What Are You Reading?

Glebee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574550#Comment_120574550

Just finished Malice and starting into next book. Don't think this is what I was expecting out of this serious. Thought it would be more a serious read but this sort of feels like young adult to me at the moment.

Igotadose

"One Day All This Will All Be Yours" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Nice little novel about time travel paradoxes. A light read.

CalamariFritti

After dipping into the 'Silo' tv series - which I'd also recommend - I'm reading now the Hugh Howey novels of the same story which for some reason go under the name 'Wool'. Pretty good stuff if you're constantly looking for a new fix like myself. Well written, gritty, grimy, dark, a tense and well crafted 'universe' within its confines and having Rebecca Ferguson as your mental image for your favourite heroine isn't hurting either.

Would recommend it. Got the 'omnibus edition' which is available for a very reasonable price for your kindle.

ixoy

Some more from the last couple of months:

* "Forge of the High Mage" by Ian C. Esslemont, the fourth book in his "Path to Ascendancy" Malazan prequel series. Esslemont's a more action, driven less philosophical writer than Erikson and it helps make the tale a brisk (if less deep) adventure. Features a bunch of familiar faces, as well as the early start of Mallick Rel and some Forkul Assail and it was an enjoyable entry in the series.

• "King of Ashes", book 1 of Raymond E. Feist's "Fireman" trilogy. It's a while since I finished Feist's Riftwar series and this one shows him trying to be a bit more adult in tone. It's a little bit slow and Feist has a tendency to repeat certain points but it was a fairly solid entry. Nothing spectacular but enough for me to read the next one.
• "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett, the 3rd Discworld novel. An improvement over the first two books, it follows a fairly standard premise and executes it quite well. Never hilarious but I can see how Pratchett is growing as a writer with a more solid sense of pacing and plot.
• "Lords of Uncreation" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the last book in his Final Architecture series. It stuck the landing thankfully and is a strong conclusion to a very solid piece of space opera. Good balance of characters and actions. It's not the peak of his work but if he re-visits the universe (and he's certainly prolific enough to have time to), I'd definitely be interested in reading more.
• "Age of Assassins" by RJ Barker, the first book in his Wounded Kingdom trilogy. It's earlier than his superb 'Bone Ships trilogy but this is a strong debut novel. It is a bit of a "coming of age" story so it loves some originality there but he shows that touch of original world building that he excelled with in the Bone Ships series. His prose is strong in the way the world is gradually explained and in just some lovely turns of phrase. Will definitely be reading the rest and - at this rate - whatever he publishes.
• "Mort", the fourth Discworld book. Definitely my favourite so far. Easily the best balance of plot, character and humour. I had read it years ago and forgot how much I like Death. Pratchett's skill with the footnotes takes off here too. Only just under 40 books to go!
• "Waybound" by Will Wight, the final book in his Cradle series. Another one that pretty much stuck the landing. While I'm not enamoured with the series as some elsewhere, it delivered fully on the battlefront and epic scale. It undelivered a little I think on the characterisation of Lindon himself but others were well done and one character's humour was always welcome. The side plot, running throughout the series, never fully gelled but I suspect a spin off is coming to address that.

Glebee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120664480#Comment_120664480

Finished up the second book, Valour. Definitely enjoyed it more than the first book and will keep reading after a small break from the series, easy reading and enjoy the chapters hopping between the main characters to develop the story.

ixoy

Quiet thread!

• "The Maleficent Seven" by Cameron Johnston. A darkly humorous take on Seven Samurai where seven horrible people (necromancer, vampire, etc) are forced to defend a village against an even worse threat. Probably most reminiscent of Joe Abercrombie although not nearly as biting or sharply written. Good fun and it's nice to have a solo novel.
• "Queen of Storms" by Raymond E. Feist, the second book in his Firemane Saga. I liked this and I can't even say why. It's nothing particularly original. The pacing is a bit off (slow to start) and the characters hardly unusual from a million other series. And yet it worked for me. Maybe it's because I've read so many Feist books and enjoy something about his accessible writing style. Maybe sometimes I just want a fantasy trilogy that isn't too deep. Either way flew through this quickly and will finish off the series soon.
• "Jack Four" by Neal Asher - a solo book set in his Polity universe. It was pretty standard Asher and I found the first quarter slow, the final quarter a bit too much filled with battle sequences (yes, I should know to expect this) with the middle by far my favourite as Asher delves into some of the alien life forms he does so well. Just wish he'd focus more on that than the various weaponry fights.
• "Sourcery!" by Terry Pratchett, the fifth Discworld book and third Rincewind book. I dunno, didn't quite warm to this. I think I'm not a huge fan of the Rincewind series, finding the wizard stuff a little dull. The stakes here also seemed too high for a light-hearted series: I didn't need these world shattering events. While I wasn't bored, I didn't get invested in the story - a big drop from "Mort". Hopefully the next book, returning to Granny Weatherwax, is better. I'm aware too that this is all still early Pratchett and it gets better.
• "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Lois McMaster-Bujold. This one is a book from his best friend Ivan's perspective and I thought it worked quite well. It's light enough fare and doesn't feature the same "smarts" as a Miles book but Ivan's charismatic and there's a fun heist adventure in it
• "Salvation" by Peter F. Hamilton, the first book in his Salvation Sequence trilogy. It'd been a while since I've read Hamilton and I'd forgotten just how much fun his books can be. The pacing was excellent and he's got a great eye for action. Despite this being largely a series of flashbacks, the flashbacks have lots going on in them and just whet the appetite for the next book. Glad I got back into him.

