[amphibian]

I've been trying to find a black edge Nona version, but my local stores do not have them. I'll wait a bit - I suspect that they're getting the "it's all one giant regular print run, then we're diverting a few to get spray painted and then out to the shops later" treatment.

[worry]

Finished The Gameshouse by Claire North. It’s actually three novellas with an overarching story. The first one, set in post-Renaissance (I think) Italy, is pretty boring. The second one, a cat and mouse game set in Thailand, is really excellent. The third one, a global thriller that culminates the meta story, splits the difference.

[Tiste Simeon]

So I'm halfway through The Two Towers on earbook as read by the incomparable Andy Serkis. I have finally got to the bit where Gollum has entered the story. Of course, it being Andy Serkis, he is doing the utterly iconic Gollum voice for those bits.

I was chatting with a mate a couple of weeks ago and we were joking that it would be hilarious if he completely subverted expectations and did Gollum as a deep Yorkshire voice haha like "Ey up Precious, ah'm Smeagol. How do?"

And yes I'm available for voice recordings myself!

[Briar King]

Finished Fires of Heaven 2/21/22-9/24/22 and jumped right into Lord of Chaos. It’s been amazing the past few months to be Perrin the whipped free but now that is over… sighs

I would take Perrin the whipped over Perrin the ballless from that stupid show anytime though.

[Mentalist]

Finished "THe Burning God", the last of the Poppy War trilogy.

The ending is a bit of a downer, but it makes sense I guess. Quite a few cool turns in the book as a whole though. Generally, I'm a fan.

Since I picked up "Veiled Throne" recently, I guess it's time to re-tackle The Dandelion Dynasty So I'll start with a re-read of "Grace of Kings"

[BAD]

Got 15 of the Horus Heresy books at a charity book stand. Pretty much mint condition. Could not believe it. Currently reading Angel of Caliban. Lion El'Jonson is a total baller.

[Morgoth]

I've been travelling a lot recently for work, and been on a rpg-lit binge during that time. Great stuff for quick half hour reads between anouncements and security checks and what have you. Not great as far as litterature goes, it's mostly medicore to terrible, truth be told. But fun given the right circumstances.

However, I feel a need for a better class of storytelling, but I am not quite as up to date on the news as I used to be. Is there anything particularly good that's been published in the last six months or so?

[Macros]

Currently reading Claire North's burning lands.

Id say pick up any of her stuff if you haven't already

[Salt-Man Z]

Macros, on 26 September 2022 - 03:26 PM, said:

Id say pick up any of [Claire North's] stuff if you haven't already

This is what they call a "life hack".

[Mentalist]

Finished "Grace of Kings" re-read.

Onto "Wall of Storms"

[Chance]

Currently reading Blood of the Chosen part two of Django Wexlers fantasy serie, it is interesting but nothing special. It probably falters a bit on the main characters youth at the same time it is an integral part of the story so maybe I'm just no longer the target group for youths growing into heroes genre

Also just started Ceephay Queen book 8 of the spiral wars, probably my favorit ongoing space opera. Simply some of the most entertaining military space opera ever written, perhaps not a masterpiece of writing but certainly fairly awesome on the idea/imagination side of things.

This post has been edited by Chance: 27 September 2022 - 01:47 PM

[worry]

Chance, on 27 September 2022 - 01:42 PM, said:

maybe I'm just no longer the target group for youths growing into heroes genre

I thought I was too... but then I started posting on a small out of the way message board made up almost exclusively of real life people who've done just that.

[Abyss]

Morgoth, on 26 September 2022 - 10:45 AM, said:

I've been travelling a lot recently for work, and been on a rpg-lit binge during that time. Great stuff for quick half hour reads between anouncements and security checks and what have you. Not great as far as litterature goes, it's mostly medicore to terrible, truth be told. But fun given the right circumstances.

However, I feel a need for a better class of storytelling, but I am not quite as up to date on the news as I used to be. Is there anything particularly good that's been published in the last six months or so?

