To Be Read and What I'm Currently Reading

I wasn't sure what sort of post to do today, so I figured, what the heck, I'll put out there what I'm currently reading, and what I can remember is in my TBR pile.


My Current Read

I'm currently reading Jim Butcher's other series, The Codex Alera.  It's the first book, Furies of Calderon.  It's in the epic/swords and sorcery realm of fantasy.  I'm at about the 4th or 5th chapter; I'm already enjoying it, and I don't think this will disappoint in any way.

I've already had a "Holy crap!" moment...and I mean that in a good way. :-)  It's my whacked out way of saying I was completely surprised by something, and this, very early on.

Brief Synopsis:  For centuries, the ability of the people of Alera to bond with furies--elemental spirits of earth, air, fire, water, and metal--has allowed them to defend their land against invaders. But the current lord is old and lacks an heir.  So Alera's traditional enemies plot with treacherous lords within the country to seize power. Far off in the mountains, young Tavi struggles with his inability to attract and bond with a fury.  He saves the life of a young girl he believes to be a slave, but who is actually an agent of the king, looking for traitors.

The TBR Pile

To Kill a Warlock, H. P. Mallory.  E-book. Synopsis: The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch. Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She's a Regulator-a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she's either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.  Funny, funny, funny!  Hope to get back to it very soon.

Loose Ends, A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery, Terri Reid.  E-book.  Synopsis: Dying is what changed Mary O’Reilly’s life. Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it. Now a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary’s trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job.  Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death of a woman in a swimming pool 24 years before. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases are still all unsolved. As she digs further she becomes the next target for the serial killer's quest to tie up all his loose ends.  Haven't even dived into this one yet.  Damn that Konrath; it's because of him that I found the Mallory novel and now this one, and have a few others I'm considering! ;-)

The Emporer's Edge, Lindsay Buroker.  E-book.  (Notice a trend? ;-))  Synopsis:  Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.  I found out about this one when I dipped my toe into the Tweeter pool, going to Ms. Buroker's website, sampling her novel.  Steampunk, set in a Victorian England-like setting.  Don't care for the cover so much (I first thought it was for manga, which isn't my cup of tea), but that doesn't matter.  As far as I've read, it's a fully realized world, with all the requisite sights and smells, and I like the character of Amaranthe very much.  Looks like this is going to be an excellent start to a series. :-)

A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin.  Paperback.  Synopsis: In a world where the approaching winter will last four decades, kings and queens, knights, and renegades struggle for control of a throne. Some fight with sword and mace, others with magic and poison. Beyond the Wall to the north, meanwhile, the Others are preparing their army of the dead to march south as the warmth of summer drains from the land.  I picked this up well before the cable TV version of the series was even thought about.  Read a few pages, decided it was too dark for me to read at the time.  I will get back to it at some point, hopefully soon.

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson.  Hardback.  (Rare for me to buy, but every once in a great while...)  Synopsis:  In a storm-swept world where history has dwindled into myth, self-serving aristocrats squabble over mystical weapons that render their bearers immune to mundane attacks. The ambitious scholar Shallan learns unexpected truths about the present, the virtuous aristocrat Dalinar reclaims the lost past, and the bitter and broken slave Kaladin gains unwanted power.  I've only read a few pages of the beginning of this doorstop of a book.  Yes, it's that massive, a thick brick of a book. :-)  But I haven't really read all that much of epic fantasy; The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and now The Codex Alera (yeah, I'll probably break down and get the next in that series).  Anyway, this is the beginning of Mr. Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, which is supposed to be 10 (!) books long.  Eek!  I wonder if he'll be able to keep interest.  If I do decide to move forward in this series, I'll wait until they're in paperback.  The only reason I got the first one in hardback was my curiousity level, and the fact there were some interesting sketches of things within.  I *told* you I was a whack job! ;-)
 
I think I also have two or three urban fantasy books lying about the house, but I haven't touched them in ages.  Not sure if I ever will.