And the Mighty Will Fall • The Fifth Season • Rook • The Obelisk Gate • Soulless • The Scourge Between Stars* • The Stone Sky • Penric's Demon • Starter Villain • (The Library of the Unwritten) • The Appeal
trying a new picture format this month via Storygraph!
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And the Mighty Will Fall - I had fun! Which is really all I can say, tbh. When I finished the third book back in 2023 I said I didn't know if the author planned to write more books in the NeoG series, but I would be happy if that was where she ended... and that still stands true. I enjoyed this book, but it didn't really feel necessary or like it added to the story. It went really hard on the Die Hard plot, yall XD At least with the big time jump from the previous book it had a good reason to explain a lot of things to me that I'd forgotten.
The Fifth Season - finally read this! A solidly good series that really held my attention and has given me a lot to think about, even if it's not going to be a favorite (which seems to be a common thread with Jemisin for me)
Rook - unofficially Jackaby #5, which I had never read! And wasn't super worth it, tbh. Reading this really cemented the fact that I didn't have a bad time rereading the original series because they were rereads. Not to repeat myself from my comments on Jackaby in December, but if we could have taken some plot points from this (and book 4) and turned them into book 3.5 it would have been great and made a lot more sense. As it is, watching Abigail having to struggle to find her feet yet again was not an interesting read.
Soulless - I was forewarned that these weren't particularly serious books, but I admit I found this a bit sillier than expected! Not fully to my taste but close enough to be amusing, so I will probably pick up the next book at some point (spoiler: I did).
The Scourge Between Stars - It was fine? It was fine. I certainly had a ok enough time reading this, but if you think about it at all there's not a lot of substance, just a little Alien-ish thrill. Not one I'd go out of my way to recommend, there's more interesting generation ship and space thrillers out there.
Penric's Demon - so fun! Honestly, mildly-antagonistic-evil-voice-in-my-head is one of my favorite things and it's hard to do wrong XD And of course I already loved the author's World of the Five Gods novels, I can't wait to continue the series. Would recommend, but ideally after you read the novels.
Starter Villain - there was lots of debate over which Scalzi novel should be my first, and I think this was the correct choice! I was indeed very delighted by the cats and the dolphins and the silliness of the villainy, but there was a... tone? to the writing and character voice that I didn't love and was exacerbated by the audiobook narrator. If more of his books were accessible via audiobook from the library I might still give them a shot, but at this point I don't think acquiring them elsewhere is worth my effort or money.
The Library of the Unwritten - honestly, probably a little to soon to reread this (I originally read it Oct 2024), but we're doing the second book for book club as well and I wanted to try it out on audiobook instead of print. It took me two tries but I did get through it! It was fine, but not interesting as a reread, and I could probably have skipped it so soon.
The Appeal - I had such a good time with The Twyford Code a few years ago, I figured it was time to give another Hallett book a try and boy did I love it! I already love a good mystery and unique story formats, but I also admit I can be a sucker for gossip and the interpersonal drama of random strangers (for example, Ask a Manager is my kryptonite - send help). Reading through all of the texts and emails trying to figure out what, exactly, was making the whole thing smell fishy was a such a delight and gave the whole book a slow subtle tension that I loved, even as the book felt like it would never end. Not to mention who dies!!! Would very much recommend.
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The Expanse meets the Battle Room in Ender's Game as K. B. Wagers brings us the rollicking first entry in a unique science fiction series that introduces the Near-Earth Orbital Guard—NeoG—a military force patrolling and protecting space inspired by the real-life mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.
For the past year, their close loss in the annual Boarding Games has haunted Interceptor Team: Zuma’s Ghost. With this year’s competition looming, they’re looking forward to some payback—until an unexpected personnel change leaves them reeling. Their best swordsman has been transferred, and a new lieutenant has been assigned in his place.
Maxine Carmichael is trying to carve a place in the world on her own—away from the pressure and influence of her powerful family. The last thing she wants is to cause trouble at her command on Jupiter Station. With her new team in turmoil, Max must overcome her self-doubt and win their trust if she’s going to succeed. Failing is not an option—and would only prove her parents right.
But Max and the team must learn to work together quickly. A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more unless Max and her new team stop them.
Rescue those in danger, find the bad guys, win the Games. It’s all in a day’s work at the NeoG.
But also - why is there so much military? Humanity explicitly hasn't found any sapient aliens, and there's no indication that human colonies are trying to be at war with anyone. What's left of London seems to be the capital of Earth in general. Yet they've got the NeoG (Near-Earth Orbital Guard, aka Space Coast Guard), an Army, (space) Navy, Marines, and an Air Force.
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