I finished Hunters of Dune. With where this book is heading, I think it would be a good idea, for anyone interested in reading the last two books in the Dune series to read the Butlerian Jihad books first. I've read somewhere that Frank Herbert wanted to write about the Butlerian Jihad with his son, but passed away too soon.
Having read Hunters of Dune, it is clear to me why he wanted to do that before continuing his Dune saga. The ending of Hunters of Dune has some references to that period and I expect that Sandworms of Dune will have even more.
Probably it is not essential to read the Butlerian Jihad books first, but I think it has value to do so.

Only one book to go :)
 
I finished Furies of Calderon this morning, a solid first book entry in a fantasy series by Jim Butcher, he of Dresden fame. This universe has a good magic system in place, easily relatable and makes sense. I only own the first book so I'll have to see about getting my hands on the rest.

For now I'm back to Longmire with book thirteen, the Western Star. Time to ride a train into the past!
 
I finally read Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland. It's SF from the very early 90s that one a couple of awards, that I bought second hand.
It was very good. Luckily I have 3 other related books by the same author in boxes in the shed that I bought new many years ago (I play the long game).
It's a space opera about Tabitha Jute, space barge pilot, who gets involved in a solar system wide plot. Well written, with plenty of twists and turns. And cool aliens n shit.
Sort of like a predecessor to books like the Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers (recently denigrated as "squeecore" by a certain SF cadre), but grittier and much better written.
 
I wrapped up the Western Star, another solid entry in the Longmire tales. This book features two stories, one taking place in 1972, the other in more current times. At the end, the bounty on Walt has taken a toll, as Cady has either been abducted or gone missing. This tale has a lot of the old regulars on hand, notably the Terror, Greatest Legal Mind of Our Time, Dog and Lucian as well, plus some new folk. I'm guessing the next book will see Walt and perhaps a few others headed south to Mexico.

Now I've bounced back to the Preacher serieis with Blood Hunt.
 
I finished Traitor, #4 of Rory Clements' Shakespeare series. Very good, this series seems to get better and better. I'll probably go on with the next one, The Heretics.
 
I finished Blood Hunt yesterday, I'm not altogether sure about this series. I really enjoy westerns yet this one is not a style I like, maybe it's a tad too simplistic or something. I know the skimming of characters isn't something that sits well with me, the stories seem to focus more on the combat, and while that's ok for the most part, I do want to read about backround and character development as well.

Now I'm back to the Reacher books with Persuader. Seems like Jack is going to help out a Federal agency, I'm about a third through and it's really good.
 
Still reading 100's of free Amazon Ebooks. They just never end.:whew:
 
I wrapped up Persuader last night, a solid entry in the Reacher series. I liked seeing some old foe from his past show up, and we get to learn some about how Reacher functioned in the past. The next book, the Enemy came in last night so I'm sticking to the Reacher universe for a bit.
 
I finished reading the Enemy Thursday evening, it's a really good back-story on Reacher and some of his family members. I think this book should have come earlier in the series as it lends lots of insight into what makes Jack the person he is, and the influence his mother and brother had on him. Not to mention that the case he's working on takes place while he's still active military, in 1990. One really worth checking out if you enjoy the Reacher books!

Now I'm reading the Old Man, which I think is supposed to be made into a film or tv adaptation. It's pretty good, I'm about three quarters done and it tells the tale of a burned operative that gave funds to a Libyan force some years ago, then took the money back.
 
I completed the Old Man last night, I'd call it a light spy-thriller, fairly good just not really indepth. I'll be curious to see how the film/telly adaptation works out, I think they'll wind up really editing some areas.

Now I'm back to the Reacher tales, with One Shot. This one sees Reacher as a consultant in a mass shooting incident, it's pretty good so far.
 
I chugged through One Shot with speed, another great entry in the Reacher books. I've noticed now that the author often switches point of view perspectives, which can really lend a nice change of pace, and something not easily pulled off.

Now I'm bouncing back to re-reading some of the earlier Drizzt books, starting with Homeland. It's technically not the first book, yet it's the one I tend to start with when I revisit the series.
 
I wrapped up Homeland yesterday, a great read when it first came out and still excellent now. You get lots of back story here, if you were interested in the world Drizzt came from before he migrated to the surface. Fascinating at times and rather bleak at others, and I'll be continuing on with the series for sure.

Then I started Death in the Sunshine, which I'll likely finish tonight. It's a thriller about four retired folk that used to serve as police in various capacities, I really don't care for the style in which this book is written, quite preachy and what-not. I'll finish this yet unlikely to continue with the series.
 
I completed Death in the Sunshine last night, yeah at best it's average, or slightly less. I'll not be continuing with the series.

Now I'm onto Exile, book two of the Drizzt Legend series. This book sees Drizzt having left his city and making his own way in the Underdark.
 
