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General discussionBooks finished in 2022(121 posts)(121 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 09, 2022
Hello book-loving GOGgers and welcome to a new year filled with other lives and worlds to experience, as well as depictions, analyses and commentaries about the one we happen to find ourselves in.

First I want to thank ciemnogrodzianin, who managed these threads for the previous four years and also brought the format of the centralized lists from the games threads to the books ones, as well as his predecessors, catpower1980 (2017), madth3 (2015, 2016) and IShoot4lolz (2014). But since I'll be taking over this year, I'll add a new option for those interested, so read (of course) below for details.

This is the place to list all the books you read in 2022, with as many and as few comments as you want about each. Asking for or offering book recommendations, exchanging impressions about books and having other discussions about books is also welcome.
If you want your list post to be linked to here, make sure to put "include me" in it at least until I'll add it here. After it's added, you may remove those words if you wish.
You may, of course, organize your "central" post as you wish, but if I may make a recommendation, it would be nice if on top of the full list of the books you read this year, for each title there would also be links to your reviews or commentaries posted either in this thread or elsewhere, ratings using whichever system you prefer, and if possible also dates.
In addition, if you want me to also include here a link to your profile on a book-related site, like Goodreads or LibraryThing, or even a personal site, or section of a site, dedicated to books, make sure to put "include link" in your list post at least until I'll add it here. Again, after it's added, you may remove those words if you wish. If you want multiple such links to be included, make sure to put "include" before each. If you add any such links without the word "include" first, I'll assume you don't want them added to the OP.
If I missed anything or you have any other questions or suggestions, feel free to PM me. And you may also want to do that if you edit your list post in order to add links to other profiles after I already added a link to the post here, so I won't miss the change.

Readers:

andysheets1975
AnimalMother117 post 1, post 2
Cavalary (Goodreads, StoryGraph)
ciemnogrodzianin (Goodreads)
DavidOrion93
InkPanther
PetrusOctavianus
seba_86 (Goodreads)
Timboli

Previous years:
2021 (13 readers, 214 posts)
2020 (15 readers, 335 posts)
2019 (14 readers, 177 posts)
2018 (16 readers, 226 posts)
2017 (no centralized list, 107 posts)
2016 (no centralized list, 311 posts)
2015 (no centralized list, 155 posts)
2014 (no centralized list, 208 posts)
Post edited January 01, 2023 by Cavalary
Posted January 09, 2022
*ahem* Include me :)
Include my Goodreads profile.
Include my StoryGraph profile.

1. Jan 4-7: The Destiny Knight | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
2. Jan 27-29: The Thief of Fate | 2/5 (GR | SG | blog)
3. Feb 9-11: The Blind Owl | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
4. May 23-27: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions | 4/5 (GR | SG | blog)
5. Jun 1-4: Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love | 4/5 (GR | SG | blog)
6. Jun 12-23: Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future | 2/5 (GR | SG | blog)
7. Jul 4-16: The Tower of Fools | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
8. Aug 20-Sep 25: The Steel Remains | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
9. Oct 17-28: The Cold Commands | 4/5 (GR | SG | blog)
10. Nov 21-Dec 2: Soulkeeper | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
11. Dec 6-16: The Blacktongue Thief | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
12. Dec 25-30: The Crystal Keep | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)
Also a short story, A Gift of Faeries and Firekin | 3/5 (GR | SG | blog)

2021 list
2020 list
2019 list
2018 list
2017 list
2016 list
2010-2015 list

To go further back, check my read shelf on Goodreads (doesn't seem to allow resorting if not logged on though? and defaults to sorting by date added instead of date read, which is a mess). List is also less complete the farther back you go.
Post edited December 31, 2022 by Cavalary
Posted January 09, 2022
The Destiny Knight

