Books Read 2025

[Jaddison]

Finished the Noise of Zulu Battle by Malcolm Archibald which was an interesting historical fiction take on the Zulu war.

Also finished the Battle for the Abyss, Horus Heresy Book8, which after the surprise of book 7 which now has me reassessing everything I thought about the "sides" in Warhammer universe, was a nice straight forward story but also had me questioning why the Emperor allowed legions like the World Eaters to exist.

[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)

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.

one of these actually showed up at the club last night - as a donation to our book swap event

[ImLawBoy]

Finished James by Percival Everett. James is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the viewpoint of Huck's companion on the river, escaped slave Jim. It was one of the most hyped books of 2024, winning loads of awards, but I was putting it off until I could read the source material, which I did in December. Folks, this one lives up to the hype.

Jim is our narrator and from the start it is clear that the original undersold him and the other enslaved characters from the book. Turns out their uneducated manner of speaking was all a front for the white folks, and when they're among themselves the slaves have a massive code switch and speak more eloquently and with better grammar than most white people. They know that to show up their masters would result in beatings or worse, however, so they keep it to themselves.

The first half to two-thirds of the book mirrors Huckleberry Finn pretty closely, except the story is told from Jim's perspective so you get an insight into what he was doing from the portions of the original when Huck was on his own. Eventually it veers off and tells a different story, but it works. When I wrote about Huckleberry Finn I said that I couldn't recommend it except for historical purposes, but I do think having read it added a lot to my understanding of James. That said, I think James would also stand on its own as a powerful and important work. Highly recommended.

R&P Side Note:

Spoiler:

Make sure you read it before the fascists in power try to outlaw it for hurting their feelings and ignoring that slavery wasn't so bad!

[Scuzz]

Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark

This is an interesting look at a first contact story. The story isn't character driven, it isn't really plot driven, it is more idea driven. Clark takes us through several characters over many years in the story. The book explores religion, philosophy and evolution. Also perhaps by extension the meaning of life. This book was originally written in the 1950's and it was interesting as I read it how certain paragraphs or concepts would make me think of much more modern stories. I don't know how much he actually influenced them but I thought of Star Trek episodes and Asimov's Foundation while reading this. There were others but those are the ones that I now remember.

The only other Clark book I have read is Rendevous with Rama , which had more plot and character development, but not much more. Clark seems to be about the ideas. This is a short book, my copy was 237 pages, so it was a quick read. But I would not necessarily call it a page turner. I would recommend it for where it leads however.

[disarm]

Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark

This is an interesting look at a first contact story. The story isn't character driven, it isn't really plot driven, it is more idea driven. Clark takes us through several characters over many years in the story. The book explores religion, philosophy and evolution. Also perhaps by extension the meaning of life. This book was originally written in the 1950's and it was interesting as I read it how certain paragraphs or concepts would make me think of much more modern stories. I don't know how much he actually influenced them but I thought of Star Trek episodes and Asimov's Foundation while reading this. There were others but those are the ones that I now remember.

The only other Clark book I have read is Rendevous with Rama , which had more plot and character development, but not much more. Clark seems to be about the ideas. This is a short book, my copy was 237 pages, so it was a quick read. But I would not necessarily call it a page turner. I would recommend it for where it leads however.

I have read both of these within the last year and pretty much agree with what you said. I found them both to be very interesting in terms of the ideas presented, even if the actual plot/story was thin. When you consider the time they were written, it's clear how unique Clark's voice was for the time and how influential he was on science fiction going forward. I enjoyed both books and think they're very much worth reading.

[Hipolito]

Expeditionary Force, book 1: Columbus Day by Craig Alanson (audiobook): After witnessing the destruction of the local potato warehouse, cheeseburger-loving grunt Joe Bishop joins the newly formed United Nations Expeditionary Force to protect Earth from alien space hamsters.

Comparing this to other military sci-fi adventures I’ve read, this is one of the best. I like it more than Old Man’s War. It’s fun and often laugh-out-loud funny. For a while, it’s fairly similar to other books of the genre, and things fall into place a little too conveniently for our hero Joe. But Chapter 10, titled “Skippy,” takes the story in a wild and hilarious new direction. I don’t know if I want 16 more books of this, but I’ll probably give book 2 a chance.

