First Quarter 2022 Reading

[Argonath Diver]

I rarely quit on a book once I'm halfway through or more, but I threw in the towel on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding, whom many here have complimented from his other works. Felt like a complete retread of a patchwork of fantasy tropes, with paint-by-numbers characters who often seemed like video game NPCs. A flimsy plot relentlessly clung to expectations page after page. Unless there is a complete about face in the last act, I didn't find a single compelling reason to carry on. Wooding's prose was acceptably epic fantasy-ish with some bouts of anachronistic dialogue, certainly less wince-inducing than Sanderson, but never really worth a slow word-by-word re-read after a particularly splendid paragraph.

A good friend adores Retribution Falls, which I seem to recall is well-regarded here. I figured I'd enjoy a respected current author's dive into traditional epic fantasy, but this one just couldn't keep me turning the pages. I'll have to try out his steampunk stuff as a second effort, though it's not a subgenre I have much reading experience in.

[Argonath Diver]

Double post

[LongRider]

Right after New Year's I finished the historical fiction novel, Ceasar, by Colleen McCullough and now reading the last book of this series, Antony and Cleopatra.  This series, The Masters of Rome, has been excellent as was mentioned by others and while the series is seven doorstopper books, it was worth the time and effort.  Very good writing. 

On deck are Hild by Nicola Griffith and Small Gods by Terry Pratchett.

[Peadar]

On 1/5/2022 at 9:06 PM, polishgenius said:

Tchaikovski writes so damn much man. My favourite I think is Cage of Souls, really like that. Need to catch up on some of his novellas/shorter books, but I do have a slight issue with the publisher charging full price as an ebook for some of the shorter ones- it's pretty daft that 600 pages of Cage of Souls or Children of Ruin costs four or five pound, whereas Walking to Aldebaran or Firewalkers, both clocking in at 150-ish pages, are seven pound. I know value for money and length are not an exact correlation but I'm not paying full novel price for something I can read in an hour. 

Yeah, Cage of Souls is right up there with his best work. But then again, I'm a big fan of the Dying Earth Genre.

 

In the end, I didn't get on so well with 84K, though. Up next for me is Christopher Buehlman's Those Across the River.

[ljkeane]

16 minutes ago, Peadar said:

Yeah, Cage of Souls is right up there with his best work. But then again, I'm a big fan of the Dying Earth Genre.

Cage of Souls and Guns of the Dawn are definitely two of my favourites of Tchaikovsky's books, I really liked The Tiger and the Wolf too although I thought the series went down hill a little after that book. I'm not a huge fan of Dogs of War to be honest. I mean I liked it but it's pretty middle of the pack as far as Tchaikovsky books go for me.

On 1/6/2022 at 2:36 AM, Starkess said:

That name sounded vaguely familiar so I looked it up and I did indeed read this series back in 2014. I don't remember a single thing about it (even the character names you've posted left me scratching my head), but apparently I gave the books 3, 3, 4, and 3 stars on Goodreads (on GR, 3 stars = I liked it and 4 stars = I really liked it). So my past self enjoyed the last book!

I remember really liking the first book but I don't I liked the last couple as much.

[mix_masta_micah]

12 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

I rarely quit on a book once I'm halfway through or more, but I threw in the towel on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding, whom many here have complimented from his other works. Felt like a complete retread of a patchwork of fantasy tropes, with paint-by-numbers characters who often seemed like video game NPCs. A flimsy plot relentlessly clung to expectations page after page. Unless there is a complete about face in the last act, I didn't find a single compelling reason to carry on. Wooding's prose was acceptably epic fantasy-ish with some bouts of anachronistic dialogue, certainly less wince-inducing than Sanderson, but never really worth a slow word-by-word re-read after a particularly splendid paragraph.

A good friend adores Retribution Falls, which I seem to recall is well-regarded here. I figured I'd enjoy a respected current author's dive into traditional epic fantasy, but this one just couldn't keep me turning the pages. I'll have to try out his steampunk stuff as a second effort, though it's not a subgenre I have much reading experience in.

