September Reading Thread

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I continued in SF mode with another 1960s offering, Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney. Fortunately quite a short novel, I found this really hard going, and having got to the end I wondered why I'd bothered. Its premise is the then-fashionable idea that language determines thought and perception and therefore action – and, in the novel at least, the manipulation of material objects. Consequently, a language created by otherwise unnamed “Invaders” is a threat, not least to Rydra Wong, alleged poet and complete Mary Sue. Incomprehensible dialogue and narrative, unlikeable characters, thin plot.
I think Rydra Wong was supposed to be based on Delany's then wife, Marilyn Hacker, more than anything.
 
@The Judge I really like Babel -17 as an interesting sf adventure with vivid charactees and imagery, Even if the Sapir-Worf hypothesis is out of fashion now.

Quicksilver is Stevenson’s best book, I think. Clever and very witty.
 
I think Rydra Wong was supposed to be based on Delany's then wife, Marilyn Hacker, more than anything.
Ah, that rather explains the Mary Sue quality of her characterisation.

@The Judge I really like Babel -17 as an interesting sf adventure with vivid charactees and imagery, Even if the Sapir-Worf hypothesis is out of fashion now.
I think perhaps you're more interested in Big Ideas than I am, and in seeing those ideas pushed to a conclusion, and I can understand the book's attraction for readers of that kind. This is only my second attempt at a Delany, though, and I'm guessing he's just one of those writers whose work goes straight over my head.

Quicksilver is Stevenson’s best book, I think. Clever and very witty.
Very clever, though so dense I can only read a few pages at a time.
 
Ah, that rather explains the Mary Sue quality of her characterisation.

I think perhaps you're more interested in Big Ideas than I am, and in seeing those ideas pushed to a conclusion, and I can understand the book's attraction for readers of that kind. This is only my second attempt at a Delany, though, and I'm guessing he's just one of those writers whose work goes straight over my head.
If you haven't read it I would suggest reading Nova. It's more in the space opera/adventure vein.
 
17 days since my last reading update, and I've only managed 17 titles. I've been slacking.

“StarBridge,” book 1 of the StarBridge series by A. C. Crispin.
“Silent Dances,” book 2 of the StarBridge series by A. C. Crispin.
Audible.com has introduced a new feature to their service. Many of their titles, sometimes including entire series, are now directly streamable without requiring a separate purchase or use of plan credits. This has allows me to revisit (and eventually complete) this wonderful series by Ann Crispin well ahead of schedule. A well written young adult sci-fi series that per-dates the glut of also ran YA titles of recent vintage, so many of which are of the stuff thrown at walls in hopes something will stick.

“Ice Wolves,” book 1 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
“Scorch Dragons,” book 2 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
“Battle Born,” book 3 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
A better than average YA fantasy series. Elementals are people who can change form, either into Ice Wolf or Scorch Dragon. Not the best fantasy I've ever read, but not bad at all. Probably not one I will ever re-read, but nowhere near regretting it. Entertaining even if not great.

“Taming Demons for Beginners,” book 1 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Slaying Monsters for the Feeble,” book 2 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped,” book 3 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Druid Vices and a Vodka,” book 6 of The Guild Codex: Spellbound, by Annette Marie.
“Lost Talismans and a Tequila,” book 7 of The Guild Codex: Spellbound, by Annette Marie.
“Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors,” book 1 of The Guild Codex: Warped, by Annette Marie.
As I've said before, these books aren't literary masterpieces. They are, however, fast, fun reads. The Guild Codex universe is expanding. While each series can be read and enjoyed on it's own merits, there is a lot of crossover with main characters from one series making cameo appearances in others.

“Inside Jobs” by Ben H. Winters.
A short collection of shorts inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and it's resultant lock-downs.

“The Dying of the Light,” book 9 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
Not the strongest addition to the series, but a good read. I do wish the audio books would cross the pond in a little more timely fashion. The is the latest available here in the states of a series that's run 12 or 13 books so far.

