What are you reading in 2023?

[overgeeked]

Mushoku Tensei Vol 9 done. On to Vol 10. It really is a great series that’s well written. The main character is an absolute mess but I can’t help but root for him. I think the best part is that it’s not really a single genre. It’s isekai, of course. In the Japanese version of a standard fantasy setting. But, because it’s covering a large chunk of one character’s life, the genre almost changes every other Volume. The last few have been relationship and high school drama. And damn is it funny. I would absolutely love to play a game in this setting.

 

[Zaukrie]

Ha, looks like it is 15 hours of audiobooks free every month on Spotify. I doubt most fantasy books are read in that short a time? Anyway, I need to get back to reading, so I'll either pick back up "you are what you watch" or The Inheritance Trilogy.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I finished reading Brak the Barbarian Vs. The Sorceress. For a clonan, it's deftly written and action-packed.

I also read Jack Vance's The Last Castle. Arguably written from the perspective of the bad guys, it's a solid work that leverages Jack Vance's ornate language in mockery of the main characters.

Now I'm reading Sarah J. Maas' Crown of Midnight.

 

[ichabod]

I finished Fourth Wing. The characters were nice, and the story was okay. But the setting seemed artificially constructed to give the author a high body count, and the raging teen hormones were irritating. I swear, if this ever gets made into a movie, it will be one where all of the teens will be played by really hot 20-somethings. But I stuck with it and got an okay story with even more raging teen hormones, that was rather predictable given the foreshadowing.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I finished Fourth Wing. The characters were nice, and the story was okay. But the setting seemed artificially constructed to give the author a high body count, and the raging teen hormones were irritating. I swear, if this ever gets made into a movie, it will be one where all of the teens will be played by really hot 20-somethings. But I stuck with it and got an okay story with even more raging teen hormones, that was rather predictable given the foreshadowing.

I heard about Fourth Wing from my doctor of all people. She was telling me that her son was really enjoying it, and then she realized it was chock-a-block full of sex. I haven't read it myself - is her opinion on its content accurate?

 

[ichabod]

I heard about Fourth Wing from my doctor of all people. She was telling me that her son was really enjoying it, and then she realized it was chock-a-block full of sex. I haven't read it myself - is her opinion on its content accurate?

I wouldn't say it's full of sex, but there is definitely sex. The early part is mainly sexual tension between the characters. Then there are two sex scenes later on, then more sexual tension. I don't know how graphic the sex scenes were, because I skimmed past them. However, some of the sexual tension after the sex scenes involved some pretty graphic terms, so I wouldn't be surprised if the sex scenes were pretty graphic. And I'm assuming the later books will have even more sex, now that the basic tension is out of the way.

One thing I found interesting is that the sexual stuff is very female-centric. The author is a woman and the main character is a young girl. Women's body parts are not really described a lot, but there is a lot of talk about how muscular some of the boys are, and how great their skin is. There is also at least one gay couple in the book, so it is at least not homophobic.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Reading Akata Warrior, the second in a series of African based urban fantasies; really liked the first one (Akata Witch) so I don't know why I took so long to get around to it.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Reading Akata Warrior, the second in a series of African based urban fantasies; really liked the first one (Akata Witch) so I don't know why I took so long to get around to it.

On my list too - glad to hear it's good

 

[Pedantic]

Reading Akata Warrior, the second in a series of African based urban fantasies; really liked the first one (Akata Witch) so I don't know why I took so long to get around to it.

I've been really into the growing diversity in urban fantasy, both in adopting more settings around the world, and in using the formula in different periods in history. That sounds delightful and I'll have to look it up.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I've been really into the growing diversity in urban fantasy, both in adopting more settings around the world, and in using the formula in different periods in history. That sounds delightful and I'll have to look it up.

Just to be clear, its still modern period; its just in modern Nigeria, with the cultural and social expectations you'd find there.