What are you currently reading?

[DrNefario]

I finally finished The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington. It was OK. Darkly comic, with lots of violence and unpleasantness. It's a historical fantasy about the misadventures of two villainous brothers as they make their way across Europe heading for Egypt. An unusual take on the genre, but overall I'm quite glad to be done with it.

I'm quickly rushing through Artificial Condition (Murderbot #2) by Martha Wells as a palate-cleanser before I get back on to the Crown of Stars readalong. I'm going to be late for the midpoint discussion again.

[DrNefario]

I finally finished The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington. It was OK. Darkly comic, with lots of violence and unpleasantness. It's a historical fantasy about the misadventures of two villainous brothers as they make their way across Europe heading for Egypt. An unusual take on the genre, but overall I'm quite glad to be done with it.

I'm quickly rushing through Artificial Condition (Murderbot #2) by Martha Wells as a palate-cleanser before I get back on to the Crown of Stars readalong. I'm going to be late for the midpoint discussion again.

I finished Artificial Condition last night, it was very enjoyable. I probably left it too long after All Systems Red, to be honest. I'd forgotten some of the story.

Just bought The Burning Stone (Crown of Stars #3) by Kate Elliott, and I see it is apparently 925 pages. Never mind the midpoint discussion, I might be late for the end.

[Bender]

Life in the North (The System Apocalypse #1) by Tao Wong

[Alex Hormann]

Finished The trouble with Peace really, really enjoyed it and definitely think this trilogy is Abercrombie's best work. Also read his The Stone short story, which ties into the book, and I'd forgotten how good his short fiction is.

Heading back into Star Trek town next, and am hoping to read all the Enterprise novels before Christmas. A bit low on fantasy at the moment to space things out, but I have a few non-trek books to get through as well.

[xiagan]

Started Foxglove Summer after a quick reread of A Memory of Light.

[Lady Ty]

Started Foxglove Summer after a quick reread of A Memory of Light.

You got hooked on Rivers, didn't you ? Clapping and smiling

[ScarletBea]

Started Foxglove Summer after a quick reread of A Memory of Light.

You got hooked on Rivers, didn't you ? Clapping and smiling

He's already ahead of me, hehe, I've only read the first 4!

[Elfy]

Started Foxglove Summer after a quick reread of A Memory of Light.

You got hooked on Rivers, didn't you ? Clapping and smiling

What’s not to get hooked on, Lady T?

[Lady Ty]

  Exactly  Elfy. But  it's taken xiagan so long to begin Rivers I  am completely delighted to notice he is bingeing right through and will soon have caught up with those of us who waited patiently year after year. I've re-read most by now and Foxglove Summer was one of my favourites. Still smiling especially as xia must have limited reading time these days.

[cupiscent]

Finally getting started on Anna Smith Spark's Court of Broken Knives, huzzah.

That series gotta have the most demented fantasy protagonist I've ever come across to date. Enjoy cupi!

I read the first but it didn't grip me enough to get the rest. I still wonder if it's a case of "wrong timing", so one day I'll re-read it and see if I still feel the same...

Dunno about you, but the prose hasn't helped me. It's very unique. When I read it - or rather, the first forty pages - I found it very admirable, but not great for getting my teeth into.

I actually liked the prose but I hated the protagonist. Really, really hated him. I would be happy to read another book Anna Smith Spark writes but when I do it won't be another in this series.

OK SO. What I just posted on Goodreads as an update (at page 172) is: "The slow reveals of this book are suffering because I recently read Harrow the Ninth, so infinitely and confidently twisty. I enjoy the style, though it took a little getting used to, and it has some beautiful tensions between innate humanity and the horrors of the world. But I am infinitely more interested in Thalia than I am in Marith, when unfortunately the narrative is the opposite."

Seriously, I love Orhan, I love Thalia, I really wouldn't care if Marith died in a gutter, though I alas I do not expect he will. But I'm interesting in carrying on reading because Spark is doing some fascinating interrogation of the self-made darknesses of mankind. (Much as Abercrombie and Parker do.)