“The Rule of Thoughts,” book 2 of The Mortality Doctrine by James Dashner
“The Game of Lives,” book 3 of The Mortality Doctrine by James Dashner
The best that can be said of these books is that they're better than the atrocities committed upon us that Dashner called The Maze Runner series. Despite being a local author, I think I'm done with his work. Of the eight that I've read, six have left me asking why I bothered. The other two weren't much better.

“Nut Jobs” by Marc Fennell
Another documentary style non-fiction about agribusiness crimes in southern California. I am now looking out for titles by this author.

“Of Sand and Malice Made,” book 0.5 of The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu.
A prequel to the first book. this is a collection of three interwoven stories based around the main protagonist, Çeda. Çeda is a pit fighter of much renown and this book expands greatly on her back story.

369 titles read so far this year with just 36 needed in the next 92 days to reach my goal of 405. I've let my pace slip, and am now on pace for 493. Still plenty of time for a push to get over 500 for the year.

The running list:
“StarBridge,” book 1 of the StarBridge series by A. C. Crispin.
“Silent Dances,” book 2 of the StarBridge series by A. C. Crispin.
"Slow Bullets" by Alastair Reynolds.
"Illuminae," book 1 of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman.
"Gemina," book 2 of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman.
"Obsidio," book 3 of The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman.
“The Castle in the Mist,” book 1 of the Tess and Max series by Amy Ephron.
“Carnival Magic,” book 2 of the Tess and Max series by Amy Ephron.
“The Other Side of the Wall,” book 3 of the Tess and Max series by Amy Ephron,
“I Hunt Killers,” book 1 of the I Hunt Killers trilogy by Barry Lyga.
“Game,” book 2 of the I Hunt Killers trilogy by Barry Lyga.
“Blood of my Blood,” book 3 of the I Hunt Killers trilogy by Barry Lyga.
"To Be Taught, If Fortunate" by Becky Chambers.
“Summerlost” by Ally Condie.
“The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe” by Ally Condie.
“Ice Wolves,” book 1 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
“Scorch Dragons,” book 2 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
“Battle Born,” book 3 of the Elementals series by Amie Kaufman.
“The Night Realm,” book 1 of the Spell Weaver series by Annette Marie
"The Shadow Weave," book 2 of the spell weaver series by Annette Marie.
"The Blood Curse," book 3 of the spell weaver series by Annette Marie.
“Taming Demons for Beginners,” book 1 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Slaying Monsters for the Feeble,” book 2 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped,” book 3 of The Guild Codex: Demonized, by Annette Marie.
“Three Mages and a Margarita,” book 1 of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
“Dark Arts and a Daiquiri,” book 2 of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
“Two Witches and a Whiskey,” book 3 of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
“Demon Magic and a Martini,” book 4 of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
“The Alchemist and an Amaretto,” book 5 of the Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
“Druid Vices and a Vodka,” book 6 of The Guild Codex: Spellbound, by Annette Marie.
“Lost Talismans and a Tequila,” book 7 of The Guild Codex: Spellbound, by Annette Marie.
“Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors,” book 1 of The Guild Codex: Warped, by Annette Marie.
“Supermarket” by Bobby Hall.
“A Hundred Thousand Worlds” by Bob Proehl.
“The Escape Artist” by Brad Meltzer.
"Act of War," book 13 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"Code of Conduct," book 15 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"The Athens Solution," book 15.5 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"Foreign Agent," book 16 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"Use of Force," book 17 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"Spymaster," book 18 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
"Backlash," book 19 of the Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor.
“Legion,” book 1 of the Legion trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
“Skin Deep,” book 2 of the Legion trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
“Legion: Lies of the Beholder,” book 3 of the Legion trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
“Beezer” by Brandon T. Snider.
"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.
“The Demon Next Door” by Bryan Burrough.
"A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World" by C. A. Fletcher.
“Lightless,” book 1 of the Lightless series by C. A. Higgens
“Supernova,” book 2 of the Lightless series by C. A. Higgens
“Radiate,” book 3 of the Lightless series by C. A. Higgens
"The Vault of Dreamers," Rosie Sinclair book 1 by Caragh O'Brien.
"Birthmarked," book 1 of the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O'Brien.
"Prized," book 2 of the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O'Brien.
"Promised," book 3 of the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O'Brien.
“Summertide,” book 1 of the Heritage series by Charles Sheffield.
“Divergence,” book 2 of the Heritage series by Charles Sheffield.
