A Cheating X

One has completed the latest in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors being the "X" entry.

One's choice de jour, and a timely one at that, given there are televisual serials about it in the wild presently, was The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

As you can see, the rules had to be bent a touch to allow for this selection.

The Rules  

Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter that One is upon, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

I found it interesting, with a little of the feel of a translated work, and also a touch of 'what the' weirdness.

Three and a half stars, and one will pursue the further pair of volumes in the saga.

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A W in the Second Decade

No this is not about One's very own A W aka Hulk in her second decade - it is instead about entering Decade the Second of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors endeavour, and how One has completed the read of the 'W' tome.

This one had spent many years staring at One from the unread books shelf at home.

The tome in question is The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks, the first of his Night Angel Trilogy.

I found it an enjoyable enough read and will likely get around to the other two volumes in the coming years. It did dabble in a bit of predictable fantasy fare, however it has been a while since one dabbled so it seemed a fun 3 and a half star read.

For those wondering about the letters missed in One's... interlude,

U was eventually skipped and put in the too hard basket,

V was the Planet of Adventure omnibus by Jack Vance

Next in the AtoZ series will be an X , or more likely, another skip as it does seem likely to be another troublesome letter, but we'll see.

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Time for T

Well it has taken more than 6 months for One to get to the 'T' of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors.

This one came from one's large to-read shelf and was Six Moon Dance by Sheri S. Tepper

If you fancy novels that begin as exploration of alternate societal gender role set-ups and then pivot effortlessly into mass mind sex with space moths then this is the story for you. Similarly, if you like getting to the end of the story and exclaiming how it has ended so far removed from the beginning, then this may also be the story for you.

For the rest of us, it will still be an interesting 3 and a half star read.

Next in the AtoZ series will be a U of which there are Nil on one's shelf, so a future crowd sourcing will be needed shortly (for values of shortly approaching 6 months). 

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This S it

The other day One completed the read of the 'S' tome of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors.

This one is another slight deviation into the historical however reading it did lighten the load on one's to-read shelf, and the Roman empire has long been the template for many a fantasy and sci-fi empire, so I will allow it.

The volume in question is Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow.

It ended up being an okay read, but One found the anachronistic modern British squaddie presentation of the legionaries to be a bit grating after a while - too many 'get into it lads' and other sundry UK modes of speech, all the more weird as the legion proceeds to invade England in the latter half of the story.

Given all that, it was still an okay 2 and a half star read.

Next in the AtoZ series will be a T from one's shelf, so, once again, no recommendations needed. 

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R we there yet?

So One has completed the read of the 'R' tome of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors endeavour.

This one came straight off the unread books shelf at home and had been impatiently awaiting it's chance as it generally seems to be highly regarded.

The volume in question is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

It is the first "Day" in the Kingkiller Chronicle.

Now, whether it was: an over-anticipation thing; or a lack of long reading spells in these zero commuting days; or the simultaneous reading with Hulk of  "Born-special boy wizard goes to wizard high school" making the large segments of wizard university a bit too samey; this one didn't soar to great heights with me.

It was an enjoyable read, and I found no problems with the flow of prose, so I guess it was the plot which was lacking in the awe-inspiring realm?

Given all that, it was still a solid 3 and a half star read.

Next in the AtoZ series will be an S from one's shelf, so, once again, no recommendations needed.

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Joining the Q

So one has joined the Q and has to think about what to commence next.

The Q in question is, of course, the latest tome of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors endeavour, and it has joined the list of letters read.

Finding an author with a Q surname proved a difficult thing and so, unfortunately for all of the universe, Pirate Dave won with his suggestion of Soldier of Light by John de Lancie.

It was a strange and interesting book with an intriguing central idea, locations that seemed meaningful to the author, all delivered with much run of the mill dialogue and description.
So not bad but probably still best if I've saved you from reading it. Three and a half stars.

After such a hard letter the next few reads in the A to Z will be a doddle, and shall come straight off one's sagging to-read shelf without any need to risk another Pirate Dave recommendation.

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Qing up the next read

We have come once again, dear readers, to the stage of selecting the next book of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors endeavour.

