Where are you in Fantasyland? January, 2020

Still reading Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin, The Bard's Blade by Brian D. Anderson, and Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Happy new year! I'm still reading The Republic of Thieves.

>1 seitherin: I hope The Bard's Blade is good. It's on my wish list.

The Republic of Thieves is one of the Gentleman Bastard books right? I recall I adored the first but struggled to get into RoT.. How are you finding it?

>3 TokenGingerKid: Yep, Gentleman Bastards #3. I finished it and rated it 3 stars. I can understand why you struggled. It's definitely different from the first two. Since you've already started it you know the general premise. Pretty sure there aren't spoilers if you wanted to read my review: https://www.librarything.com/work/2866872/reviews/123683965

I've moved on to Edgehill, Oregon for a paranormal mystery with Pawsitively Cursed.

>2 Narilka: I haven't read all that much of The Bard's Blade yet, but it is kind of juvenile. I'm not really getting into it so far.

I'm in dark fantasy 14th century Champagne (France) with the Bastard of Kosigan (L'Ombre du pouvoir by Fabien Cerutti).

Off to Chicago with that Dead Beat, Harry Dresden.

I have decided to start into the new year with the Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook. Hopefully the Omnibus collections will keep me entertained for some time.

I've started The Heart of What Was Lost, my first time back in Osten Ard since the nineties.

Currently in what seems to be a North-African/Middle-East-inspired fantasyland with Lost Gods.

Hi Fantasyfans. I've had a busy year, and haven't dropped in. This year I will be glad to hang around and track and share your reads more often. Thank goodness.

I have a recommendation request. One of my kids stopped reading a couple of years back. I see now she has Farseekers out and lying around, and now I think of it the last thing she read was Red Queen. Can you please recommend something currently in print which is like Obernewtyn Chronicles? Trying to think it through... long journeys... community... talking pets... misfits... post-apocalyptic... latent supermindpowers... Is that how recommendation works? She's already read this in Obernewtyn Chronicles! Any guidance at all much appreciated.

>10 Cecrow: Good luck! I rushed book 2 and didn't like it. I am re-reading it now.

My library got the Murderbot books and i read those. I have also enjoyed the Ancillary... books of Ann Leckie. They touched similar ideas.

>12 cremorn: It's not post apocalyptic but the Sabriel trilogy by Garth Nix might appeal. Magically talented girls, journeys, snarky animal companions and fast moving plots.

I'm starting Bats of the Republic, which appears to cross enough genres that I could mention it in almost every group I'm in.

>14 Sakerfalcon: Good call! She loved that series too :-) She's ok I'll leave her to her reread.

My library got some Malazan books as audio. I got Midnight tides, great narration, but I'm astonished at how complex it is! I'm looking forward to reliving the Tehol/Bugg banter, but its a 30 hour listen - don't see how I'm going to make it :-0 Maybe I'll have to reread too. The Sengar brothers and the Beddict brothers - so epic!

I'm in the land of Carastind climbing The mountain of kept memory.

I'm in the Tombs of Atuan, and I am happy to be reading the entire Earthsea series at last!

I'm starting The Ten Thousand Doors of January next.

I'm reading Echo in Onyx by Sharon Shinn.

Dipping a toe into the LitRPG pool for a bingo square, which is taking me into a virtual world of Temple of Sorrow.

(Took a bit of effort to find one that didn't annoy me just from the sample chapters. I'm hoping the female author and/or female protagonist will help me connect a bit better. Most of the others I tried seemed like they were blatant male-reader-wish-fulfillment, right out of the gate... nothing wrong with that for folks who enjoy it, but I'm not the target audience for that sort of thing.)

I've been in the Circle's castle on the Star Peninsula in The Initiate and The Outcast by Louise Cooper.

I took a break to read some non-fiction, but have jumped back into Malazan with Midnight Tides. The setting/character changes with each book are head-snapping, but the author seems to pull it off. Some interesting characters in this one.

>18 vwinsloe: I love that book. But at the same time I read the Lives of Christopher Chant, so in my mind I always mix Tenar and The Living Asheth. The whole Earthsea series ... great idea ...

>24 cremorn:. I had only ever read A Wizard of Earth Sea, and did not much care for it. But I've heard various people talking about Tehanu glowingly in the last few months, so I figured that I would give the whole thing a try. I'm glad I did. I've read the whole trilogy, loved Tenar, and am just starting Tehanu now.

Taking one more last dive into sci-fi territory as part of a couple stragglers for my 2019 fantasy bingo. This time, it's The Tea Master and the Detective.

I've been visiting Orsinia during a time of unrest. And still in Carasin climbing The mountain of kept memory.

I'm stopping for a visit at the Gertrude Hunt to Sweep with Me.

Finally dropping in after being consumed by work for the first few weeks of the year (and some non-speculative books). Interesting to see that there's a Le Guin trend -- I just finished The Dispossessed. Interesting collection of ideas but something seemed flat. She paints wonderful pictures of societies but individual characters never feel fully lifelike to me.

Now I'm planning to take a hopefully lighthearted dive into the Chilling Effect (more scifi than fantasy) and Ninth House.

>12 cremorn: Speaking of Leigh Bardugo, I'm a bit late but I recommend that she checks out the Six of Crows duology. A bunch of misfits going on a heist, superpowers, tons of snark, and with that YA pace that hooks you in. Sherwood Smith could also be a name to check out. I was obsessed with Crown Duel back in the day. It's set during wartime instead of during the apocalypse, so it's a bit farther off the path, but it's solid YA that deals with a very misfit main character figuring out who she can trust.

I am... actually spending some time in my hometown with an urban fantasy twist in Uncanny Collateral.

Brian McClellan is from the Cleveland/Akron, Ohio area (and so am I) and the book is set in this area, so it's calling out specific places that I'm very familiar with. Kinda fun.

Finished Blood of Elves and started The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Also added Nevernight by Jay Kristoff to my reading rotation.

I left Orsinia older and wiser. Now I'm imprisoned in Nuryevet trying to unravel A conspiracy of truths.

Back in Chicago re-reading Harry Dresden's adventures. Currently on book 2 Fool Moon.

I'm approaching Shu-Nhadek and the second half of The Master by Louise Cooper, as well as the conclusion of the trilogy.

Heading to alternate London with Soulless.

I'll be heading to 1930s Chicago (and probably also the faerie realm, the way these things usually go) in In Truth and Claw starting on my break.

Having just finished Marley by Jon Clinch - a retelling of A Christmas Carol from the viewpoints of both Scrooge AND Marley -- I've returned to early Victorian London to read the original story, which I haven't done for years, though I've watched the film version with Alistair Sim innumerable times. Clinch's version is clever, a fast read, and fairly true to the original (I'll know that better once I've cross-checked with the original; there are a couple of points I think he might have altered.)

FEBRUARY THREAD: https://www.librarything.com/topic/316273

>30 Kanarthi: Thank you for those ideas!