“Transcendence,” book 3 of the Heritage series by Charles Sheffield.
“Convergence,” book 4 of the Heritage series by Charles Sheffield.
“Antibodies” by Charles Stross.
"The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" by Claire North.
"Touch" by Claire North.
“The Sudden Appearance of Hope” by Claire North.
“84K” by Claire North
"A Serpent's Tooth" book 9 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Spirit of Steamboat," book 9.5 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Any Other Name," book 10 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Wait for Signs," book 10.1 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Dry Bones," book 11 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"The Highwayman," book 11.5 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"An Obvious Fact," book 12 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"The Western Star," book 13 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Depth of Winter," book 14 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"Land of Wolves," book 15 of the Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.
"The Rook," book 1 of The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley.
"Stiletto," book 2 of The Checquy Files by Daniel O'Malley.
“A City Dreaming” by Daniel Polansky.
“Under the Bright Lights,” book 1 of the Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell.
“Muscle for the Wing,” book 2 of the Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell.
“The Ones You Do,” book 3 of the Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell.
“Long Road to Mercy,” book 1 Of the Atlee Pine series by David Baldacci
“A Minute to Midnight,” book 2 Of the Atlee Pine series by David Baldacci
"The Decoy Princess," book 1 of the Princess Contessa duology by Dawn Cook (aka Kim Harrison).
"Princess at Sea," book 2 of the Princess Contessa duology by Dawn Cook (aka Kim Harrison).
"Face It" by Debbie Harry.
“The Singularity Trap” by Dennis E. Taylor.
"Skulduggery Pleasant," book 1 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Playing with Fire," book 2 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"The Faceless Ones," book 3 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Dark Days," book 4 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Mortal Coil," book 5 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Death Bringer," book 6 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Kingdom of the Wicked," book 7 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
"Last Stand of Dead Men," book 8 of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
“Bellman and Black” by Diane Setterfield.
“Old Bones,” book 1 of the Nora Kelly series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
“Curious Toys” by Elizabeth Hand.
"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 Artemis Twins series by Eoin Colfer.
“The Supernaturalist” by Eoin Colfer.
“The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemmingway.
"Skinwalker," book 1 of the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter.
“Soulless,” book 1 of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
“Changeless,” book 2 of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.
“Blameless,” book 3 of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.
“My French Whore” by Gene Wilder.
"Gifted Thief," book 1 of the Highland Magic series by Helen Harper.
"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.
“Wishful Thinking,” book 1 of the How to Be the Best Damn Faerie Godmother in the World (Or Die Trying) series by Helen Harper.
“Wish List,” book 2 of the How to Be the Best Damn Faerie Godmother in the World (Or Die Trying) series by Helen Harper.
“As You Wish,” book 3 of the How to Be the Best Damn Faerie Godmother in the World (Or Die Trying) series by Helen Harper.
“Best Wishes,” book 4 of the How to Be the Best Damn Faerie Godmother in the World (Or Die Trying) series by Helen Harper.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide and The Seeing Stone," books 1 and 2 by Holly Black.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles: Lucinda's Secret and The Ironwood Tree," books 3 and 4 by Holly Black.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Wrath of Mulgarath," book 5 by Holly Black.
“White Cat,” book 1 of the Curse Workers series by Holly Black.
“Red Glove,” book 2 of the Curse Workers series by Holly Black.
“Black Heart,” book 3 of the Curse Workers series by Holly Black.
"Casino Royale," James Bond book 1 by Ian Fleming.
"Live and Let Die," James Bond book 2 by Ian Fleming.
“The Call of the Wild” by Jack London.
“The Sea Wolf” by Jack London.
“Brown Wolf” by Jack London.
“The Engines of God,” book 1 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Deepsix,” book 2 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Chindi,” book 3 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Omega,” book 4 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Odyssey,” book 5 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Cauldron,” book 6 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“Starhawk,” book 7 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“The Long Sunset,” book 8 of the Academy series by Jack McDevitt.
