Books Read 2025

[TheMix]

I'm currently reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for the first time, and I have to admit, I'm kind of struggling with it. After hearing so much about it over the last several decades, I guess I was expecting a lot more out of it. I like hard sci-fi, but it feels like there's so little of it here, and the bulk of the story seems to be made up of interpersonal drama that feels like it just happens to be set on Mars. I'm about 60% through it, and I don't find it to be that great of a story, as I find it quite disjointed and meandering, and it doesn't help that it's written in such a way that makes it difficult to gauge the passage of time throughout the story.

The first book took me ages to read. Granted, I read it in small bits. But I constantly had to go back and re-read pages to understand everything. It was definitely dense. I remember the subsequent books being a bit easier to get into. I'm glad I read them, but I doubt I'll ever read them again.

[Pyperkub]

Finished Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series- a really fun fantasy swashbuckling romp.

Ooh, this sounds right up my alley. I'll check them out as soon as I get some of these other fantasy series off my plate.

Book 1 is just $0.99 on kindle - YMMV - the rest of the series are $4.99/ea, so reasonably priced!

[YellowKing]

Thanks Pyperkub! It has been boughten!

Sort of tangential to discussions of adventure and derring-do, I picked up an (almost) complete set of the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian at the local library book sale for ridiculously cheap (I think I paid 50 cents a book).

For those unfamiliar, the first book in the series is what the movie "Master and Commander" was based on. They are set during the Napoleonic Wars and are adventure novels centering around Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his shipmate Stephen Maturin. I absolutely love high seas adventure tales, so these were a no-brainer pick up. I read the first 3 or 4 books years ago but never finished them, so I'm looking forward to having the whole set.

[Rumpy]

I'm currently reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for the first time, and I have to admit, I'm kind of struggling with it. After hearing so much about it over the last several decades, I guess I was expecting a lot more out of it. I like hard sci-fi, but it feels like there's so little of it here, and the bulk of the story seems to be made up of interpersonal drama that feels like it just happens to be set on Mars. I'm about 60% through it, and I don't find it to be that great of a story, as I find it quite disjointed and meandering, and it doesn't help that it's written in such a way that makes it difficult to gauge the passage of time throughout the story.

The first book took me ages to read. Granted, I read it in small bits. But I constantly had to go back and re-read pages to understand everything. It was definitely dense. I remember the subsequent books being a bit easier to get into. I'm glad I read them, but I doubt I'll ever read them again.

I'm glad to hear the others are easier to get into, as I've already bought the second one when I bought the first one. It's a weird one as story wise, it doesn't really feel all that dense, and you don't really get much of a sense time passing in it. I was trying to figure out why it's so revered as I've read much better novels set on Mars.

[Scuzz]

I have all of them and have read them all. Some are very good and others are a little slow. It’s something I keep thinking maybe a second reading would be good as the nautical terms are a little daunting the first time around.

[Scuzz]

I'm currently reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for the first time, and I have to admit, I'm kind of struggling with it. After hearing so much about it over the last several decades, I guess I was expecting a lot more out of it. I like hard sci-fi, but it feels like there's so little of it here, and the bulk of the story seems to be made up of interpersonal drama that feels like it just happens to be set on Mars. I'm about 60% through it, and I don't find it to be that great of a story, as I find it quite disjointed and meandering, and it doesn't help that it's written in such a way that makes it difficult to gauge the passage of time throughout the story.

The first book took me ages to read. Granted, I read it in small bits. But I constantly had to go back and re-read pages to understand everything. It was definitely dense. I remember the subsequent books being a bit easier to get into. I'm glad I read them, but I doubt I'll ever read them again.

I'm glad to hear the others are easier to get into, as I've already bought the second one when I bought the first one. It's a weird one as story wise, it doesn't really feel all that dense, and you don't really get much of a sense time passing in it. I was trying to figure out why it's so revered as I've read much better novels set on Mars.

I liked the first one but was not a real fan of where Robinson took the story by the third book, but I have seen where people liked that part best.

[Rumpy]

I'm currently reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for the first time, and I have to admit, I'm kind of struggling with it. After hearing so much about it over the last several decades, I guess I was expecting a lot more out of it. I like hard sci-fi, but it feels like there's so little of it here, and the bulk of the story seems to be made up of interpersonal drama that feels like it just happens to be set on Mars. I'm about 60% through it, and I don't find it to be that great of a story, as I find it quite disjointed and meandering, and it doesn't help that it's written in such a way that makes it difficult to gauge the passage of time throughout the story.

