Weekly Update: January 4th, 2025 | The One Where I Really Need My Coffee End Table Back

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

There is a gap of a couple decades between Prince of Nothing and Aspect Emperor, so you taking some time off between the two series works just fine. The Thousandfold Thought was also my least favorite of the three books in Prince of Nothing, but the first two books of Aspect of Emperor are, for me, peak Bakker. Happy reading, Mike!

[@NamasteBbooktube]

So, has Mike already read Bakker's best works? 🤔

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

@ In my opinion, not yet. But let’s see what he thinks when he gets there!

[@laurac56]

Just beginning The Witchwood Crown. So glad to be back to reading Tad Williams!

[@heidi6281]

I just finished it this morning! 5 stars, the poetry in the prose is 😘! I think Tad is masterful!!

[@samofWinterfell]

I decided to start the year off big. Halfway through Clash of Kings. I love some Westeros. And working in 11-2263. I can’t think of a better duo than the King and George.

[@thebookthatnooneread]

First finished book of 2025 is The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, and I really enjoyed it. Thank you for bringing this awesome book series to my attention, I somehow missed out on the TV series so this was great surprise. Definitely going to continue the series!

[@mattjones4415]

I read last kingdom this month too. Great book. Loved the tv show so I liked the journey with a younger uhtred for most of the book

[@thebookthatnooneread]

That’s what I liked most about it too, the perspective from a younger character and how he reacts to everything that happens around and to him. It might not have been so gripping if the story had begun with an adult.

[@stevenstewart782]

I'm only 5%in to Rise of the Ranger and I am hooked

[@philipc.quaintrell7589]

Yeah! 🔥

[@mikesbookreviews]

Excellent!

[@michaelholland6533]

I loved Rise of the Ranger. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of series.

[@gryftkin]

Glad you're back up and running. Hate it when your surge protector says "just kidding". :P

[@njlear6783]

Colm Meaney played Miles O'Brien.🙂

[@karenbird6727]

I just started the 4th book in the series. l have to hold myself back from reading only this series right now.

[@GenuinelyCurious120]

I'm bloodyDamn enjoying Red Rising 😎 I had to buy a bookshelf last year thanks to you. Going for number two this year lol

[@akbookdragon7071]

Hell on Wheels was so good! I hope you keep enjoying it!

[@seanoconnor2865]

If your knees continue to deteriorate, cut out carbs like sugar, bread, pasta. I went from a cane to climbing mountains. Also cured my chronic tennis elbow.

[@RLX5201]

First 3 books of Echoes Saga were brilliant for me. Can’t wait to dive into book 4

[@TheBeardedBookBeast]

Hell on Wheels was one of my favorite shows! AMC was so awesome back then. I'm excited to dive into Echoes this week, you've got me hyped!

[@michaelbodell7740]

The echos books are really, really solid fantasy. Really enjoyed reading them.

[@CooperScroggin]

Common was supposed to be John Stewart in a cancelled Justice League movie, the script wasn't half bad, either. The whole thing's online if you're curious.

[@jcainwa5236]

Finished my first Audiobook of the year. It was good to revisit Fitz in the Fool's Errand (Book 1 - The Tawny Man Trilogy) by Robin Hobb. I seem to be one of the few that preferred The Farseer trilogy over The Liveship Traders trilogy.

[@benconlin3557]

Finished Silence of the Lambs and Dandelion Dynasty Book 2 and started The Outsider by Stephen King (hooked as usual, can’t stop reading to see what’s going on). Another Holly book in May Mike, I’m sure you’re thrilled 😂

[@angelaholmes8888]

Im glad you're enjoying hell on wheels that show is so underrated

[@NikhilKoparkarmusic]

Sorry to hear of the computer issues Mike! Battery backup + voltage regulator helps me in intermittent power lapses during storms

[@nathancooper22]

Echoes saga rocks It’s just awesome traditional fantasy. All 3 trilogies are so much fun and Asher is one of the best fantasy characters ever. I loved that he was an aging hero with so many flaws but you can’t help but love him. And Doran Heavbelly might be the best Dwarf ever written in fantasy. Sorry Gimli but Doran takes top spot

[@geoffreyreed3310]

The Thousandfold Thought is also my least favorite of all the books. I just finished the Aspect Emperor series, and it's an incredible story. I liked it better than the Prince of Nothing

[@dubhmoore575]

I loved Hell on Wheels !!! And Deadwood is awesome

[@AuthorJohnADouglas]

Always a fun convo to be had when we stream, Mike

[@kylerieman221]

Finished up The Last Oracle by James Rollins yesterday and started The Sentenal Mage by Emily Gee today. Still making my way through part 1 of Shogun and The Shadow of What Was Lost. Wife starts chemo again on Monday...hopefully. This round has to be done inpatient so I'll probably get lots of reading time next week.

