Jean (Majkia) in 2016 - Scaling the Series Sides of Mt TBR

I've been avoiding certain books, mainly because they are, you know, tomes. Because I wanted to read a certain number of books per year, or because I felt like I really needed to read more women writers, or that I needed to fit books into certain categories or challenges.

This year I'm forgetting all that, expecting to read fewer books, since a lot of the ones I'm planning to read will be those very tomes. I hope to either finish or at least make a serious dent into several series I'm interested in.

So, based on all that, here's the list, disregard to gender, genre or length:

TBR for 2016

Primary:

✔ 1. Toll of the Hounds - Steven Erikson Completed January
✔ 2. Dust of Dreams - Steven Erikson Completed March
✔ 3. The Crippled God - Steven Erikson Completed April
✔ 4. The Protector's War - S. M. Stirling Completed May
✔ 5. A Meeting at Corvallis - S.M. Stirling Completed May
✔ 6. The Abyss Beyond Dreams - Peter F. Hamilton Completed May
✔ 7. Temporal Void - Peter F. Hamilton Completed July
✔ 8. Evolutionary Void - Peter F HamiltonCompleted July
✔ 9. Red Bones - Ann Cleeves Completed May
✔ 10. Blue Lightning - Ann Cleeves - Completed September
✔ 11. Dead Water - Ann Cleeves Completed October
12. Anathem - Neal Stephenson

Alternate:

✔ 1. The Raphael Affair - Ian Pears Completed October
✔ 2. The Flanders Panel- Arturo Perez-Reverte Completed May
3. Brat Farrar- Josephine Tey
4. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon DNF
✔ 6. The Rainaldi Quartet - Paul Adam COMPLETED MAY
7. Enemy of God - Bernard Cornwell
8. Excalibur - Bernard Cornwell
✔ 9. Best Served Cold - Joe Abercombie Completed February
10. Heroes - Joe Abercrombie
✔ 11. The Last Dickens - Matthew Pearl Completed September
✔ 12. Nexus - Ramez Naam Completed June

Somebody's been reading Malazan! That wasn't on your 2015 list, so you just casually read seven 1,000 page volumes on the side? (!!!). When I tackle something like that, it's like planning a military campaign, lol. Multiple Stirling, multiple Hamilton, multiple Cleeves ... this is definitely some very impressive "cleaning up some series" effort going on.

I've sampled Tey and Zafon and wasn't taken by either of them. Bernard Cornwell I need to try. Abercombie seems a bit too hardcore for my fantasy tastes, even more so than Erikson by the sound of it.

Oh, dear. I have just added quite a few authors (and series) to my behemoth TBR list. I had never heard of the Malazan series before, it sounds wonderfully enchanting.

>3 abergsman: Malazan is a very grim and complex series. I love it. But it takes a lot of concentration, because there are a ton of storylines running at the same time. And, as mentioned above, the books are long. So a definite commitment of time and energy, but well worth it for me.

>2 Cecrow: I've been reading Malazan for a few years, and I'm dying to get to The Forge of Darkness so I want to push myself to get through this series first.

So, obviously you're a fan of Ann Cleeves - I have both of her series on my wishlist. Is there one you recommend more than the other?

>5 LittleTaiko: I've only read the first few books of the Shetland books by her. I have the first of the other series waiting for me to finish Shetland.

Malazan is one of my favourite series and Toll the Hounds is my favourite book from it (though it is very different to anything else in the series!) - I'm really excited to see how you respond to that one. I've read one Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, and enjoyed it but his oeuvre is so large I'm not really sure where to go from there (I own Diamond Age, but I'm a little wary!)

>7 thebookmagpie:, Cryptonomicon is pure win among Stephenson's novels. That's all I've read of him so far but I've a couple more that I need to get to, same as you.

WRT Stephenson, I've read The Diamond Age which I enjoyed a lot, Cryptonomicon, ditto. Quicksilver, first of his Baroque cycle, was different, and oddly weird, but I hope to get to the rest.

I ADORED Reamde and just could not put that thing down.

I've got Seveneves and am eager to get to it also.

>1 majkia:

Wow, that's an intimidating list. I couldn't put that many doorstops on my lists (three or four is about my limit), but if you're up for it, then more power to ya. Stephenson is the only one of your authors that I've read (his Cryptonomicon, which I'll join you and >8 Cecrow: in recommending); Abercrombie's The Blade Itself is in Mt. TBR somewhere (as is Stephenson's Snow Crash, come to think of it).

I think I'll definitely be giving Cryptonomicon a go then (at some point) - thanks guys!

