What are you reading in 2022?

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

After giving up halfway through the Golden Compass, I started Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth. I finished it in 5 days and loved it. Definitely one of the best fantasy books I've ever read.

Next, I'm starting my first Discworld book. I've heard quite a few people say to start with Small Gods, so that's what I'm going to do.

 

[Richards]

I'm reading Area 51 by Robert Doherty, apparently the first book in a series of novels that has quite a lot of sequels. As I just have the one (which I picked up at a library book sale), I'm glad it's the first book and not one in the middle, although I am a bit worried that there might not be a real ending to this one. (I hate books that end on a cliffhanger.) I'm 74 pages in and I can see I'm going to like it, at least until the ending (or lack thereof), because the characters are appealing and the action's entertaining. So we'll see how it goes.

Johnathan

 

[Eyes of Nine]

After giving up halfway through the Golden Compass, I started Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth. I finished it in 5 days and loved it. Definitely one of the best fantasy books I've ever read.

Next, I'm starting my first Discworld book. I've heard quite a few people say to start with Small Gods, so that's what I'm going to do.

Gideon was awesome, Harrow also awesome in a totally different way.

Discworld actually has 3+ storyines. the Rincewind books, the Mort books, the City Watch books, the Witches books, and probably a couple others I'm forgetting. While there is some overlap (hello Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler!) of characters, if you focus on one set of stories, it's like a couple of parallel series in the same universe. Agree though, Small Gods is a good story to get a sense of the world itself and the world building.

Here's a nice breakdown (the best I've seen tbh) for reading Discworld.

Reading Order - Discworld Emporium

www.discworldemporium.com

 

[Eyes of Nine]

After giving up halfway through the Golden Compass, I started Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth. I finished it in 5 days and loved it. Definitely one of the best fantasy books I've ever read.

Next, I'm starting my first Discworld book. I've heard quite a few people say to start with Small Gods, so that's what I'm going to do.

(Also, did you change your avatar to a Brandon Sanderson cover? Or something else? It looks so familiar...)

 

[Jmarso]

"Who can hold the sea" by James Hornfischer. (His last book before dying of cancer. )
"Nimitz at War" by Craig Symonds.

Both superlative history books that don't read like history books.

 

[WayneLigon]

After Parliament of Bodies, I decided to take a break from the Maradaine books to dive into Maberry's Kagan The Damned. (Maberry has several series running; the Joe Ledger series is a fantastic blend of action-thriller and sci-fi/horror - this is his first fantasy book). Good book so far. The Amazon preview stops just short of the huge honking big reveal of just what threat the Silver Empire is really up against, so that's cool. I have a sneaking suspicion of a least two more major plot twists in that same regard as well.

 

[WayneLigon]

Finished up the Maradaine Constabulary books by Marshall Ryan Maresca. Satrine Rainey and Minox Welling are Inspectors Third Class at the Inemar stationhouse of the vast city of Maradaine. There is a seething mass of subplots, much more so than in the Thorn or Holver books, because the Constabulary is not only dealing with the overarching plots from the other series, but with the various problems of a major city as well. The Child Kidnappings subplot and The Parliament Assassinations subplot dovetails into Corruption At The Highest Levels subplot in a tasty stew. Willing and Rainey deal with various high and low crimes, all the while scraping away at the various stratas of subplot that exist throughout all the series.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

(Also, did you change your avatar to a Brandon Sanderson cover? Or something else? It looks so familiar...)

Yep. The Way of Kings. I just really like the cover art.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Gideon was awesome, Harrow also awesome in a totally different way.

I haven't read it yet, but I'm glad to hear that it's also good. I was a bit nervous about the way the first book ended.

Discworld actually has 3+ storyines. the Rincewind books, the Mort books, the City Watch books, the Witches books, and probably a couple others I'm forgetting. While there is some overlap (hello Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler!) of characters, if you focus on one set of stories, it's like a couple of parallel series in the same universe. Agree though, Small Gods is a good story to get a sense of the world itself and the world building.

Here's a nice breakdown (the best I've seen tbh) for reading Discworld.

Reading Order - Discworld Emporium

www.discworldemporium.com

Yep. I've heard that there's quite a few different series that take place in on Discworld and some standalone books (like Small Gods). I've heard good things about the series that focuses around Death. Would that be a good place to go next if I enjoy Small Gods?

 

[Blue]

I'm reading two different books and getting into them very differently. I'm about a quarter of the way through each.

I'm reading The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. It's a Hugo winner and I've been recommended it from several directions, but I'm finding it very hard to care about the main character. The whole plot so far seems to be more intellectual and not moving me at all on the emotional level.

I'm also reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. This has had the opposite effect. I was immediately drawn in by the main character, enjoyed the world building (though it's not particularly fresh, it is flavorful and supports the story well), and I care about what happens. The main character has strengths and flaws and does things that work and things that don't and others in the book have agency, not just the protagonist and an antagonist. I'm not sure I can identify a singular antagonist or cabal of them to be told the truth.

The first book is translated, so there might be cultural subtleties and tropes I'm missing. Both have solid prose, there's no exquisitely crafted wordsmithing from either pulling me in. (Patrick Rothfuss, get off your backside!)

It really is the emotional connection - caring about the PoV character and the plot.

I'm going to keep soldiering on with Three-Body Problem - it's not bad, just not as engaging. But it has far to go before I pick it up with as much relish as Baru.