What we're reading, the SFF edition

Blinkk said:

Ahhhhh you do what I do when I read. I'm always comparing myself or analyzing my writing style taking mental notes when I read a published novel. It's hard for me to turn that off. FWIW I think you do a great job with your lead characters. *high fives*

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Awww, thank you~~

But yeah, I'm always comparing and analyzing when reading. I get ideas for my work while reading other novels all the time. But when a bad read comes along and all I want to do is complain about it, I wonder how oblivious I am to my own shortcomings. I'm esp sensitive when reading and writing female characters.

Not that a zillion fans on goodreads didn't adore Darker Shade, some went ape for it. So a good novel is also in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Finished Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. It's a brisk read and also went in some directions I didn't expect, so that's good. Will read the sequel(s) eventually, but wanting something different now. And all of a sudden I have a bucketful of choices. A new novel by Kate Elliott (Court of Fives)? A new fantasy novella by Lois McMaster Bujold (Penric's Demon)? The next book in Anthony Ryan's series (Queen of Fire)? He also has a novella out that fits between the first and second books of the series, but the Kindle price seems awfully steep for such a short work. And Juliet Marillier has something new out...and then there's this historical novel I've been wanting to read...and...and...and

Blinkk said:

Ahhhhh you do what I do when I read. I'm always comparing myself or analyzing my writing style taking mental notes when I read a published novel. It's hard for me to turn that off. FWIW I think you do a great job with your lead characters. *high fives*

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:blinks: there are authors that DON'T do this? I find myself doing beta reads on published works! It's silly. I think to myself 'Ah, passive voice! That could be better if he...'

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New Juliet Marillier? I'll have to go check it out...

greendragon said:

:blinks: there are authors that DON'T do this? I find myself doing beta reads on published works! It's silly. I think to myself 'Ah, passive voice! That could be better if he...'

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I'd be surprised if we didn't all do this to some extent. I know I do...

PeteMC said:

I'd be surprised if we didn't all do this to some extent. I know I do...

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Ditto here.

Just started on The Martian. It's shaping up well so far. I want to squeeze this in before the film hits in a month.

Blinkk said:

Yeah you should! Maybe we'll have a mini Wolfe reading club for a second.

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Aw yeah, start our own thread and everything. Apparently Neil Gaiman really likes Wolfe? Which can only be a wonderful sign.

Just finished C.S. Lewis' Til We Have Faces. Stunning.

About to begin The Lies of Locke Lamora. I've been hearing good things about it, so I hit up my library. We shall see...

I've been trying to read Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan, but it's not working for me. I don't hate it. I just feel like I've lost the connection to his characters that I did maintain through Tower Lord. It's like they've all become flatter suddenly. I want to know what happens, but I don't think I want to read it all right now. I'm also surprised that I've forgotten so much of what happened in the second book. I really liked it at the time, but it just hasn't stuck in my memory. I've heard that a lot of people have had this issue.

I'm also working on The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. It's alternately amazing and frustrating. I love the world she's created, and the characters are generally well-drawn and sympathetic. But the way it's written irks me at times. One of the POV characters is written in second person, and it feels like she's just trying to be experimental. I could handle that for a short story, but not for about a third of an entire novel. I just wish she'd written that character either in first or third person. The present tense doesn't bother me. I've gotten used to it from reading a lot of YA. But the second person...

I'm also working on The Unremembered by Peter Orullian. This one is very reminiscent of The Wheel of Time, perhaps a little too much. I enjoy that kind of story, so it doesn't bother me, but I can understand why there are mixed reviews on this one.

rwm4768 said:

I've been trying to read Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan, but it's not working for me.

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Oh dear. I have that one waiting to be read. I've been hoping it was better than The Tower Lord, which was a disappointment. It lacked the intensity and compelling story of Blood Song. Mostly what it lacked was Valen al Sorna. The single POV worked much better, I thought.

tianaluthien said:

Just finished C.S. Lewis' Til We Have Faces. Stunning.

About to begin The Lies of Locke Lamora. I've been hearing good things about it, so I hit up my library. We shall see...

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'Til We Have Faces was excellent, I didn't discover any of C.S. Lewis's non-Narnia fiction until last year and I'm really loving it. Have you read his Out of the Silent Planet?

And Lies is great, just a crazy roller coaster beginning to end.

shortstorymachinist said:

'Til We Have Faces was excellent, I didn't discover any of C.S. Lewis's non-Narnia fiction until last year and I'm really loving it. Have you read his Out of the Silent Planet?

And Lies is great, just a crazy roller coaster beginning to end.

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Oh, yes! Lewis' whole sci-fi trilogy is wonderful! I remember the first time I read it, there was a moment in Perelandra that had me squicking because I found it so disturbing. Then I hit That Hideous Strength (possibly my favourite, only a reread will determine) and it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that Lewis wrote it, because it was so different. In retrospect, I suppose Tash from The Last Battle should have given me an inkling that he could go there.

Just finished Lois McMaster Bujold's new novella, "Penric's Demon." It's classic Bujold and an entertaining little story, but the pacing is very slow for the first two-thirds. In all honesty, after the inciting event occurred, it read more like the opening of a novel that was taking its time showing the world and the politics and a little of the backstory, rather than getting on with the story. On her website she said that at 35K, this was the longest novella she's ever written, but I think it could have used more story and less other stuff. Unless, I suppose, you look at it as a first installment in a series of stories about Penric. Personally, I would rather she had written it as a novel; seems like there's much more in Penric's future that could prove very interesting.

