Five for Friday!
Posted on: June 21, 2019
Welcome to 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?
Want to join in? Post a picture of 5 random books you own, with the tag #5ForFriday and get your friends talking.
Woohoo, all new (to me!) books this week!
The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker (2019) – the forthcoming fantasy from R.J. Parker (Age of Assassins) comes out later this summer. It’s got a map, the chapters have fun names, there’s a ton of stuff about dragons, it looks to be nautical/military fantasy with snark? I’ve not read any Barker yet, what do y’all think of his stuff?
Stay Crazy by Erica Satifka (2016) – I went on a book buying binge at Apex Books a few weeks ago, and this was part of my haul! I’ve had this book on my radar since it came out, it looks weird and fun. I’m about 80 pages in, and yes, it is weird, and fun, and surreal! If you ever wished Philip K Dick was more fun to read, this is the book for you.
Apex Book of World SF vol 5, edited by Cristina Jurado (2018) – yep, another Apex book! the newest volume in one of my favorite anthology series! If you’ve been enjoying Rachel Cordasco’s SF In Translation and maybe you’re not sure where to start, or you don’t want to commit to some big novel, you can’t do much better than any volume in this series.
Aetherchrist by Kirk Jones (2018) – you know, once I started shopping on the Apex site, i kind of couldn’t stop. Also, I’m a sucker for a back cover copy that includes the words “surreal” and “analog”. This book seems just over novella length, something I can blast through in a weekend.
Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds (2019) – this is my book club’s pick for this month. I can’t wait to write a review of this book, it was so fun!! so, it has a super weird start. . . because the book starts at the very end of the story. and there is time travel, my favorite! and time travel paradoxes, my double favorite! I love time travel stories that are all like “you can’t change the past, so don’t even try”, but what if you could? then what?
14 Responses to "Five for Friday!"
June 21, 2019 at 7:52 am
Permafrost sounds good – even if it would probably give me a headache trying to work everything out.
I definitely recommend RJBarker – although I haven’t read The Bone Ships – I will do so eventually though.
Lynn 😀
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June 21, 2019 at 8:28 pm
oh, you won’t have any problem figuring out the time thing in Permafrost, it’s all explained really well, the characters kind of figure out what is going on at the same time the reader does. it’s not mean to be a “screw with the reader’s head” kind of book.
alright! one vote for the Barker!
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June 21, 2019 at 8:53 am
I just got a copy of The Bone Ships yesterday, and it will be my first Barker😁 I’ve read both Stay Crazy and Aetherchrist. Stay Crazy was really fun, but Aetherchrist was just too weird and depressing for me.
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June 21, 2019 at 8:29 pm
Yeah, everyone I know who has read Stay Crazy says it’s really good! you’ll probably get to the Barker before I do, please let me know how it is.
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June 21, 2019 at 11:56 pm
I am soooo excited about The Bone Ships. And what do I think of his stuff? WHAT DO I THINK OF HIS STUFF?! Oh it’s absolutely amazing you really must read The Wounded Kingdom trilogy, it’s become one of my favorite series of all time and after that I will read anything RJ Barker writes! 😀
June 22, 2019 at 2:13 pm
I’ve really enjoyed Barker’s other books and want to get my hands on The Bone Ships. I’ve also really been wanting to read those Apex short story anthologies. I love the covers on them and want to read more put out by Apex (it’s like my local publisher so I feel I should support them more too 😁)
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June 22, 2019 at 7:10 pm
the Apex World SF anthos are worth every penny! they aren’t going to show up at Barnes and Noble, so you’ve got to order it off Amazon or from the Apex website.
June 23, 2019 at 5:17 am
I don’t know any of the authors or books this week. I’m looking forward to reading their work.
June 24, 2019 at 8:27 pm
I got a review up for Stay Crazy by Erica Satifka, in case you’re interested in learning more about that book. Which others look interesting to you?
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the Little Red Reviewer 
June 21, 2019 at 7:17 am
Great idea for a feature. Permafrost really stands out for me and I will look out for your review! Happy reading.
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June 21, 2019 at 8:26 pm
Permafrost was great! i’m hoping to read it again (it’s really short) before writing the review. now that I know the end, reading the beginning is gonna feel really different.
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