Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

February already - January seems to have passed very quickly.

Since February is only 4 1/2 hours away in my neck of the woods, I'm posting this here. Back to the Lost Fleet series, this time with Boundless. I love this series!

And the Goodreads desktop site on my Kindle fire, not the mobile version, seems to have taken away my ability to link a book. Every time I turn around it seems as if they're changing something!

I'm continuing the Magic Ex Libris series by reading Book 2: Codex Born. Another great book by Jim C. Hines.

As winter really sets in here (we're about to get our coldest days yet) I'll be reading Winter by Marissa Meyer

I’ve been reading Silmarillion again 2 days into February, read it last year and I needed a good refresher. Though hopefully once I finish it, I will be reading War of the Worlds by HG Welles.

War Bound by Tara Grayce

I’ve just started Dean Koontz “Lightening”.

Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Charlie wrote: "Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch"

That was such a good book.

Finished Beast Master's Planet: A Beast Master Omnibus. What a great story! I'm so glad I picked it! I read Norton some 25 years ago. I want to read more of hers!
I read Lightning and enjoyed it. Hope you like it, too, @Yrett.

I have finished Starman Jones. Not the best of Heinlein's Juveniles books, but still an enjoyable read. Although it hasn't aged well due to the level of casual sexism.

I finished Gobbelino London & a Melee of Mages last night, and that book had me in stitches! Now I'm rereading The Tiger.

Starting Pawn of Prophecy -- first time with Eddings for me.

So I finished Codex Born and Gideon the Ninth and now I’m stumbling through Harrow the Ninth, but it’s so confusing. I’m only on page 55.

Summer wrote: "So I finished Codex Born and Gideon the Ninth and now I’m stumbling through Harrow the Ninth, but it’s so confusing. I’m only on page 55."

You really have to push yourself to finish the book. It will never get less confusing as it goes along but it sort of explains itself near the end.

Yeah, I'm about to start Act 3, still confusing with the back and forth but at least it's starting to pick up. I think Act 5 will be my Everest, it looks massive.

I have it on my ever growing to-read list but all the talk about confusion has me thinking to send it down several notches.

I have again put aside Against All Things Ending because it's become a real slog, although I'm about 2/3 of the way through now. I have started Starrise at Corrivale.

So far this month I put another dent in the Horus Heresy with Deliverance Lost. Just 36 more books to go without counting Siege of Terra or the Primarch books 😂 At least a guarantee I'll continue to be entertained long into the future.

I'm now back to reading Rhythm of War and enjoying it. Every time I start a Stormlight book right after finishing the last one I seem to need to take a longish break despite being excited to continue.

Currently a couple hundred pages into The Great Hunt, book #2 of The Wheel of Time 🤙🏼

Miles wrote: "Currently a couple hundred pages into The Great Hunt, book #2 of The Wheel of Time 🤙🏼"

I used to re-read each book in the series when another was due to be published. Those were the days ;)

Currently reading A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge. Previously read:

Evershore by Brandon Sanderson
The Odyssey
The Shamer’s Daughter by Lena Kaaberbol
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I'm reading #5 in the Gobbelino London series, Gobbelino London & a Worry of Weres, and I really hope that it won't be the last. My gosh they're hilarious!!

I read Tinker for my elf punk bingo slot. I didn't like the book much, tho, so I was disappointed about that. Wouldn't recommend it. Ah, well, one more series I won't have to get to!

Georgann wrote: "I read Tinker for my elf punk bingo slot. I didn't like the book much, tho, so I was disappointed about that. Wouldn't recommend it. Ah, well, one more series ..."

I wasn't a fan of that, either.

I wonder if I actually have a copy of that from the old Baen free library, that bright, colourful cover seems familiar. Though those free books were...well...free for a reason for the most part, at least the 20ish I've read, I think there was only a few that I really enjoyed :)

So, I just finished 'More Winter Ghosts.' A follow up to 'Winter Ghosts' (see what they did there?) Winter Ghosts was a cheap and cheerful collection of mainly Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories that I picked up a few years back as seasonal Christmas reading. It was surprisingly entertaining, which was why I picked up this second collection.

I am sure you have heard the well know phrase, "All killer, no filler?" Well, sadly, More Winter Ghosts was almost the exact opposite of that. Hey Ho, it was only 0.99 pence.

Anyway, it's back to my steady plod through those old copies of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction now. I will now be reading the edition for Jan/Feb 2019.

The end is in sight though, hopefully May/June this year I should be able to (cautiously) start buying books again and try some of those suggestions that you were all kind enough to give me for my 'Wants to Read shelf.

Until then, it's those back issues again...Winter Ghosts: Classic Ghost Stories for ChristmasMore Winter Ghosts: A Further Collection of Classic Ghost Stories for Christmas

I failed to enjoy Children of Memory and I dnf'd it. Undecided about what to read next I am starting The Magic of Recluce for the second time, because I feel that I did not pay enough attention to that book the first time I read it.

One More Last Time by Eric Ugland

Finished Winter, I think I lost a little steam so I wasn't so engaged with this last book in the series, plus it was also really long. The Lunar Chronicles was good overall though. I still have a book of short stories to read so not quite done with it yet.

