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Adrian wrote: "This will doubtless make me unpopular but I just finished Ender's Game and was pretty disappointed, given all the hype.

Not sure whether we're allowed to link our reviews here so feel free to dele..."

I agree with the disappointments you have with the story, especially having kids save the Universe. Seems a bit far fetched if you think about it.
I just read it last year for the first time and I loved it...I think I was able to allow the story to be unbelievable because it's set in a made-up time and place where anything can happen.

Yes, all sci-fi and fantasy invites you to suspend your disbelief but it has to happen in a way that makes sense in accordance with the rules of the story.

Ender's Game stretched that suspension too thin for my taste. I still kinda enjoyed it but even if he'd made Ender 11 or 12 at the start, instead of 6, then maybe it would have been more feasible. Would have enabled the author to deal with puberty also which would've added an interesting layer to the story.

Just finished CJ Cherryh's Cyteen. thankfully, it's the last huge book (680 pages) (AFAIK) in my hugo quest. great book, now, on to Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep, followed by Deepness in the Sky. I am guessing it's the last big book, but I haven't yet received Clark's Fountains of Paradise nor David Brin's Uplift war (both were out of print, had to buy them used, still yet to arrive), and I am guessing Lois McMaster Bujold's 3 winners nor Martha Wells Network Effect are that big page-wise, but those are for March purchases.

As for Ender's Game, I did like it (I guess like the rest of the herd!), was a little bit disappointed at first with the sequel 'Speaker for the Dead', but I got over it, it still stayed with the physics of that universe (thank you Einstein and your Special Relativity for making that happen). I've not read any others in OSC's universe though. I can no longer speak with certainty on Ender's Game, it's been years since I read it, but I did read SFTD not too long ago, I thought it worthy of winning the Hugo.

I finished the second book in Garth Nix Old Kingdom Series 4 Books Collection Set. I'm not really enjoying these that much. Maybe necromancy is a turn off for me (I didn't like Gideon the Ninth that much either). Plus book two (view spoiler)[really doesn't end (hide spoiler)].

Still reading Cash Crash Jubilee which is still interesting me unlike the Nix books (I will survive)

And A Darker Shade of Magic = it's OK, but not something I would be reading normally (it was free from Tor).

Plus Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy which is part literary discussion, part short stores, part excerpts from novels with a smidge of poetry tossed in. Haven't reach a short story so far and I'm 8% into the book.

Yes! Minor Mage has some dark content, but I think still quite accessible for younger readers and a great starting point for conversations about how adults can fail children or what it's like for kids when adults don't listen to them. I enjoyed the book for those themes as much as for the creativity and humor :)

Thanks, Stephanie!

I finished Cage of Souls in two days which wasn't bad for a 600+ page book. I really enjoyed it especially the world building and the humour. It was interesting to read people's reviews. Apparently you either loved it or loathed it!
My review: /review/show...

my February reads: (100% audiobooks)
SFFBC Bookshelf: 3.5 stars Rosewater, 4.5 stars The Echo Wife
YA: 3.5 stars I Hunt Killers
Middle Grade: 3.5 stars Daughter of the Deep, 3 stars Tiger Honor
Other SFF: 3 stars Dreamlands (2 novellas by author of Mexican Gothic)
Expect to finish very soon: Black Sun, The Sorceress

This past week I’ve been busier than usual and a bit stressed, and I’ve resorted to suspense and crime novels in the evenings.

Ocean Prey. I’ve been reading Sandford for years. His main characters are smart, tough, humorous Minnesota cops, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers; both appear in this one. The books tend to feature a little more violent death than I like, and one of the recent Davenport (“�� Prey��) novels involved a serial killer so repellent that I gave up early on. Also, in the wake of the George Floyd thing I am not quite so keen on Minnesota cops as good guys. This book however is a fairly unobjectionable crime thriller set in Florida. The bad guys are mafia drug smugglers. The Virgil Flowers character doesn’t display his personality as much as in other books; he operates mainly as an expert diver, engaged in finding packets of dope on the ocean floor. Not bad if you like this kind of thing. Three stars.

Fatal Remedies is very different. It dates from the 1999 and is the 9th novel in Donna Leon’s series of books set in Venice and featuring detective Guido Brunetti. I just discovered Leon a couple of years ago and I’m reading the series in sequence. Brunetti is a very civilized, attractive character, married to an aristocratic literature professor; they have a good marriage and two nice children. The Venetian local colur is credible and interesting, at least to me (I don’t know Italy at all.) The stories tend to involve crooks in places of power, corruption and social ills. Leon writes beautiful, subtle scenes of characters in dialogue. These books always give me pleasure. Four stars.