TBR reading for January:

I look forward to seeing what you think of Anathem, as that has been on my shelf for a while.

Currently reading Toll the Hounds. As usual, also reading the Malazan Re-Read from Tor, since it has been awhile since I dipped into the Malazan tomes. It helps to remember what everyone was up to before this book, and to pick up the threads from before.

But mainly I'd forgotten how much black humor is in the books. I love it!

The eighth book is almost a different style, there's some metafiction elements crop up to keep watching for. In terms of action it has some slower pace, but trust that it's all going somewhere. One of the upper tier entries in the series (as are the last two).

>14 majkia: >15 Cecrow: it is a lot slower. Apparently Erikson wrote a great deal of it in the wake of the death of his father. I read it in the same circumstances and felt like that frame of mind really came through.

>16 thebookmagpie: That's very interesting, given the tone of the book. Makes sense.

>15 Cecrow:, >16 thebookmagpie: I'm enjoying the slower more measured pace. And the deeper characterization that comes with it.

3. Toll the Hounds - Steven Erikson



Erikson is a master at winding threads upon threads through and around each other. Complex motives, deeply emotional themes, and amazing characters are forced to find their way through a landscape torn by war, greed, selfish desire and horror. But there is always hope.

At 850 or so pages, it was a slow read for me, mainly because it is so dense and deep at times, not to mention attempting to keep all the threads and the characters straight in my head.

>18 majkia:

Wow. Impressive that you've knocked that one off already. Probably not for me (the works of the fantasy authors that I prefer these days (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, etc.) tended to be a little more bite-sized than that), but it's been interesting reading what you and others have had to say about what seems to be a very fine series.

That's the toughest volume of the bunch, I'd say, for being a little more esoteric although he still throws in the usual slam-bang ending. I thought Karsa was a little off, his dialogue is more scholarly than before for some reason.

>20 Cecrow: It certainly delved deeper into the philosophical and convoluted plots and plans than any of the others did. And I liked the fly overs that gave a great raven's view of the action in differing locations.

Now I need to build up the stamina for Dust of Dreams.

The last two are best read in close conjunction, it's kind of like a two-part conclusion.

>22 Cecrow: Good to know! Thanks!

>22 Cecrow: I agree. Book 9 is the only one in the series to end on a cliff hanger.

“Shivers heaved out a sigh. “Just trying to make tomorrow that bit better than today is all. I’m one of those … you’ve got a word for it, don’t you?”

“Idiots?”

He looked sideways at her. “It was a different one I had in mind.”

“Optimists.”

“That’s the one. I’m an optimist.”

“How’s it working out for you?”

“Not great, but I keep hoping.”

“That’s optimists. You bastards never learn.”
― Joe Abercrombie, Best Served Cold

From Erikson to Abercrombie - do you find the mood all of a piece between them, or is one of them darker than the other?

>26 Cecrow: That's a very good question. And I'm not entirely certain what the answer is.

Erikson writes on a far vaster scale than does Abercrombie. Abercrombie writes a more focused view of war and its effects on the people, environment and soldiers. Erikson has the view from the sky, perhaps, while Abrcrombie's view is more, uhm, intimate?

Abercrombie also has nearly no fantasy elements, or if they are in evidence they are far from the focus of the story.

Both use black humor extremely effectively. And yeah, the mood is quite similar, focusing on the bonds forged by folks in terrible situations, and the effects when those bonds are betrayed.

Hope that makes some sense.

That makes Abercrombie sound more interesting to me. I'd heard that Erikson leaves room for his characters to hope that things may go well or improve, while Abercrombie is less merciful. But I'm not sure that's necessarily true about Erikson, lol

>25 majkia:

:)

Here's a good piece on Abercrombie by the late great Steve Tompkins*:

http://leogrin.com/CimmerianBlog/laying-down-the-first-law/

* http://www.rehtwogunraconteur.com/articles-essays/the-mighty-revelator-passes/

ETA: Deleted incorrect touchstone; added footnote

Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie - TBR Challenge, ROOT





Fourth in the First Law Series. Joe Abercrombie's world is bloody, uncompromising and full of death and destruction. Not to mention a lot of gallows humor.

A former female general is saved on the brink of death after she'd been betrayed by her boss, so she is determined to kill everyone who was involved in her and her brother's betrayal. She assembles quite the group to help her including a former prisoner, a poisoner and his assistant, a Northman who wants to become a better man, and a couple of others who join up along the way.

But what will drive her if she ever does manage to kill all 7 of her enemies. And it won't bring back her dead brother either.

