The Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers is warm, cozy sci-if with a bit of action. A Psalm for the Wild Built was also wonderful.
I’ve also enjoyed Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. Fantastic writing but it does have some low parts, as a husband searches for his missing wife in the Tower of Babel.
As well as Lois McMaster Bujold (see above), I think you would like “Freedom and Necessity” by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. It’s not exactly fluff but it’s a great balance between intellectually weighty and lots of fun.
Happy belated birthday! Somewhat random since I'm still trekking across Dublin & vicinity, which distracts me from reading too, but I've been rereading Samantha Shannon's Bone Season series which I think is very well written but also urban fantasy & sufficiently epic, so probably not what you're looking for. I'm also excited to have picked up The Secret Lives of Numbers in a local bookstore, which again, is nonfiction so not what you're looking for.
Anyway, I appreciate your newsletter a lot! Thank you for keeping it up.
My regular “cozy reread” is Lois McMaster Bujold’s “The Curse of Chalion.” The earlier of her Vorkosigan books are also very satisfying but I think they trailed off after “A Civil Campaign.” “The Lies of Locke Lamora” is not cozy but it is excellent.
I came here to recommend “The Curse of Chalion” also, and its sequel “Paladin of Souls”. And her novella series set in the same world: Penric and Desdemona.
Alexandra Rowland's Running Close to the Wind is mostly not about competence (messy skill and luck are more heavily featured) but it does have people putting their heads together to solve problems in a satisfying way. More importantly, it is very, very funny, in the Discworld vein, and a hugely refreshing read. A bunch of queer pirates try to get rid of sea serpents, and also there's an important cake contest.
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky is more like competence becoming a weakness, but still quite good and may fit. The Murderbot series by Martha Wells is all about competence, mostly people against people, but some people against environment at times. Jon Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society was good, though I realize I'm going much more sci-fi and robots than human stories. Is it because we need to look to robots for pictures of competence these days?
Well, for SciFi door stops, then, if you haven't lost yourself in Peter F Hamilton's work since his Mandel cycle.
Mostly duos and trilogies, but with the occasional standalone... some interlinks for being set in the same/similar world, he is worth taking a large bite. Older and smaller world stuff then the trilogy of Native Tougne is excellent, I'll be returning to the similar fictional works by Joan Slonczewski.
Or perhaps a near complete change, try the Karala cycle of John le Carre... ignore the films and mini-series made of some, enjoy the writing.
Enjoy Isaac Newton's birthday and enjoy the kids' parties. : ))))))
I few years back I enjoyed reading many books in Genevieve Cogman’s “Invisible Library” series, which was amusingly fluffy; I also liked the first books of “A Natural History of Dragons” and “A Darker Shade of Magic”, but I lost interest in the subsequent books in those series
Octavia E. Butler's work might be worth checking out. She's a phenomenal writer. Or Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Fun and light-hearted yet Pratchett was a keen observer of human foibles. His Discworld books are my "desert island books".
My current absolute favorite fiction read is These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. It's a Sci-Fi adventure told from 3 POV characters: a scary noble/spy, a cleric, and a hacker/thief. There's a fourth, off-screen character who seems to be messing with the other three. It's a page turner and there's a reveal toward the end that put the entire book into a new perspective. Love that.
Hi, Eleanor ~ Here’s my belated response to your belated request for recommendations for fluffy fiction 🙃
I enjoyed Robert B. Parker’s “Spencer” series so much that I’m reading them again. Spencer is a PI in the tradition of Raymond Chandler, etc.. I like both the plots (nothing too gruesome) and the dialogue.
The second author I recommend is Alexander McCall Smith. He has several series; my favorite is “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.” A friend described these books as “just nice.” And they are.
The Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers is warm, cozy sci-if with a bit of action. A Psalm for the Wild Built was also wonderful.
I’ve also enjoyed Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. Fantastic writing but it does have some low parts, as a husband searches for his missing wife in the Tower of Babel.
I enjoyed Becky Chambers' books, haven't checked out Bancroft. Added to my list, thanks for the tip!
As well as Lois McMaster Bujold (see above), I think you would like “Freedom and Necessity” by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. It’s not exactly fluff but it’s a great balance between intellectually weighty and lots of fun.
Added to my list, thanks!
Happy belated birthday! Somewhat random since I'm still trekking across Dublin & vicinity, which distracts me from reading too, but I've been rereading Samantha Shannon's Bone Season series which I think is very well written but also urban fantasy & sufficiently epic, so probably not what you're looking for. I'm also excited to have picked up The Secret Lives of Numbers in a local bookstore, which again, is nonfiction so not what you're looking for.
Anyway, I appreciate your newsletter a lot! Thank you for keeping it up.
I added it to my list anyway for when I'm in the mood for it -- I do enjoy urban fantasy in general and somehow hadn't heard of Bone Season.
