Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I know it's still June for most of you, but it's July for me, so I'll start this off.

Still working my way through the Apex Magazines older issues. Just finished issue 14 today.

The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy

In this sci-fi novel, the Earth passes through comet debris, and the meteorites falling on a Minnesota town carry an incredibly valuable new metal with amazing properties.

Good first book in the Comet Cycle trilogy. 3.5 stars

My review: /review/show...

Completed:
text:

Dominion: Eugen M. Bacon - A Maji Maji Chronicle�, Nuzo Onoh - The Unclean, Marian Denise Moore - A Mastery of German; Emily , Dare Segun Falowo - Convergence in Choral Architecture, Rafeeat Aliyu - To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines, Suyi Davies Okungbowa - Sleep Papa, Sleep, Odida Nyabundi - Clanfall:Death of Kings, Mame Bougouma Diene - The Satellite Charmer, Michael Boatman - Thresher of Men, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki - Ife-Iyoku, The Tale of the Imadeyunuagbon
Audible:

==========================================
Authors:
Rafeeat Aliyu, Eugen Bacon`, Michael Boatman, Mame Bougouma Diene, Arthur Conan Doyle, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Dare Segun Falowo, Robin Hobb, Zelda Knight, Marian Denise Moore, Odida Nyabundi, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Nuzo Onoh, Hiroko Oyamada, Robert V.S. Redick, Kim Stanley Robinson, Tade Thompson, Andy Weir
Narrators:
Paul Boehmer, Stephen Fry, Bayo Gbadamosi
Translators:
David Boyd

I read a couple more stories in the anthology Rogues. I have now read 14 of the 21 stories. Unlike many anthologies, I haven't found any weak entries so far.

I am about to begin the interestingly named Alien Space Tentacle Porn, which will fill the humour slot in my Bingo.

The Way of Kings, Part 1
Almost done reading this

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Then I'm going to start this. Then who knows.

I finished Alien Space Tentacle Porn. It was good, but not really humorous, at least not to me. There was a certain amount of absurdity to it, but mostly it was a cutting look at how governments are likely to behave if they actually discover aliens are here.

Automatic Reload by Ferrett Steinmetz was interesting. It wasn't quite worth 4 stars, but closer than I would have expected from the blurb. I reviewed it here:
/review/show...

Finished Saint City Sinners, it was a slight improvement over the previous three books, but only slight.

Starting on Between Burning Worlds by Jessica Brody which is the second book in a retelling of Les Miserables set on another planet. I had read the first for free on rivetedlit.com and found the library had this one. It is a BIG book.

Currently finishing

Malice

After that it'll be

Dune

Finished Nophek Gloss, by Essa Hansen - the premise includes some of the most fascinating world-building I've ever encountered. The innocent farm-boy whose life is destroyed by an evil empire is a trope that won't die, but the core ideas engage my imagination as few books ever have. Enough ruined farm boys in fiction for them to have their own pocket universe.

Airy Castles All Ablaze by George Phillies

I'm re-reading Age of Myth It won the series poll in another group, and I am thrilled to read it again. I love the elaborate and detailed world he created throughout his interconnected series, and the characters are great!

I read Star Trek: Debt of Honor: Graphic Novel. Claremont overwrites, as he tends to, but he gets Star Trek, and he does a good job of tying in events from the series and movies. The art is also very good.

Finished Project Hail Mary


Here is my review: /review/show...

Out of House and Home by Drew Hayes

I have started reading another Star Trek graphic novel - Star Trek: Tests of Courage

Hi everyone! Just started the "Shadow and Bone" Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Very impressed by her writing craft and her ability to immerse the reader immediately into a rich setting. Wonderful characters, too!

I finished A Desolation Called Peace, which I found as good as the first book in the Teixcalaan duology. I will be starting later tonight Poseidon's Wake by Alastair Reynolds; I had read the first 2 books in the Poseidons Children series a long time ago and remember having enjoyed them - and when possible I try to read all books of a given series.

I am rereading the Great Captains by Henry Treece. I first read this back in the 70s and haven't looked at it since. Treece was a big influence on my early attempts at writing and I have always remembered the book fondly. I'm really interested to see how it will look to me in 2021. I will review it when I finish.

I finished Star Trek: Tests of Courage. It was ok, nothing exceptional but of interest as it details Sulu's first mission as captain of the Excelsior.

I read another couple of stories in the anthology Rogues, which I am continuing to enjoy. I have now started a reread of the very funny, but definitely not SFF, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England.

Finished Between Burning Worlds, kind of enjoying this trilogy :) Will have to wait for the next and final one to be published (one month) and the library to make it available (several months)

Next on my list is a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway win, but it's mystery, not SFF, My mom grabbed it the moment it arrived since she's a big cozy mystery fan and she finished it in a couple days :)

Andrea wrote: "Next on my list is a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway win, but it's mystery, not SFF, My mom grabbed it the moment it arrived since she's a big cozy mystery fan and she finished it in a couple days :)"

I would certainly consider cozy mysteries to be part of the SFF genre - they are a specific type of urban fantasy.

Tony wrote: "Andrea wrote: "Next on my list is a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Giveaway win, but it's mystery, not SFF, My mom grabbed it the moment it arrived since she's a big cozy mystery fan and she finished it in a couple day..."

