Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:12 pm**

This is a thread for users to share new/recent books that they think everyone should be checking out.

Yes, I will be spamming this thread like crazy with all the good books you all should be getting. Please do share the ones you think I and others should consider.

Bringing books to people's attention is a tricky thing, these days, with so many things coming out all of the time. Word of mouth is essential for good authors to get the success they deserve. Let's help them with that.

(I say "new/recent", by which I'd say books from within the last couple of years would count. Just so long as it's something you're excited by that you think people should pick up.)

Posted: **Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:15 pm**

You should read that Little, Big book in your pile, Murrin

Posted: **Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:19 pm**

I'll kick things off with two books that come out today:

Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley is the start of a new epic fantasy series that is getting a lot of positive attention. From what I hear it includes things like flesh-eating plants, magical satellites, and a society with five genders. (UK edition release is next week.)

Edit: Of interest perhaps to certain members here, Tor.com's reviewer said Hurley's book "reminds [her] of a faster, weirder Steven Erikson novel."

Lock In is the newest novel by John Scalzi, and reviewers seem to think it might be his best to date. It's a near future thriller where a disease has caused a significant portion of the population to be "locked in" to their own bodies, and the world has changed to adapt to this.

Posted: **Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:36 pm**

Orlion wrote:You should read that Little, Big book in your pile, Murrin

That is not new, and I'm not sure how you even know I have it, ha.

(Eventually, eventually. I've comitted to focusing on new books over old ones for the forseeable future.)

Posted: **Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:48 pm**

I'm Murrin wrote:
Orlion wrote:You should read that Little, Big book in your pile, Murrin
That is not new, and I'm not sure how you even know I have it, ha. (Eventually, eventually. I've comitted to focusing on new books over old ones for the forseeable future.)

And I'm committed to old books over new books for the foreseeable future! It appears as if we're at an impasse

Posted: **Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:29 pm**

Tomorrow sees the release of Acceptance, the third and final book in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. Chuck Wendig has written a very good post on the way this series makes him feel.

You should read these books, if I haven't made that clear enough already elsewhere.

Posted: **Sun Sep 14, 2014 1:04 pm**

Put this on my next to read list after I finish House of Leaves.

Posted: **Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:10 am**

I don't know how people can just decide to read new books without knowing if they're crap or not. I need my reading time to mean something. I mean, if it's not 5 stars I don't want to waste my time. Even authors I really love might disappoint me. Even the next book in a series I love might disappoint me. The entire premise of this thread fills me with anxiety. Ok I'm leaving now!

Posted: **Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:29 am**

I read nothing unless I think it's going to be good, and the entire purpose of this thread is to pass on that these books are going to be worth the time. The first two books I mentioned were ones I hadn't read yet, but 1) John Scalzi is very consistent, and 2) there's enough positive press about Kameron Hurley's novel that I knew it'd be great, and it was. All the books I've mentioned here have been getting very positive reviews.

I have other titles I'd mention, but I am waiting until I start them. And hoping other people will start jumping in here with books they've read from the last year or so that they'd recommend...

Posted: **Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:15 pm**

You have mentioned Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie in other threads, and I'll mention it here as it was easily the best sci-fi book I read last year (on you recommendation, Murrin. Thanks!).

u.

Posted: **Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:41 pm**

Yeah, it's a great book. The sequel, Ancillary Sword, is coming out in early October.

Also, Lauren Beukes' Broken Monsters is now out in the US. A serial killer in Detroit making weird artwork out of his victims. Murder, outsider art, urban decay, the power of social media...

Posted: **Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:01 am**

Ancillary Sword is out today, folks. Buy it!

Posted: **Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:20 pm**

I've been wanting to suggest Assail in this thread for a while... you know, just to be evil

But I have yet to finish it, being distracted by other books, soooo.... you know, if you've read the other Esslemont books, you'll probably read this one. If not, well... (and thus, the unfinished sentence will work on your minds! Mwahaha!)

Anyhow, the Southern Reach Trilogy was fantastic.

Posted: **Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:11 am**

If you're looking for another new fantasy novel, Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs is very good.

A government operative, Shara Komayd, posing as a diplomat, arrives in the city of Bulikov to investigate the murder of Dr Efrem Pangyui. Bulikov was once the centre of a nation ruled by actual living Divinities, until an uprising by their Saypuri slaves, led by the Kaj, who had discovered a way to kill the gods. Now, the Continent has been devastated by the sudden loss of all the divine works and miracles that had been built there, and the people are kept down by the policies of the Saypuri government. Shara's investigation soon finds evidence of conspiracy, and hints that perhaps the gods are not quite as dead as they are supposed to be...

It is a really excellent book, with a very clever take on gods and magic (or "miracles", in this case). Well worth a read.

Posted: **Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:20 pm**

Kelly Link's new story collection Get in Trouble came out a little while back, and I don't know why I haven't already mentioned it here. Link is one of the best short story writers out there, and I highly recommend reading any of her work.

Also worth mentioning is The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison; I read this recently, and it just made the Hugo Awards ballot. It's about the half-Goblin son of the Elvish emperor, who is suddenly elevated to the throne after his father and three older brothers die in an airship explosion. It's all about him struggling to get used to life in the court, his power and responsibilities, and dealing with the people around him, as someone who has had absolutely no experience or preparation for it.

Posted: **Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:44 pm**

I'm throughly enjoying The Three-Body Problem and I quite enjoyed Seveneves.

Posted: **Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:19 pm**

Personally I was a little underwhelmed by The Three-Body Problem, but I'd still say it's worth reading.

Posted: **Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:11 pm**

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu is probably the best epic fantasy I've read in years. It's a sweeping historical epic that still has intimate moments, and at times it's like an old heroic saga, people out of legend fighting wars and gods directly intervening in the world. It's a style I don't think I've seen used in a modern fantasy novel before.

Emperor Mapidéré was the first to unite the island kingdoms of Dara under a single banner. But now Mapidéré is on his deathbed, his people are exhausted by his vast, conscriptive engineering projects and his counselors conspire only for their own gain.

Even the gods themsleves are restless.

A wily, charismatic bandit, and the vengeance-sworn son of a deposed duke cross paths as they each lead their own rebellion against the Emperor's brutal regime. Together, they will journey to the heart of the Empire, witnessing the clash of armies, fleets of silk-draped airships, magical books and shapeshifting gods. Their unlikely friendship will drastically change the balance of power in Dara... but at what price?

THE GRACE OF KINGS is the debut novel by Hugo-, Nebula-, and World Fantasy Award-winner Ken Liu, and the first in an monumental new epic fantasy series.

Posted: **Wed Sep 16, 2015 4:44 am**

Sounds good...I like epics...

--A

Posted: **Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:13 am**

At the rate you read Av, you need 'em!

Does sound good though!

Kevin's Watch

Tell Us What Books We Should Be Reading

Tell Us What Books We Should Be Reading