Abercrombie is strong on characterization and world building. Even if not one person you meet along the way has more than a trace of praise-worthy traits, you still find yourself hoping somehow they'll manage to survive the experience.

This would be in line with what I've been reading lately then; narrators who are actually the villains, yet you're encouraged to sympathize with them. It adds some depth to the story while you consider moral shades of grey, but it can be a tough go at the same time.

Is there crossover from the first three books, or does this start something new in the series?

>31 Cecrow: Cosca and Caul Shivers show up in Best Served Cold but the story isn't a continuation of anything already happening, other than mostly Shivers thinking back on Northern fighting.

15. Dust of Dreams - Steven Erikson - Malazan Book of the Fallen 9



Postitioning that many characters to participate in the downfall of the Crippled God makes my head hurt! Wow. As usual, bloody, philosophical and often damn depressing to see otherwise sane folks think violence and war answers anything.

Looking forward to slogging my way through The Crippled God so I can finally get to The Forge of Darkness!

And the ending of Dust of Dreams ... talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, yeesh.

Not much worry about slogging, Book Ten is the final half hour of the biggest action movie you can imagine.

OOooooooo!

18. The Crippled God - Steven Erikson - Malazan Book of the Fallen 10 and Last


The last book of the Fallen. Amazing.
As usual, finishing a wonderfully complex and fascinating series is sad even if it is also satisfying.

Amazing that Erikson can wrap up such a series that had so many characters, threads and motives and themes. Not everything was wrapped up, there are still questions in my mind, but it was surely enough of closure to feel satisfied and still surprised. THe series certainly didn't go where we all must have believed it would go when we started out on this journey.

And, of course, it said a lot about the human condition, our prejudices, our fears, our conceits and yes, our hopes.

In a mere 1200 pages.

I think what relieved me most, getting to the end, was the satisfaction of knowing I had NOT wasted my time reading ten enormous volumes of this stuff. Every one of them was good; I'd say Reaper's Gale was weakest but even that had a lot of important content in it. I don't think he writes children very well but otherwise Erikson impressed me.

The Abyss Beyond Dreams - Peter F. Hamilton Part of The Commonwealth Universe series.


TBR Challenge, ROOT from 2015, SF/SFFKIT

There is a weird void in the Galaxy that seems threatening and is periodically grasping ships and taking them into itself. Who else but Nigel Sheldon, one of the creators of the Commonwealth, to ask to look into it and see if he can't neutralize it's powers.

I love this series, for it's elaborate world-building and imaginative creation of societies morphed to thrive in a universe so very different from the one we know, and yet be reasonable and understandable. He peoples these worlds with characters who are intriguing, deep and complex. Not to mention the science!

That looks good.

26. The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte


A thriller that follows a restorer, who is working on a painting called 'Game of Chess'. When her old lover is killed, she's driven on to discover what the painting is about, and asks her friends to help her understand the message she finds hidden in the painting, "who killed the knight". The more she delves into the mystery, the more danger she finds herself in.

I enjoyed the complexity of the set up, and particularly the whole lets figure out which piece took the knight and did someone actually kill the knight who is one of the players in the game of chess.

I love puzzles and this was definitely a complex and changing one!

Your books all look good to me. I'm going to look into this one.

Red Bones - Ann Cleeves Third in the Shetland books


Third entry in the Shetland books. Complex families, stories intermingled with lies, secrets and betrayals. Pasts that rear up unexpectedly, that take over and touch the residents of the Shetland islands. Like everywhere else, really.

The mystery is complex and I confess I guessed wrong about the killer, and never did guess the basic why of it.

I love her ability to make the islands come alive.

TBR Challenge, ROOT, RandomCAT

The Protector's War - S.M. Stirling - Emberverse 2, Nantucket 5



TBR Challenge, ROOT from 2013, AlphaKIT

It is year 8, after The Change. People are trying to survive, relearning how to grow their own food, protect themselves from marauders and warlords. The Bear Killer Clan and Clan Mackenzie are separate but close, with a mutual pact to assist when the self-styled Protector once again sends his forces to conquer them.

Lots of details with regard to primitive survival, and a surprisingly strong emphasis on worship of the Goddess.

Characters are well drawn and strong, and the plot is clear and pointed, with one small exception at the end.

It has cliff hangers though so beware. I'm having to hurry up and read the next book in the series right now!

Nothing messes with a challenge like a sequel demanding to be read immediately - happily, you planned in advance!