The narrator, R.C. Bray, does as wonderful a job as he did with The Martian (shame that version isn’t sold anymore). 6 out of 8 paisley paramecium pirate patches.

[Jaymann]

Coming May, 2025, The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. A medieval fantasy romp.

[Jaddison]

Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark

This is an interesting look at a first contact story. The story isn't character driven, it isn't really plot driven, it is more idea driven. Clark takes us through several characters over many years in the story. The book explores religion, philosophy and evolution. Also perhaps by extension the meaning of life. This book was originally written in the 1950's and it was interesting as I read it how certain paragraphs or concepts would make me think of much more modern stories. I don't know how much he actually influenced them but I thought of Star Trek episodes and Asimov's Foundation while reading this. There were others but those are the ones that I now remember.

The only other Clark book I have read is Rendevous with Rama , which had more plot and character development, but not much more. Clark seems to be about the ideas. This is a short book, my copy was 237 pages, so it was a quick read. But I would not necessarily call it a page turner. I would recommend it for where it leads however.

I have read both of these within the last year and pretty much agree with what you said. I found them both to be very interesting in terms of the ideas presented, even if the actual plot/story was thin. When you consider the time they were written, it's clear how unique Clark's voice was for the time and how influential he was on science fiction going forward. I enjoyed both books and think they're very much worth reading.

2001 and the other Space Odyssey books kept my interest and added a lot to the story of the movies

[Scuzz]

Coming May, 2025, The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. A medieval fantasy romp.

I can’t wait until this comes out in paperback, in maybe October.

[Scuzz]

Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark

This is an interesting look at a first contact story. The story isn't character driven, it isn't really plot driven, it is more idea driven. Clark takes us through several characters over many years in the story. The book explores religion, philosophy and evolution. Also perhaps by extension the meaning of life. This book was originally written in the 1950's and it was interesting as I read it how certain paragraphs or concepts would make me think of much more modern stories. I don't know how much he actually influenced them but I thought of Star Trek episodes and Asimov's Foundation while reading this. There were others but those are the ones that I now remember.

The only other Clark book I have read is Rendevous with Rama , which had more plot and character development, but not much more. Clark seems to be about the ideas. This is a short book, my copy was 237 pages, so it was a quick read. But I would not necessarily call it a page turner. I would recommend it for where it leads however.

I have read both of these within the last year and pretty much agree with what you said. I found them both to be very interesting in terms of the ideas presented, even if the actual plot/story was thin. When you consider the time they were written, it's clear how unique Clark's voice was for the time and how influential he was on science fiction going forward. I enjoyed both books and think they're very much worth reading.

2001 and the other Space Odyssey books kept my interest and added a lot to the story of the movies

I plan on reading 2001 in the future, but I read these first because many critics think they are his best.

[Rumpy]

Finished Red Mars and yeah, very much meh on it. I'm not sure if I'll end up reading the followup. I've read many better novels set on Mars. I feel like the characters were all over the place and not very well drawn, and his infodumps often didn't have anything to do with the story he wanted to tell.

[TheMix]

For what it's worth, my recollection is that I enjoyed the other two books more. Pacing is a lot better. More action, less "infodumps".

[Rumpy]

I don't know if I like him enough as an author to continue though. Didn't care for most of the characters, and neither the story. That was half the struggle for me with Red Mars.

[Scuzz]

Finished Red Mars and yeah, very much meh on it. I'm not sure if I'll end up reading the followup. I've read many better novels set on Mars. I feel like the characters were all over the place and not very well drawn, and his infodumps often didn't have anything to do with the story he wanted to tell.

Pretty much my experience as well. I did read the third book but only because I had already bought it. If you didn’t care for the second one I don’t see you liking the third.

[Rumpy]

I'm thankful I'm not alone then It's like... how could you make a novel about Mars be so boring? I really wanted to like it as it tends to have a rather good reputation. But yowza, characters thinly drawn, the story is really all over the place, and I didn't even find the science to be all that great, and for something so long, I feel it really doesn't deliver. The writing felt very dry and flat.