[@Shaad2321]

I am happy your enjoying rise of the ranger!

[@FreeLatveria]

I really wish I could have started Rise of the Ranger with you, but the Sun Eater FOMO bit me hard so I chose to start that this month instead. But I did buy like 9 of his books back on the Day of the Dragon

[@KalleVilenius]

Just finished Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe today. The Latro series is like Christopher Nolan's Memento but in ancient Greece, where a soldier suffers a head injury and keeps forgetting everything that happened to him. You'd think that would make it confusing but it's a much easier read than Book of the New Sun, check it out sometime. Wolfe should be read and spoken of more.

[@ryanbourbeau3078]

This sounds awesome thanks for mentioning it!

[@MrZacke08]

I started reading Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky today. Allen's review sold me on it. Pride and Prejudice meets flintlock fantasy.

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

I just finished reading That Which Stands Outside by Mark Morris. It is a Nordic folklore horror novel, and I had a lot of fun with it. I think the first two-thirds is about as near-perfect as it can get. The final act maybe got a little too big, but that is a minor criticism. Happy reading everyone.

[@briangal71]

Happy New Year. I agree about Silo. A really good show. I've only read Wool, and was disappointed we only got half the story in S1, but it's going great guns.

[@ravenbellebooks5665]

So I started Ship of Theseus for my book to read when I need a break from Oathbringer - and while I like it so far, I'm so tempted to read Rise of Ranger anyway, especially since I could start it on my kindle while I wait for the physical book, haha!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Man, SoT was just a timesink I didn't have. I think I had spend 10 hours on it and I was on page 30 ha ha

[@ravenbellebooks5665]

@mikesbookreviews It was very overwhelming at first, but I came across a suggestion to just read the book itself first, then go back and read the notes by color (it lists which colors to read together, so you technically go through it three times) and it's been a bit easier to try to tackle - but you're right, it's going to take a lot longer than a typical book! I enjoyed House of Leaves, and this reminds me of it. Let's hope it's worth the time, haha!

[@abnushagnasty805]

I loved Hell on Wheels. Glad to see you are getting into it Mike. 🍻

[@ryandberry1]

Excited to try some Quaintrell. Just got TBB editions for books 1&2 of the Time of Dragons series. I'm always hesitant to start such a large series(ECHOES). That being said, I just started Michael J Sullivans Riyria books and after Book 1 I'm thinking I'll enjoy the rest too, hoping it steps it up a bit tbh but def a good start. Dying for Mike to watch Peaky Blinders just to hear his opinion on the similarities to the Priest of Bones series.

[@madlynx1818]

‘Hell On Wheels’ was an awesome series. If you want the true history of the building of the transcontinental railroad without the main character of Cullen but with other central characters that are in the show and true to life, there’s a fantastic book called ‘Nothing Like It In The World’ by Stephen Ambrose. The creators of the show must all have read it, it’s where I first heard the term “hell on wheels”.

[@Wracu]

Did you read the appendix at the end of TTT? There are some nice article like pieces of lore there , 'The Apocalypse's and 'The Cûno-Inchoroi Wars' entries are particularly good.

[@JonahBarnes]

Hell On Wheels is a great show. Watched the whole thing years ago and it still rattles around in my mind. Good stuff. Stick through it all. The villains are memorable.

[@andrewhanson405]

TTT is definitely my least favorite in the series. Honestly, I much prefer Aspects-Emperor to PoN because the world and storytelling felt more expansive and grand for me. I think you would really enjoy the first two books of Aspects-Emperor but some people have problems with the finale two as they are much darker than the rest of the series and more philosophical. The last two books are my favorite of the seven books but I understand how they alienate some. The lore and world-building is much greater and deeper in Aspects-Emperor, since that is one of your favorite parts of Bakker's world, I think you will be mostly satisfied with Aspects-Emperor overall.

[@skywalker80316]

I always enjoy your weekly update! I’m reading Red Sky Morning by Jack Carr which is on the Terminal List series. I plan to read Blood Rites by Jim Butcher next.

