Reading List - 2012

Having successfully updated this to keep it current on a book-by-book basis for two(2) years running, I better continue the habit. As usual, anything listed as [re-read] is either in preparation for the next book in a series or for my own pleasure 'cause it was a good read. So, my reading list for 2012:


Currently Reading

• A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
  
• [re-read] Land of Mist and Snow by Debra Doyle and James Macdonald (#1 of 2 set in the same Alternate History, before Lincoln's Sword)
  
• [re-read] Sixty-one Nails by Mike Shevdon (Courts of the Feyre, #1)

Started and Abandoned
(either I didn't like it or found something more interesting)

• The Passage by Justin Cronin
  
• Way of the Wolf by E.E. Knight (The Vampire Earth[B], #1)
  

Completed

1. One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire (October Daye, #5)
   
2. Hellhole by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
   
3. Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon by Mark Hodder (Burton & Swinburne, #3)
   
4. [re-read] Vampire Earth: The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith (Vampire Earth[A], #1)
   
5. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
   
6. [re-read] The Name of the Wind, The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day 1 by Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicles, #1)
   
7. The Wise Man's Fear, The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day 2 by Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicles, #2)
   
8. [re-read] Changer by Jane Lindskold
   
9. Vampire Earth: The Rift Walker by Clay and Susan Griffith (Vampire Earth[A], #2)
   
10. The Mark of Ran by Paul Kearney (The Sea Beggars, #1)
    
11. [re-read] A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
    
12. How Firm a Foundation by David Weber (Safehold, #5)

Outstanding (& Very Highly Recommended) Reads from 2011
First let me mention that Cherie M. Priest's Ganymede has been added to the Best of 2010 review listing below. Her "Clockwork Century" series continues expand and delight with each new volume written. She still ranks #1 overall. Having said that, this year I also pick the following:

The "Tales of the Ketty Jay" series by Chris Wooding

1. Retribution Falls
   
2. The Black Lung Captain

This series has been pure fun to read. Lots of action and intrigue, plenty of mystery as we learn bits and pieces of the past of the Ketty Jay's crew, sliding under and around the authorities, and a little bit of a steampunk flavor. I'll tell you what this series is ... it's Joss Whedon's "Firefly" meets Microsoft's "Crimson Skies". I was a little leery at first, but found it to be an excellent series. Time for me to pick up book #3.

The "Vampire Earth" series by Clay and Susan Griffith

1. The Greyfriar
   
2. The Rift Walker

What Cherie M. Priest's "Clockwork Century" did for zombies, Clay and Susan have done for vampires. While it seems that just everybody has to do something about vampiric (even David Weber and Out of the Dark, I found this series quite refreshing, from the conflict between the tropical-dwelling humans and northern-dwelling vampires to the politics of the vampire hierarchy. I could probably live without Senator Clarke of the American Republic, but I understand the alliance required to accomplish the Reconquest of the north, taking the fight back to the vampires who drove the surviving humans out during The Great Killing. The Greyfriar himself makes for a great hero.

Outstanding (& Very Highly Recommended) Reads from 2010
The "Clockwork Century" series by Cherie M. Priest

1. Boneshaker
   
2. Clementine
   
3. Dreadnought
   
4. Ganymede
   
5. Inexplicables (forthcoming 2012)
   
6. Fiddlehead (forthcoming Fall 2013)

In a year that has seen a flood of "steampunk" novels hitting the market (thanks to Tor's Oct. 2009 Steampunk month), Cherie M. Priest's new Clockwork Century series stand out. The series excels, as evidenced by the fact that the first novel in the series, Boneshaker, was a Hugo and Nebula award nominee this year. One of the more interesting aspects of this series is the fact that we have supporting characters playing major roles in the subsequent novels. Although I was hesitant to delve into this series, primarily due to the whole "zombie" thing (she calls them rotters), Ms. Priest's explanation of their coming into existence was quite plausible and they did not play a major role in the initial novel. The second novel, Clementine is a bit more difficult to acquire as it was only offered through the (thrice-damned) Subterranean Press. Even so, it was an enjoyable read as one of the side characters from novel #1 played a more substantial role here as the action shifts from the west coast to the east and the on-going Civil War. The third (so far) novel in the series, Dreadnought sees the action shift, yet again, from the Civil War in the east back toward the west coast. This was an even more exciting book than the previous two. Truth to tell, I was physically drained by the time I got through the chapter where the "Dreadnought" finally meets it's Northern equivalent outside Salt Lake City. I highly recommend this series, and while each stands well on its own I found that you really need to have read Boneshaker to understand the interconnecting thread of the gas and "rotters" introduced in the first book.

Outstanding (& Very Highly Recommended) Reads from 2009
The "Western Lights" series by Jeffrey Barlough

1. Dark Sleeper
   
2. The House in the High Wood
   
3. Strange Cargo

Jeffrey Barlough's "Western Lights" series was a pleasure and a surprise. Although the setting was intriguing enough to cause me to acquire these novels, the characters are what really drives them home. Barlough has a wonderful way of portraying both his main characters as well as incidental sub-characters. You end up caring about every one of them as if they were old friends and acquaintances and the descriptive settings make you feel like you'd actually been there.