February 2020 Reading Thread

[AE35Unit]

Now onto So Long and Thanks For all the Fish, book 4 in the trilogy in 5 part parts by Douglas Adams

 

[williamjm]

I dumped Blood of an Exile by Naslund after chapter 1. It was recommended on Goodreads but I did not care for it. I'll excuse vulgarity if the plot is good but not otherwise. I am now reading The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham. It is very unique and interesting. He is a quite good writer. It moves a little slow in the first of the quartet I am told. I am only at about page 50. Any comments by readers of Long Price or other works by Abraham?

It's one of my favourite fantasy series. I think the first book is good, but every successive book in the series is better than the previous one and by dropping in on the same group of characters (with a few additions) over the course of several decades it does have some great character development where the decisions people make in the final book are shaped by the experiences they had in the first book. It's also got a fascinating premise and it feels very different to many fantasy epics - it's a rare example of a fantasy where the stakes may be incredibly high at times but there's very little violence.

I also like Abraham's The Dagger and the Coin series and his work on The Expanse, but I think The Long Price is his best work.

 

[Hugh]

Tahlia Newland " Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism"
Account of the abusive culture created by Sogyal Rinpoche in his entourage, and how those affected came together to challenge this. Somewhat wordy and repetitive at 411 pages, but admirable. I've always found the group dynamics in organisations very interesting, and particularly those in groups that see themselves as on a spiritual path.

 

[elvet]

I dumped Blood of an Exile by Naslund after chapter 1. It was recommended on Goodreads but I did not care for it. I'll excuse vulgarity if the plot is good but not otherwise. I am now reading The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham. It is very unique and interesting. He is a quite good writer. It moves a little slow in the first of the quartet I am told. I am only at about page 50. Any comments by readers of Long Price or other works by Abraham?

I read the Long Price Quartet 8 years ago. I can’t detail the specifics, but I gave the first three books 5/5 stars and the fourth 4/5 stars on Goodreads. I remember them being unique, and I kept the books, intending to revisit them some day. I also enjoyed The Dagger and Coin books, again, for having a different premise than most fantasy quests. I gave all five books a 4/5 stars, probably because some of the economic particulars went over my head. Lastly, I am a huge Expanse fan, and highly recommend the books (and TV series for that matter) to anyone who will listen.

 

[The Judge]

My February reading (I managed to get it in the right month this time).

It started with Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg, apparently the first book in the Majipoor Cycle but I can't see me bothering with the rest of them. A fantasy about a kind-of-king whose mind is put into another man's body and his memories largely erased, while his own body is now "owned" by someone else who wants the power and majesty involved in ruling. Immense -- not to say excessive and at times frankly tedious -- world-building which just goes on and on as Valentine and his merry men (a troupe of jugglers) cross the entire world to get back to his castle and confront the usurper, with plenty of incidents but rather a thin plot, with a historical backstory and legal and social structures that never convinced me, and characters that were little more than cardboard.

That was followed by The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint, which on the basis of the title and cover image I thought was going to be a traditional bucolic fantasy but which turned out to be a collection of 15 short stories set in a 1990s North American city, each with some magic/supernatural element, but more fairy tale and myth. Lots of very hippy vibes, especially in the rather gnomic pronouncements on how to live life, but with realism of drug use and HIV there in the background. Individually the stories were OK, but as a collection, with the same characters frequently turning up, it felt a bit repetitive.

I tried another collection of short stories with The River of Time by David Brin, but in contrast to the de Lint all SF and all very different, ranging from hard SF to science fantasy, of varying length, quality and interest.

Looking for some traditional fantasy I turned to Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb, which on a first read a few years ago I thought was OK but nothing special. I enjoyed it far more this time around and as a result went out and bought the rest of the trilogy. I raced through the second book, Royal Assassin, in little over a day, and though I got rather bored with Fitz's relationship with Molly I turned to the third, Assassin’s Quest, in the expectation of another engrossing read. It started well as Burrich and Chade bring Fitz back after the terrible end to book two, but when they left the story and it was just Fitz, the wolf, and new people who didn't interest me much, I began to lose interest. So far I'm about a quarter of the way through and just reading a few pages every now and then, but if it doesn't pick up soon it might go into the DNF box.

As a result of Randy's review above I was induced to re-read The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham. As thrilling and atmospheric as ever, though I'm still baffled by Canon Avril's take on Havoc's philosophy and "the Frenchman" Havoc can't have read, and I'd love to know if the Saint-Odile treasure has a counterpart in real life.

Knowing I was going to be doing a lot of waiting around courtesy of the NHS earlier in the week, to fend off terminal boredom I took a new-to-me book from my TBR pile and an old favourite from my shelves. Needless to say it was the latter, Lord and Ladies by Terry Pratchett, which saved the day. A Midsummer's Night Nightmare with evil elves and a queen looking for vengeance, a play put on by rustic but not-at-all-rude mechanicals, and some very vicious Morris Dancing. Funny but with a good deal to say about the illusion of glamour.

