Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I round up what I’ve read since the last update and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
Hard to believe April is upon us already, but while 2017 is zipping on by, I also can’t really find it in myself to complain too much. The thing is, I am just so beyond ready for spring right now. In fact, this week I’ll be away on a much needed break, traveling south in search of warmer climes, so apologies if I’m slower to reply to comments or visit your blogs in the coming days, but I’ve got a good excuse! 🙂
Anyway, as you can imagine things have been busy with all the preparations, but I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation. I don’t actually expect I’ll get much reading done, but I’m packing a bunch of books regardless, including some of my new arrivals…
Received for Review
Thank you to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received. For more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages!
Kicking things off, we have this trio of lovelies: The Best of Subterranean edited by William Schafer contains a selection of the finest pieces short fiction published between 2005 and 2014 during Subterranean magazine’s run. It features a whopping 30 stories and the author lineup reads like a dream team of modern SFF masters like Alastair Reynolds, Cherie Priest, Joe Hill, Catherynne M. Valente, Caitlín R. Kiernan, George R. R. Martin, John Scalzi, Kelley Armstrong, K.J. Parker and many, many more. Yes, it is a MASSIVE anthology. Next up, The Innkeeper Chronicles Vol. 1 by Ilona Andrews is the omnibus collection the first three books of the authors’ self-pubbed series. I’ve always wanted to check these out! And finally, we have The Process (Is A Process All Its Own) by Peter Straub. Long time readers of the author will probably be familiar with his “latter day Jack the Ripper” serial killer character Tillman Hayward, whom Straub will be bringing back in this upcoming novella. Personally I’ve never read Straub before, but this one has a chilling, disturbing vibe to it that’s really calling to me, so I’ll probably check it out. My thanks to Subterranean Press for the ARCs!
Tremontaine created by Ellen Kushner – After my incredible experience with Bookburners, I told myself I would check out more serials from Serial Box. Thus, my attention immediately fell upon Tremontaine. This one is the complete first season collecting all thirteen episodes of this prequel series to Kushner’s Riverside and I can’t wait to binge read them all! Next up is The Berlin Project by Gregory Benford, a historical re-imagining of world where the atom bomb had been ready in time to stop Hitler from killing millions of people. Alternate history is my kinda thing, so of course I had to take a look. With thanks the amazing team at Wunderkind PR and Saga Press!
The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis is coming out in paperback soon! Thank you to Crown for this finished copy, sporting its gorgeously striking redesigned cover. In case you missed my review of the original hardback release, you can check it out here!
Brimstone by Cherie Priest – I’m really excited to read this one! And maybe just a little trepidatious as well. Early reviews appear to be all over the place, and considering how Priest has been hit or miss with me in the past, I really don’t know how I will do with this one! I did however really enjoy her last novel The Family Plot, so I am optimistic that she’ll have another horror hit on her hands. Thank you to Ace Books!
Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald – Ever since I read Luna: New Moon I have been champing at the bit for this sequel. I NEED to know what happens! Thank you to Tor Books for the finished copy!
The Last Iota by Robert Kroese – Last year I read The Big Sheep, a most excellent futuristic sci-fi mystery with shades of Sherlock Holmes and Philip K. Dick, mixed with a heavy dose of humor and bizarre twists. Huge thanks to the author and Thomas Dunne Books for this ARC of the sequel! I’m so pumped to read it.
The End of the Day by Claire North – I’ll never say no to a new Claire North novel. I can always rely on her stories to be completely innovative and unique. My thanks to Redhook!
The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo – Thanks Tor.com for sending this one along! I’m loving the sound of this historical fantasy “inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution and the last months of the Romanov sisters.”
The Harbors of the Sun by Martha Wells – Martha Wells returns with a fifth novel in her Books of the Raksura sequence. The incredible world-building in this series never ceases to amaze me. With thanks to Night Shade Books and Edelweiss.
Last week I also received a couple of exclusive promo samplers for Tyrant’s Throne, the upcoming fourth novel of the Greatcoats series. Inside Secrets of the Greatcoats are some handy recaps of the first three books and an excerpt from book four, as well as a bunch of other cool extras like “secret” letters from the king. The reason I have two versions is because I got one each from both the UK and US publishers. Thanks so much Jo Fletcher Books and Quercus! I can’t wait to read Tyrant’s Throne!
Reviews
It’s review roundup time! It’s almost a wall of four stars…it was a good couple weeks, I guess!
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (4 of 5 stars)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (4 of 5 stars)
The Path of Flames by Phil Tucker (4 of 5 stars)
Winter of the Gods by Jordanna Max Brodsky (4 of 5 stars)
The Dispatcher by John Scalzi (4 of 5 stars)
The Night Ocean by Paul La Farge (4 of 5 stars)
Nemesis by Brendan Reichs (3 of 5 stars)
Tough Traveling
In blog news, the big announcement this month is of course the return of Tough Traveling! To celebrate, a few of us got together to collaborate on the inaugural post over at Fantasy Faction, where our new host Laura has set up a place for everyone participating in this meme to link up. There you will also find more info on Tough Traveling if you want to join in the fun! The theme is appropriately BEGINNINGS, and you can feel free to post your lists throughout the month. You can also start preparing for the theme for May, which will be ASSASSINS!
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here are the books I finished recently. Last week was pretty much a flurry of review writing as I pushed to schedule as many posts as possible ahead of time, so you should see regular blog activity proceed as normal. My presence online will probably be sporadic though, but I promise I will catch up with everything upon my return! Happy reading, everyone!