“A Talent for War,” book 1 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Polaris (2004),” book 2 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Seeker,” book 3 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“The Devil's Eye,” book 4 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Echo,” book 5 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Firebird,” book 6 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Coming Home,” book 7 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“Octavia Gone” book 8 of the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt
“The Eye of Minds,” book 1 of The Mortality Doctrine by James Dashner
“Midnight Son” by James Dommek Jr.
“LIFEL1K3,” book 1 of the Lifelike series by Jay Kristoff
“DEV1AT3,” book 2 of the Lifelike series by Jay Kristoff
“TRUEL1F3,” book 3 of the Lifelike series by Jay Kristoff
"Nevernight," book 1 of The Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff.
"Godsgrave," book 2 of The Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff.
"Darkdawn," book 1 of The Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff.
“The World is Full of Monsters” by Jeff VanderMeer
“A Quiver Full of Arrows” by Jeffrey Archer
“The Monster of Elendhaven” by Jennifer Giesbrecht
“Storm Front,” book 1 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Fool Moon,” book 2 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Grave Peril,” book 3 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Summer Knight,” book 4 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Death Masks,” book 5 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Blood Rites,” book 6 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Dead Beat,” book 7 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Proven Guilty,” book 8 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“White Night,” book 9 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Small Favor,” book 10 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Turn Coat,” book 11 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Changes,” book 12 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Ghost Story,” book 13 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Cold Days,” book 14 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Skin Game,” book 15 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Peace Talks,” book 16 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Side Jobs,” anthology 1 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Brief Cases,” Anthology 2 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
“Terminal Alliance,” book 1 of the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series by Jim C. Hines
"The Very First Damned Thing," book 0.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Just one Damned Thing After Another," book 1 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"A Symphony of Echoes," book 2 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"When a Child is Born," book 2.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"A Second Chance," book 3 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Roman Holiday," book 3.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"A Trail Through Time," book 4 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Christmas Present," book 4.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"No Time Like the Past," book 5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"What Could Possibly Go Wrong," book 6 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Ships and Strings and Wedding Rings," book 6.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Lies, Damn Lies and History," book 7 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"The Great St. Mary’s Day Out," book 7.2 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"My Name is Markham," book 7.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"And the Rest is History," book 8 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"A Perfect Storm," book 8.5 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"An Argumentation of Historians," book 9 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
"Hope for the Best," book 10 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor.
“The Forever War,” book 1 of the Forever War series by Joe Haldeman.
“The Forever Peace,” book 2 of the Forever War series by Joe Haldeman.
“Forever Free,” book 3 of the Forever War series by Joe Haldeman.
“The Ruins of Gorlan,” book 1 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Burning Bridge,” book 2 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Icebound Land,” book 3 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Battle for Skandia,” book 4 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Sorcerer of the North,” book 5 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Siege of Macindaw,” book 6 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“Erak’s Ransom,” book 7 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Kings of Clonmel,” book 8 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“Halt's Peril,” book 9 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Emperor of Nihon-Ja,” book 10 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Lost Stories,” book 11 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Royal Ranger,” book 12 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Royal Ranger: The Red Fox Clan,” book 13 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“The Royal Ranger: Duel at Araluen,” book 14 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