Clouds of Witness. Another very different book, the second of the famous “golden age�� Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. Back in the ��70s I believe I saw a few of the tv dramatizations starring Ian Carmichael, but I think the only other one of the novels I’ve actually read is the untypical Gaudy Night, which is as much a sort of feminist discussion of the options open to intelligent educated women in interwar Britain as it is a mystery story. I found “Clouds of Witness�� irritating in some ways. Quite a bit of the dated satire failed to amuse and I don’t find the Wimsey character charming. I also didn’t much care for the way class and privilege are presented. However the book is a good whodunnit and intelligent and sometimes witty, and has survived as a genre classic. Four stars in spite of my reservations.

Vote for our April group books! :)

My review of Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

/review/show...

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart


Time-travel sci-fi mystery. January Cole is chief of security at the Paradox Hotel where time travelers stay before and after their trips. Now there's a dead man in room 526 and only January can see him. Probably more sci-fi than mystery but this book is written so well that I was fascinated at every page. Like nothing else you'll read this year; deserving of all the rave reviews. 5 stars, highest recommendation.

The Queen of Wind and Sunlight by Morgan Cole

A wartime fantasy about a young queen getting killed and the adventure the queen's hand, Isonder, undertakes to find her twin that was hidden away after their birth. My ARC review of it is here. I really enjoyed it!

I'm continuing my First Law run with The Heroes.

I didn't care for the last standalone as much as the original trilogy, but this book has me in my happy place again.

I just read Wilder Girls, by Rory Power a work of so-called "Dark Academia" (horror that takes place in an academic setting). It's very dystopian with lots of body horror, but otherwise, not too horrible for this avoider of horror literature. I actually liked it a lot.

I got The Way of Kings, Part 2 from the library, finally! Hard when a book's been cut in the middle, and you feel like you've taken a breath you can't finish. (😁 A slight variation on letting out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding).

Otherwise, it's all non-fiction at the moment.

working on Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe - it's not too bad, I won't be continuing this series

and still trying to get through The Old Kingdom Collection: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel. This series containing all 4 books makes me with there was a thread for books that people keep recommending to you and you finally cave and buy them only to find that now you're sorry you listened to them as this book is totally not your cup of tea.

LOL, Chessie!!

What a ride! just finished Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep

now, on to Arthur C Clark's Fountains of Paradise. Then I'll go back to Vinge's Deepness in the Sky.

Yes, Marc, that one’s amazing! The aliens were especially inventive.

I started The Galaxy, and the Ground Within yesterday, but was a bit too tired to read more than the first two chapters. But I do look forward to diving in more fully.

Convenience Store Woman: a mostly funny, at times mildly troubling short book about a woman whose calling is being a convenience store worker. If only everybody else around her understood that! The audiobook is great and has immediately been added to the "re-listen to relax" list. (review)

Stephanie wrote: "I am currently at the library and reading 'welcome to the donkey house." Rereading harry potter and the order of the phoenix and only started the tale of two cities.... wish me luck."

Good luck :)

I've just started Martha Wells The Cloud Roads Raksura series. I really love Murderbot, so I thought I'd have a look at her fantasies.

I'm enjoying them so far, but I think I do prefer Murderbot on the whole.

Same Leonie. I read the first one on a plane going to Italy years ago. It was good but it’s no Murderbot.

Stephanie wrote: "I am currently at the library and reading 'welcome to the donkey house." Rereading harry potter and the order of the phoenix and only started the tale of two cities.... wish me luck."

Luck

Getting near the end of Skyward and already have the sequel on my Kindle, but going to read Sons of Sol by Kevin Mcnally first and might get The Actual Star and catch up with the group read.

I read multiple books at once but try to make them different genres. These are my SciFi reads.

Finished Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. This is historical fiction, telling the story of the accusation and trial of Johannes Kepler's mother for witchcraft. It is based on real events and the author used some of the documents in her research to set up the story. It is a tale of lies, small-town jealousy, and poor judgment that will seem familiar because they are universal. That said, it was a dry read. I never became invested in any of the characters and none of the relationships between characters felt deep. The relationship between his mother and her cow may have been the deepest in the story. One point I did not like was the use of the word "okay" in dialog from characters in seventeenth century Germany. That didn't work for me. I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction that hews close to reality and of the period.

Colin wrote: "The relationship between his mother and her cow may have been the deepest in the story."

LOL.

That must have been a memorable relationship, Colin!

I loved Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. This is basically a one-sitting read, both short and one I didn't want to put down. The prose is casual, witty, and fun. This is a coming-of-age story, but it is also about shedding (and shredding) stereotypes. I would recommend this for anyone from older MG, through YA, to just plain old (like me). Best read with a sense of humor ready to hand.

I am listening to Primary Inversion, by Catherine Asaro. It’s the first book published of the Skolian Empire series. I read 2 other books which are actually internal chronological prequels years ago. I really enjoyed them and am enjoying this one quite a bit. Asaro writes SF Romance, so if you don’t like a little SF with your Romance you might want to skip these. That said, the motivations for the romantic elements are always logical, within the world, and very realistic.

Colin wrote: "I loved Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. This is basically a one-sitting read, both ..."

I've heard this one is good from multiple sources. Perhaps it's time I read it. If only I didn't have 40 other books vying for my immediate attention.

