Books & Reading Thread 2025

1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10

Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.

There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.

Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.

The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.

I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
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Paladin said:
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10

Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.

There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.

Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.

The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.

I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
061a5ec4c3d85ddb3991d2ab1ed0b6a7.jpg
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Glad you enjoyed the series. And now you can probably see why I say that Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora is the best single book I have ever read, but Joe Abercrombie is bar far my favourite author. As you have picked out, his characters are superb - even the bit-part players.

As @JRockBlues points out, there’s plenty more where this came from. There are 3 standalone books set in the same world. The first, Best Served Cold is an absolute riot of charcaters and the story is engaging too. The Heroes is a long story that covers a three-day battle in the north and Red Country is his take on a western. All three are worth your time and feature some characters from the original trilogy.

Then there is a collection of short stories and then a new trilogy that picks up a few decades after the First Law series finished. Oh and a young adult trilogy set in a different world, and finally he has a new book out in May.

Plenty of Joe Abercrombie to get your teeth into over the next few years!
 
RobMCFC said:
Glad you enjoyed the series. And now you can probably see why I say that Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora is the best single book I have ever read, but Joe Abercrombie is bar far my favourite author. As you have picked out, his characters are superb - even the bit-part players.

As @JRockBlues points out, there’s plenty more where this came from. There are 3 standalone books set in the same world. The first, Best Served Cold is an absolute riot of charcaters and the story is engaging too. The Heroes is a long story that covers a three-day battle in the north and Red Country is his take on a western. All three are worth your time and feature some characters from the original trilogy.

Then there is a collection of short stories and then a new trilogy that picks up a few decades after the First Law series finished. Oh and a young adult trilogy set in a different world, and finally he has a new book out in May.

Plenty of Joe Abercrombie to get your teeth into over the next few years!
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Thanks guys. I'll definitely be back for more. Joe Abercrombie has occupied much of my attention of late, so I'll cover a few other areas of interest in the next two months, and maybe pick up again next year.
 
Paladin said:
Thanks guys. I'll definitely be back for more. Joe Abercrombie has occupied much of my attention of late, so I'll cover a few other areas of interest in the next two months, and maybe pick up again next year.
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I agree with this approach. Too much of a good thing can spoil it. I always like to breaks books in a series up with other reads.
 
Paladin said:
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10
4. Hitler's British Traitors - Tim Tate - 4/10
5. 1984 - George Orwell - 7/10
6. Big Beacon by Alan Partridge - Steve Coogan et al - 6/10
7. The Third Man - Graham Greene - 5/10
8. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart - 10/10
9. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - 7/10
10. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie - 8/10
11. Lamentation - C J Sansom - 8/10
12. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie - 10/10

Brilliant book, bringing The First Law trilogy to a thrilling conclusion. There is so much excellent content here. Every strand of the story is so tantalisingly related that you eagerly anticipate the next instalment, yet are never disappointed at being led along another route. All roads eventually converge. All loose ends are eventually tied up. Nearly all villains are vanquished, and some of the heroes live to fight another day.

There are many unexpected twists and turns. The characters are fascinating and expertly depicted to the extent that the reader develops a fondness for very many of them. There is disappointment as your favourite characters display personality flaws, and a few of them take quite unexpected deviations.

Superior Glokta is wickedly devious in his schemes and plots. The Bloody Nine is a fearsome warrior. The book is rammed full of people I want to follow in future adventures, if they exist.

The Kingmaker - one of my favourite chapters in any book I have ever read.

I thoroughly recommend this trilogy to you, and I express my deep thanks to @RobMCFC for pointing me towards this author and series.
061a5ec4c3d85ddb3991d2ab1ed0b6a7.jpg
Click to expand...

Having read the First Law books I'm now currently listening to them on Audio. Steven Pacey does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing them to life. You can find them on YouTube if you don't have an audible account.

You should definitely finish the series and be careful to read the stand alones in the correct order. The final three (Age of Madness) are just on another level!
 
jimmy blue shoes said:
Having read the First Law books I'm now currently listening to them on Audio. Steven Pacey does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing them to life. You can find them on YouTube if you don't have an audible account.

You should definitely finish the series and be careful to read the stand alones in the correct order. The final three (Age of Madness) are just on another level!
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Yes, I love the way he did his version of the French Revolution, also weaving in a version of the Luddites, in the Age of Madness series. And, of course, it was good to see the return of a few old faces.
 
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
  5. Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10
  6. The Mobster’s Lament – Ray Celestin – 8/10
  7. Priest of Crowns – Peter McLean – 9/10
  8. Get It On: How the ‘70s Rocked Football – Jon Spurling – 9/10
  9. The Effigy Engine – Scott Lynch – 7/10
  10. The Ferryman – Justin Cronin – 8/10
  11. Catch a Wave – Peter Ames Carlin – 8/10
  12. Sunset Swing – Ray Celestin – 7/10
SunsetSwing.jpg
This is the final book in the “Blues City Quartet” series, which tells the tale of the rise of the mob in 20th Century America and intertwines it with the story of jazz through the same period.

Whilst this is a very good series as a whole, I think that it’s finishing at the right point because I did notice a bit of repetition creeping in. To illustrate this point, let’s look at what I wrote to summarise the third book:-

This time post-war New York is the scene of the action as mobster Gabriel Leveson sees his secret plans to escape a life of crime come unstuck when his boss sets him the task of recovering $2M in stolen mob money.

Meanwhile, detective Ida Young teams up with retired former partner, Michael Talbot, whose son has been wrongly accused of a killing spree at a house where he’d been staying.


And now I’ll summarise this fourth book:-

This time sixties Los Angeles is the scene of the action as mobster Dante Sanfelippo sees his secret plans to escape a life of crime come unstuck when his boss sets him the task of finding out what has happened to his soon, recently released from prison.

