SFF-KIT: March 2020: Series

SFF-KIT: March 2020: Series

It's series month. You know what to do! This is one of the easiest categories for SFF, but if you want a bit of a challenge, then I present you with a focus challenge for those that would like to participate in it.

Focus challenge (not mandatory): Alpha and Omega Read the first or last of a series or trilogy.







Good luck!

I have the three series from above to get to and I'll probably read or listen to Winter by Marissa Meyer to finish off the Lunar series. I wasn't planning it, but it fits with the Random CAT for March.

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers -- The Wayfarers
Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by J.K. Rowling reread/listen -- Harry Potter
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold -- Vorkosigan Saga
Winter by Marissa Meyer -- The Lunar Chronicles

I am planning on finishing the Crimson Empire trilogy by Alex Marshall with A War in Crimson Embers.

I had The Fated Sky for this as I love The Calculating Stars. I thought it might be called the last in the series, but looked on Goodreads and the third and fourth books are already up with expected publication in 2020 and 2022. Will I change my choice or not?!

>3 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy!

>4 JayneCM: The first and last is not mandatory so follow your heart.

I think I will continue with the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman for this.

The book I'm planning to read is part of a more unofficial series. I'm planning to read one of the many prequel and spin-off books from Stranger Things; Runaway Max.

I'm planning to finally finish Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy by reading The Winter of the Witch.

>5 luvamystery65: Waves and hugs back to you! :)

Well, this inpsires me to put the last book in Tade Thompson's Rosewater series on hold at the library, Rosewater Redemption.

I think I'll tackle Dilvish, the Damned by Roger Zelazny. It's the first in a series I've not yet read.

I'm reading so many series that this will be the easiest challenge *ever* for me!

>12 Morphidae: The hard part will be deciding from which series to read a book then! ;)

I'll probably read the next book in The long Earth series by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett: The long Utopia. And if I have time I'll also read the next book in the Old man's war series by John Scalzi: Zoe's tale.

I'll be reading Winter's Heart. the ninth book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

I've been meaning to re-read Foundation again, starting that trilogy, or continuing last year's series challenge of "Lord of the Rings" and picking up with The Two Towers since I stopped there. Haven't decided yet.

I am still working on Blue Mars (from last month's SFFKit) but it works for this too since it is the final book of Robinson's Mars trilogy.

I finished listening to the audiobook version of The long cosmos by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter yesterday, so I'm counting that for this challenge, though I'll doubtless read more SFF series entries this month. Having made the mistake of browsing the reviews before starting the book, I was prepared to not enjoy it much, but I did like this one reasonably well, at least no less than any others in this rather middling series.

Having read nearly everything else Pratchett ever wrote (or collaborated on), it seemed worthwhile to read this series, though the first installment (which I read when it came out) was not really up to his usually high standards. The series didn't improve very much from there, but there are still some fascinating bits, even if it feels more like a nostalgia trip for "golden age" SF fans, which isn't my cup of tea. So while I'm glad to have read this series, I don't know that I'll ever return to it, and so I'd tentatively recommend it to those who enjoy older science fiction as well as to Pratchett completists. (If you also like audiobooks, the versions narrated by Michael Fenton Stevens are enjoyable.)

In this final book, the loose ends are mostly gathered well, and comparatively few main characters die (my personal expectation), though ideas of aging, fading, and legacy-leaving are thematically central. Humanity and fellow Long Earth-based sentient species prepare to face a broader Long Galaxy with the development of new technologies, while human society fragments and begins to reshape. To say much more would be spoiler-laden, especially for those who've not read the rest of the series, but it's not a bad ending, all things considered.

I've finished The Serrano Succession, the last two volumes of The Serrano series, by Elizabeth Moon. I do love her military sci fi.

I've started the month with a reread of Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion, set in the World of the Five Gods and the first of the Chailon books. I'm also working my way back through the Penric series. As several people have commented, reading SF&F series books is no difficult task!

I read the Penric series last month - fun!

I'm listening to Winter by Marissa Meyer. It's very childish and not in a good way. I liked Cinder a lot when it first came out. I was in a different frame of mind back then. When I read Scarlet and then Cress, I liked Scarlet, but Cress not so much. I'll likely abandon this to the may return to pile or the DNF pile.

In the meantime I'll start Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold.

OK, made my mind up after some muddling. Reading Foundation as the first in its series. And also re-reading Juliet Marillier's Blade of Fortriu in her "Bridei Chronicles" series (it's the middle one). The latter fits in nicely with another March reading challenge, so it seemed a better fit for this month than The Two Towers.

>17 InfoQuest: I seem to enjoy The long Earth series much more than you!

