Books - What are you reading?

ha! find me a fantasy title that DOESN'T sound like an AI creation

They are rare, for sure.

Just got through The Daughters War by Christopher Buehlman. It’s the sequel to The Blacktongue Thief.

It’s a series of fantasy books yanno goblins and stuff. The Daughters War is far heavier and less amusing than the Blacktongue thief, but there’s romance and fierce platonic love through the grinding horror. There’s a nice set up for the third book. I will read the next book

'The Hobbit'

It's Not About the Bike

I'm deep into binge reading N. K. Jemsin now - finsidhed the Inheritance Trilogy and the Dreamblood duology, and they're ticking all of the right fantasy boxes, but also shining a light on just how white and male most of my reading is.

Have just started The Fifth Season.

The End of the World Is Just the Beginning. Peter Zeihan.

The last 70 years have been the good times and globalisation is about to collapse.
Might be bollocks but a nice mix of Geo politics and kinda makes sense of the world order in a way
that stupid people like me can understand.

Started the Pillars of the Earth, but seems pretty ridiculous.

Switched to the Mind in the Cave, which is more my thing at the moment.

Out this Thursday:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/27/my-dad-munich-and-the-busby-babes-united-in-grief

I've just got around to reading a couple of books way after the hype.

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman - lots of interesting ideas but it didn't seem very coherent and I could tell from about 2/3 of the way through that nothing was going to be resolved in the 800 pages or so. The attempts to make it contemporary already made it seem a bit dated. I'll still read the final instalment if/when it comes out.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin- I thought this was great. I remembered really liking Nora Webster years ago and thinking it was great. I will probably re-read that soon, and have reserved the newish sequel to Brooklyn at the library.

coming here to recommend a book I’m only halfway through but am absolutely loving: Border Country, by Raymond Williams. It is about class, community, and rural change in Pandy, Monmouthshire. It’s beautifully written, in many ways a British Grapes of Wrath.

Any recommendations for decent-length but fairly digestible sci-fi and fantasy series? Interrailing over the next couple of weeks. Something along the lines of James S A Corey, Alastair Reynolds, Naomi Novik, N K Jemisin, etc

SciFi: Iain M Banks culture books. Not exactly a series but fit together nicely. Consider Phlebas -> Player of Games -> Use of Weapons are the first three (and probably the best)

Fantasy:
A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall and the 2 sequels. Recommended by me up-thread

Broken Empire series and Red Queen series by Mark Lawrence. 3 books in each series, nice little touch that they happen simultaneously in the same world and a couple of times characters bump into each other. Read Broken Empire first.

First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

More SciFi:

Europe in Autumn and the 3 sequels by Dave Hutchinson. These are amazing and like nothing else I've ever read

Station Eleven and the 2 sort-of sequels by Emily StJohn Mandel. Not exactly a trilogy but set in the same world. Quite moving

last one for now, One Way and No Way by SJ Mordern. Fairly easy to read, quite fun hard SF about convicts sent to Mars by an evil corporation

Done all the Banks and Abercrombie, enjoyed. Had forgotten about Station Eleven. Some good suggestions, ta

Thanks for this - as a fellow fan of Banks, Abercrombie and Lawrence (and having read all of their books) I'm gonna assume our tastes are fairly similar and have downloaded Autumn in Europe and A Crown for Cold Silver. In case you haven't read it yet, I can be fairly sure you will love Jay Kristoff's EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRIE series. It's very much grimdark and very well written if this is your sort of vibe.

Thanks, it is on my list ;)

i am on the last chapter of Prophet Song and was wondering what to read next. Read some reviews on Border Country, on this recommendation. Looking forward to it

If you want to go Slavic, Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series is very digestible SF/Horror/Fantasy. Even has a vampire in space at one point. Slavic, so not terribly cheery but does have a sense of humour. Has a protagonist who becomes a major player entirely by fluke and not due to any inherent qualities.

Staying Slavic and going post-apocalyptic SF, there's Dmitry Glukhovsky's Metro series (whence the video game franchise). Relentlessly grim, but gripping and rolls along at pace.

Still Slavic, the first two books of the Witcher series are short story collections with lightweight bridging arcs. The novels that follow are probably a bit much for interrail.

Really enjoyed the Metro books. Think I'm two books into the Watches, can't remember now, was a while back

Empire of the Vampire is described as illustrated, enough so that I shouldn't e-read it?

I'm working through the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons and really enjoying it. I'm halfway through the third book having started the first one a few weeks ago and they're all 500 pages plus. The first one in particular is really easy to blast through. Best sci fi I've read in ages!

Just finished the first one, not sure if I'll continue though. It seems kind of dated in a way that belies how recently it was written, maybe given some time it'll develop a warmer recollection for me.

Interesting! In what way dated? Agreed that the writing style in some sections is very "snappy 80s cool guy" but luckily not too much. Also, it isn't far off 40 years old...

I’m 55% through Butter. I only read for about 15 minute per night and I’m not a fast reader.

But it is dragging. No real sign of much plot yet. I’m hoping it’s going to take a turn soon🤞🏽