[Whisperzzzzzzz]

pat5150, on 29 April 2025 - 03:01 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2025 - 08:28 PM, said:

Making my way through Moon's Deeds of Paksenarrion and enjoying it. I can't help but feel like Paks is the player character in a solo D&D campaign though...

Don't know where you're at, but I just finished the second volume and man did things take a shocking turn!

Book 2, Chapter 20. Excited for whatever twists may come and shake the story up!

amphibian, on 29 April 2025 - 03:08 PM, said:

pat5150, on 29 April 2025 - 03:01 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2025 - 08:28 PM, said:

Making my way through Moon's Deeds of Paksenarrion and enjoying it. I can't help but feel like Paks is the player character in a solo D&D campaign though...

Don't know where you're at, but I just finished the second volume and man did things take a shocking turn!

What Moon does with that series and the follow up one is brilliant. Extremely impressive writing and it takes a bit of faith from the reader that she's not taking you into the boring tropes.

Good to know!

[Chance]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2025 - 08:28 PM, said:

Making my way through Moon's Deeds of Paksenarrion and enjoying it. I can't help but feel like Paks is the player character in a solo D&D campaign though...

Pretty sure Moon has confirmed it was a D&D campaign at least partially.

Abyss, on 29 April 2025 - 04:26 PM, said:

JPK, on 29 April 2025 - 04:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 29 April 2025 - 03:41 PM, said:

Chance, on 29 April 2025 - 05:02 AM, said:

...

Abyss, on 28 April 2025 - 01:39 PM, said:

Chance, on 27 April 2025 - 09:54 AM, said:

Probably finishing the Raven Strategem today having taking a lot of time mostly because I haven't had any good reading time recently but it is pretty damn good when I get a few hours.

Just Finished RAVEN STRATEGEM, very satisfying book. The author worked in some great twists, where the reader knows more than the characters but will doubt what they think they know. Straight on to bk 3, REVENANT GUN, which has an excellent start.

Yeah this re-read is cementing it as one of the recentish greats of SF.

Also continuing into the Revenant Gun which I don't think I've re-read yet.

The whole trilogy (so far) is extremely clever and well written. There is so much risk to what the author does w the setting

Spoiler

the calendrical system

and it's kind of stunning how well he pulls it off.

I think my favorite part of the entire series is how well he tends to take expectations and flip the table. Book 2 spoiler territory:

Spoiler

When Mikodez is introduced he seems so clear cut to be a character you are meant to hate. I mean, his sister transitioned into his brother that happens to be a physical copy of him. Oh and they fuck. But somehow Mikodez turns into one of the best characters in that book (and series overall.)

leaving aside some of the particularly iccy elements, those characters and their relationship were fascinating.

Spoiler

i was not surprised by Mik turning on the other Hexarchs, or that he allowed Istra to be the suicide weapon that did it, but i was surprised at how much i actually cared.

Even minor characters like the droids in the hidden base are wonderful to read and of course Cheris will notice their stone garden. The author is awesome at building up the least expected characters and making me care.

I think something very refreshing with the unconventional relationships (which is most all of them) and sexuality in the book is they don't become the point of the character or the main driver for the plot but compliments to understanding who they are. No one in world cares or even knows about current day or last century morals. They live in their own strange and fascinating reality something few authors completely pull off.

This post has been edited by Chance: 30 April 2025 - 02:05 PM

[QuickTidal]

Re-reading Erin M. Evans second Brimstone Angels book LESSER EVILS as a primer to finally read the final three in the series. I'm enjoying it even more this time than I did the first time. Evans keeps things compelling throughout.

After this if I'm still on a D&D kick I'll finally dive back into the Drizzt lineup with SERVANT OF THE SHARD (which is technically book 14, though I understand it doesn't feature much Drizzt and is more about Entreri and Jarlaxle, which is fine), which is next up in my now-years-long first time read of these books.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 30 April 2025 - 02:32 PM

[Abyss]

Chance, on 30 April 2025 - 01:59 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2025 - 08:28 PM, said:

Making my way through Moon's Deeds of Paksenarrion and enjoying it. I can't help but feel like Paks is the player character in a solo D&D campaign though...

