Community Book club - What are you reading and what have you read recently

[Dandy]

I just finished A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark. You can read the entire short story here, on Tor.com for free.

It takes place in an alternate 1912 Egypt. Magic exists, due to someone unlocking the doorway between our world and another. Now Djinn, Angels, Ghuls, and Sorcerers are a thing. The story starts off as a murder investigation lead by Fatma el-Sha’arawi, an Investigator for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. As these things go, there is more to it than meets the eye.

I love the world the author has created. He has written a longer(though still novella length) story set in the same world, called The Haunting of Tram Car 015, that I'm really looking forward to picking up next.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

Fool's Assassin (The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy, #1)

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a rewa...

www.goodreads.com

Fool's Quest (The Fitz and the Fool, #2)

Acclaimed and bestselling author Robin Hobb continues h…

www.goodreads.com

Assassin's Fate (The Fitz and the Fool, #3)

The stunning conclusion to Robin Hobb’s Fitz and the Fool trilogy, which began with Fool’s Assassin and Fool’s Quest More than twenty ye...

www.goodreads.com

These are books #17-19 I finished for the year working towards my 25 book reading challenge.

Thought this trilogy started fairly slow, and while things happened and a lot was learned about characters, it wasn't until like halfway into the second book that it started actually feeling like an adventure. The ending was a great and satisfying way to close things up. I know there's obviously more they could continue on with the universe but I hope Robin Hobb decides she's done with this universe and lets it sit.

 

[Dandy]

I just finished The Institute by Stephen King this morning. Absolutely amazing book. I couldn't put it down.

I haven't read much King, which is strange because what I have read has been excellent. I loved both The Talisman and The Eyes of the Dragon and they are the only two other works of his I have read.

 

[Milena]

I finished the last 4 books in The Pillars of Reality series by Jack Campbell:
3. 4.
5. 6.

I really came to like this series, the first book was definitely the weakest one. It's a simple adventure where the good guys are clearly good and morally incorruptible, but the story is pretty interesting and Campbell's writing made me like almost all the main characters.

I'll finish listening to the short novella by Brandon Sanderson, Perfect state, and I'll probably continue with the The Legacy of Dragons series, a 3 book trilogy set years after the events of The Pillars of Reality.


And I'm almost done with book n. 10 from The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, ready to then jump right away to book n. 11 and waiting impatiently for the realease of the 12th book, Sword of Kings, later this year.
Nothing much to say, I love this series. I didn't think he would top The Warlord Chronicles for me, but he might have done just that with Uhtred's epic tale.

 

[bobnowhere]

Went to a large charity 2nd hand sale on the weekend and picked up book 4 and 5 of The Expanse, Cibola Burns and Nemesis Gates. Three Iain M Banks books, Look to Windward, Player of Games and Surface Details along with a Dick short story collection.

 

[Stevey]

Finished Nemesis while on holiday.
Started out slow but was really good by the end.

Started The First Heretic

 

[Li Kao]

Unfortunately things turned out like usual and I dropped Break the bodies, haunt the bones. There was some great weird vibes, but I got bored
Now tempted to try Vorrh by Brian Catling. Looks weird and intriguing enough.

 

[Stevey]

Update: The First Heretic is my favourite Horus Heresy novel so far, after the first trilogy and Fulgrim

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Rereading Zero History by William Gibson and i need to check out what he's released in the last few years before i go on my James P. Blaylock binge and reread most of his novels after about a decade. Can't wait!

 

[Li Kao]

Wondering if I shouldn't try a Barker novel, after having read the Books of Blood and Hellraiser.
Thee man has a generally poorer reputation in this length format, but as already said, I have read his short works.
It's a little disturbing that he is the only writer whose books I have regularly been able to finish in recent years. Sometimes I wonder if the lost of loved ones haven't left me damaged. On a more positive side, it could be because the man's work is exactly where I put my line in the sand horror-wise these days. Gory and horrible enough to keep me on my toes, but not trauma inducing.

I'm eyeing Secret Show, as I read it's the second, if brief, apparition of Harry d'Amour.

 

[ZKenir]

reading this

 

[Li Kao]

Started Smoke & Mirrors by Gaiman. I dropped it years ago but since then I also read and absolutely loved Fragile Things, so let's go for a retry.
I... still don't like it
But I'm near the start so we will see.

The introductory short felt underwhelming at first but haunted me for some time, so there is that. But then you go on with Chivalry, which is not very good. Then The Price, a short I fondly remembered but that did not felt that good upon a re-read. Ending is very quick, like chivalry, not that satisfying. Still good though don't get me wrong.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

Ah, forgot about this thread, Need to update.

I did start a goodreads, too!

