Recent Reads 3
It's time to do another list of books I've read recently, or at least since the last such post:
- Weston, Robert Paul - Dust City: YA, Fantasy. Fairy tale, in a gritty modern(ish) setting. Not one of those urban fantasies with sexy elves, but a real fairy tale, with nods to several Grimm tales. 3/5
- Bear, Greg - Hull Zero Three: SciFi. Enjoyable, but not the best of Bear. 3/5
- Wells, Martha - The Cloud Roads: Fantasy. Interesting world she's got there... 4/5
- Adams, Cat - Blood Singer-series: Urban fantasy. Felt like a guilty pleasure, this. Reminded me a lot about L. K. Hamilton's Anita Blake -books, before she went all porny. 3/5
- Fforde, Jasper - The Last Dragonslayer: Fantasy in a modern (not our) world setting. Was left feeling a bit unfulfilled after reading it, I was expecting a bit more from Fforde, really. 3/5.
- Pratchett, Terry - I Shall Wear Midnight: The 4th book in the Tiffany Aching series. 4/5 (Though I couldn't help but feeling this book was a bit lackluster when it came to the monster...)
- Tidhar, Lavie - The Bookman: Fantasy/SciFi, set in alternate history Victorian London, with mythical overtones. Quite excellent. 4/5
- Elliott, Kate - Cold Magic: Fantasy/SciFi. Whereas Tidhar's book felt like alternate history, this one felt more like set in another planet. Very interesting, ice-age Victorian world. First in series, so no satisfying ending though. 4/5
- Kadrey, Richard - Sandman Slim: Urban Fantasy. Not the Elves-type, but Hell-and-Heaven-and-magick stuff. First in series. 4/5
- Walton, Jo - Among Others: Modern Fantasy. Excellent, in a quiet way. 5/5
- Banks, Iain - Surface Detail: SciFi. Culture-series. 5/5
- Weeks, Brent - The Black Prism: Epic Fantasy. Interesting magic system. First in series, so again, no satisfying ending. 4/5
- Bradley, Rebecca - Lady in Gil: Fantasy. First book in the trilogy. Quite good. 4/5
- Bear, Elizabeth - Bone and Jewel Creatures: Fantasy. As good as I've come to expect from Bear. 4/5
- Kowal, Mary Robinette - Shades of Milk and Honey: Fantasy, Jane Austen -style. Excellent, quiet fantasy, though I wasn't quite satisfied with the end, but it was more or less like how Jane Austen would've done it. Worth reading, definitely. 4/5
- de Bodard, Aliette - Servant of the Underworld: Fantasy, set in the Aztec Empire. Interesting setting, but something didn't quite click for me. Could've been excellent, now just good. Still giving it 4/5