A Look Back
I accomplished exactly what I intended to in January, wrapping up the Wheel of Time saga with Jordan & Sanderson. While I found the final volume disappointing (see my review), and felt Sanderson was really stretching the material to fill three books, it was a satisfying kick-off to my plans.
February was a bit more of a challenge, with an entire trilogy awaiting me, but it worked out very well. I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) the first two books of The Demon Cycle from Peter V. Brett, and managed to get through them quickly enough to give the latest an advance read (see my review).
After some back-to-back-to-back series reading, I took it easy for March and April, using the opportunity to catch up with Lee Battersby (review) and Guy Gavriel Kay (review). As it turned out, they were two of my favorite reads of the first half of the year, and a pair of books I always knew I would have to read immediately.
For the month of May, I opted for a repeat of February and dove in for a back-to-back-to-back read of Raymond E. Feist's final Riftwar novels. This was a bit of a gamble, since I hadn't read any Feist in a very long time, but the first two were entertaining enough to keep me going, and the finale of The Chaoswar Saga (review) was a fitting finale to the saga.
June, as it turned out, proved to be my first stumble. I gave the first book of The Expanse from by James S.A. Corey a read, but it just couldn't hold my interest enough to finish it, must less two more books. Daniel Abraham's fantasy saga, The Dagger and the Coin, was in my plans too, but given that he's half of the team that makes up the aforementioned Corey, I couldn't motivate myself to make the jump.
Looking Forward
We'll have to see what July brings, but it's looking like I just might be back on top of my game with a back-to-back-to-back reading of The Broken Empire from Mark Lawrence. I'm reading the first book now and thoroughly enjoying it - it's both what friends have promised and what foes have warned, and I love both aspects.
August is likely to see me finally giving Alastair Reynolds a read, provided there are no further delays with the second book of Poseidon's Children. In addition, James Enge has entered my plans with his Tournament of Shadows (the ARC of the upcoming second book landed in my lap last week), and R.A. Salvator and Paul S. Kemp are on the TBR list as well, with the first two books of The Sundering.
For September, I was looking at Scott Lynch and The Gentleman Bastard sequence, which would be another back-to-back-to-back read, but that may be delayed somewhat since I have Alex J. Cavanaugh's sci-fi saga to catch up on (the ARC of CassaStorm is staring back at me from the shelf as we speak), and the final volume of the King Rolen's Kin saga from Rowena Corey Daniels to enjoy. As for October, I'm fully committed to a back-to-back-to-back-to-back read, following Stephen Donaldson through to the end of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which will keep me busy well into the night for a while.
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