Ben Saufley - Reading

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The Golden Enclaves

by Naomi Novik

Finished 2024-03-20

I really enjoyed the first two books but this one took it to a whole new level and I loved it. A great end to the trilogy.
The Last Graduate

by Naomi Novik

Finished 2024-03-15
A Deadly Education

by Naomi Novik

Finished 2024-03-02
Yellowface

by R. F. Kuang

Finished 2024-02-25
The Lies of Locke Lamora

by Scott Lynch

Finished 2024-02-16

Picked up this book at a friend’s recommendation years ago but put it down because it seemed grimdark. It isn’t! It’s not always totally light but it’s a lot more intrigue and adventure and heist kind of stuff once you get past the intro. Great fun overall. Did not know where the book was taking me until it was over, but in this case that wasn’t a bad thing. It wrapped up (mostly) well.
Hyperion

by Dan Simmons

Finished 2024-01-29

I really enjoyed this book and then it … ended before it was over. I know there are sequels but it felt like all the POV stories that were told, each of which I really enjoyed and I loved how they were told so differently, were leading to something at the end that the book just doesn’t provide. That’s disappointing. I’ll probably read at least one of the sequels in a while, but like … it seems like at least the first sequel would just have to be a part of this book.
A Conjuring of Light

by V. E. Schwab

Finished 2024-01-11
Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

by David Graeber

Finished 2023-12-27
Hild

by Nicola Griffith

Finished 2023-12-18
What She Did

by Carla Kovach

Finished 2023-11-29

Totally serviceable genre book. The resolution was pretty obvious from pretty early on, but I didn’t guess everything .
Parasite

by Mira Grant

Finished 2023-10-24
The Burning God

by R. F. Kuang

Finished 2023-10-10
Fourth Wing

by Rebecca Yarros

Finished 2023-09-22

Someone would argue, and I’d agree, that this book isn’t “for” me, so whether or not I appreciate it is irrelevant. But I kind of wonder who it is for. For 70% of the book it’s a solidly formulaic YA novel and… then there’s explicit sex. And I don’t mean like, the characters have sex I mean it becomes an erotica novel, somewhat out of nowhere. Literary porn, although “literary” might give the wrong idea. It’s not written poorly but it’s also not written very well. Beyond the themes, the writing level of the whole novel feels very YA and the sex feels, to me, unnecessary, somewhat unexpected, and of an equal reading level except with more, you know, obscenity?

I definitely feel like I’m coming off a prude here and I don’t feel like I am one, but the sex scenes feel written simply but with adults in mind and I guess that clashed, for me, with the tone and level of the rest of the book.

The main plot is formulaic but interesting enough, but there’s not a lot else going on, and the weird horny stuff felt out of place and wasn’t for me and I’ve said that about plenty of books written by men (looking at you Terry Goodkind) so I’m gonna skip the rest of this series.
The Wolf

by Leo Carew

Finished 2023-08-22
Infinity Gate

by M.R. Carey

Finished 2023-08-06

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#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Last Graduate

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } A Deadly Education

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#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Lies of Locke Lamora

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#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } A Conjuring of Light

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

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#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Burning God

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Fourth Wing

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Wolf

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Infinity Gate

The Golden Enclaves

The Last Graduate

A Deadly Education

Yellowface

The Lies of Locke Lamora

Hyperion

A Conjuring of Light

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

Hild

What She Did

Parasite

The Burning God

Fourth Wing

The Wolf

Infinity Gate