Yeah. He has so many projects on his plate. After Stormlight 4, I think he is going to finish Era 2 of Mistborn. There is a Warbreaker sequel up soon (important for Stormlight Archive). And his sci fi series Starlight is due a final book.
Just came across my copy of Soon I Will Be Invincible - I forgot I loaned it to my eldest and it's been in her room forever.
While superheroes aren't my normal genre, I do find that I like deconstructions (and reconstructions) of the genre, as long as they have a good story to go with them. SIWBI (above) is one of them even if there are the occasional cringeworthy chapter. There's a decent amount in the Wearing the Cape series as well as The Legion of Nothing web series. But I've also been disappointed with some, such as All Of Those Explosions Weren't My Fault, though that could be because they mixed in vampires with supers and that's not chocolate & peanut butter.
So, what superhero deconstruction/reconstruction fiction with a good story would you recommend?
I don't know about deconstruction/reconstruction, but I really enjoyed Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, Calamity). It rides the line between adult/YA (protagonist is 18).
I've been on a short fiction kick. Asimov's, Analog, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and more. I don't get as much reading time as I used to have, so it takes me about half a month to go through a single issue (since most of these are double issues done every other month), leaving me with a little time for novels near the end.
The latest thing I'm reading is Exploded View by Sam McPheeters. Near-future crime drama in LA, where the LA cops make use of real-time smart-surface tech and ubiquitous surveillance to solve crimes via augmented reality. For instance: tracking a subject through his daily routine simply because no matter where he goes, he can be tracked. And of course all the ways around such tech, and how it's employed, and why.
I'm out of books to read so my mom is kicking some of her stuff to me- it's not my preference, but it's definitely better than nothing! I just finished a Jack Reacher novel (don't remember the title) and am now working on Book of Bones. But we have a handful of stuff on order, and it should arrive in a couple of weeks.
I've been on a short fiction kick. Asimov's, Analog, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and more. I don't get as much reading time as I used to have, so it takes me about half a month to go through a single issue (since most of these are double issues done every other month), leaving me with a little time for novels near the end.
The latest thing I'm reading is Exploded View by Sam McPheeters. Near-future crime drama in LA, where the LA cops make use of real-time smart-surface tech and ubiquitous surveillance to solve crimes via augmented reality. For instance: tracking a subject through his daily routine simply because no matter where he goes, he can be tracked. And of course all the ways around such tech, and how it's employed, and why.
I'm currently reading: America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar and once i'm done with it,i'm going to look at getting a copy of An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know (I'm having a slight interest in ConLaw developing)
and for fiction,i'm reading Red Metal by Mark Greaney , Hunter Ripley Rawlings
We're doing a bit of a book club thing, with video conference meetings every week or two.
The first book was Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire. I am not generally a fan of McGuire's work, but this was evocative and the prose style engaging.
Now, we are reading, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers. Only part way through, but the book reads far more "slice of life" than "there's a plot of important events here". So far, excellent worldbuilding.
With Conan 2d20 about to hit FG (see here ), I've almost completed my Complete Conan Omnibus (all the REH Conan published stories) and am dabbling with the Conan 2d20 ruleset/books in between cases in the OR.
REEEEeeeally looking forward to testing the FG ruleset for Conan 2d20 out.
Finished Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep. Holy carp, was it good! If I had to describe it, I'd say it was like if the movie Labyrinth was set in Victorian times and written by Clive Barker.
Now I'm re-reading Karl Edward Wagner's Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane, which, like The Dying Earth, I haven't read in about 15 years. Apparently the volume is out-of-print now and going for in excess of $200 online.
I decided to go through my backlog of graphic novels. One more to go, Invisible Kingdom by G Willow Wilson. But of what I have read so far:
Trees V3: Warren Ellis, Jason Howard (art). Ok addition to the Trees storyline. This volume tells one story of one place. It advances the overall plot of the Trees a bit; but it's still unclear how the trees influence human cognition and emotion. I gave it 3 stars.
Sleeper and the Spindle: Neil Gaiman, Chris Riddell (art). Classic Gaiman - taking a fairy tale or two, mashing them up; modernizing the perspective so that women have some agency. This is technically an illustrated novella or even a short story. The art is great, Chris Ridell I'm a fan. If you like Gaiman, you'll like this. If not, well - you've been warned.
Unearth Vol 1: Cullen Bunn, Baldemar Rivas (art): Well, the art is sufficiently creepy and distorted to be perfect for this storyline. I'm not sure what I was expecting - maybe some body horror; some mystery; maybe even some discovery.
Well I got all those; but the mystery turned out to be related to a particular fictional universe that as far as I'm concerned has been done to death; and the creator was an avowed racist. This took a new perspective on that old mythos; but as soon as someone said "Ftaghn", I was so done.
I gave Unearth 2 stars.
Coda Vol 1: Simon Spurrier, Matias Bergara (art):
I bought this book for the art. It's like a psychedelic version of Asterix's Albert Uderzo. Then the writing is by Simon Spurrier, who I've been enjoying his run on the new Dreaming book from DC.
It's post-apocalyptic; but it's post a fantasy world. So the magic is supposed to be dying, although there is something called "akker" which I guess is mainlining magic power. However, the way it's created is grisly and revealed in the 2nd/3rd chapter. The main character - called Sir Hum by some of the others in the novel - is scornful of the old days. He's practical, and focused on finding his wife, who is with the Urken. That tale unfolds with a delicious twist in chapter 4. Anyway, this first volume was a fun read, and I'll definitely keep up with the series. I gave this one a 4 of 5 stars.
Fairlady Vol 1: Brian Schirmer, Claudia Balboni (art): If you like mysteries, hard boiled detective stories, and fantasy, then you’ll like this. I mean come on, the first panel is an overhead shot of a town built in the ruins of a colossal mech or metal golem or construct. It gets better from there. The art style is clean line; and they really lean into a bunch of fantasy/D&D type tropes. I give this one 5 of 5 stars. Highly recommended.
