The Sword and Laser discussion

I will refrain from a dumb April fools joke and instead simply ask what are you reading this month?

Ha ha, I'm not fooled!

Halfway thru Empire of the Damned. Got two pre-orders coming in this month. First is The Book That Broke the World 2nd book in the Library Series, Pre-Order #2 is the 6th book in the Historical Fiction Series Chivalry, The Emperor's Sword.

Had to pause my listening of Amongst Our Weapons, due to several library holds coming in. First was The Sea of Monsters. Then I got a notification that The Once and Future Witches was available but I had to push that one back a week because I wasn't finished with Percy Jackson yet. I finished it on Friday. While I enjoy the Percy Jackson books themselves, I'm not very fond of the reader. Sadly, the Kindle books have an even longer wait than the audio versions.

Yesterday, Libby popped up another notification saying Bookshops & Bonedust was available so that is what I'm listening to now. I may have to push those Once and Future Witches back another week.

After I post this, I'm going the to library to pickup Star Trek: Picard: Firewall. I'm also listening to Demon Daughter by Bujold (the latest in her Penric & Desdemona series). So, I'm doubling up on Bujold this month.

I'm reading Hopeland by Ian McDonald. I'm 130 pages in, and still don't really know what is going on, but the quality of writing is pretty breathtaking. Usually, if I don't get what the book is doing after 100 pages, I give up on it, but this one has a propulsion I can't quite put my finger on.
I've never read him before, but he's a "grandmaster" of sci-fi, so I figured it's worth a go.

I finished Anackire and am starting the final book in the trilogy, The White Serpent.

I’m just starting The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

Did the next Mossa and Pleiti book - The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, and another SF mystery - Station Eternity. Both were OK.

I finished up all of the Nebula nominees!

My ranking:

1. Translation State - 5 stars
2. Witch King - 4 stars
3. The Saint of Bright Doors - 4 stars
4. The Terraformers - 4 stars
5. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon - 4 stars
6. The Water Outlaws - 3 stars

I enjoyed them all, definitely worth my time. Anyone else read them all? Thoughts?

Last month I read 8 books. Trying to keep most of my selections in an adventurous spirit.

1. Showdown Trail by Louis Lamore. Western, adventure rating 7.8 out of 10 stars
2. Kid Rodelo by Louis Lamore. Western, 7.0/10
3. Lonely on the Mountain by Louis Lamore. Western 6.6/10
4. High Couch of Silistra, by Janet E. Morris. Fantasy/Sci Fi/Smut. 7/10
5. The Great Secret by E. Philips Oppenheim. Thriller, 7.8/10
6. The Desert and the Sea, by Michael Scott Moore. Memoir. 9.8/10
7. Paco's Story, by Larry Heineman. War. 5.6/10
8. Tarzan and the Forbidden City, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Adventure. 8/10


This month so far I have only read 1, but am currently reading two others.
Read:
1. The Virgin of the Sun by H. Rider Haggard. Adventure. 9/10

Reading
1. A struggle for a Fortune by Harry Castlemon. Adventure/YA. 5.5/10
2. Samurai! by Saburo Sakai. War. 10/10

I have started the "A thousand Li" series by Tao Wong. I would describe it as Chinese martial arts progression fantasy. It has been decent so far. This is the first book The First Step

I'm suffering whiplash after finishing the bonkers Dungeon Crawler Carl and starting the poetic The Spear Cuts Through Water. Still trying to work out whether the struggle I am experiencing getting going with TSCTW is due to the writing or to the context switching...

Read the comedy SF book "The Wrath of Cons." It's part of the "Rex Nihilo" series about a galactic conman, who never seems to hold on to any of the money he grifts. And a long suffering brainy female android who campaigns for AI rights.

This one includes a wild romp through the English Gothic Romances and then into Wizard of Oz. The setup being that Earth is deserted and is now populated with once-museum robots that mimic famous authors and situations. From there it's a grift to locate the plans for a machine that turns uninhabitable rocks into livable planets and all the seedy characters that want to take it from them. Yep, it's the Genesis device from Star Trek done for humor.

