Posted on August 24, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 24 Comments
Lots of new books in this week so we’ll have two stacks, one today and one Friday. See anything in this particular stack that trips your proverbial trigger? Let us know in the comments!
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I’ve already read the Baen ones that looked interesting. I can recommend Son of the Black Sword, Project Elfhome and Span of Empire.
I didn’t know there was a new Rusch book. Even though she’s just the editor I will want to read that one.
New Jao book?! Squeee! I really like Course of Empire and Crucible of Empire, although I understand those who say the aliens aren’t really alien. (Their most alien attribute is the timesense and while I like the way it is handled, there is a degree to which you can’t depict deeply alien attributes in ways that we would understand.)
I just came in here to ask about Son of the Black Sword! Thanks, I think I’m going to get it. I really do like Correia, but not nearly enough to buy his stuff in hardcover, and also I’m a crotchety old man who dislikes e-readers. So I get to wait for the trade paperback.
Excellent! A new Wen Spencer/Elfhome book!
I look forward to reading it.
Poul Anderson, of course!
I’m definitely curious about the introduction and essay bits from the new Rusch anthology. Next to that, The Calorium Wars looks pretty intriguing, and I haven’t even read the first book in that series, “King of the Cracksmen”.
My to-be-read is so fat right now, it makes me hyperventilate a little. How in the world do you get through all these ARCs, etc? Or is there an infinitely-expandable to-be-read shelf in the Scalzi household, like Hermione’s tote bag, waiting for the distant future of infinite time to read?
My husband, who likes Martin’s work, thought A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS was good.
Oh hey, a new Empire book. I’ll be looking into that. “Women of Futures Past” is selling me just on the title alone, too.
clancyweeksblog, MULTIVERSE was originally a 2014 hardcover, an original anthology of stories inspired by Anderson’s works, plus reminisces by Poul’s wife Karen Anderson, daughter Astrid and son-in-law Greg Bear. Story authors include Kress, Cherryh, Silverberg, Benford, Niven and other impressive contributors.
zlynx, the Rusch book has an interesting introductory essay about many women writers becoming invisible or disappearing from the history of SF.
The Poul Anderson book. Fan since forever ago. Currently re-reading the future history series, smack in the middle of the Empire/Ythri/Avalon war.
Anderson’s throw-away description of background are poetry. The scent of exotic plants forever wafting on a wayward breeze.
Just based on previous experience with Wen Spencer’s writing, Project Elfhome is probably of interest.
Women of Futures Past, because it sounds like an interesting read.
Project Elfhome! I’ve been waiting for sooo long!
Nah, [Rude comment about author deleted – JS] but a new Flint story! Soopers
Flint’s good, the Jao series is a personal fave.
Germanica I’ve read. Quintessential Robert Conroy. As in, ‘Murica rocks, Germans drool. It’s an unfortunate trend in his novels, to write off the entire German culture as a uniform machine of fanatically, almost cartoonishly evil Jew-hating Nazis (looking at you, “1901”…). That said, Germanica makes for a decent military thriller, albeit historically implausible.
Correia I don’t particularly care to read, but the GRRM book is a good “peasant’s eye view” of Westeros, focusing on the sheer inhumanity of the Westerosi feudal regime. Good read, if brutal.
Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was a good read. Not earth shattering, but very pleasant.
Is Knight of the Seven Kingdoms a collection of his Dunk and Egg stories, or something else?
Women of Futures Past, because of what is is, who the editor is and because shorter works are all I’m up to at the moment.
The Flint and the Spencer are on order, but being only a lowly consumer I don’t get them until 9/6. I’ll take a look at the Anderson to see if there’s anything in it I don’t have already. And I’ll check the Rusch anthology at the bookstore as well.
You should give the new books and arc’s section of your blog the hashtag #shelfie
(I first saw this used in the Cambridge alumni magazine CAM)
The Women of Future Past anthology and the Poul Anderson collection. The man was so prolific in his lifetime that it’s rare a collection of his work is released that doesn’t have something I’ve yet to read.
[Deleted because this is not a thread for dumping on authors — JS]
“Women of Futures Past” is a fantastic title. Added off the back of that and that alone.