What are you reading in March?

[pat5150]

Time for a new thread. . .

Just finished Jeff Somers' Trickster and I really enjoyed his take on urban fantasy! He's as edgy and in-your-face as in the Avery Cates books, so it bodes well for the rest of the series!

Check out the Hotlist for the full review. . . :)

Patrick

[RedEyedGhost]

I finished A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold last Saturday, and loved it. It might not be the best Vorkosigan book, but it might just be the most fun. The dinner party scene was pure brilliance, and the council of counts scene was almost as good. Great book, and I think I'll jump into Diplomatic Immunity tomorrow after I finish...

Right now I'm reading The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett. I have <10% left, and so far I'm enjoying it for the most part. The pacing is a bit poor at times, and I really don't like Renna's POV.

[NewsToTom]

February reads for me included, in the F/SF category, Sanderson's Way of Kings. I hadn't planned on starting the series, or even necessarily reading any of it at all, until he finished the first five books. The library was selling the paperback for a quarter, though, so I splurged and ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected to. I won't try to convince Sanderson non-fans of its merits and don't plan on buying subsequent works in hardcover as they come it, but I liked it. I'm also making my way through Brett's Daylight War, slowly. I liked the first book, but haven't enjoyed the two later books nearly as much.

Other reads included, among other things, Nakamura's The Thief, a noir-ish first-person novel of a pickpocket I found not very substantial; Engineers of Victory by Paul Kennedy, which is more "applied grand strategy tactics" on several World War 2 problems than the more technically-oriented book the title might indicate; and Pete Townshend's autobiography Who I Am, a better chronology of Who history for those of us whose relationship with the band has been just listening to the albums but not hugely insightful. I am also making my way through, more quickly, Furies by Martines, a useful reminder of the unrelenting horrors of armed conflict in fifteenth through seventeenth century Europe.

Beyond Brett and Martines, likely March reads include Nexus by Ramez Naam and John Darwin's Unfinished Empire. I didn't enjoy his After Tamerlane that much, but I'm really looking forward to the latter. After those, who knows. Maybe I'll finally dive into War and Peace.

[Isis]

Just finished Jeff Somers' Trickster and I really enjoyed his take on urban fantasy! He's as edgy and in-your-face as in the Avery Cates books, so it bodes well for the rest of the series!

Check out the Hotlist for the full review. . . :)

Patrick

I've been wondering about that one as I enjoyed the Avery Cates books. Is there a Kindle version? Let's see...

I'm ploughing through The Magicians. I'm only 25% done and I'm not in love with it by any means. It's an easy enough read but it remains to be seen whether it has teeth.

[Antonius Pius]

Currently reading Leviathan Wakes by James A. Corey (who is really Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham). Liking it so far.

Also reading The Crusader States by Malcolm Barber, which is great so far. I love the backstory of what happened between the crusades.

[King Tyrion I]

I just picked up "Domino Men" by Jonathan Barnes having finished his previous novel.

[SkynJay]

I've been wondering about that one as I enjoyed the Avery Cates books. Is there a Kindle version? Let's see...

I'm ploughing through The Magicians. I'm only 25% done and I'm not in love with it by any means. It's an easy enough read but it remains to be seen whether it has teeth.

It seems to be the book with the most diverse opinions on my Goodreads feed. I go down my friends list and see 1star, 5 star, 3 star, 4 star, 4star, 2 star, etc. I didn't like it myself, and yet still find myself wanted to read the sequel. Explain that to me.

Was thinking of reading Trickster myself, so glad to see it is looking like something different in UF.

[Isis]

Right now I feel like it's an easy read and I'm enjoying it (in a middling sort of way). I don't feel any strong emotions at all about it yet so I'm expecting for it to throw something dramatic at me soon. I'm erring on the side of finding it pretentious and wanky though - but totally giving it the benefit of the doubt atm.

[red snow]

Luke Scull's "Grim Company" as he's been doing a good job of pimping it on the board and reviews are pretty positive.

[Winter's Knight]

I've been circling Les Mis for a few months now and think I'll actually read it this month.

