Mightier than the Sword by K. J. Parker (19)

It's great of course.  Set in the Parker-verse, we get mentions of places and people we've seen before (Saloninus, of course, Permia).  Sometimes I think I want to comb through his work and compile a geography and history of everything he mentions, but worldbuilding isn't what he's about, so maybe it would be a futile exercise.  It at least has the appearance of consistency, and that's probably all Parker is going for.

This one follows the nephew of the Emperor, who's in a bad way while his wife runs the show, sent out to deal with a series of raids on monasteries.  The Empire is the Robur, who figure in the Siege trilogy, this is probably set after those events, but it hardly matters.  It has the typical twists and obfuscations, musings on literature and empire, wry takes on monastic orders, standard Parker fare.  Thoroughly enjoyable, I will never not recommend a Parker novella.

A Door Behind a Door by Yelena Moskovich (18)

I picked this up on a whim.  It's not sff, but the guy who recommended it said it had some David Lynch vibes, which was enough for me.  I liked it quite a bit.  It has a strange style.  It's almost like very tiny chapters, sometimes only a sentence, with a bold-caps title that sometimes is part of the body itself.  The style makes it feel a little like stream-of-consciousness, but actually readable.  It reads very quick.  Under 200 pages, it could and probably should be read in one sitting.  I understand the Lynch comparison, in things get weird, but where Lynch goes for absurdia with the appearance of meaning, the weirdness here means something (I think, and I'm sure I don't get it all).

It is rare for me to read outside my choice genre(s), but I'm glad I did in this case.  Being short helped its pitch.  Definitely worth the time if you want to try something more capital-L Literature.

Inside Man by K. J. Parker (16)

I like just about anything he writes; have I said that before?  This is another novella.  It's kind of a sequel to last year's Prosper's Demon.  This is some time later, now from the demon's perspective.  He's been dubbed "fragile" due to prior events, and assigned to "other work of equal value."  Parker gives a fun depiction of a bureaucratic hell in opposition to, but also in support of the Plan.  There are lots of real-world Judeo-Christian analogues throughout (mostly poked for fun and given a wry take), but it has plenty of Parker-verse connections (Perimadea, Robur, Saloninus, etc.).  Thoroughly enjoyable, it drew an audible chuckle on several occasions.  The next Parker book looks delayed until January, alas.

With Blood Upon the Sand by Bradley P. Beaulieu (13)

This book improved upon the first in every way, I think.  The good and bad from the first book get more nuanced into grayer shades.  We get more magic going on, and from that there is also a much needed (imo) new pov.  Even with the new one, there are still only five viewpoint characters.  The stakes are raised, and we get a lot more insight into the Kings' origins and their current intrigues.  The two main characters from the first book, who have same goal, find themselves on very different paths in this book, which creates some nice tension when they come together.  Some exciting action sequences and an increase in supernatural occurrences give me further hope that the next four books will keep ramping up.

The Big Score by K. J. Parker (14)

I will read everything K. J. Parker writes (but for some reason not Tom Holt, go figure), and I will enjoy it.  This is another novella, loosely following Blue and Gold and The Devil You Know in the further escapades of notorious felon and polymath genius Saloninus (think Shakespeare mixed with Da Vinci).  It is of course thoroughly enjoyable; I laughed several times, blitzed through the whole thing in an afternooon.  Parker is easily my favorite short-form author.  He has another novella and novel (end of the Siege trilogy, likely his best trilogy) coming out later this year.

Wilshire, I think the Liveship Traders series was my favorite of Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings books.  I read them all together a couple years ago, so the books blur.  Part of my enjoyment might have been getting out of the one pov of the Farseer books.

But they did, it's why they took the Chorae off the Carapace.

They even say as much:

Quote

“And you think I’m the missing piece?” Kellhus asked. “The Subject that will revive this ... system?”

Was that why the Chorae had been removed from the Carapace? For him? It seemed to Malowebi that he strangled ...

The nearest of the disfigured Dûnyain, the burnt one, nodded. “The Celmomian Prophecy foretells your coming, Brother.”

Still not convinced.  I will try to put out my thoughts.  I'm erratic and in sore need of a reread.  If the Celmomian Prophesy is the basis for their "knowledge" of needing Kellhus as an insertant, they are making some intense cognitive leaps (which I guess maybe I can't be expected to understand, them being Dunyain and all).  All the prophesy says is an Anasurimbor will return at the end of the world.  I don't think there's any more to it, since we are shown the scene where Celmomas says it to Seswatha.  That's so vague, it could mean any of the many Anasurimbors running around, why decide on the most difficult to grab?  I take the disfigured's nod to be more saying, "well, here you are, so we're going to plug you in and see what happens."

If they really think the Anasurimbor lineage is the key to awakening the No-God, why aren't they plugging in one of their own?  Surely at least one of the disfigured has some Anasurimbor blood in them.  If they knew the original insertant, it seems logical they'd want to try another Anasurimbor, but did the Consult even know who the original insertant was?  My impression was Nau-Cayuti was just another faceless attempt in a long procession of souls (but it's been a while since I read that scene).

It's easier for me to believe the Consult/Dunsult is ignorant of how to start the No-God than it is for me to believe they're just pretending to try to kill Kellhus to lure him in.  All the while ignoring any of his more accessible offspring or ishualian relations for 20 years.

I am not sold on the Dunsult knowing it needs Kellhus, nor even that he could be an insertant.

The Third God by Ricardo Pinto (10)

There were portions of this book that were really good.  The beginning was very slow, and had me questioning the division of the original into 3.  The previous book had a huge, horrible, climactic battle, and the first third of this finale made me think the whole book was going to be aftermath and wrapping things up.  Thankfully things picked up.  There were some intense moments and big events, and the ending did not end up feeling too drawn out.

There were a couple points where we actually got some extended exposition.  This is, strangely, my biggest problem with the series as a whole: there is not enough exposition.  The world and culture Pinto has created is so strange and alien, and many things just get dropped on the reader without giving any ground to the why or how things are happening, it makes it hard to be invested in the story at times.  Pinto has a lot of extra notes he shares on his website, which is helpful, but even that often isn't enough.

This series goes into some dark places.  There is slaughter and atrocity aplenty, but story does not dwell on it or glorify it like a "grimdark" story would.  A number of times, I found myself thinking some scene/theme/idea had been inspired by TSA, only to remind myself that these were initially published in '99, '02, and '09.  I'd be surprised if these in any way inspired Bakker, but there are similarities.

Overall, I liked it.  The writing itself isn't amazing, but the story is good and has a very unique setting.  I'd call it Aztec, pre-historic (dinos included), with a healthy Skeksi vibe (from Dark Crystal).  I wish the gods played into it more; I always like more magic and the mythical, but this series is on the low fantasy side.