 

[BlueOdin]

Still reading A Little Hatred. Not in a mood to read much lately because I play lots of RPGs currently but it’s good so far. Doesn't grab me as much as The First Law trilogy but it’s only the first book.
Really like the aspect that it is fantasy world that is currently in the beginning of industrialization. At least for me the first time reading something like that. Are there other book series that deal with that?

 

[BlueOdin]

Finally finished A Little Hatred. Took me a bit longer than I expected. But I really like it. Like all the PoV characters, some familiar faces pop up and it is nice seeing them through other eyes. Ends with quite a few strong and interesting moments. Excited for the rest of the trilogy.

 

[Dandy]

I'm listening to I'll Be Gone in the Dark on audiobook right now. Really good.

I like audiobooks but can only listen to non-fiction for some reason. If I listen to fiction I miss too much.

 

[ZKenir]

 

[Ascheroth]

I'm about to finish the first Mistborn in audiobook format.

And am about to finish reading Renegade Immortal, which is probably going to end up as my favorite Xianxia so far (last 2 chapters will be translated by tomorrow).
Outside of some parts in the beginning (I'm talking maybe 100-200 chapter range) it has been a consistently amazing ride, and considering the entire thing is 2088 chapters long (probably around 4million words?) that is one hell of an achievement.

 

[Hektor]

Gonna read the left one first cuz i also ordered the Junji Ito Manga adaption

 

[Li Kao]

I finished Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman yesterday, and while there was a pretty steep quality step up in the second part of the book, I would still use the term 'shit'. But at the same time I saw that the French edition content doesn't correspond 100% with the original English one, and that this original contains some of my most beloved Gaiman stories. It was worth pointing that out.

I now started Shining by King. It's fucking really difficult to not have mental images of the movies when reading the book, that's annoying me.
After a few pages I was reminded how King's writing style is mundane, which is also a strong point, people are really human, relatable.
Not really interested in 'reading the movie', but pretty curious about the left out parts and to see if King is able to approach the same world building he achieved in Salem. Translation, I hope the lore is good, there is so much potential in the place.

 

[Eferis]

Gonna read the left one first cuz i also ordered the Junji Ito Manga adaption

No Longer Human is pretty amazing, I read it when I was 18 or so and loved it. I hope you're enjoying it as well.

As for me, I'm currently reading this one, I'll watch the movie by Yuasa when I'm done.

 

[Li Kao]

As for me, I'm currently reading this one, I'll watch the movie by Yuasa when I'm done.

I really like this cover. What is it about ?

 

[Stevey]

Still working my way through the Horus Heresy, nearly finished Age Of Darkness, which is an anthology of short stories.

 

[Dandy]

I struggle with fiction audiobooks(I lose track of the plot), so I'm listening to a lot of non-fiction at work now. It's pretty interesting.

 

[Hektor]

No Longer Human is pretty amazing, I read it when I was 18 or so and loved it. I hope you're enjoying it as well.

Yea i got done reading this a few days ago, it's incredibly well written (and translated) in terms of prose, the themes are dark but real and even to a degree relatable, i enjoyed it a lot, in so far you can enjoy someones tragic biography.

Also got this delivered just now:

 

[ZKenir]

 

[CthulhuSars]

Seeing all the Warhammer books makes me want to drop the Neo-Freudian reading list and have a good romp in the 40k Universe.

 

[Li Kao]

I wish I still have as much working brain cell as in my teens. This must be interesting.

 

[OSatan]

Alan Moore - Jerusalem

Done with the legendary 10 minutes of time pass in 1 billion words part. It took me checks the top post of the page almost a year lol.

Pretty cool actually nice and interesting concept of the afterlife.

 

[Li Kao]

Progressing little by little on 'At the Mountains of Madness'. I already dropped it once several years ago and trying to correct that and resume my Lovecraft reading. I love Lovecraft, but this is very, very boring. I guess it's a big moment for the development of the mythos, but damn

 

[Stevey]

Finished this which was really good.

Now on to this which is also really good

 

[Swenhir]

So I've given The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss a shot and I simply can't read one more page. Either the protagonist or, worse, the author's narcissism, is so unbearable my eyes have permanently rolled back into my skull. Everything is self-aggrandizing, everything is always about him being better than others to the detriment of the story. I don't even care what happens next, both because it's getting real predictable, and because there is a limit to my enjoyment of having an ego rubbed in my face page after page.

So I took up the Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind and I have to say, so far so good! It's tropey, but in a Tolkienesque, very visually evocative sort of way. It helps that I'm very fond of the kind of environments the book opens with and that both protagonists are endearing and gifted with a high degree of, for a lack of better words, emotional intelligence. It doesn't read that easily and I find myself learning all over again the fifty different ways to describe a tree but as a result it also feels vivid and leaves a lasting, deep impression. Again, Tolkien is the one author I find myself drawn to when trying to compare this one. I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[Li Kao]

Shadows over Innsmouth
Same bad impressions as At the Mountains of Madness. Long, very long.
I can't even deduct that as a rule I don't like long Lovecraft, because other works from him are genuine classics (Colour, Dunwych, etc.)
Maybe the more he tackles the mythos head on, the less I like him ? I probably am more a fan of his more pulpy work. IDK (The dog, Forgotten City)

And while I tend to be a racist Lovecraft apologist for various reasons (time of writing, I'm surely privileged, it's nowhere near omnipresent etc.) I must admit that Shadows stinks quite hard. Uncomfortable to read.

