charley farley

Absolutely loved it, thanks again. Finished it this morning and immediately carried on with The Dark Forest.

Uprooted - Naomi Novik Thought it started well and had me thinking it was avoiding a lot of clichés, but then the middle part got very formulaic and then it totally embraced all the clichés. It had some really nice ideas, but in the end it felt very generic. I did like the feel of the language though - as the writer is from Polish descent the names, places, spells etc all have a very Slavic sound to them and it gave the book a very definite and strong sense of place. Holy shit at @Darrens review of the 3 Body Problem Trilogy! Because of that I've been forced to buy it this morning on the way to work and bump it straight to the top of my pile of shame. Thanks!

@Silent Runner That did occur to me, but I reasoned a similar way as @cassidy

Correct

Thanks for this recommendation, didn't even know it existed. As you said, well worth anyone's time, the insight into his inspirations and the process of building the world the show inhabits from the state of the world at the end of the comic is fascinating. And he seems like a really cool guy.

Senlin Ascends has the advantage of opening into this new world that's all wonder and amazement like any first book/film in a series which anything coming after can't match, but I agree it's also the best aside from that as it clips along at a pace that neither of the others can match. I will say though that Arm of the Sphinx feels more like the middle entry in a trilogy - a lot more plot actually happens in The Hod King, but I really liked the slower paced world building and especially I wasn't exactly, not sure if disappointed is the right word - maybe underwhelmed with Children of Time. I did like it but I was expecting something more. I suspect due to the universal positive praise I've seen it get. I was expecting something really amazing and though there were some great ideas in there it never came together for me for some reason. I'll definitely get the sequel when it's out in paperback though.

@Stopharage And @Miner Willy After working my way through The Stone Sky, Children of Time, The Hod King and The Hunger Games I've just finished Station Eleven and I absolutely loved it. I've read some really great stuff this year, but this (along with the 3 Senlin books) has been my favourite. I love it so, so much. Thanks both for the recommendation. A Natural History next, then Uprooted and then the 2 Nyquist books.

That sounds brilliant.

The Dinner Party by Gordon Houghton.

@Miner Willy thanks, I'll go back and examine in detail

@Stopharage much appreciated