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!
The BiblioSanctum 
I can’t wait to read the new Castell 😀 I hope I get it, and well before the baby is born, eeek
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Ah, yes, when the little one is born it might be harder to get reading time in! 😀 That’s when you’ll really appreciate audiobooks, lol!
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You could probably etch concrete with that guy’s jawline on the Andrews book!
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Haha! Now that you mention it, he does look a little…off!
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It’s funny but I never seem to read much on holiday either! I’m too busy exploring during the day and lounging around doing nothing at night! The Berlin Project sounds interesting…I’d need to see some detailed reviews on it before I decided whether or not I wanted to read it. One to keep an eye on though.
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I’m back from holiday! And yep, I was right, didn’t get much reading done at all! I tried to get some done before bed each night, but I didn’t last long before I fell asleep. It’s been exhausting, but hopefully now I can get back to my regular schedule 🙂
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Ooh nice haul! I have to say that these are all new to me ones! Hope you enjoy each and every one of them!
My STS will be up tomorrow, so stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
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Thanks, I hope you had a great week of reading!
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Arrgh, the wait is killing me! I know I have one of those promo samplers for Tyrant’s Throne on the way, but stalking the mailman hasn’t made it arrive any quicker. 🙂
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I hope you get it soon! It’s got some interesting tidbits in there!
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I’m so jealous that you got a copy of Harbor of the Sun! And The End of Day too!
I’ve also got a copy of The Innkeeper Chronicles. I love their Kate Daniels series, but I’ve never read any of their other work.
And I was one of the reviewers who wasn’t so keen on Brimstone. It’ll be interesting to see what you think.
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Head on to Edelweiss for Harbor of the Sun! I think the eARC is just an immediate download! 🙂
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Oh my gosh thank you!
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The Tremontaine series is one I’ve had my eyes on for a little while, and recently I read a short story from this sequel on an online magazine: it was enough to further pique my interest, so I can’t wait to read your review.
Also, The Last Iota sounds like a great read: Sherlock Holmes with a P. Dick twist? I need to catch up to this series, and quickly! 🙂
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Yes, The Last Iota is the sequel to The Big Sheep which was a whacky little sci-fi detective story and it was so fun! 🙂
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I’m also a little wary of Brimstone after reading some less that stellar reviews, but also ready to dive in:-) I’m also keen to start the Ian McDonald series at some point. Enjoy your vacation!
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Thanks! I’m back now and I’m feeling exhausted! We had a lot of fun, but at the same time I’m feeling ready to get back to normal life now 🙂
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Aw, I saw on Twitter that you weren’t feeling well for a while!! I hope the “warmer climes” are a relief for you! Some brutal bugs circulated around the West Coast this winter, too, and we’ve all been heralding the sun with much relief Lol Thanks for keeping our feeds stocked with posts during your trip! We could never survive without your words of wisdom for a whole week, you know 😉
I’ve been seeing Luna: Wolf Moon everywhere and the gorgeous cover is calling to me. I’ve heard good things about The Big Sheep, too, so I’m definitely going to have to fit that into my schedule at some point!
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Yeah, I got really sick last month, and right before vacation I got sick AGAIN! My five-year-old just keeps bringing back colds and flus from preschool, and we all know how those are like super germ factories 😀 It was good getting that out of the way though, so by the time we did go on our trip, I was feeling well again.
Anyway, thanks for your kind words, I’m home and ready to get back in the groove again! 😀
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Yes, working or living with kids is like living or working in a doctor’s office! Phew, close call. Glad you’re back safely! 🙂
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I got the Claire North book too. I didn’t know I was supposed to be this excited; I have never read her books.
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I finished it while I was on my trip. Ugh, I guess my luck finally ran out with her, this was my first Claire North book that really tanked for me 😦
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Oh I’ll ask for the Five Daughters of the Moon, it looks really interesting! happy reading!
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I’m glad that one caught your eye!
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I’m just reading Skullsworn and really enjoying it. Hope this good feeling continues.
Enjoy your spring break. I’ll look forward to your reviews, but just take the time to chill.
Lynn 😀
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Thanks, we had a great time on vacation! We took the kids to Disney World, so it was pretty hectic – don’t know if I got much chill time in, but it was definitely fun! 😀
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Waking Gods has me curious as I’m itching to know what happens after Sleeping Gods. I didn’t love that book but I’m still curious! And Avengers of the Moon too- I’ll have to check your review of that. Love that cover of Luna Wolf Moon.
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So much great sci-fi this spring! My Waking Gods and Avengers of the Moon reviews are up, and I hope I can get to Wolf Moon soon!
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Super great haul. I still need to grab the Bookburner book. I’m also really interested in The End of the Day and just recently discovered it. the Five Daughters of the Moon has such a lovely cover.
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I just finished End of the Day and unfortunately I didn’t like it as much as her previous books I’ve read. Many of her books are what I would describe as “weird” though so I guess it was just a matter of time I ran into one that didn’t work as well for me! 😀
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Happy holidaying! I hope you have a wonderful time.
Innkeeper Chronicles was so much fun. I really enjoyed the three books, and I hope there’ll be more. It has some cheesy cliches, but I loved the concept of a sentient inn!
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Thank you! And I’m so glad to hear that about the Innkeeper Chronicles, I’ve always been curious about the series!
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Oh man, I need all of these. Great haul!
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I’m so excited to dive in! Happy reading! 🙂
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