I'll vouch for The Ember Blade. The first 100 pages or so definitely felt redundant but the nuance of the characters really shined for me (shitty mentor dynamic) with plenty of variable characters. The end was quite enthralling iirc but it's definitely a throw back. Well-written imo but it doesn't being anything new... Just well-executed imo. 

[Argonath Diver]

That's fair. I suppose that reading tastes are so very subjective; I got nearly 450 pages in and still felt like everything was formulaic to a fault, and was eye-rolling nearly every scene by the time I stopped. I think I'll let it marinade until the next book is eventually released and go for a re-read. I'm not sure I've been so far from the general positive consensus on a novel in a long time, and it feels awkward being that guy. Thank you for the response; I realized 2021 saw likely the least amount of books I've read since, well, I was able to. Still looking for an author who really catches me from the get-go; he or she is out there!

[Zorral]

3 hours ago, LongRider said:

On deck are Hild by Nicola Griffith

Looking forward to your response to it.  I hope you enjoy it!

[williamjm]

15 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

I rarely quit on a book once I'm halfway through or more, but I threw in the towel on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding, whom many here have complimented from his other works. Felt like a complete retread of a patchwork of fantasy tropes, with paint-by-numbers characters who often seemed like video game NPCs. A flimsy plot relentlessly clung to expectations page after page. Unless there is a complete about face in the last act, I didn't find a single compelling reason to carry on. Wooding's prose was acceptably epic fantasy-ish with some bouts of anachronistic dialogue, certainly less wince-inducing than Sanderson, but never really worth a slow word-by-word re-read after a particularly splendid paragraph.

A good friend adores Retribution Falls, which I seem to recall is well-regarded here. I figured I'd enjoy a respected current author's dive into traditional epic fantasy, but this one just couldn't keep me turning the pages. I'll have to try out his steampunk stuff as a second effort, though it's not a subgenre I have much reading experience in.

Wooding said that The Ember Blade was a deliberate attempt to return to the sort of epic fantasy of the 80s and 90s, so I think the formulaic aspects of it were intentional. I liked it well enough, but I think The Tales of the Ketty Jay and The Fade are Wooding's best books.

[Argonath Diver]

6 hours ago, williamjm said:

Wooding said that The Ember Blade was a deliberate attempt to return to the sort of epic fantasy of the 80s and 90s, so I think the formulaic aspects of it were intentional. I liked it well enough, but I think The Tales of the Ketty Jay and The Fade are Wooding's best books.

Yep, I have heard lots of praise over the years for Wooding, namely the Ketty Jay series that does sound interesting. I indeed tried The Ember Blade because it was a well respected author and I do have a soft spot for that 90s epic fantasy vibe. Im trying to talk myself back into reading more chapters, perhaps this weekend.

I don't like to dump on books especially when the author clearly does something right for lots of people. This one was spoiled milk for me alas. If I do finish and the finale has me eager for book two,  I will have Jim and Micah to thank for reeling me back in. The hook is almost loose though 

 

[john]

I’m not sure you’ll like the Ketty Jay books better, they’re also a little tropey.

The Braided Path is his original adult fantasy trilogy which is Asian inspired and more unique in conception, with a darker tone. The Fade is also darker in tone and, as williamjm says, is probably his best book.

[Peadar]

2 hours ago, john said:

The Fade is also darker in tone and, as williamjm says, is probably his best book.

I agree. I bounced off everything else of his I read, but The Fade was absolutely brilliant.

[A wilding]

Not much of a Wooding fan myself, but I also enjoyed The Braided Path and The Fade. However @Argonath Diver  if you dislike The Ember Blade because it feels a bit like a fantasy game, then you should be aware the The Fade feels very reminiscent of the DnD Underdark (a Drow protaganist has fallen victim to a subtle plot).

