Month 71: Catching Up

Month 71 of 260 (27.31 percent)
Size of list: 92,762 pages (19.27 percent above start)
Pages read: 31,297 (33.74 percent)
H-list: 8,396/24,144 (34.77 percent)
N-list: 11,580/37,308 (31.04 percent)
O-list: 11,321/31,310 (36.16 percent)
Reading: Inverting the Pyramid
Finished: From a Certain Point of View, The Warrior's Apprentice, Winter's Heart

I didn't read all these books this month, I've just been remiss in updating this blog. So here I am catching up.

From a Certain Point of View is a Star Wars anthology, giving stories to the many minor, often nameless characters that populated the original film. It's uneven, unsurprising given that it has 40 stories by 40 authors. It can't be considered canon, given that some of the stories contradict each other, but who cares? It's fun to see the backstory of the creature in the trash compactor, or to read the indignant report filed by the officer Force-choked by Vader. The overall story drags on Tatooine -- there are a lot of characters in the cantina -- but it was a fun-enough read.

The Warrior's Apprentice is the third (in chronological order) of the Vorkosigan Saga, a series of sci-fi adventure novels. The first two focused on Aral and Cordelia Vorkosigan; this is the first volume to focus on their son, Miles, who I understand is the protagonist of the series in general. This book is delightful fun, punctuated by moments of seriousness. The characters take everything seriously, but the way events snowball, as Miles accidentally builds an interstellar mercenary company, strikes me as hijinks. Two volumes in this series are Hugo winners, but I expect I'll read the whole series, because it's well-written and enjoyable.

Winter's Heart is the ninth book in the Wheel of Time. It concerns itself less with grand events than with the characters themselves, to its benefit. No borders shift, nobody invades anybody else, but characters are captured, declare their intent to marry, and plot to escape. Meanwhile, the Seanchan threat takes on a new form -- it's not just a military force, but civilians, thousands of people seeking to set up new lives. For 90 percent, it's my favorite book of the series so far. It's spoiled by the climactic chapter, which comes out of nowhere, with no buildup or foreshadowing, just a need to have a big climax at the end of the book. It also ignored the cliffhanger at the end of book 8, but I find I didn't really mind that so much. I just expect to find it in book 10.

Month 67: Hey look, I read a book

Month 67 of 260 (25.77 percent)
Size of list: 92,362 pages (18.75 percent above start)
Pages read: 29,794 (32.26 percent)
H-list: 8,396/24,144 (33.05 percent)
N-list: 10,716/37,308 (28.72 percent)
O-list: 10,682/30,910 (34.56 percent)
Reading: From a Certain Point of View
Finished: All the Birds in the Sky

I read All the Birds in the Sky, start to finish, this month. I read it all on my phone, in bed; that's my preferred method and place for reading right now. It's a marvelous book about a witch and an engineer who become friends in middle school, then meet again as adults in a near-future San Francisco. It does a great job making magic, technology and friendship all feel magical. 

I'm determined to finish From a Certain Point of View this month; if I don't, it'll be because The Warrior's Apprentice came from the library and I would have just three weeks to read it. And that one will be on my phone.

Month 65/Year 4: The worst year

Month 65 of 260 (25 percent)
Size of list: 92,362 pages (18.75 percent above start)
Pages read: 29,058 (31.46 percent)
H-list: 8,396/24,144 (33.05 percent)
N-list: 10,716/37,308 (28.72 percent)
O-list: 10,362/30,910 (33.52 percent)
Reading: From a Certain Point of View
Finished: Foundation's Edge

I am ahead of the curve, at least. I'm a quarter of the way through this thing, and I have read more than a quarter of each list. That's something. But this pace can't continue, and I don't want it to continue. 

Foundation's Edge is good, but not as good as Foundation, surprise surprise. I expected to think that it won the Hugo on the strength of its series more than on its own merits, and I still think that's a possibility. I haven't read the books it beat, though, so you never know; maybe it was truly just the strongest book that year. It gets into some woo-woo at the end, in a way that doesn't fit the relatively hard science bent of the original (not that the previous books didn't bend that either with their telepathy).