[Bender]

Rivers of London is one of those series which I find hard recollecting! Having read the initial series of book, I simple cannot recollect anything apart from few nuggets.

[ScarletBea]

Rivers of London is one of those series which I find hard recollecting! Having read the initial series of book, I simple cannot recollect anything apart from few nuggets.

I believe it was @Nighteyes who gave me the first one
Then I read books 2-4 from the library, and have since then bought 2 and 3 second hand (from a charity shop and from my library, selling unwanted stock - I think they kept the paperback and sold the hardcover for 50p hehe).
I've been meaning to read the others, need to go back to the library!

[S. K. Inkslinger]

I've started and finished reading Vicious by V. E. Schwab. 5/5 stars. As always the first book of her series are always extremely original and great as expected, and I fully believed that this book fully worked as a standalone. In Vicious we get a friend turned foe dilemma involving two university students later turned superhumans. Despite the mutants plot being already widely used all around, Vicious still managed to present the idea in a totally fresh and fast-paced, page-turning manner, and I was totally hooked just from the first page. I totally loved the dynamics and dilemmas between Victor and Eli, they reminded me a lot between the two main MCs in The Prestige by Christopher Nolan and I imagined both of their characters that way. The ending of the book was executed brilliantly, and everything wrapped up well for one hell of an explosive standalone book. Definitely recommend anyone interested in any superheroish fantasy/ scifi. 

[Elfy]

I've started and finished reading Vicious by V. E. Schwab. 5/5 stars. As always the first book of her series are always extremely original and great as expected, and I fully believed that this book fully worked as a standalone. In Vicious we get a friend turned foe dilemma involving two university students later turned superhumans. Despite the mutants plot being already widely used all around, Vicious still managed to present the idea in a totally fresh and fast-paced, page-turning manner, and I was totally hooked just from the first page. I totally loved the dynamics and dilemmas between Victor and Eli, they reminded me a lot between the two main MCs in The Prestige by Christopher Nolan and I imagined both of their characters that way. The ending of the book was executed brilliantly, and everything wrapped up well for one hell of an explosive standalone book. Definitely recommend anyone interested in any superheroish fantasy/ scifi. 

It wasn’t as good as Vicious, but the sequel Vengeance is a pretty decent follow up. At times both made me think of Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black series and Jackson Ford’s The Girl Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind

[Peat]

Finally getting started on Anna Smith Spark's Court of Broken Knives, huzzah.

That series gotta have the most demented fantasy protagonist I've ever come across to date. Enjoy cupi!

I read the first but it didn't grip me enough to get the rest. I still wonder if it's a case of "wrong timing", so one day I'll re-read it and see if I still feel the same...

Dunno about you, but the prose hasn't helped me. It's very unique. When I read it - or rather, the first forty pages - I found it very admirable, but not great for getting my teeth into.

I actually liked the prose but I hated the protagonist. Really, really hated him. I would be happy to read another book Anna Smith Spark writes but when I do it won't be another in this series.

OK SO. What I just posted on Goodreads as an update (at page 172) is: "The slow reveals of this book are suffering because I recently read Harrow the Ninth, so infinitely and confidently twisty. I enjoy the style, though it took a little getting used to, and it has some beautiful tensions between innate humanity and the horrors of the world. But I am infinitely more interested in Thalia than I am in Marith, when unfortunately the narrative is the opposite."

Seriously, I love Orhan, I love Thalia, I really wouldn't care if Marith died in a gutter, though I alas I do not expect he will. But I'm interesting in carrying on reading because Spark is doing some fascinating interrogation of the self-made darknesses of mankind. (Much as Abercrombie and Parker do.)

Hmm. Intriguing. I'm going to tell myself I'll pick it up someday but not really mean it.

Oh, and speaking of Muir, I opened up my kindle copy of Gideon the Ninth the other day, and everyone had made it sound so over the top that I was thrown by how normal the start is, and closed it.