Welp, I had a good time reading it. These are like a croissant, light, fluffy and delicious, and in a few bites it's done. Rob Kroese has a trilogy furthering the series coming out which I backed, but I had never gotten around to this book. And now I have.

Just finished listening to Alien Clay and it is another strong outing from Adrian Tchaikovsky. As usual the book is a mash up of several tropes and ideas and would characterise it as a book about a socialist revolt in a future fascist colony in an alien world with very different biology.

This is a slow burn of a book that really digs into the life of a political prisoner in a labour camp who happens to be a xeno-biologist who is also grappling with the ecology surrounding him. Not his best but a still a very strong book. Probably closer to Cage of Souls from his recent books.

In the interview at the end he revealed he is planning to write a fourth "Children of Book".

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger. Liking it so far!

^^ Huh. Alien Clay is listed as a September publication date by LA Public Library. Goodreads says it came out in March. Well anyway, tagged for a library read.

Steve wrote: "I'm suffering whiplash after finishing the bonkers Dungeon Crawler Carl..."

I too have just finished Dungeon Crawler Carl and bonkers is a good word to describe it.

Thanks to the the "Shield" who nominated it for the March madness tourney, without whom I would not have come across it.

I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting to and have carried on to the second book Carl's Doomsday Scenario which so far is even more "bonkers". :-)

Reading Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song. It is okay but, as I think somebody here put it, it reads like the generic fantasy fodder I grew up on. Young man is dropped off at a brutal training school-of-hard-discipline which molds him into a strong leader and unparalleled swordsman (what’s with fantasy authors thinking that the best way to train people is to beat the living snot out of them on a daily basis?) Oh, and he’s got all the signs of the Chosen One. Decent writing but it’s a tale as old as time, (blood) song as old as rhyme.

I finished Some Desperate Glory. You guys were right, it was not as I expected. It was pretty original, and quite good. I guess those Hugo nominators are on to something!

I just need to read Starter Villain (next), and I'll have read the Hugo novel nominees.

Finally finished The Mandel Files, Volume 1: Mindstar Rising & A Quantum Murder by Peter Hamilton. I say finally because it took twice as long as the average book for me but it really was two books in one volume. I didn't love it so I never got into extended reading sessions with it but it wasn't terrible either.
The main character, Greg Mandel, is a cross between a former British Special Forces soldier and Deanna Troy with an implanted gland that gives him heightened empathy and intuition. He uses his skills in a post global warming disaster Britain to solve mysteries. The first story is about corporate espionage and the second is more of a locked room murder mystery; I enjoyed that one more.
The writing style was fine except that Hamilton went into way too much descriptive detail about everything from the military hardware to the post disaster countryside to the clothes and hairstyles that everyone was wearing. He could have saved about 200 pages if he controlled himself a bit.
Overall it was mildly interesting but too long. 3 stars.
Next is Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett.

John (Taloni) wrote: "^^ Huh. Alien Clay is listed as a September publication date by LA Public Library. Goodreads says it came out in March. Well anyway, tagged for a library read."

Bwahahahaha.....

Finally benefits of being in the UK publishing orbit...

Just seen we have a third Tyrant Philosophers book due out by Christmas (they have the best titles, Days of Shattered Faith)...

Oh and Service Model out in June. The man is unbelievable... That is three full length novels out this year.

With a temporary hole in my TBR, decided to go with a long-term "maybe" series. This is a lesser Lost Fleet one, featuring a breakaway Syndicate system. Lost Fleet is blatantly Cold War with the good guys (Alliance) and all their warts and flaws, and a thoroughly evil Soviet style government. One such solar system breaks off during Alliance / Syndicate / Alien hostilities. Yugoslavia? Well, eventually the analogy breaks down. Some vague Soviet client state.

I almost lemmed it in the first 20% since it's death death violence and death. But, I figure the author knows his material and is giving us a glimpse into some of the realities of life under Communism. So I stuck with it. Once they got to space the story picked up considerably; Jack Campbell excels in space battles and the peripherals.

The characters inch forward in development, slowly learning to trust and then determining who to trust. There's a distinct pushback from those around them as they seek to abandon the Syndicate ways of assassination and removal of political rivals for a more healthy system.