[Lord Womble]

Will finish the Dark Tower Series this month. Half way through book 6. Was waylaid from the previous months reads through a few impromptu reads.

I've got Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh on my kindle and I think I will give yer man Luke Scull's debut a read, seeing as he seems like a good guy and his works been received well on here already!

[the maid of woodlynne]

Started "American Gods" the other night. I have a backlog of recommendations to get through and this seemed like a good place to start.

Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is up next, maybe.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finished Beyond Belfast by Will Ferguson. The author decides to walk the entire Ulster Way on foot, and I found it got boring pretty quick as it endless repetitions geting lost in the bogs, hiking in the rain and drinking beer in the pubs. Being a Canadian, I really do not understand this Catholic vs Protestant division. The author tried to explain and actually experienced the aftermath of a deadly bombing. There are a few laugh out loud parts, but I enjoyed the Ulster history the most and the author chasing down his grandfather's roots. It is shame really as I think his other travelogue, Hitching Rides with Buddha was brilliant.

Now reading the third book in the Emperor's Edge series, Deadly Games by Lindsay Buroker.

[DaveSumm]

My reading list, having just finished American Gods, now looks like this:

The Grim Company by Luke Scull

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

...though I doubt that 1) I'll get through them in March and 2) that it won't change entirely.

[mashiara]

I finished The Twelve by Justin Cronin just as February ended. I was unimpressed. I had liked The Passage without being crazy about it because it had several weak points, The Twelve is a mess compared to it. Too many plot twists that aren't based on anything, too many things happening just because it's convenient, too much mysticism, if you want. I have nothing against mysticism but this book is very different than the first one. It did have some great action moments but the actual characters felt very one-dimensional, not much depth in them, even in moments that should have been very emotional.

I am now reading Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness. I'm about halfway through and I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. It's missing the things I loved in the first one. I hope it improves quickly.

[Francis Buck]

I just finished The Child Thief by Brom. It was okay. Very interesting up to about the middle point, but the ending was quite messy and weak, and overall the writing was only decent. Good ideas, not so good execution. I liked the art though.

Probably going to start Before They Are Hanged this week.

[TempusFugit]

I'm currently reading Barbara Tuchman's 'A Distant Mirror' and C.V. Wedgwood's 'The Thirty Years War' both of which I can't recommend highly enough. The authors both have a flair for writing narrative history and there are times when even the best fantasy fiction can't hold a candle to actual history.

Next up are Michael Moorcock's 'Gloriana' and the first book in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, 'Harlequin'.

[gordonah]

I'm currently reading Barbara Tuchman's 'A Distant Mirror' and C.V. Wedgwood's 'The Thirty Years War' both of which I can't recommend highly enough. The authors both have a flair for writing narrative history and there are times when even the best fantasy fiction can't hold a candle to actual history.

Next up are Michael Moorcock's 'Gloriana' and the first book in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, 'Harlequin'.

I've a copy a Wedgwood's ' Thirty Years War' somewhere. A great read, and still considered definitive by some 80 years on. I also greatly enjoyed the Grail Quest trilogy as well (haven't read the more recent 4th book yet).

I'm 1/2 way through The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. Not sure it's my cup of tea (I find the protagonist quite annoying), though it'sset in one of my favourite periods of history.

[UndergroundMan]

Just finished The Left Hand of Darkness. And I'm in the middle of a reread The Age of Innocence. Can't decide what to read next: either Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel or Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie.

[williamjm]

I finished Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone. It was an entertaining read, perhaps a bit formulaic to begin with but I thought it got better as it went on, particularly after a major revelation about halfway through the book and it had a strong conclusion. It was refreshingly fast-paced and it's nice to have a first novel in a series that does form a complete story (even if many things are left unresolved), if this had been a Patrick Rothfuss story then Alina would still be having lessons at the Little Palace at the end of the book. I'm looking forward to the sequel since there were some intriguing characters and I'm interested to see how they develop in the rest of the series.

ETA - next I'll probably read Tim Powers' Hide Me Among The Graves. I think Powers has written some excellent novels, although I'm slightly wary about this one since I know it has some connections to The Stress of Her Regard which I thought was one of his weaker books.