If the previous book managed to make what was likely close to the most from the limited source material, the short length being justified by the need to avoid overstaying its welcome, now I must say that I'd have liked to read the book The Destiny Knight could have been if it'd have fully exploited the source material provided by the game. Don't get me wrong, it's better than the first one if you judge it according to the same criteria, actually making it far less obvious that it's based on a game at all, again doing well to avoid losing itself in endless battles, twisty dungeons and confining corridors, and not only remaining quite engaging but largely even offering some worldbuilding. However, it's the difference between what it is and what it could have been, the existing potential, that's much greater.
Considering how much it focused on the puzzles, I think it could have even done with a few more battles, and battles which the party actually won in particular, since many of those presented are a matter of them holding the enemies off long enough to either escape or solve a puzzle. But the main problem I had was that there were several locations that could have been exploited much better, resulting in much more worldbuilding, at least a few more secondary characters and the general feeling that it's a proper book, set in an actual fantasy world, and not just a novelization of an adventure. And no, Isobel didn't redeem herself in my eyes; I doubt one like her ever could.

Rating: 3/5
Posted January 09, 2022
Include me please.

-- Words of Radiance -- Brandon Sanderson
-- Edgedancer -- Brandon Sanderson
-- Wyspa niebieskich lisów -- Stephen R. Brown
-- Genesis -- Rick Partlow
-- Czarnobyl. Historia nuklearnej katastrofy -- Serhii Plokhy
-- Liberator -- Alex Kershaw
-- Czarnobylska modlitwa. Kronika przyszłości -- Swietłana Aleksijewicz
-- Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester -- J. Gregory Keyes
-- Project Hail Mary -- Andy Weir
-- Pandora's Legions -- Christopher Anvil
Post edited January 01, 2023 by InkPanther
Posted January 09, 2022
Include me.

Solaris (1961) by Stanislaw Lem: 4/5 (would probably have been an extra half point if I could have read the Polish original)

I read the Norwegian translation from 2021.
SF novel, with horror elements, set in some indefinite future where an international (and completely unpolitical) space exploration agency for decades has researched the mysterious planet Solaris, which is located in a fictitious binary system of one red and one blue sun. The planet is covered with an ocean, which seems to be one giant life form, capable of weather control and even gravity control to keep the planet in a stable orbit.
After hundreds of scientists have died thanks to the totally unpredictable formations created by the ocean and thousands of books having been written without being close to "contact" or an understanding of the ocean, there's only three scientists left when psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives to a rather "asocial" research milieu at the station, where one of them has killed himself shortly before Kelvin arrives.
It turns out that the ocean can also read thought waves and from them make replicas of the persons most important to the scientists, in Kelvin's case his young wife Harey who committed suicide ten years earlier. This is the horror part of the novel; the idea of replicas (called "guests" or "phantoms") who gradually learns (or at least Harey does) that they are not "real". Now we are in Philip K. Dick territory, and I seem to recall that Dick was the SF writer Lem admired most.
The protagonist is a rather passive character, though; it would have been more interesting to read it from Harey's POV. But I think Lem was more into philosophy than psychology, with the themes being "what is human?" and is contact at all possible with a truly alien life form?

In an almost unprecedented case of common sense, the translator has written an Afterword instead of being the usual asshole who insists on spoiling the book with a Foreword. She (a Polish woman) doesn't mention the use of the word "automat" instead of the more logical "robot"/"robotnik", but she mentions that Stanislaw Lem was introduced in Norway by Jon Bing and T. Bringsværd. They were the champions for Fantasy ("fable prose") and SF in Norway in the 1960s and 1970s, and came up with (AFAIK) the term "biomat" for a synthetic human being, which I couldn't help thinking of when reading this book.

Overall I think the translation is probably pretty good. With short sentences and a rather "cinematic" writing style it was an easier read than I would have thought. I expected something denser; after all this is Literature, being in the mainstream section of the library instead of the SF section, safely placed between Le Guin and Lessing (making them the Tri-Lambdas of Speculative Fiction).

This book has been made into two movies, the first of which is an old Soviet one. All I remember from it was a seemingly endless car ride though an underground tunnel. Since there's nothing like this in the book, it will be very interesting to watch that movie again and see if my memories are faulty or not.
Posted January 09, 2022
Include me please, and good idea about linking review or comment posts for a book ... now why didn't I think of that.

