Reading SF in April 2026

[chitman13]

Finished listening to The Architect by C.S. Garrand, second book in the Humanity's Leap series. Really enjoyed this one much like the first. It's got some cool ideas and the story moves things along nicely. I'll definitely be getting to the next book soon.

Still progressing through Hamilton's The Helium Sea, but as it's a reading one rather than audio it's taking time because I don't have much time to sit down and read :/

 

[mylinar]

I can understand why some wouldn't like it, but it was a big win for me - mind-bending, creepy and with a dose of cosmic horror, it was refreshingly different. Will be re-reading down the track.

Maybe I should try a reread, it must have has some impact on me because I dreamed about it last night. Not a common occurrence with books for me.

 

[Diosces]

Matt Dinniman's next book in the awesome Dungeon Crawler Carl series comes out 1st week in May.
He's also got a book signing/discussion Mid-may in Philly, Pa that I will be attending.....Sooo I'm re-reading the entire series, currently at book 3: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook.
The iron tangle level in book 3 is a very confusing concept and layout, which Matt states in the foreword-however you don't need to fully understand it to enjoy the book. But gonna do my best to try and grasp and visualize the mechanics and layout. Wish me luck, and
Goddamnit donut!

Coming in May

 

[Raf]

Matt Dinniman's next book in the awesome Dungeon Crawler Carl series comes out 1st week in May.
He's also got a book signing/discussion Mid-may in Philly, Pa that I will be attending.....Sooo I'm re-reading the entire series, currently at book 3: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook.
The iron tangle level in book 3 is a very confusing concept and layout, which Matt states in the foreword-however you don't need to fully understand it to enjoy the book. But gonna do my best to try and grasp and visualize the mechanics and layout. Wish me luck, and
Goddamnit donut!

Coming in May

My wife and I bogged down in listening to "The Inevitable Ruin". The audio of Donut got a bit shrill and we never finished. I read the book. But I also think the faction war scenario got away from the author and, for me, it was one of the weakest books in the series.

 

[jonnyeasy]

currently reading the Syntax of forgetting by Anders Null, about a wortld where vibe coders grew up and noone can debug anymore. The AI systems here aren’t evil; but tidy, plausible and relentlessly convenient, and that’s what it makes the quiet failures so chilling. What stuck with me most was the way ordinary, well‑meaning people talk themselves into trusting “the system” one small compromise at a time, until nobody’s left who remembers how to read what the machine is actually doing.

The quote I can’t get out of my head:

“In 2025 this had been called vibe coding writing software by describing what you wanted to a machine and trusting the output without reading it. It had been a joke, then a method, then a culture, and then, by 2038, the only culture. Not understanding the code was not a limitation you overcame. It was the credential. The people in this room did not build with AIDEN. They described to AIDEN, and AIDEN built, and they looked at what AIDEN built and said yes, that is what I wanted, and this was called building, the way a person who commissions a house and never visits the site is called a homeowner technically accurate, structurally uninvolved. In a certain light not the light in the room, which was golden, and golden light forgives everything what was happening was not complicated. A civilisation was applauding its own lobotomy.”

 

[Hobbit]

So here's a disappointment: halfway through, I have stalled on The Faith of Beasts by James SA Corey. It probably does pick up in the second half, but I got to the point where I didn't care. Characters that were OK in the first became more unpleasant in the second, and it was just unremittingly depressing. It's never a good thing when you find yourself wanting to read other books, rather than the one you've started reading.

This probably means that it will be an award winner next year!

Moving on....

 

[Westy]

So here's a disappointment: halfway through, I have stalled on The Faith of Beasts by James SA Corey. It probably does pick up in the second half, but I got to the point where I didn't care. Characters that were OK in the first became more unpleasant in the second, and it was just unremittingly depressing. It's never a good thing when you find yourself wanting to read other books, rather than the one you've started reading

That's a bit sad, sorry to hear. Will be getting to it on my Kindle during the week; hopefully I fare better!

This probably means that it will be an award winner next year!

 

[Hobbit]

That's a bit sad, sorry to hear. Will be getting to it on my Kindle during the week; hopefully I fare better!

Yeah: I was surprised myself, but I picked it up to carry on and just wasn't engaging with it. I do hope you fare better, Westy!

In the meantime I enjoyed this much better: The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee. Corporate shenanigans on a colonised planet, with samurai as executioners and bodyguards. Review to follow.

 

[Fryan]

It's never a good thing when you find yourself wanting to read other books, rather than the one you've started reading.

Never a good feeling! I usually try to give a book 50-100 pages before a I drop it, but sometimes if the first few pages aren’t clicking I’ll just set them aside for later for when the feeling is right.

This happened recently with Wolfe’s Fifth Head of Cerberus and Crowley’s Little, Big.

Swapped those out for Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, which I’m really enjoying.

 

[blailock]

Never a good feeling! I usually try to give a book 50-100 pages before a I drop it, but sometimes if the first few pages aren’t clicking I’ll just set them aside for later for when the feeling is right.

This happened recently with Wolfe’s Fifth Head of Cerberus and Crowley’s Little, Big.

Swapped those out for Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, which I’m really enjoying.

I have been looking forward to reading Rendezvous with Rama for a little while now. I first read it over 40 years ago and loved it. That and Foundation are at the top of my Classics that I want to reread list.

 

[Fryan]

I have been looking forward to reading Rendezvous with Rama for a little while now. I first read it over 40 years ago and loved it. That and Foundation are at the top of my Classics that I want to reread list.

I just finished it earlier today. I really loved it. Totally plowed through the book because I couldn’t put it down. Loved the sense of mystery and discovery and the slow reveal. Clarke really nailed the execution. This was my first time reading it and I can’t believe it took me so long to give it a go.

I hope it holds up for you 40 years on!

 

[mylinar]

Finally finished ‘Demon in White’ by Christopher Ruocchio, book 3 of the Suneater series.
It was like four novellas stitched together. The first the center of the Sollan empire with politics and similar traps for Hadrian. Next was the Imperial library and hidden secrets. These two gave me some context and flavor of the Empire.
Section three off in an unexplored section of the galaxy gave a lot more information into The Quiet. The last part was all battle, for the planet (Berenice or something similar, forgetting). Aside for some head scratching military mistakes it was a nail biter. Said mistakes were needed to make it a nail biter so I sloughed those off.
All in all a very decent listen.
I like to take a break between Suneater books so looked back over previous months for ideas and settled on ‘Species Seventeen’ by C.S. Garrand. I’ll be starting this in a few minutes on the second half of my route.

 

[Ropie]

This happened recently with Wolfe’s Fifth Head of Cerberus and Crowley’s Little, Big.

Swapped those out for Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, which I’m really enjoying.

Two of my all time favourites - Fifth Head of Cerberus and Rendezvous with Rama! Very different but both brilliant. FHOC is a bit opaque but rewards re-reading.