though I am liking it. I'll probably include it in the challenge as I recently got books 4 and 5 really cheap on kindle.
I have started reading Welcome to the Occupied States of America, which is part of Peter Cawdron's First Contact series - these are almost all standalone and only related through involving first contact between humans and aliens. This one also seems to be a dystopian post-invasion book.
DNFed the last book in the spider series i was reading for now might pick up later. finished
the students have more of an adventure then i was expecting based on the fact the a good bit of book 1 was studying books in a library. we learn what a Librarian errant actually is, how it fits in the wider world, and how the students powers are kind of OP even under trial and error training. the bits where author explains hughs magic are info dumpy so skim but otherwise good pacing. replaced some non starters for me with
and some other funny options to pick from
and
book 2 in a fantasy spycraft story. has been a quick read.
Bonnie wrote: "Acorna: The Unicorn Girl since I'm deciding which series I want to start for me 12 plus 4 challenge this month (which I will also be mos..."I read the whole series, honestly I think I liked the first one best and didn't much care for the rest of the series. The unicorn/human hybrid kind of form just didn't work that well. The dragons of Pern worked much better as alien fantasy creatures.
I read the graphic novel These Savage Shores by Ram V which I thought was really well done. A different take on vampires, and a different view of British colonialism.
Orange: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 and Orange: The Complete Collection, Volume 2 by Ichigo Takano
I was in the library, I saw Cthulhu Cat, it looked weird and cute at the same time so I grabbed it. I'd been reading various manga/graphic novel adaptations of Lovecraft's work this year so why not add a goofy one to the list.
USS OBAMA 2130
by John H. SibleyIn this space adventure, Captain Toussaint Barack Williams and the American military face off against some of the most gruesome creatures in the galaxy.
Lots of action plus social commentary. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just blazed through Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb and it has convinced me I should never listen to what YouTube creators say about books. FitzChivalry is a fantastic main character, and I do not understand why so many content creators are so frustrated with him. Maybe in the sequels my feelings will change, but you really need to read books and decide your own feelings about them. Obvious, I suppose.
Lukey wrote: "Just blazed through Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb and it has convinced me I should never listen to what YouTube creators say about books. FitzChivalry is a fantastic main character, and I do ..."I always liked that book, too
Planet of the Apes
I read this for my library's Grim Reader's group. Very much a book written in the 60's, although it read even more like an older story. If you ever need a translated book for a challenge, (I see you, 2026 Bingo card!) you could read this, originally in French. The translation was very well done.
Lukey wrote: "Just blazed through Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb and it has convinced me I should never listen to what YouTube creators say about books. FitzChivalry is a fantastic main character, and I do ..."Fitz is one of my all-time favourite characters, he is so well written. I've never understood people who call him "frustrating" or "stupid" either. Maybe I'm "frustrating" and "stupid" as a person, but I actually find his moments of procrastination, indecision, internal conflict to be relatable. And when he makes "stupid choices", they come off as very human. He's a very introspective character and I love being inside his head. One of the best characters in fantasy, imo.
Y'all are better than I at embedding your reviews and links to books in clever hyperlinks. That being said, two more books down this month! Unpopular opinion time! I did not like Nine Princes in Amber. I might read book two because apparently things get better, but how is this the same Zelazny? How do others feel?https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also, just read the delightfully odd Momo to my kids. Very prescient...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lukey wrote: "Just blazed through Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb and it has convinced me I should never listen to what YouTube creators say about books. FitzChivalry is a fantastic main character, and I do ..."I love Fitz and Robin Hobb. I haven't finished the nine book cycle but am told it is very very worth it.
Robin wrote: "Thanks for the input folks. I will continue to ponder and temporarily not read anything... a mini slump you could call it. Thing is, even if I remove my self imposed budget and look at slightly mor..."Robin, I know you said (1) you are out of your slump and (2) you were looking for deals, but it is hard to not make a recommendation or two. For anything read/reread in the last few years I write reviews, so friend me if you want to find them and get a more thorough opinion than "it is super!"
These kinds of slumps are the best for short stories, IMO. Have you read Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation by Ted Chiang? Or The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu? Or The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanne Clarke?
Speaking of Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a standalone and glorious book. As is Piranesi.
Have you tried the standalone Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson? Warbreaker used to be free on his website. The other standalones (off the top of my head) are Tress of the Emerald Sea and Elantris. Technically, The Sunlit Man, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Isles of the Emberdark are "standalone" but there are subtle and not-so-subtle connections to other characters and events in his universe.
I love The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson.
If you are down for something a bit more cerebral, The Buried Giant is deep.
Scalzi is great fun and, in my opinion, his standalone Redshirts is his best.
Fairy Tale was fun.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is genius. I just forked over for the Folio Society edition...
If you haven't read it yet and have a stomach for the New Weird, Perdido Street Station is pretty wild.
For something a bit more modern, Blake Crouch writes great page-turners. My favorite by him is Recursion.
The Discworld books by Sir Terry Pratchett are smart and hilarious and all can stand on their own.
Everything Le Guin is magic, but my favorite by her is probably The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia.
TBH, I thought the Darker Shade of Magic series started strong and ended in a confused whimper. But I might be in the minority on that one. I heard some of her newer books are much better.
Good luck!
Dean wrote: "Unpopular opinion time! I did not like Nine Princes in Amber. I might read book two because apparently things get better, but how is this the same Zelazny? How do others feel?"It's weak. It's supposed to be on a scale that dwarfs LOTR, but it never feels that way.
