What Are You Reading?

ixoy

Hmm missed half a year!

• RJ Barker's "Wounded Kingdom" trilogy: The trilogy about a club-footed assassin doesn't match up to his Bone Ships trilogy (it was written before it). Its premise isn't quite as refreshing but there's some nice touches of imagination there (e.g. no horses in this world) and the main character, Girton, develops nicely by having the books spaced years apart. Certain moments of brilliance were realised in the Bone Ships series afterwards so I was probably holding this up to a high bar. Well worth my time though.
• Raymond E. Feist's "Master of Furies", the final book in his Fireman trilogy. I enjoyed the first two but this book? Wow, what an absolutely terrible conclusion to a series - one of the worst I've ever read. Multiple plot threads are hand waved away, characters suddenly act completely differently just to suit a plot, a final battle with the "big bad" is reduced to the level of a computer game and the whole series takes a massive hard left to try and force it into a wider multiverse. Avoid.
• Peter F. Hamilton's "Salvation" trilogy. Very enjoyable trilogy - Hamilton has a great eye for action and scale. Characters often feel they have the depth of a standard sci-fi film (i.e. not much) but the pacing is always excellent and there's some nice twists and turns. It's begging for a big screen action. Only downside is that it's left a bit unresolved - needs a follow up!
• "Redemption's Blade" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's set in a world where the big bad is already defeated and where pivotal heroes seek out legends and stories from the war. Great concept but I was left a little cold. Adrian's a good ideas man and I didn't feel anything popped from the page here. Easy to read but fairly easy to forget too.
• "Brothers of the Wind" by Tad Williams - A novella set in his Oesten Ard world, acting as a prequel to his other books. Great writing and provides some insight and context to a major story arc in the latest trilogy. Well worth it but probably mightn't stand entirely on its own.

ixoy

And some more:

K.J Parker:
* "A Practical Guide to Conquering the World", the final book in his Siege trilogy. Great KJ Parker humour and it takes, again, a different approach to the same besieged city found in the previous two installments.

• "Father of Lies" - A collection of short stories/novellas. Unlike his novels these had a strong element of magic. While good, there were too many featuring Faustian bargains which made it a little same-y. I also prefer his work more grounded but, as ever, it has smart characters brought down by their own worst qualities. Such a cynic.

Terry Pratchett:

• "Wyrd Sisters" - I enjoyed the first Witches book but this one is a play on Shakespeare and it just didn't work for me. I got the jokes but didn't find them funny.
• "Pyramids" - Nice idea about the various return of old gods but I felt that the larger scale he was playing against doesn't really do him favours. My favourite Pratchett moments have been when he's ridiculing the more mundane, not the big battles.
• "Guards! Guards!" - There's a reason this seems to be the suggested entry point. Fantastic book with my favourite character so far, a strong plot, lots of humorous moments, and some intelligent observations.
• "Eric" - More Faustian bargains. A fairly unlikeable main character in Eric. I just didn't care what happened to him.
• "Moving Pictures" - A satire on Hollywood that went on too long. It all felt a bit heavy handed.

Others:

• Charles Stross's "Empire Games" trilogy. It's a sequel to his Merchant Princes series about a multiverse where some people can travel between parallel timelines and how that might play out. It's got some great ideas and it starts building up a bigger narrative about what's behind all of this… and then squanders it all in a limp rushed finale. Stross, to be fair, explains the reasons for delivering an underbaked final book but it'd prevent me from recommending the series as I had enjoyed the first two books.
• "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. LeGuin - A lot heaver than I thought it would be, effectively comparing a planet of pure capitalism vs socialism it's intelligent thoughtful stuff. It almost gets bogged down in it, making for a slow pacing, but it's smart sci-fi with something to actually say.
• "Inhibitor Phase" by Alastair Reynolds - The book capping his original Revelation Space trilogy. It'd been a bit too long since I read those so I never fully connected as I did with the original trilogy but I did enjoy the scale he's able to whip up and I can still recall a good number of the scenes and concepts.