Stephanie wrote: "I've been reading a lot recently. I finished:
The Hands of the Emperor - Absolutely loved it, searching for someone to discuss it with me, and excited to read more by this author. ..."
I just finished that and loved it. One of the recent reviews described it as "competence porn" - for people who love watching competent people be competent. It was long and I needed a breather part way through, but it was lovely, and warm, and friendly, and amusing, and immensely observant and very inventive. I really felt for Cliopher and the Emperor and what they wanted as compared to what they had. Wow. Definitely going to read more by Victoria Goddard

I liked Minor Mage and have re-read it several times. The sarky armadillo is great. Yes, it is about kids being let down by adults who should know better. Not to mention the down side of magic and a lovely take on a rain spell.

SPOILER
(view spoiler)[ I especially love it that the minor mage's mother is a mercenary, who was away at the start of the book when the village insisted the minor mage undertake a long and dangerous journey to help them, and at the end of the book there is a bit of a hint of her being very able to do some arse kicking. (hide spoiler)]

We have a thread for all things T. Kingfisher, where you can praise armadillos and other great things! ^_^

Colin wrote: "Finished Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. This is historical fiction, telling the story of the accusation and trial of Johannes Kepler's mother for witchcraft..One point I did not like was the use of the word "okay" in dialog from characters in seventeenth century Germany.."

Yes. There must surely have been some period equivalent of OK in most languages - I suppose depending on formality but using OK itself is very jarring. I do remember seeing a documentary about Bach and the comment on how the formality of the greetings as the congregation assembled in the church would have been over-riding the music that Bach was playing so I guess I am arguing that a formal German society wouldn't have even used an OK equivalent.

Carro wrote: "I just finished that and loved it.

So glad to hear someone else loved it! If you want to do any BR with her books, let me know. I'm planning to read a lot of her this year!

I think I saw that review, too, and I agreed. Love reading books about competent people :) It was also refreshing to read about book whose main characters weren't under thirty. (I like books about younger people, too, but I love variety even more.)

I just finished The Obelisk Gate and loved it. Such brilliant worldbuilding, characters, everything. I'm moving on to The Stone Sky now. I'm also reading David Mogo Godhunter and enjoying it so far.

Stephanie wrote: "Carro wrote: "I just finished that and loved it.

So glad to hear someone else loved it! If you want to do any BR with her books, let me know. I'm planning to read a lot of her this year!

I think..."
Tried to message you but account says you're not accepting messages.

Redshirts is a must-read for anyone who watched Star Trek, IMO

Colin wrote: "I loved Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. This is basically a one-sitting read, both ..."

I thought both Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth were great fun! I’d like to read Floralinda too.

Karin wrote: "Redshirts is a must-read for anyone who watched Star Trek, IMO"

Agree with you, Karin. If you have watched Star Trek - the original Star Trek - this book is hilarious.

Daniel wrote: "Colin wrote: "I loved Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. This is basically a one-sitti..."

I read Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower last month. Really enjoyed it. Been reading a few fractured fairytales lately. Alix E Harrow has written one too A Spindle Splintered that is a take on Sleeping Beauty and she's releasing A Mirror Mended soon. It has the Queen from Snow White in it.

I enjoyed Harrow's first two books (The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches), so thank you for the recommendation on A Spindle Splintered. I'm putting on the TBRS (to be read soon) list.

This is really a "niche" read: Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918by Bruce Gudmundsson. The author is on the faculty of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. This is a detailed assessment of the evolution of the stosstruppen structure and tactics, the lineal ancestor of today's fire team. This is well-written and very readable for fairly dense material. It is carefully annotated and referenced (note that many original sources are in German). The one drawback is that the maps are poor, too simplistic and not helpful. Recommended for readers who like military SF and historical fiction with a military focus.

Haley wrote: "After that I'm going to pick up The Fifth Season or The City We Became. I've heard a lot of good things about N.K. Jemisin!
...."

VERY different books. Jemisin is amazingly talented and one of my fave authors. The City We Became might be more interesting to people who have at least some familiarity with NYC but Ive only been there a couple of times and enjoyed it. Fifth Season was one of the best book I'd read in several years at the time.

I just started the horror comedy Clowns vs. Spiders by Jeff Strand. I'm really excited. It's already hilarious, doesn't insult my intelligence, and so far, the author hasn't resorted to crudeness for laughs.

Just finished Shards of Earth. Very good space operaish book completely different in style from the Children of Time books. Adding Cage of Souls to the TBR pile.

I just read, and liked, Sleeping Giants - 4 stars!

Thomas wrote: "This time I've finished another Witcher novel. Baptism of Fire was so much better than my last experience in this universe. I'll definitely be reading the last of Sapkowski's novels..."

Thomas, people in the know have warned against the very last novel (Season of Storms, I believe, which is a prequel). It was published much, much later and Sapkowski was not pleased about "having to" write it. It's apparently much different and inconsistent with the rest.