Name the last three books you have read...

[Ol'Skool Classic]

All good.

So if memory serves you should now have been introduced to the Fae (Summer Knight) & with these last 3 books, Shiro, Sanya & the Denarians, the White Court & hints at the Black Court Vampires & of course who Thomas Raith actually is.

 

[Tamstrong]

So if memory serves you should now have been introduced to the Fae (Summer Knight) & with these last 3 books, Shiro, Sanya & the Denarians, the White Court & hints at the Black Court Vampires & of course who Thomas Raith actually is.

Yep, all of them and the Kemmlerites.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

Yep, all of them and the Kemmlerites.

Kinda forgot about them. Ivy the Archive & Kincaid, Mouse & Waldo Butters were also introduced over these 3 books as well? Certain characters I remember because they keep popping up over time.

 

[Tamstrong]

Kinda forgot about them. Ivy the Archive & Kincaid, Mouse & Waldo Butters were also introduced over these 3 books as well? Certain characters I remember because they keep popping up over time.

Yeah, Kemmler's bunch showed up in the last one I read. Yep, them too in addition to Lasciel, and more of the wardens. I'm looking forward to seeing who keeps popping up over the series.

 

[Tamstrong]

There’s no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend—all grown up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob...

Someone is targeting the members of the city’s supernatural underclass—those who don’t possess enough power to become full-fledged wizards. Some have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. But now the culprit has left a calling card at one of the crime scenes—a message for Harry Dresden.

Harry sets out to find the apparent serial killer, but his investigation turns up evidence pointing to the one suspect he cannot possibly believe guilty: his half-brother, Thomas. To clear his brother’s name, Harry rushes into a supernatural power struggle that renders him outnumbered, outclassed, and dangerously susceptible to temptation.

And Harry knows that if he screws this one up, people will die—and one of them will be his brother...

Harry’s life finally seems to be calming down. The White Council’s war with the vampiric Red Court is easing up, no one’s tried to kill him lately, and his eager apprentice is starting to learn real magic. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry. Just one small favor he can’t refuse...one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills—and loyalties—to their very limits.

And everything was going so well for once...

 

[Tamstrong]

It’s called The Scream...

Once you get it, you simply cannot stop screaming.

You can’t eat or sleep. It drives you more and more insane until you can’t stand to be alive a second longer.

When the phenomenon hits Chuck's city, the chronically unemployed pervert joins a band of misfits to make his final stand.

Can Chuck, a bitter bartender, a dockside prostitute, a conspiracy theorist, and a homeless man find a way out of the apocalypse…

Or will they all die screaming?

It was pretty good for the most part—some plot twist I really appreciated. It was a bit over the top in some ways, but that isn't necessarily a negative with stories like these. Something that irked the hell out of me though, was the author using "lied" as the past tense of lie (as in lie down) multiple times in the book. smdh It made him sound like a moron. lol

Had it come back? No, it couldn't have. He had buried it for good. Or at least that's what Scott told himself. But what if it had? Was that why the scarecrow now watched him?

But the more Scott tries to ignore it, the more the evidence begins to pile up. So do the bodies. Because sometimes, the dead don't stay buried. Sometimes the monster survives.

As the bodies mount, and the secrets of his past grow more haunting, Scott must do whatever it takes to save his family. But what if by doing so, they find out what happened all those years ago? What if they realize what he did?

Scott learns that there is no escape from his own past, or the crows that have crawled out of it. He can only watch, as his life is turned into a living nightmare.

This one was okay, but the way the author executed the ending was weak. I liked the idea, but it was too half-assed and incomplete-feeling to me. The story had a lot of potential, but the flat ending made it feel like a waste of good reading time.

Michelle and Cliff Stage bought their isolated vacation cabin in the mountains of North Carolina with hopes of repairing their eighteen-year marriage. But when Cliff disappears one night searching for the source of a mysterious light in the woods, Michelle’s life will change in unimaginable ways. After the sheriff’s department fails to find him, Michelle scrambles down the same dark mountainside alone, the strange, beckoning light her only guide.

