Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Bill: This week I read Seth Fried’s The Municipalists (a disappointing debut) and the brief but always interesting non-fiction book Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori and illustrated (in truly lovely fashion) by Lucille Clerc. In media, I wholly enjoyed Captain Marvel, even if one of its iconic moments was right out of Buffy (maybe it was an homage . . .). Great rapport between Larson and Jackson,
March 17th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 1 comment |
We’re reading some brand new books this week. Take a peek!
Bill: Not a lot of reading lately thanks to piles ‘o papers and sundry deadlines. But I did finish Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James, with mixed feelings as the end result. I also read a genial novella, The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark. And I’m currently listening to Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar, a fascinating mix of memoir and scientific/medical history.
March 10th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
We’re reading lots of fun books this week!
Kat: I’m reading Tad Williams‘ OVERLAND quartet which has been on my TBR list for years. I’ve read the first two books, City of Golden Shadow and River of Blue Fire, and am about halfway through the third book, Mountain of Black Glass. I love the premise and the characters. The plot is super cool. However, it moves sooooo slowly. The story doesn’t need to be this long.
March 3rd, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
Plenty more books on the docket this week!
Jana: This week I’m reading Ann Leckie‘s upcoming fantasy novel, The Raven Tower, which pairs an intriguing story (a young highborn man returns home to find his father has mysteriously vanished and his uncle has taken the seat of power for himself, but there’s so much more to it than what I just described) with the insightful ruminations on society, language, and culture/ritual that I’ve come to expect from Leckie. There are some unexpected stylistic choices framing the story itself,
February 24th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
Looking for something to read? Here’s what we’re looking at…
Marion: I read Robin Sloan’s delightful Sourdough this week. Kat reviewed it here, but I may add a few comments. The book was even more fun for me because I’ve been to some of the locations used, like the Ferry Terminal’s farmers market or the island of Alameda. I loved the “Lois Club,” and it’s pretty clear that one particular character was inspired by Alice Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse fame. I also finished another dark,
February 17th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 2 comments |
Plenty of fun new books on the docket this week!
Bill: This week I read two solid middle-of-the-road fantasies: Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan and Early Riser by Jasper Fforde. On audio I finally finished Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Our Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky, which I’m putting on my best of 2018 list retroactively — so good I bought the Kindle version in addition to the Audible version so I can reread it and take/save notes.
February 10th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 4 comments |
Companions on the Road by Tanith Lee
I’m a big fan of Tanith Lee. Like many great fantasy writers, Lee understood that to truly transport a reader, it’s not enough to talk about dragons or swords or magic systems. Readers are transported just as much or more by the way these things are talked about. Lee’s work has that eerie, otherworldly feel that characterizes the best works of this genre. She could make a story about a squirrel looking for nuts feel like something dredged from a forgotten and more romantic epoch.
February 7th, 2019. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 4 | Tanith Lee | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Plenty more fun books this week. Take a peek!
Bill: This week I read Jenn Lyons’ solid The Ruin of Kings, Ian Cameron Esslemont’s satisfactorily concluding Malazan prequel book Kellanved’s Reach, and Gareth Hinds’ excellent graphic story version of The Iliad.
Jana: This week I got to the halfway mark in S.A. Chakraborty‘s City of Brass (and am still thoroughly enjoying it) and finished both Jordanna Max Brodsky‘s The Wolf in the Whale and Jessie Mihalik’s Polaris Rising.
February 4th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 2 comments |
More good books this week!
Bill: This week I read Guy Gavriel Kay’s newest, A Brightness Long Ago, which was a typical Kay novel — graceful writing, moving moments, thoughtful elegies on memory and history. Man’s a master craftsperson. That arrival put on hold for a night my reading of the Binti omnibus by Nnedi Okorafor, which I’m just about done with. Which was fine with me as I’m mostly befuddled by the acclaim; clearly I’m the outlier on this one.
January 27th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
We have a few recommendations for reads to carry you through the winter. Take a look!
Bill: This week I read Kellanved’s Reach by Ian Cameron Esslemont, Turned On: Science, Sex, and Robots by Kate Devlin, and In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire. The first a solid but somewhat flat entry in an otherwise enjoyable series, the last so much better than my first WAYWARD CHILDREN attempt it has convinced me to try the others,
January 21st, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 4 comments |
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…