1. Dreadnoughts vol 1(Michael Carrol)
This is the story of how and why the Judges were created, pre- nuclear apocalypse, in response to spiralling crime and disorder on the streets of America. The opening chapter of a story that describes how a society could descend into fascism, it's a convincing portrayal of a near future world made of muted colour palettes which pops even better when intertwined with the bright, garish but no less nightmarish world of Mega City 1. I'll definitely be collecting the rest of the series as it's published.

2. Saints of Salvation (Peter F Hamilton)
The final book in what has been an absolutely epic (in the true sense of the word) trilogy, spanning 20,000 years and millions of light years. I could not put it down – it's the best sci-fi trilogy I've read since Three Body Problem and may actually best it in many ways. The scope of the story, the superb characters, the bonkers theoretical physics and science, the sheer number of amazing ideas, the sense of place no matter where in the galaxy you are reading about, the action sequences, the giant space battles, the implacable and chilling enemy – all adds up to an incredible thrill ride of desperate chases, heroic last stands and reality/mind-bending brilliance. If you've got any interest at all in sci-fi, pick these books up now.

3. Southern Bastards, Vol 1-4 (Jason Aaron)
Re-read 1-3 after getting 4 for Christmas. Gritty as you'd like story set in rural Alabama- where football is the religion of Craw County and the psychotic Coach Euless Boss is their fire and brimstone back woods preacher. It's dirty, crude and violent with a vulgar, cartoonish art style to match the tone of hard boiled crime and revenge. Recommended.

4. Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence)
5. Kingof Thorns (Mark Lawrence)
6. Emperor of Thorns (Mark Lawrence)
The broken empire trilogy, which I've read before, was the start of MLs career as a fantasy author in the gritty mould of Joe Abercrombie. He's nowhere near as good, although to be fair Abercrombies first book was at times a bit stilted. Jorg of Ancrath is an interesting character though and he exists in a very interesting world. The first book has him young, between the ages of 10 and 14, escaping his brutal father, his King, to ride with a band of road brothers. They're mostly all brutal and generally one dimensional killers, rapists and robbers and mainly exist to die off without consequence. Jorg adapts and fits right in, becoming the most brutal of the bunch and leading them across the land in pursuit of revenge for the murder of his mother and little brother. There's a lot to enjoy about this trilogy, and there's tons of imagination on offer in the characters, places and concepts. But most enjoyable for me was reading all three in a row again and seeing the writer mature with his antagonist - going from edgelord shock-jock to a more considered but no less reprehensible King.

7. This Twisted Earth (various authors)
So this is a kind of anthology of short stories all based in the same shared world, where there has been some kind of catastrophic collapse of time, space and dimensions that has resulted in the deaths of millions if not billions. It means that dinosaurs now roam the earth again, alongside Romans in Britain, spacefaring humans from the future, neanderthals, cowboys, super evolved evil psychic apes, Egyptian pharaohs, WW2 troops, Aztecs etc etc etc. All mashed together in one big pulpy as fuck fictional universe. I picked it up free on Kindle unlimited because Adrian Tchaikovsky wrote one of the stories (one of the best ones unsurprisingly) and it's mostly quite good. I haven't heard of 99% of the writers, but I enjoyed a lot of it - however there are a few absolute stinkers in there too. The best stories really make you want to know more about their part of the TE and the characters and biomes they inhabit. But that's the real weakness of the book - it's quite a sound concept but doesn't really go anywhere as a narrative whole and as a result is quite unsatisfying. The editor is planning more volumes and is looking for submissions from anyone and everyone, published writer or not, which I think is quite nice. I would appreciate an overarching narrative next time though.

8. In Plain Sight (Ross Coulthard)
The first non-fiction book I've read in ages is an account of the UFO/UAP phenomenon from the 1940s to present day by an award winning Australian investigative journalist. I really enjoyed it - he tells a good story of the changing attitudes towards UAPs from initial straight reporting in the media to the highly skeptical approach towards modern sightings. Great presentation of the facts, figures and who said what/who met whom gives way to some conjecture and leaps of logic later in the book but overall a great read.