I read The long Utopia by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett, the fourth book in the series. I find the long earth structure, that is unveiled little by little, fascinating. The characters could have more depth but they seem to be more fleshed out than in the previous books (probably because we see less of Joshua and Sally). The book easily passes the Bechdel test with many female protagonists occupying various positions and discussing about the structure of the universe. The books in this series are quick read and hard to put down, and I'll try to read The long Cosmos in not too long.

>22 threadnsong: Good luck with Foundation . I loved it when I first read it back in the 60s or so, but hated it on re-read. The sexism of the times all came back to me.

I have finished Blue Mars - it was OK but my least favorite of the 3. Lots about politics which isn't my favorite topic (especially in this election year!).

I have completed A War in Crimson Embers by Alex Marshall which was the final volume in his Crimson Empire trilogy. I really enjoyed this trilogy where the author wisely offset the violence and gore with plenty of humor and a huge cast of characters to root for.

My first two reads this month fit here.
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire, 3.75*, book 5 in the Wayward Children series, probably my least favorite of the series so far.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, 3.5*, book 1 of the Outlander series, would have preferred more time travel and less romance, but good on the historical front.

I completed Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. While this book does not require you to read a bunch of books and works as a stand alone. There are 2 more books, this is the first. In addition, this book is the first of the Cosmere Universe of which other books by the author also are connected in various ways, even with characters and themes reappearing.

I've finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor which is the first of his Bobiverse series. I now need to pick up the rest at some point as this was interesting and fun.

So far this month I've read Golden in Death by J. D. Robb (in Death #50) and Kiss of the Demon King by Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark #7), and reread the first three books in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire and Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Graceling #1).

I'm currently reading The Case of the Spellbound Child by Lackey. I'll be rereading In an Absent Dream before reading the new Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire.

Today I received The Queen's Bargain by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels #10 (it's been NINE years since the last one!) and Love Hard by Nalini Singh (Hard Play #3). They are two of my favorite authors and I'll be getting right on them.

And it's just the 10th of the month! I'll also mostly likely read Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor.

So, as I said, I have LOTS of choices though I'll most likely pick one of the ones that are new to me. I'll probably wait until the end of the month to decide.

>30 Morphidae: That's an impressive number of books read for this challenge so far!

>31 chlorine: As I said last month, this is an easy challenge for me.

Most of the books I read are in series.

Visiting this thread reminds me that I have still to finish the third in the Wormwood trilogy, Rosewood redemption by Tade Thompson. The first two I raced through last year, but am having trouble concentrating on this last one.

I finished another seires book for this month: Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn, book 2 in the Tales of the Otori, 4*.
And I think my next book will be Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce, book 4 in the Protector of the Small series.

For this month, I read All Systems Red by Martha Wells. I think it was a neat idea, but I wish it had been longer and more developed. I probably won't continue with this series.

Finished The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter book 1 of the Athena Club trilogy. Or Monsters if you will. Fantasy/horror, not SF.

I just finished I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I'm about to read Cast In Shadow by Michelle Sagara.

P.S. How do I post Touchstones? (I'm new here.) Thanks

>37 SilverWolf28: Welcome. If you enclose your book's title in square brackets the touchstone is created. You may have to check the sidebox to ensure the right book is highlighted, if not, click on the "others" and hopefully, you will find your book ready to be clicked on and highlighted on the thread.

>38 DeltaQueen50: DeltaQueen50: Thank you!

I have finished Robert Jordan's New Spring (the novel, not the short story). This is a prequel to his Wheel of Time series which I am counting for the focus challenge as the first book of the series (even though it wasn't written first, it is chronologically first).

>37 SilverWolf28: To get an author touchstone, use two square brackets before and after the author's name. Like so: {{Geoffrey Chaucer}}, with square brackets rather than curly brackets becomes Geoffrey Chaucer

I started Dilvish the Damned last night, and for the first time that I can recall I'm underwhelmed with Zelazny. I'm hoping it gets better, soon.

April Thread is up! https://www.librarything.com/topic/317745

I read book six in the Temeraire series. I took a veeeeeery long break after book four, but I've been trying to pick back up over the past year. (I really enjoy it, I'm just bad at keeping momentum on longer series.)

This was an interesting one with its Australian setting, and it pairs nicely with a podcast I've been bingeing lately, Second Decade, which is all about the history of the 1810s. After finishing the book today, I listened to the first of a three-part series the podcast has on Australia, tracing the experiences of Governor Macquarie after his appointment, which is where the speculative history of Temeraire diverges pretty sharply from real events.

I'm still working through Dilvish, the Damned. I'll probably finish it by the weekend, and may even read the second book (which I've had forever).

It's not the best by Zelazny, he's usually so much better, but it's still superior to some of the awful stuff that is published as fantasy.