Especially when they involve talking cats/dogs which is a popular theme

Greece Against Rome: The Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms 250-31 BC by Philip Matyszak

I finished 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England. It is as witty as I remember, but there is a level of casual racism which is not unexpected from a book written in 1930. I suspect a lot of the humour may be lost on readers who don't have a reasonable knowledge of English history.

I am now starting the sequel (although from a different author) 2066 And All That. This begins where 1066 finished - the end of World War I.

Finished the cozy mystery, a couple minor complaints otherwise it was what a cozy mystery should be.

Now reading A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong

Short History of Myth was short, but I didn't really enjoy it much, guess I was expecting more an overview of different myths over time rather than an essay on what myths mean and how ultimately our modern society it all broken since we don't understand how myths were supposed to work and we discarded them as false (apparently they were never taken to be strictly historical, that wasn't the point but we decided it was, it was about the moral of the story and not about trying to tell people something true). Anyway, found it a bit boring :)

I'm also not enjoying the Dante Valentine books but since I've only one left going to get it done to fill my 900+ page BINGO slot with - To Hell and Back by Lilith Saintcrow

I finished 2066 And All That - it was a disappointment. I have started the Doctor Who parody - Doctor Whom: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Parodication

I've been reading the Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh for much of this month. They are such interesting books, it is pleasant to find a long running series that doesn't decline as it goes on.

My review of Within Without by Jeff Noon

/review/show...

Whew, charged my way through the last of the Dante Valentine books. It had promise, interesting worldbuilding, great potential in characters...failed so badly in execution. I hated pretty every main character, I mean there's flawed, and then there's annoyingly neurotic and borderline psychotic (borderline...heck the main character has to keep holding her anger back so she doesn't murder her own friends...every couple of pages!!)

Switching to Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt, another in that series of modern retellings I've been borrowing from the library.

Finished Ragnarok, this was a nice one mixing the Norse tale with a little girl's experience in WWII

Now back to some fallen angels with Torment by Lauren Kate

My review of The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry

/review/show...

Explorer of the Endless Sea by Jack Campbell

I finished Doctor Whom: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Parodication. There were sone funny parts but a lot of the humour seemed forced. Disappointing, but it does fill the Humour slot in my Bingo. I have started Gerry Anderson's Fab Facts: Behind the Scenes of TV's Famous Adventures in the 21st Century, which will fill the Non-Fiction Bingo slot.

Finished reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Murder by Other Means by John Scalzi. I am reading The Burning White by Brent Weeks. I plan to read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin next.

The Earl Cain series and Beyond The Fantasy-the Yoshitaka Amano biography.

Earlier this month I read Artificial Condition by Martha Wells Book 2 in the Murderbot series.
Currently reading The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien...Currently in the midst of the Seige of Helm's Deep.

Books I've read this month:


What I'm currently reading:


What I'm planning to read next:

I finished Gerry Anderson's Fab Facts: Behind the Scenes of TV's Famous Adventures in the 21st Century. An entertaining book with some great photos and a lot of interesting facts that provide a fascinating look behind the scenes at Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows.

Finished Torment, I don't find it as bad as the reviews made me expect it to be. It's probably not a keeper but it's much better than the Dante Valentine stuff so maybe I've just seen worse so these don't seem so bad? :)

Up next is another in that series of retellings - Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams by Alexander McCall Smith I know almost nothing about Celtic mythology and never heard of Dream Angus so looking forward to learning something new (though a retelling isn't necessarily the best way to do that, oh well, like I wouldn't read Circe or the Penelopiad without first knowing The Odyssey)

Gary wrote: "Earlier this month I read Artificial Condition by Martha Wells Book 2 in the Murderbot series.
Currently reading The Two Towers by [author:J.R.R. Tolki..."

You can never go wrong with Tolkien, Gary!

I am currently reading the "Shadow and Bone" Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, which I am enjoying very much. An interesting take on magical powers set in a Russian-inspired world. A very different fantasy setting that I am digging a lot...

I read a few more short stories in the Rogues anthology - only 3 to go. I have started Great North Road. As is not uncommon for Peter Hamilton, it's a massive tome, and will fill the 900+ page slot in my Bingo.

Finished Dream Angus, like several others in that series, it was beautifully written while still short and sweet. And I learned a little new mythology I never heard of before :)

Now on to The Last Odyssey by James Rollins. It's a bit like Michael Crichton, Rollins books are not shelved in bookstores under SF or F, but has aspects of both...or at least tries to explain what appears as fantasy as SF but I'm not always convinced :) This one is kind of convenient because it ties in with all my Iliad/Odyssey readings, just a fluke that my friend passed this particular Rollins to me this year. Last year she gave me one about parasitic wasps *gack*

I’m in the middle of Sword of Rome by Douglas Jackson, and it’s the Year of Four Emperors in Rome. What a mess!

The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski

I'm currently reading Wizard of Earthsea and it looks it's cured my latest reading slump. I remember nothing about it from the first time I read it, which was AGES ago. Good stuff.

Noor, you will love Wizard of Earthsea. It's a special book that has stayed with me since I first read it back in 70s. �