9. Spares (Michael Marshall Smith)
Brilliantly written mash up of surreal horror, dystopian future technology and pulpy noir detective story. Loved it, will definitely be checking out some of his other books.

10. Black Sun (Rebecca Roanhorse)
First in a new fantasy series in which a blinded young man must become the vessel for a vengeful crow god in order to take revenge on the priesthood that slaughtered his mother's people. It's pretty good - the world is based on a lot of South and Central American ancient cultures and myths so it is doing something a bit different to the usual epic fantasy stuff.

11. Evil is a Matter of Perspective (various)
An anthology of short stories in the genre of 'grimdark' fantasy. As with any compilation quality varies and despite the frustration of the briefness of the form, it's a good way to find new writers that I might like who are creating worlds that merit further exploration.

12. The Hod King (Josiah Bancroft)
A re-read of the third in the Babel series in preparation for the fourth and final book. I absolutely love this series, it's got so much texture and life to the characters and the mysteries they are surrounded by.

13. The Fall of Babel (Josiah Bancroft)
The final volume did not disappoint - flawed heroes that you really root for and detestable villains that you can't wait to get their come uppance. A great story brilliantly told.

14. Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
If a lion could speak, would we understand it? A re-read, but what a story. Despite one half of the main set of characters not actually being continuous single personalities (unlike the humans who use cryo-sleep to span the thousands of years that the story takes place across), the way that a sense of continuity is maintained across the forced evolution of an unlikely species on a distant terraformed planet makes for a thrilling and empathetically spun tale. The inevitable clash of the remnants of the human race with an advanced space-faring Portiid society who are so other that you both understand the humans revulsion while simultaneously rooting for the 'aliens' is brilliantly handled and very satisfyingly resolved. Wonderful.

15. Children of Ruin (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Not a good as CoT, but still a great story told extremely well - a study of non-human intelligence and communication against the backdrop of a potentially universe killing threat.

16. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Becky Chambers)
The fourth in the Wayfarer series and one of the best - four very different travellers passing through a wormhole hub get locked down together in a galactic motel after an accident shuts down their travel arrangements and they have to find a way to pass the time. We find out about their backgrounds, the different species cultures that they come from and why they are travelling to where they are going. Really liked this one, it's an easy read full of nice characters with some great dialogue and is just a lovely little book.

17. The Underground Railroad (Colson Whitehead)
This, on the other hand, is about as far from lovely as you can get - but may be one of the best books I've ever read. It's the story of the horrors of slavery era Georgia, the attempts of one girl to escape the plantation using the eponymous network of help and the mind-bending inhumanity of the times. It's absolutely incredible - at once both beautifully and poetically written, whilst using that gorgeous language to describe the worst that humanity can inflict on each other.

18. The Ruins (Scott Smith)
Really liked this, it's so relentless and single minded. Six friends on a Mexican beach holiday venture into the jungle interior to catch up with someone who has gone to visit some Mayan ruins. Very well written and full of suspense and some brutal survival horror.

19. The Descent (Jeff Long)
Really liked this - it's a page turning, pulpy as all hell, imaginative, gruesome and brilliantly staged horror-thriller that despite taking itself too seriously isn't afraid to lean into some very bonkers ideas. Great stuff.

20. Deeper (Jeff Long)
Sequel to the above and just as bonkers, pulpy and gore splattered as the first. It's more or less a retread of the first one, but reveals more about the origins of the underground dwellers and the civilisations that came and went as mankind evolved. I'm not 100% sure exactly WTAF one of the main protagonists was all about, but I'm hoping there is going to be another volume as there's clearly still milage in this concept.

