Alexandra_book_life: Booklife in 2026 part 3

Is it time to start a new thread? Probably :)

Come here, books :D

And the first book of this thread is The Bride of the Blue Wind :)

Happy New Thread!

>3 pgmcc: Thank you :)

Currently reading:

Replaceable You by Mary Roach - a non-fiction book club pick. I'm about 50% in, I like it so far.

Heaven's Graveyard by Grace Curtis - I enjoyed Floating Hotel, so I decided to request an ARC. My, my, the author has developed a lot! I am enjoying this one very much. (56% read so far.)

>5 Alexandra_book_life:
Oh! Wow! A new Grace Curtis. You have hit me with a BB. You are a natural marksperson. Hit me right between the eyes.

>6 pgmcc: Yaaaay! I am happy to hear that :) I hope you will enjoy. (It's coming out in June).

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>2 Alexandra_book_life: Happy New Thread!

Ooooh! That one is going on the list, but I think I have a few other Goddards to get to first.

>8 terriks: Thank you! :)

>9 haydninvienna: Thank you! :)

>10 clamairy: Thank you! :)

Enjoy your Goddards!

Happy new thread!

>14 Karlstar: Thank you! :)

It was such a lovely, beautiful, sunny day today! It was 15C (59F), but it felt warmer. Some pics from my walk:

>16 Alexandra_book_life: Beautiful blossoms. Beautiful day.

>16 Alexandra_book_life: Very nice!

Happy new thread! >16 Alexandra_book_life: Such pretty flowers.

>17 pgmcc: >18 Karlstar: >19 Narilka: Thanks a lot, everyone! :)

I finished Replaceable You. It was an interesting and informative book.

>21 Alexandra_book_life: I like this last quote about progress, though! Overall this sounds like an interesting read, with some parts more compelling than others. Nice review!

>16 Alexandra_book_life: What a beautiful spring day you had! The sun and cool temperatures sounds a lot like Michigan lately - another frost warning here tonight. 😳

>21 Alexandra_book_life: I have always enjoyed her books. I tried to do Grunt as an audiobook but I hated the narrator, so I guess I might have to actually read it. I will see if I can get my hands on Replaceable You.

>22 terriks: Thank you! :) I think I'd like to read more by Mary Roach.

Today it's just raining and raining and raining, with 7C (44.6F). Oh well, I'll take my beautiful spring days when I can get them ;)

>23 clamairy: I'll be on the lookout for her other books now. Grunt sounds interesting.

Happy new thread and happy spring! I hope the sunshine returns soon.

>5 Alexandra_book_life: A new Grace Curtis! I haven't read the last one yet! I'd better catch up.

>26 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, thank you! :)

I am still enjoying Heaven's Graveyard, and I hope you will too.

We have had a long weekend here and I've been having a very good time. There will be some photos soon ;)

I also couldn't resist the latest Murderbot, so...

>28 Alexandra_book_life: I am about halfway through this myself, so I will come back and read your review when I am done. :o)

>28 Alexandra_book_life: I've been avoiding Martha Wells and the Murderbot series for reasons unknown. Probably a feeling that I would be quickly overwhelmed. ;)

But I must say, this looks pretty darn fun!

It's become a show, too, hasn't it? I'm only mildly embarrassed by my ignorance. :D

>30 terriks: Oh! They are hilarious and very short. Not enough to overwhelm you at all. The show is decent, too.

>29 clamairy: Sounds like a plan 😊😊😊 I am looking forward to reading your thoughts!

>28 Alexandra_book_life: “(Emotion check: disappointment)”—haha!

>33 karspeak: 😆😉

This past weekend was a long weekend here and I was in Copenhagen. I've been there before, four times at least. But these were all day trips, running from the central station to museum x and then running back. I never got to experience the city. This time I had almost four days. I think I am in love 💖

So let me give you bits and pieces of Copenhagen:

We went to the National Gallery of Denmark. I recommend a visit!