Thanks for taking over the reins, and may it be another good year of reading. :)

Also big thanks to ciemnogrodzianin :)

What I Read In 2019 + What I Read In 2020 + What I Read In 2021

2021
83 - DAVID BALDACCI [22] - TOTAL CONTROL - PCF - 21-DEC-21 --> 02-JAN-22 (Kobo)

2022
01 - VAL McDERMID [36] - OUT OF BOUNDS - PCF - 03-JAN-22 --> 09-JAN-22 (Paperwhite)
02 - RICK SARRE [1] - LIFE ACTUALLY - TRA - 09-JAN-22 --> 7-FEB-22
03 - LANCE ERLICK [1] - REBORN - PCF - 10-JAN-22 --> 17-JAN-22 (Kobo)
04 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [35] - THE TEMPLAR’S REVENGE - PCF - 17-JAN-22 --> 21-JAN-22 (Paperwhite)
05 - DAVID BALDACCI [23] - THE WINNER - PCF - 22-JAN-22 --> 25-JAN-22 (Kobo)
06 - VAL McDERMID [37] - INSIDIOUS INTENT - PCF - 26-JAN-22 --> 30-JAN-22 (Paperwhite)
07 - VAL McDERMID & PETER JAMES [38] & [1] - Footloose - PCF - 31-JAN-22 --> 31-JAN-22 (Paperwhite)
08 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [36] - RETRIBUTION - PCF - 31-JAN-22 --> 03-FEB-22 (Paperwhite)
09 - PAULA HAWKINS [3] - A SLOW FIRE BURNING - PCF - 03-FEB-22 --> 10-FEB-22 (Kobo)
10 - LEE CHILD [1] - KILLING FLOOR - PCF - 11-FEB-22 --> 18-FEB-22 (Kobo)
11 - LEE CHILD [2] - DIE TRYING - PCF - 18-FEB-22 --> 22-FEB-22 (Kobo)
12 - LANCE ERLICK [2] - UNBOUND - PCF - 22-FEB-22 --> 28-FEB-22 (Paperwhite)
13 - LANCE ERLICK [3] - EMERGENT - PCF - 28-FEB-22 --> 3-MAR-22 (Paperwhite)
14 - LANCE ERLICK [4] - Origins - PCF - 3-MAR-22 --> 3-MAR-22 (Kobo)
15 - LANCE ERLICK [5] - Tryout - PCF - 3-MAR-22 --> 3-MAR-22 (Paperwhite)
16 - DAVID BALDACCI [24] - THE SIMPLE TRUTH - PCF - 3-MAR-22 --> 6-MAR-22 (Kobo)
17 - DAVID BALDACCI [25] - VEGA JANE AND THE SECRETS OF SORCERY - PCF - 7-MAR-22 --> 16-MAR-22 (Kobo)
18 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [37] - THE TEMPLAR DETECTIVE - PCF - 17-MAR-22 --> 20-MAR-22 (Paperwhite)
19 - LEE CHILD [3] - TRIPWIRE - PCF - 21-MAR-22 --> 24-MAR-22 (Kobo)
20 - VAL McDERMID [39] - BROKEN GROUND - PCF - 25-MAR-22 --> 29-MAR-22 (Paperwhite)
21 - DAVID BALDACCI [26] - SAVING FAITH - PCF - 30-MAR-22 --> 02-APR-22 (Kobo)
22 - DAVID LUDDINGTON [9] - THE BANK OF GOODLINESS - PCF - 03-APR-22 --> 09-APR-22 (Paperwhite)
23 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [38] - THE NAZI’S ENGINEER - PCF - 15-APR-22 --> 17-APR-22 (Paperwhite)
24 - LEE CHILD [4] - NO MIDDLE NAME - PCF - 18-APR-22 --> reading (Kobo)
.. (1) James Penney's New Identity - 18-APR-22 --> 18-APR-22
25 - VAL McDERMID [40] - CHRISTMAS IS MURDER (Collection) - PCF - 19-APR-22 --> 26-APR-22 (Kobo)
26 - C.J. BOX [35] - SHADOWS REEL - PCF - 26-APR-22 --> 28-APR-22 (Kobo)
27 - LEE CHILD [5] - THE VISITOR - PCF - 28-APR-22 --> 01-MAY-22 (Kobo)
28 - KATHY REICHS [4] - DEADLY DÉCISIONS - PCF - 02-MAY-22 --> 05-MAY-22 (Kobo)
29 - DAVID BALDACCI [27] - VEGA JANE AND THE MAZE OF MONSTERS - PCF - 06-MAY-22 --> 14-MAY-22 (Kobo)
30 - FIONA McINTOSH [1] - BYE BYE BABY - PCF - 15-MAY-22 --> 17-MAY-22 (Kobo)
31 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [39] - TEMPLAR DETECTIVE & THE PARISIAN ADULTERESS - PCF - 18-MAY-22 --> 20-MAY-22 (Kobo)
32 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [22] - THE MAN WITH THE SILVER SAAB - PCF - 21-MAY-22 --> 24-MAY-22 (Kobo)
