Libriomancer by Jim Hines

I really enjoyed Libriomancer. Its the first book in a new Urban Fantasy series. The magical system is based on pulling objects out of books. This leads to a healthy amount of fan service for sci-fi/fantasy fans. Throw in some vampires and golems (and a cute spider sidekick) and you have a fun series. The characters are well crafted and the action scales with the more we know about the world created.

The book pays tribute to the genre, but stands on it own. Well worth the read and looking forward to the next book in the series.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Might Be The Highest Form of Literature on the Planet | Tor.com

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Might Be The Highest Form of Literature on the Planet | Tor.com:

Here’s the core of my argument, then. Pratchett isn’t just funny, Pratchett is transcendent. There are lots of funny writers. Some are hilarious. A few are good at making you think at the same time. But most humorists, while brilliant, have trouble with story. If I put their book down, I remember the laughter, but feel no urgency to return. Those narratives don’t get their hooks in me—they don’t have that pull, like gravity, that a good plot builds. In short, they don’t make me think—bleary-eyed at 3:00 a.m.—that I need to read one more chapter.

Pratchett, on the other hand, routinely makes me lose sleep.

Couldn't agree more.

Caliban's War by James S A Corey

Caliban's War is the second book in the Expanse series. I really enjoyed the first book, Leviathan Wakes. It combined classic space opera adventure with some cool zombie horror themes. Characters were well developed and not 'series safe'.

The sequel is a logical continuation of the first book. picking up the story a year later. With the introduction of more fascinating characters we have a book that is just as gripping as the first.

The cliffhanger tease for the third book was a real kick. Can't wait for the third book.

No Hero by Jonathan Wood

Combining Urban Fantasy with Police Procedural should be pretty much a no-brainer for a competent author and this is what we have with No Hero by Jonathan Wood. A middle aged police detective switches careers and joins British super-secret agency that deals with horrors from another dimension.

In the end it is a fairly good read but not nearly as good as Charles Stross's Laundry series, nor Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London. The characters are a bit lightly sketched out and the action is predictable, though entertainingly gory.

I'd recommend reading it if you love the cross-genre and have read the top-tier stuff.

The Fractal Prince by Hannu Rajaniemi

This is the sequel to The Quantum Thief. We learn more about the fate of the Earth and the nature of the politics among the most powerful beings created by the virtualization of life. This is what happens post-Singularity.

Keeping track of the stories and what kind of virtuality/reality is involved can be somewhat taxing. It was like the movie Inception except not as linear. An interesting read nonetheless.

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines

Ex-Patriots, by Peter Clines, is the second book in the Ex-Heroes series. It continues the story of a group of superheroes in a post-zombie apocalypse. The Los Angeles enclave is found by, perhaps, the last military outpost. Clines maintains the quality of writing found in the first book.

The third book, Ex-Communication, comes out later this year (2013). I can see this series going on for quite a few books and there is nothing wrong with that. Comic book-type stories in a novel format are fun to read. As a matter of fact I don;t see why Clines doesn't open his world up to a more authors in a shared universe a la Wildcards.