Here some of my highlights - Matisse, Modigliani and Marquet :)

I also liked a lovely portrait by Memling, "Hercules with Omphale" by Cranach (these ladies are up no good and are proud of it), "The Judgment of Paris" by Cranach (it seems that poor Paris would rather be somewhere else), and "Latinus Offering His Daughter Lavinia to Aeneas in Matrimony" by Tiepolo (I love the look Lavinia is giving Aeneas: "Who do you think you are? Just you wait..." It made me think of Ursula Le Guin's Lavinia, he he.)

We also went to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. It's such a great place! The sculpture park is always wonderful to see. Among other things, we saw a Basquiat exhibition. I don't think that I am a fan, but seeing so many of his works together was a cool and interesting emotional experience. I didn't take any photos, because we managed to come two days before the exhibition ended, and there was quite a crowd.

Some more photos from Louisiana:

I love your photos, thanks for sharing :)

>41 Narilka: I am happy to hear that! :) Thank you!

Oh my! That looks like it was a wonderful visit! Thank you for the lovely photos. Is that last sculpture an owl? I love it!

>43 clamairy: I enjoyed being in Copenhagen! Thank you :)

It's a bit unclear what that last sculpture was, but your suggestion is a good one ;)

Those are great pictures. You got to some wonderful places. In a previous life I had to visit Copenhagen for work. As such I got to see precious little of the sites.

One of the great pleasures of this group is the pictures. I seldom comment on them because I've run out of ways to say wonderful. To all those who post pictures, please be assured that I love them.

I've only been to Copenhagen once, but that was (as usual) for a concert. And to visit Toga Vin & Ølstue. I chatted there for some time with a Dane who spoke excellent English (been to Cambridge), corrected my pronunciation of the city's name (it's "KopenHAYgen — Danny Kaye got it wrong), and did indeed ply me with Von Oosten's Bitters. It's exactly as the Atlas Obscura article suggests: interesting once.

>45 pgmcc: Thank you! :)

I've visited a few really nice places for work and I have no idea what they look like :D

>46 haydninvienna: I am happy to hear that, thank you :)

And thank you for sharing your Copenhagen story!

>28 Alexandra_book_life: Great review! (I finished last night.)

>35 Alexandra_book_life: I'm so glad you had a lovely time in Copenhagen, and thank you for sharing your photos. I was there for about 4 days a couple of years ago and loved it. We too went to the Lousiana Art Museum and thought it was wonderful. The landscape and the art combine so perfectly.

>49 clamairy: Thank you, thank you :)

>50 Sakerfalcon: I am so happy you loved Copenhagen and Louisiana too!
Thank you :)

>35 Alexandra_book_life: The photos of Copenhagen are so lovely. I am quite envious of your four-day experience. (It looks like the weather was fabulous as well!!)

>35 Alexandra_book_life: >36 Alexandra_book_life: That looks great! Thank you for sharing the pictures.

>53 jillmwo: Thank you :)
We were very lucky with the weather, it's been very capricious this spring.

>54 Karlstar: Thank you :) I am glad you liked them.

>39 Alexandra_book_life: etc. How do you get variable-size pictures to come up next to each other and not one above the next (thus wasting a ton of space)?

>57 hfglen:
I would use the “width” parameter at the end of the html and leave no space between the last angled bracket of one picture and the first bracket of the next.

>57 hfglen: It seems that the new insert image feature does it automatically if you put several images in. Very nice :)

While trying to master the energy to stop drinking tea (it's 9.14 am here at the moment), reading and being on LT and do something productive instead, I'll just post some reading updates:

My book club will discuss Children of Strife next week. I'm at 56% and I am enjoying it :)

Heaven's Graveyard - currently at 90%. It's still a good one! I spent less time with it for the last few days because of Platform Decay and Children of Strife, but I'll get there.

>59 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you!

