Yeah Legend is a fantastic read. I read it within the last few years and was very impressed. Like you said, for a small book it packs a punch. I particularly liked the various aspects of grieving/death that it discusses throughout - what a book!

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen (2)
It was OK. An interesting magic system wrapped around a less imaginitive cast society with some quasi interesting worldbuilding, wrapped around generic fantasy. I was given the sequel as a gift, but since the books are relatively short I thought I'd just read both. The writing was good, its just that the story is just terribly generic. I still plan on reading the sequel, but I dont expect it to be redeemable enough to upgrade this  series from "pretty good but miss-able" to "must read".

Its called "Fantasy of Manners" and/or "Slice of Life", which are 'sub-genres' or classifications of fantasy wherein little happens - the focus being on the characters/relationships rather than anything actually happening.

I loved JS/MN despite missing much of it in a car ride while it was playing (it put me to sleep). The parts I was awake for were great though, but therein lies the rub lol. In my estimation the JSMN would have been improved by removing half of it. If was was reading a physical copy, I probably would have been skipped 10's of pages at once looking for plot.

I haven't read Piranesi, but it seems that's just Clarke's writing style. As such, I'll probably skip it.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (1)

Brilliant. This book is as fun to read as it is confusing. There's a myriad of timelines, past and present, a narrator who is mad and terribly unreliable. Shifts in POV writing - First, Second, Third, maybe others but I lack the ability to identify them. Tremendous fun, horribly opaque, and a bizarre ending that holds true to form. Tamysn Muir is for me one of the most satisfying authors I've read recently. Though, that's probably a shame for her because I apparently enjoy commercially unsuccessful things with limited mass appeal.

The Locked Tomb series is a resounding must read. I can't wait for more from Muir.

I guess I'll make this since I finished a book.

I'll keep my goal for the year at 30, since it is usually achievable, and I like to be successful.

Some series getting completed which I expect to read in the coming year, in no particular order:
Stone Dance of the Chameleon, 2nd edition (7 books, one I read last year)
Song of the Shattered Sands (6 books and a prequel novella)
Books of Babel (4 books)
The Expanse last book (I really thought it was coming out in 2020)
Last King of Osten Ard (4 including the bridge book)

Some others either stand alone or older series
John Marco's Tyrants and Kings, two left
Something by Laird Barron, probably a short story collection
Paul Kearney's Monarchies of God
Gemmel's Legend
Stover's Acts of Caine; I read the first a long time ago, but just never got to the rest

This is a fascinating list.

Stone Dance is one that a long term member really loved but I never managed to get around to it.

Books of Babel I'd love to hear your opinions on as you go. I got through book 2 and decided I didn't like it, but it was an interesting idea/book and it has an interesting publication journey. I hope its better than I think it is.

Expanse I stopped after the first book. Nothing wrong with it, but it didn't really grab me. That said, the story was fun and I wish I had the time to finish it.

Tyrants and Kings, or at least book 2 Grand Design, is Madness' favorite fantasy (TSA aside AFAIK).

Legend is the only Gemmel book I've read, and for what it is I was very impressed.

And finally the Acts of Caine I was gushing about last year. I hope others find interest in it as I did, its a good story but it does take a rather strange after book 2. Kinda disappears into its own naval but still a great read regardless.

Rejoice: A Knife To The Heart by Steven Erikson (36)

Finished this one last week, and it'll be the last one of 2020. Definitely an interesting book, though more of a Thought Experiment writ long form, rather than a book in its own right. Also, despite it being much shorter than what he normally does, it is Classic Erikson. By which I mean, its told as a series of short stories set around the disconnected lives of many different characters, which he uses to weave a loosely connected story. Anyone who has read even part of Malazan will understand what I mean here.

The ideas presented in this First Contact novel are fun, and definitely worth some contemplating, but as he goes through all the various arguments for/against the positions presented in the books there really isn't THAT much let to think about. It is an interesting take on your standard scifi, and it doesn't quite work - for me. Not that he did it poorly, but Erikson seems to have a very strong writing style that I get tired of very quickly. If you're interested in a book with minimal plot, that reads like Erikson-does-Asimov, this is probably the book for you. Or if you want a first contact story that isn't about the humans somehow beating a stage 3 civilization, its probably a good bet too.

Just finished Enderal, had to come by and share about it.

If you don't know about Enderal, it's a total conversion Skyrim mod that has a completely different story, world, landscape, mechanics, lore, etc. from the original game. The mod developers (SureAi) describe it as a "dark, psychological story with believable characters". I am convinced that at least one of the devs is a TSA fan. Let me give you a brief overview of the story:

As you show up to the continent of Enderal, you start to have vivid nightmares of an ancient apocalypse that happened thousands of years ago. There is an order that believes that these nightmares are a clue to help them with the impending apocalypse, which most people believe is not going to happen. A secret group of beings called "The High Ones" is said to behind these apocalyptic event.

That sounds amazing. I am ever enchanted by the idea of games with interesting stories and RPG mechanics, but I find myself largely unable to get into them as of recent years. Still though, total conversion Skyrim mods are awesome, and that particular one sounds fantastic.

I'll try to remember to put it on my list of games I'd love to play but probably never will.

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (35)

The Fall is definitely an important part of the Hyperion saga, and it really does make Hyperion a better book. That said, it still wasn't as good as nostalgia memories say it ought to have been. I'm not exactly sure what I missed this time around, but its still a great pair of books. The Ousters remain some of my favorite "aliens" - despite them not technically being aliens at all.

I really must say though, after all the philosophizing, calling The Void Which Binds a consciousness that grows as consciousness in animals grows, but then reducing back to simply being "love" is something of a letdown.

I dont think I'll make it to my goal of 40, but hopefully I can get to one or two more this year.

Thank you both for your comments. Still working on contacting Sovin, but I'll be sure to bring it up.