[Macros]

Book 2 is out, but I won't be buying. Dad was underwhelmed by it too but Mum liked, if she picks it up and I clear my TRP a bit I might read it. But as you say, endearing cast more than anything else (totally agree with diary chapters)

[Aptorian]

My library will definitely be buying the follow up. It's been really popular, like everything else in the crime/suspense genre.

[Aptorian]

Read volume two of the Graphic Novel Something is killing the Children.

It's pretty cool but I think the comic is more style thane substance. The story itself is paper thin but the art work is fun.

[Mentalist]

Wow, "Holy Sister" really ramps things up as it goes, huh?

I've been struggling with reading overall this year, but once I sat down today and things got moving, I found it hard to put the book down. Nona is on a whole other level of badass now. It's kinda insane.

Wanna get back to the "poppy War" books, but i've got a couple of non-ficton gifts from friends that have been sitting in my room shaming me for a few months. So gonna hit those first.

[JPK]

Starting The Encircling Sea by Adrian Goldsworthy. I'm stoked to be returning to this series.

[amphibian]

Mentalist, on 20 December 2021 - 12:36 AM, said:

Wow, "Holy Sister" really ramps things up as it goes, huh?

I've been struggling with reading overall this year, but once I sat down today and things got moving, I found it hard to put the book down. Nona is on a whole other level of badass now. It's kinda insane.

Wanna get back to the "poppy War" books, but i've got a couple of non-ficton gifts from friends that have been sitting in my room shaming me for a few months. So gonna hit those first.

Nona is a force of nature - even without the powers. She just goes straight at a dang problem and then figures out how to solve it eventually while keeping actual connections with people. It maybe sounds humdrum, but it's done with style and definitely not without cost.

[Tiste Simeon]

amphibian, on 23 December 2021 - 06:42 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 20 December 2021 - 12:36 AM, said:

Wow, "Holy Sister" really ramps things up as it goes, huh?

I've been struggling with reading overall this year, but once I sat down today and things got moving, I found it hard to put the book down. Nona is on a whole other level of badass now. It's kinda insane.

Wanna get back to the "poppy War" books, but i've got a couple of non-ficton gifts from friends that have been sitting in my room shaming me for a few months. So gonna hit those first.

Nona is a force of nature - even without the powers. She just goes straight at a dang problem and then figures out how to solve it eventually while keeping actual connections with people. It maybe sounds humdrum, but it's done with style and definitely not without cost.

One of my favourite series I've read in the past year or so.

[Aptorian]

Finished The Fractal Prince and The Causal Angel, book 2 and 3 of the Jean le Flambeur trilogy by Hannu Rajaneimi.

Very enjoyable, very creative books but ultimately not a very satisfying ending to a trilogy. I feel like what starts out as a vast universe of possible adventures is funneled down hvis very convoluted but ultimately not very complex storyline, that seems like Rajaneimi was making things up as he went along.

Especially the introduction of a big bad that suddenly takes over the story was frustrating because that's not the climax to the characters stories that I wanted. And the final McGuffin was pretty lame because you never get to know "What happened next".

Still I'd love to read more in that universe.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 23 December 2021 - 07:14 PM

[Aptorian]

Also been reading some of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London adjacent novellas.

Read The October Man, about a German equivalent of Peter Grant, investigating a magic related death in the country side.

Currently reading What Abigail did that Summer. Which takes place around the time Peter was investigating some Child napping in book...4, I think. Abigail is investigating a bunch of children acting weirdly while teaming up with the talking foxes. It's a great read.

Both books are reminding me that I love Aaronovitch's writing style and voice. If he just wanted to do a straight up magic German cop procedural I'd buy all the books. If he wanted to do children's books about Abigail having childhood adventures with the creatures of London I'd support it as well.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 23 December 2021 - 08:51 PM

[Aptorian]

Finished what Abigail did last Summer. Like all the Rivers books. Simple premise. Simple story. Very satisfying. That ending does setup a whole new side venture for Aaronovitch.

Somebody should feed him what ever Sanderson takes because now I want yearly releases for all three main characters. Peter, Abigail and what's his face, the German wizard cop.

Starting up Red Sister by Mark Lawrence next. Kept putting it off because it smells too much like the YA dangerous education trope. Like Ender's game, Hunger Games, the Trudy Canavan garbage, etc.