33 - DAVID BALDACCI [28] - WISH YOU WELL - PCF - 25-MAY-22 --> 30-MAY-22 (Kobo)
34 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [23] - PRECIOUS AND THE MONKEYS - TRA - 30-MAY-22 --> 30-MAY-22
35 - KATHY REICHS [5] - FATAL VOYAGE - PCF - 30-MAY-22 --> 1-JUN-22 (Kobo)
36 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [24] - THE MYSTERY OF MEERKAT HILL - TRA - 1-JUN-22 --> 1-JUN-22
37 - LEE CHILD [6] - ECHO BURNING - PCF - 02-JUN-22 --> 04-JUN-22 (Kobo)
38 - H.Y. HANNA [16] - WRONGFULLY INFUSED - PCF - 7-JUN-22 --> 10-JUN-22 (Paperwhite)
39 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [40] - ATLANTIS LOST - PCF - 11-JUN-22 --> 13-JUN-22 (Paperwhite)
40 - FIONA McINTOSH [2] - BEAUTIFUL DEATH - PCF - 13-JUN-22 --> 18-JUN-22 (Kobo)
41 - HERMAN STEUERNAGEL [1] - THE GUARDIAN PROGRAM - PCF - 19-JUN-22 --> 21-JUN-22 (Kobo)
42 - HERMAN STEUERNAGEL [2] - The Guardian Program (Bonus Epilogue) - PCF - 21-JUN-22 --> 21-JUN-22 (Kobo)
43 - HERMAN STEUERNAGEL [3] - ARTIFICIAL INSURGENCE - PCF - 21-JUN-22 --> 25-JUN-22 (Kobo)
44 - HERMAN STEUERNAGEL [4] - ARTIFICIAL INSURRECTION - PCF - 25-JUN-22 --> 27-JUN-22 (Kobo)
45 - DAVID BALDACCI [29] - THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN - PCF - 28-JUN-22 --> 03-JUL-22 (Kobo)
46 - VAL McDERMID [41] - HOW THE DEAD SPEAK - PCF - 04-JUL-22 --> 8-JUL-22 (Paperwhite)
47 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [25] - THE MINOR ADJUSTMENT BEAUTY SALON - TRA - 8-JUL-22 --> 14-JUL-22
48 - LEE CHILD [7] - WITHOUT FAIL - PCF - 15-JUL-22 --> 20-JUL-22 (Kobo)
49 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [41] - THE TEMPLAR DETECTIVE AND THE SERGEANT’S SECRET - PCF - 21-JUL-22 --> 23-JUL-22 (Kobo)
50 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [26] - Slice Of No.1 Celebration Storybook - PCF - 24-JUL-22 --> 24-JUL-22 (Paperwhite)
51 - KATHY REICHS [6] - GRAVE SECRETS - PCF - 25-JUL-22 --> 27-JUL-22 (Kobo)
52 - DAVID BALDACCI [30] - VEGA JANE AND THE REBELS' REVOLT - PCF - 29-JUL-22 --> 4-AUG-22 (Kobo)
53 - PAULA HAWKINS [4] - Blind Spot - PCF - 4-AUG-22 --> 5-AUG-22 (Kobo)
54 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [27] - Precious And The Mystery Of The Missing Lion - PCF - 5-AUG-22 --> 5-AUG-22 (Samsung)
55 - DAVID BALDACCI [31] - VEGA JANE AND THE END OF TIME - PCF - 5-AUG-22 --> 07-AUG-22 (Kobo)
56 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [42] - THE CYLON CURSE - PCF - 8-AUG-22 --> 10-AUG-22 (Paperwhite)
57 - ANDREW GRANT [1] - RUN - PCF - 11-AUG-22 --> 12-AUG-22 (Kobo)
58 - VAL McDERMID [42] - STILL LIFE - PCF - 13-AUG-22 --> 15-AUG-22 (Kobo)
... The Inspector Trave Trilogy (Omnibus) - (1) - SIMON TOLKIEN - 16-AUG-22 --> 21-NOV-22
59 - SIMON TOLKIEN [1] - ORDERS FROM BERLIN - PCF - 16-AUG-22 --> 20-AUG-22 (Kobo)
60 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [28] - THE HANDSOME MAN'S DE LUXE CAFE - TRA - 21-AUG-22 --> 29-AUG-22
61 - NICK MASON [1] - INSIDE OUT - A PERSONAL HISTORY OF PINK FLOYD - PCF - 22-AUG-22 --> 25-AUG-22 (Samsung)
62 - DAVID BALDACCI [32] - SPLIT SECOND - PCF - 30-AUG-22 --> 1-SEP-22 (Kobo)
63 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [43] - THE TEMPLAR DETECTIVE AND THE UNHOLY EXORCIST - PCF - 1-SEP-22 --> 05-SEP-22 (Kobo)