That said, when the action kicks in, it kicks in. It's worth the read.

Finished The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I really enjoyed this one once I got used to the one POV written in the second person. Jemisin crafted a fascinating world with an interesting magic system that was a very important part of that world. The characters are generally sympathetic, and there were only a few places where I thought the plot dragged. Overall, it's a 9/10 for me.

BethS said:

Oh dear. I have that one waiting to be read. I've been hoping it was better than The Tower Lord, which was a disappointment. It lacked the intensity and compelling story of Blood Song. Mostly what it lacked was Valen al Sorna. The single POV worked much better, I thought.

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The change in POV structure in Tower Lord didn't bother me. I still loved the book.

As for Queen of Fire, I've kept reading, and now that I'm beginning to remember what came before, it's definitely picking up.

I liked Tower Lord well enough. However, I did not love it, like I did Blood Song. When BethS said (above) that what it lacked was Valen al Sorna, I knew what she meant. (I think.) It was sort of like some unknown character had taken his place. I did like Lyrna, and I'm assuming she is the main character in Queen of Fire. Please correct me if I am wrong.

BethS said:

Just finished Lois McMaster Bujold's new novella, "Penric's Demon." It's classic Bujold and an entertaining little story, but the pacing is very slow for the first two-thirds. In all honesty, after the inciting event occurred, it read more like the opening of a novel that was taking its time showing the world and the politics and a little of the backstory, rather than getting on with the story. On her website she said that at 35K, this was the longest novella she's ever written, but I think it could have used more story and less other stuff. Unless, I suppose, you look at it as a first installment in a series of stories about Penric. Personally, I would rather she had written it as a novel; seems like there's much more in Penric's future that could prove very interesting.

That said, when the action kicks in, it kicks in. It's worth the read.

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This is exactly how I felt. Enjoyed it, but it seemed like once things finally got rolling it came to an abrupt stop. Here's hoping for a sequel.

I took a break from fantasy because I started and dropped about half a dozen reads I thought I'd like but could barely finish the samples. I read The House of Rejoicing (historical fiction about ancient Egypt - I adore everything Libby Hawker writes) Innocent Traitor (historical fiction about Lady Jane Grey, riveting but depressing) and The Girl on the Train (contemporary thriller, also engrossing but depressing, and once I got to the end and thought about it for a while it just didn't hold up that well).

The Twelve Kings in Sharakhai came in the mail today. First time I've pre-ordered a book in years. I'm so excited but I'm going to wait until my very long train ride tomorrow to start it.

tianaluthien said:

Oh, yes! Lewis' whole sci-fi trilogy is wonderful! I remember the first time I read it, there was a moment in Perelandra that had me squicking because I found it so disturbing. Then I hit That Hideous Strength (possibly my favourite, only a reread will determine) and it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that Lewis wrote it, because it was so different. In retrospect, I suppose Tash from The Last Battle should have given me an inkling that he could go there.

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I've only read Out of the Silent Planet, now I really want to read the other two.

shortstorymachinist said:

I've only read Out of the Silent Planet, now I really want to read the other two.

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YES. YES YOU DO.

Ok, so Lies wasn't doing it for me. Not due to the writing, just wasn't my thing. So I picked up a book that's been sitting on my shelf for years, The Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones. I'd read it once...like 15 years ago, found a copy in a secondhand bookshop a few years ago, bought it, and am now reading it.

GAIS.

This book is better than I remember it being. Her characters, world, and pacing are top-notch and it keeps sucking me in page after page after page. Wow. Sadly, it's now easier to find this one on e-reader than it is in print, hence my glee when I found it in the bookshop. Seriously, if you're in the mood for a stand-along epic fantasy (not a quest) this book is amazing. Woah.

Finished Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan. Overall, I thought it was a disappointing conclusion to the series. I don't think it's as bad as a lot of people are saying. It just doesn't measure up to the first two books (and especially the first book). I should note that I did enjoy it. I just wish I could have enjoyed it as much as I did the first two.

That being said, he proved to me with the first two books that he can write a great story, so I'll definitely check out his new series that starts next year.

Finished Court of Fives, Kate Elliott's new YA fantasy. It was a terrific read, swift-paced with plenty of tension and conflict, and a very interesting setting. And while I normally can't stand to read novels in present tense, I have to admit that she handles that well and much of the time I hardly noticed it. And that's really saying something.

This is the first in a series. It has a distinct plot arc, and an ending, but the ending is also a clear lead-in to the next volume, which I will now impatiently await. Hope it's not too long in coming.

Just finished THE BARBED COIL by J.V. Jones.

Damn. That book is fantastic. And it's taught me a lot about detail writing. It just sucks you in and leaves you whimpering when you hit the end, wishing there were more.

Just finished Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson - very good near-future SF, reads like a blend of Iain Banks and more recent William Gibson, with an unexpected twist in its tail. Recommended.

Just finished Half The World by Joe Abercrombie. It's YA, but written in a fairly adult style (limited third, two pov characters). The series is more upbeat so far than his adult novels, but not at all fluffy. These books are enjoyable reads so far with the right (for me) blend of description, internal contemplation, and action.

Just finished a reread of an old favorite - a Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's one of those books I try to reread periodically just because.
About halfway through The Gods of Mars now.
I'll probably stop after reading Warlord of Mars. The first three were always my favorites of the series.

Adrian