Trojan

Pale Lights by ErraticErrata

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/65058/pale-lights/chapter/1124855/chapter-1

Pale Lights book one is The Lies of Locke Lamora crossed with Battle Royale. We have heists, intrigue, and murder most foul. Crosses. Double-crosses. Triple- crosses. A fascinating magic system, worthy of Brandon Sanderson. Dead gods. Old gods. New gods. It has it all.

I particularly like the dialogue, this author knows how to write smart characters who adapt to their surroundings.

If I'm forced to find criticism, and you would have to force me, it's minor: the story kicks off with a large cast of characters to remember. There is some fan-art of the entire cast at various stages of the story linked in the comments section: that helps a lot and I’d encourage the author to reach out to that artist to integrate it if possible (if it’s not already been commissioned).

The other thing that could be useful, is more maps and diagrams, particularly of the island as a whole for the Trial of Lines, the forts and maze in the Trial of Ruins, and the town in the Trial of Weeds  

In addition, in this web novel initial version, there are some minor typos that appear to be actual typing mistakes - as opposed to the bad spelling and grammar seen from bad writers. I am more than happy to consume these if it means the author can continue to keep up the publishing pace. 

If you enjoy great characters, intrigue, and superb world-building, all wrapped up in fantastic writing, you'll love this. Highly recommended.

Glebee

Playing Baldurs Gate 3 at the moment so dived back into some Forgotten Realms books as there set in the same world, they are simple and straightforward books with no real complexity and typical fantasy characters. About 10 books into series and good to pick put every now and again. Pick about 20 up on Humble Bundle a while ago for next to nothing.

Glebee

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - Really enjoying this at the moment, not as dense as Game of Thrones but an iteresting read.

lordgoat

Went back to Murakami for a while.

Fian

Read "the dark forest" sequel to the three body problem. really enjoyed it and thought it was better than the three body problem.

Will go on to the next one soon, but instead of going on immediately I am reading "shadow and betrayal" which is the first two books in "the long price quartet" by an author called Danial Abrahamson, who i have never read before. Interesting magic system, not too far into it yet, but I am enjoying it. Will be looking for more of his books.

Before the dark forest I slogged through a book. Should have just moved on tbh. It made such a deep impression that I actually cannot remember what it was, except that it wasn't great and that it took me ages to finish. I just took out my kindle to find out what it was called: "to sleep in a sea of stars" - by Christopher Paolini.

Nody

Did a read (well listen) through of all Pratchett's books in order (turned out I had miss two or three previously); followed up by a re-reading of Dune book 1 again and now doing Foundation again. On a bit of a classic re-read honestly.

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121104471#Comment_121104471

Although Dune 1 was great, Dune 2 and 3 are o.k.. The rest are dreadful. I really liked Dune Messiah.

Nody

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121105537#Comment_121105537

I've finished the whole series including the final books written by his son (which are GoT season 8 was to season 1 by comparison in depth and characters) and some of the prequals (Harkonnen, Atreides, the Butlarian Jihad etc.).

Igotadose

Ye might find this an interesting read, a bio of Lester Del Rey, a giant of Fantasy publishing.

https://slate.com/culture/2023/10/lester-del-rey-invention-fantasy-book-publishing.html

CalamariFritti

Really struggling at the moment to find anything good to feed the addiction.

Ended up trying stuff like Seven Suns, Renegade Star and Shadow Order series and its all quite meh and B-grade and just doesn't do it.

Can't wait for the new Murderbot on Nov 14. Will be an excuse to re-read everything before going into it.

RMDrive

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121213394#Comment_121213394

Yeah, funny how you can go through phases like that. I'm back with the Black Company again. Still enjoying it.