64 - LEE CHILD [8] - PERSUADER - PCF - 6-SEP-22 --> 7-SEP-22 (Kobo)
65 - KATHY REICHS [7] - BARE BONES - PCF - 7-SEP-22 --> 08-SEP-22 (Kobo)
... The Inspector Trave Trilogy (Omnibus) - (2) - SIMON TOLKIEN - 16-AUG-22 --> 21-NOV-22
66 - SIMON TOLKIEN [2] - THE INHERITANCE - PCF - 9-SEP-22 --> 13-SEP-22 (Kobo)
67 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [29] - Precious And The Zebra Necklace - PCF - 13-SEP-22 --> 13-SEP-22 (Samsung)
68 - ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY [1] - ELDER RACE - PCF - 14-SEP-22 --> 14-SEP-22 (Kobo)
69 - DAVID BALDACCI [33] - HOUR GAME - PCF - 15-SEP-22 --> 18-SEP-22 (Kobo)
70 - H.Y. HANNA [17] - DOOM AND BLOOM - PCF - 20-SEP-22 --> 26-SEP-22 (Paperwhite)
71 - ROBERT GALBRAITH [6] - THE INK BLACK HEART - PCF - 28-SEP-22 --> 8-OCT-22 (Kobo)
72 - ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH [30] - THE WOMAN WHO WALKED IN SUNSHINE - PCF - 8-OCT-22 --> 20-OCT-22 (Paperwhite)
73 - ROB WILKINS [1] - TERRY PRATCHETT - A Life With Footnotes - PCF - 12-OCT-22 --> 18-OCT-22 (Kobo)
74 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [44] - THE VIKING DECEPTION - PCF - 20-OCT-22 --> 21-OCT-22 (Paperwhite)
75 - KATHY REICHS [8] - MONDAY MOURNING - PCF - 22-OCT-22 --> 24-OCT-22 (Kobo)
76 - LEE CHILD [9] - THE ENEMY - PCF - 24-OCT-22 --> 26-OCT-22 (Kobo)
77 - DAVID LUDDINGTON [10] - THE ROSE WELL FILES - PCF - 26-OCT-22 --> 29-OCT-22 (Paperwhite)
78 - TERRY BROOKS [40] - THE BLACK ELFSTONE - PCF - 29-OCT-22 --> 31-OCT-22 (Paperwhite)
79 - TERRY BROOKS [41] - THE SKAAR INVASION - PCF - 31-OCT-22 --> 2-NOV-22 (Paperwhite)
80 - TERRY BROOKS [42] - THE STIEHL ASSASSIN - PCF - 2-NOV-22 --> 05-NOV-22 (Paperwhite)
81 - TERRY BROOKS [43] - THE LAST DRUID - PCF - 05-NOV-22 --> 9-NOV-22 (Paperwhite)
82 - DAVID BALDACCI [34] - THE CAMEL CLUB - PCF - 9-NOV-22 --> 11-NOV-22 (Kobo)
83 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [45] - STATE SANCTIONED - PCF - 11-NOV-22 --> 15-NOV-22 (Paperwhite)
... The Inspector Trave Trilogy (Omnibus) - (3) - SIMON TOLKIEN - 16-AUG-22 --> 21-NOV-22
84 - SIMON TOLKIEN [3] - THE KING OF DIAMONDS - PCF - 17-NOV-22 --> 21-NOV-22 (Kobo)
85 - ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY [2] - REDEMPTION'S BLADE - PCF - 21-NOV-22 --> 1-DEC-22 (Kobo)
86 - C.J. BOX [36] - TREASURE STATE - PCF - 1-DEC-22 --> 3-DEC-22 (Kobo)
87 - FIONA McINTOSH [3] - MIRROR MAN - PCF - 3-DEC-22 --> 05-DEC-22 (Kobo)
88 - DAVID BALDACCI [35] - THE COLLECTORS - PCF - 06-DEC-22 --> 08-DEC-22 (Kobo)
89 - LEE CHILD [10] - ONE SHOT - PCF - 09-DEC-22 --> 10-DEC-22 (Kobo)
90 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [46] - KEEPERS OF THE LOST ARK - PCF - 10-DEC-22 --> 13-DEC-22 (Paperwhite)
91 - J. ROBERT KENNEDY [47] - Keepers Of The Lost Ark - Bonus Scene - PCF - 13-DEC-22 --> 13-DEC-22 (Paperwhite)
92 - ANDREW GRANT [2] - FALSE POSITIVE - PCF - 14-DEC-22 --> 17-DEC-22 (Kobo)
93 - JUSTINA ROBSON [1] - SALVATION'S FIRE - PCF - 18-DEC-22 --> 28-DEC-22 (Kobo)
94 - JAMES PATTERSON & MICHAEL LEDWIDGE [1] & [1] - STEP ON A CRACK - PCF - 29-DEC-22 --> 01-JAN-23 (Kobo)
------------------------------