This time the letter that one's bookshelf shows a dearth of is "Q". It may well be that the genre shows a dearth as well but none the less we shall press on.


The Rules
Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter Q and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Qs from the time span of The Tales:

Not a sausage from this small field.

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue - which doesn't look likely.

Even more bonus points, and probably the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.

So better get to it Internet, and recommend away.
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A Need to P

We have come once again, dear readers, to the stage of selecting the next book of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors endeavour.

This time the letter that one's bookshelf shows a dearth of is "P".

The Rules

Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter P, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Ps from the time span of The Tales:

H. Beam Piper
Edgar Allan Poe
Frederik Pohl
Jerry Pournelle
Terry Pratchett
Philip Pullman

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue

Even more bonus points, and probably the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.

Now young Badger has already paradoxically beavered away and returned some results - in physical form - along the lines of Pynchon and Peake, including multiple copies of one title he is yet to dip into to allow a two-person bookclub style read.

So better get to it Internet, and recommend away, if you want to avoid a Badger fait accompli.

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O what to read

Having recently finished the fifth-ish tome of The Expanse series one is now at the stage of selecting the "O" book of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors.

This one may, as alluded to in comments by Amoeba, be a rather narrow range of choices.

There is naught a one on my to-read shelf - although Rebecca Ore does have a short story in an unread collection up there and that would take some of the stress off the shelf...

Still, let's see what comes up.

The Rules
Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter O, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Os from the time span of The Tales:

[no results returned]

Hmmm, not a one. A quick perusal of several Internet lists can add: George Orwell, and ...


So better get to it Internet, and recommend away.

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue

Even more bonus points, and probably the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.
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Vast by Linda Nagata

This Tome was the latest in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors, and is, of course, the "N" entry.

Vast was provided by Sneaky Pete whilst one was still on the M portion of the undertaking and proved to be a complex tale of far future humans intertwined with their advanced nanotech.

I found it interesting, and a little entertaining but feel that perhaps the scale of it's future is too vast for one's tastes.

Three and a half stars.
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M, Part the Second

Today's post refers to the other "M" entry of One's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors -  Altered Carbon by Richard "I added the K later" Morgan.

It's provenance is that, upon being returned to me as One was already underway with One's legitimate M choice, one was nigh bullied by Pirate Dave and BestFriendSincePrep into replacing legitimacy with their forceful recommendation. However I was able to remain strong and extricate myself from the situation by placating them with making Altered Carbon one's next read.

So without admitting anyone was right or correct this was a fun 4.5 star cyberpunk detective read with it's only failing, in one's eyes - so therefore it's only failing, being a surprising lack of addressing the the issue of destruction of the true self and replacement with copies.

So I believe I shall be reading the follow up books at some stage and also embarking upon the eponymous televisual series in short order - lest Pirate Dave and BestFriendSincePrep come calling again.
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M, Part the First

Today's post refers to the "M" entry of One's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors -  The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt.

It is Part the first because, having chosen it from one's sagging unread shelf, and completing several day of reading, one had another M returned from loan to the shelf and the room declared that one should be reading that instead of, as put by Pirate Dave, THE ENGINES OF GOO.


Anyway, One found this to be far and away the best Space Archeology book one had ever read and it earns a solid four stars from me.
It does have the problem that when one investigates if he has written any more one soon discovers that there are approximately 80* more in the series.
* give or take several score

Luckily it stands well enough alone that one need not consider oneself to be uncharacteristically bound to yet another long series of books.
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An L of a Book

And the book in question is the "L" entry of One's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors -  Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.

I enjoyed it's small scale action with larger scale flashbacks, the cultural hints of clothing taboos and gender inconsequence, and the well flowing prose.

It ends up somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, and earns Badger a thank you for it's provenance oh so many months ago.

Up next in the A to Z is a still to be determined "M" that shall come from one's sagging unread shelf.
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An Okay K

One has finally finished reading the weighty tome that is One's "K" entry for One's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest.

The K in question was Kirkpatrick, Russell's Across the Face of the World.

It is the beginning of a trilogy inspired by the author's own map making interests.