Thargor

Been away from this thread for a long time due to reading all 20 novels in the Captain Aubrey - Marturin series that the film Master and Commander was based on, absolutely spectacular books, feeling a bit lost now after them tbh. Really deep characters and the best depiction of Napoleonic times you'll get, on sea and on land, has to be the best historical fiction ever written.

Read Waybound to finish off the Cradle series... meh, it was alright, whiff of finishing his homework on a Sunday night though (spoilers ahead): He just rushes all his mates up to Dreadgod fighting level for the craic even though all the other masters have been portrayed as 1000 year old gods for the whole series? Whole other books based on preparing to just go near a Dreadgod in the rest of the series and now in this they're running around killing them one after another? Didnt seem to resolve any of the stuff at higher levels out in space either or maybe my eyes had just glazed over at that stage, curious what others here thought of it, tbh the world always felt a bit cheap and 2D compared to other authors but I know I enjoyed and devoured most of the series over the years.

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the first 2 books in the Children of... series are 2 of the finest sci-fi novels I ever read but this is just a dud, boring repetitive and I saw the twist 25% of the way in, very disappointed in that one and his current projects dont sound great either.

Infinity Gate by MR Carey, loved it, read it in 2 days, 2 part series but no 2nd part until 2024. Just a really good take on The Long Earth type situation without the wacky Terry Pratchett theme.

Reading Footfall by Larry Niven now, its good enough but very dated now especially the cringey interactions with females of which there are many, the aliens are interesting though.

ixoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121215199#Comment_121215199

On 'Waybound' - Yep, all valid points. It suffered from people being over-powered and I never really got a sense of threat as a result. It just felt a little too easy and Lindon had too much luck with all the various artefacts he found. The Internet seems to love this series but it lacks any depth for me and is mostly one long action scene (which can be well done). Dross is the best thing about it easily. The other has effectively said there'll be more books in the universe so it's not quite over.

As to 'Children of Memory' - I liked it, but didn't love it. He took a different direction than before and I can see why but I think the material would have worked better as a novella than a novel. Series is just after winning the Hugo so obviously has fans! I did like his latest space opera trilogy, quite fun, and 'City of Last Chances' worked for me.

lordgoat

delighted to hear of a new murderbot!

Re-read Ancillary series by A. Leckie. Loved it.

Catching up on Sandersons projects from this year next

OwaynOTT

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft, really enjoying it but feels like it changes tack midway

has anyone read this?

Thargor

Fourth Wing, supposed to be the best thing in fantasy in years, Amazon series on the way, 100k 5 star reviews, Hunger Games with dragons blah blah blah.

Its unbelievably bad, worst thing Ive read in ages. Its that same fecking character all these mediocre amateur writers infesting sci-fi/fantasy these days always write, fake cynical geek with the heart of gold who outsmarts everyone else with their smug modest genius. I think it was Andy Weir who started it, he won the lottery with an incredibly overrated self published book when he released the Martian and now you have all these amateurs trying to cash in the same way copying him, Ive come across this exact same character in 10 different books in recent times, all a copy of the astronaut in The Martian, even the astronaut in Project Hail Mary was a copy of the astronaut in The Martian!

Fourth Wing is particularly bad though, the author cant write, I actually get a whiff of AI off it it gets so bad in places.

Igotadose

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang.

About 1/3 through. Slog. Not great, seems vaguely like a cross between Harry Potter and The Good Earth. Supposedly it gets better.

ixoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121316142#Comment_121316142

Is it one of those "TikTok made me buy it!" sensations? I've found before those ones tend to generally be quite poor compared to others. It's often books that are pushed by those who've never read much fantasy / sci-fi and are "amazed" by a fantasy-lite series. Romance probably features heavily in it too.

ixoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121316217#Comment_121316217

This is the book I see come up most often in the "overrated" posts on /r/fantasy .

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121316652#Comment_121316652

I dont know Id usually consider myself immune to that crap (gave up on anything Goodreads recommends years ago) but this was racking up 5* reviews everywhere including Reddit and the sales figures are ridiculous.

CalamariFritti

Andy Weir - Project Hail Mary

Similarities to 'The Martian' as in detailed problem solving but good story and best I read in a while. Which I have to put into perspective - its because I have read almost everything in my favourite genre and I moved to b (I think) material.

Can't wait for new Murderbot., 2 more weeks. Will probably start all over again now. Should be finished about when the new one comes out.. ;)

lordgoat

LOL @Thargor at Fourth Wing, I read the back of it and went this is Hunger games shite and put it down.

ixoy

Here's some others slamming the Fourth Wing a little: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/s/Nqg5Gy0j1C

You're not alone

Xofpod

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121313811#Comment_121313811

Really enjoyed it and worth sticking with the series, although the (fourth &) final book could have done with a serious edit.