What are you currently reading?

[isos81]

I've started Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs, read one chapter last night.
Interesting and surprising, I think I expected a more 'normal' book, hehe - then again, Eclipse chose it

Oh, very nice. Please join us in the Read Along comments. I'm only halfway through and you'll catch up with me soon

[eclipse]

I think I expected a more 'normal' book, hehe - then again, Eclipse chose it

Oh, very nice. Please join us in the Read Along comments. I'm only halfway through and you'll catch up with me soon

What are you trying to say  I’m your  Emperor lich  of the book club it is my divine right to teach you to read proper fantasy books.

[isos81]

I've started Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs, read one chapter last night.

Only this

[bdcharles]

Reading "The Silver Tide" by Jen Williams. It's pretty good. It's the third in its series and the first of any of hers I've read. Yes, I'm exploring fantasy books out of order - free yourselves from the tyranny of doing a series in a linear fashion!

I'm rereading Dragons of Autumn Twighlight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.  The Dragonlance Chronicles was the first high fantasy series I ever read, and I consider it the beginning of my love affair with the genre. I believe I was 13 at the time. 

Here's hoping I'll still find it as enjoyable at 37. 

@The Sword in the Tome how does this stack up as an older reader? I confess I have never read it but have often wanted to. When I was a late teen there were some right weirdos on the edges of our social circle who became properly obsessed with it to the point of naming us all after characters in it, and going off and doing quests and stuff (never found out quite what these were), but it gave me a sort of strange vibe about it as a result.

[ScarletBea]

Reading "The Silver Tide" by Jen Williams. It's pretty good. It's the third in its series and the first of any of hers I've read. Yes, I'm exploring fantasy books out of order - free yourselves from the tyranny of doing a series in a linear fashion!

My brain doesn't compute... no order... books out of order... I'm melting...
 

[The Sword in the Tome]

how does this stack up as an older reader?

I'm not far enough in to book one to say yet, but so far so good.    That very question is what compelled me to reread the trilogy.

I've recently read Magician: Apprentice & Master by Raymond E. Fiest, as well as The Elenium by David Eddings, and I was curious to learn how the Dragonlance Chronicles compares against those two high fantasy "gateway" series.

[S. K. Inkslinger]

I've finished Aurora Rising. 3.5 stars, almost 4, but not quite. This was one of those books I jumped in with quite a high amount of enthusiasm only to feel quite disappointed in the end. Almost the whole 40% later part of the book were filled with YA and movie cliches, up to the main villain of the story. Since I think no one will be reading this anyway I'm just going to go ahead and say some spoilers.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Spoiler: Instead of a cool, mismatched team dynamics I was hoping for, we get the bland masquerade party infiltration trope like that in a hundred thousand movies, only to end with the futile death of one team member for (non-existent) emotional impact and a cliche chosen one battling against the ultimate hivemind bad guy. How bland.

I probably won't be buying the sequel whenever that came out.

I'm going back to Retribution Falls (Ketty Jay #1) and ultimately hoping that this team story would prove to be more interesting.

[ScarletBea]

I'm going back to Retribution Falls (Ketty Jay #1) and ultimately hoping that this team story would prove to be more interesting.

I loved the Ketty Jay books

[eclipse]

I'm going back to Retribution Falls (Ketty Jay #1) and ultimately hoping that this team story would prove to be more interesting.

I loved the Ketty Jay books

And me 😛

[DrNefario]

I finished The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut #2) by Mary Robinette Kowal, and really enjoyed it, just like the first one. I said it wouldn't take long.

I think I might go straight on to Lioness Rampant (Song of the Lioness #4) by Tamora Pierce, and get that series tidied away.

[Bender]

+1 vote for Ketty Jay. Lovely series.

[Rostum]

Finished Swarm and Steel by Michael R Fletcher. I felt the ending fell apart setting up for the last line of the book.

[Bender]

Finished Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

A bit raw with it's ups and downs. Story starts off well and it has a middle segment worthy of a climax of a hollywood blockbuster. Unfortunately the pacing drops significantly as author morphs the book into a emotional drama rather than a pure fantasy. The Robin segments at the end didn't really add any value other than vague hints which I presume will be plot for next book.

Writing style is brilliant. Author has a way with words and story flows seamlessly like a well made movie. The Japanese terms take some getting used to, but apart from that quite superb.


I actually liked the Misaki character very well. Thought it was refreshing one as it's unlike anything you come across in mainstream fantasy, but on downside it felt raw and unpolished. She has lots of potential that was not realized in the book. Wife, mom, sorcerer and fighter is a set of attributes that rarely merge into a person and Misaki pulls it off very well.

The ending drags and makes you wish the book was 50 pages shorter. In the end the (magical) fantasy aspects feel grossly underused taking the backseat for interpersonal relationships (mom/son, husband/wife, ex-lover, in-laws etc etc). Not that this is a bad thing by default, but just not my cup of tea. I also felt that the Japanese male domination stuff (perhaps it's based on true society) was a bit overdone.

Hopefully we'll see a polished Misaki in future books.

[Lanko]

I started Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

It was released this year but didn't really catch my attention, then I saw it was "necromancers in space" and I felt it was too bizarre to pass.
About 40% in, curious things happening, but nothing yet that keeps me dead on my tracks reading.

[ScarletBea]

I started Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

It was released this year but didn't really catch my attention, then I saw it was "necromancers in space" and I felt it was too bizarre to pass.
About 40% in, curious things happening, but nothing yet that keeps me dead on my tracks reading.

Oh, that's the one that @cupiscent said she was going to read next! I hadn't heard about it, then on the same day I see it mentioned 3 times (you two plus an article on Tor.com)