Now you may think that this sounds like a perfect match for a map aficionado like oneself, however one did begin to tire of every character naming every geographical feature in sight every time they reached the top of a hill. Or walked through a valley. Or opened a window.

Still it was an okay story and earned a 2 and a half stars.

Next up in the AtoZ will be a recently published, and much lauded "L".

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And the Js have it

So with a flurry of two submissions with three recommendations I have decided to award the J book - the next read in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest - to...

Fantomas who has suggested

Benedict Jacka - the Alex Versus novels (first one is called "Fated"), Urban fantasy, sort of like Harry Dresden, set in London.

An interesting pitch and with the provision of an epub being the modern equivalent of putting it in One's hands - not to mention saving One's poor back from lugging weighty tomes to and fro from "work" - he has taken winner's podium.

An honourable mention to Amoeba who came second (or last if you prefer) who has come back from her previous yellow card with much aplomb.
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The unread A to Z : Crowdsourcing J

One is once again due for one's next read in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest.

The J is the current letter and, once again,  one has nothing suitable on the bowing to read shelf.

One is turning once more to one's network of loyal readers in order to crowd source the J - or at least a short-list of Js.

The Rules

Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter J, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Js from the time span of The Tales:

Kenneth Johnson, Robert Jordan

Hmmm, not very impressive. A quick perusal of several Internet lists can add: Steve Jackson, Tove Jansson, and K. W. Jeter. Making it a truly impressive list.

So get to it Internet, and recommend away.

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue

Even more bonus points, and the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.
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Idle reading

So whilst one was laid up with deadly flu one managed to complete the reading of one's "I" entry in the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors - The Road to Mars by Eric Idle.

This volume was placed - nay, snuck - into one's hands by Sneaky Pete and therefore nullified the requirement for any crowd sourcing.

It was a mildly amusing humourous sci-fi that took a while to get going and then rollicked along to a reasonable ending.

Three stars.
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An H from B for A to Z

One has just this day finished reading the H entry for the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors - Light by M. John Harrison.

This one was recommended by Badger and originally going to be an ebook read until he shored up his recommendation status to definite by placing the physical copy into one's hands.

Of course being a Badger recommendation it turned out to be no space opera epic but rather a melange of sci-fi and awkward British social interactions. One could detect dashes of Mievillesque idea experiments, Banksian post future sprawl and Marshall Smithian gritty modern society on a half twist.

A interesting read that never quite grabbed me as it flitted from sub-genre sub-genre and back.
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G, What a Book

So the latest tome in one's grand endeavour of the A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors required no recommendation as it had been weighing down one's bowing to read shelf for some years since it was oh so callously discarded from the library collection.

The title in question carries on one's "Pillars" theme from last year and is The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind.

Technically it may count as a recommendation as MatrixMan has spruiked the series from time to time.

In any case, on to the book itself.

One approached it with mild trepidation having heard some things about the authors libertarian-esque leanings - and the dedication being a jingoistic paean to the protectors of our nation didn't help one's wariness.

However once into the story itself (which I shall discuss very shortly dear patient reader) such (pl)attitudes faded into the background.

One was lucky, I believe, that although Pillars is book 7 of 15 in a series it just happens to be the one stand-alone that introduces new characters for the majority of it's story and requires no prior knowledge of convoluted goings on.

In the end it was a standard okay read with no great surprises nor a plot that made me have to keep reading. It also tweaked one's personal dislike for "a wizard did it" as explanation for the workings of magic - although it seems the wider series has more rules for the magic.

In the end it's a three star book that skips my recommend pile and goes straight to declutter.
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Finishing the F-ing Book

So one finished the weighty tome that is Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth last week.

The book was finished with no thanks to Supervisor Grand Chief K who proved herself to be a bad librarian by not excusing one from a strategy planning day so I could finish the last 75 pages and find out what happened to my characters!

Anyway onto the book.
It being the F of one's A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors on the technicality that medieval is close to fantasy - and indeed one can imagine a young George R R Martin reading Pillars and thinking "this would be better with dragons!"

One quite enjoyed it, and even found it to be educational- who knew there was so much melodrama about in the Middle Ages?
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