My tastes, I suspect, are product of my time, my upbringing, what I encountered while I was still un-molded clay, instead of the brick I am now. I got involved in a discussion about authors on the must buy list and the comfort re-read list.
I’ve been through a very stressful few years, and I must admit I have struggled to read ANYTHING new. I really didn’t want nasty surprises. I wanted books that were going to leave me feeling better, feeling able to cope. Books that were old friends when things were tough.
I’m hoping that – if tomorrow’s final semi-trailer removal (the house was on top of it, moving it up here) the rest of the job though not easy will be a little less like going over the Niagara Falls in a barrel. I really must get back to exploring new books again. But… I am a product of my time and place. I like Simak, Zenna Henderson, Poul Anderson, James H Schmitz… that kind of thing. More recently Pratchett or Niven.
So: what’s recent that would fit the bill? The last ‘recent’ YA I read had me throw the book in the bin after ripping it up.
Recommendations for Dr Monkey?
Mad Genius Club 
10 responses to “A product of my time”
Playing fast and loose with the definition of recent…
On the YA front?
The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by Lamplighter
Fantasy? Son of the Black Sword series by Correia. Also Dungeon Crawler Carl, forget the author. The first three books of He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon (There’s a genre shift at the end of book 3/beginning of book 4 that really wasn’t my cup of tea.)
Supers? In Hero Years… I’m Dead! by Stackpole
Science Fiction? Space Station Noir I forget the author.
I’ve read a bunch of decent stuff, but little of it has stuck with me.
Forgot to mention that Shirtaloon is an Aussie.
Mike Kupari’s “Twin Star” seems to be close. It has two “youthful” protagonists (in their 20s, but leaving their overly-civilized planet for the first time), and is a good rollicking adventure in the 50’s Astounding/60s Analog sense. Won’t be out until April.
I plan to pitch a review to Epoch Times.
Arthur Mayor. Space Station Noir for SF, his teenage superheros are also very good.
You should give The Under Achiever by David Price a try. It may be stretching the traditional definition of YA a bit, but it’s a fun read.
Son of the Black Sword ends Epically if that’s a word but it has some heckin dark through the middle. I was completely charmed by The Aeronauts Windlass by Jim Butcher, so much so that I read it three times then made myself give it a rest so I wouldn’t wear it out because I want it as a forever reread. It’s been since i got the Dune trilogy in high school that I got smitten so hard. There are some genuine baddys but oh the good guys. And swash gets truly buckled.
And cats.
This one is a little more from left field, but you may like ‘A Journey of Black and Red’ by Alex Gilbert. Yes, it’s a vampire story. No, it doesn’t sparkle. It does have a heck of a lot of swashbuckling adventure that pays homage to all of the tropes of Gaslamp fantasy, and a fair amount of humor to boot.
A recent enjoyable find is Magen 1 (Dalton King). Magical PI based in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The MC is a truly good guy who refuses offers from “evil corporation,” “crime lord,” and “magical government law enforcement agency.”
Unlike most of King’s books, the MC is kept so busy investigating, cultivating allies, fighting bad guys, and recovering from wounds that there is only one sex scene (4 pages I skipped).
The MC is a little OP (compared to average Mages). It is, however, scarcely noticeable. Most of his allies and adversaries are capable of squashing him like a bug.
Which always invites the question “Why, other than 2 feet thick Plot Armor, haven’t they?” Hopefully, the author provides a good answer.
There are multiple centers of power in Manhattan. Each has its own agenda, but they share one common goal. No open warfare.