Oh, I haven't even started the second. This is just based on the first. And I don't even mind hard sci-fi, in fact I quite like good hard sci-fi, but I wouldn't call this good in the way it's applied.

[Scuzz]

I thought up thread you had already expressed a disappointment with the first book. I think I said earlier that I enjoyed the first book but was not a real fan of books two and three.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, I did, but I hadn't done reading the book yet, and now came back with final opinions on it, which you can probably see haven't changed. In fact, finishing it only confirmed those thoughts.

[hitbyambulance]

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

page 1150 now. i may even complete it this weekend

[Hipolito]

The Lost Fleet, book 1: Dauntless by Jack Campbell (audiobook): Long believed to have sacrificed his life in battle, a space captain is found in hibernation and revived a hundred years later. He learns, to his horror, that the war is still ongoing. Even worse, his crippled and stranded fleet sees him as a returning hero, able to lead them back home.

I like how this book studies the duality of hero worship. On one hand, being inspired by heroes can lead one to take rash, unwise, and self-destructive action. On the other hand, sometimes you need to have a hero in order to feel some hope.

The story reminded me of Battlestar Galactica at times, and has a grim and somber tone. The war has gone on for too long, and the fleet's discipline and esprit de corps have both faded.

The space battles are shaped by a realistic treatment of relativity and the speed of light. Because of how fast and far apart the combatants are, a starship captain won't know exactly where the enemy is and where it's going. He has to guess at both, orienting his ship and timing its weapons accordingly. A command to other vessels takes minutes to arrive, and then you have to wait a few more minutes to verify that the command is being obeyed. And if your fleet is fleeing from an enemy, you don't necessarily want to fly at top speed, because the closer to the speed of light you travel, the more that relativistic effects will distort your perceptions of other ships.

The battles are great and tense. I often have trouble following the action scenes in books, but not in this one. Everything is clearly explained and I could visualize the action easily. 6 out of 8 null fields.

[Jeff V]

The Expressman and the Detective by Allan Pinkerton (yes, THAT Allan Pinkerton)

Allan Pinkerton was the godfather of private investigators and had a prominent company based out of Chicago in the mid-late 19th century. It seems he wrote some novels based on his cases, and this would be one of them. It's interesting in that it's considered a notable novel of it's time. Although Pinkerton was a self-styled abolitionist, he still dropped the "N word" liberally and the prose does not mesh with modern, non-MAGA sensibilities. That aside, the story was a little bit stilted, there was little suspense, it was mostly along the lines of "we know who did it, and this is how we ultimately caged him."

[Jaymann]

The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey



The authors (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) of The Expanse have started a new series. It starts out, strangely enough, exploring the politics of academic research. It follows the trials and tribulations of a tight-knit group of top researchers on an earthlike planet and it is fairly engrossing. Then comes the alien invasion. I don't want to spoil the story, but it eventually has galactic repercussions.

It is a character driven novel with some action, but mostly building suspense through other means. By the end I cared about the actors and it sets the stage for an epic series. 7/8 molecular imagers.

[El Guapo]

Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East, by Uri Kaufman

A history of the Yom Kippur War. Really interesting and well written - I loved it. Lots of interesting details in there, like how in the prior 6 Day War one of the reasons why Israel was able to launch such a devastating air strike initially was that prior to the war they had hacked into the radar systems of the hostile states and so were able to see what they saw "live", which let them do test runs in advance of the war where they flew planes towards the border to see what the radar operators could see (and so chart flight paths that kept them away from radar detection). A lot of the book is about why the initial part of the Yom Kippur War went so much worse for Israel than the 6 Day War - intelligence failures and some bad initial decisions. The book also emphasizes how close the war was to being lost by Israel - a few different decisions her and there and that would have been it.

[Isgrimnur]

A Memory of Light, Book 14 The Wheel of Time

[disarm]

A Memory of Light, Book 14 The Wheel of Time

Congratulations!