>61 hfglen: You are welcome :)

Yay, I finished Children of Strife! I enjoyed it very much :)

>63 Alexandra_book_life: Excellent review and I'm so tempted to start this series. Perhaps soonish.

>64 clamairy: Thank you :) I hope you will enjoy all the books.

I decided to jump into a mystery, namely The Honjin Murders and it proved to be a good decision ;)

I went to a modern art gallery a few days ago and happened to see this book :)

>67 Alexandra_book_life: Two revered names for you: Irma Stern of Cape Town and Margaret Stainbank of Durban. The latter studied at the Royal College of Art in London and did well, but the Powers That Be couldn't handle the embarrassment of handing the year's best-student prize to a Colonial and a woman, so gave it to an unknown runner-up, one Henry Moore.

>68 hfglen: Oh, thank you :)
I'll go look for their works right now.

>67 Alexandra_book_life:. If you'd be interested in how that same dynamic worked when it came to women authors, you might keep an eye out for Joanna Russ' book, How To Suppress Women's Writing. it was written in roughly the same time frame of the '70's. Russ was a truly fierce woman.

>70 jillmwo: This is a great recommendation, thank you. I'll keep an eye out.

>68 hfglen: I liked Irma Stern's paintings very much! I did not find many photos Margaret Stainbank's sculptures online, unfortunately. I'll try again.

One should also maybe mention Barbara Tyrrell's studies of indigenous traditional dress. These were once much reproduced and, I think, published in book form. The originals may be visited (by appointment) at the Killie Campbell Museum here in Durban.

>73 hfglen: Very interesting, thank you :) Lots of new things to learn, yay!

>73 hfglen: These are amazing! Exquisite.

I finished Heaven's Graveyard. This was a good one!

>76 Alexandra_book_life:
I am looking forward to this one. It is not released here until 18th June.

>76 Alexandra_book_life: Great review, and I love that cover!

>77 pgmcc: I hope the book will meet your expectations :)

>78 clamairy: Thank you :) I really enjoyed this one!

I'm slightly behind on reviews, I've been a bit busy (in a nice way, I'll tell the Pub about it later).

It's nice that several of us have been reading/rereading The Hallowed Hunt. I enjoyed my reread very much :)

>81 Alexandra_book_life: I'm glad you enjoyed your re-read, I really liked it the first time through. Such great characters.

>82 Karlstar: I liked the characters very much!
Thank you :)

>81 Alexandra_book_life: Very nice review. I enjoyed The Hallowed Hunt myself.

>84 jillmwo: Thank you! :)

I used to reread more often... I think the easy availability of e-books has changed my reading habits.

>81 Alexandra_book_life: I just finished this book this morning, so I waited to read your well written review. I also enjoyed it very much, but I will be digesting it a while before I write about it.

>86 clamairy: Thank you! :)
I am looking forward to reading your review.

I am still catching up on reviews :) Mavericks: Life stories and lessons of history's most extraordinary misfits was a fun read.

My mom's birthday happens to be in the beginning of June, and this year there was a nice round number attached to it. So last weekend was a very special long weekend. My mom, me, my aunt and her husband and one of my cousins traveled to Italy :) Yay. My mom has been to Lago Maggiore twice (lucky her) and wanted to share it with us.

We had a wonderful time! Beautiful places, amazing food, family being together. I thought I'd share some photos :)

The charming little town of Stresa:



There were lots of breathtaking views, this is just one of them:

We went to the Borromean islands - these are owned by the Borromeo family ("no popes, but many cardinals and one saint", as the exhibition texts helpfully informed us). They have been building palaces and gardens there for 400 years.

This is Isola Bella:

I loved the gardens! The price of admission to the palace and the gardens was daylight robbery, but it was worth it. The palace wasn't so bad either ;)

The "grotto rooms" were very impressive. It took 80 years to build them - they started in 1689 and finished in 1769. The Borromeos used them as summer rooms :)

There was also an amazing collection of Flemish tapestries. The ostriches were my favourites.

