Five for Friday
Posted on: February 1, 2019
Happy February, happy winter is hopefully almost over, and HAPPY FRIDAY!
welcome to a new feature here at Little Red Reviewer, called Five for Friday. The concept is simple – it’s a Friday, and I post a photo of 5 books, and then we chat about them in the comments.
The only things these books have in common are:
– they were on my bookshelf
– I’m interested in your thoughts on them.
have you read any of these? if yes, did you like them? If you’ve not read them, does the cover make you interested in learning more about the book?
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner, published 1987 – I’ve read this, and loved it. The banter! the romance! the snark! You’ve been hearing the term “Tremontaine” all over the interwebs? This novel is where it all started.
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard, published 2010 – I’ve read a bunch of de Bodard’s Xuya stories, but not her other stuff. Trying to decide if I should give this one a try.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, published 2006 – I think I’ve read this? maybe? I know I at least started it. Have you read any Sanderson?
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, published 2015 – Amazing freakin’ book. Won the Hugo. So did the sequel, and the one after that. Some readers were turned off by the switch up in POVs, and that part of the book is 3rd person and part of it is 2nd person, but I loved everything about this book!
Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer, published 2014 – I do love me some New Weird. Vandermeer, and new weird, is an acquired taste. and Annihilation is weird as fuck. And I loved the movie too!
Your turn! Which of these books have you read? Which of them (if any) look interesting?
14 Responses to "Five for Friday"
February 1, 2019 at 8:56 am
I’ve read The Fifth Season and Annihilation, loved them both😊 I have NEVER read Brandon Sanderson before, I’m the last person in fantasyland, I think!
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February 3, 2019 at 8:53 am
You and I can be the last people together. 🙂
did you read the rest of the Southern Reach series? what did you think of it? I felt the first and third books were the strongest.
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February 1, 2019 at 9:50 am
I read the Mistborn books some years back. Loved them! I particularly like the magic system and the way the characters play with the rules.
Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy is extraordinary, if – as H.P. pointed out above – not exactly the happiest of reads. I don’t think I have read any books like them. Took me a little while to get used to the narrative voice, but after a couple of chapters I couldn’t imagine it otherwise.
Annihilation and its sequels left me with an enduring sense of existential dread. I enjoyed reading them, though the first was the strongest, IMHO. And yeah, the movie was amazing. And it had the most effective monster I have seen in at least a decade. Bears are just bad news.
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February 3, 2019 at 8:56 am
the bear in the Annihilation movie is beyond terrifying! We saw the movie in the theater, and I’ve amazon’d it and netflixed it a few times since then, I still have to cover my eyes for most of the bear scene. Why watch it so many times if that scene scares me so much? The last 10 minutes of the movie, that whole thing in the lighthouse, I’ll pretty much do anything to get to watch that scene again.
another vote for me to give Mistborn a try!
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February 1, 2019 at 10:10 am
I’m pretty sure I have the audiobook of Mistborn waiting on my phone for whenever I finally finish catching up on Wheel of Time! I’ve never read any Sanderson, but he’s been on my list for a very long time and Mistborn is definitely at the top of that list.
I’m also interested in picking up Annihilation because I’ve had so many people recommend it to me. Does “weird as fuck” also translate to “difficult to read”? I’m looking for a few books I can get through quickly to keep up with my 30 books in 2019 reading goal. (Also that cover for Annihilation is so good!)
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February 3, 2019 at 8:58 am
I guess it depends on how you define “difficult to read”. there are a good amount of flashbacks, and some of the scenes don’t seem to make a ton of sense. It’s totally OK to be confused the first time you read it, because everything will make sense when you read it again. I found it very compelling and a page turner. Books 2 and 3 in the series tho, were a bit of a slog for me. But I think you can read the first book as a stand alone.
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February 1, 2019 at 1:31 pm
I loved the Annihilation movie; haven’t read the book. I’ve heard they’re pretty different–what was your impression?
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February 3, 2019 at 9:01 am
oh, they are SUPER different, but the film makers did an excellent job. there are a lot of scenes in the book that would be downright unfilmable, or if filmed would just be boring – the book is much, much quieter. The people who did the movie changed a few things around as they needed to keep the feelings of unease and dread. And the end is presented completely differently. if you enjoyed the movie, I absolutely recommend giving the book a try!
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February 1, 2019 at 3:12 pm
The only one of these I haven’t read is Swordspoint. Maybe this year.
I loved the Mistborn series. The first book has a heist team and I don’t there’s enough fantasy heist stories. The other two are quite different but I love them, too.
Annihiliation was great. I’m not a horror fan so this was just enough horror for me.
I also loved the Broken Earth series by Jemisin but it is very depressing. The second person POV was weird at first but I got used to it.
I also loved de Bodard’s fantasy Aztec trilogy. The gods and goddesses are real and influence the world a lot. The main character is the High Priest of the Dead and his job is to make sure that the dead get the right rites. Sometimes, he also investigates suspicious deaths so he can be a fantasy detective. Magic is done by spilling blood, the main character usually uses his own blood but sometimes animals, too.
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February 3, 2019 at 9:03 am
“The gods and goddesses are real and influence the world a lot. The main character is the High Priest of the Dead and his job is to make sure that the dead get the right rites.”
this sounds fascinating!
and I agree completely – more fantasy heist books need to be a thing! they are such fun stories!
February 3, 2019 at 11:56 am
Only one I’ve read is Mistborn. Good series. I liked the magic system but it does have a lot of rules…so it’s almost like science and not pure magic. I feel like Sanderson’s magic system has influenced other authors and books (powder mage series for example) but it could be that it is more popular a type than I’m aware of.
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February 3, 2019 at 9:30 pm
Definitely a huge Sanderson fan! I’ve read almost all of his books and I can’t get enough of his ability to foreshadow and make me feel things about his characters, they are mind-blowing. His ability to write banter has always been superb, too.
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the Little Red Reviewer 
February 1, 2019 at 8:28 am
I think Sanderon’s Mistborn series is his best work.
I have a copy of that de Bodard book I picked up at Worldcon in San Antonio years ago but I haven’t read it. I did read and enjoy the first book in her seraphic fantasy series.
I loved The Fifth Season but didn’t continue the series. It’s just such a downer.
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February 3, 2019 at 8:52 am
ok, i’ll need to give Mistborn a more intentional try. I got to book two of the Jemisin, but don’t seem to have the inner strength for book three.
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