On a lighter note, though how much can you smile at racism, not much I suppose : what the hell does Lovecraft have against Polynesians ? Were they the racist target du jour in the 30's ? I swear it's not the first time he talks about this population as more or less godless cannibals. I don't know, so many possible targets, but Polynesians ! Do you understand motherfucker ? POLYNESIANS !

 

[Ascheroth]

Mother of Learning | Royal Road

Zorian is a teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. He is a driven and irritable young man, consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, whom he resents for...

www.royalroad.com

I binged through it in a single week and it's apparently around 3000 pages if you were to convert it into regular book format.
That's probably enough as a recommendation, right
(Also, it's completed)

 

[Madventure]

I figured I would mention this here:

Tor (The book publisher) started up their book of the month club again and will let you download a free book each month and to kick it off again is starting it off with
Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings

All you have to do is put in your email and you're pretty much set but it's only available for a day? It just sort of slipped my mind until i got the email reminding me, I believe it's still available to sign up for and get so if you have an interest go for it! If it doesn't they'll have more books in future months!

Homepage - Reactor

ebookclub.tor.com

 

[Stevey]

Just started Know No Fear last night.

 

[Swenhir]

I figured I would mention this here:

Tor (The book publisher) started up their book of the month club again and will let you download a free book each month and to kick it off again is starting it off with
Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings

All you have to do is put in your email and you're pretty much set but it's only available for a day? It just sort of slipped my mind until i got the email reminding me, I believe it's still available to sign up for and get so if you have an interest go for it! If it doesn't they'll have more books in future months!

Homepage - Reactor

ebookclub.tor.com

I had no idea, thank you!

Edit : Limited to US and Canada

 

[Gevin]

I had no idea, thank you!

Edit : Limited to US and Canada

I'm in South America and could download just fine, I wasn't asked for my location anywhere. I also own this book physically and I haven´t touched it

 

[Li Kao]

Lovecraft reading :
Finished The Dreams in the Witch House, still a little boring at times but good ending and some solid moments
And chained with a full reading of The Thing on the Doorstep, too derivative of Charles Dexter Ward maybe, but also good

Still need to read The Shadow out of Time / The Haunter of the Dark / History and Chronology of the Necronomicon and I will have finished the main body of the Mythos (not that big).
Will just have to read the three millions other HPL and friends shorts

Early appreciation spoiler - while I have serious doubts about HPL strength in the long form, and some elements indeed stink, he didn't steal his reputation. An incredible creative mind. How often can you say about an author that he expanded the genre he wrote in ?

---

Do they still make Kindle or other ebook readers with eInk displays ? I'm toying with the idea of seriously trying that, I spend far too much time on a tablet and it kills my sleep cycle.

 

[Dandy]

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence. It's the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world as the Book of the Ancestor series. It takes place in the icy North, with the main character being a member of one of the tribes. I'm only a few chapters in, but am liking it a lot.

 

[Swenhir]

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence. It's the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world as the Book of the Ancestor series. It takes place in the icy North, with the main character being a member of one of the tribes. I'm only a few chapters in, but am liking it a lot.

I didn't know Mark Lawrence, I'll give the Book of the Ancestor a shot. It seems pretty interesting, thanks!

 

[Li Kao]

Completed what the editor of my anthology felt was the Cthulhu Mythos main corpus, so I felt the need for some change. I live and breath supernatural but it begins to lose effectiveness at high dose.

So I took a big bet and began Consider Phlebas by Iaian M. Banks. I usually only like SF from far away, and the fucker is so huge, reading percentage is barely growing. My mind is screaming, what am I doing, why aren't there monsters that go bump in the night, buttttt... it's not bad for now.
The characters are not as interesting as the greater picture, seem to be a decent variety of species, things are not black and white.

Cons ? Sci-fi jargon for the hell of it, weak characters, not easy to read because it's very much on the 'I will throw winks and tidbits and explain things later' way of writing.

 

[OSatan]

Completed what the editor of my anthology felt was the Cthulhu Mythos main corpus, so I felt the need for some change. I live and breath supernatural but it begins to lose effectiveness at high dose.

So I took a big bet and began Consider Phlebas by Iaian M. Banks. I usually only like SF from far away, and the fucker is so huge, reading percentage is barely growing. My mind is screaming, what am I doing, why aren't there monsters that go bump in the night, buttttt... it's not bad for now.
The characters are not as interesting as the greater picture, seem to be a decent variety of species, things are not black and white.