My projected list for the year (intent)

Might as well make that a separate post now, so I don't have to relocate later. It is a modified version of last years.
Post edited January 01, 2023 by Timboli
Posted January 09, 2022
Include me, please.

Thank you, Cavalary, for the new thread and new ideas! :)
I'd like to link my Goodreads profile, it's a nice feature! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6768024-kurp
Posted January 09, 2022
My projected list for the year (intent)

The following is what I did manage to achieve. Those I didn't will be relocated to the same place in the 2023 topic.

Complete the Shannara series by TERRY BROOKS ... one sub series to go. ESSENTIALLY DONE

Get up to speed with VAL McDERMID. ESSENTIALLY DONE

Continue on with novels by ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH. ONGOING

Keep reading J. ROBERT KENNEDY and DAVID BALDACCI regularly. ONGOING

And who knows, maybe we will see the next novel in the Song Of Ice And Fire series this year by GEORGE R.R. MARTIN ... one can always hope (dream). AS IF

I have some non-fiction (biographies) to read ... mostly music (PINK FLOYD). DONE

Perhaps read some things recommended to me. ONGOING

etc

P.S. And of course continue to eat away at my huge backlog. MADE SOME SMALL HEADWAY
Post edited December 31, 2022 by Timboli
Posted January 09, 2022
Books read in 2022:
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
The Complete Book of Heraldry by Stephen Slater
The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance
Xeelee An Omnibus by Stephen Baxter
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter

2021 List
2020 List
2019 List
2018 List
2017 List
2016 List
Post edited November 18, 2022 by DavidOrion93
Posted January 09, 2022
* Click on ratings for the review

***** Jan 2022 *****
° (Spa) Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson - The Machine Crusade ........ ★☆☆☆☆

***** Feb 2022 *****
º (Spa) G. Kuntze - Hijo del Hielo [El Panteón de los Inmortales #1] ... ★★★☆☆

***** Mar 2022 *****
º (Spa) Liu Cixin - The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth's Past #2) ........................................ ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - Neon Genesis Evangelion 1-4 .......................................................... ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) G. Kuntze - Varanech, Doncella de los Demonios [Panteón de los Inmortales #2] ....... ★★★★☆

