I’m reading The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan (Empire of the Wolf book 2). I like it so far. The plot is interesting and the way the story told from a future perspective so you get little hints at what is to come. I wish the romance was either better written or absent. It’s not built up at all and feels like more of a plot device than genuine feeling from the characters.

I never had to read it for school, which probably helps. Will definitely be reading more from this author!

I finished A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. It was an excellent. I can’t wait to see how the story continues.

Now I’m reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It is a surprisingly gripping read. Painful in certain ways of course, but so well-woven that I find myself in awe of the author’s mastery.

Wow this is so cool to see! Thank you for putting this together!

I finished Provenance by Ann Leckie. I read her Imperial Radch trilogy years ago and really enjoyed it. This was set in the same world so I expected to like it but it just fell kind of flat to me. The exploration of personhood and gender norms wasn’t really there and the political intrigue felt shallow.

Now I’m on A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett, the sequel to The Tainted Cup. It is just as gripping as the first book and I’m absolutely loving it. I really need to read more from this author.

I finished The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. It was fantastic from start to finish. I can’t wait to read the next book.

While I wait to get my hands on the next book, I picked up Provenance by Ann Leckie. It’s in the same universe as her Imperial Radch trilogy and now I’m feeling like it’s been too long since I read those books and I don’t remember enough to fully enjoy this one. Debating setting it down and doing a reread first.

I finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I found it beautiful and heart breaking.

Now I am reading The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. This book has gotten a lot of buzz and now I see why. The world building is rich and intricate, the characters are flawed but likeable, and the mystery is intensely gripping. I am absolutely hooked.

I started Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Only ~60 pages in so far but I’m hooked. The story is being told beautifully and there’s an air of mystery that I’m absolutely loving. Really hoping it sticks the landing and becomes a new favorite for me.

I reread the first three books in the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal and have started on book 4 (The Martian Contingency), which just came out. The original books held up very well on reread but I find myself feeling more annoyed by the main protagonist than I did my previous read-through. Regardless, I am super excited to see where book 4 takes the story.

So I’ve only read the first 3. The 4th just came out recently, hence my reread. Each of the books I’ve read had a non-cliffhangery ending and was self-contained enough that I’d be satisfied even if the series didn’t continue.

I finished Grendel by John Gardner. There were some parts I really liked and some that were just ok. Overall a decent read.

I’ve started rereading the Lady Astronaut books by Mary Robinette Kowal. They are just as gripping and bingeable as I remember them being. I finished the first one (The Calculating Stars) and am currently on book 2 (The Fated Sky).

Icosahedron is the term for a 20-sided polyhedron, such as a D20

I finished The Laat Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor. It’s a fictionalized retelling about a British ship carrying evacuated children to Canada that was hit by a torpedo from a Nazi U boat. One lifeboat was not rescued for many days. I usually don’t enjoy fictionalized retellings like this, but I actually really enjoyed this one. The author took the facts surrounding the lifeboat and populated it with entirely fictional characters, giving her more leeway to properly plot the story out and give depth without having to make up things about real people.

I just started Grendel by John Gardner, a retelling of Beowulf from the monster’s point of view. Too early to say how I feel.

If you like sci fi, I love The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal. It takes place in the 1950s and centers women fighting to become astronauts.

He just won a Higo award for The Tainted Cup, so that might be a good place to start!

I finished The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett. This was one of his early works and it shows in the character work and the romance. The atmosphere, worldbuilding and plot were on point though.

Now I’ve just started The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor. This is based on the true story of an evacuation boat during WWII that was sunk by the Nazis. It’s still early to really judge it, but so far I love how one of the main characters is written, so hoping it lands for me.

I’m reading The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett, one of his earlier novels. It’s an alt history mystery noir set in the 1920s. It’s super atmospheric and kinda reminds me of the show Severance. I’m less than a third of the way through but am hooked and absolutely loving it so far.

It’s a collection of 3 short stories called Silo Stories. It came with the box set of the books I got. The first two are fine, but honestly, I don’t you’re missing anything by skipping them altogether.

Coming back after reading the last short story to say that it was awful and put a bad taste in my mouth overall. If you’re reading this series, do yourself a favor and ignore In the Woods. It didn’t make sense from a story/logic perspective AND was deeply unsatisfying.

I’m wrapping up with the Silo seeies by Hugh Howey. I finished Dust and have one short story left in Silo Stories.

I’ve enjoyed the series more than I expected to based on reviews I read. It wasn’t perfect but the ending of the main novels left me mostly satisfied. There was one sequence that I think should have been left out and one thread I wish we had gotten a more in depth look at (staying vague to avoid spoilers).