Reading Science Fiction in November 2026

[blailock]

Yikes! I guess that I'm in the minority here, but I loved every book of the Sun Eater series.

 

[suciul]

Yikes! I guess that I'm in the minority here, but I loved every book of the Sun Eater series.

Me too, though it took the superb audio narration from S. Roukin to truly appreciate the series; the upcoming collection Songs of the Sun Eater (most stories are available in the Tales 1-4 so I read them a while ago, only one is new) will be in audio too and I have the audio on preorder also.

Got an e-arc of it from NG and there is an excerpt from C Ruocchio upcoming fantasy series which sounds interesting- first volume should appear next year

 

[T77]

I really liked Sun Eater too. Most on Amazon like it. Six of the seven books rate 4.6 or 4.7 out of 5. The first book was 4.4. I really liked the way it blended Sci-Fi and fantasy.

 

[mylinar]

I just read Mark’s review of Scalzi’s new book ‘Monsters of Ohio’. Just thought to tell him and you guys that I live about 50 miles, 70ish kilometers, from Ohio. I know a lot about the place, most of which I try to forget LOL.

 

[Hobbit]

I just read Mark’s review of Scalzi’s new book ‘Monsters of Ohio’. Just thought to tell him and you guys that I live about 50 miles, 70ish kilometers, from Ohio. I know a lot about the place, most of which I try to forget LOL.

Thanks, mylinar!

I did say my knowledge of Ohio was limited....

.....but I'll be interested in what you make of the setting of the book.

 

[suciul]

I really liked Sun Eater too. Most on Amazon like it. Six of the seven books rate 4.6 or 4.7 out of 5. The first book was 4.4. I really liked the way it blended Sci-Fi and fantasy.

It's quite understandable why the series is very hit and miss - its publishing trajectory confirms it but luckily there were enough fans so Mr Ruocchio could eventually finish it and now start a fantasy series - it will be interesting to see if the Hadrian Marlowe fans follow him there - I definitely plan to try the first one when published but will see how it goes as the excerpt mentioned was good but not "I must read this now" kind the way SunEater starts (book 2 though was difficult to get into)

 

[blailock]

It's quite understandable why the series is very hit and miss - its publishing trajectory confirms it but luckily there were enough fans so Mr Ruocchio could eventually finish it and now start a fantasy series - it will be interesting to see if the Hadrian Marlowe fans follow him there - I definitely plan to try the first one when published but will see how it goes as the excerpt mentioned was good but not "I must read this now" kind the way SunEater starts (book 2 though was difficult to get into)

I will definitely be following him to his new fantasy series. I can't wait!

 

[Fryan]

It was described to me as “Star Wars for adults” but I didn’t really get that feeling from the first book.

I can see why lots of people enjoy the books, but they aren’t for me.

 

[Westy]

I read Makeshift by Peter Rock - a dystopian novel where three sisters, believing they're the last human survivors, have to fend for themselves on an island they call home.

It's quite readable, and as the reader I felt lured into the story, wanting to find out what happened and how it will end. The imagery was evocative and vivid too, as the sisters spend their time fishing among masses of shipwrecks, making friend with local animals, making a home out of their small ideallic location.

But ultimately not a lot happened - they went to the mainland and came back again, making a couple of discoveries on the way, and the ending kind of fizzled.

A decent read but it left me a bit disappointed overall.

 

[mylinar]

Yikes! I guess that I'm in the minority here, but I loved every book of the Sun Eater series.

Not necessarily true. I read and enjoyed the first two books, the third was still good just a bit less. For me the series fell off a cliff with book 4. Any series will have ups and downs and the longer the series the greater likelihood of it going south. You liked it and in the end that is all that matters.

 

[Ropie]

It's quite readable, and as the reader I felt lured into the story, wanting to find out what happened and how it will end. The imagery was evocative and vivid too, as the sisters spend their time fishing among masses of shipwrecks, making friend with local animals, making a home out of their small ideallic location.

But ultimately not a lot happened - they went to the mainland and came back again, making a couple of discoveries on the way, and the ending kind of fizzled.

A decent read but it left me a bit disappointed overall.

This got me thinking about how a book is not really about the destination, it is mostly about the journey. We are generally much more forgiving with films even though they are mostly about the journey. But I know what you mean - we do tend to expect an ending to a book to ignite something in us.

 

[Westy]

This got me thinking about how a book is not really about the destination, it is mostly about the journey. We are generally much more forgiving with films even though they are mostly about the journey. But I know what you mean - we do tend to expect an ending to a book to ignite something in us.

That's true, for many books for me the journey is what makes it. But for this book in particular, fo me, it just felt like it should have led/built to something bigger.