Author: Tim Scheidler

Kat: I’m really busy with my job and am behind on my reviews. I’ll try to fix that this week. Finally I finished Time Patrol by Poul Anderson. Then I read Witchy Eye, an alternate American history fantasy by D.J. Butler. This was entertaining, but unnecessarily long. Not sure if I want to read the sequel, just due to the length. Reviews to come.

Bill: This week I read Seth Dickinson’s The Tyrant Baru Cormorant,

Kat: I’m working my way through Poul Anderson’s Time Patrol. It’s a new audio edition that collects all the TIME PATROL stories. I’ve had company all week — my boys are home from college — but that’s not the only reason it’s taking me a while to get through this book…

Bill: This week I read David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue, which I absolutely loved; The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant, which was enjoyable but flawed;

Kat: It’s been two weeks since you heard from me and I’ve read several books and one short story. Here they are in the order I read them: Blood of the Heroes by Steve White, “Dave’s Head” by Suzanne Palmer, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker, Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, The Book of Koli by M.R.

Marion: I’ve been mostly reading works in manuscript. I read the first Anna Pigeon mystery, The Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr. These mysteries, set in various US National Parks, are beloved by many. To my great surprise, I wasn’t one of them. I’m keeping on with Sarah Pinsker’s A Song for A New Day, which is excellent but benefits in a weird way from current events, because she imagined a similar situation so precisely.

Bill: This week I finished grading student papers and so was finally able to read. 

Kat: Exam week, so I only got one book read: Providence by Max Barry. I didn’t like this as well as I hoped I would. Review coming soon.

Bill: Finals week so like Kat, not a lot of reading. I did finish Kingdom of Liars, a solid if at times problematic debut by Nick Martell. Outside of genre I continue my reread with my son (his first read) of Tony Hillerman’s enjoyable Navajo mysteries, completing The Dark Wind.

Kat: I’ve read several books since my last update and I hope to get them reviewed soon. Here they are in the order I read them. A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. The Last Human by Zack Jordan. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Strange Love by Ann Aguirre. Bloom by Kenneth Oppel.

Kat: I tried the first two novels in Charles E. Gannon’s CAINE RIORDAN series, Fire with Fire and Trial by Fire. I agree with Marion that they are too long and marred by a hero who is too good to be true. Fran Wilde’s Riverland, a finalist for the Andre Norton Award, is a sweet middle grade fantasy adventure about sisterly love. S.K. Dunstall’s Stars Beyond is a pleasant space opera and better than its predecessor,

Jana: This week has been…well, you get the news, you know what it’s been like. Distracting, to say the least. I’m reading through Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor’s latest WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE novel, The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home; it’s delightful and dark and very, very tense, so I’ve been taking my time with this one rather than just devouring it all at once.

Kat: Like Jana said, the news is distracting. Plus, I’m working from home and my teenage daughter is also home from school,

Kat: Well, I’m teaching online only until the end of August, and all other campus meetings have been cancelled, as well as three family trips and multiple concerts and other events. So, that should give me a lot more time for reading in the next few months. This past week I read three novels. A Heart of Blood and Ashes, by Milla Vane, was simply dreadful. It’s getting a DNF from me. The other two novels were by Frank Chadwick: How Dark the World Becomes, and its sequel,

Bill:  This week I read Val Hall: The Even Years by Alma Alexander, The Book of Samson by David Maine, Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renki and Big History by Paul Singh.

Marion: I read Genevieve Cogman’s sixth INVISIBLE LIBRARY novel, The Secret Chapter, which is, to some extent, a heist novel. I liked it. I am finishing up T.