Pretty sure Moon has confirmed it was a D&D campaign at least partially.

Abyss, on 29 April 2025 - 04:26 PM, said:

JPK, on 29 April 2025 - 04:06 PM, said:

Abyss, on 29 April 2025 - 03:41 PM, said:

Chance, on 29 April 2025 - 05:02 AM, said:

...

Abyss, on 28 April 2025 - 01:39 PM, said:

Chance, on 27 April 2025 - 09:54 AM, said:

Probably finishing the Raven Strategem today having taking a lot of time mostly because I haven't had any good reading time recently but it is pretty damn good when I get a few hours.

Just Finished RAVEN STRATEGEM, very satisfying book. The author worked in some great twists, where the reader knows more than the characters but will doubt what they think they know. Straight on to bk 3, REVENANT GUN, which has an excellent start.

Yeah this re-read is cementing it as one of the recentish greats of SF.

Also continuing into the Revenant Gun which I don't think I've re-read yet.

The whole trilogy (so far) is extremely clever and well written. There is so much risk to what the author does w the setting

Spoiler

the calendrical system

and it's kind of stunning how well he pulls it off.

I think my favorite part of the entire series is how well he tends to take expectations and flip the table. Book 2 spoiler territory:

Spoiler

When Mikodez is introduced he seems so clear cut to be a character you are meant to hate. I mean, his sister transitioned into his brother that happens to be a physical copy of him. Oh and they fuck. But somehow Mikodez turns into one of the best characters in that book (and series overall.)

leaving aside some of the particularly iccy elements, those characters and their relationship were fascinating.

Spoiler

i was not surprised by Mik turning on the other Hexarchs, or that he allowed Istra to be the suicide weapon that did it, but i was surprised at how much i actually cared.

Even minor characters like the droids in the hidden base are wonderful to read and of course Cheris will notice their stone garden. The author is awesome at building up the least expected characters and making me care.

I think something very refreshing with the unconventional relationships (which is most all of them) and sexuality in the book is they don't become the point of the character or the main driver for the plot but compliments to understanding who they are. No one in world cares or even knows about current day or last century morals. They live in their own strange and fascinating reality something few authors completely pull off.

REVENANT GUN ch13 spoilers bcs i have to rave a little....

Spoiler

Ch 13, Jedao is taking Kujen's fleet against Brazen's, they just discovered Inesser is there w her fleet too, and Jedao is addressing his troops... and the earbook narrator absolutely kills it delivering this...

"Well, it looks like the greatest general in the last 200 years has shown up to challenge us, too bad for them to get to you she has to go through me first." ...fuuuUUUUUUuuuuuuuuck.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 29 April 2025 - 05:14 PM, said:

I tend to think of the series as a multi-Thrawn pile-up.

So basically... Game of Thrawns.

[polishgenius]

I'm once again re-reading Hal Duncan's Book of All Hours, an all-time classic in my book and something I know QT agrees with me about.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Finished Hannah Fry's How to be Human in the Age of the Machine - a really interesting and well-balanced look at the advantages and pitfalls of the use of AI in different settings (health, crime, self-driving cars etc.)

Going to finally give Brandon Sanderson's non-WOT output a try - my boss leant me Tress of the Emerald Sea as a starter and I should probably get it back to him at some point. Here goes!

[QuickTidal]

polishgenius, on 07 May 2025 - 08:10 AM, said:

I'm once again re-reading Hal Duncan's Book of All Hours, an all-time classic in my book and something I know QT agrees with me about.

I have nightmares about how much I hated that book.

[Abyss]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 07 May 2025 - 08:20 AM, said:

...
Going to finally give Brandon Sanderson's non-WOT output a try - my boss leant me Tress of the Emerald Sea as a starter and I should probably get it back to him at some point. Here goes!

fwiw i enjoyed this. It was 'cute', low stakes, fast paced, and just a fun short read.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 07 May 2025 - 01:43 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 07 May 2025 - 08:20 AM, said:

...
Going to finally give Brandon Sanderson's non-WOT output a try - my boss leant me Tress of the Emerald Sea as a starter and I should probably get it back to him at some point. Here goes!

fwiw i enjoyed this. It was 'cute', low stakes, fast paced, and just a fun short read.