Meanwhile, detective Ida Young teams up with troubled army nurse, Kerry, whose brother has gone missing.

See what I mean? What was once engaging has started to become a bit weary in its repetition. Still, it’s well written, features some returning characters and wraps up the series nicely. Ray Celestin already has a new book out, set in a different time and place, and I’ll certainly be picking it up next year.
 
jimmy blue shoes said:
Having read the First Law books I'm now currently listening to them on Audio. Steven Pacey does an absolutely brilliant job of bringing them to life. You can find them on YouTube if you don't have an audible account.

You should definitely finish the series and be careful to read the stand alones in the correct order. The final three (Age of Madness) are just on another level!
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Yeah. A lot of my books are in audio format, as I do a lot of running. I commented on Steven Pacey's narration when I left a review of one of the earlier books. He definitely enhances the experience of these books.
 
WickyWain said:
I finally got round to finishing The Lies of Locke Lamora and loved it!

A brilliant story, lots of twists and moments that shock you and the characters are all genuinely unique and interesting.

@RobMCFC are the other Gentleman Bastard books as good?
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@WickyWain Apologies as I've only just seen your edit.

When I first read The Lies of Locke Lamora, I felt that the 2nd book was a let down. But on a subsequent reads, I think it more than stands up. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll definitely want to keep on reading. Just a shame it's been 11 years and counting since The Republic of Thieves.
 
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
  5. Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10
  6. The Mobster’s Lament – Ray Celestin – 8/10
  7. Priest of Crowns – Peter McLean – 9/10
  8. Get It On: How the ‘70s Rocked Football – Jon Spurling – 9/10
  9. The Effigy Engine – Scott Lynch – 7/10
  10. The Ferryman – Justin Cronin – 8/10
  11. Catch a Wave – Peter Ames Carlin – 8/10
  12. Sunset Swing – Ray Celestin – 7/10
  13. When Giants Walked the Earth: 50 years of Led Zeppelin - Mick Wall – 7/10
Zep.jpg
I’m not been a big Led Zeppelin fan over the years, but thanks to some pointers on these forums, I’ve enjoyed listening to their music over the past few years.

I’m conflicted about this book – it’s researched and presented in incredible detail by author Mick Wall and does indeed give a fantastic account of the career of the band. For me, it spent a bit too many pages on post-1980 events. A few short chapters on what had happened since then would have been enough, but the hours I spent reading about it in this book felt like too much.

My biggest grumble, and obviously this is nothing to do with the author, is what an incredible set of awful people the band seem. Less so John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, although the latter doesn’t come across to well in the post-band section with his refusal to entertain the idea of any further re-unions. But the behaviour of Jimmy Page and John Bonham, along with tour manager Richard Cole and manager Pete Grant, at the height of their fame in the 1970s is just plain sickening.

The reader is constantly told what a great family man Bonham was, whilst we are reading about his indulgence with groupies, him smashing up hotels and worst of all, punching a female journalist in the face because she “looked at him funny”. All because he “missed home”.

I come out of reading this book thinking that this is a case where I should just concentrate on the music and not try to think too hard about the individuals involved.
 
RobMCFC said:
@WickyWain Apologies as I've only just seen your edit.

When I first read The Lies of Locke Lamora, I felt that the 2nd book was a let down. But on a subsequent reads, I think it more than stands up. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll definitely want to keep on reading. Just a shame it's been 11 years and counting since The Republic of Thieves.
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Not to worry! I wasn't sure if the tag would work properly with it being an edit.

Thanks. That's pretty much consistent with what I've read online elsewhere about them. I will give them a go at some point.
 
RobMCFC said:
@WickyWain Apologies as I've only just seen your edit.

When I first read The Lies of Locke Lamora, I felt that the 2nd book was a let down. But on a subsequent reads, I think it more than stands up. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll definitely want to keep on reading. Just a shame it's been 11 years and counting since The Republic of Thieves.
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At least that one didn't end on a cliffhanger. I was reading them as they were released and had an agonising wait to see how that paarticular plot-point was resolved. Felt a lot longer than the 4 years it actually was (maybe because other authers I'd also picked up around that time were pounding them out at a rate of 1 or 2 a year).
 
JRockBlues said:
At least that one didn't end on a cliffhanger. I was reading them as they were released and had an agonising wait to see how that paarticular plot-point was resolved. Felt a lot longer than the 4 years it actually was (maybe because other authers I'd also picked up around that time were pounding them out at a rate of 1 or 2 a year).
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It was a lot longer than 4 years - it was 6!
 
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
  5. Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10
  6. The Mobster’s Lament – Ray Celestin – 8/10
  7. Priest of Crowns – Peter McLean – 9/10
  8. Get It On: How the ‘70s Rocked Football – Jon Spurling – 9/10
  9. The Effigy Engine – Scott Lynch – 7/10
  10. The Ferryman – Justin Cronin – 8/10
  11. Catch a Wave – Peter Ames Carlin – 8/10
  12. Sunset Swing – Ray Celestin – 7/10
  13. When Giants Walked the Earth: 50 years of Led Zeppelin - Mick Wall – 7/10
  14. A Year and a Day in Old Theradane – Scott Lynch – 6/10
Theradane.jpg
The second of two Scott Lynch short stories that I bought this year. This book concerns a lesser magician who is tasked with stealing a street because the street is the source of power for one of two warring powerful magicians. I love fantasy but I don’t like fantasy stories where characters are so powerful that their magic use overwhelms the narrative and character development.

Scott Lynch spends most of the book’s short running length being flippant, and although there is a nice twist to how the street is actually stolen, this does not stand alongside the quality of his full-length books.
 
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