The Sword and Laser discussion

Just finished Arrows of the Queen and loved it. I'll admit it even brought a tear to my eye once or twice, which is awkward when I'm reading at work. It reminded me of Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce a little bit and I imagine that if you like one then you'll like the other.
Starting Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David.

Reading Red Rising. Slowly. (My second attempt.)

As good as it is, I set Maplecroft aside.

Mostly I'm playing the DLC for XCOM, called The Enemy Within. Video games = time suck.

Trike wrote: "Video games = time suck. "

Ain't that the truth. I've fallen a bit behind on my reading because Elder Scrolls Online and Witcher 3 are cutting deeper and deeper into my reading schedule. :)

Enemy Within was great.

When not wandering the wasteland around Boston I'm reading Elric of Melniboné. Though I guess playing the Witcher would be more appropriate for that book.

get out of my head Trike (just bought XCOM: Enemy Unknown on a 75% off Steam sale).

Reading First Light by Linda Nagata

Next up is Neal Asher's Line War.

Finished Lords of the Sith and am continuing the Star Wars theme with Dark Disciple by Christie Golden.

I just finished Book 6 of Malazan Book of the Fallen - The Bonehunters and boy was it awesome. My original reading goal for the year was to make it through the entire series, but these are hard to do back to back. Pretty sure I am not going to make it, and am going to go on a Journey to Star Wars palette cleanser, starting with Lost Stars

Started reading The Final Empire. Loving it so far.

Just getting started on Arrows of the Queen, maybe 10% in thus far.

Trying to finally finish up Seveneves. I've been reading it since July or August. (Got about halfway through and then renewed it from the library 6 times without opening it....) I'm finally in the last section of the book -- have about 200 pages left. I think I just got exhausted by some of the technical details. That and my dislike for Mrs. President.

For audio, I started The Aeronaut's Windlass a couple days ago. I'm about 25% in so far.

Half way through Nemesis Games, glad to have Jefferson Mays back. But wow, some shore leave! Halfway through Arrows of the Queen which reads really smooth.

I'm actually getting into audiobook discs now. So I am read Dresden Files while I play video games. (Which is pretty fun when it's snowy out.)

I'm reading The Dosadi Experiment. It took me a bit to get into, but suddenly my eyes are open. I'm appreciating Herbert's skill with the pen. Er, typewriter. Thingy.

Dharmakirti wrote: "Trike wrote: "Video games = time suck. "

Ain't that the truth. I've fallen a bit behind on my reading because Elder Scrolls Online and Witcher 3 are cutting deeper and deeper into my reading sched..."

I only tried Elder Scrolls Online way back in beta and it seemed so god-awful I didn't want to pick it up again. But now with the rainy season here (I live in WA ^.^), I've been jonesing to pick up some new/good mmo again. Would you recommend it?

I finished up A Darker Shade of Magic which I originally wasn't planning on reading until I saw it sitting by it's lonesome at the library and I was captivated by the first paragraph! About to start The Devil's Intern. After those two I only need TWO more books to finish my goal! I have a "cheat" number Rat Queens #1 since it's an easy graphic novel. Then who knows?

Icia wrote: I only tried Elder Scrolls Online way back in beta and it seemed so god-awful I didn't want to pick it up again. But now with the rainy season here (I live in WA ^.^), I've been jonesing to pick up some new/good mmo again. Would you recommend it?"

Yes, I recommend it.
I tried ESO during beta and I hated it. I didn't try it again until it came out on Xbox One and I think the game has improved significantly. I have a lot of fun playing and it's not unusual for me to spend a good portion of my Saturday playing.

If your interested, there is a wiki on Reddit that gives information on the patches and updates that have been made to the game since launch. https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrolls...

@Icia and Dharmakirti: I've JUST bought Elder Scrolls Online myself and am really excited to play (when I have time). I have a different reason to play though. One of my closest friends worked on this game for many long years and this will be the first time I'll see her art come to fruition. I can't wait to explore the world and see what she's done. This will be my first MMO and I'm sure it's a good one. ^_^v

Finally got around to reading The Martian which was excellent!

Just began re-reading The Sword of Shannara. It's been about 10? years since I've read the books and I want to refresh before the series begins in January. I forgot how long it is. >.>

The show will be doing The Elfstones Of Shannara, so skip to that.

Brass Man by Neal Asher. A little Nagata (Red: First Light still) Some Wendig (Zeroes) which feels too formulaic for me so far.

Up next The Unremembered and/or The Alloy of Law and Jagannath

Round 2 of my big review catch up. I'm finally caught up (7 reviews later; 6 of which I've linked below if you're interested).

Text
Time and Again - Review

Ancillary Mercy - Review

Arrows of the Queen - Review

Audio
Childhood's End - Review

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America - Review

The Three Musketeers - Review

Right on, thanks for the links :-)

Reading Dream London. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but it is interesting.

Just finished The Six by Mark Alpert. I was suprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It is YA, but the main ideas in the book were inspired by real science which was cool.

Currently reading Ringworld by Larry Niven for the first time. Enjoying it so far.

I've been on a classic fantasy trip; I've recently reread The Legacy by RA Salvatore and The High King by Lloyd Alexander. I also read Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. Right now I'm reading Pyramids by Terry Pratchett.

Finished Happy Hour in Hell... Definately not going to wait so long to pick up the next one... It was as fun as I remember the first book being. Changes up next.

I finished Time and Again - liked it, didn't love it.

