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I am currently about halfway through Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro and about a third of the way through The Cobra by Frederick Forsyth. As soon as I am done with the Asaro book I will be diving into The Way of Kings by Sanderson.

Finished
Depressing stuff and quite emotional, considering that I have experienced some of this dismal world for 18 years (xUSSR). On the other hand it is very much up-to-date. People are getting brainwashed today. Yesterday, absolutely everybody believed in Global Warming and if you didn't you were an enemy. Then in a blink of an eye Global Warming mutated into Climate Change. Again, everybody believes in it. They don't understand it, but they believe in it. They don't question it. They no longer have an ability/brain power to do it. They blindly believe/trust someone who allegedly knows more. Some who have retained the ability to question are the enemies. How many scientist who dared to voice their disbelieve in Global Warming were booed down by their colleagues and had to quit?

It is but one example.
That’s life, isn’t it?

To cheer up myself I have started
although, I am not sure whether it is much more positive than 1984...

Two-thirds done with October and only one book officially read and reviewed! Sheesh, I must be getting lazy.

I finished Cryoburn (my review) yesterday. I almost wish it hadn't been such a quick read because there's no telling if another Miles Vorkosigan novel will get written or when.

I'm also almost finished with an anthology of Conan stories (see my status updates for mini-reviews of each one).

Late last night I started The Last Unicorn (my status updates), but only made it to page eight before nodding off (not because it wasn't riveting but more because I was up past my bed time). Since this is even shorter than Cryoburn, I anticipate finishing it before the weekend.

I still need to read Mansfield Park for a local book club gathering next week, so I may tackle that after The Last Unicorn.

Other online book club reads for this month and next can be found on my current-month book shelf.

I finished Cryoburn yesterday (or technically, early this morning) as well. I read through it rather rapidly, and I have a sense there were some loose ends and that it wasn't as tightly woven as usual for a Bujold novel. That's just a first impression and it may be wrong.

NOTE: Not-quite-spoilers follow for CryoBurn. As in I don't actually spoil anything, but if you think about what I'm saying it is POSSIBLE to read between the lines



I devoured Cryoburn yesterday like you guys (Jon and Nikki) -- I was expecting the ending (LMB has said in many interviews that that was the next step for the Saga) so it didn't wreck me like it might have. But I have to wonder, given that it WAS just the end of the novel, if LMB kind of chickened out. . . if making the book about that element was just too hard to write and so she decided to write another caper/procedural like Diplomatic Immunity and then did the bare minimum on the big CHANGE.

I mean, I know she was telegraphing what was going to happen throughout, and the whole theme of the book was mortality, but still. . . I didn't get a chance to GRIEVE dammit!

And TAURA!!! :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

I've started a thread for Cryoburn, here, in case anyone else wants to talk about it without having to be concerned about spoiling people who haven't read it yet. (And I've removed some of my more spoilerish comments to that thread.)

My copy of CryoBurn hasn't come yet, though I did read the first four chapters at Baen's website. I've been expecting "the change" for several books. It's what usually comes next for we humans...

I finally finished Anathem which was certainly a weird experience, although enjoyable at times. My review. I also finished listening to The Last Light of the Sun, the most enjoyable Kay listen so far - my review.

I'm now 40% through the audio version of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which I'm ambivalent about so far. I've started War for the Oaks, which I'm finding very predictable but has recently gotten more interesting.

After Anathem, I thought I needed a romance as it was so bloodless and emotionless, so I started Flowers from the Storm on my Nook, and have also proceeded with Mordant's Need, an edition with both of Donaldson's books about Mordant included.

I don't know why I'm reading so many books at one time. Perhaps in frustration after reading a few that are merely 'meh'.

Besserwisser: A Novel - Steve Anderson

I just finished Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker. It was pretty interesting reading a fantasy from an engineering perspective. I didn't like it quite as much as I did The Folding Knife, but it was pretty good.

Reading the rest of Lankhmar after last months' GR as well as Moab Is My Washpot

I just ploughed through Follies of Europe: Architectural Extravaganzas. If landscape architecture or silly buildings interest you at all, you should give it a look. I felt like I needed a frivolous distraction from all the serious books I've been reading lately.

I'm finishing up my reread of The Gathering Storm in preparation for Towers of Midnight. :)

Reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh for my offline book club

Currently reading Weight of Stone.

Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead: Frank Meeink's Story as Told to Jody M. Roy = Frank Meeink

and

The Malacca Conspiracy - Don Brown

just finished dick's Dr. Bloodmoney. excellent! one of his stronger novels.

So far I've only managed to get through A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift and The Midnight Mayor: Or The Inauguration of Matthew Swift. Still have a few more books to get to...

I finished The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, finally, thank goodness. Posted my thoughts on the thread here about the book. Pretty much 'meh' -- boring, long, dated technology, story predictable, lots of 'tell' instead of 'show'. I may have read some Heinlein in my high school days, really can't remember.