***** Apr 2022 *****
º (Spa) Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - Neon Genesis Evangelion 5-7 ........................................ ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space (Revelation Space #1) ............................ ★★★★☆
º (Spa) G. Kuntze - La Furia de los Elementalistas [Panteón de los Inmortales #3] .. ★★★★☆
º (Spa) Stanislaw Lem - Kongres futurologiczny [Ijon Tichy series] ............................... ★★★★☆

***** May 2022 *****
º (Spa) J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring ................................. ★★★★★

***** June 2022 *****
º (Spa) Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - Neon Genesis Evangelion 8-10 ........................................ ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) Stanislaw Lem - Cyberiada .......................................................................................... ★★☆☆☆

***** July 2022 *****
º (Spa) J.R.R. Tolkien - The Two Towers ............................................ ★★★★★
º (Spa) Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - Neon Genesis Evangelion 11-14 ... ★★★☆☆

***** Aug 2022 *****
º (Spa) J.R.R. Tolkien - The Return of the King ................................. ★★★★★
º (Spa) Yukito Kishiro - Gunnm Last Order, vol. 1 ............................ ★★★☆☆

***** Sep 2022 *****
º (Spa) Liu Cixin - Death's End (Remembrance of Earth's Past #3) ... ★☆☆☆☆
º (Spa) Yukito Kishiro - Gunnm Last Order, vol. 2 ................................ ★★★★☆
º (Spa) Maurice Leblanc - Arsène Lupin, gentleman-cambrioleur ..... ★★★☆☆

***** Oct 2022 *****
º (Spa) Julian May - The Many-Coloured Land (the Pliocene Exile #1) ...... ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) Maurice Leblanc - Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès ................ ★★★★☆

***** Nov 2022 *****
º (Spa) J.R.R. Tolkien - The Silmarillion ................................. ★★★☆☆
º (Spa) Maurice Leblanc - L'Aiguille creuse ........................... ★★★★☆

***** Dec 2022 *****
º (Spa) Julian May - The Golden Torc (the Pliocene Exile #2) ............ ★★☆☆☆
Post edited December 16, 2022 by seba_86
Posted January 09, 2022
Queen of Bedlam, by Robert McCammon
The Dying Earth, by Jack Vance
Prehistoric Adventures
Baptism of Fire, by Andrzej Sapkowski
Amazing Stories, April 1942
Brak the Barbarian, by John Jakes
Levon's Trade, by Chuck Dixon
Nightblood, by T. Chris Martindale
Renegade Swords
Halo: The Fall of Reach, by Eric Nylund
Post edited December 29, 2022 by andysheets1975
Posted January 09, 2022
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PetrusOctavianus: In an almost unprecedented case of common sense, the translator has written an Afterword instead of being the usual asshole who insists on spoiling the book with a Foreword. She (a Polish woman) doesn't mention the use of the word "automat" instead of the more logical "robot"/"robotnik",
Presumably this is just an abbreviation of the word automaton, but when I see the word automat my first thought is of those old fast food places that you sometimes see in 1940s movies.
Posted January 09, 2022
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Timboli: And who knows, maybe we will see the next novel in the Song Of Ice And Fire series this year by GEORGE R.R. MARTIN ... one can always hope (dream).
Quite a list there!

But lol @ that one. And really, why would he bother? He's involved in plenty of other things, including ASoIaF related, looks to be a huge cash crop as it is, and the series covered it already long ago... and left people with a bitter taste (granted, the last season way more than the next to last, which would be covered in WoW), so it may be a tall order to fix and he'd likely set himself up for quite a backlash whether it's be very similar or quite different. So sweep it under the rug and maybe people will forget sort of thing.