A Meeting at Corvallis - S.M. Stirling - 3rd of the Emberverse series



Third entry to the Emberverse, finishing up the series about the first 10 or so years after The Change. No one knows quite what happened, but on one fine evening, suddenly machines all stopped working at once. There followed massive upheaval and a few hearty folks who struggled to survive. These three books covered several small enclaves in the Pacific Northwest, and how they managed to put together a follow on civilization.

Lots of interesting learning to make-do, reinvention of primitive techniques for survival and lots of interesting approaches to governance.

TBR Challenge, ROOT

The Rainaldi Quartet - Paul Adam - ROOT, TBR Challenge



Admittedly, I have a thing about the forging, stealing, creating, or collecting of works of art. You have only to look at my TBR Challenge to figure this out. ;) This time out, it's all about the violins.

Gianni is a luthier from Cremona. When a close friend of his, another luthier, is killed, he teams up with another close friend, who is the local detective, to find out just why he died and who dunnit.

I confess to knowing essentially nothing, not a damn thing, about violins, well, other than they sound terrific in the hands of an artist. So this was a crash course in fiddle terminology and creation as well as an eye opening treatise on how easily one could forge an Stradivari for instance.

I enjoyed the book, liked the menus and felt envious about them, and found the mystery, more the why of things than the who, kept me entertained throughout.

>45 majkia:, that premise sounds similar to The Children of Men, an inexplicable, global change that turns the story's focus on the results rather than the cause.

>46 majkia:, I keep meaning to check out the movie "The Red Violin" but haven't caught it yet. Might be something that interests you.

Nexus - Ramez Naam



Excellent book of the fairly near future, whee a street drug is enhanced by a young scientist so that it can connect minds. The US government is on a crusade to block this drug and to stop any humans from being changed into enhanced post-humans and goes after the scientist and anyone he cares about or who helps him.

Lots of neuroscience, lots of action, intriguing ideas, characters well-drawn.

The Temporal Void - Peter F. Hamilton Second in The Void Trilogy



ROOT from 2014, TBR Challenge, RandomCAT

Peter F. Hamilton continues to amaze with his elaborately constructed world-building, and complex imagination. Characters are numerous and deeply drawn and live in a world so different from ours, and yet, still colored by our internal faults, prejudices and hatreds. Still, hope and joy and love are there too, and the desire to strive above what limits us and succeed in changing the universe.

Awesome that the series you've picked for your challenge are turning out so well. I was having poor luck with this the last couple of years, but I think I'm finally on to something in 2016.

>50 Cecrow: I'm having a pretty amazing year of reading. Probably because I decided I didn't need to worry about how many male/female and how many books from different genres I read, or that I don't need to listen to other folks tell me what is 'essential' to read. I've just been reading what appeals to me and forgetting about all of that. If something fits into a challenge, all well and good. If not, don't care.

Blue Lightning - Ann Cleeves. Fourth in her Shetland series

As usual, amazing descriptions of the islands, and great characterization. Major twist in the series, so can't say much more.

Happens to me too with reviewing later books in a series, where anything cogent I have to say requires knowledge of previous books and incorporates lots of spoilers.

Shadow of the Wind for me is a Did Not Finish.

It was okay. Just didn't grab me. After 100 pages I was not eager to pick it up, so time to read something I'm more excited about.

Yes, it's one of those "everybody's read this" titles that can make you scratch your head, but I did like it better than The Night Circus. It struck a personal note with me on the romance front, that helped.

Not on my TBR, but because so many of Malazan Book of the Fallen were on it, I thought I'd mention that I'm currently reading Dancer's Lament by Ian Esslemont.

It often has me laughing out loud. It is the tale of the young Darin aka Dancer, as a very young man, and his first meeting with Wu, aka Kellanved. Poor Dancer. His frustrations with Kellanved began early on!

One of my frustrations with the Malazan Book of the Fallen was how few times we met these two, and how limited we were allowed to see them. I always wanted more of Dancer in particular.

This is a great look at the young men before they become their awesomenesses. Highly recommened for Malazan fandom.

>56 majkia: That one is stand alone, right? I need to pick it up at some point.

>56 majkia: It's the start of a new trilogy, I believe, but it certainly works as a new start for Malazan.

>56 majkia:, I've not read any of Esselmont's but from reviews that sounds like his best one so far. And timeline-wise, it's the new start of the whole series which I guess could make it a decent starting point. Surely there's got to be a better alternative than Gardens of the Moon, lol.

Well crud. I may wait then. I don't know if I want to wait that long between books if it's a new series.

>59 Cecrow: Amen to that! Actually, I will suggest this to anyone interested in the series as a starting point. It really is far easier to get a feel for the world with this one than with Garden!