Book Recs

Duke Whisky

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

Arkandel

I’ve been reading Progression Fantasy books lately since it scratches an itch I’ve had for some time, and while ultimately fun, many of these titles aren’t authored by professionals - meaning there is limited editing, they were written as part of a web series, etc.

So when I switched over to a recommendation in my to-read list - Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, it was such a difference in terms of quality, attention to detail and prose.

I can’t recommend that book enough. It’s kind of like The Witcher-meets-vampires. In a medieval fantasy world the sun all but stopped working a couple of decades back, so humanity was besieged by bloodsucking fiends led by the Eternal King.

It’s really well written, the world itself is rich and full of detail and depth, and the characters are quite distinct and fascinating. I haven’t finished it yet but there’s a second installment coming up.

Unless it screws up the ending, it’s a 9/10 from me.

Aria

@Whisky said in Book Recs:

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

I am part way through this and my library loan is about to expire. This is extra annoying because my library doesn’t let you renew ebooks and I had to wait several months to get it at all, so I’m either going to have to buy it or spend several months on the waitlist again.

Roz

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Whisky said in Book Recs:

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

I am part way through this and my library loan is about to expire. This is extra annoying because my library doesn’t let you renew ebooks and I had to wait several months to get it at all, so I’m either going to have to buy it or spend several months on the waitlist again.

whisper turn off the wifi/internet connection on your ereader until you’re done and it won’t take your book away

Duke Whisky

@Aria Aww have you been enjoying it??

Aria

@Roz said in Book Recs:

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Whisky said in Book Recs:

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

I am part way through this and my library loan is about to expire. This is extra annoying because my library doesn’t let you renew ebooks and I had to wait several months to get it at all, so I’m either going to have to buy it or spend several months on the waitlist again.

whisper turn off the wifi/internet connection on your ereader until you’re done and it won’t take your book away

@Roz Eeeee! This worked. THANK YOU.

We can now go back to glaring at each other balefully from our respective corners.

(Also @Whisky : Yes! I’m only about seven chapters in, though, because I got the download notification from Overdrive while I was still in the middle of finals, then went off to my in-laws for a few busy days.)

Roz

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Roz said in Book Recs:

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Whisky said in Book Recs:

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

I am part way through this and my library loan is about to expire. This is extra annoying because my library doesn’t let you renew ebooks and I had to wait several months to get it at all, so I’m either going to have to buy it or spend several months on the waitlist again.

whisper turn off the wifi/internet connection on your ereader until you’re done and it won’t take your book away

@Roz Eeeee! This worked. THANK YOU.

You’re welcome! I have made extensive use of this trick over the years. And I’ve been assured by librarian friends that it has no impact on the next person in the waitlist getting the book, etc., so I feel NO GUILT about what I guess essentially boils down to cheating. I JUST WANT TO FINISH MY BOOK

Aria

@Roz said in Book Recs:

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Roz said in Book Recs:

@Aria said in Book Recs:

@Whisky said in Book Recs:

I think this series has mostly gone under the radar but Gideon the Ninth was one of the most delightful reads I’ve had in a while.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42036538-gideon-the-ninth

Very casual to read it is about lesbian space necromancers sort of meets hunger games. Anyway, the wife did quite an in-depth review in case helpful.

I am part way through this and my library loan is about to expire. This is extra annoying because my library doesn’t let you renew ebooks and I had to wait several months to get it at all, so I’m either going to have to buy it or spend several months on the waitlist again.

whisper turn off the wifi/internet connection on your ereader until you’re done and it won’t take your book away

@Roz Eeeee! This worked. THANK YOU.

You’re welcome! I have made extensive use of this trick over the years. And I’ve been assured by librarian friends that it has no impact on the next person in the waitlist getting the book, etc., so I feel NO GUILT about what I guess essentially boils down to cheating. I JUST WANT TO FINISH MY BOOK

Honestly, I turn the wifi on my tablet off half the time, anyway. I hate having it sit there pinging and buzzing and chiming about all of the exact same things coming through on my phone.

Now I just know to be strategic about when I turn it on and off.

Arkandel

@Aria That’s non-ironically ~~one of~~ the main reason I choose to read on a Kindle than my tablet. It’s not that it’s easier on the eyes, the weight, the capacity, etc.