I think the viewpoint is a major weakness. When depicting petty characters engrossed in their petty feuds, it takes real art to depict the world as great behind their backs, and this did not succeed.
Georgann wrote: "Planet of the Apes I read this for my library's Grim Reader's group. Very much a book written in the 60's, although it read even more like an old..."I used that for my Translated Bingo book in either 23 or 24 😁
I have finished Welcome to the Occupied States of America, which is more dystopian than is usual for Peter Cawdron's novels, but still very worthwhile.I'm still deciding on what to read next. I'm waiting for the usual quiet period in work that comes in December, although I'm not sure it's coming this year - the usual quiet period in late July / August was notably absent this year.
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society
was a fun, easy read. I loved that we have an older heroine. I started it as we waited forever at my spouse's surgery center. I was chuckling away and the lady beside me said, "I love a good book."
Thanks for the suggestions Dean, apologies that I only just noticed them (I mostly use the mobile app and the notifications can be a bit hit and miss). Some of those, like Fairy Tale and Piranesi I have already read but others are completely new to me. Cheers.
Finished The Lathe of Heaven, interesting story, a bit of a "be careful what you wish for" kind of thing. Not sure it really really screamed Dreampunk but when I really dug into the genre there were only about 5 books that really fell in the category and this was definitely strange surreal enough to be a decent match. One more BINGO down, seven more to go.Since I've got 4 very short books in the Darren Shan series, I'm continuing with Killers of the Dawn
I also saw this in the library, thought it seemed cute, though turns out the cats will take human-ish form at night so its a bit unexpectedly odd as well - Cats of the Louvre
I Picked Up This World's Strategy Guide, Vol. 1 and I Picked Up This World's Strategy Guide, Vol. 2 by atchi ai
I loved Recursion! That's my favorite Crouch. I did a couple cozy mysteries, The Treasure Hunters Club and Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies. I'm on The Alphabet House, a WWII thriller (though it's kind of slow). Planning on re-reading Drumindor (haven't gone through the final version yet; I was the copy editor) and then The Neverending Story, which I have never read.
I did finish Hemlock & Silver; pretty good.
Not sure if I had posted about it, but finished Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and then decided I needed a bit of lighter reading after more than a month of horror and gothic fic. Ive since finished Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie which was a nice fun read, I just think she went with the wrong ending for plausibility. It was nice to read something light and funny though.Ive now jumped back into Shadows Linger by Glen Cook (book 2 of Black Company), which I had started in September but paused for spooky season.
Audrey wrote: "I loved Recursion! That's my favorite Crouch. I did a couple cozy mysteries, The Treasure Hunters Club and Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies. I'm on [boo..."
The Neverending Story is SO GOOD and so much better than the movie...
I'm on a real bender this month apparently - and the Thanksgiving holidays haven't started yet!Just finished An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us. So good.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Killers of the Dawn. Also finished Stalwart...oof...I can see why the author went to indie publishing, no editor would have allowed this series to continue in this way. It worse than a soap opera, making nearly no progress from one book to the next, and while yes, space battles are dragged out and take time due to the vastness of space, man...I don't want to read every moment of the days/weeks it takes for the two opposing groups to approach and actually start shooting.And the fact that its boring now that the good guys blast out of space like 1000 of the bad guys for every one they lose. Especially when the last three books were more or less exactly the same.
I can see why it looks like the series probably doesn't come to an end. It took me from *JUNE* to finish reading this thing. And I didn't feel I missed anything though it was so dragged out, since there was just "more of the same" to keep track of while reading.
So I'm finally happy to start something else on my eReader and that will fill by Weird West BINGO slot - A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
And for physical book I'm picking up another BINGO slots, Anthology with Blood and Other Cravings by Ellen Datlow
I finished The Presence Malign, last book in the trilogy. I found it better than the second one. Not everything is explained at the end but this did not inconvenience me.I am restarting the Licanius Trilogy, with the first book, The Shadow of What Was Lost.
finished
yesterday and immediately started book 2 because the characters are funny and the idea an evil alien empire invading earth for the express purpose of making an entire species play a randomized game show for survival leads to some dark humor. pokes fun at the entertainment industry in a creative way. also by book 2 the talking cat earns a baby dino as a pet
Not sci-fi or fantasy, but I will recommend Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books
. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I started it on the Metra into the city, and I laughed til I cried at chapter 2. No one looked at me askance, so I guess I wasn't too loud! It wasn't all funny, tho, and was an excellent commentary on book banning, social media, and what is happening in America today. Highly recommend!
Georgann wrote: "Not sci-fi or fantasy, but I will recommend Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books . I thoroughly enjoyed it. I ..."Thanks, Georgann. I started it this morning after your recommendation and I'm really enjoying it. Some of it is a bit confusing/surprising for me as I'm not an American but the message is universal.
Georgann wrote: "Not sci-fi or fantasy, but I will recommend Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books . I thoroughly enjoyed it. I ..."Thanks again, Georgann. I just finished reading and it was excellent.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through Marsbound, and it was a really slow start. It starts as a hard SF novel in the period when humans are expanding beyond Earth, but the pace really picks up when it switches to a First Contact story.
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Made Things (other topics)Marsbound (other topics)
Starbound (other topics)
Marsbound (other topics)
Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Matsuri Akai (other topics)Grrr (other topics)
Gemma Files (other topics)
Ellen Datlow (other topics)
atchi ai (other topics)
More...