My regular “cozy reread” is Lois McMaster Bujold’s “The Curse of Chalion.” The earlier of her Vorkosigan books are also very satisfying but I think they trailed off after “A Civil Campaign.” “The Lies of Locke Lamora” is not cozy but it is excellent.
I came here to recommend “The Curse of Chalion” also, and its sequel “Paladin of Souls”. And her novella series set in the same world: Penric and Desdemona.
Alexandra Rowland's Running Close to the Wind is mostly not about competence (messy skill and luck are more heavily featured) but it does have people putting their heads together to solve problems in a satisfying way. More importantly, it is very, very funny, in the Discworld vein, and a hugely refreshing read. A bunch of queer pirates try to get rid of sea serpents, and also there's an important cake contest.
Thanks for the tip! I love cake :)
I really like the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. Call it urban fiction with an interstellar twist.
Also consider the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.
If you have tried the LitRPG genre, consider the Dungeon Heart series by David Sanchez-Ponton.
I read and liked the first two, and enjoy litrpg so I'll pick up the third. Thanks for the tips!
A big yes, to the NO to depressing books built on platitudes!
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky is more like competence becoming a weakness, but still quite good and may fit. The Murderbot series by Martha Wells is all about competence, mostly people against people, but some people against environment at times. Jon Scalzi's Kaiju Preservation Society was good, though I realize I'm going much more sci-fi and robots than human stories. Is it because we need to look to robots for pictures of competence these days?
I looooove Murderbot! And Tchaikovsky and Scalzi are great. Somehow I didn't hear about Service Model; picking it up now, thanks for the tip!
Well, for SciFi door stops, then, if you haven't lost yourself in Peter F Hamilton's work since his Mandel cycle.
Mostly duos and trilogies, but with the occasional standalone... some interlinks for being set in the same/similar world, he is worth taking a large bite. Older and smaller world stuff then the trilogy of Native Tougne is excellent, I'll be returning to the similar fictional works by Joan Slonczewski.
Or perhaps a near complete change, try the Karala cycle of John le Carre... ignore the films and mini-series made of some, enjoy the writing.
Enjoy Isaac Newton's birthday and enjoy the kids' parties. : ))))))
I few years back I enjoyed reading many books in Genevieve Cogman’s “Invisible Library” series, which was amusingly fluffy; I also liked the first books of “A Natural History of Dragons” and “A Darker Shade of Magic”, but I lost interest in the subsequent books in those series
-Plumber
I think I read "A Natural History of Dragons" and liked it, but I haven't heard of the other two -- adding to my list, thanks!!
Octavia E. Butler's work might be worth checking out. She's a phenomenal writer. Or Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Fun and light-hearted yet Pratchett was a keen observer of human foibles. His Discworld books are my "desert island books".
I've read Discworld but somehow I never got around to Octavia Butler. Added to my list -- thank you!!
My current absolute favorite fiction read is These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. It's a Sci-Fi adventure told from 3 POV characters: a scary noble/spy, a cleric, and a hacker/thief. There's a fourth, off-screen character who seems to be messing with the other three. It's a page turner and there's a reveal toward the end that put the entire book into a new perspective. Love that.
Klara and the Sun is a slow-moving yet fascinating portrait of an AI "friend." https://www.lyriahnam.com/reviews/fiction-klara-and-the-sun-by-kazuo-ishiguro
A Sorceress Comes to Call is T. Kingfisher's latest. It has some gruesome bits, but the main characters (a nervous young woman and a middle-aged spinster) are delightful. https://www.lyriahnam.com/reviews/fiction-a-sorceress-comes-to-call-by-t-kingfisher
The Imposter Heiress is a biography of con-artist Cassie Chadwick that reads like a thriller/mystery. https://www.lyriahnam.com/reviews/nonfiction-the-imposter-heiress-by-annie-reed
I'm not usually an urban fantasy person, but The Magician's Daughter, set in an alternative Britain was a dleight.: https://www.lyriahnam.com/reviews/fiction-the-magicians-daughter-by-hg-parry
Happy reading! ~Lyri
I loved A Sorceress Comes to Call -- will check out the rest, thanks!
Hi, Eleanor ~ Here’s my belated response to your belated request for recommendations for fluffy fiction 🙃
I enjoyed Robert B. Parker’s “Spencer” series so much that I’m reading them again. Spencer is a PI in the tradition of Raymond Chandler, etc.. I like both the plots (nothing too gruesome) and the dialogue.
The second author I recommend is Alexander McCall Smith. He has several series; my favorite is “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.” A friend described these books as “just nice.” And they are.
Best wishes for 2025. Cheers!
Oh these sound delightful! Thanks so much for circling back. "Just nice" sounds right up my alley :)