I maintain that as long as you stay in his standalone or smaller book series (mistborn even) Sando does fine and it very enjoyable...it's Stormlight that got away from him and feels like a chore more than an enjoyable time. I say that as a glutton who owns all 5 books in Hardcover, even though I haven't TRULY enjoyed one since Book 2.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 07 May 2025 - 02:35 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 May 2025 - 01:43 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 07 May 2025 - 08:20 AM, said:

...
Going to finally give Brandon Sanderson's non-WOT output a try - my boss leant me Tress of the Emerald Sea as a starter and I should probably get it back to him at some point. Here goes!

fwiw i enjoyed this. It was 'cute', low stakes, fast paced, and just a fun short read.

I maintain that as long as you stay in his standalone or smaller book series (mistborn even) Sando does fine and it very enjoyable...it's Stormlight that got away from him and feels like a chore more than an enjoyable time. I say that as a glutton who owns all 5 books in Hardcover, even though I haven't TRULY enjoyed one since Book 2.

it's to his credit he can pull off something as cute as TRESS while working on something as massive as STA - which i enjoyed but can ack the last book was quite a bit weaker than what came before.

[JPK]

JPK, on 25 April 2025 - 02:43 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 25 April 2025 - 01:14 PM, said:

Abyss, on 24 April 2025 - 07:06 PM, said:

pat5150, on 22 April 2025 - 10:05 PM, said:

JPK, on 22 April 2025 - 03:33 PM, said:

I've finally emerged from DON QUIXOTE and will post an update over the ded-thread. Anyways, with that brick out of the way, I'm finding myself in need of something a bit now contemporary so I pulled something up that's been sitting in my trp for YEARS. Tregellis' THE COLDEST WAR. I bought this way back when the series was first getting buzz in this thread and have read BITTER SEEDS twice now, but had just never moved forward into the series. Happy to say that I'm one chapter into this and it's very much scratching an itch for me right now.

That Tregillis trilogy is awesome!

seconded!

Thirded. REALLY unique and well written.

I'm pretty sure I picked this up back when QT and Abyss both started praising it several years back. But that's also how so many books landed on my trp back when I was even worse about lurking than these days.

I'm likely to be a bit slower with this one because I'm doubling it up with my current Classics read, but I'm into chapter 3 now and surprised how much darker this one got and how fast. Don't get me wrong, BITTER SEEDS wasn't exactly light but this one feels extremely heavy from the get go. It's just picking up from the end of book 1 and running with it full sprint.

INTERLUDE 3 spoilers.

Spoiler

Ok, this series is brilliantly dark. I just finished the final Reinhardt Interlude. Somehow, even with the places this series goes, it will still surprise me sometimes. Like, we KNOW Reinhardt is super messed up to the point of necrophilia, but somehow I didn't expect him to actually follow through with lighting up a group of children on page.

His final line is just perfect though.
"Reinhardt's final thought, the instance before demons erased him from existence: That bitch."

This post has been edited by JPK: 07 May 2025 - 03:54 PM

[polishgenius]

Read Joe Abercrombie's latest, The Devils, in a new, alternate/fantasy-late-Medieval-Europe setting. It's basically a Papal Suicide Squad (nice timing on the release lol).


Good fun, though I did find it a lot more predictable than I typically find his work. That may have been part of the point, just leaning into genre tropes rather than subverting them, but it did mean I wasn't surprised much throughout. Still, anyone who enjoys his work or things like Malevolent Seven will enjoy this.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Abyss, on 07 May 2025 - 02:38 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 07 May 2025 - 02:35 PM, said:

Abyss, on 07 May 2025 - 01:43 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 07 May 2025 - 08:20 AM, said:

...
Going to finally give Brandon Sanderson's non-WOT output a try - my boss leant me Tress of the Emerald Sea as a starter and I should probably get it back to him at some point. Here goes!

fwiw i enjoyed this. It was 'cute', low stakes, fast paced, and just a fun short read.