I wrapped up Exile yesterday, which tells the tale of Drizzt spending a decade alone in the Underdark, making a few new friends along the way yet also having to contend with old enemies, specifically his mum and her goddess. At the conclusion, Drizzt makes his choice to ascend to the surface and explore life there.

Now I'm onto Companions, a book much further in the series that sees the return of long-passed characters via reincarnation. Catti-Brie, Regis, and Bruenor all come back yet my favorite bloke, Wulfgar, declines the offer. I've never read this one before.
 
I finished the Companion book about an hour ago, a great read featuring mostly the companions and not so much Drizzt, which was an interesting way to tell the collective tales. I'll have to see if I can lay my hands on the next book, as my library doesn't seem to have it.

I'll be re-reading Sojour next, which is the conclusion of the Legend of Drizzt series, book three if I remember right.
 
I finished Hunters of Dune. With where this book is heading, I think it would be a good idea, for anyone interested in reading the last two books in the Dune series to read the Butlerian Jihad books first. I've read somewhere that Frank Herbert wanted to write about the Butlerian Jihad with his son, but passed away too soon.
Having read Hunters of Dune, it is clear to me why he wanted to do that before continuing his Dune saga. The ending of Hunters of Dune has some references to that period and I expect that Sandworms of Dune will have even more.
Probably it is not essential to read the Butlerian Jihad books first, but I think it has value to do so.

Only one book to go :)

They did well with the prequels. Very well - I think Brian has in mind something the Star Wars novels did in the idea of a Dune EU which is why picking up Kevin Anderson to co-write makes sense. As a team they are really, really good. As a solo writer Anderson is hit and miss and Brian is stiff, but Brian might have some of the more creative ideas.
At the risk of minor spoilers
the next to last Dune sequel is really good.
The last one blew chunks so bad they were deleting reviews off amazon as fast as they could be posted. Its got some good ideas but B&K just filled in details to Frank's outline. Disappointing to say the least. Closes some threads, but that's about it. I read one more prequel after that then moved on.

There is a companion book written about the Dune universe that Frank wrote that he pulled from "canon" if you can find it. It gives some great background into his original ideas for the Butlerian Jihad many others until he starts to contradict them after that. Its nice to compare where Brian and Kevin went with it.

Fun fact: Frank's daughter from his first marriage lives in my same city last I knew. I've never had the urge to stalk her but maybe I'll bother the next time the guys in the area for a book signing.
 
I finished Sojourn, the third book chronologically in the Drizzt tales. This one sees the ranger finding his profession, as well as an area to reside in and new friends that will endure for decades. A great conclusion to the three book series, and I'll be continuing on with the re-read.

Yet now another Reacher book came winging in, so now I'm almost half-way done with the Hard Way.
 
This morning I wrapped up the Hard Way, a Reacher novel that sees him hooking up with some paramilitary types to work on what appears to be a kidnap situation, and turns out to be something else entirely. The action starts in NYC and eventually moves to merry ole England, with a few stops in between. I'll be waiting a while for the next book, sadly.

Now I'm halfway through the Crystal Shard, one of the Drizzt novels. I've also finally got my hands on a recent Custer autobiography, which should fit in nicely with one of the course studies I'll be taking up in a few weeks time.
 
I polished off Crystal Shard this morning, a fine entry into the next Drizzt trilogy and, in all actuality, the first book that truly started the epic series. I still remember reading this when it fist debuted in the late eighties and hoped the story would continue, never imagining just how big it would really become.

Now I'm on to Custer's Trials, a fascinating look at a legendary person. I'm hoping this book has more information on first nation connections, as those tend to be sorely lacking in most texts of this genre.
 
I finished Hunters of Dune. With where this book is heading, I think it would be a good idea, for anyone interested in reading the last two books in the Dune series to read the Butlerian Jihad books first. I've read somewhere that Frank Herbert wanted to write about the Butlerian Jihad with his son, but passed away too soon.
Having read Hunters of Dune, it is clear to me why he wanted to do that before continuing his Dune saga. The ending of Hunters of Dune has some references to that period and I expect that Sandworms of Dune will have even more.
Probably it is not essential to read the Butlerian Jihad books first, but I think it has value to do so.

Hm. I am close to wrapping up Chapterhouse at the moment, and I was contemplating also reading the Butlerian Jihad books. But, the last 2 books (Heretics and Chapterhouse) have been so slow I've been making myself kinda plow through them (I feel like they could easily have been half the length), so I was just gonna go ahead and read the 2 last ones and call it a day…
An extra 3 books like this (the Butlerian Jihad trilogy) just seems like… meh.

Or, would you say @Myrthos; that the books written by his son are a little more fast-paced? I know that if I don't read them now I probably never will, so not sure if I shouldn't just bite the bullet.