Not just available. Lots of crudely-assembled AI trash gets put on the site, especially when scammers realize that a book is a best-seller. They quickly churn out 'books' with similar titles and cover images in the hopes that people will mistakenly purchase their imitations.
I recently read The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers, a very unique fantasy/alternative history/time travelling story, and it was quite the ride! Would absolutely recommend it!
I think he's most famous for On Stranger Tides, which inspired Monkey Island and which one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is based on - though I've not read that.
Interesting! Didn't know that about the Stormlight Archives. I've got his Mistborn series lined up, haven't read anything of his before.
I think he's most famous for On Stranger Tides, which inspired Monkey Island and which one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is based on - though I've not read that.
(10-23-2025, 07:30 PM)Hexenwerk Wrote: Brandon Sanderson.
Interesting! Didn't know that about the Stormlight Archives. I've got his Mistborn series lined up, haven't read anything of his before.
I'm currently reading and enjoying Un Lun Dun by China Miéville. I've always liked his books, and this one is no exception.
“Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” -Vesta M. Kelly
Just finished the five Bobiverse books by Dennis Taylor and enjoyed them. Nice, easy reads with interesting arcs. Since the writer used to be a software dev the way he describes the terminology and tech actually makes sense.
Now started the 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' series but still searching for something that replicates the Terry Pratchett vibes.
Now started the 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' series but still searching for something that replicates the Terry Pratchett vibes.
(09-27-2025, 05:19 PM)Sly Wrote: In the horror genre, I got around to The Haunting of Hill House. It's probably the best book I've read so far this year- I was crying at the end, and that's very rare for me.
Oh, man. I picked that one up, thinking that I'd heard of the author somewhere and that it might be worth checking out. I was totally unprepared for the experience: utterly devastating. The most life-changing media experiences for me tend to be ones I'm not expecting.
I've been re-reading Jack Vance's works. Extraordinary stuff, even considering that much of it was written in the '50s and '60s and doesn't consider that the audience will include women. (He wasn't misogynistic, just typical for his time, in this way if no others.) I highly recommend giving his short stories a look. For example: Green Magic.
This post was last modified: 12-30-2025, 04:03 PM by Melendwyr.
(12-30-2025, 04:03 PM)Melendwyr Wrote:(09-27-2025, 05:19 PM)Sly Wrote: In the horror genre, I got around to The Haunting of Hill House. It's probably the best book I've read so far this year- I was crying at the end, and that's very rare for me.
Oh, man. I picked that one up, thinking that I'd heard of the author somewhere and that it might be worth checking out. I was totally unprepared for the experience: utterly devastating. The most life-changing media experiences for me tend to be ones I'm not expecting.
I've been re-reading Jack Vance's works. Extraordinary stuff, even considering that much of it was written in the '50s and '60s and doesn't consider that the audience will include women. (He wasn't misogynistic, just typical for his time, in this way if no others.) I highly recommend giving his short stories a look. For example: Green Magic.
Re: Haunting of Hill House - I read that about a decade ago and can hardly remember it! Might be worth a proper re-read..?
Re: Jack Vance - one of my absolute favourite authors
The collected Tales of the Dying Earth is one of the best books I've ever read (and I'm not normally into fantasy).Currently I'm reading a modern take on Dracula, but set in the early 1900s mid west: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Very nicely written and quite gripping.
Finally watched a couple of episodes of "3 Body Problem" and felt like reading the book, so I'm doing that first before I continue the show.
I just finished the first of Dennis Taylor's Bobiverse books, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) and really enjoyed it. The second two will be here next week. Bob and all his versions are likeable, and the storylines are creative. Taylor's writing is similar to John Scalzi's, especially his humor and character interactions.
“Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” -Vesta M. Kelly
So far in January
Book 3 in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. This was the weakest of the series so far. Princess Donut and Carl are on a new level of the dungeon and its a vast and over complicated series of train tracks. Still lots of action and litRPG progression, lacks in the laughs of the previous books. Hope Book 4 is better.
The Hobbit is still a classic book and I loved re-reading.
Finished Twelve Months. Loved it. A necessary calm after the bombastic Battlegrounds to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Harry was in a bad place so it was good to show the process of his recovery in a series of monthly stories (kind of). I do think the list of characters is getting insane and they are doing Bob short and did they add a bunch of characters towards the end just for a spice girl joke. I did chuckle at it though.
An adventure game is nothing more than a good story set with engaging puzzles that fit seamlessly in with the story and the characters, and looks and sounds beautiful.
(01-16-2026, 10:35 AM)Johnny Nys Wrote: Finally watched a couple of episodes of "3 Body Problem" and felt like reading the book, so I'm doing that first before I continue the show.
I read those back when they came out in Europe. The third one is definitely the best, but it's an incredible series. I'm not generally a fan of book series but I'm really glad I stuck with that one.
Currently I'm reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It's a heartfelt book about game development and follows the lives of three young people who start a game company around the turn of the millennium. I'm about 3/4 of the way through at this point and the flow of the story and the character development are extremely good.