21. Providence Compendium (Alan Moore/Jacen Burrows)
Moore's deconstruction of the work of HP Lovecraft is the story of a would be writer in 1920s America who travels to New England for inspiration, hoping to track down some leads on a rumoured occult text that might inform his planned novel based on the new myths of the new world. 50% graphic novel and 50% hand written journal, this lives up to its billing as 'the Watchmen of horror'. It's superb, bringing the world of HPL alive through its user of the characters, places and themes of his work as well as the appearance of the writer himself. It's an astonishing piece of work with a truly incredible finale. If you have an interest in his work (either Moore or Lovecraft), you owe or to yourself to track this down.

22. Tau Zero (Paol Anderson)
Picked this up on Raz's recommendation and really enjoyed it - its a bit of a head fuck of a concept but it's really well executed and it's amazing to think it was written in 1970 - it hasn't really dated at all.

23. Cthulu Reloaded (David Conyers)
A collection of Lovecraft inspired tales set in the modern world of espionage where a shadowy black-ops unit called Code-89 desperately try to defend Earth from invading horrors from other dimensions. It's absolutely as daft as that sounds and although the writing is (even by the authors admission) not that great (it started as a self published mini series) it's chock full of bonkers ideas, wacky multi-dimensional physics, Shoggoths and shoot outs. I bought the next volume so it can't be that bad.

24. The Space Between Worlds (Micaiah Johnson)
On an Earth where an unspecified environmental catastrophe has left much of the planet toxic and uninhabitable, the multiverse and the means to travel to different versions of reality has been invented. You can only safely travel there if the 'you' at your destination is already dead though, giving rise to the use of individuals whose high risk lifestyles mean that they are likely to have died in other worlds - in short, poor people of colour living outside of the secure walls of the majority white, rich cities. Fantastically written and full of great characters, will definitely be keeping an eye on this author.

25. Ramble Book (Adam Buxton)
This is the first audio book I've ever read and anything afterwards is going to have a lot to live up to. Asides from being the memoir of one of my favourite comedians and podcasters - which is by turn funny, touching and extremely relatable - it's put together in a way that I cannot imagine the written book ever getting close to. Jingles, asides, daft voices and other audio devices are all employed to give the book some real texture. I absolutely loved it.

26. Cthulu Resurgent (David Conyer)
More Lovecraftian monster nonsense. Unfortunately, despite continuing with some great ideas the writing seems to have actually gotten worse. One of the worst books I've ever read.

27. Surprisingly Down to Earth and Very Funny (Limmy)
Another audio book and an absolute belter. It's an eye-wateringly frank account of growing up in a fairly typical working class Glasgow family and environment and is told with so much brutal honesty that you can't help but love the guy. So much of it chimed scarily close to my own life, both growing up and as an adult, and it was great to hear such a normal account of a life from the kind of voice that you don't often hear in publishing. It's very bleak at times, funny at others, and on a few occasions genuinely touching. The audio book reading is superb - it's really make me think about why I diluted my accent when I moved South of the border and whether I should reclaim it. Highly recommended.

28. The Doors of Eden (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Another insanely brilliant sci-fi tale from my favourite author. Taking in multiversal travel, evolutionary biology, alternative history, alien invasion, corporate bastardry, the secret service and the end of the world it's more evidence that there are few authors with the vision and imagination of AT.

Reserved to list the one or two books I finish.

1. A Clash of Kings - 22/1
George RR Martin
Yay! I finished a book! Only took… 6 months? Enjoyable enough but I don’t see why people rate these so highly.

2. The Great Gatsby - 11/8
F. Scott Fitzgerald
It was… great. A lovely easy read with flowing prose. Something about the way it’s written. You just glide along with the story. And what a deep story with so many layers. Will definitely revisit.

3. Martian Time-Slip - 15/8
Philip K. Dick
PKD certainly knows how to write a good sci-fi story. First half was pretty slow going, but necessary to develop the characters so that you feel invested in them for the faster paced second half. Recommended.