“Playing for Pizza” by John Grisham
“Calico Joe” by John Grisham
"The Confession" by John Grisham.
"The Litigators" by John Grisham.
“Witness to a Trial” by John Grisham
“The Whistler” by John Grisham
“The Racketeer” by John Grisham
“Kid Lawyer,” book 1 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Addiction,” book 2 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Accused,” book 3 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Activist,” book 4 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Fugitive,” book 5 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Scandal,” book 6 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“The Accomplice,” book 7 of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.
“Carmilla” by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
“The Fullness of Time” by Kate Willhelm.
"And I Darken," book 1 of The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White.
"Now I Rise," book 2 of The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White.
"Bright We Burn," book 3 of The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White.
"PERfunctory afFECTION" by Kim Harrison.
“Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami
"Die Trying," Jack Reacher book 2 by Lee Child.
"Tripwire," Jack Reacher book 3 by Lee Child.
"Running Blind," Jack Reacher book 4 by Lee Child.
"Echo Burning," Jack Reacher book 5 by Lee Child.
"Junk" by Les Bohem
“It Burns: The Scandal Plagued Race to Breed the World’s Hottest Chili” by Marc Fennell
“The Raven Boys,” book 1 of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
“The Dream Thieves,” book 2 of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
“The Raven Boys,” book 3 of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
“The Raven Boys,” book 4 of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
"The Regional Office is Under Attack" by Manuel Gonzales.
“Too Much and Never Enough,” by Mary L. Trump, PH.D.
"This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
"Black Crow, White Snow" by Michael Livingston.
“Elric of Melnibone,” book 1 of The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.
“The Sailor on the Seas of Fate,” book 2 of The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.
“In the Shadow of Spindrift House” by Mira Grant
“Rolling in the Deep,” book 0.5 of the Rolling in the Deep series by Mira Grant.
“Into the Drowning Deep,” book 1 of the Rolling in the Deep series by Mira Grant.
"Kingdom of Needle and Bone" by Mira Grant.
"Alien: Echo" by Mira Grant.
“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
“Rendezvous” by Nelson DeMille.
"The Deserter" by Nelson and Alex DeMille.
“Binti,” book 1 of the Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor.
“Binti: Home,” book 2 of the Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor.
“Binti: The Night of the Masquerade,” book 3 of the Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor.
“Eye for Eye” by Orson Scott Card.
“Space Boy” by Orson Scott Card.
“Moon Called,” book 1 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Blood Bound,” book 2 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Iron Kissed,” book 3 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Bone Crossed,” book 4 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Silver Borne,” book 5 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“River Marked,” book 6 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Frost Burned,” book 7 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Night Broken,” book 8 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Fire Touched,” book 9 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Silence Fallen,” book 10 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Storm Cursed,” book 11 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“Smoke Bitten,” book 12 of the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
“The Firework-Maker’s Daughter” by Philip Pullman
"Thin Air" by Richard K. Morgan
"Metrophage" by Richard Kadrey
"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.
"The Dark Prophecy," book 2 of The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
"The Burning Maze," book 3 of The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
"The Tyrant's Tomb," book 4 of The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan.
“The Deep” by Rivers Solomon.
"The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks" by Rob Sheffield.
“Trick of the Light,” book one of the Trixter series by Rob Thurman
“The Grimrose Path,” book 2 of the Trixter series by Rob Thurman
"Sparrow Hill Road," book 1 of the Ghost Roads series by Seanan McGuire.
"The Girl in the Green Silk Gown," book 2 of the Ghost Roads series by Seanan McGuire.
"Discount Armageddon," book 1 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Midnight Blue-Light Special," book 2 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Half-Off Ragnarok," book 3 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Pocket Apocalypse," book 4 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Chaos Choreography," book 5 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Magic for Nothing," book 6 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Tricks for Free," book 7 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"That Ain't Witchcraft," book 8 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
