What are you reading this year 2020?

[Son of the Serpent]

The sexism bothers me more than the racism; I find it both more overt and more common.

I feel the same way about that as the racism. Not for everyone. I like to read stories that include it if its what happened though. Cant spell devil without evil (or rearranged, vile).

 

[univoxs]

What's the Alliance Union book?
I just reread the Cyteen sequel last year; still have to go back and reread Cyteen itself.
I've read almost all* of her SF and love it. I have a harder time with the fantasy. Paladin I did really enjoy; and the Morgaine Cycle is awesome, but I just couldn't parse the first Fortress book and Rusalka didn't draw me in. I'm going to try the Fortress books again though.

*I read the first three or four Foreigner trilogies and then quit, so I'm not up on those.

Cyteen takes place in the Alliance Union universe, along with books like Hellburner, Down Below Station and Merchanter's Luck. The new Alliance Union book was called Alliance Rising and takes place a bit earlier in the timeline than Cyteen does, before the war mentioned in that book. I believe all her SF is connected, the last Forigner cycle connected itself to Alliance Union, something she intended all along but could not do originally for publishing reasons. Chanuar books are also a part of that universe as well, if only remotely. Faded Sun, Hestia, Hammerfall, and other books all connect remotley, some from distant time periods. Supposedly Morgaine, her first series, is the furthest out along the timeline.
Fortress is not my favorite either but I liked the last book in the series, Fortress of Ice? I have often jumped into her series right in the middle and gone back. First book I read of hers was the last Chanuar and it made me fall in love with her writing. Take a shot at Fortress of Ice maybe. She is good enough that it usually is not a problem.

 

[Nellisir]

Cyteen takes place in the Alliance Union universe, along with books like Hellburner, Down Below Station and Merchanter's Luck. The new Alliance Union book was called Alliance Rising and takes place a bit earlier in the timeline than Cyteen does, before the war mentioned in that book. I believe all her SF is connected, the last Forigner cycle connected itself to Alliance Union, something she intended all along but could not do originally for publishing reasons. Chanuar books are also a part of that universe as well, if only remotely. Faded Sun, Hestia, Hammerfall, and other books all connect remotley, some from distant time periods. Supposedly Morgaine, her first series, is the furthest out along the timeline.
Fortress is not my favorite either but I liked the last book in the series, Fortress of Ice? I have often jumped into her series right in the middle and gone back. First book I read of hers was the last Chanuar and it made me fall in love with her writing. Take a shot at Fortress of Ice maybe. She is good enough that it usually is not a problem.

I'm aware of the Alliance-Union Universe and the connections, although I hadn't heard that the Foreigner series had been connected. Chanur definitely connects, and I don't think it's very far out in the timeline either. It's just heard to tell because of the viewpoint.
I've been reading her stuff for years. I forget what was first - might've been Hellburner. The Tree of Swords and Jewels I'd definitely read by college, so I was pretty up on a lot of her stuff by then. I pick up the older stuff as I find it; when I unpack books I'll do an accounting and see what's left.

Edit: I recently got most of the Fortress books (somewhere...), so yeah, it'd definitely on my list to tackle again.

 

[dragoner]

Rimrunners was one of my favorites by Cherryh -

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I loved the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Been thinking about doing a re-read soon, but that is no small commitment.

I'm not seeing all that much love for Malazan books. I only do them as audio. You think there would be a game out for it by now too, especially seeing as it was born orignally from the author learning to play AD&D.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I don't know about that. There's a lot of fiction that has elements that don't hold up over time, that people once lauded. It's okay to still enjoy problematic works (it's also okay to just be done with them, too), but it's important to address and think about those issues. To read these works uncritically doesn't do anyone any favors.

There's also a world of difference between Beowulf and Kothar. I don't think anyone's featuring Kothar in their syllabus, for starters.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading Kothar, but the rampant sexism bothered me (though I'm still not entirely sure whether Fox was mocking the genre or not). People change, and societal mores change, over time. And heck, even back when the Kothar tales were written, I guarantee women did not enjoy being treated the way they are depicted being treated in the books.

The way i see it there is no such thing as good stories becoming dated. If it was good I'll bet 20 years later when your kid reads it he'll be thinking huh...old but good just like you. Beowulf never gets old. Ive found the same is true of newer but still good stories that are none the less older than a lot of stories these days.

 

[dragoner]

I don't know Kothar, Beowulf is also a language study. Books can be all over the map, I don't think Gor is awesome, and it's not that long ago. Dumarest is sort of young men's adventure where he gets the space princess of the week, and people talk about those a lot. It still goes on, I am reading a friend's books, published by Baen, and there are parts like, oh man ...

 

[Son of the Serpent]

I don't know about that. There's a lot of fiction that has elements that don't hold up over time, that people once lauded. It's okay to still enjoy problematic works (it's also okay to just be done with them, too), but it's important to address and think about those issues. To read these works uncritically doesn't do anyone any favors.

There's also a world of difference between Beowulf and Kothar. I don't think anyone's featuring Kothar in their syllabus, for starters.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading Kothar, but the rampant sexism bothered me (though I'm still not entirely sure whether Fox was mocking the genre or not). People change, and societal mores change, over time. And heck, even back when the Kothar tales were written, I guarantee women did not enjoy being treated the way they are depicted being treated in the books.

Gonna have to disagree with you. Oh well. Happens sometimes.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Finished Leiber's Swords in the Mist yesterday. Definitely a mixed bag. Lean Times in Lankhmar is hands-down one of the greatest Fafhrd and Grey Mouser tales. The Adept's Gambit, the novella that takes up the most space in it, that one just dragged and dragged.

Now I'm trying out The Palace Job, by Patrick Weekes.

 

[carrot]

Just finished The True Bastards: Book 2 of the Lot Lands by Jonathan French. It's a mixed bag. It took ages for something interesting to happen, and then just went a bit nuts! I struggled to get through the first half, but it picked up enough that I'll get the next one if/when it comes out.

Now on to False Value the latest rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Only a couple of chapters in, but so far I'm enjoying it