[July 2015] What Are You Reading?

Asmo · Jul 18, 2015

Don't give up on Erikson, he's well worth it.

Jhaelen · Jul 29, 2015

Umbran said:
The Martian, by Andy Weir. This book is dangerous. It isn't the best written piece of fiction in the world, but I have this desperate need to know what's going to happen next.

Yup. It isn't much of a novel really. But being an engineer myself, I found it irresistible. It's also at times quite funny (for the nerdy me, at least).

I've just finished 'Ancillary Justice' by Ann Leckie and started with it's sequel 'Ancillary Sword'. It's really pretty good for a debut novel.

WayneLigon · Jul 29, 2015

So far for July:

Residue (Jack Bishop) (Volume 1) Steve Diamond. YA SF and horror. I set this aside a few chapters in when Dan Wells' new book (The Devil's Only Friend) dropped, then didn't pick up either

So far it looks like it has potential.

Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell - Musketeer-like fantasy with low magic. The King, who wanted to reign in the power of the abusive Dukes, is dead, killed by those same Dukes. The leader of the Greatcoats, the King's elite band of magistrates, gave the order for the Greatcoats not to fight. Now, five years later, the Dukes are about to make their power over the people even more unassailable than it already is. I liked this book quite well up until the last four chapters or so, when it seems to pull a Dues Ex Machina out of it's hat. The story is not done yet, though, and I'll see what happens in Knight's Shadow.

The Thorn of Dentonhill: A Novel of Maradaine -- Marshall Ryan Maresca -- Maresca has another dovetail series, the Maradaine Constabulary, which also sounds fun. I'm just a little ways into this but our hero is basically a lower-powered fantasy Batman - A magic student at the city University, Veranix's parents were killed by a local crimelord, so now he's living a double life - student by day, and by night he sneaks out to become as much a thorn in this guy's side as possible. A classic example of a low-level rogue/mage combo. So far, I'm loving it.

Nellisir · Jul 29, 2015

Jhaelen said:
I've just finished 'Ancillary Justice' by Ann Leckie and started with it's sequel 'Ancillary Sword'. It's really pretty good for a debut novel.

Having heard so much about the gender aspects of Ancillary Justice, I was surprised by how it wasn't really a huge part of the story and it's really just a good book. I was actually disappointed in Ancillary Sword for making certain characters' genders clear. Good stories.

Nellisir · Jul 29, 2015

I finished the Faded Sun trilogy by CJ Cherryh (Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath), and A Conspiracy of Paper and The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Going back to A Prayer for Owen Meany now.

trappedslider · Jul 29, 2015

Reading Guns of August again (hopefully finish it this time)

Richards · Jul 30, 2015

I'm now reading "The Doomsday Key" by James Rollins, apparently part of a "Sigma Force" series of novels, although I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not having read the books in the series before this one. I really liked two of his previous, standalone books, "Ice Hunt" and "Subterranean," so I thought I'd give it a chance. So far, it's been a good read.

Johnathan

delericho · Jul 30, 2015

Well, I finished "The Vicompte de Bragelone" (that is, the first volume in the three). It was considerably better than I'd expected - although "The Three Musketeers" is a favourite of mine, "Twenty Years After" was a serious let-down. This third volume does rather better, though I can't point to one single thing as being the difference.

I do suspect, though, that it's a novel that very much benefits from being read quite quickly - I read this in ten days where TYA took three months to get through.

I'm now going to try to read the Pathfinder volume "Anvil of Fire" before the end of the month, though I suspect that may be cutting it fine.

Jhaelen · Jul 30, 2015

I'm currently also in the process of re-reading / re-playing the Lone Wolf gamebooks thanks to Project Aon. I just finished the third installment 'The Caverns of Kalte' which I managed to finish with my first attempt - yay!

Let's see if I can repeat that feat with 'The Chasm of Doom'...