Since it is the new month of January (and it's barely a couple of days old)... As is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my December, 2016 reads.

*****
Books Read in December, 2016

Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (r)

Continuum: Roleplaying in the Yet RPG by Chris Adams, David Fooden, and Barbara Manui (RPG) (r)

Memoirs of a Spacewoman by Naomi Mitchison

Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy edited b Jonathan Strahan

The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange by Mark Barrowcliffe

December, 2016 Reader's Digest

Free Fall by Rick Mofina

The Devourers by Indra Das

The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones

Warm Worlds and Otherwise by James Tiptree Jr. (r?)
*****

December, 2016 was a good month in terms of reading, that seemed somewhat slow at times and fast at others, and there was a good variety of books that I read last month. somewhat slow at times and fast at others, with a wide variety of stuff read. Despie some of the hype about some of the books I read in December, 2016, nothing really stood out to me. The books I enjoyed the most were:

The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones - In 8th Century Baghdad, the Captain of the Jaffar’s Royal Guard, Asim, and the scholar Dabir are dispatched to uncover the mystery of a rune inscribed relic. This book is a fresh look at the sword & sorcery genre with an Arabian Nights feel that is also somewhat historical in feel (and has a gritty realism to it). The book is full of of vibrant, well-written, characters that draw the reader in, dastardly villains, and exotic and strange landscapes. There's a very old-school vibe here that makes me think of Howard, Leiber (especially!), Moore, and the countless other sword & sorcery writers. I highly recommend this novel.

The Devourers by Indra Das - This novel is one of the books I've read this year that actually did live up to the hype. The book is a twist on Indian folklore that is actually a "werewolf" novel, but that term is something of a misnomer. Consider this book more of a shape-shifter book, mostly told through flashbacks and journal entries. Das's work doesn't shy away from difficult and hard topics, notably a rape which is the heart of the book in so many ways, but the book deals with many other topics and elements - including cultural issues, gender issues, among others. It does read a bit slow in some of the transcribed sections, but was a good read.


Overall, I managed to read 9 novels, 1 RPG and RPG product, 1 magazine, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in December. This brings the 2016 year end totals up to the following: 113 books, 22 RPGs and RPG products, 23 magazines, 140 comics, and 1 graphic novel. The reading for the year was up by 6 books, a decent improvement, and was a good year's worth of reading.