On our last day we went to lake Orta and Orta San Giulio, a lovely medieval town:

Thank you for all the lovely photographs. Looks like you had a great holiday celebrating your mother's nice round number birthday.

Wow, what an amazing place. Looks like everyone had a terrific time. The weather goddesses smiled on you.

Lovely pics and looks like amazing places to visit. Italy is, of course, on my bucket list, but I have never been.

Great photos of some beautiful places! Thank you for sharing! I'm glad you had such a good time celebrating your mum's birthday.

I had never heard of the Borromean Islands before today. What an amazing tour (and what a family)! After all, when you need someplace to retreat to during the dreadful heat of the summer, why wouldn't you create "grotto rooms"? And the gardens would be lovely when sipping espresso in the early hours. (I am sure I could be saintly as well in those surroundings.)

>89 Alexandra_book_life: A very happy birthday to your mom, and thank you for sharing your trip (and photos) with us. Simply breathtaking!

Thanks for the photos. It looks like a lovely trip to a beautiful place :)

Great photos, thank you for sharing!

>94 pgmcc: You are welcome :) I am glad you liked them.
It was an amazing trip!

>95 Bookmarque: Thank you! I am so happy we went there :)

>96 ludmillalotaria: Thank you :) It's been truly wonderful.
I hope you will have chance to go to Italy some day.

>97 Sakerfalcon: Thank you! I am so glad we decided to go :)

>98 jillmwo: I wouldn't mind having a "grotto room" myself ;) Maybe this is how you become saintly...
Thank you :)

>99 clamairy: Thank you, thank you :)
It felt like a fairy tale.

>100 Narilka: I am glad you liked them! Thank you! :)

>101 Karlstar: I am happy to hear that! Thank you :)

I am sorry to report that the much anticipated (by me, that is) The Unicorn Hunters was a big disappointment. But I read it together with some lovely people on Goodreads! Besides, we were all in agreement, so there was a lot snarkiness in our thread.

We're considering a trip to the Italian lakes next spring--I think you sold us!

And thank you for the warning on The Unicorn Hunters--the same things would have driven me mad.

>111 Marissa_Doyle: I am happy to hear that! I think you will have an amazing time, so good luck :)

I am still upset about The Unicorn Hunters. I need to read something completely different now, so that I can get rid of the aftertaste ;)

>110 Alexandra_book_life: Too bad. I have that on my wishlist. I’ll adjust my expectations now.

>89 Alexandra_book_life: Happy Birthday to your Mom! :) I'm enjoying all your great pictures of your travels. I have some new places to check out now. Wonderful images, starting with Copenhagen (which I somehow missed completely). I'm all over National Gallery of Denmark in particular.

>63 Alexandra_book_life: I think I'm in the minority here - I tried the Children of Time series and was very disappointed. My husband loved it and recommended it.

All I kept thinking was that this writer is in desperate need of an editor. While I enjoyed much of the first in the series (spiders, awesome space journey), there were nearly 100 pages devoted to an apparent side trip that ultimately meant...absolutely nothing. I got frustrated.

My husband is a big fan of the first one, but he struggled with the second one and, by the third he DNF. He went farther than I ever would.

They're all so popular, so I must be missing something, but don't think I'd try to find out. :(

>113 ludmillalotaria: There are readers who loved this one, so you might be surprised. But it's probably a good idea to adjust your expectations ;)

>114 terriks: Thank you!
I think you will love Copenhagen (and National Gallery of Denmark). I can't wait to go back :)

Tchaikovsky is not everyone's cup of tea, I think - he is always experimenting and you can't succeed every time.

>110 Alexandra_book_life: Thanks for the warning about The unicorn hunters. It sounds like something that would profoundly irritate me.

>114 terriks: I am with you in the "didn't like Children of time" minority!

>117 Sakerfalcon: Well, it profoundly irritated me! And you are welcome :)

>110 Alexandra_book_life: Oh no! Well, it's not like there aren't plenty of other books to read instead of this one. Thank you for the warning and the review.