I think there's a slow burn love story developing, to which, bleah. Does NOT fit the subject material.

Book ends on a cliffhanger and zzzz. Meanwhile I noticed there were two more Vorkosigan books at LAPL so started in on Warrior's Apprentice. Bujold makes each novel a distinct story in her series and I appreciate that. I'll read those two before returning to the Lost Fleet one. It's good enough insomnia reading but yeah, Campbell was just cashing in at this point.

I finished listening to Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth. The author narrated the book and did an excellent job. A very interesting looks at Greek goddesses.

Now I'm listening to Capote's Women. It was the basis of the FX series Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans which I watched and liked. It wasn't great but I was interested enough to pick up the book.

Chris K. wrote: "I finished listening to Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth. The author narrated the book and did an excellent job. A very interesting looks at Greek goddesses."

That looks interesting. Added.

Started The City of Marble and Blood, the second in Howard Andrew Jones' Hanuvar series. And I'm also working through an ARC of Adventures of Mary Jane by Hope Jahren. (The Mary Jane in question being the one who first appeared in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.)

Finished The Dark Forest. Oh man the s*** really hits the cosmic fan towards the end, but Luo kicks ass.

I am not a Wallfacer (that's just what you expect me to say).

I just finished Cordelia's Honor, so I'm going to dig into my TBR pile and pull out some non-SciFi/Fantasty and go for some Sartre, /Nausea/.

Trike wrote: That looks interesting. Added.

I hope you like it.

I don't usually post to these threads and it's not even science fiction or fantasy, but I feel compelled to tell you about Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan because it was a Jenny Guy Colvin To Read Book.

And it was much better than I expected. I gave it 5 stars. Who else has read it?

Just starting Tower of Silence.

Just started The Familiar.

I just finished Starter Villain. Didn't I just read this last year (as The Kaiju Preservation Society)? Cute premise, very readable, lots of dumb jokes and snark, nothing too memorable. I may give up on reading John Scalzi just because he's nominated for a Hugo.

So, that wraps up my reading of the 2024 Hugo nominees! Here's my ranking:

1. Translation State - 5 stars
2. Witch King - 4 stars
3. The Saint of Bright Doors - 4 stars
4. Some Desperate Glory - 4 stars
5. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - 3 stars
6. Starter Villain - 3 stars

Anyone else read them all? What's your pick?

Completed 5 books this month now.

1. Virgin of the Sun. Not really fantasy, but it is Historical Fiction and falls nicely in line with hack and slash.
The Virgin of the Sun

2. Samurai! A war memoir written by a WWII Japanese Ace.
Samurai: The Unforgettable Saga of Japan's Greatest Fighter Pilot

3. Badger, a western with almost no point.
Badger

4. A Struggle for a Fortune, which is a classic young adult adventure. It was alright. Maybe I will share it with my grandson in a few years.
A Struggle for a fortune

5. When I Turned 19. A war Memoir about Vietnam. This is real and gritty adventure.
When I Turned Nineteen: A Vietnam War Memoir

I am currently working through,

1. Henderson the Rain King.
Henderson the Rain King

2. Croatian Tales of Long Ago
Croatian Tales of Long Ago

3. Wooden Leg
Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer

I am about to begin the Familiar too. Just finishing The Beloved, the latest book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.

Read one of the Cordelia's Honor followups, The Warrior's Apprentice, which was...okay. "Wildly uneven" comes to mind.

Bujold has a breezy, fun writing style which really helps her books. But the plots! This one has plot element after plot element being shoehorned in to force a narrative. There's no organic development of the storyline. People line up to join a group just because an aristocrat asks them to. Bleh.

I had major objections to the end of a three-book plotline. Well, it bothered me from the getgo in Shards, continued to annoy me in Barrayar, and then...well, it isn't worth spoiler protecting details so, well, I can't say "bleh" again because what I want to say is WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS BUJOLD THINKING!?!

Sigh. Book ends with some fun twisty stuff. Not enough to save the work. There's more at the library, an omnibus titled "Miles in Love." Except after this book I really don't care to know more about his love life.

Were these easy to get I might blow through the series. There's just a few at the library so I think I will stop here.