[mix_masta_micah]

10 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

Yep, I have heard lots of praise over the years for Wooding, namely the Ketty Jay series that does sound interesting. I indeed tried The Ember Blade because it was a well respected author and I do have a soft spot for that 90s epic fantasy vibe. Im trying to talk myself back into reading more chapters, perhaps this weekend.

I don't like to dump on books especially when the author clearly does something right for lots of people. This one was spoiled milk for me alas. If I do finish and the finale has me eager for book two,  I will have Jim and Micah to thank for reeling me back in. The hook is almost loose though 

 

Haha it's just my perspective on it, it may not be for you! I just liked the Lovecraftian hints in a Tolkien-like world with a band of misfits. I also enjoy Wooding's dialog. 

[ljkeane]

All this talk of Chris Wooding made me check and apparently he handed in the first draft of the next book in the series at the end of November so presumably it's in the pipeline to come out at some point in the next year or so.

[mix_masta_micah]

48 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

All this talk of Chris Wooding made me check and apparently he handed in the first draft of the next book in the series at the end of November so presumably it's in the pipeline to come out at some point in the next year or so.

Really hoping for the 4th quarter of this year but I doubt it. I was ecstatic when I saw this a few months ago bc it seemed he was thinking it was going to take longer to finish. 

[dog-days]

Using spoiler boxes to shorten a long post. No spoilers included. 

The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge.

Spoiler

This book is classed as children's fiction, but it comfortably fits in with what I think is called, or could be called, crossover literature. A rather brilliant category into which I'd happily chuck the works of Philip Pullman and Diana Wynne Jones, amongst others. Fourteen-year-old Myrtle, her brother, parents and maternal uncle move to the Channel Islands at short notice for reasons not explained to the overlooked daughter of the household. The story is set in the late nineteenth century, and touches on themes such as evolution, the role of women and perception of women in society, morality, hypocrisy and ambition. Crucially, Myrtle's father is an eminent naturalist and fossil hunter. 

Aspects of the book put me in mind of Robert Louis Stevenson, in a good way, though it's very much of the twenty-first century in its message. (In fact, I think it does let itself down a bit towards the end when a few passages pay their respects to Lord High Admiral Sir Obvious of Obviousness, but perhaps that's just something children's fiction has to do.) Something else to mention is that the author can really write. Not ostentatiously, but with a kind of clear-eyed focus:

Quote

Quiet people often have a weather sense that loud people lack. They feel the wind-changes of conversations, and shiver in the chill of unspoken resentments.

Definitely a good read to sit with by the fire on a winter's evening. Or by a YouTube video of an open fire if that's the closest you can get. 

The Comedy of Terrors by Lindsey Davies 

Spoiler

The latest Flavia Alba. I didn't think this was as strong as the excellent The Grove of the Caesars. It rambled a bit and lost its focus too often.  That said, it was still a fun seasonal read. Basically cosy crime, discounting the horrendous violence perpetrated against an innocent sheep.

Boneland by Alan Garner 

Spoiler

The not-sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. I read a review of the book when it came out in 2012, so had ample time to internalise the fact that it wouldn't be the third part of a trilogy. Lots of other readers weren't so prepared, as is attested by the very many upset comments on Amazon and GoodReads. I hope no millennials or Gen-Xers were actually sitting down to read their five-year-old a bedtime story when they found out that, instead of child protagonists resisting the forces of darkness in a ripping yarn, they were encountering an older adult version of Colin, the boy hero of the previous books, now as a newly discharged mental patient with probable psychosis, half-lost in dreams of a Stone Age shamanic past. Garner should have been photographed for the title page holding up an 'And now for something completely different' sign. 

I still have very little idea what the book was about, but I enjoyed it. It was complex, and didn't make any concessions to its readers. I'm going to look more into its development now, since I'd like to know how Garner got from disliking his original protagonists (Colin and Susan) and disliking the works they appeared in, to writing Boneland. 

