It’s the first Thursday of the month. You know what that means, ’cause we do this on the first Thursday of every month! Time to report!
What is the best book you read in January 2017 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. 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 Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page. And we’ve also got a constantly updating list of new and forthcoming releases.)
As always, one commenter will choose a book from our stacks.
We’ve got a couple of giveaways still current. Find those here!
We’re updating our theme, so things may be a little messy or slow until we’re finished. Thank you for being patient with us!
When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner
Awesome debut!
My review:
https://mightythorjrs.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/book-review-when-the-heavens-fall-by-marc-turner/
Guess that has to be Ninefox Gambit, although it does have some issues.It has the wackiness of Philip K. Dick, and his way of rushing to throw in every concept that came into the author’s head at the expense of the plot making sense. And the annoying chapters that introduce a character who is going to get killed 3 pages later, as happens in some mil-SF, horror and techno-thrillers. But it is quite entertaining. I guess you could classify it as a sort of mil-horror in space, with very slight Ender-ish/ Lecter-ish undertones.
How about the only new book I read? Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner. There’s a new narrator, Kamet. The same twists and turns as the earlier books. Maybe not my favorite in the series, but very interesting.
Tough call. I read Red Seas Under Red Skies and Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch. Both were fantastically entertaining. But I was monumentally surprised by Emma Newman’s After Atlas. The first novel in this ‘series’ which isn’t really a series, Planetfall, was decent but definitely not worthy of any extra praise. I went into this book expecting a continuation of the first story but found a new story based in the same world. It was superb and kept me on my toes and I wanted to hear so much more about these characters and the world they helped Emma create. Definitely recommend After Atlas and definitely recommend not reading Planetfall before.
I’m in the middle of “Coinman” by Pawan Mishra. It is about a crew of eccentric characters in a second-rate office in India. It is incredible! The use of language is so exact and so perfect! The wit is incredible and achingly dry! It is an absolutely wonderful book! The book is self-published, but it needs to be published as a classic book by Penguin alongside books by Russian masters, etc., etc.
I really loved both of my reads last month. Babylon’s Ashes by James SA Corey, and The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch.
Well, neither my local library nor my wallet can keep up with my demand for new books, so I did a lot of re-reading during January. I really enjoyed a second look at the three books in the Species Imperative trilogy by Julie Czerneda; Survival, Migration, and Regeneration. In fact, I think I even liked them better than the first time.
I also really enjoyed The Burning Page, by Genevieve Cogman.
But I think the best books I read during January were The Tiger and the Wolf, by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Liberation, by Ian Tregillis. Both were just excellent and very thought-provoking.
The Tiger and the Wolf has a fabulous cover and I want to read it just for that but since you say it is good, I’ll move it upwards on my list!
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire last month. It was the most interesting book I read last month.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling.
I’m loving this series. I read a few other books that I enjoyed but this one brings out the kid in me. :)
Jo Walton’s Farthing
A murder mystery with some alternate history.
Great characters, terrific last hundred pages
First book of a trilogy.
The Dragonriders of Pern Omnibus, by Anne McCaffery. I can’t just read one book of this trilogy it’s that good. A definite fantasy classic that everone should read. Great world building, captivating characters, interesting plot.
The individual books are Dragon Quest, Dragon Flight, and The White Dragon, but the Omnibus edit is very easy to find.
Reading Certain Dark Things now. First book for the year.
Well, last month was super stressful for me so I did some re-reading of books that I love: Komarr and Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold and Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.
I also read books 6-9 of SM Stirling’s Emberverse and enjoyed them very much.
The only new to me book that I read that was above 3 stars was Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter. This is a new series based in her Jane Yellowrock world with a new main and some old secondary characters back in the mix.
John Smith, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!
And I’m going to order COINMAN because it sounds fascinating.