JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, 2025
CONTINUED FROM 2024 PART 2, 2024
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Book 1: Absolution (2024) by Jeff VanderMeer started my reading year. It’s Jeff’s return to the world of his Sountern Reach trilogy that began ten years ago with the book Annihilation, which was loosley adapted into a 2018 film of the same name. Like the first three books, Absolution has a dreamlike quality that really makes for quite a unique, in a good way, reading experience. The year of our Lords 2025 started with me at almost halfway through the book. Progress would have been quicker if I didn’t have a job. I finished it late on a Friday night, and that third and final novella was certainly quite different! I think I might have to reread the first book one day. (Read between December 24 & January 10 )
Book 2: Wind & Truth (2024) by Brandon Sanderson is the newly released fifth book in his Stormlight Archive saga, and this fifth book brings to a close the first half of the saga and the completion of the first of two story arcs. Soon after it’s November release, I saw a lot of positive reviews from some of the BookTubers. And then a few weeks later, I came across some quite negative reviews, one by a reviewer I usually agree with. Hence, it was with a little trepidation that I started this mammoth 1,344-page tome. I just decided to forget about the opinions of others, and just dive in and swim until the end. Having said that, a slower than expected reading pace in late Januray had me toying with the idea of putting it aside to read one or two shorter books. Each time that idea came to me, I decided to read one more chapter, and each time that chapter led to the next. Still, the slow pace irked me somewhat as in the two previous winter vacations, I read quite a lot of books. And then around February 13, I passed the halfway point and my pace returned to my normal reading speed.
As of February 17, I’m at the 83% mark, and I am enjoying this more. So far I’m finding myself in much more agreement with those that rate this book highly. Now that was the reading equivalent of a marathon – the climactic elements seemed to take up over half the book, i.e. longer than a couple of novels. I finally reached that finish line and read the last word just after midnight on February 19.
I really liked the structure – the story was told over ten days with each day containing about 15 or so pretty short chapters that each contained several viewpoints from the various happenings over the planet and other dimension things. I still can’t comprehend how one BookTuber read the whole thing in three days, but certainly the shortish chapters and the regular changing of viewpoints played a role. I loved how some of the characters developed as most reached the end of major arcs. There were enough surprise revelations, twists, and mini cliffhangers to keep me interested and the intensity and stakes gradually grew with what felt like the beginning of the climax coming at around the half-way mark. There were resolutions and questions answered that led to more which helped set up the sixth book, which begins the second and final five-book arc. And I’ll have to wait until December 2031 to read that if Sanderson’s current busy and immacually-planned writing schedule holds. And I think that’s enough Sanderson for at least a few months. And one criticism I certainly agree with: the book was too long and I think about 200 plus pages could easily have been cut. And as I explore some more reviews, well, I think some of the negative reviews raise some fair points. I still enjoyed it. (Read between January 10 & February 19)
Book 3: Not Till We Are Lost (2024) by Dennis Taylor was next, the fifth book in his Bobiverse series. I binged the first four books two years ago, and I’m eager for a return to the humour and quick pace of the Bobiverse. I read it in a few days, and that was such a refreshing and enjoyable palete-cleanser. (Read between February 19 & 22)
Book 4: Redemption Ark (2002) by Alastair Reynolds was next as I was still in the mood for some space opera and another book towards completing a series, this time Reynold’s Inhibitor Sequence quartet of novels, part of his larger Revelation Space bookverse. plus some novellas and short stories. Redemption Ark is the second novel in the series; the first being Revelation Space which I read last year. (Read between February 22 and March 6)
Book 5: Swan Song (1987) by Robert McCammon is often compared favorably to Stephen King’s The Stand (1978)- an apocalyptic tale with supernatural elements. The nuclear holocaust that starts the book felt to me more likely than ever, but I still enjoyed the beginning despite a little discomfort. And the rest was a real pleasure to read – now that I’ve finished it, I can’t recall ever being board or wanting a chapter to end in case the next changed character perspectives. It all just flowed so smoothly: word to word, sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph etc. That was my second Robery McCammon book, the first being Stinger (1988) which I read last year, and Swan Song certainly won’t be my last. (Read between March 6 & 31)
Book 6: The Martian Contingency (2025) by Mary Robinette Kowal was next as I was both eager to return to Mary’s alternative reality version of the space race, and I think watching For All Mankind these days, also an alternative reality space race saga, helped cement that decision, keeping me firmly in alternative reality space race Mars territory. Upon finishing it, I was surprised to discover that it had been more than four years since I read the previous book in the series, The Relentless Moon. Gosh, time flies. Anyway, I enjoyed the continuing story and I hope there are more novels on the way. (Read between March 31 & April 12)