I maintain that as long as you stay in his standalone or smaller book series (mistborn even) Sando does fine and it very enjoyable...it's Stormlight that got away from him and feels like a chore more than an enjoyable time. I say that as a glutton who owns all 5 books in Hardcover, even though I haven't TRULY enjoyed one since Book 2.

it's to his credit he can pull off something as cute as TRESS while working on something as massive as STA - which i enjoyed but can ack the last book was quite a bit weaker than what came before.

Enjoying it very much so far - realised I was ten chapters in at the point Mr NAB pointed out I hadn't moved in a while, so it's engrossing.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 08 May 2025 - 10:02 AM, said:

Read Joe Abercrombie's latest, The Devils, in a new, alternate/fantasy-late-Medieval-Europe setting. It's basically a Papal Suicide Squad (nice timing on the release lol).


Good fun, though I did find it a lot more predictable than I typically find his work. That may have been part of the point, just leaning into genre tropes rather than subverting them, but it did mean I wasn't surprised much throughout. Still, anyone who enjoys his work or things like Malevolent Seven will enjoy this.

Audible credit preorder deployment already engaged, awaiting download. Looking fwd to this, haven't read any Abercrombie since RED COUNTRY.

[polishgenius]

I read Melissa Caruso's The Last Hour Between Worlds, a book about a high-society party that, with every toll of a magical clock, drops through a layer of reality and deeper into weirdness and madness. Killer concept, excellently delivered, just a really fun bit of writing.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 01 May 2025 - 01:46 PM, said:

...
Just Finished RAVEN STRATEGEM, very satisfying book. The author worked in some great twists, where the reader knows more than the characters but will doubt what they think they know. Straight on to bk 3, REVENANT GUN, which has an excellent start....

...and continues through to stick the landing very nicely.

MACHINERIES OF EMPRIE was a great read, thank you forum for the reco, it completely paid off.
Solid sf, very intersting clever worldbuilding, great characters who evolve nicely through the story, low grade action but very effective when it hits, loved the 'moth' spaceships and the weird variety of weapons. I'll try something else by Yoon Ha Lee at some point.


Followed up w ADRIFT IN CURRENTS CLEAN AND CLEAR, Seanan McGuire's latest WAYWARD CHILDREN book. I remain utterly blown away by the world this author has created around this series. Continuing the pattern of alternating between books about the characters' adventures and 'prologue' stories telling us about them before they landed at the school, this was a prologue re Nadia, a supporting player in the previous book, a 'drowned girl', a child who fell into a water world and then back to Earth, who had some very interesting moments, so while the start of the book is rather... normal... everything we learn about her is loaded w the context of what we know is coming and it propels the story fwd. When she falls into her water world of sentient rivers and giant turtles and talking animals the entire story just accelerates beautifully - it's too short, only because it's so good. This series remains one of my favoritest things i've read in the last few years. This was bk 10, bk 11 is due Jan 2026, the blurb already broke my brain, automatic pre-order. Earbook narrator absolutely kills this, accent and all.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Finished Tress of the Emerald Sea. What a lovely book!

A friend lent me their copy of The Final Empire so I will give that a go soon, but have picked up Peter S Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song.

I've only read The Last Unicorn previously and it's on of my favourite books, but I bought the set of his novels when they were reissued in the UK last year, so I also have A Fine and Private Place and The Way Home to go at too.

[Tiste Simeon]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 14 May 2025 - 07:34 AM, said:

Finished Tress of the Emerald Sea. What a lovely book!

A friend lent me their copy of The Final Empire so I will give that a go soon, but have picked up Peter S Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song.

I've only read The Last Unicorn previously and it's on of my favourite books, but I bought the set of his novels when they were reissued in the UK last year, so I also have A Fine and Private Place and The Way Home to go at too.

TRB I'm planning a read of the Stormlight Archive this year if you want to do it too and we can support each other through the millions of pages?

[Macros]

Unrelenting whining and pining