[@JerodimusPrime]

So glad you're enjoying Hell on Wheels, it's a brilliant show. The first 3 seasons are the best, then it does fall off after that, but all in all, it's definitely worth watching.

[@brentasmith]

Check out that glossary in the back of TTT for a bunch of lore stuff.

[@momo_genX]

I checked out the prologue for Rise of the Ranger. It is amazing, indeed. I like prose like that. It has a heavy rythm to it and there's nothing purple about the words he chooses to write with.

[@safinan8008]

Happy new year 🎉 just currently reading Brandon Sanderson wind and truth so far good. Happy 2025 reading!! 📖

[@Twiceborn_by_grace]

It was so good to hear someone say the word “commercials”. Nowadays people just say “ads”.

[@joshramirez7]

Lol you care why? No matter how you say it, they still suck.

[@Twiceborn_by_grace]

@ just an observation, troll.

[@Henry-jp3mc]

Happy new year! I'm flying through Garden of Rama by Arthur C Clarke. Its AMAZING

[@akellerhouse83]

I think you've convinced me to try Silo. I'm currently watching x-files from beginning to end, so maybe after I'm done with that.

[@philippburnett6045]

Not enough western shows? Deadwood?

[@awizardintraining]

I finished Toto by A.J. Hackwith, a very fun reimagining of The Wizard of Oz and I'm working through Deadhouse Gates. Now, I'm only on chapter 3, but I get the feeling the pacing is slower than Gardens. Am I alone in that?

[@heidi6281]

I am seeing Hell on Wheels in your in your thumbnail!! That is my show!❤❤❤❤❤

[@JohnBlack-n5m]

Mike! Have you ever tried reading The Caverns of Black Ice by J.V. Jones? I think you would really enjoy it!!!! Sadly, she is STILL writing book 5 10 years later. It's still worth it to read books 1-4. Overall great channel update! I really enjoy your content, and I hope you are able to keep doing it!!! Have a great 2025!!! Cheers!

[@adrianmontanez7216]

Finished 2 books today. Demon Card Enforcer by John Stovall was an ok 3 star read. Interesting premise with a fun deck-building premise. Didn't like the characters. Meanwhile, I audiobooked the last What If... prose novel. What If... Marc Spector Was A Host To Venom? By Mike Chen. These Marvel novels have been fun. I've always liked the What if comics and getting the chance to explore these concepts through a full-length prose novels has been a fun experience. 4 stars for this. I am currently reading through Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #5 in preparation for the end next month. So good. I'm going to miss this series when it's over, I just know it. 😢

[@dubhmoore575]

Colm Meaney 🎉

[@brandon8667]

Wrapping up a non fiction on Alexander The Great. About to start some Dan Simmons horror, The Terror.

[@jameshamilton6381]

That looks like Dresden in the thumbnail. Are we getting Twelve Months this year?

[@NamasteBbooktube]

😂 listening to the hilarious comments on your videos is the funniest thing 😅😂 "why you haven't included a book that you haven't read" hahahaaha😂😂

[@ryanharvey938]

This year I've decided to read several series that booktubers have DNF as well as myself.

[@ando336699]

Do u do reviews anymore ? Was scrolling through vids and its mainly some streams and weekly updates

[@markmiles3768]

What Kindle is that? I have an older one that doesn’t hold a charge very long!

[@85dresden]

Have you officially replaced the Oasis with the Colorsoft?

[@lisac1619]

The first season of Hell on Wheels was awesome. Unfortunately, the following seasons aren't as good.

[@heidi6281]

The second season was the best!!!

[@KJ-gz2vi]

I listened to the audio of rise of the ranger last year. It was okay. I think the audio narrator kinda sucked and that ruined the story for me; also the prose was kinda clunky. I am going to read the ebook for the second book and hope that it improves the experience.

[@Reticent-Voice]

I tried watching Silo, it's soooooooooo slow.........I had a hard time even getting through the first episode.

[@brucegrossman3531]

I read the book before I knew it was going to be show. The book flies. I gave up 20 minutes into the first episode

[@angelaholmes8888]

I finished my first book of 2025 unfortunately I didn't enjoy it the teacher by frida McFadden if you're planning on reading her books don't start with this one ⭐⭐

[@scottv5587]

Thousandfold sucks. Bakker clearly lost the plot at some point and just started writing nonsense. I haven’t read Asspect Emperor yet but it sounds like Bakker finds his mojo again