The first book took me ages to read. Granted, I read it in small bits. But I constantly had to go back and re-read pages to understand everything. It was definitely dense. I remember the subsequent books being a bit easier to get into. I'm glad I read them, but I doubt I'll ever read them again.

I'm glad to hear the others are easier to get into, as I've already bought the second one when I bought the first one. It's a weird one as story wise, it doesn't really feel all that dense, and you don't really get much of a sense time passing in it. I was trying to figure out why it's so revered as I've read much better novels set on Mars.

I liked the first one but was not a real fan of where Robinson took the story by the third book, but I have seen where people liked that part best.

Hmm, interesting. I have to think that when the books first came out, they were pretty avantguard. But I find myself disappointed that while it uses factual martian locations and features, it all feels little more than setpieces, rather than grand adventures on Mars. It just doesn't come across as great sci-fi to me. FWIW, I was far more impressed with Mars by Ben Bova. That was a pretty influential book for me.

[Scuzz]

I liked Red Mars. I also liked Bova’s planetary adventures. Robinson gets more into Martian politics in the last book which didn’t really interest me.

Have you read David Brin’s series that starts with Sundiver? It is the weakest book in what became a 6 book series and I really enjoyed the other 5. Very interesting sci-fi ideas with wonderful world building.

But give Blue Mars a chance and if you like it try Green Mars.

[Rumpy]

I haven't. In fact, I don't think I've read anything from him aside from a few short stories in compilations, but thanks for the recommendations. I'll check them out.

I guess when it gets down to it, my major issue with Red Mars is that the characters are thinly drawn, and being that the main character travels around all the time, and you don't spend much time with them aside from the first quarter of the book, it then relies on the story to drive everything, but the issue is that the story itself isn''t nearly interesting enough.

[Hipolito]

Finished Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series- a really fun fantasy swashbuckling romp.

Ooh, this sounds right up my alley. I'll check them out as soon as I get some of these other fantasy series off my plate.

Book 1 is just $0.99 on kindle - YMMV - the rest of the series are $4.99/ea, so reasonably priced!

Just bought this, too! Traitor's Blade was on my wishlist for years.

[YellowKing]

The Science of Monsters: Tracking the Real Life Creatures - Joe Nickell

I've been fascinated with cryptids ever since I checked out my first Loch Ness Monster book from the elementary school library. While I've since become a skeptic, I still listen to a lot of cryptid podcasts. One of my favorites is MonsterTalk, which is a cryptid podcast from a scientific/skeptical point of view.

This book is by Joe Nickell, a recurring guest on the podcast. I grabbed this one because the proceeds go to the podcast, and it's their first book published through their self-publishing initiative.

Unfortunately I can't give it a glowing recommendation. The book really feels more like a collection of individual essays, and as such information is often repeated, sometimes in the same chapter. And while Joe Nickell gives scientific explanations for everything from lake monsters to Sasquatch, he often relies on the same misidentification over and over. While he's probably right, it doesn't exactly make for riveting reading.

It's a really quick read, and does give some convincing theories on explaining eyewitness accounts of these creatures, but I've read much better skeptical tomes on the subject.

[Hipolito]

On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci, M.D. (hardcover): During the most frightening part of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Fauci was a reassuring voice of science, reason, and hope. Whether you agree with me on that depends on your political orientation. Though an issue like public health ought to unify us, it often divides us politically to our great peril.

In this autobiography, I learned that long before the COVID pandemic, Fauci was an important figure during the 1980s as the AIDS outbreak grew. He was critical in getting the U.S. government to fund AIDS research. He treated AIDS patients and insisted on continuing to make his rounds as a doctor even while serving as a high-ranking administrator of biomedical research programs. He reached out to AIDS activists (many of whom did not have long to live) and became the public face of the government to them. They often took their frustration and despair out on him, even calling him a murderer; but his compassion kept him dedicated to the goal of helping them.

More recently, despite the atrocious harassment and mistreatment he received from conservatives (including his own administration's higher-ups), Dr. Fauci kept delivering accurate, truthful, and helpful information to the public during the COVID pandemic. He is motivated by Jesuit principles such as "men for others," "precision of thought and economy of expression," and (my favorite) "illegitimi non carborundum." He's the kind of person the American government needs more of, a person who does well in crises and who is motivated equally by logic and compassion. 6 out of 8 Chewbacca impressions.