Finished Lionors. I took this book out of a neighbourhood book exchange out of pity. Its an Arthurian retelling, but the cover was falling off, and it must have gotten wet so was stained and a bit warped, and no one seemed to want it, even though it was free. Well, don't judge a book by its cover (or its physical state) I really enjoyed it, it was a well written historical novel (the magic was explained away in mundane ways), and while I had intended to put it back in the box, now I'm rather inclined to keep it :)

That book exchange also had some bits and bobs of manga - a couple books from Love Berrish, both books in Super Darling, the first book of Rex Fabula, two books of Shuggo Chara, and the full set of 4 of Machen Prince (Maru Puri). The first two were just silly high school romances and already went back in the box, Rex is horror, I'll nab the other two from the library to find out what happens but won't keep it. Haven't gotten to Shuggo yet...but much as it was a silly romance, Machen Prince made me laugh (with very pretty art, same author of the more famous Vampire Knight series)...and now I'm tempted to keep those but I'll have to scramble to find something to put in the box in exchange for them :o)

Now to my new reads

The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks - If I thought reading the first trilogy in omnibus form, this omnibus has four books in it...gah

Since I finished that box exchange book, I'm starting on another. I rarely buy non-SFF, but that doesn't mean I don't like mysteries and spy novels and so forth, so I've been picking up things like James Patterson or Steve Berry from it, but I'll be reading a John Grisham first with The Chamber

And out of the free rivetedlit.com books this month I've started on Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

Pierre wrote: "I failed to enjoy Children of Memory and I dnf'd it.

I'm sorry to hear that, I really liked the first 2 books and I am (or was) planning to read this one this year.

I'm currently reading Ender in Exile, so far (almost halfway through) no much has happened. There are references to events that have happened on Earth after the first book, and I'm wondering if I shouldn't have read the Ender's shadow series before.

Bryan wrote: "I'm currently reading Ender in Exile, so far (almost halfway through) no much has happened. There are references to events that have happened on Earth after"

I read them in publishing order, that worked pretty well because they do reference each other. You must read the Shadow books before getting to The Last Shadow, it wraps up both series at the same time.

Andrea wrote: "Finished Winter, I think I lost a little steam so I wasn't so engaged with this last book in the series, plus it was also really long. The Lunar Chronicles was good overall though. I still have a b..."

Yeah, I found Winter overly long and drawn out. I think that's all the Marissa Meyer I can handle.

So far this february I've been reading One Piece (Currently on Vol. 26 ), Alan Moore's Saga of The Swamp Thing (Finished Vol.2) and trying to finish Into the Dark from Star Wars: The High Republic which has been a real slog to read, but since I'm about 80-something pages to finish it, I might as well keep going.
Maybe I should stray altogether from YA books as I really enjoyed the adult-oriented "Light of The Jedi".

The Licanius Trilogy. Finished Shadow of What was Lost and dived straight into the next. Nice to have a completed series to binge read. Enjoying it very much. The second is a little better than the first so far.

I always try to read completed series cause I find it frustrating to be waiting on the last or last couple books. It's why I haven't started Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, although I'm sure he will complete it unlike more famous authors. Just started Wool Omnibus. It's extremely suspenseful.

English Surnames: Their Sources and Significations by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

My review of Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished reading Julier Marillier's Daughter of the Forest and really enjoyed it. You can read my review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

In this departure from her usual style, thriller-writer C. J. Tudor has penned a triple 'locked room mystery' set in the midst of a viral pandemic.

Very clever book. 4 stars

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Faith wrote: "My review of Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I read the author's book Shards of Earth which was good. 🙂

Dead Silence -- I'm enjoying it.

I pushed through the pain and have finished Against All Things Ending. I found it the hardest of all of the 9 books (so far) to read, mostly because Linden Avery gets even more mired in her self-loathing. Only one to go, but I will wait a while before I get into it.

Jevon wrote: "I always try to read completed series cause I find it frustrating to be waiting on the last or last couple books."
Jevon, may I ask which were the series you liked most in the recent past? I also like series, because they allow extensive world building and development of characters, but sometimes I abandon series before the end because my interest is dwindling,

Finished Scions of Shannara, well, gotta say the stories so far are consistent, Druid summons the Ohmsford to go save the world, they gather a band of friends, scatter across the lands, then well...this one was different actually, they didn't save the world yet. The first three were all self contained and mostly standalone, but Scions continues in the next one :)

Wanted to wrap up the Lunar Chronicles with Stars Above by Marissa Meyer, a collection of short stories, a few of which were included as bonus materials in a couple of the actual books.

Also going to try to read COVID-128 this weekend, one of several stories by authors envisaging what their characters would have done during a COVID lockdown, this one is Lunar Chronicle based

There are plenty of good finished series, but while it can be frustrating waiting for sequels or finales (thinks Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch) if no one picked up the first book as they were waiting for the series to be complete, then there wouldn’t BE a next book. Publishers would just walk away. Different perhaps if author already well established.

I was in a bit of a slump at the start of the month, so decided to start re-reading 'The Wheel Of Time'. I've never been one for re-reading books but so far I'm enjoying it. The best analogy I can give is its comfort food for the mind.

Pierre wrote: "Jevon, may I ask which were the series you liked most in the recent past..."

In recent past I enjoyed the Shatterred Sea series by Joe Abercrombie. The world is based on a Viking era with betrayals and long journeys and war for freedom. Joe's writing is always great. Bit of sci fi magic involved.

Not many political twists. The main characters change with each book, and there isn't several character pov chapters (the first book has only one, and the second has two) but the characters are still well defined and the world is excellent.

Jevon wrote: "In recent past I enjoyed the Shatterred Sea series by Joe Abercrombie. The world is based on a Viking er..."

Thanks for your reply, Jevon. As it turns out, I just verified, the 3 books of the Shattered Sea series by Abercrombie are in my want-to-read list. I'll make sure to get to them soon.