But it's hard to say no to the notion of a Sisterhood of Battle Nuns written by Lawrence.

[Chance]

Currently re-reading Masters and Mages which is awesome once more, getting time to read is great too little of that this autumn.

Aptorian, on 24 December 2021 - 09:59 PM, said:

Somebody should feed him what ever Sanderson takes because now I want yearly releases for all three main characters. Peter, Abigail and what's his face, the German wizard cop.

Thinking about one of these next great to hear that they are good

[Macros]

Been catching up on De Castels spells longer series.

On Crown breaker now and it's fun, with turns of dark to keep it from getting too twee and knowing wink.

The main characters idiocy when it comes to his family however is so fucking annoying

[Aptorian]

Finished Red Sister by Mark Lawrence.

I'm not sure about this book. As always Lawrence writing is solid but I feel less enthusiastic about the story. I feel like he couldn't decide whether he was writing a more tropey kind of YA story or the more vicious and bleak stories we know from his two other trilogies.

Everything about the set-up says YA to me but he doesn't really lean into it, he doesn't play with the potential of Hogwartz for Battle Nuns. The way Nona comes to the convent and the way Nona behaves, means that the reader doesn't get a lot of info dumps at the start and it left me pretty cold about the whole endeavour. And the characters often behave in stupid ways that only makes sense if you're writing for teenagers.

I feel like there's a clear split in the middle of the book where he should have just stopped and instead written two 250 page books. It would have worked with the structure and helped smooth over the time jump - And made it more digestive for a younger audience.

Still lots of cool scenes. Nona is a badass and it seems like there's a big world for Lawrence to tell more stories in.

I'm not going to jump straight into book 2. I almost quit the book several times and I feel like I need a pallet cleanser first.

Edit: Think I'll finally try out Brandon Sanderson's Elantris.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 30 December 2021 - 09:00 PM

[Cyphon]

Just finished HANDS OF THE EMPEROR by Victoria Goddard and I'm think I'm a little more mixed than the glowing praise had so far.

No doubt it's competency porn and an interesting character study. I just found it a bit too much wish fulfilment. I like what it did as is definitely one for for people who liked the Goblin Emperor but the main character is too wholesome and almost dare I say it Mary Sue to the extent that it's almost jarring. Yet I really enjoyed it as a cosy read that pushed a lot of my buttons. Perfect for betwixstmas with all its niceness.

[worry]

Hey, some of us are Mary Sues in real life. We exist and deserve representation!

[Tsundoku]

What about us Redshirts? Don't we deserve some screen time too?

Oh yeah ... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh! That'll do it I guess. *dies*

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 30 December 2021 - 11:01 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

I started reading Claire North's NOTES FROM THE BURNING AGE the other night, and it is entirely different than what I was expecting. It's set in a kind of post-apocalyptic future where, when faced with catastrophic climate change (aka The Burning Age) humanity doubled down on its bad habits, and so nature spirits called kakuy basically rose up and destroyed civilization. A long time afterwards, humanity has rebuilt, but the old way of doing things is frowned on, stuff like fossil fuels, WMDs, refrigerants, genetic engineering, even social imbalance to some degree. No one wants to risk re-awakening the kakuy (or at least so says The Temple.) In a twist from what you might expect, our protagonist is actually working for revolutionaries who are trying to dig up/steal "heretical" documents from The Burning Age that contain info on forbidden tech and such (the old ways were better, the current way is unfair, et cetera, see the allegory to real-life current events, kids!) About a third of the way through (where I'm at) there's another twist that turns things entirely on its ear. Go read it for yourself, it's good.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 31 December 2021 - 06:05 AM

[Macros]

I'm on a book buying ban Salt man, don't do this!

Finished up Crownbreaker.

A satisfactory ending to the series, if you liked the Greatcoats series at all I'd say give Spellslinger a ..... Blast

[Maark Abbott]

Licc Anus, volume 2. Starto!

Let's hope it holds up to the first one.

[Salt-Man Z]

Macros, on 31 December 2021 - 07:59 AM, said:

I'm on a book buying ban Salt man, don't do this!

I mean, you should just be buying all of Claire North's stuff anyway!