Blog Archive

2007 new reads part 2

61 Toast Charles Stross A bunch of neat but outdated short stories by Stross.
62 Accidental Goddess Linnea Sinclair For a change of pace, a SF romance.
These next 15 books were read before #53
63. New Amsterdam Elizabeth Bear My second favorite alternate history, and my favorite vampire book. This one would have been the best thing I’d read up to November 2nd of this year if it wasn’t for:
64. Whiskey and Water Elizabeth Bear I loved this book. Better than the first. There is a scene with the Unicorn and one of the Devils near the end. Absolutely lovely. This crossed with some of E. Bear’s online discussion will probably get me to read The Last Unicorn someday.
65. Young Wizards 1. Diane Duane. The first book by her I ever read prolonged my fading interest in Star Trek fiction. Spock’s World was quite possibly the best ST novel out at the time. These books are very good. They even deal with the magic heroes power creep problem that happens in series so often. (Where the scope of the problem has to get bigger each time until you end up yawning at a threat to the planet. Some of the situations the protags deal with, even later in the set, aren’t earth shaking events. Some of them are, and there is power creep, but it isn’t only power creep. There are reasonable events, though some of them are as world shattering for the main characters as the destruction of the world would be. Lookin forward to the next book. I read these back to back to back, so I’m less sure of exactly where each one lets off.
66 Young Wizards 2. Diane Duane.
67 Young Wizards 3. Diane Duane.
68 Young Wizards 4. Diane Duane.
69 Young Wizards 5. Diane Duane.
70 Young Wizards 6. Diane Duane.
71 Young Wizards 7. Diane Duane.
72 Young Wizards 8. Diane Duane.
73. Red Seas Under Red Skies Scott Lynch Scott’s sophomore novel. There were some bits where I felt the pacing was off (too much time before the pretty ships). I missed the lengthy setting vignettes. I loved the Caper. I think I detect some Ffhrad and the Grey Mouser in these two’s attachments to women (not an exact match, but near the end of this book I was feeling it in my bones.) All taken together, I might have liked it as much as the first, but not as consistantly.
74. Jade Throne Naomi Novik Really quite splendid books.
75. Black Powder War Naomi Novik Looking forward to book 5.
76 First and Only Dan Abnett The first Gaunt’s Ghosts book. I’m a sucker for SF military company stories. These aren’t the Grey Death Legion, but they are still damned good.
77. Myth Alliances Robert Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye. Not quite as good as the old stuff, but they are starting to get back on track. I really expect to like the next couple as much as the one with the cliff hanger and the dragon.
78 Luck in the Shadows Lynn Flewelling
79 Flight of the Dying Sun Rich Wulf Pulpy!
80 Path of Honor Diana Pharaoh Francis Not as much of a response to Mercedes Lackey as the first book was. Still a good book, which makes me happy. (It suggests that I liked the first book on its strengths instead of because it spoke to books I read and enjoyed when I was a teenager.)
81 Path of Blood Diana Pharaoh Francis
82 The Nimble Man Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski
83 Stalking Darkness Lynn Flewellin
84 Traitor’s Moon Lynn Flewellin
85. Blood Price Tanya Huff I’m not really into detective fiction. That said, this vastly outshines the other female protagonist crime fiction I’ve read. I like competent characters, and no matter what else you say for her, Stephanie Plumb isn’t. (These were each good/fun reads too. This helps. Remember not reviews, just little comments to remind me what I’ve read.)
86. Blood Trail Tanya Huff
87 Blood Lines
88 The Boondocks: All the Rage Aaron McGruder
89 Voyage of the Morning Dawn Rich Wulf Not as pulpy as the previous book. Want to see if the first book introduced the framing tool that the last on ended with. While I liked it, I think the series hit the best feel one book back.
90. Pride of Chanur C.J. Cherryh She’s come a long way as a writer since she wrote this book, but a lot of the world building skill that has made her Foreigner universe books so neat was there back then. (I’ve come a long way as a functional person since she wrote this book. I was all of three when it was published. I figure that it is fair enough allowing an author considerable growth over that time span.) Even though her aliens are distinctly alien in thought processes here, it is less there than in her latest works. (Again, 20+ years of extra practice will advance your craft and artistry...) Having said that, I plan on finding the Chanur books and reading them. You should too.
91 Penny Arcade: Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings
92 Damn, I’m short a book or two... I’ll post them when I remember them

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