ixoy

And finally…

• "Legends & Lattes" by Travis Baldree - The big winner in the "cozy fantasy" stakes, I enjoyed this piece of fluff more than I thought I would. Warmed my cynical heart to have people just being nice and talking about cinnamon buns. Couldn't do it too often mind you.
• "House of Open Wounds" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the second book in his Tyrant Philosopher's series. Now this was excellent, following a series of people running a medical tent in a fantasy war. Sort of a fantasy M*A*S*H. Highly cynical about war, it's buzzing with some fantastic ideas and characters. One of his strongest works and I eagerly await the next book - it being Adrian, it's out at year's end.
• "Cryoburn" by Lois McMaster Bujold - More Miles action! I know what to expect from a book like this and Bujold's always a strong writer. Plot might not live up to her peak in the likes of "Memory" but another solid installment.
• "The Lost Metal" by Brandon Sanderson - The fourth book in his Wax & Wayne series. The guy's got a great eye for actions, his books begging for adaptation, but the dialogue was far too often corny and the humour eye rolling. Maybe I'm used to the dark British humour of the likes of Joe Abercrombie but I wanted to skim over too much of the dialogue. It's nice to see the book linking in more with his Cosmere stuff but please someone edit his dialogues.

Short stories:

• "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang - What a fantastic imagination this guy has. The titular story is superb but it's not alone. Thoughtful, insightful but also well written. One of the best story collections I've read.
• "Sleep and the Soul" by Greg Egan - Another man with great ideas, he's not quite as strong here as he is in some of his previous collections, spending more time close to our present than stuff like "Schild's Ladder". A bit of a mixed bag but more than enough to have been worth my time.

Fian

Recently finished the "three body problem" trilogy. Enjoyable, though I do find it difficult to deal with unfamiliar chinese names - easy to lose track of which character is which from the name until context clues fill in the gaps. Especially with a break between books.

Went on to read "ministry of the future" by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is very light "sci-fi" - sort of like a future equivalent of historical fiction, which was set in the next 30 years or so, with no transformative technological innovations. The concept is that a ministry is established by the UN to advocate for future people since their rights are not taken into consideration adequately in terms of climate change etc. It is focussed basically entirely on the climate crisis and potential solutions. Really interesting read, not hugely dramatic, it felt kind of educational. Kind of depressing as well in terms of what the future might hold in store, but I am definitely glad I read it. Main character is an irish woman. Weak finish though, felt like final chapters, after she retired, could just be cut and added very little imo.

Book imagined a heat wave in India with a wet bulb temperature of 35 degrees in the near future. Power failures occurred because of AC demands on the grid. Huge numbers of deaths resulted and afterwards India became the world wide champion of fighting climate change. Apparently with a wet bulb of 35 degrees a fit, healthy person can last about 6 hours. wet bulb temp means 35 degrees with 100% humidity or a higher temperature with lower humidity. Lots of interesting approaches to addressing climate change, slowing sea level rise etc.

Glebee

Reading books by A.M. Shine recently. Irish author that i knew nothing about but happened upon. All gothic type horror stuff set in Ireland. Easy reading and Ie njoyed "The Watchers" and currently reading "The Creeper". The Watchers has been made into film due for cinema release in June 2024. Worth checking them out if you want something slightly different.

http://www.amshinewriter.com/about

shootermacg

Thanks for the posts guys, this place has been a bit dead since the site migration. I can only say that I have read nothing good in ages. This place was always my go to and hope it picks up again.

C4000

Just finished the Saevus Corax trilogy by K.J. Parker. While I enjoyed Parker's recent 'Siege' and Two of Swords series, I thought they weren't quite at the level of his earlier stuff. This Corax trilogy was excellent though, right up there with his best. He has a completely unique writing style.

The Tide Child Trilogy by R.J. Barker, good but not great I'd say. Probably a seven out of ten series for me, some good ideas and creative world building but fell short of fully gripping my interest.