I enjoyed THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 15 September 2022 - 03:34 PM, said:

Abyss, on 14 September 2022 - 04:28 PM, said:

champ, on 13 September 2022 - 08:53 PM, said:

Bloody hell, I got so busy at work I forgot all about Nona, sat chilling at home now for the last hour feeling like I am forgetting something... God dammit I'll start it tomorrow now.

I enjoyed Harrow, aye it was different but I'm still all in on the series. Just such an intriguing setting.

amphibian, on 14 September 2022 - 03:20 AM, said:

I'm re reading Harrow right now. I'll launch into Nona when I'm done.

So far, I think Harrow works quite well as a story that's about grieving and processing immense change on top of huge trauma from way back when.

At the 1/3rd'ish point and enjoying NONA. No spoilers here, i'll say it's a very very different book from GID and HARROW, but works well building out the world from the engaging perspective of the pov character. There is a LOT going on, and most of it is hinted at but not clear because Nona herself does not and cannot know. The hints that the reader will get even if Nona doesn't keep the pace moving nicely.

I occasionally wish i had reread bks 1 and 2 before this, but it's not essential, the odd glance at the internet helps where i needed a reminder who someone was.

A little further in and must add, if you thought this was some side story slotted into the trilo because money... no. Oh HELL NO. No spoilers, but rotting tonne of dangling questions from 1 and 2 are being answered (sort of) and it is like we were walking on the periphery of the story from bks 1 and 2 for a while then the author just jumpspinkicked us right back into the middle of it.

Just Finished NONA THE NINTH.

K i liked it. I liked it a lot. I liked all the things that were different from GIDEON and HARROW and i loved how it set a story, then tied it all back to those books while expanding the world a LOT.

I disagree with the upthread comments that it's a lesser book for being less self contained than GIDEON, it's book 3 in a 4 book series, it's the middle of the story, of course it ends on a hook, of course all questions are not answered. Otoh, a lot of questions are answered, including some of the most important ones coming of of HARROW. Oh, and the notion that Muir did something 'wrong' by adding a book to the series... look i understand the WoT/SIF spawned anxiety from authors just adding endless middle to their series, but this wasn't that. This book moves the story fwd very very nicely.

I also disagree with the elsenet critiques that this yanked the series into YA territory. Yes, the character Nona is an older teen with the mindset of a thirteen year old, yes, she spends a chunk of the book hanging out with other thirteen(ish) year olds, but the events around her / them are utterly adult and while in a different setting and scope from the prior two books - we move from dark space castles to a full city on an ugly planet, very in keeping with Richard Morgan's Mars or various cyberpunk dystopias minus all the hacking (mostly) - the dark tone is consistent. I'm actually impressed with what the author shows in this book. GID and HAR were very similar, and she adds a wide range of characters and situations here.

ANyhoo, if you enjoyed 1 and 2, i reco. If you just sort of liked them, or loved 1 and meh's at 2, i'd still say try it. If you meh'd 1 and disliked 2... i don't think this will turn you around, but hey, i could be wrong.

Earbook narration is flawless.

SPOILERS NOW

SPOILERS

SPOILERS
MASSIVE DEAD SPOILERS
RE ENTIRE LOCKED TOMB SERIES

SO MUCH SPOILERS

Spoiler

I admit i was initially put off by Nona... the YA tone was the opposite of what i generally read. But the cast around here, and in particular Cam and Pal, drew me right in. I loved the not-quite-a-lictor situation the book places them in and how it plays out. By the finale where they go all in the tragedy and heroism of the sacrifice was glorious. I waited the entire book for 'Go loud' and was not disappointed.

I liked Pyrrha, as a Cavalier in the body of her dead Lyctor, and how Nona always refers to her as a beautiful and delicate 'her' despite being a 6ft+ bodybuilder framed man. It's the first hint that Harrow is in there somewhere.

I liked seeing Coronabeth again, and how her loyalties and character had radically shifted since bk 1. Same for Ianthe since bk 2. The byplay between them is fascinating.

