Reading in Science Fiction, October 2026

[mylinar]

After months of driving with the windows down and summer wind loud and enjoyable winter is arriving. I returned to audio book listening today.
I heard the first chapter of ‘Kingdoms of Death’ by Ruocchio. I was hesitant on this installment because how dark it is described, something of a preachy nature and that some characters don’t make it through. All secondhand information.
I might try starting ‘The Traveler’ by Joseph Eckert tomorrow as an alternative. Perhaps I’ll even alternate depending on my mood though not sure that’s a good idea. I’ve a collection of Audible credits piled up from summer and perhaps I’ll veer off back to Bobiverse. Lots of options and good listening ahead.

 

[suciul]

After months of driving with the windows down and summer wind loud and enjoyable winter is arriving. I returned to audio book listening today.
I heard the first chapter of ‘Kingdoms of Death’ by Ruocchio. I was hesitant on this installment because how dark it is described, something of a preachy nature and that some characters don’t make it through. All secondhand information.

This (Kingdoms of Death) is worth listening/reading (I did it in parallel - mostly listening, but whenever I stopped at an interesting point when my drive ended, I read a little ahead to see what is next); it starts with a diplomatic mission to North Korea of the future and then twists - as for darkness, true as per title (though for the truly dark parts, we know from page 1 of book 1 that Hadrian survives all to the end), but personally I found the next volume (Ashes of Man) more emotionally tragic; this one reminded me a little of the ending of Richard Morgan's fantasy trilogy, with the "live forever in peace, nah, not for us, we are warriors so we should go out guns blazing" vibe and is glorious...

 

[suciul]

Back on topic - went through a cross-country move (Denver to Buffalo NY, so while not quite back where I lived when I joined the site in 2005 - NYC suburbs - is the closest since 2011), which was not fun, but went faster than expected (had to drive 1600 miles in 2 days rather than 3 etc) and in the meantime I finished a few sf novels which I will list with a few comments in order of interest for me:

The Melding Furnace (and associated novella Yodrill's razor) - book 10 and presumably next to last in Olan Thorensen Yosef Kolsko/Anyar series: moves the storyline along a few months preparing for the ultimate showdown in Landolin; of course that will happen if the two AI systems around (from the original movers of humanity there which are also offshoots of the Object from Harbinger versus the recent aliens who brought Yosef and co to Anyar) do not object...
A few surprises - most notably the Assessor corps and their discoveries - but mostly a let's follow the multiple cast of characters type of novel.
Very curious how the author plans to end the storyline (the hints are mixed) and definitely plan to listen to the audio release as that adds always a lot.
As a note, the Yodrill's Razor novella mentioned in the introduction is summarized here so while a decent read in itself, is not really needed.
Overall, a book cementing the series status as one of the best recent SF offerings with something for almost everyone

Keepers of the Flesh - book 2 in the Saints of the Void series by Glynn Stewart
An excellent reunion with Captain Webster and the crew of Santa Mica after their unexpected adventure at an extraterrestrial dig. Now the oldest company translight freighter, Santa Mica is destined for the scrap yard - while the crew are heroes and repairs are possible, they are not particularly economical for the Santiago Corporation - unless something can be done. And so it goes with another adventure (predictable after a while but still very entertaining)

The Chronicles of Tiris book 2 by V Mahanenko
Fast and fun space opera with two big adventures with some imperial academy staff in-between; a crazy ending that changes things in a major way, though I expect that Baron Kael Golden aka Xhorkh (in simulations he is unbeatable as a Xhorkhian commanding mind and sub mediocre as a human fleet commander) and his team will rise to the occasion even under the new circumstances and their new patrons

Heavy Water (Bomb light 2) by N Stephenson
Couldn't get into Polostan though I tried a few times, but this one - technically a sequel though it can easily be read independently - gripped me from the first page; a serious storyline but a whimsical tone and a bit of a picaresque novel with the fate of the world at stake. Unexpected fun considering that the first series volume hasn't worked out for me (at least yet).

The Interstellar Relic by Mark Alexander
A (fairly) near-future first contact/mystery/solar system exploration novel that uses a true historical mystery as a motif. Fast and entertaining, with pages turning by themselves.

 

[chitman13]

Other Worlds Than These by King/Straub - third and final in the Talisman trilogy and I found this one much like the previous two, okay but nothing amazing. Perhaps I'm just not invested in Jack's story as much and found it to be a meandering tale that I didn't feel had the highest of stakes.

 

[Westy]

found it to be a meandering tale

I've read that a bit too, don;t think I'll bother.

 

[Westy]

I read Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel - set in 2031 and America is broken apart and at war with itself. When Ari goes to a party, strange things occur, including a person disappearing, and the events come back to her in later life.

While the premise was good and the writing decent, I felt this was the least enjoyable of the author's books I've read. There just wasn't enought to keep the interest going, the multiple characters meant it felt like there was a lack of focus, and

Spoiler

the alt universe plotline as been done so many times before it needed to be something special and it wasn't

.

3/5 for me (nice cover though!)