The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft, very enjoyable, very quick read. Bancroft is probably one of the best new Fantasy authors of the last few years.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122121106#Comment_122121106

Thanks for the Saevus Corax tip, just what I was looking for.

Bit of a drought at the minute no? Havent read any good sci-fi/fantasy in ages. Read Neal Ashers latest Polity, War Bodies, I used to love that universe nearly as much as the Culture but its just mindless pointless crap now, exact same battle descriptions over and over again.

lordgoat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122121106#Comment_122121106

Disagree on Tide Child, loved the world, loved the characters sure it's a bit rough around the edges and the ending could be tighter but overall it's a great fantasy series.

Re-reading Starlight Archive

Igotadose

Found my way back to Tim Powers, who I'd not caught up with in years. Reading "Forced Perspectives," so far it's Power's greatest hits, weird Egyptian mythos, shadowy organizations and L.A.. Just finished 'House of Open Wounds' by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Found that to be fairly predictable but entertaining.

TheIrishGrover

I see they have announced the publish date of book 5 of Stormlight Archives (Phase 1): December 6:

https://read.macmillan.com/torforge/the-stormlight-archive/

https://read.macmillan.com/torforge/the-stormlight-archive/

They are a fun light read. Especially when coming from the misery-porn that was A Song of Ice and Fire and a couple of others (Thankfully I have zero interest in continuing with GRRMs stuff).

The Cosmere books are quite samey and, I suppose it makes sense as they are in the same universe. But they are easy reads and, for many, a gateway into reading Sci0Fi/Fantasy.

I do remember when people were getting so obsessed with Game of Thrones. The same people who would have thought "Nerrrrrrrd" as they saw me reading the books prior to the show - Marvelling at how this was not like typical fantasy stuff (Meaning it was not like LoTR). Meanwhile long-term fantasy fans were like "Not typical? Really? Maybe more grimy than others but…"

• Low-born/orphan/b*stard/farm-hand with mysterious parentage who may (is) or may not (No, really is) be long lost heir to the throne - Check
• Dragon Princess around same age as character above/ancient Elf Princess who looks same age as character above - Check
• Dragons - Check
• Ice Monsters - Check
• Cool-ass dwarf - Check
• Cool-ass female warrior - Check
• Boromir character… I mean Sean Bean character - Check
• Noble leader/father figure who dies heroically near the start (Usually first book) thus kicking off the series as secrets are uncovered/parentage revealed/suggested. Often same character as above (If they DO make The Magician I will eat my hat if Sean Bean is not playing Borric ConDoin)
• Wizard - No Check

But anyway, back to Stormlight. They are light, fun reading. DESIGNED to be adapted into a TV series (have they been bought?). There are whole sections where you would think "Ah, THIS is where they will have a post credit sequence at season end" or "OK, that was cool. That's going to be the end of the 2nd last episode of a season leading to an epic end episode"

Edit: I see that I pretty much repeated an earlier post I made so ignore… :)

Igotadose

Finished 'Ogres' by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Nice read, interesting use of a 'present tense' narrative.

Going retro with Caves of Steel by Asimov, who contemplated societal collapse due to overpopulation of 8 billion, in 1953. How quaint.

TheIrishGrover

As a kid I loved Asimov's robot stories (Especially Bicentennial Man - Even that Godawful movie couldn't tarnish that). But, as an adult I just find them fairly clunky. Interesting ideas (Especially when you think of how many future writers used concepts raised in these stories). Interesting ideas but… dare I say it… not as good as I remember.

I mean it's just down to taste. His stories were written sixty to seventy years ago and they have aged better than many others of that time but I suppose styles change. And I suppose he was never really known as a writer of characters: They were there to pretty much move the plot along. I did enjoy the interconnectedness of his stories though. You had The Caves of Steel referencing his robot stories/laws of course and even into Foundation.