On the other hand, War for the Oaks, which was delightful, beautifully written, and I'm glad I read it. Too bad the author hasn't written more. It's a pioneer in the urban fantasy genre, and it's only too bad that later offerings are not half as good.

Continuing with Mordant's Need, which is looking up. I'd be farther along if the book weren't so heavy, lol. Also starting Keeper of the Keys in audio, #2 in Janny Wurts' Cycle of Fire trilogy recently released in audio. Am loving it. One of her early works and probably a good selection for those interested in trying her stuff as the Wars of Light and Shadow, her later series, is deep and slow but rewarding reading for those not afraid to delve into something with meat on its' bones.

Just finished The Blight by John Creasey, starting The Delicate Storm by Giles Blunt

Just began Little Big by John Crowley.

I'm re-reading Iorich. I'm struck again by what an ambitious little book it is. There's not much political fantasy out there that manages to avoid whacking you over the head with the political aspects.

Rusty wrote: "Just began Little Big by John Crowley."

Hope you love it as much as I did. One of my favorite fantasy works of all time.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote:
War for the Oaks, which was delightful, beautifully written, and I'm glad I read it. Too bad the author hasn't written more. It's a pioneer in the urban fantasy genre, and it's only too bad that later offerings are not half as good.

Have you tried:
Charles de Lint's Memory and Dream (Newford, #5), Someplace to Be Flying (Newford, #8), Trader (Newford, #7), Moonlight & Vines (Newford, #9), The Blue Girl.

Terri Windling's The Wood Wife.

Also check out the shared universe that it is The Essential Bordertown, Bordertown: Where Magic Meets Rock & Roll, Borderland, Life On The Borderand the novels Finder by Bull and Elsewhere and Nevernever by Will Shetterly.

Also look for Bull's more recent Territory . It's a western historical fantasy that takes place in Tombstone, AZ. The last time I looked at her website she was working on a sequel to this novel.

If you're going to read Newford stories, I recommend starting with the first book, Dreams Underfoot. (I was in love with that book for many years, strange as that may sound.)

The Bordertown anthologies can be difficult and expensive to find. (Well, to buy. I was able to get them through ILL initially, and later I kept an eye out for used copies at reasonable prices. The Essential Bordertown is still available new online, IIRC.) But the novels are usually fairly easy to track down. Incidentally, for anyone else who follows that series, Welcome to Bordertown (a new anthology) will be coming out next year.

At the moment, I've just started reading My Empire of Dirt: How One Man Turned His Big City Backyard into a Farm.

DRACULAS - J.A. Konrath, Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn, F. Paul Wilson, Jeff Strand

For De Lint books, there are a number available at ebookstack.com

Julia wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote:
War for the Oaks, which was delightful, beautifully written, and I'm glad I read it. Too bad the author hasn't written more. It's a pioneer in the urban fantasy genre, and ..."

No, am just now going to try Charles de Lint. I was referring to some of the 'urban fantasy' being published today, most of which is a trifle trashy.

The other day I finished Wintertide by Michael J. Sullivan. Not much seems to happen for much of the book, but the ending is quite strong though. One more book to go.

Drew wrote: "Rusty wrote: "Just began Little Big by John Crowley."

Hope you love it as much as I did. One of my favorite fantasy works of all time." Sorry Drew! I couldn't get into it so I'm returning it to the library for now anyway!

The Name of the Wind

I finally finished Labyrinth, which I didn't care for. It's #5 in a series I have really liked, but I think I wasn't in the right mood for at the time.

Now I'm reading the brand new All Clear by Connie Willis and I'm really excited about it!

Just finished The Way of Kings. Trying to figure out how to write a decent review for it now...

Ala wrote: "Just finished The Way of Kings. Trying to figure out how to write a decent review for it now..."

I liked it. The opening scenes had me a little concerned (being so reminiscent of the Mistborn saga), but it quickly settled into it's own style. I did find the pacing a bit odd - he abruptly abandoned the Shallan storyline for a long while - but that's a minor quibble.

I enjoyed it as well, it's just as good as his previous books.

It did, however, seem a bit on the wordy side. Also the random side stories with people who really added nothing to the main story(yet, at least) seemed to break the overall flow.

Those one-off characters will probably show up in the future of the series and be consequential, but having them here in this first book just seemed out of place.

Reading The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill. A rather fast-moving fantasy for the teen crowd. Quite good, really.

I've been reading Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Some of the narrative I can follow, then other times, I've have know idea what I'm reading. I'm bound and determined to finish it though.

I just finished Corvus by Paul Kearney. Another great book by one of my favorite authors. I'm looking forward to the third Macht book coming out next year.

I'm on a brief hiatus from Science Fiction though I have ElizABeth Moon's Trading in Danger and the High King of Montival by SM Stirling in my kindle queue.

Right now I'm re-reading (last time i red this I was in 10th grade) Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth and just finished Miracle at Belleau Wood by Alan Axelrod (about a battle that helped define and save the US Marine Corps)