Reading SF in November 2025

[Westy]

I read Howling Dark, book two in the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio.

An unpopular opinion, but on the whole I thought it was long and boring in many parts (especially when he's stuck in Vorgossos). I also thought the writing was Ok but not great - there was a lot of repetition in many of the descriptions used that I found destracting.

On the other had there were some gripping scenes, and the last quarter or so of the book was faster paced, but overall for me maybe 3/5 at most. I might get to the next book but not in a rush.

 

[Raf]

Finished, the third novel of C.S. Garrand's Humanity's Leap series, "The Pilgrim and the Wolf". Wow, talk about a cliffhanger ending. I get it. Artistic license and all, but now what...when is the next book coming out?? Can't be soon enough. Easily my best scifi read of 2025 so far. Nothing else this year even comes close.

Following on the events of the 2 previous novels, the doughty crew of the Audacious, their new Lomolai allies and various Hegemony forces have unlocked the Node. CAIPARR has assumed control of a stargate technology left by The Patrons. An ancient spacefaring that has disappeared. In the ensuing battle for the node against an enormous desert predator, Irina Orlova accidentally activates the node and is transported to another star system.

Starting her journey of discovery involving a couple of cultures from Earth's far past. Both descended from the ancient Greeks and the Romans. Both spacefaring societies currently. The universe is far more populated than ever foreseen. And many of the supposedly 80 plus races are not friendly to humanity...or anyone else, it seems.

In the meantime, The Audacious and her allies are attempting to traverse the new Node in in search of Orlova. Really top-notch science fiction. For me anyway. I popped off an email to the author a few minutes ago and told him I really liked his work.

He answered almost immediately and said there are a few more books in the series still to come. It had originally been planned for 4 books, but the popularity of the series surprised him and the feedback from readers convinced him to continue the story.

 

[Raf]

I read Howling Dark, book two in the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio.

An unpopular opinion, but on the whole I thought it was long and boring in many parts (especially when he's stuck in Vorgossos). I also thought the writing was Ok but not great - there was a lot of repetition in many of the descriptions used that I found destracting.

On the other had there were some gripping scenes, and the last quarter or so of the book was faster paced, but overall for me maybe 3/5 at most. I might get to the next book but not in a rush.

I loved the first novel, but the 2nd one was a DNF for me. Consequently, I never progressed in the series. But the series has gotten such rave reviews here that I might have try it again sometime.

 

[suciul]

As Humanity Leap series goes, book 4 Severant is supposed to be done next year in the Spring afaik - there is an excerpt but it doesn't (yet) solve the cliffhanger; I am really awaiting the audio release too as I love the narration.

One of the funny things about this series is that as opposed some favorite recent series, AI here is the heroine as she narrates the storyline - in Sun Eater (Ruocchio), AI are the ( supposedly extinct as the start of the series) historical baddies, though of course it gets more complicated and like the Angels whom do they mirror, some stayed true to their purpose at least to some extent, while some rebelled becoming the constructed equivalent of the real baddies whom we meet only in book 4.

As for Howling Dark and Sun Eater in general, one thing that is tricky to adapt to is the structure of the series - it is not a continual story, but a series of vignettes separated by time and space due to the structure of the universe, the ftl travel requiring long years and the criogenic freeze that allows time travel in the future - from book 1 to book 7 (not necessarily the narration time of course as that is undefined in the future, but long after the events from the little hints given) it's about 1400 years of "real time" with Hadrian active for close to 700 of those (as a Palatine he is expected to easily live 7-800 years though of course....). So for example in Empire of Silence we have his early years up to age 19, then a jump of 42 years where he is in freeze, then 4 years of actual life, in Howling Dark we have another 40+ years jump, though Hadrian has been active for some 12 of those, some recounted in stories and so on - the biggest jump is between book 5 and 6 at about 200+ years.

The author definitely gets better at handling these as the series goes on - I remember being really put off by the start of Howling Dark and only revisiting the book early this year after 6 years and that mostly due to the extraordinary quality of the audio narration that kept me engrossed even through the slower start. Also the series changes massively as it goes on and books 2-4 form a reasonably unitary subseries (The Red Company chronicles if one wishes), book 5 (Hadrian and Valka against the universe) is as standalone as is book 1 in many ways, while books 6-7 (The Chosen one) are a separate (and complete) duology to a large extent

In the Guardians of the Dark series (Edelheit) where I am listening book 2 now (when listening, one realizes how close tthis is in style to D Weber mil-sf, somewhat verbose, using very similar words etc - it has become a huge favorite after book 2 maybe because of that), AI's start to be contoured as the ultimate enemy, and while for now the heroes seem to think they are alien AI's, I have a sneaky suspicion that they will turn out to be the old human created AI's - the Masters - whom humanity defeated long ago after a very brutal struggle, but of whom some probably escaped in secret and are now back...

 

[Raf]

It was the jump in time from all the characters in Ruocchio's Suneater 1 to 2 that put me off. At the time, I just thought it was just literary laziness to not have to write about and maintain a character stream in the 40 year timespan that was being referenced. I don't remember anyone saying anything about time spent in cryosleep. But I did give up on the book fairly early...so that's likely what I missed.

 

[Westy]

It was the jump in time from all the characters in Ruocchio's Suneater 1 to 2 that put me off.

I noticed that too; made it a bit harder to get into from the start.

 

[Vince W]

I’m finally getting to The Line of Polity by Neal Asher.

 

[mylinar]

David Starr - Space Ranger by Isaac Asimov writing as Paul French.

This series doesn’t get much attention either as works of Asimov’s or as juvenile books.

