What I read on my summer vacation, Part 3: Book Fair Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Books, books books! I love books so much. Love sticking my head in a book (literally and figuratively) and escaping... well... everything.

It's the perfect time for another book post, so here's my latest recommendations!

Anequs is a native of a land conquered by the Anglish, her people forced to submit. Many hardships have fallen on her tribe, including the long absence of the dragons. So when Anequs finds a dragon's egg, it's a delightful blessing. That is, until the conqueror's come around once more...

This is a tale of an indigenous woman being forced to integrate into a system that is actively hostile to her. It's a tale of hardship and struggle, and ultimately of triumph. It's a fun, insightful take on colonization from the perspective of an indigenous person. I really enjoyed this one, and I hope the sequel comes soon.

What happens when academic privilege no longer protects Arton Daghdev from the fist of an authoritarian government? He gets all the moisture sucked from his body, only to have it then shipped out to one of the newest exoplanet colonies. Lucky for Arton this one harbors life! Or maybe he's not so lucky after all...

Arton has to navigate the strict rules of his new life as slave labor, pleasing the whimsies of his new bosses while desperately trying to convince his fellow laborers he's not the one who sold them out. On top of that, he has to help the science team learn who built the strange clay structures of Kiln...

This is a story about surviving in the face of fascism. There's a lot in here about organizing and solidarity, and what it means to come together while hiding from the eyes of Big Brother. It's a chilling read, timely in its content.

Aliens have invaded! They have taken over Earth! But they come not for its precious resources, but for its entertainment value...

In an instant, every structure on Earth is flattened to the ground. Anyone inside is instantly killed. Everyone (un)lucky enough to be outside is left with two choices: remain on the surface of this ruined world, or go down the suddenly appearing stairs to be a contestant on the hit reality show DUNGEON WORLD!!!

For Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, the choice is easy since staying above would mean freezing to death. From there Carl has to navigate a massive mega-dungeon, killing monsters and negotiating traps and obstacles. If he makes all the way to floor 18, he can reclaim the planet!

This one is definitely aimed at folks who have played D&D, Pathfinder, other TTRPGs, or just about any videogame RPG. That said, I think just about anyone could enjoy it. It's an incredibly fun read that I couldn't put down. I mean that literally, I finished the first three books in one five-hour-long reading session each. The plot grabs you by the throat and demands you discover what happens next. Perfect 5/7 rating.

Euyn, the exiled prince. Royo, the muscle for hire. Sora, the poisoned maiden. Aeri the flash-fingered thief. Mikail the haunted spymaster. These strangers must come together in common cause to pull the ultimate heist: first to take the king's crown, and then to steal his country...

But before they even have a chance of pulling it off, they must work through their tangled pasts, and even more twisted web of lies and motivations, to unite and trust each other! At least, trust each other just long enough...

Mai Corland weaves a rich world based on Korean mythology. It is detailed and lush, with hidden depths that leave you wondering. Her characters are complex and the story is told in the first-person by all of them in turn. They speak in a manner that will make you wonder if they're telling the truth, even to themselves.

I hated all of them. I hated them so much I had to go grab the sequel right away so I could keep on hating them. A+, would read again.

The young Livira ekes out a scant living on the Dust. Day in and day out she tends to meager crops with water from a well with a constantly receding water level. That all changes when the enemy appears on the horizon...

Evar and his siblings live out their days trapped in an enormous stone chamber. Their ancestors were chased there by the enemy long ago, and the doors to the chamber no longer open. Their only solace are the ceiling-high towers of books, of almost infinite variety.

Livira and Evar are drawn together by the workings of the strange Library, an apparently endless repository of knowledge and culture. But as they get closer, the threads they pull threaten to unravel the fate of nations, and possibly of their world.

Absolutely fascinating book. It's easy to fall in love with of the main characters and the people around them.

Everyone knows the story of Odysseus, who sailed to Troy and then fucked up the return trip royally. What no one knows is how his dear wife Penelope fared back home for all those years...

The Trojan War ended years ago, and all the survivors sailed home. So where is Odysseus? That's the question Penelope has to constantly fend off, when suitors are constantly after her hand in marriage (and the kingdom of Ithaca that comes with it). For her son's sake and her own, she has placate the many men around her, maintaining the precious balance of power, or risk everything and everyone around falling prey to those with nothing but conquest and hunger in their hearts.