Cons ? Sci-fi jargon for the hell of it, weak characters, not easy to read because it's very much on the 'I will throw winks and tidbits and explain things later' way of writing.

By the way you wrote about Lovecraft you def are going to suffer Banks. Those cons [UWSL][/UWSL]

 

[Li Kao]

By the way you wrote about Lovecraft you def are going to suffer Banks. Those cons [UWSL][/UWSL]

I stand by the last two. Keep in mind that I'm just at 10% but yeah the world strike me as more interesting than the characters.
By suffering, are you implying that it will be slow ?

 

[OSatan]

I stand by the last two. Keep in mind that I'm just at 10% but yeah the world strike me as more interesting than the characters.
By suffering, are you implying that it will be slow ?

I was acknowledging your cons lol, they just stay there so you will suffer.

 

[Li Kao]

Caved in to my old habits and resumed reading my ginormous Lovecraft anthology. Started the Friends section with the 'Space Eaters' by Frank Belknap Long.
Read in two sessions. First one was pretty incredible, a solid horror story with fog, woods, isolated cabin, eldritch horrors that can't really be described, and a great meta as the secondary protag if Lovecraft himself !
Second sessions was when shit hit the fan, when the further you read the more you deeply understand how continuing the story was an error on the author's part. Basically the shit direct to video sequel. Think Ring 3 level of 'follow up'.

I just stumbled upon this nice way of 'reading' it, seem well made. And funnily enough the first part end exactly where everybody should have called it a day.


Next is 'The Hounds of Tindalos'. I really hope FB Long can continue to impress me as he did in the first part of Eaters.

 

[Linkark07]

Last week I finished The Analyst by John Katzenbach. Only read it because I'm in a literary club and it is this month's book. The first half is a drag to read; had to force myself and skip pages too. The second half is quite good, but it is a shame you have to endure such a slog before the good part begins.

Now finally reading Leaviathan Wakes. Still not feeling the two POV characters, but the setting seems interesting and it has been an enjoyable read. Also, I have read praises of The Expanse, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Stevey]

Waiting for book 20 to arrive (Primarchs Anthology) figured I'd start book 21- Fear To Tread.

 

[Li Kao]

Still plucking at my big Lovecraft integral (?), still in the Friends of HPL shorts section. Uh, not that I will soon be elsewhere , given the size of the thing.
The Hounds of Tindalos by Frank Belknap Long
Talion by Clark Ashton Smith
The Black Stone by Robert Howard
The Thing on the Roof by Robert Howard

Then as I was a little tired of treading the same ground again and again so I... put some more friends of Lovecraft books (Blackwood, Machen etc.) in my Kindle. And resumed reading The Weird anthology by Jeff Vandermeer. I may have a problem, ok ?

(already read but good shit) The Screaming Skull by F. Marion Crawford
Casting the Runes by M.R. James
How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles by Lord Dunsany
The Man in the Bottle by Gustav Meyrink

Not sure how interested one can be about my opinion on each one, so let's make it quick.

Belknap Long was a let down, how you can miss a story titled The FUCKING Hounds of FUCKING Tindalos is beyond me. Unremarkable.
Robert Howard was anecdotal on The Black Stone but more effective with The Thing on the Roof. But as The Thing retreads a lot of elements from The Stone, I can't praise it too much. Talion was good stuff, I'm interested in reading more Ashton Smith. Nothing jaw dropping, you can see things coming a mile away, but sufficiently good and macabre.
Then for The Weird. Casting the Runes is, well weird (the anthology didn't steals its name). But the second part is nowhere near as good as the first.
Nuth by Dunsany was FUCKING weird, I loved it.
Then Meyrink does a macabre story without supernatural. Effective but quite anecdotal. It's there, it's good, but very forgettable.

I hate myself for not being able to read something bigger than a short story and being so entranced by Weird fiction. Did you catch that I like Weird fiction ? Ok, guilty as charged, I may like it. A bit

Next - The Dissection by Georg Heym

 

[Kyougar]

Mother of Learning | Royal Road

Zorian is a teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. He is a driven and irritable young man, consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, whom he resents for...

www.royalroad.com

I binged through it in a single week and it's apparently around 3000 pages if you were to convert it into regular book format.
That's probably enough as a recommendation, right
(Also, it's completed)

I love that Novel.
Have been recommending it every chance I got since it started releasing on Fictionpress. It is first on my list of favorite Webnovels/Amateur Novels, and I have read several dozen of them (only counting the ones over 100k words)
Would love a normal fantasy adventure sequel now that the time-loop is over.


Which reminds me, I wanted to share my thoughts on different amateur and webnovels I read, but I don't know if I should do it in this thread or make a new one.