2024 Year book review

This is also for the lost years during the covid/baby raising time where I barely read anything.

Order is chronological, all the ratings can be found here

The Fountains of Paradise

Arthur C. Clarke

Read from 2020 to 2021

Because of happenings it took me a year to read this book, but I still fully enjoyed it. Great story, great writing, I really like books from Clarke a lot I think.

Tiamat’s Wrath (The Expanse, #8)

James S.A. Corey

Read from 2021 to 2023

Space Opera shlock going to the finish line, I noted down that the plot continues for the final showdown, so I assume I liked it.

Leviathan Falls (The Expanse, #9)

James S.A. Corey

Read in 2023

Done with the serious, a good ending as far as I remember, but I also remember I liked the previous book more. Still the whole series on average was really good. So for SciFi fans I would fully recommend this

Salvation Lost (Salvation Sequence, #2)

**Peter F. Hamilton **

Read in 2023

Finally getting on with the story. After book one which was a bit of a downer with interesting story elements that where all quite disconnected and I didn’t know where it would go, this one finally picked up and we got some amazing story parts that showed where the whole story will go. Very thrilled.

The Saints of Salvation (Salvation Sequence, #3)

**Peter F. Hamilton **

An amazing third part that was the proper climx to this whole story. Thrilling from the first page to the last with an amazing ending. The only minus point is that the ending is a bit open. Could there be more? Who knows, very possible, I would enjoy it.

Overall highly recommended SciFi.

The Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pynchon

After so much space opera it was time to read something completely different. I remember that I really liked Gravity’s Rainbow, so I tried this and I really enjoyed is. Somehow I feel that I was lucky with these two choices from Pynchon because they were both very readable and also extremely interesting.

Very recommended.

Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin #1)

Patrick O’Brian

Around this time I rewatched the movie “Master & Commander: The far side of the world” and I started to actually research and found out that this movie was based on these books, where there are quite a lot of. So I got the first and tried it. Not bad, not great either, but something nice to read and to learn a ton about old sail naval wordings.

Not sure if I would recommend that, but personally I will try some more books before I can give a definite opinion.

Manhatten in Reverse

Peter F. Hamilton

After I finished the last series from Hamilton and nothing out new, I thought I could actually read this collection of short stories. On average there are pretty good to very interesting with some out of know universes.

Recommended if you like Hamilton books

The Interdependency

John Scalzi

1. The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1)
2. The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency #2)
3. The Last Emperox (The Interdependency #3)

I am not a big fan of Scalzi writing, always feels like a Teenager writes something. Never got into it, but this series is really very good where I can get over the Scalzi writing style just by the fact that the whole universe and everything is just so great and well written.

I recommend this.

The Rum Diary

Hunter S. Thompson

Again after three Space Opera books I needed something different. I remember that someone’s blog I follow read this and said it was very interesting so I read it and it was really really very interesting. I would almost go as far as giving this the capital “B” book award because I still think about it. Fairly short, but down to the point, very interesting characters, very interesting scenes and story with a very good ending.

Highly recommended.

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

After the break out hit from his first book, which I enjoyed quite a lot, I never felt I want to read another of his books, but this one always came up here and there on some recommend lists, so I gave it a try. And I immensely enjoyed it. Like Scalzi his writing is something you need to like, but in this book it is not all too annoying and the whole story arch is so well done with really good progress that this is non problem this time.

Recommended.

Der Steppenwolf

Hermann Hesse

Note: Read this in german

I really like Hesse books, and this one I always wanted to read and I finally did it. I enjoyed it a lot, such a wonderful writing and story, the amazing characters and everything else.

Highly recommended

Imperial Radch

Ann Leckie

1. Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1)
2. Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch #3)
3. Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2)

TLDR: Worst book series I ever read.

A friend of mine recommended to read this with me at the same time “buddy reading” and so we did, and he was faster while I was not even half done and already told me, don’t bother to finish this, but I am I and so I finished it and I wished I would have listened to him. The book starts strong and then slowly becomes a howling train wreck that unstoppable runs over the cliff.

What is even worse, I didn’t stop there, I read the next one … and once I was done I realized I read the third book and not the second one. There was not final arch, no progress, nothing that gave it away that this is not the second book.

Now fully invested in this pile of shit I read the second book and would I have read them in correct order I would be even more annoyed. The second book is better than the third and a nice continuation of the complete crash landing of this series.

Do not read this. Ever.