Books

Unsolicited opinion (emphasis on just my opinion) for the ones I’ve read:

Silo- Big recommend. For me, it was like a happy medium between Fallout and The Road. It’s like if you took Fallout and just focused on vault life (and cut out the cheeky/dark humor), and then lightly seasoned it with the bleak apocalypse of The Road.

Murderbot- I’ve only read the first, but I enjoyed it; short, but fun. My only gripe was with the cost vs book length.

Beware of Chicken- Big recommend. Was not expecting to love this series (I picked up the first book on a steep discount). It’s hard to put into words- a bit of ‘slice of life’ mixed with small scale/low stakes action. Never thought I’d be envious of fantasy farm life, but that’s pretty much what happened. I haven’t read the latest installment yet, but the series is still ongoing as far as I’m aware.

Mark of the Fool- I like it, but it definitely feels closer to YA for me (hard to pinpoint why though). Maybe it’s the age of the characters? Sometimes it feels like all of the main cast have plot armor, despite the dire odds stacked against them… Again, I enjoyed it for the entertainment value, but it’s a series I would buy on sale.

Project Hail Mary- Big recommend. It was a best seller for a reason, and was a great stand-alone experience.

Iron Prince- Big recommend (with caution). I love this series so far. It’s got some YA vibes; reminds me of Super Powereds, for anyone anyone that’s read that series. My only gripe is that this is 1 of 3 book series I’m invested in by this author (Stormwaever, Shattered Reigns, Wings of War) and I swear… He. Does. Not. Finish. His. Books.

Dark Matter- Recommend, but I liked his later novel, Recursion, more. I think I enjoyed Dark Matter more on my first read for whatever reason, and I found myself disliking the main character when I reread it years later.

He Who Fights with Monsters- ho boy… I’ve definitely got opinions on this series. I really enjoyed this in the beginning (probably because I was new to litrpgs), but I absolutely resent it now. I made it to book #8, and that has a large part to do with me wanting/needing an ending to things. I think it’s at 12 books and still going as far as I’m aware… I realize there’s obviously an audience for these books since they’re still going, so take my opinion with a huge grain of salt. I just grew to find the main character incredibly annoying- so much so, that I can no longer listen to other audiobooks with the same narrator. I tried Heretical Fishing, thinking it would be like a fishing version of Beware of Chicken. Nope. It’s Jason fucking Asano transported into a fishing isekai. There’s more to this, but I’ll just rant forever about how much I despise this series (probably because I genuinely liked it to begin with).

The Bobiverse- Fun and enjoyable from what I can remember. It’s been a long time, but I’d say it’s a recommend for the initial trilogy that I remember.

Dungeon Crawler Carl- Huge recommend. The audiobook version is fantastic btw. The 8th installment will be coming out in May, and despite my aversion to never ending series, this doesn’t feel like one to me (maybe I just really like the characters and premise? Also, I think the author disclosed his planned book count). Haven’t done a reread yet, but I feel like you get a good feel for the rest of the series from book 1.

There's something off about a video about books.

Last Tuesday I picked up DCC #1.

Last night I walked to the library for #2. All five of their five copies were checked out with two more copies on order. The hold list was 43 people long. I asked about #3; same deal.

So I walked to a local bookstore. They too were out and they too also had more on order. However, when the clerk checked on the ETA he said the order was still pending at the distributor level; likely an even longer wait than the library due to the need for a 2nd printing.

Finally as a last resort I hit B&N. They had a hardcover, which I purchased and am now halfway through. As much as I love real paper, I think this series will require my kindle and a visit to my friend Anna.

I literally just finished Project Hail Mary today. The ending was worth it, but I ultimately did not enjoy it as much as The Martian.

You aren't good for my wallet.

I disagree on Silo being a page turner. I found it an utter slog with no real pay off, especially the second book.

Beware Of Chicken is fucking awesome though and I never really hear people mention that!

If I read Dungeon Crawler Carl should I get into He Who Fights Monsters? I have a big enough back log on my list as it is, but I really enjoyed DCC. Is HWFM just more of the same?

I’ve read nine of these, woo!