What she discovers is a cabin, identical to theirs, housing a life she barely recognizes—and a husband she hardly knows. Cliff is a changed man. Now caring and considerate, no longer a manipulative womanizer, he is also missing a finger. He claims that Cassie, their teenage daughter, is dead, killed in a car accident over a year ago. Michelle knows that’s not possible—Cassie had phoned her from Atlanta only hours before. Even when shown Cassie’s grave, Michelle refuses to accept she’s gone.

Michelle wants her daughter and her life back, and the only clue to what has happened is a man named Pink. A real estate agent and the man who years earlier built Michelle and Cliff’s cabin, Pink was rumored to have killed his wife and buried her on the property, then vanished, never to be seen again. But in Michelle’s new reality, Pink and his wife still reside in town and Pink’s smile-splashed billboards are everywhere. To get back to the world where her daughter exists, Michelle must unravel the mystery of Pink while questioning her very reality—and her sanity. Haunting, atmospheric, and deeply thought-provoking, The Cabin on Souder Hill questions the very nature of our existence and the choices we make to form it.

It's a pretty good story. There were a few distracting editing mistakes, but overall it was a solid read.

 

[Tamstrong]

When it comes to the magical ruling body known as the White Council, Harry is thought of as either a black sheep or a sacrificial lamb. And none hold him in more disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules. But now, Morgan is in trouble. He’s been accused of cold-blooded murder—a crime with only one, final punishment.

He’s on the run, wanting his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. So it’s up to Harry to uncover a traitor within the Council, keep Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.

Someone like Harry...

As Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden has faced demons, vampires, werewolves, dark sorcerers, and hosts of horrors from beyond the mortal realm. But nothing could have prepared him for this…

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry's Dresden’s lover—until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her caught between humanity and the relentless bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. She disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. Now, she needs Harry’s help more than ever.

For the vengeful Duchess of the Red Court has discovered a secret Susan has long kept from everyone—including Harry—and she plans to use it. To prevail, Harry may have to unleash the full fury of his untapped power—and he may have no choice but to embrace the darkness within himself.

Because this time, he’s fighting to save his child.

In his life, Harry’s been shot, stabbed, sliced, beaten, burned, crushed, and tortured. And after someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill.

Trapped between life and death, he learns that his friends are in serious trouble. Only by finding his murderer can he save his friends and move on—a feat which would be a lot easier if he had a body and access to his powers. Worse still are the malevolent shadows that roam Chicago, controlled by a dark entity that wants Harry to suffer even in death.

Now, the late Harry Dresden will have to pull off the ultimate trick without using any magic—or face an eternity as just another lost soul...

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

So you basically have only 4 books left in the series proper thus far (Cold Days, Skin Game, Peace Talks & Battle Ground ) plus the 2 short story collections (Side Jobs & Brief Cases) which features all the Dresden short stories that were either originally published in various sci-fi/fantasy anthology series over the years or were unreleased until now.

 

[Tamstrong]

So you basically have only 4 books left in the series proper thus far (Cold Days, Skin Game, Peace Talks & Battle Ground ) plus the 2 short story collections (Side Jobs & Brief Cases) which features all the Dresden short stories that were either originally published in various sci-fi/fantasy anthology series over the years or were unreleased until now.

Yep, and I'm about a third of the way through book 14. Hopefully I'll be finished with it this weekend.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

Golgotha, Book 4

In AD 1119, a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon - a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them.

Theirs is a secret line of knights: truckers, bikers, taxi hacks, state troopers, bus drivers, RV gypsies - any of the folks who live and work on the asphalt arteries of America. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel. Jimmy Aussapile is one such knight. He's driving a big rig down South when a promise to a ghostly hitchhiker sets him on a quest to find out the terrible truth behind a string of children gone missing all across the country. The road leads him to Lovina Hewitt, a skeptical Louisiana State Police investigator working the same case and, eventually, to a forgotten town that's not on any map - and to the secret behind the eerie Black-Eyed Kids said to prowl the highways.

The eighth book of the bestselling Rivers of London series returns to the adventures of Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, as he solves magical crimes in the city of London.

