What are you reading in 2023?

[Richards]

L. Ron Hubbard has a "Mission Earth" series that's 10 books long.

Johnathan

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Just finished Foxglove Summer. It's less serialized than many of the Rivers of London books, which I was happy about, but Peter was unaccountably dumb for far too long in the middle. I'm not a professional British magician and I knew that we were talking about changelings pretty early on. And then the book suddenly wrapped up, as though the author realized he had somewhere else to be.

Still, none of the Rivers of London books have been bad so far, and this was another enjoyable story in the series.

But now I'm really excited to start Destroyer of Worlds, the sequel to Lovecraft Country, in its place. I liked the show but loved the book and am hoping for a similarly fantastic book this time around.

 

[trappedslider]

I quite possibly mixed those two up then.

this is the one

L. Ron Hubbard has a "Mission Earth" series that's 10 books long.

Johnathan

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I finished Ballantine Adult Fantasy's New Worlds for Old anthology. It has some really strong stories in it, both from legendary and relatively unknown authors.

Now I'm reading Thongor and the Dragon City, by Lin Carter. One of the good things about being a fan is that Lin Carter was so very prolific. Quality can vary, sure, but I don't know that I'll ever run out Lin Carter to read!

 

[overgeeked]

I finished Doc Savage #1 tonight. The Man of Bronze. Published March 1933. Clark Savage Jr is the proto-Superman of the pulp heroes. He’s the best at everything. He keeps five men of nearly equal talent with him to go on adventures. One of the five is Monk, the resident ape-man. This yarn has lost civilizations, mountains of gold, a smooth-sided Egyptian-style pyramid in the Central American jungle, and Doc Savage wrestling with and punching a shark senseless. Almost non-stop action. It was gonzo, goofy, and great fun.

 

[ichabod]

I finished a long way to a small angry planet last night. I thought the characters were well done, and I thought the world building was well done. But I was expecting a novel length story, and got a bunch of vignettes about aliens species interacting with each other. And I didn't think they were all done at the same level. Most of them were quite good, but a couple of them weren't.

I've been disappointed by two books in a row. Time for some comfort reading.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

None of Chambers' other books in the series have a standard plot in any way. They're much more slice of life. If anything, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet may be the most plot heavy, since there is a destination and an oncoming problem they're heading toward. Most of her other books in the series start with a situation and just are slice of life stories playing out from there.

Her novella, To Be Taught, If Fortunate, is more plot heavy, but again, it's a very light plot compared to most authors. She's more interested in characters and ideas than events. The premise of To Be Taught, though, is pretty compelling: Four interplanetary explorers, looking for life on other worlds, who then realize that a catastrophe has taken place on Earth.

I suspect her style is a love it or hate it kind of thing.

 

[ichabod]

I don't love it or hate it, it's just not my thing. But I noticed that I managed to get a copy of The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold, which I haven't read in ages. So I'm rereading that for comfort reading.

 

[Clint_L]

I just finished Light Bringer by Pierce Brown. It was a good palate cleanser after Jade Song's Chlorine (well written but, for me, a very unpleasant read). Light Bringer is the latest in Brown's Red Rising series, which is well-written militaristic sci-fi, sort of in the mode of Robert Heinlein. Not super deep, though, and the plot beats are getting a kind of predictable, so I was kind of hoping this book would wrap up the series but it looks like there will be at least one more book. Still, a fun read with tons of exciting battles. Long book.

 

[Zaukrie]

The Inside Game by Keith law.

It uses baseball to explain economic and psychological reasons we make irrational decisions. Very fast read. If you like both topics, it's worth a read.