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft 

Spoiler

I got this after seeing it recommended by williamjm, and I'm very glad I did. It does weird steam-punk excellently. I like the protagonist Senlin, even if I found it a little tough to accept his transformation from an anxious, serious village schoolmaster to...something a bit spoilery that normally wouldn't be a recommended career for his personality type. Naturally, putting my genre glasses on, I can cheerfully accept it and move on, and it's not as if it wasn't well set-up. I've just downloaded Arm of the Sphinx, so that's waiting for me after I finish this post. 

The Mask Falling and The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon 

Spoiler

Books 3 and 4 in The Bone Season series. At the start, I felt the Bone Season was very YA. There's a protagonist with amazing abilities and she's got specialness, and star-crossed love with someone who's improbably devoted to her. But Shannon is a good writer, so that doesn't matter so much, and the series is interested in far more than the YA tropes. It's got a big cast of characters (a few that seemed particularly interesting turned up in the most recent instalment, and hopefully we'll see more of them whenever the next book arrives), low politics, fights, more fights, betrayals... It's loads of fun, in other words. 

I do wish Shannon would dial down the Oirishness quotient. Not the references to Ireland or the Irish language - but it would be nice if the protagonist for once would remember her grandmother taking her to a shop in Clonmel to buy cleaning products or bread or something normal without any mentions of lush green landscapes or the implicit plucking of harp-strings. 

But I will nobly cope with whatever St Patrick's Day debris the author can throw at me if it means I can find out what happens next before I have my twentieth Covid booster jab. 

The Bear at Midnight by Lexie Conyngham

Spoiler

Another historical crime novel, this one set in eleventh century Orkney in the time of Earl Thorfinn. I've read the previous three books in this series with enjoyment, though also with total ignorance, since I don't know enough about the period to  gauge how accurate they are as to the living conditions, laws, customs and beliefs etc. Since the author is an academic, I imagine that the research behind the series is pretty solid. Hope so, anyway! 

I see these books as being 'cosy crime' again - in this case, because Thorfinn is portrayed as a fair if not saintly ruler, who provides a stable status quo that's worthwhile preserving. I find it quite difficult to describe Lexie Connynham's writing style. It's enjoyable to read when I'm immersed in one of her many novels (she's prolific) but I forget the details quite soon after finishing. And she does use a lot of detail - there're always multiple suspects, multiple red herrings, alibis, motives... Her style is understated and precise. 

I imagine her working things out her plots in a bothy in the Highlands with a glass of whisky on her desk and a flowchart pinned to the wall that could make a NASA information scientist weep in envy. 

 

[Fragile Bird]

I just finished The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner, a book I picked because it showed up on a couple of reading lists I saw. Checking some stories I see it was named the most anticipated debut novel of 2021 by various groups. Fox Broadcasting is adapting it for a tv drama series.

The premise of the book is that there were women who would help other women poison scum-bag men in their lives, husbands, fathers, brothers, lovers. Well, at least one woman, in the London of the late 1700s. The book follows two timelines, a modern day American who comes across a vial from the apothecary washed up by the Thames and the last few days of the operation of said apothecary in 1791. 
 

On one hand it was a fun read, on the other hand it’s easy to see why so many American outfits named it a great book: American hero rolls into London, finds a historical artifact on day one and within 3 or 4 days unravels a fascinating mystery that the Brits were too blind to solve themselves. And the ending is just soooo American- 

Spoiler

Caroline, the modern-day protagonist, conceals important historical information she finds from the bosom-buddy insta-friend she made at the British Library, and who provided valuable help to her, as she works in the Maps section. Caroline conceals the information because she plans to use it for her Masters thesis she’s going to write at Cambridge, a program she’s just applied to the last night covered in the book. I guess it’s really easy to get into Cambridge’s graduate courses?

 

[Zorral]

I guess

Spoiler

Cambridge either is without fees or very very very inexpensive -- or is the protag also very very very well off?  

[KingintheNorth4]

I'm currently reading The Samurai by Stephen Turnbull. Since I was a kid I've been a fan of Samurai themed media so it's interesting reading about the real thing.