Peter Grant is facing fatherhood, and an uncertain future, with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around, he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand new London start up—the Serious Cybernetics Company.

Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout', Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job, Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant's favourite son.

Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological—and just as dangerous.


All good reads. Will be checking out the next novels in the series, especially the Golgotha series.

 

[Tamstrong]

After a brief interlude in the afterlife, Harry Dresden’s new job makes him wonder if death was really all that bad.

Harry Dresden is no longer Chicago’s only professional wizard. Now, he’s Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Her word is his command. And her first command is the seemingly impossible: kill an immortal. Worse still, there is a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could mean the deaths of millions.

Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent an apocalypse, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound infinite powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own...

His soul.

As Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry Dresden never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it’s something awful.

Mab has traded Harry’s skills to pay off a debt. And now he must help a group of villains led by Harry’s most despised enemy, Nicodemus Archleone, to break into a high-security vault so that they can then access a vault in the Nevernever.

Problem is, the vault belongs to Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld. And Dresden is dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience. Dresden’s always been tricky, but he’s going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess...

When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, joins the White Council's security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago—and all he holds dear?

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

Verdict on Harry's new status quo?

 

[Tamstrong]

Verdict on Harry's new status quo?

Favorable for the most part. As usual, he's right where he needs to be, whether everyone else realizes it or not. lol

 

[Tamstrong]

Harry has faced terrible odds before. He has a long history of fighting enemies above his weight class. The Red Court of vampires. The fallen angels of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. The Outsiders.

But this time it’s different. A being more powerful and dangerous on an order of magnitude beyond what the world has seen in a millennium is coming. And she’s bringing an army. The Last Titan has declared war on the city of Chicago, and has come to subjugate humanity, obliterating any who stand in her way.

Harry’s mission is simple but impossible: Save the city by killing a Titan. And the attempt will change Harry’s life, Chicago, and the mortal world forever.

With tales ranging from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious—including an original story for this volume—Side Jobs is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan.

As Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden has had cases that have pitted him against insane necromancers, power-hungry faerie queens, enigmatic dark wizards, fallen angels—pretty much a “who’s who” of hell and beyond—with the stakes in each case ranging from a lone human soul to the entire human race. But not every adventure Harry Dresden undertakes is an epic tale of life and death in a world on the edge of annihilation.

Here, together for the first time in paperback, are the shorter works of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher—a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time.

The world of Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is rife with intrigue—and creatures of all supernatural stripes. And you’ll make their intimate acquaintance as Harry delves into the dark side of truth, justice, and the American way in this must-have short story collection.

From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published “Zoo Day,” Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.

With twelve stories in all, Brief Cases offers both longtime fans and first-time readers tantalizing glimpses into Harry’s funny, gritty, and unforgettable realm, whetting their appetites for more to come from the wizard with a heart of gold.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the series and the short story collections related to it. Word is book #18 should be released sometime in 2022, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next.

 

[Tamstrong]

It’s the summer of 1969, and the shock of conflict reverberates through the youth of America. As a student at a quiet college campus in the heartland of Indiana, Terry Ives couldn’t be farther from the front lines of Vietnam or the protests in Washington.

But the world is changing, and Terry isn’t content to watch. When word gets around about an important government experiment in the small town of Hawkins, she signs on as a test subject for the project, code-named MKULTRA. The remote lab, deep in the woods, contains a mystery Terry is determined to uncover.

Behind the walls of Hawkins National Laboratory—and the piercing gaze of its director, Dr. Martin Brenner—lurks a conspiracy greater than Terry could have ever imagined. To face it, she’ll need the help of her fellow test subjects, including a young girl with unexplainable superhuman powers and a number instead of a name: 008.

Amid the rising tensions of the new decade, Terry Ives and Martin Brenner have begun a different kind of war—one where the human mind is the battlefield.

This is the prequel to the Stranger Things story about Eleven's mother. I enjoyed it.