Also, Coronabeth telling Cam she wasn't entitled to wear those sunglasses... I have no idea what Tamsyn Muir looks like but i had no problem picturing her laughing her head off writing that line. In general, Corona steals almost every scene she's in.

I liked the rest of the Blood of Eden cast. They were all nicely different and well developed, even the ones only briefly in the story like Our Lady.


I loved how the body-memory of Harrow and Gideaon finally arises when the Eden cell tries to take them. The visual of tony, borderline skeletal 80lb 19-yr old, with multiple gunshot wounds, gripping a chunk of wood like a two handed sword (Cam: 'Perfect stance' HA!), screaming like an oncoming freight train and charging a hallway full of commandos who proceed to panic and retreat, was PERFECT. Nona's evolution thru the book, her attitude towards her impending death, is wonderfully handled. She has none of the frustration Harrow would have had, which leaves the reader to feel it and appreciate the absence.

Gideon's 'return'... i loved that. At once glorious and amping the mystery up by 1000%. It's her, but it isn't, and yet, and yet....

I did not love Harrow's dream flashbacks to her conversations with the Emperor. I see why Muir put them in the story, they fill in the Emperor's history as well as the world's, it just felt very 'ordinary' compared to Nona's story. This part was fine, i could have lived with much less of it, but it's a very minor nitpick.

Next up, i was about to return to the CHORUS OF DRAGONS series but a new phone and lack of time to reload earbooks sent me into my Audible eTRPfH and Scalzi's THE KAIJU PRESERVATION SOCIETY. Halfway in and very enjoying it.

[Tiste Simeon]

So I was going to finish The Two Towers and go straight into Return of the King (did I mention how much I love Andy Serkis?)

But I got Sandman Act III. So that's jumped up my list to the very top.

[JPK]

Tiste Simeon, on 29 September 2022 - 05:57 PM, said:

But I got Sandman Act III. So that's jumped up my list to the very top.

I'm working on this one now as well. I just finished the first story and it's so damn good to be back in this version of the story. Gaiman's narration is just fucking ace.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Finished A Chorus of Dragons book three (The Memory of Souls)---probably my favorite of the series so far. Somehow I didn't realize there are two more books, so I found the ending a bit unsatisfactory at first... but now on to The House of Always (book four).

Few if any really excellent or remarkable lines of prose or dialogue, though engaging plot, good characterization, and interesting world building help make up for it. Some good and mildly interesting imagery.

First three audiobooks had six different performers, and I don't like any of them... oh well.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 30 September 2022 - 01:05 AM

[worry]

Finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King -- it's a thriller, not a horror, though a decent early chunk does take place in Derry and acknowledges the creepy. I guess it was more of a prelude to spooky season than a full entry. It's good -- less boomer nostalgia than you'd think for a plot that potentially begs for it. It's definitely the fastest book I've read all year.

And now that it's about to be October, I'm gonna try and read some outright horror this month -- starting with a haunted house book called Kill Creek by Scott Thomas. It's supposed to be a well done meta horror a la Scream, the kind that's self-aware but still great at what it does, so I guess we'll see.

[Abyss]

JPK, on 29 September 2022 - 08:05 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 29 September 2022 - 05:57 PM, said:

But I got Sandman Act III. So that's jumped up my list to the very top.

I'm working on this one now as well. I just finished the first story and it's so damn good to be back in this version of the story. Gaiman's narration is just fucking ace.

OMG... Delirium... is PERFECT.

[JPK]

Abyss, on 01 October 2022 - 11:28 PM, said:

JPK, on 29 September 2022 - 08:05 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 29 September 2022 - 05:57 PM, said:

But I got Sandman Act III. So that's jumped up my list to the very top.

I'm working on this one now as well. I just finished the first story and it's so damn good to be back in this version of the story. Gaiman's narration is just fucking ace.

OMG... Delirium... is PERFECT.

I'm about halfway though and I completely agree. Kristen Schall was just absolutely brilliant casting for this. "Can I drive?".