What are you reading this year 2020?

[Nellisir]

Read To Die in Italbar, by River Zelazny. I didn't realize it's set in the same universe as Isle of the Dead, which I happened to read a few weeks ago. Apparently Zelazny didn't think much of it, but I thought it was decent enough. 4/5

Also read The Eyes of the Overworld, by Jack Vance. I've had difficulty getting into Vance before, but this was much better/easier/more enjoyable. 5/5

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Finished The Monster's Ring, Bunnicula, and The History of the Caliph Vathek to round out the Halloween season. The first two were still charming, the last one was an easier read than The Castle of Otranto as far as early Gothic lit goes, but still dated with a lot of Orientalism.

Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.

 

[Zaukrie]

Finished The Monster's Ring, Bunnicula, and The History of the Caliph Vathek to round out the Halloween season. The first two were still charming, the last one was an easier read than The Castle of Otranto as far as early Gothic lit goes, but still dated with a lot of Orientalism.

Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.

War for the Oaks is good.

 

[Blue]

Now I'm onto Emma Bull's War for the Oaks.

Recently reread War for the Oaks. Really enjoy it. Great reference for how to play the fey courts. And I'm old enough to get the music references.

 

[Richards]

I started a two-volume hardback series, A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, edited by Anthony Boucher. It was published in 1959 and the introduction states that these stories were collected not because they were the absolute best around, but because they were the best around that hadn't already been collected in other anthologies - in other words, Boucher was trying to gather together stuff he thought the reader might not have seen before. It's a collection of 8 short stories, 12 novelets (I think the term "novella" is more commonly used today), and 4 full-length novels, and the introduction uses the now-rather-humorous phrase "modern (1938-1958) s.f. which had been overlooked by earlier anthologists." I'm still on the first story, a 125-page novella (or novelet, if you prefer) called "Re-Birth" by John Wyndham (author of "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Midwich Cuckoos," if those ring any bells), which is an engaging story of a post-nuclear apocalypse world filled with religious "pure strain humans" (to borrow a Gamma World term) who feel they must slay all mutants and their recent discovery of a band of mutants who outwardly look human but have - gasp! - telepathic powers! Fortunately, the mutants are in telepathic communication with a band of mutants from the two-island paradise of "Zealand" who are coming to their rescue before the religious hordes get to the renegade telepaths.

I'll probably be skipping two of the novels - The Weapon Shops of Isher by A. E. van Vogt and The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester - because I've already read them, but I don't recognize any of the other works in the set so I'll press on with them.

Johnathan

 

[Nellisir]

I'll probably be skipping two of the novels - The Weapon Shops of Isher by A. E. van Vogt and The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester - because I've already read them, but I don't recognize any of the other works in the set so I'll press on with them.

Johnathan

The Stars My Destination is SO GOOD.

I read Soon I Will Be Invincible, by Austin Grossman. It's a "superhero" novel, in that the world depicted has superheros, with superpowers, and magic, and alien races. It's got all the cliches: capes, fancy helmets, accidental origins, the works - but with a great big dose of humanity filtered in. I thought it was excellen, 5/5. Reviews were decent, but the reviewers seemed really hung up reassuring readers that this is a PROSE novel about COMIC-BOOK SUPERHEROES. BUT IN PROSE. WITH NO PICTURES. IN PROSE. COMIC BOOKS.

I hit the booksale again, and grabbed a bunch more books. I'll post another pic later.

 

[carrot]

I'm still on the first story, a 125-page novella (or novelet, if you prefer) called "Re-Birth" by John Wyndham (author of "The Day of the Triffids" and "The Midwich Cuckoos," if those ring any bells), which is an engaging story of a post-nuclear apocalypse world filled with religious "pure strain humans" (to borrow a Gamma World term) who feel they must slay all mutants and their recent discovery of a band of mutants who outwardly look human but have - gasp! - telepathic powers! Fortunately, the mutants are in telepathic communication with a band of mutants from the two-island paradise of "Zealand" who are coming to their rescue before the religious hordes get to the renegade telepaths.

I read that story in school (many many moons ago) and really enjoyed it - I’d been trying to remember the title/author for ages, so thank you

 

[Erekose]

Recently read Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword - easy to see where Moorcock drew his inspiration from! Currently two books into Glen Cook’s Dread Empire series. I’ve read all of his Black Company books and didn’t realise at first these were written first. Not sure what to make of them yet but I can see the threads of later stories. I think I slightly misled myself by reading the Dread Empire short story, Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat, in his ”Best of ...” book first! Good but very different!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

One of the things I've grown to really appreciate about Poul Anderson is how his entire tone and writing style can shift, depending on the needs of the story he's writing. I haven't read the Broken Sword in ages, and should probably do so again soon.

Recently read Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword - easy to see where Moorcock drew his inspiration from!

 

[GreyLord]

Got really bogged down in the Wheel of Time books 9-11 for a while. Have finally forged through and got into the Gathering Storm and have gotten almost done with it very quickly.