1) Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel.
An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic tale with a focus on the power of culture and stories in a broken world. Very ambitious and the interlinking of the characters is well done, though I found the climax a bit rushed and perfunctory after the long buildup to it. #books #bookstodon

2) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin
A fascinating fantasy set amidst the human elite in a world where gods are real and tangibly present. Sometimes a little overwhelming in the strangeness and I was scrabbling to keep track of it all. Want to see more of this world, especially how the people below live their lives in the shadow of the conflicts that rage above them, and I will be reading the rest of the trilogy.
#books #bookstodon

3) Walking, by Thomas Bernhard
Can you guess why I got this one? Turned out to not really be my cup of tea, but still some interesting ideas in there. A translated Austrian novella about two friends walking and talking about the events and thoughts leading to another friend going insane. Well, one of them does most of the talking while the other records his stream of consciousness. #books #bookstodon

4) The Old Ways, by Robert Macfarlane
The idea of how some pathways have survived centuries and help us to tell stories of our ancestors and ourselves fascinates me, so I really liked a lot of this. A reminder of some of the different ways of seeing a landscape and finding stories in it, yet Macfarlane is interested in the people around these routes now and their stories too. #books #bookstodon #walking

5) The Red Scholar's Wake, by Aliette de Bodard ( @aliettedb)
Enjoyed this. Has the structure of a romance novel, but set in a future of sentient ships and space pirate politics where the stakes are much higher than the fate of a relationship. Lots of strangeness to get used to, but introduced well through the characters. Not read anything in this Xuya Universe before, but now I want to read more from it. #books #bookstodon

@nickbwalking @aliettedb intriguing, I'll add that to my mental wish list

@TheQuizGuy It's really good, I think it'll be right up your theme - the setting is very Vietnamese-influenced.