Shejidan / What have you been reading lately?

**Posted by Surtac** 8/06/2025 2:28 am

Interesting. It seems that in the last week since finishing Children of Memory I've managed to finish a few more books from the TBR Pile. It's a bit of a mixed bag and in various lengths - I'm genre-hopping from British folk horror to European 1930s noir crime to contemporary English police procedurals amongst others - but the most recent might be of interest hereabouts.

Alastair Reynolds' latest novella The Dagger in Vichy appears to be in a medieval French setting as it starts, but it becomes pretty obvious fairly quickly that it's really a far future post civilisation collapse world that we're in. As usual for Al it's well-written and entertaining story, but it's not a major work by any means.

Next up for me is a long overdue re-read of an old favourite novel that I was reminded of recently by real world external events. This one is presented and well-disguised as a Cold War espionage thriller, but at its heart there is a classic SF trope almost hidden in plain sight.

**Posted by Aja Jin** 8/06/2025 10:24 am

I enjoyed Dagger as well. I really like the post-civilization setting, whether the civilization was Earth or the Forerunners or the Qual. Hints of mysteries and old artifacts makes for a good background. Dagger was fun, despite pretty much knowing what was going to happen.

**Posted by Surtac** 8/06/2025 4:56 pm

Aja Jin wrote:
I enjoyed Dagger as well. I really like the post-civilization setting, whether the civilization was Earth or the Forerunners or the Qual. Hints of mysteries and old artifacts makes for a good background. Dagger was fun, despite pretty much knowing what was going to happen.

Yes, exactly. Lots of intriguing tidbits that could be pursued in other stories in such a rich setting, with hidden depths in some of the other characters in the company, I felt. I'd happily read more of these.

**Posted by Roci** 8/25/2025 11:56 am

My reading time comes in fits and starts, but I've gotten a strong start on reading The Far Pavilions. It scratches my 'caught between two worlds and the relationships between them' itch that the Foreigner series introduced me to, though it's taking me a while to get used to the main character not successfully thinking his way out of his problems.

I'm a third through it, but I'm already preparing myself for needing a more optimistic book following it to pick me up off the floor when everything is over.

Last edited by Roci (8/25/2025 12:03 pm)

**Posted by Surtac** 8/25/2025 4:19 pm

I've managed to finish another dozen books since last posting in here, but the problem is that none of them have been even remotely SF/F other than a slow re-read of an old favourite book that isn't even labelled as genre.
Even the recent Hugo winner announcements haven't inspired me - it was just another reinforcement of how irrelevant the award now is as it devalued itself into just a marketing tool of the publishers.
And then I find out yesterday that the next SF title I was looking forward to seems to be delayed another month.
Still, Mick Herron's new Slow Horses book is due in a fortnight or so. That should keep me going, or I could dig into the TBR Pile, I suppose.

**Posted by Griffinmoon** 9/07/2025 12:33 pm

I found Water Moon/Samantha Sotto Yambao as new at the library. Very Japanese. I liked it for it's imagination.

**Posted by Surtac** 9/07/2025 4:50 pm

Griffinmoon wrote:
I found Water Moon/Samantha Sotto Yambao as new at the library. Very Japanese. I liked it for it's imagination.

I am reminded of When the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Subtle and low-key Japanese time travel facilitated by coffee. Very different in tone from my usual reading fare.

**Posted by Griffinmoon** 9/07/2025 11:15 pm

Yambao uses travel via water puddles..

**Posted by Surtac** 9/14/2025 3:35 am

I finished Clown Town, the new Mick Herron Slow Horses spy thriller, earlier today. It's very good.

Back now to finishing Labatut's When We Cease to Understand the World, which to me is very reminiscent of Daniel Kehllman's Measuring the World.

I'm tempted now to re-read Ken MacLeod's The Execution Channel while I wait for the new Al Reynolds to appear next month. It seems topical.

**Posted by starexplorer** 9/14/2025 11:41 am

I must apologize for not reporting much reading. I am in the middle of Labatut’s new book, recommended thanks to Kokipy, Maniac. It’s excellent, if you like When We Cease to Understand the World, you’ll like this. I’ll say more when I finish.
Also reading Louis Menard’s The Metaphysical Club, a dense nonfictional account of post-Civil War intellectual history as divined in the lives, works, and interactions of Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, Louis Agassiz, John Dewey, and Charles Sanders Pierce. Frankly, while it’s excellent, thorough and beautifully written, in my current state I can only read it in 15-minute chunks. At the risk of TMI, I am having a lot of sleep trouble, which is why I’m completing few books, and this one is perfect for helping me sleep. Not because it’s bad -it’s quite good - but because it’s so dense, and the subject matter is sober but not thrilling to me.

Last edited by starexplorer (9/14/2025 11:42 am)