New Books and ARCs, 8/31/18
Posted on August 31, 2018 Posted by John Scalzi 22 Comments
We’re heading into Labor Day weekend, and closing out August and the summer. Here’s a stack of new books and ARCs for you to contemplate for the ending of this month and season. Is there anything here you’d like to put in your September “to be read” list? Tell us in the comments.
Fated Sky! Loved The Calculating Stars.
Ha, I beat you to The Fated Sky! Totally reading that this weekend.
TIMELESS! Love RA Salvatore!
I just started on Black Lotus KISS. It’s a ridiculous book! Very funny.
I just got Fated Sky from the library this week and I cannot wait to get that started. Calculating Stars was so freaking good.
And my god, that Toll The Hounds is over 1,000 pages and book *8*?
The Fated Sky came down to my Kindle on its pub day and I have been saving it til I finish a revise of a long article. Pretty close to breaking discipline and diving in, though.
Toll the Hounds was the book where I got stuck in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I managed to read through all 7 previous, but after 2 attempts that never got me past halfway through, I took a break. One day I plan to re-read and finally finish that series, but somehow at that point, it felt like I finally had lost my momentum.
To anyone thinking of reading them, do NOT skip the first book, as a few people might suggest. It’s quite well written and offers an introduction to some of the more important people.
I highly recommend The Fated Sky.
The Fated Sky!!
I read The Fated Sky in a single sitting, just like I did The Calculating Stars. And then I went back to the beginning and read it a second time to savor the language and the writing craft, just like I did with The Calculating Stars. Both seriously excellent books. And together, they solve one of my more perplexing holiday gifting challenges, as my 17-year-old niece is going to get the pair of them as her gift from me this year.
If that’s Greg Benford, then yep; I’m a fan.
I had such high hopes for Fated Sky.
Toll The Hounds looks to be one of those books which can serve multiple purposes – on the one hand, you can read it. On the other, it’s going to be very useful in keeping doors propped open or closed. Or you could use it as a hand weight for upper arm strength exercises, and if all else fails, it will definitely be excellent for use as an insect killer.
I started reading THE FATED SKY the day of release and finished it in just a couple days. It does a great job of using alt-history to examine questions of race, gender, and other social issues, and does it all through a compelling storyline that’s full of good ole’ SF sensawonder.
The Fated Sky’s on my radar, but I need to read the first book first. And I didn’t know Benford had a new book coming out, I usually enjoy his books.
Duskfire wrote:
“To anyone thinking of reading them, do NOT skip the first book, as a few people might suggest. It’s quite well written and offers an introduction to some of the more important people.”
1. I absolutely agree that readers of the series should read the first book.
2. I still recommend starting the series at book 2, especially with those who struggle with the first book. Book 2 is just a far more linear story arc that is easier for new readers. I started book 1, put is aside for months, and came back to it later. It’s an important book, but a hard one for anyone unfamiliar with Erikson.
BTW, there is some great stuff at the end of Toll the Hounds.
Definitely The Fated Sky. I loved the first book so much, looking forward to reading the sequel!
Huh. I loved the first book so much that I only got the second one because of that (well, and because the whole series came highly recommended by someone whose taste in books is pretty close to mine).
Anyway, it’ll be a while until I get to Toll the Hounds :-( I just don’t have enough time to read anymore. But read it I will! :-)
Second what Dwight says, ‘Benford’ gets my attention.
Benford definitely, Salvatore maybe.
Hey John,
Just wondering how you decide what to read for pleasure? I assume you don’t have a lot of free time, and with so many books arriving all the time….. I think I’d be overwhelmed and unable to decide.
Another vote for Rewrite.
Just noticed that Benford’s new novel “Rewrite” is a sequel to his 1980 novel “Timescape.” I read “Timescape” three years ago, having noticed it on David Pringle’s (now rather dated) “Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels.” It was a slow-paced, thoughtful book with little in the way of action…basically the complete opposite of a Michael Crichton novel (or of a novel like “The Collapsing Empire” for that matter). In fact, not much happened in the book at all until the end, and then it kind of felt like at the end of a movie where they scroll text by telling you what happened to the characters after the events of the film. So in retrospect, it was not the kind of book that I personally am looking for when I choose to read an SF book. I will say however, that “Timescape” was well-written and worth reading. It gave a realistic view of scientific research, where experiments are often of indeterminate success, and not agreed upon by all, and progress is s-l-o-o-o-w! I am curious as to whether “Rewrite” is more of same.