The TBR was the SF The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor which I've struggled with -- if it hadn't been such a very slim book I'd have probably given up a couple of chapters in. Plenty of imagination on show, though I can't say I found much of the mish-mash of incredibly advanced/magical future tech convincing, and the anger and hatred that permeates the whole novel -- which appears to be from the author as much as from the MC -- seemed rather to skew characterisation and rational argument, as well as making for a hard read.

 

[Galactic Bus Driver]

It's been a while since I last updated my Feb. reading so some of these may have been reported before...

"Gemina," book 2 of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman.
"Obsidio," book 3 of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman.
I nearly didn't return to these two after barely finishing the first in the series. The series gets better the longer you read and by the time I finished the third book, I was quite happy that I continued on.

"To Be Taught, If Fortunate" by Becky Chambers.
Thought provoking sc-fi.

"The Black Prism," book 1 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
"The Blinding Knife," book 2 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
"The Broken Eye," book 3 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
"The Blood Mirror," book 4 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
"The Burning White," book 5 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks.
I re-read books 1-4 to prepare for "The Burning White," and I'm glad I did. This is one of those series that I'll read many times before all is said and done.

"Promised," book 3 of the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O'Brien.
Final book of a rather uninspired, but worth reading once, far future dystopian sci-fi series.

"Touch" by Claire North.
I continue to be impressed by Claire North. She has some very interesting takes on some more common sci-fi tropes.

"Dry Bones," book 11 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"The Highwayman," book 11.5 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
The Longmire books just keep getting better.

"Playing with Fire," book 2 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"The Faceless Ones," book 2 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Dark Days," book 4 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
Half-way through the 8 titles in the series that are currently available on the US. There is at least one, maybe more that have not yet been released here. They may be kids books, but they're still very good.

"Artemis Fowl," book 1 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Arctic Incident," book 2 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Eternity Code," book 3 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Opal Deception," book 4 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Lost Colony," book 5 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Time Paradox," book 6 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Atlantis Complex," book 7 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Last Guardian," book 8 of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
"The Fowl Twins," book 1 of the Fowl Twins series by Eoin Colfer.
Because it's been so long, I re-read the entire Artemis Fowl series in preparation for "The Fowl Twins" only to find it completely unnecessary. Artemis, Butler, Holly, Foaley, Diggums, et, al are either cameos, mentioned in passing or not even in the new series. Still a good start to a new series in a familiar world, though.

"Skinwalker," book 1 of the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter.
Jane Yellowrock is a skin shifter who hunts vampires. A good start to an urban fantasy series. I'm looking forward to acquiring more as finances allow.

"Honour Bound," book 2 of the Highland Magic series by Helen Harper.
"Veiled Threat," book 3 of the Highland Magic series by Helen Harper.
"Last Wish," book 4 of the Highland Magic series by Helen Harper.
The first time I read book 1 of this series, it was a DNF for me. This time I went with audio and either it's a better audio book than it is a read, or I was just wasn't in the mood for urban fantasy the first time I tried it. Nothing ground breaking, but a good set of stories.

"The Confession" by John Grisham.
"The Litigators" by John Grisham.
Some day I'm going to get caught up on my Grisham!

"The Hidden Oracle," book 1 of The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
"Camp Half-blood Confidential" supplemental to The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
Quick re-reads so I can get on with books 3 and 4. Yet another series I've fallen behind on.

"Discount Armageddon," book 1 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
With two books out in the series that I've not yet read, and over two years since I last read them, re-reads are in order. Seanan McGuire may be the best voice in Urban Fantasy currently writing. I can't recommend these books (or, her October Day series) highly enough.

"Pyramids," book 7 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.
"Guards, Guards," book 8 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.
It's Pratchett, it's amazing.

"Lost Covenant," book 3 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
"Covenant's End," book 4 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
No more Widdershins Adventures. These books are a ton of fun. The main protagonist is a teenaged female thief, but her character is far more grown up that teenagers of the modern world are. It's the first fantasy adventure story I've read that treats teen characters as they would have been treated in a medieval setting. Did I mention they're a ton of fun too?

"Steampunk Banditos," book 7 of the Felix Gomes series by Mario Acevedo.
Felix Gomes is a bit of a different take on the traditional vampire tales, even considering how paranormal romance, and even urban fantasy to a degree, has glamorized them. Felix is a normal (if oversexed) Joe just trying to get by, but having his life complicated by all sorts of supernatural shenanigans. Fun reads.

So, 38 titles since my last laundry list, and all told, 92 titles read (experienced, if you prefer ) so far this year.

Having done so well so far on my goal for the year (on pace for 560 out of my goal of 405 ) I may actually take a short break and get in some gaming tonight and tomorrow. The Witcher III is still wanting finishing.