Book List Apr/May/June '17
April:
Short Fiction: Jo Walton's a Burden Shared & Sharon Lee/Steve Miller's Cutting Corners.
New Read: Joe Hill's the Fireman. Apocalyptic-Dystopia involving self-combustion plague.
Reread: M. Magdalene's Curvy vol.1-3. This nekkid magical adventure webcomic is actually finishing up right now.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Faith Erin Hicks/Jordie Bellaire's the Nameless City: vol.2: the Stone Heart
May:
Short Fiction: Allen Steele's Sanctuary Ramsey Shehadeh's Red & Rich Burlew's How the Paladin Got His Scar
New Reads: Adam Christopher's Standard Hollywood Depravity. I keep trying and yet something about Christopher just never clicks with me. This one is robots + noir + free will issues = ennh.
Reread: Terry Pratchett's the 5th Elephant, the Truth, Nightwatch, Going Postal, Thud!, Monstrous Regiment, Making Money, Unseen Academicals, Snuff & Raising Steam. Just went on a big Pratchett binge to start off May.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Ben Fleuter's Sword Interval vol.1
Total:28
June:
Short Fiction: Jessica Reisman's Bourbon, Sugar, Grace & Shira Glassman's Knit One, Girl Two.
New Read: Seanan McGuire's Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, Every Heart a Doorway & Velveteen Vs. the Seasons. The first is about ghosts and moving on. Then the start of her new-ish "Wayward Children" series about kids who travel to magical worlds (and sometimes come back) and the last is the latest collection of her "Velveteen" stories.
Reread: Michael Stackpole's X-Wing: Rogue Squadron; Wedge's Gamble; the Krytos Trap & the Bacta War. One of my favorite bits of the Star Wars 90s EU book line.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Christopher Hastings/Irene Stychalski/Gurihiru's the Unbelievable Gwenpool: Head of M.O.D.O.K. Hasting's is a great comedic writer and I just adore Gurihiru's art.
Short Fiction: Jo Walton's a Burden Shared & Sharon Lee/Steve Miller's Cutting Corners.
New Read: Joe Hill's the Fireman. Apocalyptic-Dystopia involving self-combustion plague.
- Joanne Harris' Jigs & Reels. Anthology, decent not great.
- Richard Castle's Driving Heat. I actually bought like 4 or 5 more of these at once, all fairly cheap e-editions. But this was the only one I finished as I just got bored with the series. Kind of like how I skipped the final season or two of Castle.
- John Wick's Daughter of Fate. 7th Sea tie-in novel I got for free as part of kickstarter-ing the new edition of the rpg. Pretty good and like the better tie-in novels makes me want to play the game (again).
- Ian Thomas Haley's the Bulletproof Badge. Short fiction collection that ties into Haley's "Just Cause" supers series.
- Poul Anderson's Midsummer's Tempest. Combo Shakespeare fanfic and Roundhead English Civil War historical romance.
- Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking. I think this was Fisher's last memoir. Funny if dark, like her.
- Michael Swanwick's Not So Much, Said the Cat. Another short story collection, all very good.
Reread: M. Magdalene's Curvy vol.1-3. This nekkid magical adventure webcomic is actually finishing up right now.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Faith Erin Hicks/Jordie Bellaire's the Nameless City: vol.2: the Stone Heart
- Kristen Gudsnuk's Henchgirl
May:
Short Fiction: Allen Steele's Sanctuary Ramsey Shehadeh's Red & Rich Burlew's How the Paladin Got His Scar
New Reads: Adam Christopher's Standard Hollywood Depravity. I keep trying and yet something about Christopher just never clicks with me. This one is robots + noir + free will issues = ennh.
- T. Kingfisher's Jackalope Wives & Other Stories. Anthology of Ursula Vernon short fiction.
- Marko Kloos' Fields of Fire. Mission to Mars!
- Walt Boyes/Bjorn Hasseler (ed) Grantville Gazette vol. 68-70
- Megan Abbott's You Will Know Me
- Ellen Datlow/Terri Windling (ed) Black Swan, White Raven. One of several of their fairy tale short fiction anthologies.
- Avery Duff's Beach Lawyer. Sometimes you just want to try stuff outside your normal wheelhouse. And sometimes that just means reading an ok legal thriller full of lying liars who lie.
- Foz Meadows' a Tyranny of Queens. Sequel to An Accident of Stars and hopefully not the last visit to the setting and characters.
