Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

I know I always turn to my vampires and ghost and other things that go bump in the night in October...

Talking of vampires, I'm starting on the Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire omnibus (4 books) with the first book being - Red Death by P.N. Elrod

I am continuing reading As the Crow Flies, by Jeffrey Archer. It's a reread, the second overall, but only the first in e-book form. Not a fantasy, but you did ask :)

Andrea wrote: "Talking of vampires, I'm starting on the Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire omnibus (4 books) with the first book being - Red Death by P.N. Elrod"

Those are really good, although I think I only read the first 3 years ago when they first came out. It's an interesting world.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

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Completed:

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Authors:
Max Brooks, Susanna Clarke, Lindsay Ellis, Alexis Henderson, Stephen King, Yoon Ha Lee, Josh Malerman, Ann Napolitano, Julia Phillips, Etaf Rum, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Django Wexler
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A little behind, but I read Tower of the Swallows in the Witcher series last month. I enjoyed it more than the previous book in the series. More Ciri in this one.

Now, I'm going back to my teen years and rereading The Amityville Horror. I've been listening to a lot of horror podcasts, and they brought this little gem out of the mists of time for me.

My review of Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

So far I've been "rereading" The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett, but it's been so long that I might as well be reading it for the first time. And I certainly didn't remember that it's a collection of short stories rather than a novel.

Four books currently....
Still working slowly through Neuromancer by William Gibson;
about to finish The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu;
just began The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin;
and also, I'm working my way through Kate Elliott's Jaran
series... currently in His Conquering Sword.

There are a bunch of supernatural/paranormal themed books for free to read on https://rivetedlit.com/ this month. The only one I'd heard of before is Rot and Ruin, but zombies aren't my thing. Think I'll start with The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

My review of The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jim wrote: "Those are really good, although I think I only read the first 3 years ago when they first came out. It's an interesting world."

Turns out to be exactly my favorite kind of vampire tale, the gentleman vampire in historical times, where the person doesn't really turn into a monster. It's more an inconvenience to continued normal interaction with the people around you, and with the standard kind of vampire limitations like not being able to function during the day. Kind of like Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Look forward to reading the other three.

But first I'll be reading Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

I have finished Limits of Power by Elizabeth Moon (Book 4 of Paladin's Legacy and Book 9 of the Paksenarrion series) and rated it 4/5 stars.

And nooowww my month of Spooky Reads shall commence! Will be kicking things off with this recently popular horror/thriller, The Turn of the Key

Andrea wrote: "...But first I'll be reading Haunted by Kelley Armstrong"

I didn't care much for most of that series except the first 2 books which I read out of order: Dime Store MagicIndustrial Magic. I don't know why those 2 appealed to me more than the others anymore, but I think I liked the MC better. For some reason, I picked them up thinking they were the first 2 in the series. When I went back to read the actual first 2, I didn't like them or a couple I tried later on. My daughter liked all of them quite a bit.

I finished The Doomsday Testament. A very minor sci-fi tie-in - the macguffin is a meteor of dark matter - otherwise a pretty well-written thriller.

Jim wrote: "I didn't care much for most of that series except the first 2 books which I read out of order: Dime Store MagicIndustrial Magic. I don't know why those 2 appealed to me more than the others anymore"

Actually I agree with you in liking those characters more than the others (although Eve right now is proving to be fun in an evil-but-not way, plus having to deal with all the limitations of being a ghost).

I came around to reading this series since friend of mine got the first few books from a friend of hers. Before that I was avoiding it, assuming it was one of those paranormal romance urban fantasy that is more erotica than plot, but was surprised to find that wasn't the case at all and that I actually enjoyed it. Of course there is a bit of romance in each book but it's not the core of the books.

Finished reading The Wicked Deep. It reminded me alot of the Hocus Pocus movie and I kind of enjoyed the kind of classic witch curse on a village storyline.

Of those other free books, I think I'll give Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton a try next. In fact seems it's oddly similar to Wicked Deep (switching the sea for a forest, and jumping into the past) where a village is cursed to sacrifice young men, so will be interesting to compare and contrast.

Sidelights on New London and Newer York and Other Essays by G.K. Chesterton

I have started reading the last book in the Galactic Empire trilogy - Pebble in the Sky

I finished reading A Civil Campaign, that I liked a lot, and plunged immediately into the next book, Diplomatic Immunity. The Vorkosigan Saga turns out to be one the best series that I ever read.

