What are you reading in 2024?

[Reynard]

I just finished "raven Rock" which is a broad history of the cold war Continuation if Government program of the United States. I am looking for something a little lighter but while I dig I am listening to a Great Courses on existentialism...

 

[Autumnal]

Oh, I’ve read all three a bunch of times. Re-read Rama last month, am very likely to re-read some Heechee books soon, and may get to Ringworld too.

J.G. Ballard’s short story “Report on an Abandoned Station” turns out to be, almost exactly, “Ballard invents the Backrooms 40 years early”, and is tremendously creepy and cool in that very Ballardian way.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

J.G. Ballard’s short story “Report on an Abandoned Station” turns out to be, almost exactly, “Ballard invents the Backrooms 40 years early”, and is tremendously creepy and cool in that very Ballardian way.

I keep wanting to try to make the Backrooms into an RPG mini-setting, but we already have Stygian Library and Vast in the Dark, so I'm not sure what I could do to top either of those.

 

[overgeeked]

I keep wanting to try to make the Backrooms into an RPG mini-setting, but we already have Stygian Library and Vast in the Dark, so I'm not sure what I could do to top either of those.

Side note. Thanks for mentioning the Stygian Library so often. I had the PDF but hadn't dove in. That's a fantastic book.

 

[Nellisir]

I got a sudden urge to read about encounters with mysterious megastructures, and have a pile of promising recommendation to re/read.

If you like fantasy, you might try Martha Wells's newest book. Name escapes me at the moment. She loves her mysterious megastructures.

 

[Autumnal]

Yes, her Raksura books are on my list.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is about a mysterious megastructure. Recommend it.

 

[Kaodi]

Forgot to mention that after learning it was overdue I read three quarters of Tasha Suri's The Oleander Sword in a single day.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I just finished the Amulet Vol 9 graphic novel. The last book in the series.
I love the art style, I love portal fantasy. I really liked the first... 2-3 volumes in the series? But then it got sort of sprawling and there were a lot of theaters of action. I read vol 1 a waaay long time ago, and fall of last year I read them all 1-8 again. Vol 9 just came out last month I think, and I just finished it moments ago.

It felt like the creator was basically done with the story; but hadn't really built to this moment. But he had to wrap it up, so with a lot of exposition he drove the story to a conclusion. He basically tied all the threads together, ish. I don't know, maybe since it was written for kids there didn't need to be as much nuance or subtlety or "woah, I wasn't expecting that but now that he's pulled it off I can see how it worked" feeling - but that's what I'm looking for I guess. Also the "bad guys" just weren't that scary, at least not to me.

Rating: meh on this final volume, and meh+ on the series as a whole

 

[prabe]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is about a mysterious megastructure. Recommend it.

Strongly second the recommendation, even if megastructures aren't your thing (for me they're neither an attractor nor a repulsor). I know from firsthand experience you can enjoy it immensely, even if you miss like 90%+ of the Easter eggs in it.