What I’m Reading

• Fantasy Favorite: Neil Gaiman
• Fantasy Also Like: China Mieville, George R.R. Martin, Kelly Link
• Science Fiction Favorite: John Scalzi
• Science Fiction Also Like: Kameron Hurley, N.K. Jemisin, Iain Banks, Stephen Baxter, Greg Bear, Dan Simmons
• Horror Favorite: Stephen King
• Horror Also Like: Clive Barker
• Poetry Favorite: Stephen Dunn
• Poetry Also Like: D.H. Lawrence, William Blake,T.S. Eliot
• Modern Literature Favorite: Kazuo Ishiguro, Margaret Atwood
• Modern Literature Also Like: Umberto Eco

• Justin Cronin’s “The Ferryman” was very good. While I did not find it as ‘profound’ as some have, it was a solid “what the hell is really going on?” type of book that kep me enthralled until the end.
• I went searching for modern horror, something reminiscent of early Clive Barker’s work. I found Paula Ashe, a self described “Hellraiser obsessive”. Her collection “We Are Here to Hurt Each Other” is excellent.

• Re-reading Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos. Some of the (anti)religious themes are still heavy-handed, but he does a great job at world-building. It holds up better than I expected.

• Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet has grabbed my attention. I’m a sucker for space operas and world-building when done right.

• Re-reading Ted Chiang’s short stories and novellas.
• Currently reading Monica Byrne’s “The Actual Star”. Impressive book, spanning 3 different storylines across millennia. I am riveted to see how they come together.

• Kameron Hurley’s “The Light Brigade” is excellent military sci-fi. I put it up there with Heinlein in using sci-fi settings to highlight the atrocities and personal costs of a perpetual war.
• Starting to dig into Peter Watt’s “Blindsight”. It’s a hard sci-fi first alien encounter novel, supposedly one of the best ever written. I’m having a hard time getting engaged so far, but will stick with it.

• M.R. Carey’s series continues with “Trials of Koli”. See below for a plot summary. His worldbuilding is solid, and he sets it up for a solid conclusion later this year.
• I read the first entry of the Murderbot series, by Martha Wells. It was fine, I guess. Not sure if I’ll come back to the rest of the series.

• M.R. Carey’s Rampart Trilogy gets off to a strong start with “Book of Koli.” I am a sucker for solid post-apocalyptic settings which have breadcrumbs to modern civilization. This story of an over-the-horizon future where the earth has suffered some sort of collapse(not nuclear- feels more ecological), and some technology remains. In this setting, technology is akin to magic, and those who know how to use it are the ones with power.
• Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Trilogy continues strongly with “Harrow The Ninth”

• Still working through Kameron Hurley’s catalog. She’s one of the few artists I support on Patreon. The Stars are Legion was a weird, gross, excellent read.

• Tamsysn Muir’s “Gideon the Ninth” was a fun, frollicking read.
• Kameron Hurley is someone worth tracking on. She writes weird, character driven sci-fi/fantasy (mainly sci-fi). She is brutally honest about what it’s like to be a moderately successful writer, still living paycheck to paycheck. Her social media is filled with images and info on her cats, dogs, her day to day life as a writer, and other random thoughts. She’s worth a follow.

• John Scalzi’s Consuming Fire, the second book in his Interdependency series, was an excellent read. I’m looking forward to the series final book sometime this year.

• Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology was excellent. I thought I knew most Norse stories, but was wrong.
• Kelly Link’s Get Into Trouble is good. And weird. It’s good weird.

• N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy is outstanding. I am in awe of serious world-building, and Jemisin builds a compelling universe for her characters to act human, in both the best and worst possible ways.

• I recently finished reading Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem trilogy, culminating in the finale Death’s End. The trilogy has been labeled “China’s Star Wars”, rightly so. I highly recommend the entire series.

• Just finished John Scalzi’s Collapsing Empire. Solid beginning to his new sci-fi series about an interstellar feudal system that is losing the ability to traverse the stars.
• With the first season of the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’ just ending, I re-read parts of the book to remind myself of certain items. The series definitely diverged from the book in a few key ways, mainly to update the setting from 2001(original publication) to today. I’m already looking forward to a second season.

• Work has been busy, have not read much this year. The 4 books I have read since January;
• The Three Body Problem and its sequel, The Dark Forest. Both are by Chinese author Liu Cixin. It is impressive big-idea Science Fiction set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution through the present and future. I’ve got the 3rd book in the trilogy coming up soon.
• Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life and Others was a very good short story collection. The story “Story of Your Life” was made into the excellent movie “Arrival” with Amy Adams.
• Joe Haldeman’s Forever War, a classic that is always worth a re-read.

• Alas, nothing new right now. Been busy with work and being lazy to pick up a new book. I want to start reading Ted Chiang’s SF writings.

• Getting excited for Starz’ adaption of Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’. So, I am re-reading the book for like the 8th time.

May 16th, 2016

• John Scalzi’s End of All Things is the top item on the Kindle app. 

• Robert Reed’s Sister Alice is a nice throwback SF story. He’s just a solid writer.
• Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning is good, though I was slightly underwhelmed. Maybe it was because I had read most of the collection in previous forms.

• Tad Williams’ Bobby Dollar trilogy was a quick-read for Laura and I. An angel as a gumshoe detective in the SF Bay Area. Very enjoyable reads, in a pulpy-noirish kind of way.

• Neil Gaiman’s Fortunately, The Milk is making the rounds through the family. He is the best writer at being able to write a book that appeals to everyone in the family, from Bree(7 years old) up to me (some number above 7)

• I discovered John Scalzi over the summer via a Humble Bundle deal from this past year. ‘Old Man’s War’ deserved the Hugo that it received. Very strong sci-fi writer, with the right balance of the absurb, the serious, and the laugh-out-loud funny. His blog is quite entertaining, as well. I’m on his 4th book in 4 months(interrupted by Neil Gaiman, the only author whom is capable of interrupting streaks like this).

• “The Last Colony” by John Scalzi
• “Ocean At the End Of The Lane” by Neil Gaiman
• “Ghost Brigades” by John Scalzi
• “Old Man’s War” by John Scalzi
• “Redshirts” by John Scalzi

• “The Fun Parts” by Sam Lipsyte
• “Childhood’s End” by Arthur C. Clarke
• “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
• “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins
• “Scorecasting – The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Won” by Moskowitz and Wertheim
• “Hunger Games“ by Suzanne Collins
• “SuperFreakonomics” Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
• “Hydrogen Sonata” Iain Banks
• “The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands”, by Margaret Regan
• “Excession”, by Iain Banks
• “Surface Detail” Iain Banks
• “Embassytown” China Mieville
• “A Dance With Dragons” – George R.R. Martin
• “The Year of the Flood” – Margaret Atwood
• “Exultant” – Stephen Baxter