The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading the seventh installment in Martha Wells's fantastic science fiction Murderbot series, System Collapse; I'm reading V. E. Schwab's return to the world of the Shades of Magic series (Kell! Delilah Bard! new characters!), The Fragile Threads of Power; and I'm listening to Lone Women, Victor LaValle's Western, which so far features strong female characters and a gothic undercurrent.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 System Collapse (Murderbot #7) by Martha Wells
Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.
In System Collapse, we catch up with the delightfully grumpy Murderbot, who in this seventh book in the series is faced with an unethical corporation out to wreak havoc while purportedly rescuing the inhabitants of a newly colonized planet that's in trouble.
But Murderbot isn't working as it should, despite ART's best attempts at repairing it and the Preservation Station human allies' work at trying to figure out the problem.
If Murderbot is going to save the day, the group is gong to have to identify the issue and resolve it--quickly.
You can click here to find my Bossy reviews of Murderbot books 1 through 3, book 4, Exit Strategy, book 5, Network Effect, as well as book 6, Fugitive Telemetry.
02 The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power #1) by V. E. Schwab
The Fragile Threads of Power is set in the world of Schwab's Shades of Magic, with a return to the four Londons.
The Londons are connected by magic but separated by doors, which were created in a desperate attempt to protect the magic of each world.
Only a few Antari have been born in a generation, and they have long been the only ones with the power to open these doors. If you've read the Shades of Magic books, you'll already be acquainted with the fantastic characters of Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk of White London.
Now Kosika, a young, impressionable, fervor-driven young Antari, is taking up the mantle of the deceased Holland's rule in White London. Delilah Bard is crossing worlds to take stock of the threats and power struggles. In Red London, Kell's brother king Rhy Maresh is facing spreading resistance and assassination attempts. And then there's Tes, a crafty runaway with immense power who's just trying to keep from being noticed.
The first two books in the Shades of Magic series are A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows, each of which I gave four Bossy stars. You can check out my review of book 3, A Conjuring of Light, here.
03 Lone Women by Victor LaValle
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live with shame, and those who die from it.
Victor LaValle's Lone Women begins in 1915 with a determined young woman, Adelaide Henry, covering her tracks by burning down her home--with her deceased parents inside. She's packed an incredibly heavy trunk and is setting out from California on a journey to leave her past behind.
She's set on becoming a homesteader in Montana, one of the "lone women" taking the government up on its offer of free land.
In LaValle's magical, dark Western, people tend to disappear whenever Adelaide decides to open her mysterious trunk. But it's best not to test her, because she's prepared to protect her future at any cost.
I'm listening to Lone Women as an audiobook.
If you like Westerns, you might want to check out the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West and  Six More Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West.