Book 7: Shroud (2025) by Adrian Tchaikovsky was next, and I have to agree with a review I read just before starting it: Shroud is one of Tchaikovsky’s best. And a day before finishing, came the happy news of many more books to come. And there are other novels and novellas in the works as well. Prolific is his middle name – it should be his first name though. Now, what is next? (Read between April 12 & 17)
Book 8: Piranesi (2020) by Susanna Clarke was next as I felt t was time to try a new author and also take a break from pure science fiction. And that was such a pleasure to read. One of those rare books that has a unique feel. Almost immediately, I cared for and felt sorry for the main character, and then more so as little tidbits of information are revealed that eventaully lead to the understanding of his situation and environment. Not a book that made me cry at the end, but it came pretty close. Thank you Susanna Clarke! (Read between April 17 & 23)
Book 9: Nether Station (2024) by Kevin J. Anderson was next as the premise sounded promising. I thought I had read a book by Kevin before, but browsing his work, I realized I was just familair with his name from his Star Wars novels and Dune novels written with Frank Herbert’s son. Well, it was a quick read, and I enjoyed the setup, but there came a point when I realized this wasn’t really doing anything for me: the characters were dull and some expected plot twists and some others that just seemed silly. What a contrast to the characters in Piranesi! I remember thinking this would be the last book of his that I read. But never say never, I came to the end and learned that a sequel is coming soon. Despite my feelings about the book, I found myself thinking I might continue the story when I feel like a fast light read. (Read between April 23 & 26)
Book 10: The Midnight Library (2020) By Matt Haig was next as I really enjoyed The Humans (2013) last year, and I remember a friend raving about The Midnight Library on Facebook quite a few years ago – probably not too long after its publication. I started the book blind, only knowing it was fantasyish. The very short chapters helped me read quickly through the first 13 percent, and gradually hints as to the books main plot were revealled. I made the right choice in finally deciding to read this. The ending came to me about a third of the way through, perhaps later than it should have, but it was the journey to that destination that made this book just so sweet and touching. I need to read more of Matt’s books! (Read between April 26 & 29)
Book 11: Absolution Gap (2003) by Alastair Reynolds was next as I decided not to go too long between books in his Revelation Space series of novels, novellas, and short stories. Due to something akin to a reading marathon, I read the second half in about a day, finishing it at about 2 PM on Sunday May 11. And that’s certainly my favorite in the series so far. There is one more novel, and some novellas and short stories. I won’t wait too long to read those. (Read between April 29 & May 11)
Book 12: “Eleven Numbers” (2025) was next, a short story by Lee Child as I wanted to read something quick and set on planet Earth around the year 2025, which when I see it written, sounds like the future. And it was nice to have something new from Lee Child. I’ve been reluctant to read the most recent Jack Reachernovel, In Too Deep (2024), precisely because his brother Andrew wrote it. I may read it one day, but that day is not today. (Read May 11)
Book 13: Beyond the Aquila Rift (2016) by Alastair Reynolds is a collection of short storys, some of which take place in his Revelation Space universe. I think I’ll take my time with this – alternating between its short stories and whatever novel I decide to read next which as I type is unknown. I read the first story, “The Great Wall of Mars”, a prequel to the Revelation Space novels. I enjoyed exploring the roots of some of the relationships of the main characters in the second book. On May 16, I read the second story set in the same universe, and it was quite the SF horror story as the title suggest: “The Last Log of the Lachrimosa”. (Read between May 11 & …)
Book 14: “How It Unfolds” (2023) by James S.A. Corey, another short story and one of six in the Far Reaches collection, was next as I decided to continue reducing short stories from my To-Be-Read list. (Read May 11)
Book 15: Roadkill (2022) by Dennis E. Taylor was next and when looking up the year of its publication, I spotted the start of a review which used the word “cheesy”. And after reading the first 20% on day one, that struck me as an extraordinarily perfect word to describe the book. And this will certainly be a quick, fun, and cheesy read. And I finished it by reading about half of it in one sitting, or bedding to be exact, finishing the book just after midnight. That was certainly a fun, quick, and cheesy read! Dennis Taylor hasn’t let me down yet! (Read between May 11 & 13)