The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown is a satirical look behind the scenes of Model Muse, a fictional reality model competition show and global phenomenon. Seen through the eyes of our moral compass Pablo Michaels-the heart of production in the helter-skelter world of Model Muse-we see behind the scenes and backstage shenanigans of the fashion/reality TV world. As "The Fixer," Pablo is the man everyone turns to in crisis. Struggling to hold the fledgling production together, he juggles his duties to his "BFF," the ruthless and vulnerable antihero Keisha Kash, his Supermodel boss while trying to hold on to his own soul.

A friend of mine sent me this one. Since she's been bugging me about what I think I figured I'd get reading it over with so she'd shut up. Obviously this book is a satire for America's Next Top Model, which is a show I've been a fan of for a while. Like all reality TV, it's more about entertainment than actual reality. The book was okay. There were some funny parts, and some clear references to the things on the show that inspired the book. It's by no means a great novel, but some of it was entertaining.

What if you woke up one morning on Earth . . . and no one else was there? That is the reality that greeted a handful of humans, including Jason Whitney, his wife Martha, and the remnants of a tribe of Native Americans in the year 2135. Their inexplicable abandonment had unexpected benefits: the eventual development of mental telepathy and other extrasensory powers, inner peace, and best of all, near-immortality. Now, five thousand years later, most of the remaining humans live a tranquil, pastoral life, leaving technological and religious exploration to the masses of robot servants who no longer have humans to serve. But the unexpected reappearance of Jason’s brother, who had teleported to the stars many years before, threatens to change everything yet again—for John Whitney is the bearer of startling information about where Earth’s population went and why—and the most disturbing news of all: They may finally be coming home again.

The idea itself had potential, but the author failed to achieve it. It was boring and soooo slooow. There were a few times I thought something was finally going to happen, but the moment fell flat every time. Someone called the author "Grand Master of Science Fiction", but there's no way it could be based on this book. I'm almost curious about his other work since it's supposed to be so great, but this book makes me feel like I'd probably be wasting my time.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

This is the prequel to the Stranger Things story about Eleven's mother. I enjoyed it.

A friend of mine sent me this one. Since she's been bugging me about what I think I figured I'd get reading it over with so she'd shut up. Obviously this book is a satire for America's Next Top Model, which is a show I've been a fan of for a while. Like all reality TV, it's more about entertainment than actual reality. The book was okay. There were some funny parts, and some clear references to the things on the show that inspired the book. It's by no means a great novel, but some of it was entertaining.

The idea itself had potential, but the author failed to achieve it. It was boring and soooo slooow. There were a few times I thought something was finally going to happen, but the moment fell flat every time. Someone called the author "Grand Master of Science Fiction", but there's no way it could be based on this book. I'm almost curious about his other work since it's supposed to be so great, but this book makes me feel like I'd probably be wasting my time.

That last book is clearly a product of the 1950's or 60's era. Most science fiction from that time is straight high concept with even higher levels of exposition. All the "classics" of that era are the ones that threw in a bit of action to set them apart from the rest of the bunch.

 

[Tamstrong]

That last book is clearly a product of the 1950's or 60's era. Most science fiction from that time is straight high concept with even higher levels of exposition. All the "classics" of that era are the ones that threw in a bit of action to set them apart from the rest of the bunch.

That's very true; exposition is pretty much all it is. It's probably the reason the book was free. lol It's too bad they didn't know how to bring some of those concepts to life back in the day.

 

[Tamstrong]

In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon--a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them.

Theirs is a secret line of knights: truckers, bikers, taxi hacks, state troopers, bus drivers, RV gypsies--any of the folks who live and work on the asphalt arteries of America. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel.

Jimmy Aussapile is one such knight. He's driving a big rig down South when a promise to a ghostly hitchhiker sets him on a quest to find out the terrible truth behind a string of children gone missing all across the country. The road leads him to Lovina Hewitt, a skeptical Louisiana State Police investigator working the same case and, eventually, to a forgotten town that's not on any map--and to the secret behind the eerie Black-Eyed Kids said to prowl the highways.