"Imaginary Numbers," book 9 of the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire.
“Every Heart a Doorway,” book 1 of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.
“Down Among the Sticks and Bones,” book 2 of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.
“Beneath the Sugar Sky,” book 3 of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.
“In an Absent Dream,” book 4 of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.
“Come Tumbling Down,” book 5 of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire.
"Finale," book 3 of Caraval by Stephanie Garber.
“Blockade Billy” by Stephen King.
“Pure Drivel” by Steve Martin
“Wildside” by Steven Gould
"New York Dead," book 1 of the Stone Barrington series by Stuart Woods.
"Dirt," book 2 of the Stone Barrington series by Stuart Woods.
“Gideon the Ninth,” book 1 of the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir.
“Harrow the Ninth,” book 2 of The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir
“Stories of Your Life” by Ted Chiang
“Truckers,” book 1 of the Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett
“Diggers,” book 2 of the Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett
“Wings,” book 3 of the Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett
"The Color of Magic," book 1 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"The Light Fantastic," book 2 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Equal Rights," book 3 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Mort," book 4 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Sourcery," book 5 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Wyrd Systers," book 6 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Pyramids," book 7 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Guards, Guards," book 8 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Eric," book 9 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Moving Pictures," book 10 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Reaper Man," book 11 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Witches Abroad," book 12 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Small Gods," book 13 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Lords and Ladies," book 14 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
"Men at Arms," book 15 of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
“Only You Can Save Mankind,” book 1 of the Johnny Maxwell series by Terry Pratchett.
“Johnny and the Dead,” book 2 of the Johnny Maxwell series by Terry Pratchett.
“Johnny and the Bomb,” book 3 of the Johnny Maxwell series by Terry Pratchett.
"The Devil's Breath," book 3 of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris.
"The Lazarus Curse," book 4 of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris.
"Shadow of the Raven," book 5 of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris.
"Secrets of the Stones," book 6 of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris.
“The Blessing Way,” book 1 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“Dance Hall of the Dead,” book 2 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“Listening Woman,” book 3 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“People of Darkness,” book 4 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“The Dark Wind,” book 5 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“The Ghostway,” book 6 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
“Skinwalkers,” book 7 of the Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman.
"Rocannon's World," book 1 of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
"Planet of Exile," book 2 of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
"City of Illusions," book 3 of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
"The Left Hand of Darkness," book 4 of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
"The Dispossessed," book 5 of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
“I Shudder at Your Touch,” a horror anthology.
“The Gravedigger’s Brawl” by Abigail Roux
"Thief's Covenant," book 1 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
"False Covenant," book 2 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
"Lost Covenant," book 3 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
"Covenant's End," book 4 of the Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell.
“Of Sand and Malice Made,” book 0.5 of The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu.
"Steampunk Banditos," book 7 of the Felix Gomez series by Mario Acevedo.
“Three Parts Dead,” book 1 of the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone.
”Two Serpents Rise,” book 2 of the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone.
”Full Fathom Five,” book 3 of the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone.
”Last First Snow,” book 4 of the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone.
"Bitches and Brawlers," book 4 of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series by Melanie Karsak.
"Howls and Hallows," book 5 of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series by Melanie Karsak.
“Undivided,” book 4 of the Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman
 