Book 16: The Eternity Artifact (2005) by L. E. Modesitt Jr. was next as I felt like starting the work of a writer for the first time. There’s always something unique about the way each writer writes, and often experienceing an author for the first time feels like the reading equivalent of a breath of fesh air. And Mr. Modesitt has written over 80 novels, so I think the least I can do is read one. And his large fantasy series The Saga of Recluce has been recommended to me, but I’m not ready to jump into another huge series at the moment. I enjoyed that, and again, I read the last half very quickly. I liked the four point-of-view characters and the exploration of religious belief versus scientific advancement. I would have liked to have known more about the alien builders of the eternity artifact, but there were reasons we couldn’t know more about them. (Read between May 13 & 15)
Book 17: Vacuum Diagrams (1997) by Steven Baxter was next as I read that this collection of short stories set in his Xeelee series can be read before the previous novels in the series. So I picked it up, and started reading the first story. So this is the second short story collection I’m reading, and like the other one (Beyond the Aquila Rift), I’ll read this intermittently over the next month or two or three. Instead, I continued through the stories until the end. Well, I’m not sure if that didn’t spoil some of the aspects of the series, but I enjoyed some of those stories quit a lot, enough to keep Steven Baxter in mind when I select furture books to read. (Read between May 15 & 20)
Book 18: City of Illusions (1967) by Ursula K. Le Guin was next, and right from the first page, the sheer and pure beauty of her prose was on display. It feels like a real privilege to gain entry into her mind via her writing. For some reason, I put off reading her earlier novels, but that was a mistake. Having said that, if I had read City of Illusions, I doubt I’d be reading this week writing as beautiful. Of course, that also means I’m starting to dread reaching the end of the story, but books like these are the reason I love reading so much. (Read between May 20 & May 23)
Book 19: A Bridge of Years (1991) by Robert Charles Wilson was next after I spotted a very positive review on FaceBook. In 2021, I read my first Robert Wilson book, Blind Lake, and I enjoyed that. This was another book that wasn’t on my TBR list, so again it felt like a refreshing change. And I am certainly enjoying this and my reading pace has been pretty good. It reminds me a lot of Stephen King’s time travel opus, 11/22/63, which was written later. And speaking of the King, his next book is released tomorrow (May 27), and I think that will be my next read. (Read between May 23 & 26)
Book 20: In Too Deep (2024) by Andrew Lee is the 29th Jack Reacher novel and I think the second written solely by the original author, his brother Lee Child after they collaborated on a few when Lee Child decided to gradually retire from writing a Jack reacher book a year, which he did for almost 25 years. I almost didn’t read this book as while I was a huge fan of Lee Child’s books, I can’t say the same for his brother. Like many fans of the books, I have been enjoying the books less and less as Lee’s involvement lessened and Andrew’s grew. And this is no execption. While I read half the book in less than a day, and it is a nice change from my normal SF reading, the story is just, well bad. The pacing is very fast which reminds me of his brother’s books, and it does feel like a Reacher book – and I just read that the story picks up towards the end, I won’t rush to read the next one. I might, however, save it for a plane ride. At least Lee Child is still writing short stories, and fingers crossed for more novels. (Read Between May 26 & 28)
Book 21: Never Flinch (2025) by Stephen King was next as I usually read new King books pretty much as soon as possible, and I like the character of Holly Gibney who has been a supporting character or main character in seven books to date. And upon watching Stephen King give a brief reading from the book, I learned the happy news that he is now working on a third book set in the worlds of The Talisman (1984) and its sequel The Black House (2001), both written with Peter Straub, but King is tacking the third book alone as Peter Straub passed away in 2022. Well, I really enjoyed King’s latest. I love the trio of main characters, but I hope King will let them live out the rest of their lives in peace and quiet sans muderous monsters and psychopaths. Oh, but that last sentence. I almost forgot about that. Safe to say the gang will not remain safe for long. (Read Between May 28 & June 4)
Book 22: Red Rising (2014) by Pierce Brown was next after a couple of days reading some short stories. I was reluctant to start a new series, but this comes highly recommended. A few chapters in, and I wasn’t all that into it, and then that changed the very next chapter. (Read between June 7 & 13)
Book 23: Golden Son (2015) by Pierce Brown, Red Rising‘s first sequel, was next as I couldn’t resist learning what happened next! And holy moly, what a rollercoaster ride this! This will not take long at all. And it didn’t, and wow, that ending left me no choice but to immediately start the next one. (Read between June 14 & 17)
Book 24: Morning Star (2016) by Pierce Brown is the concluding book in his Red Rising series and as such concludes the storyline. However, there are five more books that continue the story from ten years later. I’ll save the next series for another day, month, or year. (Read between June 17 & 25)
Book 25: Dawn (1987) by Octavia Butler was next and is the first book in her Xenogenesis series even though I really had no intention of beginning another trilogy after just finishing one. Having never read one of her books before, I just decided to see how it started, and then I hooked after just a few pages. (Read Between Juny 25 & …)
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