4. Flowers for Algernon - 8/9
Daniel Keyes
Written as a series of progress reports / diary entries, a pleasant, interesting and somewhat philosophical read. Didn’t expect it to strike emotional chords either, but it did - a rollercoaster of emotions in fact, making me feel sympathy and guilt to hatred to anger and back to sympathy. I suspect most here have read it, but if not, this is highly recommended. It’s classed as sci-fi, which it is, but it’s so much more than that.

Hopefully I'll manage more than last year. Finish Project Hail Mary just before year's end, now midway through I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

acemuzzy wrote:

now midway through I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

Amazing book!

2021 reading
http://www.thebearandbadger.co.uk/discussion/comment/1889307#Comment_1889307

2022 reading

Jan
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse
Very Good Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse

Feb
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
A Clockwork Orange (r) by Anthony Burgess
In Retrospect : The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam by Robert S. McNamara

Mar
Casino : Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nic Pileggi

Mar-Apr
Suez : Britain's End of Empire in the Middle East by Keith Kyle.

Apr
The Pride and the Fall : Iran 1974-1979 by Sir Anthony Parsons
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Judge Dredd:The Cursed Earth (uncensored) by various

May
Soho in the Eighties by Christoper Howse
Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Jack Reacher : The Visitor by Lee Child.

June
Death's End (The Three Body Problem) by Liu Cixin
The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens.
Hell's Angels : The Strange and Terrible Saga  by Hunter S. Thompson

July 
When the Dust Settles by Lucy Easthorpe
Low Life by Jeffrey Bernard

Aug
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Nov
Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby
The Bodhran Makers by John B Keane

Dec
A Irish Christmas Feast by John B Keane
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkein
Christmas Poems by Carol Anne Duffy

Raiziel wrote:

I’m actually surprised we’re doing this again given how few of us actually use the thread, but okay, once more around the sun then. But seeing as this isn’t the most popular thread around I think this time I might just log reads rather than share thoughts on each and every one. Will reserve reviews for books I have many thoughts about.

That's a shame mate. While I never posted in the threads I enjoyed reading the write ups and mini-reviews.

I'd keep it up @Raizel.

acemuzzy wrote:

Hopefully I'll manage more than last year. Finish Project Hail Mary just before year's end, now midway through I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

Oh that's a great book, really loved Project Hail Mary

Raiziel wrote:

MattyJ wrote:

Returnal by Stephen King

Book of the game?

Lol whoops! Meant Revival!

Raiziel wrote:

MattyJ wrote:

Raiziel wrote:

MattyJ wrote:

Returnal by Stephen King

Book of the game?

Lol whoops! Meant Revival!

Haha. I thought it might be that one. I’ve bought that. Will interested in hearing your thoughts.

It's an interesting read. Don't click the spoilers till you've read it! The way that King sets up Ultimately it's just building and building for about 3/4s of the book until you get to

I really enjoyed it, one of his better ones I'd say.

I want to actually do this one, if everyone's okay with mostly sporting books.

Reserved.

afgavinstan wrote:

I want to actually do this one, if everyone's okay with mostly sporting books.

Reserved.

Get in here, Gav. You’re most welcome.

Dark Soldier wrote:

Raiziel wrote:

I’m actually surprised we’re doing this again given how few of us actually use the thread, but okay, once more around the sun then. But seeing as this isn’t the most popular thread around I think this time I might just log reads rather than share thoughts on each and every one. Will reserve reviews for books I have many thoughts about.

That's a shame mate. While I never posted in the threads I enjoyed reading the write ups and mini-reviews.

I'll co-sign this. Always thoroughly enjoy reading our various review threads, even if it's not something I'm able to contribute to myself.

Oh my. Thank you guys. Will continue as before.

Fight! by Harry Hill
I enjoyed this autobiography and slice of silliness by the always entertaining Harry Hill. Lots of belly laughs