I read all 6 (so far) of the series Twenty-Sided Sorceress by Annie Bellet - urban fantasy, with a bunch of extremely geeky characters which is fun. Starts with Justice Calling

Just finished Karen Memory which was excellent - I want to listen to it in audio next time, because first person narration with a fun accent is good for the ears :)

Haven't settled on the next read. I've read the Valdemar books umpteen times, so not sure I need to reread this month's pick.

@Michele: I just noticed that Justice Calling is free on Amazon so I decided to give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation! ^_^v

Finished up The Aeronaut's Windlass and started in today on Caliban's War. It looks like my month will be nothing but James S.A. Corey and Jack McDevitt. Oh, and a bit of The Man From C.A.M.P., but those can be finished in a day or two.

@Keidy - I hope you like it :) The books are all really short - so they look cheaply priced, but...they're short, lol. Fun and the story gets more interesting as we get more about the world and Jade's history.

Finally starting in on The Queen of the Tearling. For me it is a nice blend of expected fantasy elements and a surprising setting. Also Emma Watson is slated to star in it in the future, after swearing she wouldn't do fantasy again any time soon.

Reading The Fifth Season, and I think it was Joanna of this group that recommended it to me? It was a good suggestion, I've really enjoyed the book so far, about half way through.

Brendan wrote: "Reading The Fifth Season, and I think it was Joanna of this group that recommended it to me? It was a good suggestion, I've really enjoyed the book so far, about half way through."

One of the best books this year IMHO.

Finished the BotM. Now getting into the proper holiday spirit with Krampus: The Yule Lord.

Brendan wrote: "Reading The Fifth Season, and I think it was Joanna of this group that recommended it to me? It was a good suggestion, I've really enjoyed the book so far, about half way through."

I can't get into it. I think Jemisin's writing style is just not my thing. I couldn't get into The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, either.

I'm farther along into An Unwelcome Quest and still can't think about anything but Sword Art Online or .hack. That's not a bad thing. I'm also farther into and really enjoying Arrows of the Queen. I'm reading before bed, so not a whole lot of time to read, but I'm staying up later than I intended to read, which is always a good sign.

Keidy wrote: "@Icia and Dharmakirti: I've JUST bought Elder Scrolls Online myself and am really excited to play (when I have time). I have a different reason to play though. One of my closest friends worked on t..."

Bought ESO for me and my husband and we are totally enjoying the game! Keidy, what do you think of your friend's hard work so far?!

I've never played any MMOs, but I'm starting to get tempted by Star Wars: The Old Republic, mostly to the extent that I could treat it as a single-player follow-up to Knights of the Old Republic I and II.

Joseph, the Star Wars mmo game is much fun! I haven't played in it a year or so but I understand they've been keeping it updated and there is a big player base due to the new movie. It is wonderful feeling lthat you're a PART of the universe

@Michele: I'll make sure to tell you what I thought about the book once I get to it. Since it's so short, it might very well be my next read. ^_^

@Icia: I always knew my friend was pretty talented. I had fun gaming with her too! She's an environmental designer and most of the trees were modeled from her designs and some shrines too. Beautiful work and really well done too. ^_^v

Keidy wrote: "@Michele: I'll make sure to tell you what I thought about the book once I get to it. Since it's so short, it might very well be my next read. ^_^

@Icia: I always knew my friend was pretty talented..."

Soo cool! I love that game. The art is beautiful.

I have had a copy of The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter for a while now. I am finally giving it a read and I have to say so far so good!

I am also about half way through The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 and I am really enjoying the collection.

I don't play it, but apparently ESO is free this weekend to play for XBox Live Gold.

And on to Chuck Wendig's Aftermath, which I will probably finish before I see The Force Awakens one week from tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Be sure to read Lost Stars before Force Awakens. It may have some clues.

Stephen wrote: "Be sure to read Lost Stars before Force Awakens. It may have some clues."

That's next on my list after Aftermath, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to get through both of them before 7:00 p.m. on Thursday the 17th when I'm sitting in the theater dressed as a Jedi.

... but I've said too much ...

I just finished Lost Stars. I was expecting just a random star wars book, I was pleasantly surprised by both the nice story and the content at the end that went past Return of the Jedi.

Also preparing for a baby and read What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be. Lots more in this area coming up. One of my reading goals for the year was to read more non-fiction, but I was expecting it to be more in the math/physics area than the pregnancy/parenting area :P

Next up I am listening to The Rose and the Thorn to prepare for The Death of Dulgath in audio on the 15th.

I am going to try to squeeze in Aftermath at some point, but i'm going to wait for the crowd to die down a bit before seeing the movie so I have some time.

Comic book-wise, I just bought Saga, Volume 5, and am continuing on with GTO and Attack on Titan.

My theory is that Rey is the offspring of the main characters from Lost Stars. Just a wild guess.

Finished up The Clockwork Crown day before yesterday but I enjoyed it so much that I've been in a bit of a book hangover since. I think I may read Turn Coat next.

Here are the last few books that I've finished:

Neuromancer by William Gibson - Not a fan (my review)
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - Another great book. Definitely a fan of Kay (my review)
The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons - Pretty good Sherlock Holmes mystery (my review)
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang - Fascinating collection of stories (my review)

I'm now going to start Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh and The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan. And that will probably finish up the year.

Finished Caliban's War, and as much as I immediately want to move on tot he next one, I'm pacing myself and reading The Man in the High Castle.

I have claimed that if you have not read Lost Stars before you go to the newest Star Wars you are shorting yourself. But who am I ?, as it has been said before by Rey and Arya, I am no one. But io9 tell you too:
http://io9.com/if-youre-a-star-wars-f...