…. Maybe I'll give them another look also

Igotadose

I don't consider Asimov a great wordsmith, but he had the 'gift of names' (something a lot of writers struggle with, I'd lump Tchaikovsky in that group), wrote an enormous amount and bridged the post-WWII militaristic SciFi to something more modern and outward looking. His stuff's not 'deep' either, more pop/light thinking unlike, say, his contemporaries like Herbert, Le Guin, Norton. I also just reread Foundation and it doesn't hold up, very little character development and just a 'deus ex machina' plot device, with spaceships. Supposedly the recent filmed version is very good, will try and catch that sometime.

Thargor

I read the first 3 Stormlight Archives a while back and slowly came to despise them as I read more, especially the female characters that are all bitchy and insulting for no reason, Sanderson always has to have one or two in his books. The humour/wit was absolutely pathetic, fart jokes and bad smells, really childish crap. There was even a character called Wit who was supposed to be witty but again, fart jokes. So repetitive aswell, whole chapters where absolutely nothing happens.

shrapnel222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121880398#Comment_121880398

finally finished book 3, and i have to say this has been one of the hardest trilogies to finish. Don't get me wrong, i really enjoyed the story lines, but it was such a hard slog to get through, especially book 2, that i never got round to book 3 before the series came out and i realised there were a lot of gaps which i was missing so finally finished it. Book 3 is great and loved the ending theory (no idea how they'll get to that in the series-don't want to spoiler anything). All in all an impressive 3 body of work

shrapnel222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121888066#Comment_121888066

i can't stand him and i don't understand the praise. i've read 2 or 3 books of his and hated every single one of them. pure cheese garbage imho

Fian

Read "Red Rising" and enjoyed it. It is kind of YA but well written YA and has reasonably mature themes. It involves a teenager plucked from obscurity and given significant enhancements to enable him to rise to the top of the society, and set in a school where elite teenagers battle with each other to determine their prospects in the society, so it is hard to claim it is not YA. On the other hand there are political machinations between competing houses in the grown up world intruding on the school and the protagonist moves on to enter a real war between those houses in the second book of the series. The conceit is that the society (which is set in a future where humanity has colonised the solar system) has been divided into castes, based on genetically engineered differences. So there are labouring/mining castes, caste engineered to be pilots, soldiers, technicians, servants, merchants, artists, sex workers, entertainers and more. Each designated by a colour which is reflected in teh clothes they wear and their genetically engineered hair colour. As well as genetic engineering the ruling gold caste also employ social engineering to maintain the hierarchy. The protagonist was a red miner on Mars who is genetically engineered to become gold and then excels in the school. I am reading the second book in the series, will probably take a break and read something else next. There are 6 published books and a seventh and final book scheduled to be published next year. So far it is well written, reasonably complex and I would recommend.

After I finish the second book in this series I intend to take a break from it and read "the Wager" which is billed as historical non-fiction (though I assume it is dramatised/"based on real events") which is the story of a crew of a british ship shipwrecked in the 1740s, based on ship logs etc., with allegations and counter allegations of mutiny and murder. Looks very interesting. I like historical fiction and I guess this is historical fiction based on actual events.

CalamariFritti

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway.

Nick Harkaway is new to me and apparently another pen-name for Aidan Truhen, but I havent read anything from him yet either.

As the title suggests its a crime noir thriller and it's set in the not too distant future where a few thousand super rich enjoy some sort of immortality drug that lets you start over just after puberty by resetting your body cells. The downside is that every time you use the drug you grow a bit bigger, so with every treatment you turn more and more into a physical giant. The drug is billionaire expensive so there are only a couple of thousand 'Titans' around and the main police consultant/detective protagonist - who's not a Titan himself, but has deep connections - investigates when one of them gets murdered under murky circumstances.

It's written in the first person and uses noir prose, reminds me a bit of William Gibson even. Despite that it goes down easy enough and it's after catching me as the story unfolds. It's a bit dark and mysterious and very enjoyable. I would absolutely recommend it. Will probably try other books from the author after this.