I'm drowning in books!

Where should I start?

I recently picked up George R. R. Martin’s Dreamsongs, Volumes One and Two. I’ve been wanting to have all of Martin’s works conveniently located in one omnibus edition, and this satisfies. I’ll probably not read them all at once, but use the stories and novellas within them to break up the other works that I’m reading.

Did everyone know that Jack Campbell’s newest book in the Lost Fleet series was available? I picked it up at a Book-A-Million in Oklahoma City before the official release date. Had I not been reading other books, I would have been able to consume it before the official release date. Needless to say, I’m terribly excited to read this one.

I gave Butcher’s fantasy series, the Codex Alera another shot. I’m glad I did. The second book, Academ’s Fury, proved to be a much better read. Tightly plotted, packed with action and intrigue, Butcher proved that he can deliver a great fantasy novel. Although the plot twists have been somewhat predictable thus far, it’s the predictability of a roller coaster. You can see the loop ahead, but it’s still fun as hell to ride the ride. I’ll do a more in-depth review once I get another novel under my belt and can talk about the books with a broader perspective.

I’m almost finished with McDevitt’s Polaris, which I’ve been reading as my “lunch” book (the book I keep at my desk and read only during lunches). The buzz on his books calls him the heir of Asimov and Clarke, and after reading this mystery-set-in-scifi, I’m inclined to agree with the people who have said so. I have A Talent for War, a novel involving one of the characters from Polaris coming up soon on my list.

Perhaps the best discovery I’ve made lately is Taylor Anderson’s Destroyermen series, the first book of which is titled Into the Storm. I saw it in hardcover read the flaps to see why a hardcover novel in the sci-fi section would feature a World War I era steamer. To my delight (and surprise), Anderson is endorsed by S. M. Stirling, as well as being a native of North Texas. I felt compelled to snatch this one and add it to the pile.

I read portions of Tobias Buckell’s Crystal Rain as a teaser online and decided that this was an author who needed some of my cash. The premise of an amnesiac hero searching for his past in a bizarre, furture setting is interesting if it can avoid clichè. The word around the Web is that the novel is very good indeed, so I have high expectations. In fact, I recently learned that Buckell has been commissioned to do some marketing tie-ins for an upcoming movie/videogame.

The most delightful discovery that I’ve made is through a co-worker who picks random books from the used bookstore based on their covers or their “feel.” (It’s weird, but somehow he stumbles into some great books that way.) Elizabeth Kostova’s novel The Historian is a slightly different take on the old Dracula legend, but the sheer artistry of the writing is both magnetic and compelling. I read just a few pages when I got it into my hot little hands, and I immediately wanted to sit down and immerse myself in it. I’ll be letting everyone know how this one turns out as I finish it.