 

[Hobbit]

I read Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel - set in 2031 and America is broken apart and at war with itself. When Ari goes to a party, strange things occur, including a person disappearing, and the events come back to her in later life.

While the premise was good and the writing decent, I felt this was the least enjoyable of the author's books I've read. There just wasn't enought to keep the interest going, the multiple characters meant it felt like there was a lack of focus, and

Spoiler

the alt universe plotline as been done so many times before it needed to be something special and it wasn't

.

3/5 for me (nice cover though!)

Currently being read by lots of non-genre readers around me, after Station Eleven. I have a copy but have yet to dip in. From what you've said, Westy, this does sound like another one of those books written by literary types attempting to genre, but not really getting it. *sigh*

 

[Fryan]

I finished up Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. While it was somewhat stronger than the second book in the series, this was still nowhere near the heights of the series opener. I think the series suffered from a tangible plot that made up a spine for the three books. Leckie also has a tendency to show and not tell things like human emotions and that gave the books a rather flat feel.

On the whole, I’d say this is a 3 out of 5 stars series, but it feels a bit lower given how much I enjoyed the first book and how let down I feel by the other two.

I’m not sure if I’ll read any of the standalones set in the same universe. Maybe those are stronger given the one-book format.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

I finished up Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. While it was somewhat stronger than the second book in the series, this was still nowhere near the heights of the series opener. I think the series suffered from a tangible plot that made up a spine for the three books. Leckie also has a tendency to show and not tell things like human emotions and that gave the books a rather flat feel.

On the whole, I’d say this is a 3 out of 5 stars series, but it feels a bit lower given how much I enjoyed the first book and how let down I feel by the other two.

I’m not sure if I’ll read any of the standalones set in the same universe. Maybe those are stronger given the one-book format.

I would encourage you to try Translation State I think it’s the most interesting of the stand-alone as we get to see non-human intelligences!

 

[Fryan]

I would encourage you to try Translation State I think it’s the most interesting of the stand-alone as we get to see non-human intelligences!

Good to know! Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[chitman13]

Finished Sanctum by Bobby Adair, book 9 in the Slow Burn series and the place I'll stop. I'm fairly sure this is the end of the initial run, and Sanctum is much like the rest - readable and enjoyable enough, but nothing special and certainly nothing new or groundbreaking. From what I can tell there is a book 10 that's set some years later, and a new four book series going back to the beginning and focusing on Zed's enemy, Mark (which I have zero interest in).

 

[Hobbit]

Review for SFFWorld to follow; liked but didn't love it, so a little disappointed.



"It pains me a little to say it, but unfortunately the best thing about this one for me is its cover."

 

[Hobbit]

Had another one of those posts appear today in the socials about how a reader's surprised that Asimov's Foundation has dated.

A brilliant beginning, but it just didn't go anywhere. About halfway through, I was like "is this whole book going to be men sitting around talking to each other?" I flipped through the remaining pages and realized I wasn't interested.

At the risk of mansplaining, I grumped:

I've always seen that " "is this whole book going to be men sitting around talking to each other?" as the point of the Foundation books. Because at the time the pulps were full of Buck Rogers, planet-busting heroes (usually men - think of the readership), whereas Asimov's characters (admittedly mainly men) solved problems through talking - diplomacy in action - and intellect solving problems, rather than diving in guns blazing. Yes, they have dated - what do you expect of stories nearly 100 years old? - but at the time of original publication they were different to most. Problems can be solved through intelligence rather than violence.

Don't get me wrong: the books are hard work at times, but I do feel that a lot of readers are looking at the books out of context and out of their time.

Rant over!

 

[Glian]

This is my first post in a VERY long time. I used to be on under a different username. For whatever reason at some point a while back I found myself unable to post, or even connect to this site. I tried everything and kept hitting a site security problem. I recently got a new PC and voila, everything is now working. No clue at all.

At any rate, rambling around a used bookstore, I came on some dusty old Jack Vance books (of whom I'm a big fan), that I had never read before. I could not believe my luck. These books were the Alastor trilogy and a book of short stories called "The Narrow Land".

I would say I enjoyed the short stories much more. The Alastor books are from being his best works. Alastor refers to the Alastor cluster, with each book of the trilogy centered around a different planet within that cluster. The plots are a little tedious, shallow and predictable, and the women characters are all the usual Jack Vance stereotypes. Still, glimpses of his wit and unique writing style are still there.

I cannot really recommend the Alastor books unless you are a big Jack Vance fan and just want to read all his works.

 

[Hobbit]

Welcome back, Glian!

I read those books with fondness about 45 years ago, so I'd be interested to see what I think of them now. I remember liking the descriptions and the vocabulary, which were a step above the sort of thing I had been reading before them.

Of course, Vance has done better. But they were not all bad (if I remember right!)

 

[blailock]

Had another one of those posts appear today in the socials about how a reader's surprised that Asimov's Foundation has dated.



At the risk of mansplaining, I grumped:



Don't get me wrong: the books are hard work at times, but I do feel that a lot of readers are looking at the books out of context and out of their time.

Rant over!

I agree 100%! I love the Foundation books and just received a new set of the original trilogy. I can't wait to give them a reread.