[Isgrimnur]

Thank you.

[hitbyambulance]

Jack London John Barleycorn: Alcoholic Memoirs : this was an entertaining and sad memoir (especially seeing as how London died just three years later after publication) - he is in denial he is actually an 'alcoholic' in our modern sense of the term (this came out before 'alcoholism' was defined as such), but is unsparing about the degrading effects of addiction

[YellowKing]

Sky Rider by Terry Mancour

Finished off the Spellmonger's Cadet trilogy with this final entry. It's very light fantasy, but it's well-written and as I've mentioned before it fleshes out a character that is introduced almost out of nowhere in the mainline series. This book spends a lot of time with a teenage girl and her father butting heads, but with a teenage daughter of my own I found it very relatable. And who doesn't love giant birds?

[Zarathud]

My only issue with the YA series was that it didn’t add much beyond teen daughter angst. That’s fine, but it missed the opportunity to provide definitive character moments and observations like the rest of the series. It could have been more.

[YellowKing]

I didn't mind it since the target audience was likely....teenage girls. But yeah, I'm eager to get back to the mainline series now. Especially since I've been reading so much fluff fantasy lately.

[Isgrimnur]

The Complete Maus

[Jeff V]

Jack London John Barleycorn: Alcoholic Memoirs : this was an entertaining and sad memoir (especially seeing as how London died just three years later after publication) - he is in denial he is actually an 'alcoholic' in our modern sense of the term (this came out before 'alcoholism' was defined as such), but is unsparing about the degrading effects of addiction

London's autobiography was probably one of the best of the sort I ever read. He was a lush for sure (he'd have parties that would last for weeks whenever he got paid). But he also did a fair amount of adventure travel, and then there was the unfortunate pigs...

[Scuzz]

The Reality Dysfunction Part 2 Expansion by Peter F Hamilton

The Reality Dysfunction was published in many countries as one book but apparently in the US it was split into two parts. I earlier reviewed the first part. The first part I found really slow until almost the end. This book on the other hand is non-stop action almost the entire time, except for brief interludes where Hamilton is introducing new worlds or characters. For some reason when I originally looked this book up the review didn't mention that this was merely the start of a trilogy called The Night's Dawn Trilogy. The trilogy is over 3,300 pages.

The story itself is a massive space opera covering many years and many planets and cultures. Hamilton is very imaginative in his world building but I find his character building to be lacking. I also find his antagonists to be somewhat lacking. Now with some 2.400+ pages remaining he may develop them better but their basic nature isn't that interesting to me at this point.

We do get space battles, augmented super soldiers and lots of sex, so it has that going for it. But I am not sure I am going to continue on with the series. I bought these two books used and doubt I would be that lucky again in finding the next 2-4 books, as all the US versions were split into two parts.

[Isgrimnur]

But I am not sure I am going to continue on with the series. I bought these two books used and doubt I would be that lucky again in finding the next 2-4 books, as all the US versions were split into two parts.

https://www.hpb.com/search?q=Hamilton%2C%20Peter%20F.

[Scuzz]

Thanks for the link. My daughter was aware of them but didn’t know they were online.

My real problem is whether I want to commit to reading another 2,500 pages.

[hitbyambulance]

Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace : only took me 18 months to finish this one... this was actually Pretty Good. i actually enjoyed the philosophical essay digressions as well.

the Epilogue was really something - Part 1 takes place about eight years (1821?) after the last events of the novel, and is a slice-of-life, very zoomed-in look at some of the main characters over the course of just a few hours. it would stand very well on its own as a short story, but given that the reader has just been through _hundreds_ of pages prior about their lives, characters, thoughts, beliefs, growth changes, feelings, etc from the years of 1805-1812, an incredible amount of dimension and many varying shades are given as subtext to the story which would, of course, not otherwise be possible otherwise. it's incredibly fascinating and very moving, but it's a technique that only works with a lot of effort on the part of the author AND reader. Part 2 is a standalone essay about history and free will that, in combination with the other essay-type notes on this same topic throughout the book, actually affected how i now view historical accounts.