[YellowKing]

The Big Four - Agatha Christie - Just knocking out some Hercule Poirot books I had. I enjoyed this one quite a bit because it felt like a James Bond story. Poirot is on the trail of "The Big Four," a cabal of global supervillains.

Tender is the Flesh - Agustina Bazterrica - This is without a doubt the most disturbing book I've read in the past several years. It takes place in a dystopian future where animals of all types contract a disease that is fatal to humans. But rather than give up their meat-eating ways, humans resort to cannibalism and an entire industry springs up around breeding and raising humans for meat.

It is bleak, it is horrifying, and spares no detail. And while the anti-meat, vegan/vegetarian agenda is quite obvious, I don't think the book ever felt preachy. I read a fair bit of horror, but no book in recent memory has actually scared me as much as this one did.

[El Guapo]

Fire & Blood by George RR Martin

Finished this over vacation. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with it generally, but it's basically a fictional history book set in the Game of Thrones universe written by a Maester giving the story of the first couple centuries-ish of the Targaryan dynasty, from Aegon's conquest through the Dance of Dragons and the king immediately afterwards. Found it strangely compelling, though maybe that shouldn't be a surprise as a history nerd who enjoys Game of Thrones. Obviously have spoiled myself a bit for the remainder of House of the Dragons, but c'est la vie. Definitely recommend this.

[Jaymann]

Fire & Blood by George RR Martin

Finished this over vacation. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with it generally, but it's basically a fictional history book set in the Game of Thrones universe written by a Maester giving the story of the first couple centuries-ish of the Targaryan dynasty, from Aegon's conquest through the Dance of Dragons and the king immediately afterwards. Found it strangely compelling, though maybe that shouldn't be a surprise as a history nerd who enjoys Game of Thrones. Obviously have spoiled myself a bit for the remainder of House of the Dragons, but c'est la vie. Definitely recommend this.

It blows my mind he has time to write stuff like this but not to finish his epic story. I'm thinking he never will.

[El Guapo]

Fire & Blood by George RR Martin

Finished this over vacation. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with it generally, but it's basically a fictional history book set in the Game of Thrones universe written by a Maester giving the story of the first couple centuries-ish of the Targaryan dynasty, from Aegon's conquest through the Dance of Dragons and the king immediately afterwards. Found it strangely compelling, though maybe that shouldn't be a surprise as a history nerd who enjoys Game of Thrones. Obviously have spoiled myself a bit for the remainder of House of the Dragons, but c'est la vie. Definitely recommend this.

It blows my mind he has time to write stuff like this but not to finish his epic story. I'm thinking he never will.

If it's not done when he dies I have to think that his publisher and estate will hire someone to take what he has for Winds of Winter, polish it up, and publish it. So there's that at least.

[Hipolito]

Spellmonger, book 2: Warmage by Terry Mancour (audiobook): I enjoyed book 1 plenty, but this was quite disappointing. There are too many boring discussions on politics and strategy, too many meetings and interviews, too many indistinct characters. It reminded me of the problems I had with the Wheel of Time series. While the final chapters provide enough closure and create new intrigue, I think I'll nope out of this series here. 3 out of 8 mangoneled pumpkins.

[Isgrimnur]

The Gathering Storm, Book 12 The Wheel of Time

[Hipolito]

Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun (hardcover): This graphic novel is about an extraterrestrial whose mission is to learn about humans. So he starts talking with the various flora and fauna on Earth, thinking they're humans. And they talk back about their philosophies and anxieties. It's super-cute and funny, but sometimes also sad and profound. To quote a snail: "The truth is we all achieve greatness. The only difference is the size of our audiences." 5 out of 8 lentils.

[coopasonic]

The Explosive Child by Ross Green - I knew I wasn't a great parent, until I read this book I never realized how bad I really was. This book is generally for parents of children with behavioral issues. He has another, which I am reading now, Raising Human Beings, which talks about the same general strategy but with less focus on behavioral issues. I really wish I knew about these books before I had kids and certainly before my youngest was 15. I'm general not big on self-help books or non-fiction at all but this was an eye opener.

[Isgrimnur]

Now shift your focus and look to see if your parents would have benefited from that insight, or if they would have been receptive to it.

Yesterday is written. Tomorrow is not. Be the parent that your kids need now. And be forgiving of your self when you fail to meet your own expectations.

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. As opposed to when I re-read the original Dune a couple of years ago, I found myself remembering very little of the sequel that I originally read ~35 years ago. Set 12 years after the conclusion of the first book, this dispenses with much of the action in favor of political intrigue, as Emperor Paul uses his foresight to lead himself into necessary catastrophe. It was a surprisingly quick read for me, and even though this is where the movies are likely to end, I'll probably keep going at some point. I do wonder how well this will translate to screen, but I guess that's the fun in an adaptation.