I've been reading Ray Bradbury's collection of short stories, The Illustrated Man. It has much more SF/space content than the collection I read a few months ago, The Golden Apples of the Sun.

I finished The Turn of the Key this morning and rated it 4/5 stars. Very fast-paced modern gothic horror that I could not put down. Definitely had its spooky moments! I had figured out the main "mystery" maybe half way in, but was never 100% certain if I'd wind up being right. Either way was still a very fun ride.

I originally had a whole list of books I wanted to read for Spooky Month, however post-Turn of the Key I'm now feeling like I'm having trouble committing to the next book. Picture of Dorian Grey was supposed to be next, but not sure I'm ready to switch gears at this point. I think part of it is still feeling the intensity of the previous book and wanting something that will match it, yet I'm not sure I have anything right now that quite matches that pace. I may just have to wait until tomorrow to decide.

I have fallen headlong into
The Vorkosigan series and set everything else aside. I only have two left and I have apparently read or listened to 6-7 of them in the last month

-The Atlantis Complex
-Wildcard
-The Train to Impossible Places

Well, this morning with a clearer head/less caught up in my thoughts and feelings about The Turn of the Key, I was able to decide on my next read. I'm going with another book on my October list: Weird Tales: Volume 1, a collection of stories from Weird Tales selected by Peter Haining. I read half of the introduction (giving a history of the magazine) then decided to dive into the first story before finishing the intro. The first story was The Man Who Returned by Edmund Hamilton from the February 1934 edition. I went into it thinking this might feel like a cliche "man mistakenly burried alive" story, but in a few short pages I was thoroughly invested in the main character and his tragic tale. A great story. Will be continuing shortly with the next story.

Finished The Extra Day by Algernon Blackwood. Kind of whimsical, not his usual horror which is what I expected, but it took a long time to get through it, it kind of went on and on and on. But I suppose I could say the same of other things he's written.

Starting now on something lighter, with a vampire in it to match the theme of the month, a cozy mystery - Decorated To Death by Dean A. James. I got the first book for free through some airmiles promotion on Kobo, this would be the third book of four. It also fits with my "progress in series I started" theme of the year.

Beyond the Hundred Kingdoms by Rod Espinosa

The Unremembered Lands by Rod Espinosa

Haunted was a fun look at a possible way the afterlife could function. But now back to vampires with Death and the Maiden by P.N. Elrod

I'm beginning an early, but still thick, Brandon Sanderson book, Elantris, which I believe contains a city of zombies.

This is science rather than science fiction, but some folks might be interested.

Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene

String physicist Brian Greene, who writes science books for the general public, discusses the universe, it's inevitable end, and how humans fit into the whole business.

Interesting book. 4 stars

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Weird Tales: Volume 1 and rated it 3/5 stars. The first story remained my favourite. Most of the rest were a fun read, though a few that were also very racist to a point that couldn't be "ignored" for the sake of the rest of the story. The highlights for me were: The Man Who Returned (Edmund Hamilton), The Shuttered House (August W. Derleth), Frozen Beauty (Seabury Quinn...this one was hilariously written. Felt like Poirot-ish weird science/sci-fi), Beyond the Phoenix (Henry Kuttner, fun S&S set in Atlantis). Also liked Beyond the Walls of Sleep (Lovecraft) and Garden of Adompha (Clark Ashton Smith). Those last two with "caveats", but I still enjoyed them a fair bit.

I hadn't fully decided what to read next from my list of October reads, but at the moment thinking of either starting Northanger Abbey tonight, or waiting until tomorrow morning and perhaps reading through Hound of Frankenstein. I might do Northanger Abbey first to give a bit of space between my "pulp" horror readings.

Like you, NekroRider, I also read pulps. At the moment I'm reading Queen of the Martian Catacombs by Leigh Brackett alongside Elantris, but I dip into Weird Tales from time to time. I couldn't believe Seabury Quinn got the honour of the cover illustration in so many issues of that magazine, or really how prolific he was, but I still haven't managed to read any of his stories. I've already decided I don't care for Poirot based on The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so Quinn's Jules de Grandin didn't appeal to me either, though I liked Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. But if there's actually some supernatural elements in Quinn's version, I should give it a try.

Finished Death and the Maiden, still loving this series as it continues to be what I enjoy in a vampire tale.

