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 May 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!
I did mostly rereading– Martha Wells Raksura books in anticipation of the last book being released next month. Still love them dearly.
However, I won’t count the fact that I read the ARC, I did read Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner. It’s the story of Kamet, Nahuseresh’s factotum/slave. It’s a lot of fun, as all of her stories are.
I really enjoyed Caraval by Stephanie Garber. The story was very well written and engaging from the start. The premise was at once familiar and original, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, you are thrown for a loop. Give it a try, I think you’ll enjoy it!
I’m way behind on my TBR list, but Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence was great. I also read a number of short stories.Here’s my Goodreads review:
A pitch dark tale with a horridly compelling anti-hero in Prince Jorg, The Prince of Thorns is a dagger in the back to the black and white morality of Epic Fantasy. Read at your peril.
Ahh, love Mark Lawrence. Prince or Thorns can be such a turn off for readers (understandably) but the whole story is so worth the read!
Chas Choreography by Seanan McGuire. I love the Intrepid series, and the added murder mystery is just icing on the cake!
Hugo finalist A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers.
http://templetongate.net/wayfarers.htm
American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
I really liked it. Gaiman has a wonderful prose. And the idea behind the story is amazing. My only issue was not being able to fully connect to Shadow, but I’m not sure how much of it was because of his nonchalant character.
I’m not saying it’s the best book, but I’ve been finishing up “The Gentleman” by Forrest Leo. It’s set in mid-Victorian England, with a pseudo-Georgian mannered style. The main problem is that the author’s feeling for period diction is not so good, or not as good as it needs to be. (It needs to be flawless.) It’s OK, mildly amusing and light, slightly steampunk.
City of Miracles. Robert Jackson Bennett finishes the story arc from City of Stairs and City of Blades quite nicely. (Each book is a complete story in itself but they add up to more than the sum of the parts.)
Waking Gods by Sylvian Neuvel. Written in a really unique and beautiful way. Book two of the series of Sleeping Giants. Narrator/interview/journal style, and if listened to, so, so satisfying. Must read for any fantasy lover dabbling in science fiction. Prose is unlike any other modern story and plot is so solid. Character development is exemplified by the style the book is written.
I read several books in May and NONE of them really stood out as great. If I have to pick one as the best, I would say Timeline by Michael Crichton.
I’m hoping I find some better reads in June!!
I had a very good urban fantasy month, but for other stuff, not so much.
I read four four star new UF books in May:
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews which has a horrible cover and title that makes it seem like it is some sort of steamy romance but it is UF with romantic overtones.
Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon is the only SF that merited four stars this month. A fun scifi tale with some serendipity and remarkable coincidences but good nonetheless.
Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs is the latest Mercy THompson and doesn’t disappoint.
Cold Reign by Faith Hunter is the latest Jane Yellowrock and also doesn’t disappoint.
The Ghoul Vendetta by Lisa Shearin I feel is a really solid UF setting, character and story that doesn’t get enough attention; this is the fourth book in the series.
May was easy: City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett. It had a perfect ending to a perfect series.
Also in May, I gave up on Stephen King’s Dark Tower after finishing book 3. Fringe Station by Rachel Aukes did not work at all for me; I almost deleted it from my Kindle twice before finally finishing it. Jonathan Mayberry’s Dogs of War continued a fun popcorn adventure series, but he is running out of ways to save the world…
I read several books in May that I enjoyed quite a bit but one of them stood out well above the others and so far is the best book I have read in 2017. I can easily recommend Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy and especially if you have already read his Powder Mage trilogy. Other enjoyable reads this month included Skullsworn by Brian Staveley and Thrawn by Timothy Zahn.
Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb. It’s the final book in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. First I dragged my feet about finishing and once I finally did (sobbing my eyes out at 4am in the morning), I started on Fool’s Assassin to read the trilogy all over again :-)
Kevin S, 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!