[YellowKing]

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Into the Nebula - Gene DeWeese - Last year I picked up a bunch of Star Trek books on the cheap, so I've been tossing one into the reading pile every now and then. This one, like most I've read so far, is light entertainment just like a random episode of the show. The one thing that is interesting about the novels is that they can often explore themes that would be difficult to fit into a 45-minute episode. In this case, that involves parallel universe hopping which was an interesting concept.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? - Henry Farrell - "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" is one of my favorite old films, so I grabbed this when I saw it on sale. The film is remarkably faithful to the book, aside from some minor alterations here and there that don't affect the plot at all. The biggest advantage to the book is being able to get inside the mind of Blanche, something the film can't really represent very well. As a fan of the film, I really enjoyed it.

Hawklady - Terry Mancour - This is the second in the "Spellmonger Cadet" trilogy, and really serves to answer some questions I had on a major event in one of the earlier Spellmonger novels. I remember when I was reading those, this seemingly major character sprang up out of nowhere, which was a little confusing at the time. However, this book explains where Dara came from and provides extra detail to one of the major battles in the series. It's been nice to get that backstory filled in. This book won't change the minds of anyone who thinks the series is too slow or too full of politics, but I'm enjoying it a great deal. I'll be finishing up Book 3 of this series and Books 2 and 3 of the other sister series before resuming the Spellmonger main storyline.

[Skinypupy]

Animal Farm - George Orwell. Been years since I read this one, and it is just so eerily prophetic to what is happening right now.

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Ghost Story by Jim Butcher, book 13 in the Dresden Files. The twist in this edition of the long running series is, as the title might suggest, that Harry is now a ghost. He's sent back to Earth to find his killer, but this proves to be a challenge since he can't really communicate with mortals (with exceptions) and he can't use his wizardly magic. Throw in an old baddie coming around to stir up trouble, and Harry is back to peril after peril with no seeming way out of it.

[Zarathud]

Hawklady - Terry Mancour - This is the second in the "Spellmonger Cadet" trilogy, and really serves to answer some questions I had on a major event in one of the earlier Spellmonger novels. I remember when I was reading those, this seemingly major character sprang up out of nowhere, which was a little confusing at the time. However, this book explains where Dara came from and provides extra detail to one of the major battles in the series. It's been nice to get that backstory filled in. This book won't change the minds of anyone who thinks the series is too slow or too full of politics, but I'm enjoying it a great deal. I'll be finishing up Book 3 of this series and Books 2 and 3 of the other sister series before resuming the Spellmonger main storyline.

I finished and came back because I needed an easier book after Brian Staveley’s gloomy Ashes of Ruin. I see now why Mancour kept the story for YA because the character fits that genre. It’s nice to go back to fill in the gaps, but it’s popcorn that’s far from his best work.

[Scuzz]

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

This is the third and probably last book in the Gentlemen Bastards series. Lynch planned several more books but this one was published in 2014 and Lynch has not put out a book since. I believe he had some depression issues and is doing better now but as to whether anymore books will be written is in doubt.

Now, as for this book. It is not as good as the excellent first book in the series, but it is better than the second. It continues to follow characters we know and love, even characters we had lost, by following two story lines. One in the past and one in the current day. Lynch has done this before and he does a good job of it. I do think in this case he made both plots a little long and to be honest, the main emphasis of both gets a little tiring by the end. The plots are interesting but the love story angle goes on forever and eventually we don't care. In fact Lynch is much like George RR Martin in that he loves to put to much into his stories and they would greatly benefit by some editing. The book doesn't end in a cliff hanger, none of them do, but it does end in a way that seems to lead to the next book and that would have served much better as the opening of a fourth book, rather than the end of this book.

Perhaps the major flaw of this book are the antagonists, who are almost Marvel level bad guys. They are the cause of the plot while basically staying in the background, but they are just too powerful for the world Lynch has created and at the same time he hints at a power greater than them. It is hard to imagine our heroes being somehow able to cope in such an environment.

In conclusion, I would recommend the first book in the series, The Lies of Locke Lamora, to everyone. It can be read as a standalone. But maybe stop there for now.

[Jaymann]

Wouldn't they be antagonists?

Anyway I bounced off after the second book and doubt if I will be going back.

