Mad Hatter's Reading Log Vol. 9 (September)

So September was a rough month for getting reading time in. Yet it was an entertaining month.

83.  Reality 36 by Guy Haley - An AI detective (Richards) is teamed with a German-born Cyborg (Klein) in the 22nd century to track down a missing scientist important to the AI community . Hilarity and loads of action ensue. I really enjoyed Richards snarky voice and the story on a whole despite figuring out who the bad guy is halfway though. This is Haley's debut, but you'll certainly be hearing a lot more from him with a sequel (Omega Point) already in the pipeline and a standalone called Champion of Mars coming out in 2012. I'll definitely be reading the sequel as your left on a big cliffhanger. Recommended.
84.  The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumiere - This is quite a hard novella of linked short stories to describe and typifies exactly what kind of books ChiZine is trying to publish in the Dark Fiction realm. I guess Dark Meta Fiction is the most apt. Most of the action centers around a bookstore called Lost Pages which is what first attracted me. You can never trust what you are reading as the store moves around different realities. Sexuality and identity are explored in-depth sometimes to an almost uncomfortable degree. Characters come and go, but the store endures. A long battle of dark gods against light gods is being fought around the store that left me wanting more. Highly recommended, but some sexual material may not suit all readers.

85.  The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky - The 5th volume in the Shadows of the Apt series. I quite enjoyed the first 4 books, which formed a major arc while Scarab is more of an intermediary/bridge book to whatever comes next. Che and Thalric are again central characters along with a surprise visit from one major character nearly all fans of the series have been wanting to see again. The world widens as we visit a never before seen region of the Kinden world. The pacing in this volume seemed slower than all the previous stories, but no less enthralling. Recommended for series fans.
86.  The Rift Walker by Clay & Susan Griffith - This sequel to the very successfully done The Greyfriar, lives up to the first volume. Romance, pulp action, and a crazy vampire war are stirred up to make a  hugely entertaining read. We explore more of the human realms and get a lot of back history on the cultures that have developed. This is definitely more Adele's book as she comes into her powers and the stage is set for the big confrontation for the third volume.  Highly recommended.

87.  Aloha from Hell by Richard Kadrey - Fulfills nearly everything that has been built up since Sandman Slim.  Short review here.
88.  "Exhalation" by Ted Chiang - I can't pass up anything Chiang and his take on a robot society . This story is actually available free courtesy for Night Shade Books. Highly recommended.

89.  Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors Vol 1. - Guy Gardner is going bad again. Or is he? Something is definitely amiss with many of the other Green Lanterns and Guy goes to investigate the forbidden zone in search of answers. Not the strongest book in the Brightest Day arc, but plenty of galactic action and Gardner's trademark sarcastic wit. Recommended for Green Latern Corp fans.
90.  Superman: The Black Ring Vol. 2 - Lex Luthor's quest for power never ends, but it is always fun seeing him try. The first volume of the story was wonderful while this felt too compressed and should have been 3 volumes. It seems things were cut short due to the whole DC 52 relaunch, which has deprived us of a mini-series that could have been much more memorable. Recommended with reservations.
91.  Circle Tide by Rebecca K. Rowe - This is Sci-Fi Thriller that moves along at a good pace with a lot of nice touches including knife crazy monks and humans who store their memories on computers. Only Noah and Rika can stop stop a killer fungal virus as they run from everyone in order to stop a killer virus. The romantic part of the story didn't work for me, but the ideas about politics, class, and memories were quite interesting. Recommended.

This month was all over the place despite being the fewest number of stories read this year.  My favorites were Aloha from Hell and The Rift Walker, but The Door to Lost Pages is certainly a worthy read for those into the dark things from life.

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