It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What’s the best book you read in September 2023 and why did you love it?
It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF, or even fiction. We just want to share some great reading material.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our 5-Star SFF page.
One commenter with a U.S. mailing address will choose one of these prizes:
- a FanLit T-shirt (we have sizes M, L, XL)
- a book from our stacks.
- a $5 Amazon gift card (this is the only option for non-USA addresses).
Subscribe to our posts here (you can filter for giveaway posts if you prefer).
Promise of Blood (Powder Mage, #1) by Brian McClellan. This is a very well written military fantasy novel. It has a simple, yet interesting magic system based on ingesting gunpowder and some very intriguing plot lines that come together nicely. I gave this book an easy 4 stars on Goodreads.
The only fiction book I had no complaints about this month was Contrarian, third book in L. E. Modesitt’s Grand Illusion series. The setting is a large nation on some other planet where electricity and gasoline have not been utilized, so everything is steam-powered (mostly based on coal). The protagonist is the equivalent of a Senator, recently elected, in the national legislature. The country has three political parties and high levels of social unrest. This installment is not quite as eventful as the previous two, but it’s just as tense and continues to focus on complex political issues and crooked corporate dealings
I finished all 26 books of the Serge Storms series by Tim Dorsey. The last book ended with our lovable serial killer Serge getting protection by the CIA as an important resource. So I expect if there are more books, and I hope there are, maybe Serge won’t have to worry about pesky things like “punishment” for offing baddies who do things like defraud confused old people or play loud car radios.
I am now reading books by Roger Zelazny. I’m on my third one, and the books seem to me, in style and content, very, very pulpy, which is not necessarily my thing. But I am working towards ending my Zelazny readings with audiobooks narrated by Wil Wheaton, so that will be super-terrific.
In the second graphic novel installment of “Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Search”, the Gaang have mixed feelings about the letter possibly proving Zuko isn’t Ozai’s son, as Zuko would love not to be related to that jerk but then he would lose his claim to the throne of the Fire Nation. Flashbacks reveal more of Ursa’s past and how she was banished after helping Ozai poison his father Fire Lord Azulon. Also, while searching for Ursa, the Gaang met Water Tribe siblings Misu and Rafa, who seek the Mother of Faces to restore Rafa’s face after it was taken by Koh, the Face-Stealer.
Goldeen Ogawa’s third Professor Odd novella, “The Promethean Predicament”, which features the travellers in an unusual universe on the verge of destroying itself where stone lightning hangs from the sky and a man is chained to a rock in a strange parallel to Prometheus.
“Reversible Injuries” by Scott Turow has a hopeful name, but you’ll have to read it to see if it lives up to that promise. Another legal thriller set in Kindle County, this time the story involves attorney Arthur Raven seeking to exonerate his client Rommy Gandolph of a triple murder in a plot featuring dodgy police detectives and bribable judges.
I read Killers of flower moon : The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann ahead of the upcoming movie by Martin Scorsese. Such a quick read and such a tragic story of greed , betrayal, and racism . Very well written and researched . Has so many real life characters but doesn’t confuse the reader . Remains empathetic to the Native Americans . Should be read by everyone .
Amit Khaira, if you live in the USA, you win a Fan Lit T-shirt (please specify 1st and 2nd preferred sizes) OR a book of your choice from our stacks, OR a $5 Amazon gift card. If your address is outside of the USA, you will get a $5 Amazon gift card.