[Scuzz]

Oops, my bad.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, I think I only made it to the second book as well. And it doesn't look like Scott Lynch will complete the series anytime soon.

[hitbyambulance]

Jim Butcher, book [X] in the Dresden Files.

this seems like a forum favorite here, but i don't know anyone who reads this author (and i can only think of _maybe_ a few out of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have passed through my book club over the past six years)

[Scuzz]

I know he is really popular on booktube. I haven’t read the books mainly because I hate the format most the books are published in.

[Jeff V]

Jim Butcher, book [X] in the Dresden Files.

this seems like a forum favorite here, but i don't know anyone who reads this author (and i can only think of _maybe_ a few out of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have passed through my book club over the past six years)

I read one of his other series, he's very good.

[YellowKing]

Out Are the Lights - Richard Laymon

I've talked in previous Books Read threads about Richard Laymon. His horror novels read much like 80s slasher films - loaded with gratuitous sex and violence, and often violent sex. The bulk of his works were published in the 80s and 90s (he died in 2001), so they're not politically correct. And while he definitely gained respect in the horror community, particularly with a couple of his later novels like The Traveling Vampire Show, a good chunk of his bibilography is well....downright trashy.

That said, he's always been a really guilty pleasure of mine. I first read Laymon in high school, so Laymon's perversely juvenile writing about sex suited me just fine at that age. And to this day I'm still a huge fan of trashy 80s horror movies, and this is that in book form.

Awhile back I picked up a bunch of cheap Laymon novels, so I've been trying to knock out the ones I never read. The love triangle/snuff film story of this really early work is almost irrelevant, and just an excuse to throw a bunch of - you guessed it - sex in the midst. It's a bit scattershot and definitely not written as well as Laymon's later works. I actually enjoyed the handful of short stories tacked onto the end of this ebook version more than the main novel(la).

[YellowKing]

The Road to Sevendor: A Spellmonger Anthology - Terry Mancour

We've beat the poor Spellmonger to death in this thread, so I won't go into too much detail on this one other than it's a short story collection of tales in the Spellmonger universe. I found most of them pretty entertaining, but if you don't like the series they're unlikely to change your mind.

[Hipolito]

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (audiobook): I read this because I heard it's a classic, not knowing it's aimed at young girls. I almost quit early on not because of that, but because of Anne's nonstop chattering. She can't answer a simple yes-or-no question without prattling on about her hopes and fears and what she prefers to name things. If this book were written today instead of 1908, we'd label Anne as autistic, bipolar, and gay.

But I grew to like Anne's relationships with the other characters, the funny and tender moments, the sly winks at adult readers, and even the occasional taste of politics and scandal. I was especially fond of Marilla, Anne's stern and disapproving adoptive "aunt." In a way, she is the real protagonist rather than Anne.

I read the audiobook narrated by actress Rachel McAdams. She gives distinct voices and personalities to the characters, and uses much-appreciated restraint to make Anne's loquaciousness more tolerable. 6 out of 8 raspberry cordials.




The Murderbot Diaries, book 1: All Systems Red by Martha Wells (audiobook): Murderbot, a security cyborg, won't hesitate to risk their life to protect a planetary surveying team from hostile threats. But they get severe social anxiety around the very humans they are guarding, causing them to seek solitude and watch soap operas whenever possible.

I enjoyed this book until the climax, when the technobabble and the narrator's monotone made the plot hard to follow. The ending was a letdown. I might give book 2 a chance, though I'll read the regular book instead of the audiobook this time. 4 out of 8 hacked governor modules.

[Isgrimnur]

Towers of Midnight, Book 13 The Wheel of Time

[hitbyambulance]

page 950 of 1317 of Tolstoy's _War and Peace_. the finish line is in sight

[ImLawBoy]

Jim Butcher, book [X] in the Dresden Files.

this seems like a forum favorite here, but i don't know anyone who reads this author (and i can only think of _maybe_ a few out of the hundreds and hundreds of people that have passed through my book club over the past six years)

I only started reading the series because the first 6 books were bundled together for something like $5 on Amazon. I haven't read anything else from him, but he tells a good action story. It's pulpy and doesn't really strike me as the kind of stuff that would show up in many book clubs, though.

[Jeff V]

page 950 of 1317 of Tolstoy's _War and Peace_. the finish line is in sight

Are you trying to make it last longer than the Napoleonic Wars?

I remember in college signing up for a class in Tolstoy. Registration was done in person in those days -- and I was the first person to sign up for it. As the class was subsequently canceled, I could very well have been the ONLY person who signed up for it.