>110 Alexandra_book_life:. That is quite the memorable review. While one may enjoy "alternate universe" types of stories, they don't always work out for the reader who is familiar with the featured historical figures.

>119 clamairy: You are most welcome :)
Indeed, I have plenty of books to console myself with, ha ha. I started reading Portable Magic yesterday (a BB from the Pub!). I think I will like it a lot :)

>120 jillmwo: Thank you :) I don't mind historical figures ending up in an "alternate universe", but it has to be done "right", with knowledge, sensitivity, and grace - or at least with some tongue-in-cheek.This book had none of these things.

>110 Alexandra_book_life: This is a great review, btw! (I forgot to mention that between your Copenhagen pics and having a sad over Children of Time). Lol

I won't be trying this one!

>117 Sakerfalcon: Thank you! I’m not alone! ;)

>123 terriks: Thank you! :)
This book failed so many times... Oh well. There are better ones out there.

I finished the first two volumes of a manga that looks promising - MARS 30th anniversary edition 1

>117 Sakerfalcon: Count me in as another reader that was underwhelmed by Children of Time. It was... ok...? It did not, however, make me want to continue the series. His Dogs of War and Bear Head books were much more to my liking. I have Bee Speaker queued up on my TBR too.

>122 Alexandra_book_life: Historical figures in fiction is a strength of Tim Powers. In my opinion, his approach to secret histories sets the bar for other writers that attempt the same type of story.

>121 Alexandra_book_life:
I really enjoyed Portable Magic when I read it. I hope you find it interesting.

>126 ScoLgo: I really like Tim Powers' books! I have his latest on my Kobo, waiting for its turn 😊

>127 pgmcc: It is very interesting! I'm at 27% at the moment.

>121 Alexandra_book_life: This one is on my wishlist! I look forward to your review.

I've only read one Tim Powers book but I really enjoyed it. I suppose I should be adding more of his stuff to my gigantic wishlist.

>130 clamairy: I think you will enjoy Portable Magic very much.
Your wishlist needs more Tim Powers, I think ;)

>131 Alexandra_book_life: I'm sure you're right on both counts!

I am enjoying two books at the moment:

I am about halfway through Portable Magic. I thank @pgmcc for the BB :)

I started Snake-Eater yesterday, and I am already at 42%. It's almost a pity, because it's such a nice, nice book.

What a lovely Italian trip and photos!

>134 libraryperilous: Thank you! :)

Look, a sudden bande dessinée :)

>133 Alexandra_book_life: Oh, I hope you love the Kingfisher as much as I did!

>137 clamairy: I like it a lot! I am at 68% :)

>126 ScoLgo: Same here. Children of Time was impressive in scope and imagination, but a little lacking in execution, for me.

>139 Karlstar: He sure is prolific! I need to try a few of his other titles at some point. I've heard good things about The Doors of Eden so will likely borrow that one from the library after I read Bee Speaker.

>139 Karlstar: >140 ScoLgo:. I would be grateful for some clarification from either of you. A friend asked me if I knew anything about the author's general tone but I've never read any of the works mentione. (Is the author's tone optimistic? Grim-Dark? Are the various series written in such a way as to heighten anxiety in someone already inclined that way?). She's an intelligent woman and she generally can enjoy science fiction. I just am not sure that these would be up her alley and would benefit from solid reader opinions.

>141 jillmwo: I wouldn't class his work as grimdark. There's tension and suspense and things can get bleak at times but there are always characters working together to overcome the bad stuff. He also writes really interesting aliens.

I finished Snake-Eater! I will have a lot more respect for roadrunners from now on...

>143 Alexandra_book_life: Such a great book! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Kingfisher grew up in Arizona and lives in New Mexico, and I think her love for the area shines through this book. It definitely made me want to revisit. What a great cast of characters, too.