>42 fuzzi: >45 fuzzi: I'm a Zelazny fan and I'm kind of bummed out to learn he wrote underwhelming books. But I guess it can't be avoided by any author, however how talented they are. I read Roadmarks last year and was already disappointed because I thought it was just an OK book. :)

>46 chlorine: I liked Roadmarks, but couldn't come close to the Amber books.

I'm not sure if the Alice Payne novellas by Kate Heartfield count as a series, as there are only two books so far. However, I'm hopeful that there will be more! Alice Payne Arrives and Alice Payne Rides are steampunk adventures that pair Alice, an 18th century gentlewoman and sometime highway robber with a time-travelling warrior. The stories are a lot of fun, and I do recommend them, if anyone is looking for a short and light book for next month's time-travel SFFKIT theme.

Since I finished both books this month, I suppose I've completed the Alpha and Omega challenge, but it seems like cheating when there are only two books. :)

First of series this month:
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard (1st of 3)
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (1st of 3)
Echo in Onyx by Sharon Shinn (1st of 3)

Mid- series:
Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins by Bella Forrest (2 of 16)
The Gate that Locks the Tree by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (30 of 30--so far)

>47 fuzzi: So you like Zelazny but not the Amber books? That's ptty rate I guess. :) What is your favorite book by him then?
I read the first five Amber books when I was 11 and I think they are the books that left the deepest impression with me throughout my life.

>48 mathgirl40: I already have four books lined up for next month's SFFKit but I'm a sucker for time travel stories and the Alice Payne books seem delightful, AND I really like novellas, so this is going straight to my wishlist! :)

>51 chlorine: I hope you enjoy them! I've become a big fan of Kate Heartfield. I also love novellas myself. They are quick reads but still have enough potential for good character development.

>50 chlorine: no! I wasn't clear. Amber was great, at least the original series. Life, including babies, bogged me down in the second series and I haven't read them all.

Roadmarks was enjoyable, just not AS GOOD as the Amber series.

I finished Dilvish, the Damned, and enjoyed it enough to tackle the second book since I already own it. It has its moments, is worth reading especially if you like Zelazny.

> 53 I was a bit disappointed with the second Amber series when I first read them but in retrospect I think they're good, it's just that they're not _as good as_ the first five. :) I read them again later and enjoyed them.
I'm making a note of Dilvish, the Damned that I'll try to get to at some point because I'm a completist. And I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the second book!

I haven't yet read Dilvish, the Damned, but I have read the sequel The Changing Land and really liked it.

I finished Gentleman Jole and The Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold. I enjoyed it so much. It was slow and very introspective. It was nice to focus on two middle aged people. We aren't dead yet! Yay! Vorkosigan Saga

I'm listening to Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. This is another introspective story, but with multiple points of view. I'm enjoying it. I'm almost done. The Wayfarer Trilogy

I'm also about halfway through Shaman Rises by C.E. Murphy The Walker Papers This has been a fun, easy read of series. I'll probably forget most of it soon, but I have enjoyed it.

Next up for me will be Hospital Station by the late James White from the Sector General series. Sort of fitting since I work in a hospital.

I've been working a lot lately due to COVID-19. It is definitely in our county and the greater Houston metroplex. I don't do direct patient care anymore, but I still interact with patients, their families and of course our staff. We have limited visitors and are screening staff and visitors, but it is stressful. I'm off for a week so I'm trying to catch up here, with some reading and I'm still in school since it is completely online. Whew!

>56 luvamystery65: You've read more books for this challenge than I have in the month. :) The Wayfafers trilogy is on my radar and I think I'll get to it as soon as it fits for SFFKit (I have other ongoing series I want to progress on for this month).

All my wishes for managing school and hospital work during these stressful times!

I've already read all the books in >1 luvamystery65:, more than once except for Record of a Spaceborn Few, which is also the only one I don't own.

>55 SilverWolf28: that's a planned read for April.

I finished Winter's Heart yesterday; it's the ninth book in the Wheel of Time series. It's a good entry in the series; based on what happened in the last chapter, I'm really curious with how the tone may change in the next book, and the rest of the series!

Currently reading Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett, part of the Discworld series

>56 luvamystery65: I too have read from the Sector General series - in my case it was The Galactic Gourmet.

>61 Robertgreaves:: Oh, that's one of my favorites! So much fun.

I read The Rosewater redemption by Tade Thompson, 3rd of a three-volume science fiction series, and the author's first published novels.

I loved the first two of this trilogy and am puzzled by this one. The world created in this series is complex and I've had to work to keep track of what is going on in each novel. Maybe I wasn't as willng to put in the work on this one? Or my attention is buggered by Covid19? Or maybe it's just more confusing than the first two since it is narrated by Bicycle Girl, who pops in and out of time.