It’s just that if I have a tablet in my hand the temptation to use access one of the myriad instant-gratification options is just… too much. I’ll switch over to Reddit since it’s easier than to focus on what’s on the page, or I’ll get a popup from one of my FB contacts. And then that’s that.

And physical books just ain’t gonna happen. I’ll never win the fight for shelf space.

E-book readers salvaged my reading habit, frankly.

shit-piss-love

Any recs for grimdark fantasy stuff that isn’t oppressor porn?

Prince of Thorns by Lawrence ruined my week. I forced myself to finish Bakker’s Prince of Nothing/Aspect Emperor series hoping that the few interesting philosophical questions would pay off. They didn’t, not at the level needed to balance the rest of the shit in there.

I just want something that’s grounded in like, materialist speculative fantasy about how geography, history and culture conflicts traits might influence made up societies. And I want those people to have swords and magic.

Arkandel

@shit-piss-love said in Book Recs:

Any recs for grimdark fantasy stuff that isn’t oppressor porn?

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman was, in my opinion, excellent.

Anything by Joe Abercrombie is top notch, starting with his First Law work.

I’m not sure what you’d qualify as oppressor porn (a lot of grimdark fantasy probably touches on some definitions of it), though.

shit-piss-love

@Arkandel said in Book Recs:

I’m not sure what you’d qualify as oppressor porn (a lot of grimdark fantasy probably touches on some definitions of it), though.

Sexual assault apologia. Glorification of colonial/feudal societies. “It’s okay because religion”. Etc.

Aria

@shit-piss-love said in Book Recs:

Any recs for grimdark fantasy stuff that isn’t oppressor porn?

I’ll echo @Arkandel on his Joe Abercrombie recommendation. I never managed to finish his First Law pieces, in no small part because of the library loan issue getting me every damn time, but my husband is obsessed. Like, to the point that I have alerts set up on his publication dates so I can let @insomniac, for whom time does not exist and calendars are a laughable suggestion, to expect something soon.

As for e-readers over tablets, I picked a tablet specifically because I get ebooks from enough different sources that I needed to have the ability to use apps rather than a proprietary system. I picked a wifi-only tablet in the hopes that I would end up using it more like an e-reader than like a giant version of my phone and also because they’re way cheaper than ones that have cellular network access.

Mourne

@shit-piss-love Don’t know if you’ve read it, but The Dresden Files actually has a fair amount of pretty dark modern fantasy stuff that actually isn’t oppressor porn.

Admittedly not fully caught up with the series (I think there’s been another book or 2 I haven’t read, need to get on that) but it might be a good read for you.

shit-piss-love

Sounds like Joe Abercrombie is the solid rec. Where do I start with that, The Blade Itself?

Solstice

@shit-piss-love said in Book Recs:

Sounds like Joe Abercrombie is the solid rec. Where do I start with that, The Blade Itself?

The Blade Itself is the first book of The First Law trilogy, and is the definite right place to start!

If you end up digging it, I strongly recommend Best Served Cold.

Aria

@shit-piss-love said in Book Recs:

Sounds like Joe Abercrombie is the solid rec. Where do I start with that, The Blade Itself?

That’s the first one in the First Law trilogy, yeah. It goes:

The Blade Itself
Before They are Hanged
Last Argument of Kings

There’s other books he’s written in that setting, which are considered to be part of the First Law “series” even though some of them are standalones and the rest are part of a second trilogy set in (I think) a different time period of that world. But The Blade Itself is the original starting point.

Amusingly, the title of the third book in the trilogy refers to what Louis XIV had inscribed on his cannons.

(Can you tell I was serious when I said my husband is obsessed with these books, given that I know this much about nine volumes, only one of which I made it two-thirds of the way through? >.>)

ETA: Oops! Sorry, @Solstice. I didn’t mean to “what she said but mine is better!” at you. I think your post went up when I was typing and I didn’t see it hiding under the input pop-up.

Solstice

@Aria

That’s totally what happened, so no worries!

Arkandel

Over the years Stephen King has thrown evil clowns at me, as well as parasitic vampires, dream-eaters, truly despicable human beings, world pandemics, malicious gift-givers and I took that in stride.

But Fairy Tale features a sweet old dog who befriends a boy, and she has arthritis that keeps her from walking as far as she once went, and if anything happens to her I’ll be very cross with Mr. King.

BloodAngel

@Solstice Amazing book! I love them so much!