Mad Hatter's Reading Log Vol. 5 (April to Mid-May)

And my reading log continues ever onward.  By the middle of May I'll have read 46 books this year, which keeps me on target for 100 books to be read in 2011. I've been keeping my genre's pretty well mixed lately with 7 Science Fiction, 9 Fantasies, and 1 Cross Genre, and one straight Science title.

29.  City of Ruins by Kristine Katherine Rusch - This is the second Diving Universe book from Rusch and it is just as page turning as the first one. It does leave off on something of a big cliffhanger, but the third in the series Boneyards will be out early next year.  This is a classic SF series in the making. Review to come. Highly recommended.
30.  Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh - A very strong debut from an emerging talent.  See my full review here.
31.  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - A great ending for the series and even the characters on a whole, but Katniss's backseat role was a bit too much to take at times. Still this is a series worthy of all the praise it has received.

32.  Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe - All those good things I've said about the first two Eddie LaCrosse novels stay true this go around as well. Bledsoe also uses the framed story style pretty darn well. I hope I never tire of this series. Highly recommended.
33.  Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick - Hands down my favorite debut of the year thus far. I was caught up within the first page. The main character is amazing as is this underworld he inhabits. Review to come. Highly recommended.
34.  A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - And the giant re-read begins in anticipation of A Dance With Dragons has started. This is my third read of A Game of Thrones and I was just as caught up in the story as the first time.  I finished it only days before the premiere of the HBO series so the world and characters were quite fresh in my mind and it lived up to all my expectations. I'm on the fence about re-reading A Feast for Crows, but am planning on doing A Clash of Kings this month and A Storm of Swords in June.
35.  The Thanos Imperative by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning - The current wonder team for the Marvel Galactic arm finally brings back Thanos after his long absence. And they brought him back at his best and the art is equally impressive. Take care though that it helps a lot to have read earlier Thanos related stories and parts of the Abnett/Lanning runs on Nova, Annihilation, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Realm of Kings. Basically Abnett and Lanning have totally destroyed the Galactic scene only to rebuild it anew.

36.  After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn - A very enjoyable superhero novel that gives you a view of heroes from the non-special family member view. Really well done and emotional at the right parts and exciting right when it needs to be. Recommend.
37.  City of Hope & Despair by Ian Whates - I absolutely loved City of Dreams & Nightmares, but this volume definitely has middle-novel syndrome. It was still very interesting and add good detail about the world. The story was split between two main events happening with one in the city below and the other far outside of the city itself. The latter didn't interest me nearly as much as the former, but it does have big implications for the closing volume. Recommended with reservations, but do check out City of Dreams & Nightmares.
38.  The Executioness by Tobias Buckell - Really well done novella about the emergence of a folk hero from the ground up. Highly recommended. This story is placed in the same world as the next book.
39.  The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi - Paolo uses all his skills and interests from his Sci-Fi work and somehow makes it work beautifully in his first foray into Fantasy. Highly recommended.
40.  Deep Future by Curt Stager - A huge disappointment for me as it was being touted as compared to The World Without Us, which I loved.  It doesn't live up to the hype and for the most part seems like an overly wrought article from a Science magazine. Pass.

41.  The Damned Busters by Matthew Hughes - This turned out to be very different from what I expected, but I still found it to be a quite enjoyable read.  It stars a slightly autistic gentleman who becomes a superhero of sorts. Lots of demonic implications. Recommended, especially for Tom Holt fans.
42.  Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine - A hugely impressive novel. This is one dark and melodic debut with an usual storytelling style that shouldn't work, but does. It isn't for the faint of heart, but if you are into darker fiction that is utterly original than you must check out this. Possibly the most original Steampunk novel I've read. Review to come. Highly recommended.
43.  Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi - A reboot of a classic Sci-Fi novel most people haven't heard of? Well, at least I hadn't heard of. H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy was first brought to my attention the day Scalzi announced his version. I quickly sought out a copy and did fall in love with the simple story. Scalzi's version definitely did Piper honor and made it his own.  Funny, sly, and utterly entertaining. This is sure to please Scalzi and Piper fans alike. Review to come. Highly recommended.
44. The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham - A bit slow to start, but once it gets going it doesn't let you turn away. Review to come. Highly recommended.
45. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson - See my short review here. Highly recommended.
46. The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley Beaulieu - The depth of this world is amazing with it characters, magic, and politics. Review hopefully to come soon. Recommended especially for Epic Fantasy fans.

This was a period filled with a lot of quality reads.  The biggest standouts this batch are Among Thieves  (big hats off) and The Dragon's Path for Fantasy fans, Mechanique for Steampunk fans and readers of odd fiction, and for Sci-Fi fans City of Ruins and Robopocalypse are sure to satisfy you.

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