Claire North does an amazing job of letting us see the other side of the story. Often in mythology (especially Greek mythology) women are objects to be cast aside at the hero's whim, or villains to be defeated. North instead spins the tale of a woman every bit as cunning as her husband.

@CodyBurkett this is your reminder

Only saints and the void-mad can manipulate the many varieties of holystone, and Misery... Well, she's no saint.

Misery [she/they] is constantly guided (nagged, really) by the voice of an angel. They ignore it most of the time, convinced it's a sign of their impending madness, but lately it's becoming harder and harder to ignore the advice it gives. So when Misery, child of a nowhere planet, is given the chance to rise to power and glory she grabs at it with both hands and all her teeth.

Like Ithaca, this is another re-imagining of history/myth. This time it's Joan of Arc! In space! With giant mecha! Awesome.

Peter Grants wants to be a detective. He's content to work his way up the ranks. But when a strange murder comes with an even stranger witness, the ghost's testimony leads him to the strangest outcome: enlistment to the Folly, to serve at the Nightingale's command.

Grant is suddenly shoved through the looking glass into the half-seen side of London, now charged with keeping separate the worlds of magic and men. But as tensions rise and a strange, ancient force rise, can he learn enough to head off the imminent disaster that threatens to engulf the city?

Absolutely fantastic series. Grant's character development over the many novels is phenomenal, as is that of the magical aspects of London.

Gunnery Sergeant Sanda Greeve wakes to find herself in an unknown spaceship. Empty, but not abandoned, she becomes acquainted with the ship's sapient (!) AI and learns 230 years have passed since she fell into emergency suspended animation.

In the past, her brother Biran scrambles to find her, seeking every avenue he can use. As one of the enigmatic Keepers, he has more options than most, and at the same time fewer, unless he can learn to navigate the power politics of this secretive organization.

Jules, a young thief, gets taken on a heist that promises to pay big. The strange facility she and her crew rob is abandoned, but is it really? When something looks too good to be true...

This is another incredible story with an ensemble cast. The weaving of the distinct narratives into a solid story leaves you satisfied and wanting more. Good thing it's a trilogy!

Long ago, there was a time when mankind nearly perished in the face of natural disasters, an apocalypse at the hands of the kakuy: The Burning Age.

Now the Temple does it's best to recover documents and other data from that time, translating and sorting all that information. Some of it is released to the public. A great deal of it is consigned to the vaults, that man might never again provoke the kakuy.

Ven, an ousted Temple translator, is recruited by Georg to perform the same job he was doing but hidden from the Temple's watchful eyes...

It's another story from Claire North that makes you stop and think about yourself and your position in the world. I could say more, but it's too easy to veer into spoilers.

When the Imperial Prince dies, it's up to Count Jainan, the Empress's least favorite grandchild, to enter an arranged marriage and preserve the alliance with the empire's newest vassal planet.

Kiem, recently bereft of his husband, is once again thrust into court politics, balancing them against the pressures of his home planet.

"Winter's Orbit" is a story of love in adversity, and of plots that could endanger the entire empire and beyond...

Lovely book, I'm looking forward to reading more of Maxwell.

You might remember Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) from the series "John Dies at the End"! This book is another hit with his blend of absolute ridiculousness mixed with existential terror.

Zoe Ashe's father is a scumbag. That's why when he showed up in her driveway with a football, she told him to take a hike. Now it's years later and the scoundrel has croaked, leaving her the sole heir to his enormous fortune (billions) and criminal empire (international).

Now assassins and hitmen are coming out of the woodwork to steal her inheritance. Lucky for Zoe, the Fancy Suits are on her side.

All of this is set in a hyper-libertarian city where all your dreams can be bought for the right price. It's a Babylon of excess and sin, marinated in Pargin's brand of absurdity. Thoroughly entertaining, and so are the two sequels.

White folks have a lot of problems when it comes to race, especially when it comes to talking about race. Now, if your first reaction to hearing that is "Not all white people!" then I want you to know that's one of the responses DiAngelo outlines in her book (individualism).

The book describes patterns of behavior in white people responding to racial discussions. It goes on to describe those patterns, how people of color react to those patterns, and how to recognize and overcome them. Despite it's relatively low page count (around 200) there's a wealth of information here.

I won't lie, it's uncomfortable reading. Matters of race often are. But we have to learn how to deal with that discomfort constructively in order to progress and grow, both personally and as a society.

Dog tax. Miss you, Sunny.

I hope y'all found your next read!