What Are You Reading?

Just finished 'The God is Not Willing' by Steven Eirkson, the first in his Witness trilgoy and it's very enjoyable. Even if part of a trilogy, it stands alone quite well and feels quite streamlined running about half the length of a standard Malazan novel. Dealing with the fallout of some events a decade on from "The Crippled God", it's got classic Malazan marine banter, memorable characters (love Stillwater), plenty of bits that go over my head as ever, more lore, philosophical marines, monsters. Nothing like Kharkanas in tone and definitely worth a read.

• "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers, the third in her Wayfarers series. This one was disappointing. For a start, it lost out by only really having human characters, unlike the richer depth we got with the different alien races in her first book. There's a number of characters, but I didn't click with a lot of them and their plots are almost non existent, even for a book in the "Slice of Life" genre she writes in. The background of this particular human cultures isn't hugely original (think ark ship) which is a shame when I know she's well able to do better. Some of the dialogue is very well done and it's easy to read but it was never engrossing. Hope the final book picks up.
• "The Shadow of What Was Lost" by James Islington, the first book in his "Licanius" trilogy. This is good solid doorstep-sized fantasy. It's got a bunch of tropes - quests, dark lords, etc but there is some interesting twists in there. The writing is solid, the characters fairly engaging (if not deeply drawn) and there's more than enough to have kept me interested. Very much in the classic mould, which is sometimes all I want.

• "Saint's Blood" by Sebastien de Castell, the third book in his Greatcoats series, a series clearly inspired by the Three Musketeers. Another good installment with a lot of witty banter (reminding me a bit of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series, although not quite hitting its peaks), peril, some very dark moments and valour (the series does feature proper heroism). It won't convert anyone who didn't like the first book but it firmly delivers if you did.

* "Exit Strategy" by Martha Wells, the fourth book in her Murderbot series. Thought this was an improvement on the slightly disappointing previous instalment. The plot was more focused and Murderbot itself got to further their storyline both from a plot and character perspective. It nicely lined itself up for the fifth (longer) book.

• "Ghostwater" by Will Wight, the fifth book in his Cradle series. This is very much a "dungeon romp" and initially it didn't grab me. It's a bit of an excuse to have Lindon go through a series of different areas to allow him to level up. What worked for me then was the second half with the introduction of a new character (Dross) and some good action sequences. Still one of the weaker books in the series, feeling a little like a lead in to bigger events, but diverting fun all the same.

• 'The October Man' by Ben Aarvonitch, a novella set in the PC Grant universe but basically with his German counterpart. I couldn't quite warm to him to the same way - the voice didn't have the humour or nerdy qualities of Grant. The plot was a little bit more confusing than it needed to be, with most of it only coming together by the end. Not bad but not what I had hoped for.
• "An Echo of Things to Come" by James Islington, the second heavy tome in his Licanius trilogy. It's a bit of a middle tome feel here as a lot of it feels a set up for a third series. It's quite exposition heavy and there's definitely too many flash backs for one of the main characters. It still works quite well though and the universe is definitely more fleshed. I thought the writing was a bit sharper this time too, perhaps benefitting from the fact that the second book was released by a traditional publisher. More than enough though to keep me entertained for the final (even longer) book.
• "Komarr" by Lois McMaster-Bujold, another installment in her Vorkosigan saga. As ever, she's an excellent writer but perhaps the plot here wasn't quite as strong as previous instalments, with Miles not being quite as active as he was previously - perhaps it's Bujold adjusting to Miles's new role or the fact the story alternates between Miles' and a new love interest's perspective. Never boring but hopefully the next book's plot has a little more meat to it.

• "The Fall of Dragons" by Miles Cameron, the fifth and final book in his Traitor Son Cycle. It's a series I generally liked but I did find the last one a bit of a slog. It's effectively one large battle scene and it all blurs into one another. Cameron definitely has a gift for fighting and tactics but there's a limit to what I'm interested in. I enjoyed the magical elements of it but endless tactics.. Not so much. There's also a cast that, by the end, was a little too large and I'd have preferred focus on some of the other characters. It's not a terrible ending, and the action is certainly there, but overall I felt the series could have been half the length without losing anything.
• "To Be Taught, If Fortunate" by Becky Chambers. A standalone novella, it deals wonderfully with the first exploration of a new solar system. Chambers' really gets into the wonder of discovery without neglecting the science part and it worked very well. I'd happily have read a longer version if it had existed.

Make sure to post back when you've finished it. Interested to see what your final opinion was.