Before tackling the third book in the Jonathan Barrett series, I'm switching to Anne Rice. I've been reading her books every October for years now, as I worked my way through the Vampire Chronicles, and her Mayfair witches, and there are still a bunch to go. This year I'm reading the standalone Cry to Heaven which is pure historical, no supernatural aspects this time around.

Hot Dogs, Hot Cats: A MUTTS Treasury by Patrick McDonnell

I finished The Vagrant series by Peter Newman and I absolutely loved it. It was a mashup of genre's and totally unexpected the way it all came together.

I'm moving onto One Word Kill right now to see if I enjoy it and if I do I'll finish out the trilogy since its pretty short - this is just until my next scheduled buddy read, whenever that ends up being! :))

Celebrating the season...reread The Amityville Horror for the first time since I was a teenager. Still freaks me out! For my book club I read The Death of Mrs. Westaway which had some nice gothic aspects. Now I'm reading The House Next Door which is giving me the shivers! I love October!

Finished Strange Grace. It had some issues with writing style where you had to reread a sentence or paragraph more than once to figure it out (I recall similar thing reading the Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy, in our discussion thread G33z3r gave a good example of the kind of thing) so I didn't like it as much The Wicked Deep which flowed easily from eye to mind. However if you liked The Bear and the Nightingale, there is a similar vibe with dark forest gods and young witches that flaunt traditions. Basically great concept, but could have been pulled off a little better. But wasn't terrible either...and remember I can only read these while sitting a desk on my computer which is far from comfortable so I end up skimming more than usual.

But that won't stop me from picking up the next free RivetedLit.com book, which will be Hotel for the Lost by Suzanne Young. I realized that some of the free books were available at my library and even if I couldn't get to them all before they aren't free online anymore, I could also get them later, so I'm prioritizing now with the ones the library doesn't have :)

My review of Instinct by Jason M. Hough

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished reading The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie. I am reading Provenance by Ann Leckie. I plan to read No One's Home by D.M. Pulley next.

Just finished That Way Lies Camelot by Janny Wurts (short fiction collection including some sci-fi which I enjoyed) and Ann Leckie’s Raven Tower. That was fun, slight trepidation when picking up highly rated books, and the second person narrative was a little off putting initially, but I really got to like that stone!
A couple of tomes to decide between next, Mists of Avalon has been on my to read list for a looooong time, so might do that. Or GGKs Lions of Al-Rassan.

Lords and Ladies
The Ship of the Dead
The King of Attolia
Battle Ground

Also (not SFF):
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter
Tired (so very tired): 100 Days to a Better YOU by Watching ME Go INSANE: Social Isolation in the time of the Apocalypse: The Book With the Most Subtitles Ever: See What I Mean?: Subtitles: So Many Subtitles

A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 1 by Mochinchi

Audrey wrote: "Tired (so very tired): 100 Days to a Better YOU by Watching ME Go INSANE: Social Isolation in the time of the Apocalypse: The Book With the Most Subtitles Ever: See What I Mean?: Subtitles: So Many Subtitles"

That's indeed one impressive title :)

It's a goofy book.

A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 2 by Mochinchi

I finished Pebble in the Sky and read the graphic novel Star Raiders - disappointing story but lovely artwork. I have now started The Luna Missile Crisis, which will fill my BINGO slot for a book written in 2020.

I finished Diplomatic Immunity and proceeded to the next book in the saga, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.

I'm reading Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds, which is the sequel to Revelation Space. I hesitated reading it for a long time because it's so long, but decided to bite the bullet. 😎

The Joy of Erudition wrote: "Like you, NekroRider, I also read pulps. At the moment I'm reading Queen of the Martian Catacombs by Leigh Brackett alongside Elantris, but I dip into Weird Tales from time to time. ..."

Haha, yeah it is weird that he wound up being one of the most popular authors of Weird Tales and that he had such a following generally, but I think one of those cases where it is and isn't surprising. Makes sense that if you don't like the humour of Poirot novels you might not like it here either. I think that's one of the things I liked most was the humour of his writing. Very over the top. But I think people even then probably would have liked him for the same reasons people across time like any self-aware cheesy knockoff that also throws in certain twists to appeal to a certain audience (in his case the weird science and supernatural), lol. Leigh Bracket is another pulp author I'd like to read more from, as well.