>141 jillmwo: Hard for me to say, based on only two examples. Children of Time was pessimistic, at least as far as the humans go, but not grimdark. On the other hand, Guns of the Dawn was what I would call grimdark, but maybe more grim than dark, if that makes sense. I actually expected a book to follow Guns of the Dawn by now, but it doesn't look like one has appeared.

>144 clamairy: I had such a good time with this book! A lot of love went into the setting and the characters :)

We just got back after a week with my in-laws. We were spoiled with nice food, strolled around and went to coffee shops. Towards the end of the week, the weather grew kind enough for a morning at the beach. If you've never seen a Swedish beach, here it is:

We had a wonderful time there! The internet told me that the water temperature was 14.7C (58.5F), but it felt warmer. It was still refreshing ;) We splashed around and I took a few 30-second-swims.

A crow attempted to make off with our chips! The bag was unopened, so I am assuming it recognized the brand. My husband fought it valiantly and won. Just in case, we stood in the sea after that, eating chips. Very decadent, I thought :D Meanwhile, the crow was hopping hopefully among our stuff, but found nothing else to steal.

>148 Alexandra_book_life:

Lol!
Frites sans la mer. Sounds superb, and yes, decadent. You may have started a trend.

>148 Alexandra_book_life: That looks lovely, and inviting! I think it's only slightly cooler than the water is here! We're at about 63° F (17° C.)

As for the crow, did you offer him some crumbs from the bottom of the bag when you were finished? What a hilarious story.

>149 pgmcc: It would be a very nice trend ;)

>150 clamairy: Thank you :)
17C is still chilly, but I'd still jump in take a short (very short) swim.

The crow flew away by the time we were done with the bag, so... :D

I finished Portable Magic this morning. I enjoyed it very much!

>151 Alexandra_book_life:
Agreed. I see it catching on. A whole industry could set up providing chips and togs at the beach.

>153 Alexandra_book_life: I've almost finished listening to this one. I'm enjoying it quite a bit as well.

>155 clamairy: 💕😍

>154 pgmcc: I would be a regular 😁

>148 Alexandra_book_life:. Why can't we share with the crows? They're nowhere near as vicious as a full-grown seagull. And theoretically at least, crows are smarter than sea gulls.

>158 jillmwo: Crows are nice and smart, and it would have been nice to share. We didn't want to give up the whole bag 😉😊

I like crows a lot better than seagulls!

>148 Alexandra_book_life: Sounds like a fun day and I'm glad your husband won the battle.

>147 Alexandra_book_life: What a lovely shot! Perfect beach shot, complete with the footprints in the sand.

That is hilarious about the crow! He was probably looking around your stuff for another bag to steal.

I agree, crows are reputed to be very intelligent - I don't think the same is said about seagulls. ;)

Fun day!

>153 Alexandra_book_life: This sounds like an nteresting book - that’s a fascinating tidbit about the US Army Service and paperback books. I never really thought about how they evolved into the mass production we all got so used to.

>160 Karlstar: Indeed. I am very proud of my husband 😁💪

>161 terriks: Thank you 🏖️
I was thinking about corvids in Children of Memory, he he.

I'll be recommending Portable Magic to a lot of people now, I am so glad I read it.

Reading updates:

I was looking forward to Seasons of Glass and Iron and I like it a lot (39% done). I've enjoyed most of the stories so far.

Obviously, I had to continue the series that began with The Honjin Murders, so I started Death on Gokumon Island yesterday. I'm 32% in, and I am very pleased with it.

I'm glad you enjoyed Snake-eater, it's a lovely book. I like "found family" stories and this is a great one.

>147 Alexandra_book_life: That sounds like a wonderful week's holiday!

I find myself hoping that T. Kingfisher will revisit Quartz Creek some day... :)

>165 Sakerfalcon: Thank you, we had such a good time!

>153 Alexandra_book_life: Yes, this one has remained in my possession and remains on my shelf. As you note, it offers much food for thought.

