Reading in January 2013

I finished The Half-made World by Felix Gilman. I was a bit hesitant to like it after I turned the last page, but after thinking about it a bit more, actually found it quite good.

Now reading Tim Marquitz's latest Witch Bane, should be a great read as well. Looking forward to it.
 
NickeeCoco said:
After that mammoth of a book, I needed something lighter, so I read the first two books of the Lyra series by Patricia C. Wrede (Who, I just found out, used to be in a small writers group with people like Steven Brust and Pamela Dean. Didn't know that. Huh.). All the books in this series are stand alones, and the only thing really connecting them is the fact that they take place in the same world. I decided to read them in publishing order, because Shadow Magic, the first book of the series, was also Wrede's first published book. Sometimes it's fun to see an author's progression. It's glaringly obvious that it was a first novel. It is not as good as Wrede's later work, that is for sure. It was fun, though. If a tad bit fast paced, even for a children's novel (10-12, I'd say). Daughter of Witches was better than the first novel, but still a little shaky. There's still three more novels in this series to go, but thus far, they're nowhere near as good as the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which I think are some of the best childrens novels in fantasy ever.
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I more or less agree except for the classification of the Shadow Magic and Daughter of Witches as childrens novels (though they certainly can be read by youths). They are enjoyable light fanatasy. I know she writes YA though I have not read it. Just because fiction is not gritty, dense, sexual, whatever does not make it YA. I would recommend Shadow Magic and DoW for a nice light read.
 
Oops... Moved post to SF where it belongs. Forgot where I was! LOL.
 
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Cold Days

Just finished Cold Days by Jim Butcher. Was excellent. Harry doing what he does best: breaking things and saving the day (eventually). There are enough loose threads left dangling to make me want the next book immediately, but the major plot points of the book were resolved.
 
cgw said:
I more or less agree except for the classification of the Shadow Magic and Daughter of Witches as childrens novels (though they certainly can be read by youths). They are enjoyable light fanatasy. I know she writes YA though I have not read it. Just because fiction is not gritty, dense, sexual, whatever does not make it YA. I would recommend Shadow Magic and DoW for a nice light read.
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Haha. You're preaching to the choir. The books, though, were, and still are, marketed for young readers.
 
Finished reading Witch Bane by Tim Marquitz and really enjoyed it. I was hoping for a new series from him, but it looks as if this one is a standalone. Currently reading a New Zealand author's book Tropic of Skorpeo with at first glance looks to be a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with a fantasy/sci fi setting. Not to mention written in a similar vein as Vonnegut and Adams. Should be interesting to say the least.
 
Just finished Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher, Book 3 of the Codex Alera. I enjoyed this one more than the previous two and felt this book is when the series really get's going. Great battle scenes, daring rescue missions, fast paced and full of action. Although the "secrets" in the series can be pretty quickly figured out, there's one at the end of this book I didn't see coming. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Up next is Vampire Earth:The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith, to finish the trilogy.
 
I finished up The Gathering Storm, Wheel of Time #12 by Jordan and Sanderson a couple of days and boy did Sanderson do a fine job with his first foray into the series. Leading up to this book, Egwene had been growing on me and now she might be one of my favorite characters in the genre. What a great, emotional ending to the book, too.

Now I'm onto one of my most anticipated 2013 releases Fortress Frontier, the second installment of Myke Cole's terrific Shadow OPS series. Myke wastes no time in getting the ball rolling, I'm really enjoying it at about the 40% mark of the novel.
 
Finished The Hammer and the Blade by Paul Kemp. Fun buddy Sword and Sorcery. Started A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan.
 
Finally got through Gardens of the Moon. Definitely like some of the characters (Anomander Rake in particular) but not sure if I want to jump into book 2 right away. Going to read Emperor's Soul by Sanderson tomorrow and re-read the AMoL prologue before Tuesday!! Can't wait!!!
 
I finished The Blinding Knife by Weeks. I enjoyed the story well enough that I think I'll finish the series, but after that I'm probably done with Weeks.

Now I find myself stuck waiting for A Memory of Light to be released. I kind of doubt that I'll have it by the end of the week. So I need something short that I may be able to finish by next Monday. Don't think that there is any such thing on my book shelf.
 
I just finished The End: Zombie Fallout, Book 3 by Mark Tufo. What a fun and exciting series.

Tomorrow I will be starting on A Memory of Light by Jordan/Sanderson.
 
Finished Son of Avonar by Carol Berg. Enjoyed it. Liked it so much I started the second book, Guardians of the Keep, right away. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it. I have mixed feelings about this book thus far. My concern mainly stems from the inclusion of two extra points of view. The first book had a narrow lens, told only by Seri. Now, we have D'Natheil and Gerick added into the mix. D'Natheil's POV is fine, however, I do think it would have created more suspense and sense of mystery if he had not been included. With his chapters, I don't feel for Seri as much any more. They take away from what she is feeling and going through. As for Gerick. . . I don't think he's a believable ten year old boy. He has quite a large vocabulary, especially for a child who can't keep a tutor and runs a bit wild.

This is a second book out of a quartet, and from my experience most second books are not nearly as good as the first or the third. Hopefully that is the case here.
 
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Just started on Karl Edward Wagner's Bloodstone. I've never read any Wagner but have heard very good things about him, so far it has started off great.
 
Finished Marines by Jay Allen, basically its Old Man's War and Forever War with a huge info dump every few chapters for good measure. Entertaining as all get out but not as good as the originals.

Now reading The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.
 
I just finished 'The Curse of Chalion" by Lois McMaster Bujold, and it was very good. Great characters, and I will be trying her well known sci-fi series this year for sure. Part of a project put on by Worlds Without End's challenge to read 12 female authors I have never tried before, but this was on my to read list anyway.

Also reading 'Pyramids,' by Pratchett, and starting 'Cold Magic' by Kate Elliot, FINALLY, after pushing it back for other books too many times.

Oh, and 'Pariah' by Dan Abnett, latest Warhammer novel, was badeven for tie-in standards. Just 300 pages of fan service. Shame, Abnett is usually better than the rest of the pack.
 
Finished The Red Knight by Miles Cameron. Reading it was like doing a jigsaw – one piece to another in one place, then next two in another place. After a while you have some small pieces of the picture in different places, and, suddenly realise, that a pair of them matches one another – quite exciting feeling - and so on. Very neatly done. Will be waiting for the next part.
After a short break I started Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.
 
Started Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. Couldn't fit it in my reads for 2012, but better late than never. It looks promising, with a classic epic fantasy vibe, but with a more original setting: Arabian Nights instead of Arthurian.
 
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