I'm far more interested in The Doors of Stone, and that seems to have better chances of showing up too. And Pat's putting the delay to far more worthy use than lining his own and big TV's pockets:
https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2021/12/concerning-minecraft-faerie-bargains-and-an-early-peek-into-the-doors-of-stone/
https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2021/12/losing-wagers-doubling-donations-and-playing-a-beautiful-game/
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ciemnogrodzianin: I'd like to link my Goodreads profile, it's a nice feature! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6768024-kurp
You didn't say "include" that, but ah well, added it anyway :p
Post edited January 09, 2022 by Cavalary
Posted January 10, 2022
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Cavalary: Quite a list there!
Indeed, and quite a bit was on last year's list and I've not really made much of dent on it. I did fully or partially achieve some things though. I no doubt would have achieved much more if it weren't for my new addiction to DAVID BALDACCI novels ... and my continuing addiction to J. ROBERT KENNEDY's three interconnected series ... I got onto him the year before.

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Cavalary: But lol @ that one. And really, why would he bother? He's involved in plenty of other things, including ASoIaF related, looks to be a huge cash crop as it is, and the series covered it already long ago... and left people with a bitter taste (granted, the last season way more than the next to last, which would be covered in WoW), so it may be a tall order to fix and he'd likely set himself up for quite a backlash whether it's be very similar or quite different. So sweep it under the rug and maybe people will forget sort of thing.
Well he has promised to work on nothing else, writing wise, until he's done. And when COVID got bad enough, he did report he had retired to some isolated holiday cottage and was working full steam on Book 6, and had achieved a lot. In later reports he said he had written most of it now, but no promises about when it will be released, as that just lets people down when it fails to materialize in time. Clearly he has learnt that the hard way.

I enjoy his writing and unlike some are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. In my view he owes us a completed story, but no-one is immune to the perils of life and what the universe decides to throw at us.

Yes, he was no doubt silly to get himself into his current predicament, but that sort of thing is all too human. We reach for the stars, and often don't get there, and sometimes we stuff other things up in the process. He certainly bit off more than he could chew, and then under pressure lost his writing mojo for a good while. Apparently he has that mojo back now, and won't commit to anything time-wise, lest he lose his mojo again, so he is mostly keeping us in the dark.

While some weren't happy with him releasing Fire & Blood before finishing the series, others of us were glad he was involving himself in that world again, and writing about it. I also believe it helped him regain focus and his mojo.

I am guessing, that if worst comes to worst, and he dies before the series is complete, then while he is against anyone writing in his created world, he will at least let someone finish off what he was working on ... perhaps his good friend Neil Gaiman. Or perhaps someone will novelize the final TV series, just to give some kind of completion. I don't know what he thought of the final Wheel Of Time novels co-written by Brandon Sanderson, but he was a fan and friend of Robert Jordan, and presumably his wife Harriet, who organised that completion ... with Robert's blessing of course, because he cared about his fans, something I suspect George does too, despite what has happened and the behavior of many ... at least I like to think he would be that decent.

To this date, I have only watched the first episode of the first series of Game Of Thrones, fully intending not to watch anymore until I have read the final book ... whenever (or if) that ever comes out ... I guess I may have to make do with a possible novelized version of the TV series if it never does.
Post edited January 10, 2022 by Timboli
Posted January 11, 2022
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Timboli:
Well, if you care to ever watch the series at all, no reason not to watch up to the point where it gets to book 6 material.

As for the books, like I said, looking forward much more to others. They were outstanding when I read them, the first was great, albeit still showing some of the inherent problems of a first book in an epic series, then the next two were masterpieces, and the trilogy as a whole quite likely the best I had read, and likely the best of its kind at the time it was written and probably for quite some time after. Since then, however, ASoIaF got books 4 and 5 which show they weren't part of the original plan and remain extraordinary pieces of worldbuilding but not much else, and while the series may well remain unmatched in terms of the quality of one that manages to keep together such a mindbogglingly large and complex character roster and such a level of minute detail of worldbuilding, overall it's no longer the gold standard of epic fantasy, what other major titles need to be compared against.

For one, at least imho, Sanderson's Stormlight Archive trounces it. Far, far fewer characters and simpler relations between them, and less minute detail in the worldbuilding, but higher quality in every aspect, unquestionably more thrilling action, far more creativity and revealing a better... understanding of the characters, and through them of humans and society, and through this also imparting some more wisdom I'd say.

And Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicle is an absolute masterpiece, rating even higher in these character, understanding and wisdom aspects, and the emotion and bonding it generates with the reader, albeit being far more limited in roster, scope and action.
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