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Feb. 10th, 2013
Jan '13 Book List
Feb. 10th, 2013 08:42 pmAnd the first book finished in '13 is Robin Wyrick's Eviction Notice. A mostly comedy scifi story where aliens are going to jettison every living thing on Earth into space because of a senior prank involving crop circles...
Then a quick reread of Pratchett's Small Gods brought on by some online discussion of women in his work. Mostly to double check that huh there AREN'T any in one of my favorites for the series...
Followed by the first of several anthologies for the month, volume 45 of the Grantville Gazettes, still edited by Paula Goodlett. Also for January the newest "Bordertown" collection Welcome to Bordertown edited by Holly Black & Ellen Kushner. Velveteen vs. the Junior Super Patriots, collecting the first half of Seanan McGuire's online supers short stories. The 2012 Free Baen collection (though I don't have an editor for that) and Best of Tor.com edited by Patricia Hayden, Liz Gorinsky & David Hartwell. Oh and while not an actual collection, "The Restless Dead of Siegel City", "Lucky Penny" and "Stowaway" a trio of holiday themed shorts for Blake Petit's supers setting...
I ended up not really liking Phillip K. Dick's alternate history the Man in the High Castle. I guess I can't really enjoy Nazi Victory stuff, unless it sets them up for eventual destruction...
Mark Anthony's the Keep of Fire is the second in his "real" Earth in fantasy world series. I'm a little bit daunted at reading the remaining five books in the series though. Despite liking the characters I'm still more than a bit tired of the cross-world savior trope. Though I did finish and enjoy Barbara Hambly's similar trilogy with the Walls of Air and Armies of Daylight...
Liked Michael Stackpole's In Hero Years I'm Dead which has him revamping his longtime Batman expy Revenant. Which also has a formalized supers battle concept evoking fantasy sports leagues...
After reading some short fiction by her picked up Melinda Lo's Ash. A YA book retelling "Cinderella" with the titular lead torn between her Fae "godfather" and female Royal Huntswoman...
Also got around to Chuck Wendig's paranormal books Blackbird and Mockingbird. Wendig I think perfectly balances the whole likeability vs. asshole protagonist thing...
I'd also say that I enjoyed Devon Monk's second steampunk/horror/western Tin Swift more than the first...
And more in the finally getting to pile, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's "Liaden" series. With what is kind of a side series to the mainline with Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship and Dragon Ship. My only minor beef is that there are a couple spots where characters go off and do stuff that is probably covered in the writer's very large backlog of short fiction...
In the middle of all that though I also broke off for a reread of David Weber's Shadow of Freedom. Mostly to tide me over while impatiently waiting for new Honorverse or Safehold books...
Finally the roommate picked up Mike Shepherd's "Kris Longknife" military scifi. Got to the first five books, Mutineer, Deserter, Defiant, Resolute and Audacious, by the end of the month. Enjoyable if slight on character depth. Very pulpish in feel. I do like how ships in the earlier books use ice-coverings as ablative armor for space combat...
Total books: 27
Then a quick reread of Pratchett's Small Gods brought on by some online discussion of women in his work. Mostly to double check that huh there AREN'T any in one of my favorites for the series...
Followed by the first of several anthologies for the month, volume 45 of the Grantville Gazettes, still edited by Paula Goodlett. Also for January the newest "Bordertown" collection Welcome to Bordertown edited by Holly Black & Ellen Kushner. Velveteen vs. the Junior Super Patriots, collecting the first half of Seanan McGuire's online supers short stories. The 2012 Free Baen collection (though I don't have an editor for that) and Best of Tor.com edited by Patricia Hayden, Liz Gorinsky & David Hartwell. Oh and while not an actual collection, "The Restless Dead of Siegel City", "Lucky Penny" and "Stowaway" a trio of holiday themed shorts for Blake Petit's supers setting...
I ended up not really liking Phillip K. Dick's alternate history the Man in the High Castle. I guess I can't really enjoy Nazi Victory stuff, unless it sets them up for eventual destruction...
Mark Anthony's the Keep of Fire is the second in his "real" Earth in fantasy world series. I'm a little bit daunted at reading the remaining five books in the series though. Despite liking the characters I'm still more than a bit tired of the cross-world savior trope. Though I did finish and enjoy Barbara Hambly's similar trilogy with the Walls of Air and Armies of Daylight...
Liked Michael Stackpole's In Hero Years I'm Dead which has him revamping his longtime Batman expy Revenant. Which also has a formalized supers battle concept evoking fantasy sports leagues...
After reading some short fiction by her picked up Melinda Lo's Ash. A YA book retelling "Cinderella" with the titular lead torn between her Fae "godfather" and female Royal Huntswoman...
Also got around to Chuck Wendig's paranormal books Blackbird and Mockingbird. Wendig I think perfectly balances the whole likeability vs. asshole protagonist thing...
I'd also say that I enjoyed Devon Monk's second steampunk/horror/western Tin Swift more than the first...
And more in the finally getting to pile, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's "Liaden" series. With what is kind of a side series to the mainline with Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship and Dragon Ship. My only minor beef is that there are a couple spots where characters go off and do stuff that is probably covered in the writer's very large backlog of short fiction...
In the middle of all that though I also broke off for a reread of David Weber's Shadow of Freedom. Mostly to tide me over while impatiently waiting for new Honorverse or Safehold books...
Finally the roommate picked up Mike Shepherd's "Kris Longknife" military scifi. Got to the first five books, Mutineer, Deserter, Defiant, Resolute and Audacious, by the end of the month. Enjoyable if slight on character depth. Very pulpish in feel. I do like how ships in the earlier books use ice-coverings as ablative armor for space combat...
Total books: 27