Between books, so I've picked up one I bought a few years ago to dip into, The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women edited by Stephen Jones. The first five stories haven't offered anything great, but do a nice job of showing a variety of approaches and tone to the subject. There's a GoodReads group reading it and I may offer some thoughts there, as well.

Randy M.
 
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo. No trade paperbacks, either; ya boy's got the original pressing in English and Japanese. Up there with 1984 for best dystopian future, because Neo-Tokyo is the most dysfunctional hell-hole in sci-fi history. Nothing works in this vision. Add a drugged up, angry, biker ganger teen with a chip on his shoulder and Charles Xavier level powers, this is a recipe for a cyberpunk Apocalypse. The movie is classic, but nothing beats the manga.
 
Continuing my Poe-a-thon, I read:

"Hop-Frog" - Glorious ending!

"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" - Narrator is a complete idiot, but I guess that's supposed to be part of the humor. I felt it missed the mark.

"The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq." - Narrator is an even bigger idiot, but this is hilarious. Any writer who's ever been rejected by a publisher can find the humor in this satire.

"How to Write a Blackwood Article" - Also hilarious. It makes a lot of fun of writing.
 
So, I read the R. A. Lafferty, The Reefs of Earth, in a couple of days. That indicates it's a quick read, which further proves it's very readable. But as it's Lafferty, that only tells a small part of the story. I'm not sure what I think of it, which I expect is a common response from readers of this most eccentric of writers.

Its odd, I think I can say that without hesitation. I suppose its humorous, but in a surreal, wry way, not a chuckle-some way. It's about a family of Puca people (from another planet) who are living in the mid-west of America at an indeterminate time, who think nothing of killing 'Earthers', who they don't much like or respect. The children of this family (6 young children and one ghostie) run off from their parents and swan up and down small tributaries of the Missouri, communing with dead "Indians" (who they do like), and chatting about how they will kill everyone on Earth, without really getting on with it. And that's about it. There is no real denouement and nothing that is set up at the start really comes to pass. People get chased, several get murdered, and the Puca sing there way through the events by way of four-line rhyming poems that are supposed to act as spells, but which never actually seem to do anything at all. In many ways, it's a load of old rubbish. And yet, I think I liked it. The language is kinda fun (it's written in a folksy manner that seems to place it in the past, though its set in modern times) and Lafferty trips you up constantly with non-sequiturs and strange observations that may or may not be wisdom.

One thing I can say, Lafferty is a true original. You would think SFF, by its nature a genre of imagination, would be replete with myriad true originals, but in fact there are only a few I think. They derive from and follow no-one else, they plow their own literary furrow and they have a signature style of writing that surely was never taught. I can only think of two authors who definitely fit this description: Lafferty and Cordwainer Smith, and you could perhaps include PKD as an honourable mention. We perhaps need to read the true originals now and then to remind us of the infinite scope of SFF writing, which can sometimes seem rather derivative.
 
I'm now making a start on The Man Who Melted, by Jack Dann (1984). This was nominated for the 1985 Nebula Award for best novel. Dann is perhaps best known as an anthologist, co-editing many books with Gardner Dozois, but he wrote a fair bit of SF himself, perhaps most notably short stories (co-writing many with Jack C. Haldeman or George Zebrowski). The Man Who Melted is perhaps his best known novel. I enjoyed listening to Jack converse with Silverberg, Joe Haldeman and Martin at the WorldCon this year - he seemed a nice bloke and was clearly a prominent member of the 70's an 80's SF scene.
 
while I can’t say I was taken with Miles as a character – and I certainly couldn’t understand why women were throwing themselves at him – and the socio-political elements were a tad confusing, I enjoyed it.

This is the truest review of the Miles character and the Vorkosigan saga I've ever read.
 
Bick:

Great reviews! I particularly like the way you point out Lafferty's uniqueness.

My "fun" book to alternate with my "real" book, noted elsewhere, is Offbeat Food (2000) by Alan Ridenour, a heavily illustrated series of articles about edibles. The title is a bit misleading; although some weird stuff is mentioned, there's also stuff about "normal" food (for you omnivores, not me) like hot dogs and hamburgers.
 
Finished this:
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Slow paced tale of mischief and murder in Great Britain's royal family during the 1950s. Interesting but not absorbing though Dickinson seems to be an extremely talented writer. Would like to see what he could do with a story Hitchcock would adapt for film. Perhaps a bit too cozy to be comfortable though the ending did gather steam.

Now it's back to Poe for some October solace.
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