>167 jillmwo: I would like to revisit it at some point.

I finished Seasons of Glass and Iron yesterday. I had a wonderful time with Amal El-Mohtar's writing.

>169 Alexandra_book_life: I'm glad you enjoyed this because I somehow bought a copy recently.

>170 Sakerfalcon: "Somehow" is a very nice way of putting it :)
I hope you will like it!

>170 Sakerfalcon:
My goodness! How could that have happened?

Today I dove into Ann Leckie's latest, Radiant Star. I've read a few chapters, I think it will be a good one. Of course it will be. Yay!

>173 Alexandra_book_life: Yet another series I need to start.

>174 clamairy: Ann Leckie is one of my favourite sci-fi authors, I'm always gushing about her to people.

I found aged gouda and havarti for a very nice price today! Yay. I will have some cheesy fun this evening 🧀😁

>176 Alexandra_book_life:
Bon appétit!

>176 Alexandra_book_life: ooo! A couple of my favorites. Enjoy your cheesy fun.

>169 Alexandra_book_life: I'm intrigued by your description of this author's writing!

>176 Alexandra_book_life: Nice! Enjoy them both!

>177 pgmcc: >178 terriks: >179 clamairy: Thank you! The cheeses were very nice 🧀

>178 terriks: She writes beautifully, I think :)

I finished Death on Gokumon Island. I liked it very much!

>182 Alexandra_book_life:
I am very fond of Japanese murder mysteries and have the first book in the series on my shelves. I am happy to learn the second book is good. I may have it also, but if I do not I will soon. :-)

>183 pgmcc: I am looking forward to your thoughts once you decide to read it :)

I like diving into Japanese murder mysteries.

>173 Alexandra_book_life: I have read two of the books in that series, I should get back to it.

>185 Karlstar: I've enjoyed all of them, in different ways.

I've read about 66% of Radiant Star. I don't think it will be my favourite in this series, but the setting is very interesting and I am having good time with it.

I have also started an ARC - Fold Catastrophes, a collection of stories by Peter Watts. I read two of them today. They were excellent, and very very bleak. I'll probably take it slow with this one, we'll see.

>187 Alexandra_book_life: 'Radiant Star' seems like an odd title. It seems a little redundant, but in Berserker Throne, by Saberhagen, the 'Templar Radiant' was a Dyson sphere that enclosed a stellar object he never really explained, it wasn't a normal star. What's the gimmick with Leckie's title, if any?

>188 Karlstar: The Radchaai "homeworld" is a Dyson sphere, as the book takes care to mention. The people of the planet the book is set on also worship Radiant Star. I am nearly done with the book and still wondering about some kind of explanation for the latter.

I am done with Radiant Star. It was an interesting one!

It's time for magical adventures at sea, I think. I just started reading The Tapestry of Fate. The first chapter was very promising.

>191 Alexandra_book_life:
I look forward to reading this when I get back home. it is waiting patiently there for me.

>189 Alexandra_book_life: Ok, thanks, that explains it!

>192 pgmcc: Nice! Fingers crossed that it will live up to expectations :)

And now I have read All Systems Red for the third time :)

Free did a great job with the books. I have only been through them once as audios, but now i'm tempted by the full cast audio dramas as well. Seems the last book hasn't been done yet, so I will hold off if I ever decide to go that way. I think all the straight narration versions are in my audible library.

>196 Bookmarque: I really want to listen to the rest of the series now. I will be such a fun re-read!

I could probably go on to the full cast audio dramas after that ;)

>195 Alexandra_book_life: Those are the versions I listened to as well! All such good fun. Then I watched the TV series on Apple, which is slightly different in tone but still quite good.

>195 Alexandra_book_life: You and others keep making me want to re-read these.

>198 clamairy: Nice!
The TV series was very enjoyable, I am keeping my fingers crossed for the second season.

>199 Karlstar: I am happy to oblige ;)