Books Read in April, 2017
I meant to post this yesterday, but I got a bit busy with other things. Anyway, as is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my April, 2017 reads.
*****
Books Read in April, 2017
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
1984 by George Orwell (r)
The King's Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniells
March, 2017 Locus
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
April, 2017 Reader's Digest
Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers
Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens by Eleanor Arnason
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
May, 2017 Reader's Digest
Coriolis: Atlas Compendium by Martin Dunelind, Nils Karlen, Kosta Kostulas and Adam Palmquist (RPG)
April, 2017 Locus
The Wreck of the Marissa by M. Harold Page
*****
So that's my reads for the month of April. I was actually quite suprised and pleased at the number of books that I read in the month, as I hadn't thought that I'd read that much, but 8 books (not including the RPG stuff) was pretty good, and is about my normal consumption of books for the month. The books I enjoyed the most were:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - This book was a true marvel and wonder to read, and was a faerie tale for all ages (but is quite suitable for younger readers, and is a YA book after all). Ostensibly the story of Luna and her "mother", the witch of the local (volcano area) woods, Xan, it's a tale of a child growing up with a magic that she gained by happenstance, and is about growing up. The writing in this book is magical, faerie tale-like as already mentioned, but is also about the magical versus the mundane, and social organisation. There's more to the story than this, of course, but to say more would spoil it for readers. An enchanting, delicious read. I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.
Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers - Quick, sarcastic, and lethal, Hailimi Bristol doesn't suffer fools gladly. She has made a name for herself in the galaxy as a gunrunner, for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. That is, until two Trackers drag her back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir. Some may argue that this novel is a "chick" book, but to be honest, I enjoyed it a lot. While the Indranan Empire is largely influenced by Indian culture, the characters in the book are interesting, have personalities that are distinct, and the writing is relatively crisp with action sequences that I liked, but didn't reduce the space opera feel, though it doesn't actually live up to the blurb in that regard on the back cover. That said, an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens by Eleanor Arnason - Eleanor Arnason is one of the finest writers of anthropological science fiction, on a par with Ursula K. Le Guin, and one of my favourite writers. This is a book of alien folk tales translated for humans, set in the same universe as Arnason's Ring of Swords. These were all excellent tales of "transgressive" people who went outside of their society's norms and behaved in a fashion that was shocking and disturbing. However, in a society where heterosexual sex is held solely for procreation and bartered between families, where romantic love and passion are strictly same sex only, where women rule families and men are kept only for their strength and ability to fight, well, the transgressions don't seem that remarkable and thus the characters shine far more than just through their actions. Arnason's alien world is incredibly well developed, and the stories are written true to form, sounding exactly how you would expect folk tales that have become legend, translated by humans for humans, to be. An excellent book in the author's series, and definitely a collection of stories that I would recommend.
All the (other) books that I read in April, 2017 were pretty good, but the ones above are the stand-outs for the month for me.
Overall, I managed to read 8 novels, 1 RPGs and RPG products, 4 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in April. This brings the year total for 2017 to a set of numbers that look like this: 37 books, 7 RPGs and RPG products, 9 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)
*****
Books Read in April, 2017
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
1984 by George Orwell (r)
The King's Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniells
March, 2017 Locus
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
April, 2017 Reader's Digest
Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers
Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens by Eleanor Arnason
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
May, 2017 Reader's Digest
Coriolis: Atlas Compendium by Martin Dunelind, Nils Karlen, Kosta Kostulas and Adam Palmquist (RPG)
April, 2017 Locus
The Wreck of the Marissa by M. Harold Page
*****
So that's my reads for the month of April. I was actually quite suprised and pleased at the number of books that I read in the month, as I hadn't thought that I'd read that much, but 8 books (not including the RPG stuff) was pretty good, and is about my normal consumption of books for the month. The books I enjoyed the most were:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - This book was a true marvel and wonder to read, and was a faerie tale for all ages (but is quite suitable for younger readers, and is a YA book after all). Ostensibly the story of Luna and her "mother", the witch of the local (volcano area) woods, Xan, it's a tale of a child growing up with a magic that she gained by happenstance, and is about growing up. The writing in this book is magical, faerie tale-like as already mentioned, but is also about the magical versus the mundane, and social organisation. There's more to the story than this, of course, but to say more would spoil it for readers. An enchanting, delicious read. I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.
Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers - Quick, sarcastic, and lethal, Hailimi Bristol doesn't suffer fools gladly. She has made a name for herself in the galaxy as a gunrunner, for everything except what she was born to do: rule the Indranan Empire. That is, until two Trackers drag her back to her home planet to take her rightful place as the only remaining heir. Some may argue that this novel is a "chick" book, but to be honest, I enjoyed it a lot. While the Indranan Empire is largely influenced by Indian culture, the characters in the book are interesting, have personalities that are distinct, and the writing is relatively crisp with action sequences that I liked, but didn't reduce the space opera feel, though it doesn't actually live up to the blurb in that regard on the back cover. That said, an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens by Eleanor Arnason - Eleanor Arnason is one of the finest writers of anthropological science fiction, on a par with Ursula K. Le Guin, and one of my favourite writers. This is a book of alien folk tales translated for humans, set in the same universe as Arnason's Ring of Swords. These were all excellent tales of "transgressive" people who went outside of their society's norms and behaved in a fashion that was shocking and disturbing. However, in a society where heterosexual sex is held solely for procreation and bartered between families, where romantic love and passion are strictly same sex only, where women rule families and men are kept only for their strength and ability to fight, well, the transgressions don't seem that remarkable and thus the characters shine far more than just through their actions. Arnason's alien world is incredibly well developed, and the stories are written true to form, sounding exactly how you would expect folk tales that have become legend, translated by humans for humans, to be. An excellent book in the author's series, and definitely a collection of stories that I would recommend.
All the (other) books that I read in April, 2017 were pretty good, but the ones above are the stand-outs for the month for me.
Overall, I managed to read 8 novels, 1 RPGs and RPG products, 4 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in April. This brings the year total for 2017 to a set of numbers that look like this: 37 books, 7 RPGs and RPG products, 9 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)