- S.J. Delos' Some Kind of Hero. Reformed villain supers fic.
- Ian Thomas Healy's Just Cause Stories vol. 2 & Jackrabbit: Big in Japan. The humor in this second Jackrabbit book feels a bit forced. Especially the older ladies lust for Jackrabbit bits.
- Joan Aiken's the Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Reread: Terry Pratchett's the 5th Elephant, the Truth, Nightwatch, Going Postal, Thud!, Monstrous Regiment, Making Money, Unseen Academicals, Snuff & Raising Steam. Just went on a big Pratchett binge to start off May.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Ben Fleuter's Sword Interval vol.1
- Kieron Gillen/Salador Larroca/Leinel Francis Yu's Darth Vader: the Shu-Toran War
- Kieron Gillen/Salvador Larroca's Darth Vader: vol.2: Shadows and Secrets. Gillen and company's Darth Vader series was really, really good. Successfully works with an evil lead and one who's early and final story has already been set.
- Ryan North/Erica Henderson's the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe. Squirrel-Girl beats up everyone! Even Squirrel-Girl!
- Chris Claremont/Brent Anderson's X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
Total:28
June:
Short Fiction: Jessica Reisman's Bourbon, Sugar, Grace & Shira Glassman's Knit One, Girl Two.
New Read: Seanan McGuire's Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, Every Heart a Doorway & Velveteen Vs. the Seasons. The first is about ghosts and moving on. Then the start of her new-ish "Wayward Children" series about kids who travel to magical worlds (and sometimes come back) and the last is the latest collection of her "Velveteen" stories.
- R.J. Ross' Rocky Road. More "Cape High" popcorn.
- Maggie Stiefvater's the Raven Boys & the Dream Thieves. Modern fantasy centered around the search for sleeping Welsh king in Virginia.
- Ellen Klages' Passing Strange. 1940s San Francisco lesbian counter-culture with a dash of magic.
- Chuck Wendig's Thunderbird. Latest "MIriam Black" book. With south-western doomsday prepper cult.
- Charlie N. Holmberg's the Paper Magician, the Glass Magician & the Master Magician. Enjoyable, if a little slight, trilogy of magical historical/romance/adventure.
- Karen Diem's Human. Second of her "Arca" supers series.
- Sharon Lee/Steve Miller's the Gathering Edge. Most recent "Liaden" book.
- Rachel Manjic/Sherwood Smith's Rebel. Third of their "the Change" books. Still the best Gamma World game setting.
- V.E. Schwab's a Darker Shade of Magic
- Pen & Cape Society (ed) the Good Fight 3: Sidekicks
Reread: Michael Stackpole's X-Wing: Rogue Squadron; Wedge's Gamble; the Krytos Trap & the Bacta War. One of my favorite bits of the Star Wars 90s EU book line.
- Jeffrey Brown's Incredible Change-Bots Two. I know I'd read this before but everything about it seemed unfamiliar.
- Kate Beaton's Never Learn Anything From History
- Rick Remender/Daniel Way/Marjorie Liu's Punisher: Franken-Castle. This is exactly the kind of crazy that I like to see when mixing Punisher with a supers setting.
Graphic Novels/TPBs/RPGs: Christopher Hastings/Irene Stychalski/Gurihiru's the Unbelievable Gwenpool: Head of M.O.D.O.K. Hasting's is a great comedic writer and I just adore Gurihiru's art.
- Brandon Montclare/Amy Reeder/Marco Failla's Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur: Cosmic Cooties.
- Jason Aaron/Kieron Gillen/Mike Deodato/Salvador Larroca/Mark Brooks' Vader Down. Vader is just super scarily competent in this one. Like end of Rogue One scary.
- Kieron Gillen/Salvador Larroca/Juan Gimenez' Darth Vader: vol.4: End of Game.
- Faith Erin Hicks' the Adventures of Superhero Girl (Expanded Edition). Just enough new material for me not to count this as a reread.
- Ben Aaronovitch/Andrew Cautmel/Lee Sullivan/Luis Guerrero's Rivers of London: Body Work
- Mike Maihack's Cleopatra in Space: the Golden Lion.
- Rick Remender/Jerome Opena/Matt Hollingsworth's Seven to Eternity: vol. 1: the Godwhisperers. I know this new Remender series gets a bit of positive buzz, but it didn't connect with me at all.