I looked through my books, the ones long forgotten and dusty. There it was, a 1971 US paperback edition. I read it once when I got it (new), but can’t recall any details.

 

[blailock]

I finished The Shattering Peace by Scalzi. Well, this was definitely Scalzi, and it was definitely an Old Man's War novel. So, that means that I definitely loved it. It was short and sweet, and I'm hoping that he will write more.

 

[Vince W]

I looked through my books, the ones long forgotten and dusty. There it was, a 1971 US paperback edition. I read it once when I got it (new), but can’t recall any details.

It’s light and uncomplicated but the science is still more accurate than The Martian.

 

[Raf]

Jumping back into the "12 Miles Below" series by Mark Arrow and will finish the 6th book, "Icon of the Stars" this weekend hopefully. Then one more to go. I put this book aside last month to read some horror for October, then forgot about it and started "Species Seventeen"...and then I couldn't put those books down and read straight thru.

 

[T77]

Finished Fallen Empire by Marc Alan Edelheit. I liked the overall plot and premise, but I felt like this book was more of a setup. I give it 3/5. I will read the next book Infinity Control to see if I want to continue.

 

[Raf]

Jumping back into the "12 Miles Below" series by Mark Arrow and will finish the 6th book, "Icon of the Stars" this weekend hopefully. Then one more to go. I put this book aside last month to read some horror for October, then forgot about it and started "Species Seventeen"...and then I couldn't put those books down and read straight thru.

Well shoot...the last book of this series isn't out yet. Looks to launch on the 19th/

 

[blailock]

I'm here twiddling my thumbs waiting for my copy of Shadows Upon Time to get here. I can't wait.

 

[EricJ]

Between Mountains and Sea by Louisa Locke
I really don't read clean scifi, not because of some misguided belief that it should always have curse words or violence, but more because that's what I know. Overall, though, this was a good start to a series, of which I'll be following from now on. The book is good, it's not overly heavy on the details, and it flows pretty nicely, giving you an invested feel for the characters. There is some violence, but that comes from a relative, and not some (as of yet anyway) shadow organization. The details are sufficient to keep you invested in the book, which is a worthwhile read. So if you like clean scifi, then look no further than this book. 5 out of 5 stars

https://amzn.to/3LOoRY8

 

[Vince W]

I’m on Hellstrom’s Hive by Frank Herbert.

 

[dannymcg]

I'm having a go at Outlaw Planet, the new book from M. R. Carey.

 

[blailock]

I'm here twiddling my thumbs waiting for my copy of Shadows Upon Time to get here. I can't wait.

It arrived yesterday, and I immediately started it!

 

[Raf]

Tried "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. DNF for me. I disliked every single character. Also, it is hard science fiction with a capital "H" and Watt's bludgeons you with it at every go. I don't need to know every detail, but apparently the author thinks you do.

Kind of at loose ends for reading right now. Dabbling in another little LitRPG to keep me busy, but unsure of where I want to head next. Have had a string of DNF's that just didn't grab me. Mostly Kindle Unlimited stuff, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You need to winnow out a lot of chaff there.

 

[suciul]

It arrived yesterday, and I immediately started it!

I also started listening to the audio (Shadows Upon Time - Ruocchio, last Sun Eater novel at least for now and a definite ending to the storyline started in Empire of Silence though a beggining too)- it's like 44hrs+ so will take a while as I really like to listen mostly in the car since the resonance is great, though with the flights to NYC tomorrow and Sunday back, I should definitely advance faster than otherwise

Imho it's the best ending of a series I've read in a long time, but until I listen to it, I feel I can not truly appreciate it; I am also re-reading the previous books and am already to book 4 (not page by page since after all I listened to all 6 these past months so they are fresh in memory, but more to stay in the athmosphere and read all the tidbits after the series end that Hadrian drops on occasion in his temporary stay on Colchis to pen this narration - I would love to figure out if possible who is the primate at the narration time since Hadrian casually says in book 3 that he or she knows him and hints that the primate is the only one of the brothers and sisters there who does know him. I do not think the primate could be Selene because that would contradict some of what Hadrian tells about her in book 6 for example (though that would explain much) but who knows...

From book 3 Demon in White:

I do not know what became of the painting after Gododdin. Taken down, no doubt. Burned, or perhaps stored in the Imperial vaults on Avalon where none would ever see it. I do know that the triumphal arch erected to my victory over Iubalu still stands on Nemavand, though by Imperial decree my head was chiseled from the monument and cast into the desert, where I don’t doubt it remains to this day, resin untouched by the etching sands.
.......
Here I have made my home these past three years and labored at this account. Here I have lived and labored alongside the brothers and sisters of the Order, though I am not one of them. Here I have hidden from an ungrateful universe, and lived not as Hadrian Marlowe, but as a guest of Arrian’s successor three times removed. They never asked my name—though the primate knows me. They call me the Poet, and that is enough. A private joke that you, Reader, will no doubt understand.

From book 1 pages 1-2 Empire of Silence

Should I chronicle the war, then? Start with the alien Cielcin howling out of space, their ships like castles of ice? You can find the war stories, read the death counts. The statistics. No context can make you understand the cost. Cities razed, planets burned. Countless billions of our people ripped from their worlds to serve as meat and slaves for those Pale monsters. Families old as empires ended in light and fire. The tales are numberless, and they are not enough. The Empire has its official version, one that ends in my execution, with Hadrian Marlowe hanged for all the worlds to see.

I do not doubt that this tome will do aught but collect dust in the archive where I have left it, one manuscript amongst billions at Colchis. Forgotten. Perhaps that is best. The worlds have had enough of tyrants, enough of murderers and genocides.