Not satisfied by the ending, suspected ** & >> would save the day. Everything isn't neatly tied up and I didn't expect it to be, but to me it ends on a whimper.

Has anyone else read these? What was your impression?

I'm still reading Foundation and totally agree with >24 majkia:: the sexism is just grating. It's not the sort where the women scream and faint; it's the sort where there are just no women. Except in groups, maybe, where the population of a planet is assumed to include women. I've gotten used to early sci-fi having few or questionable women characters, though. Or as we say here in Atlanta, "Bless their hearts."

It's pretty good as a novel, though. I like the different bits of plot and I can see the ways I would not have enjoyed it, or even understood it, when I first read it in my early 20's. But I'm not done yet, just updating, so will give my full review when complete.

I gave up on Blade of Fortriu because my attention was too distracted when I started it and so I substituted another re-read for my challenge.

I did end up reading and enjoying Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce, the last book in the Protector of the Small series. I am currently working on The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski a collection of short stories that is part of the Witcher series.

>57 chlorine: This is a rare month for me to read do much. Now that I'm back in school I won't read as much until next break in September. I liked all the books in the Wayfarer trilogy. Each was different, but good.

>58 quondame: Such great series. I did enjoy Record of a Spaceborn Few. It was more introspective than the first two, but it was really good.

>62 leslie.98: Awesome! I had never heard of it until a physician standing in line next to me at a John Scalzi signing told me about it. I'm taking it slowly, but I like it so far.

>65 threadnsong: I read the first 3 of the Foundation series a few years ago and I completely agree. Yuck. No more Asimov for me.

I read two Discworld books by Terry Pratchett:

Monstrous Regiment and Going Postal

Zoe's tale by John Scalzi is the third book in the Old man's war series.
It retells more or less the same events than The last colony but, guess what... from Zoe's point of view!
I really like this idea. It reminded me of Ender's shadow (which is cited in the acknowledgements) and Scalzi pulled it off really well. Zoe's character and voice are different enough from John's so that this feels like a different story, and of course not all the scenes are the same as John and Zoe are different people and did not spend all their time together.
The wittiness and banter that I liked so much in the first two books, and was a bit missing in the third, is back full time and this makes the book a fun read, but it is also a moving read as Scalzi managed to give depth to the characters and make them touching.

Also, one of the parts of the plot that I felt was underdeveloped in The last colony is more addressed here, which I really liked. All in all a really good addition to the series.

COMPLETED two of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series:

The Doll's House and Dream Country

Read The Name of the Star which is a first in a series by Maureen Johnson, YA book, paranormal, ghosts, Jack the Ripper

Read The Name of the Star which is a first in a series by Maureen Johnson, YA book, paranormal, ghosts, Jack the Ripper

I finished Best served cold which is set in the same world as the First Law Trilogy. Not quite as gripping a yarn as the first books.

I reread Sundiver by David Brin, the first book in the Uplift Saga. It must be over 25 years since I read this series and I had almost completely misremembered this book - glad that I chose to reread it!

Thank you all for joining in. The month is about done. I will continue on with Hospital Station and report back when I'm finished.

I just read the 5 book series of The Chronicles of Amber. While Zelazny went on to write 5 more books after these, most people only recommend the original series here. So, that's an alpha AND an omega, right?

>76 ronincats: and? And? And? Didja like? Hmm?

I've read the first two in the second series, but don't recall much, and have not reread them while I have reread the first five several times.

>77 fuzzi: I read the first two books in the 70s and didn't really care for them. Probably all the violence and smoking. ;-) Now that I've re-read them and finished the series, I did like them. I like Corwin. I like the choices he ended up making. I'm liking that Zelazny wrote these in the 70s and they are still good today. I have no interest in reading on about Merlin--went to Wikipedia to cheat-see and am even less interested after reading a summary of those 5 books.

>78 ronincats: I remember being so shocked at the ending. I felt so frustrated that it was so open! I had a hard time leaving Corwin behind and go to other books.
I agree that the 5 next books are not necessary.

>78 ronincats: thanks for letting me know. I was glad that I still enjoyed the Amber books as a reread some 40 years later, which is not always the case in rereads of favorites from the past. The characters smoking throughout the stories has never bothered me, but I never smoked, could that make a difference?

>67 luvamystery65: Although, Asimov is not as bad as others (*cough* Heinlein *cough*) and I did like The Gods Themselves. It features a trio of life forms with a female of the species that ends up thinking for herself AND saving the species from extinction. And she is treated with respect by the humanoid scientists. But yeah, I kinda gave up on Heinlein.

I finished Foundation last weekend so yay! There was a woman character in it towards the end. And the way in which Asimov moved from one predicament to another decades later was gutsy. They're sort of mini-novellas with a common theme and his way of positing possibilities of human interaction was quite good.