Geoff wrote: "I just finished Starter Villain. Didn't I just read this last year (as The Kaiju Preservation Society)? Cute premise, very readable, lots of dumb jokes and snark, no..."

I try to read the nominees each year and have 3 finished so far (Starter Villain, Some Desperate Glory, and Witch King) and one ready for library pickup (The Saint of Bright Doors).

I am wondering about Translation State though. I understand it's in the same universe as the Ancillary trilogy which I have not read, but plan to. For those who have read both, is it a book that would benefit from already knowing the universe?

Todd wrote: "I am wondering about Translation State though. I understand it's in the same universe as the Ancillary trilogy which I have not read, but plan to. For those who have read both, is it a book that would benefit from already knowing the universe?"

It is a standalone story, so certainly can be read alone. However, it is set in the same universe (and timeframe) as Ancillary, so if you're already planning to read those (you should!) I'd probably read them first.

Todd wrote: "Geoff wrote: "I just finished Starter Villain. Didn't I just read this last year (as The Kaiju Preservation Society)? Cute premise, very readable, lots of dumb jokes..."

Completely stand alone. You only need to know they have a thing about Tea

Started Death’s End, the third Three Body Problem book. Looks like I interpreted the title in a different way than meant. There sure is a lot of it in the first season of the TV show.

Re-reading Shades of Grey. I won an unedited copy of the sequel Red Side Storyfrom Goodreads last month (yay!). I'd forgotten so much it's almost like reading it for the first time.

Misti wrote: "Re-reading Shades of Grey. I won an unedited copy of the sequel Red Side Storyfrom Goodreads last month (yay!). I'd forgotten so much it's almost like reading it for..."

Thanks for the reminder. I have to make time for a reread before the US release.

Listening to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which feels like a combination of A Natural History of Dragons and Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book.

Finished The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne. Book #3 of the trilogy is due out this fall. I blame S&L for this. ;-)

Just finished Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. Another great one. I've read about 15 Discworld books so far and I'd put this in the top 3 or 4. It wasn't quite what I expected but I liked what I got. This was unconnected to any of the other Discworld books (as far as I know) except for a couple minor cameos. Good as a standalone.

Starting The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May.

Having powered through the audiobook of Barrayar, the second half of our BotM, I’m now trying out the audiobook of a book that caught my eye in my local bookshop the other day: The Four by Ellie Keel. It seems to be a dark academia themed crime thriller.

I finished listening to Capote's Women. A fascinating look into the interesting but also kind of horrifying lifestyles of the super rich in the mid 20th century.

Now I'm listening to Herc. It's a retelling of the Hercules myth from the point of view of everyone else in his life. It has multiple narrators all of whom are excellent.

I also finished reading The Familiar. It was slow moving but well written, especially the dialogue. I liked the characters. Now I want the third Alex Stern novel!

Chris K. wrote:

I also finished reading The Familiar. It was slow moving but well written, especially the dialogue. I liked the Maggie Shipsteadcharacters. Now I want the third Alex Stern novel!

..."

I have The Familiar on my shelf, just waiting for me to finish The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

I also need to finish reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead on my Kindle so I can start our May BotM.

Meanwhile in audiobook I’ve given up on The Four and started listening to Stamboul Train by Graham Greene instead, a classic thriller from the 1930s.

I finished The Song of Achilles. I didn't like it as much as Circe. Too much angsty teenage narration for my liking. However, the author did nail the ending.

Two notes looking for my next book. First I was excited to read Alien Clay, but apparently the ebook doesn't come out for several months (trailing the hardcover). I haven't seen that in awhile... hopefully not a new trend.

Next I wanted to read Mammoths at the Gates, but $12 for a novella? Wow, that seems aggressive! I held off for now, even though I really enjoyed the previous installments.

So, I'm reading The Spear Cuts Through Water instead, off of some strong recommendations.

Right now, I'm reading Blue Horses by Mary Oliver. I was in the mood for some poetry. I plan on re-starting either Empire of Silence, Dune, or Pandora's Star as a long term reading project.

I also started listening to Voice of Mars (Starship's Mage #4) by Glynn Stewart.