It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What is the best book you read in May 2022 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 Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.
As always, one commenter with a U.S. mailing address will choose a book from our stacks. If you’re outside the U.S., we’ll send you a $5 Amazon gift card.
In May 2022, I read a lot of books; but, I’m going to say I enjoyed both “Wildseed Witch” by Marti Dumas” and “The Liar’s Knot” by M.A. Carrick.
“Wildseed Witch” is a different take on the “Black Girl Magic” subgenre. If anything, then I would compare this book to “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn. However, the magic in this book is NOT the same. The protagonist in this book learns almost by accident that she can do magic and she is invited to a “summer camp” so she can learn how to control her powers. However, both the protagonist and the reader learn that the school is NOT Hogwarts, and she is at risk of expulsion due to her lack of knowledge.
“The Liar’s Knot” is the sequel to “The Mask of Mirrors,” and it takes places a few months after the end of the events in the first book. The protagonists are still reeling from everything that happened to them at the end of the 1st book. While they all deal with both the benefits and the consequences of their actions, the past–both recent and distant–play a huge role in the plot of the story. Not to mention, the minor characters have larger roles to play in this book. If you thought the ending of the first book was intense, then wait until you read the last 50 pages in its sequel.
My favorite book from May was a mystery, Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy. When a young woman is murdered there is an eerie similarity to a series of murders that took place 20 years ago. Could someone who’s in town for their class reunion be the killer? found this hard to put down.
I enjoyed “Killer Mushrooms Ate My Gran” by Susan Gates, although the delightful cover art gives the mistaken impression that the mushrooms have faces and personalities. But I think the mushrooms may have come from outer space. Anyway, it’s good silly fun.
Okay, I’m filing that under “Books to read for the title alone.”
Memory’s Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection- James S.A. Corey
Two books stood out – the first was David Benioff’s “City of Thieves”, I’d heard the premise several times, during the Siege of Leningrad two young men are tasked with finding a dozen eggs for a wedding cake, and that got me in the door, but the story itself was so different, sometimes grim and sometimes amusing. I used this as a book club choice and we looked into Benioff who turns out to be a producer on the Game of Thrones and a well-known screenwriter – Wolverine, The Kiterunner. Who knew?! The other book was the 2nd in Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realm series, “Fire.” A fun bit of escapist fantasy.
I really enjoyed Graceling–I’m on the fence about the sequels, since I’ve heard they are from other characters’ POV’s.
“Fire” was definitely a new group of characters, but I enjoyed it just the same!
The ones I enjoyed the most were probably my re-read of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy–it holds up just as well as when I was in high school!–and Seanan McGuire’s Across the Green Grass Fields. I’ve read three of the Wayward Children series now, and this was the first one that I truly enjoyed, though they are all well-written stories.
I read 9 books with an average score a bit over 8/10, but the standout was Michael R Fletcher’s conclusion to his Obsidian Path trilogy, AN END TO SORROW. Honorable mentions include another self-pubbed volume, Zamil Akhtar’s progression fantasy LIGHTBLADE. Also Ed McDonald’s RAVENCRY, Miles Cameron’s ARTIFACT SPACE, and the last two books of John Scakzi’s The Interdependency trilogy.
The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards. This is the third book in the Tarot Sequence series. The first two books were excellent and Edwards sticks the landing with this one again. The series is an urban fantasy. The twist is that when humans started launching satellites in the 1960s, Atlantis was discovered. A war ensued in which large swaths of the planet were destroyed but so was the Atlantean home world. A peace was negotiated and the remaining Atlanteans either dispersed into the larger human population or moved to New Atlantis, a large metropolitan city on Nantucket Island. All Atlanteans have some magical abilities but it is the Arcana, the rulers of the 22 houses, who are almost godlike in their power. Some of the Arcana have thrived in the new environment – and relations with humans – but others, mostly the old guard (and Atlanteans live a LONG time) are resentful and want to return to the “old” ways which pretty much means subjugating humans. The series resolves around Rune, a young scion whose house, the Sun Throne, was destroyed and Brand, his human Companion. The pace is brisk, much like the Dresden Files and the Alex Verus series with lots of magic, monsters and desperate situations. What I think Edwards does especially well is the development of a large cast of characters, lots of humor, and several quite touching scenes. The series is projected to run to 9 books. I can’t wait!
The only books that were close to SF/F was a series of 4 books collectively called the Spectral Files by S.E. Harmon. An FBI profiler gets sent back to his hometown to help with a case. The FBI profiler is a medium but has been ignoring the ghosts and his powers for years. I’m a sucker for cop stories so I quite enjoyed the series. Books 3 and 4 were a bit better than 1 and 2.
It isn’t sci-fi, but I cannot recommend Educated by Tara Westover enough! I read it this month and I typically don’t read memoirs, but this was poignant and entertaining!
The last book of the Babylon 5 ‘Psi-Corps Trilogy’, “Final Reckoning – The Fate of Bester” brings us to a post-series timeframe and shows us Bester as a fugitive in Paris following the Telepath War and how he is finally brought to justice with help from Garibaldi.
That was a good trilogy! Bester is a fascinating character.
After “Prelude to Foundation”, I of course re-read “Foundation” itself. I can’t tell you how much respect I have for Isaac Asimov for creating this brilliant story!
One of my favorite books of all time is Le Petit Prince, which was mentioned on “The Man Who Fell to Earth” recently. I always associate it with my French Literature teacher at the lyseum.
Michael, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks. If your address is outside of the USA, you will get a $5 Amazon gift card.
Please contact me (Marion) with your choice and a US address. Happy reading!
Cool! Email got stuck in spam so I’m late seeing this. Will email you after I look at the stacks!