This is a very interesting piece on whether Ballmer was actually a bad CEO. Dan Luu remains one of my favourite writers. (Nitpick: I would have preferred the comments to all be footnotes rather than a mix of hover text and footnotes) danluu.com/ballmer/
City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky: These are the first two books in the Tyrant Philosophers trilogy with the third expected in December 2024. The first was good but did take a while to get through, primarily due to not caring for the characters. The second was much better, because the characters were actually likeable. Very well put together as Tchaikovsky’s stories usually are.
Penric and the Bandit by Lois McMaster Bujold: This was great, as are all of the Penric stories.
Goblins & Greatcoats by Travis Baldree: Fun and inconsequential. Travis Baldree is very good at these.
Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey: I thought the first book in this duology (Infinity Gate) was very good, and was something new in the crowd of SciFi books. This one was good but was treading much more familiar ground. It still had a few unexpected turns and I enjoyed it overall.
Places in the Darkness by Chris Brookmyre: A well written, enjoyable whodunnit on a space station.
The Doctrine of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette: This is a four book series (Mélusine, The Virtu, The Mirador, and Corambis) published from 2005 to 2009, much before she wrote The Goblin Emperor as Katherine Addison. The first book was a bit rough, with the second getting more into the flow of the world. The third and the fourth are very good, and have the same bones as The Goblin Emperor and the later stories in that universe. There are some graphic parts that I could have done without though. Strongly recommended if you enjoy Katherine Addison’s books.
On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo: The author is very good at this style of story. Short and enjoyable.
Ivy, Angelica, Bay by C.L. Polk: A “novelette” nominated for a Hugo award. This works as a short story, good but inconsequential.
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I’ve been living alone this year and for the first time have been cooking for just me. The cooking itself has been fun, but the shopping has been hard. Whenever I go to the store, I buy much more veggies and herbs than I actually need, because my internal calculations for how much I need is out of whack. Fast forward a week or so and I open the fridge to find that the remaining veg has gone bad (rotting or fungus or both). I’ve also found that onions (onions!) go bad after a point. So now for veg that needs to go in the fridge, I buy two or three of each. This has led to much less food wastage, and an actually clean fridge.
This year I finished reading the nominees for the Hugo and Nebula awards (novels only).
My ranking along with (non spoiler) thoughts on each:
Some Desperate Glory: This was the clear best of the bunch. I wasn’t sure about it at the start but then it swerves.
Translation State: I loved this, though it is second. It is an Ann Leckie book through and through.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: While 1 and 2 were very good, this was a step down. It was fun but nowhere near as good as the author’s City trilogy. There are some fun callbacks and cameos too.
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon: As a lover of god fiction, this is right in my wheelhouse, but it’s a little formulaic. Fun but nothing special.
Witch King: This was enjoyable, but ultimately it didn’t come together for me, leaving a sense of disappointment.
Starter Villain: I am not sure why this is in this list. This is what I call a snack book. It’s like a bag of chips; light, tasty, but ultimately forgettable. This is a perfect example, and Scalzi remains extremely good at writing these. I do wish he’d write something meaty again though. His sci-fi is quite good.
Terraformers: This was very boring. The thing that kept coming to mind was that Kim Stanley Robinson writes books that do something similar but they work for him because he’s very good at it. This one did not work. There are a few points where I thought the story would turn and become something more but was disappointed throughout.
The Water Outlaws: Getting through this was a slog. Right at the start the author says that this is a retelling of a Chinese folk tale. A lot of retellings work. This one doesn’t.
The Saint of Bright Doors: I don’t know why I finished reading this one, other than to complete all of the nominees.
Sometimes I read reviews of books and agree with the reviewer, and other times I can’t help but wonder if we were reading the same book.