Malazan Empire: JPK - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

 Abyss, on 25 April 2024 - 02:17 PM, said:

See, I just can't get into the Fall of X storyline at all because I just think the entire thing is dumb. They have a fantastic setup that they could build interesting storylines around for years in The Krakoa Era, but instead they're choosing to just go back to the same old status quo. It just feels like an absolute waste of Hickman's setup.

Tiste Simeon, on 19 April 2024 - 04:31 PM, said:

It's a good listen but I'll warn you that the narrator changes mid series and both narrators have a habit of having some interesting pronunciation choices.

I've got a bit more time before the final book in Janny Wurts' Wars of Light and Shadow comes out, so I've decided to take something off the trp that's been buried there for several years, Ian Tregellis' BITTER SEEDS. I remember picking this up years ago after the recommendation of someone around here (let's face it, it was probably Abyss because it usually is). So yeah, anyways, Nazi X-Men it is.

Imo, PoS wasn't terrible at the time I was reading it but it's proven to be utterly forgettable which is kinda damning in it's own way. I know I read it because I can look up what dates I read it on goodreads, but I remember pretty much next to nothing about it.

It's been a bit since I've really mentioned what I've been working on, so here comes another list! Yay!

THE GIRL AND THE STARS by Mark Lawrence - As many of us have had the pleasure of finding out by now, Mr Lawrence pretty much always delivers. I really enjoyed this one on it's own merits, though it's the implications involved in the larger story that takes this from good to fantastic.

CORALINE by Neil Gaiman - I read this one out loud to my 7yo daughter over the course of about a week. We both loved it, and it was a very special experience for me as it was the last Gaiman novel that I haven't read yet and getting to share it with her just made it that much more special. She's been begging me to read her THE GRAVEYARD BOOK soon, but I'm being mean and making her wait.

ANARCH by Dan Abnett - Can't really talk about this one without spoilers.

NETWORK EFFECT by Martha Wells - Murderbot is pretty much always a good time and this was no exception. I was worried about how it would translate to a full length novel over the usual novella format, but I really shouldn't have been. The story used the extra time well for characterization and allowing space to ponder and process all those irritating emotions that no one wants.

WACO by Jeff Guinn - this was an excellent book that really made me think a lot. There's no doubt in most people minds that Koresh was a fucking monster at the end of things, but I think this did a really good job of clarifying just how badly the government fucked up in how they handled the situation. I think this was a particularly important event in American History to read about and understand due to how it has really set a lot of the tone of the current political climate in this clusterfuck of a country.

GOLDEN SON by Pierce Brown - Holy fuckballs, you were all so so right about this. I shouldn't have doubted.

MATILDA by Roald Dahl - this was another one that I read aloud to my 7yo in the evenings. Still just absolutely magical, and it's nice to have a kid's book with a bit of an edge.

THE SUN SWORD by Michelle West - I've already touched upon this one elsewhere when I was getting towards the finish line. In the long run, this series is just chock full of wasted potential. There are so many cool stories in here, but ti just keeps getting in the way of itself over and over again. Upon finishing it, I decided to remove the House War books from my TRP and donate them. I'm not the pickiest reader by any means, but I really feel burned by this one.

TSALMOTH by Steven Brust - I mean, this is book 17 or so of the Vlad Taltos series. It's more of the same that has gone before it, but honestly that's exactly what I wanted out of it and it totally delivered.


Currently reading:

THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN by Sebastien de Castell - I'm about a third of the way into this in ebook and all I can really do is chime in with the love already shown for this book around here. I'm a bit surprised at how much I'm enjoying the rat mages.

BEEZUS AND RAMONA by Beverly Cleary - The current book I"m reading with the kid. I've been trying to get her to read this one on her own for awhile now, but it doesn't have dragons in it so she just can't be bothered. Now that she's listening to it though, she's really loving it. I think this one in particular is a good fit for us atm due to the fact that she can really relate with Beezus and the irritations of having a 4yo sister that can be a little monster constantly shadowing her.

THE DRAGON REVENANT - by Katherine Kerr. I'm just starting this one so I don't really have much to comment about it yet. I will say that I'm pretty excited to close out the first arc of the story with this one.