It was a pretty good read. Being raised by a trucker who was also a biker, and growing up around his friends kind of made me feel like I knew some of the characters. They're typically seen in a negative light based on stereotypes (no doubt folks around here know how that is), so it's cool to see them shown in a more positive way. Of course there are some villains in the book or there'd be no story, but I like that the folks usually looked down upon were the ones to help save the day. As usual I also enjoyed all the weird and creepy stuff with monsters, magic, and the supernatural shit.

Now a missing-person case leads to a string of roadside murders and mutilations that stretches back decades—and to a cult of murderous clowns who are far more than mere urban legends. Greasepaint and lunatic grins are the last things their victims ever see.

And as if that’s not trouble enough, trucker Jimmy Aussapile and his allies must also cope with a violent civil war within an outlaw biker gang long associated with the Brotherhood, as well as run-ins with a rival gang led by a fierce werewolf biker chick who fights tooth and claw to protect her pack.

From Depression-era hobo camps to a modern-day trailer park hiding unearthly secrets, fear lurks just beyond the headlights for the Kings of the Road.

I liked this one too. What's not to like about a killer clown cult, outlaw bikers, werewolves (and other were-creatures), and hobos though? So many things happening with the different characters until everything comes together toward the end, and the Brotherhood of the Wheel and other heroes doing their thing.

Is being different a good thing?

From her piercings and tattoos to musical tastes, Natalie has strived to be different her whole life.

After witnessing a brutal murder, she flees the scene via the only exit route available: down into the sewers...

But the underground labyrinth holds something much worse than the human monsters above ground.

Natalie finds herself trapped between sewer-dwelling mutants and a psychopathic gang of murders and sadists.

If you can stomach the intense opening, you’ll be treated to a horrific and heartwarming story.

Pick a side and join the battle as Natalie discovers exactly what it means to be different.

This one was creepy, cringey, crazy, dark, and over the top, but I liked it. lol The beginning was the most cringey part, which made me question whether I really wanted to read it, but I pushed through. I enjoyed it, and the corny ending was pretty cool too.

I hope all my rambling made sense, because it feels like maybe it didn't. lol I'm too tired to proofread, so take it or leave it. Maybe I'll give enough damn tomorrow, but right now my tired ass is going to bed.

 

[Ol'Skool Classic]

It was a pretty good read. Being raised by a trucker who was also a biker, and growing up around his friends kind of made me feel like I knew some of the characters. They're typically seen in a negative light based on stereotypes (no doubt folks around here know how that is), so it's cool to see them shown in a more positive way. Of course there are some villains in the book or there'd be no story, but I like that the folks usually looked down upon were the ones to help save the day. As usual I also enjoyed all the weird and creepy stuff with monsters, magic, and the supernatural shit.

I liked this one too. What's not to like about a killer clown cult, outlaw bikers, werewolves (and other were-creatures), and hobos though? So many things happening with the different characters until everything comes together toward the end, and the Brotherhood of the Wheel and other heroes doing their thing.

This one was creepy, cringey, crazy, dark, and over the top, but I liked it. lol The beginning was the most cringey part, which made me question whether I really wanted to read it, but I pushed through. I enjoyed it, and the corny ending was pretty cool too.

I hope all my rambling made sense, because it feels like maybe it didn't. lol I'm too tired to proofread, so take it or leave it. Maybe I'll give enough damn tomorrow, but right now my tired ass is going to bed.

I just finished King of the Road last next. Was going to put it up as one of my next 3 books once I'm done with the book I'm currently reading.

I figured you'd like the killer clown cult. Though it was pretty interesting connecting the railways & hobo life/culture into the mix especially the railways being part of the "supernatural roadway" that the Brotherhood protects. Loved the reveal of who Emmett was.

 

[Tamstrong]

I just finished King of the Road last next. Was going to put it up as one of my next 3 books once I'm done with the book I'm currently reading.

I figured you'd like the killer clown cult. Though it was pretty interesting connecting the railways & hobo life/culture into the mix especially the railways being part of the "supernatural roadway" that the Brotherhood protects. Loved the reveal of who Emmett was.

I didn't figure it's take you long to get around to the second one. I liked that connection and finding out who Emmett was as well. I'm looking forward to whatever happens next, but I haven't taken the time to see when/if part three is in the works yet.