Where are you in Fantasyland? May, 2023

New month, new thread. Enjoy!

Still reading A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon.

Travelling with a family of musicians in Cart & Cwidder.

>2 Niko: That one is a comfort read for me :)

I'm in Daevabad in City of Brass.

Just finished Prince of Chaos. I don't find the second sequence as enchanting as the first -- he's working too hard at upping the ante and then tying things up -- but it's still a good read. I remember having that reaction in previous reads (I *think* this is the 3rd time).

I've just left Liriat with Saint Death's daughter which was a long, satisfying read. I want more! (Fortunately it's the first of a trilogy)

>5 Sakerfalcon: Ooh, I've been interested in this one. Glad to see you liked it!

>6 curioussquared: It has great (and a few loathsome) characters, intriguing magic, found family, and footnotes!

I'm still in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

>8 Narilka: There are worse places to be!

I'm back in Candar, Fairhaven actually, in Fairhaven Rising. It's the most current that I know of in the Saga of Recluce and will complete my (re)read through of the series in publication order,

Finished an audiobook listen of Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings. Lovely read.

Started new audiobook of Spellbreaker. The story itself seems very good so far, but the audiobook is going to be a struggle due to one of the two narrators being... not very good.

>3 curioussquared: I hope you enjoy it! The first one is pretty good, but leaves a lot of loose ends for the next two books to address.

I am in the Cosmere with Mistborn. I have the first three books, and plan to stick with them to get the whole story.

I was in 1810s England, including London, reading about The Magpie Lord and his friend while they're dealing with A case of possession (not by magpies).

I've returned to the only UF I like and I'm in the countryside with Peter Grant during the Foxglove summer.

Spent some time in American upscale suburbia with The Mere Wife. This was a "stepping outside my comfort zone for bingo" read. Sometimes that's a hit and sometimes it's a miss. This was a miss for me. Went off the rails with a bit too artsiness and not enough story-ness at the end for my tastes.

Coming back to Victorian England (aka "well within my comfort zone") for the next read: The Mislaid Magician, or Ten Years After.

>12 Darth-Heather: City of Brass ended up falling a little flat for me, but I think I'm going to continue the series for now.

Now I'm on a boat heading back to England with a murderer on the loose in A Restless Truth.

Just visited the Diné Rez with Trail of lightning which I would have liked to like better than I did. Risen native American dieties and tricksters in a post-apocalyptic setting. Kick-ass heroine.

Back to another year at Hogwarts with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I'm in various places in Europe and North America in an alt-history world where a Dutch Empire dominates through mechanical steampunk-ish robot soldiers, with The Mechanical.

I'm in a strange world finding a millenia-dead goddess trying to still have power, in The thousand eyes.

I'm sailing the Emerald Sea with Tress.

Just finished legends and lattes, which is a High fantasy/steampunk mix a la terry Pratchetta Ank Morpork stories, just taking place in Thune.

>22 amberwitch:
I'm also in the town of Thune hanging out with the crew in the coffee house known as Legends and Lattes!

>23 nrmay: Nice! I thought it was quite a cozy:)

Started a new audiobook and a new Kindle book in the last few days:

The Magpie Lord - The audiobook is *fabulous* so far. The first chapter(s) are basically three men talking back and forth for much of the narrative, and the narrator is so awesome in ability to differentiate them without it being weird and overdone. Destined for my "Title in the Title" square of bingo.

Nine Princes in Amber - Kicking it old school. For the "book that's been on my TBR the longest" square. I bought the Amber collection from the "Fantasy Masterworks" series back in 2014, and it's been gathering dust since then. I'm only going to read the first book for this purpose, unless it really captures my imagination in a big way.

(The actual oldest book that I own and haven't read is "A Dance with Dragons" (purchased in 2011) but I don't consider it a TBR book anymore. It has it's own category of "If this series ever finishes, and word-of-mouth sounds like it's worth finishing, I'll read it eventually" :P )

In England, in the London suburbs, reading Threadneedle, which is about witches and how dangerous magic can be. At least, if you listen to the protagonist's aunt, who is very strict about these things.

I thoroughly enjoyed my voyage with Tress of the Emerald Sea. Now I'm unravelling The thief knot in the Liberty of Gammerbund.

>27 Sakerfalcon: Have you read Greenglass House, prior to this one? I've had it on my TBR for a while, curious for your thoughts if you've read it.

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I've moved on from Amber (though the short length and open ended ending would've probably made sense to continue on). Settling now into Victorian-ish England-ish(?) with Tooth & Claw.

>28 Niko: I have ; I loved the setting and the winter atmosphere, but found the story a bit too childish. Here are my comments from the time: Now I'm reading an American middle-grade novel, Greenglass House, which is set at a snowed-in Inn over Christmas. Milo is expecting a peaceful holiday with his adoptive parents, when all of a sudden 5 strange guests turn up. It soon becomes clear that each one has secrets to hide, and motives beyond a Christmas break for their visit. I love the setting in the rambling old Inn, and Milo is a sympathetic protagonist, but I'm less enamoured of the device of him and his companion taking on role-play identities as they investigate the crime. It's supposed to show them taking on the characteristics and skills they wish they had, but it just seems a bit silly to me. Maybe a younger reader would find this aspect more appealing. ... I finished Greenglass House but it couldn't overcome the reservations that I had with the story and characters. It all felt quite contrived to me, the guests were too odd to be believable as real people, and I never really warmed to the role-playing. ... the events were made to seem like a game and it didn't really feel important that the mystery was solved... I did like Milo's relationship with his parents, and I loved the setting of the Inn. I'd like to read more about the town

>29 Sakerfalcon: Thank you! You'll have to keep us posted on whether The Thief Knot improves on things. :)

I'm on the Shattered Plains, introducing a friend to the Cosmere.

In 1605 London, where Joan Sands is armorer and arms master for the King's Players troupe in That self-same metal. I am a fan of women who can kick ass, and Joan certainly can, if need be.

The Pact between the Fae and the mortal king's realm just lapsed, so London starts seeing more Fae creatures than usual. (Includes some comments by certain Fae about their portrayal by that hack Shakespeare.)

Good mix of history, fantasy, with magic users and Fae and followers of the Orisha.

Recently spent time in Moominvalley with the Finn Family Moomintroll, a childhood (and now) favorite -- the Hobgoblin's Hat causing much trouble & delight in this book. Also I went on another tumultuous ride throughout Earth, many shadowrealms, and the distant past in Warlock by Michael Scott. I have some problems with that series, for instance the plausibility of the first five books and all their action taking place in one week; but he keeps the pot boiling and I've had enough interest to keep going.

Just vidited Thasalon, with Penric and Desdemona.
The first full novel in the Penric and Desdemona series, The assassins of Thasalon is as delightful as the rest of the stories in the five god world, and the extra depth and texture afforded with the longer format makes it a great read.
Pens brother in law is the target of an assassination attempt that Pens resident demon, Desdemona, foils, setting them on a mission for their god that tales them from the streets of Orbas to the palaces of Thasalon.

I'm visiting Chicago and possibly other places in Brief Cases.

NEW THREAD FOR JUNE: https://www.librarything.com/topic/351193

>10 elorin: The second generation is stepping up to face the challenges facing Fairhaven. Unfortunately, Beltur felt wooden or stilted to me in this one.

>32 karenb: I'm feeling really dumb because I must be missing something--what's the name of the book you're referring to?

>38 cfk: Ack! I did it again. Sorry! It was That self-same metal by Brittany N. Williams.

>39 karenb: Okay, thanks! I kept thinking somebody must have mentioned the title and I just wasn't seeing it.