Hard as it is to believe, August is upon us. It’s a month when I find myself refreshingly free of blogging obligations. No more competition judging, no more falling behind on readalongs. No more pressure. Just a lovely month of reading books. So the question is: Which books shall I be reading?

TBR

Even though I spent a lot of July clearing up loose ends, I still have a little more to do. I’ve got two Halo novels – Shadows of Reach and Divine Wind, both by Troy Denning – still in my TBR. Once those are completed, that’ll mean everything on the TBR was acquired this year. In August, that’s where I want to be, so those two remain a priority. I also didn’t get around to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Memory last month, and will be wrapping up that series this month instead.

After a break of three years, I’ve also decided it’s time to return to the Honorverse. I’m going to push myself less in this return, however. Reading this books back to back is asking for a burnout, so I’m going to focus on finishing one part of the series first. I’m starting the month with To End in Fire, and won’t go back to the prequels until later in the month. Another series I’ll be returning to is Justin D Hill’s Minka Lesk with Shadow of the Eighth. After Traitor Rock, my hopes for that one are very high indeed.

It’s not all continuations, however. I’ve got two very chunky anthologies edited my Mike Ashley calling my name from the TBR, and I’m hoping to pick out some new authors from them. I’m also going to get started on Stephen Baxter’s NASA trilogy.

A lot of the books I’ve just listed are on the thicker side, so that will probably take me all of the month. If I need something lighter to provide a break in-between denser material, I’ve got a stack of Deep Space Nine novels that should do just the trick.

& BEYOND

Outside of the reviewing business, it’s all hands on decks for articles. This is almost certainly going to be the month that I get back into my Empires of Science Fiction series, which I will post even if no one is around to read it. I’ve also go a somewhat more topical post coming up this week, about that major talking point of ‘problematic’ authors. As usual, I have thoughts on this, and it’s time to get them out into the open.

And since I no longer have the SPSFC to keep me involved in the online community, I’m thinking I might follow a book tag or two if I have the time. Feel free to tag me, I suppose.

RELEASE SCHEDULE

1st – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: A Stitch in Time, by Andrew J. Robinson – This one is actually a rerelease of an older book, the life story of Elim Garak, written by the man who played him. It’s been out of print for a long time, and is now back in audiobook form. Best of all, it’s being read by the author himself.

5th – Warhammer 40,000: Ciaphas Cain #11: Vainglorious, by Sandy Mitchell – The latest in the long running series sees Cain once again pressured into heroic action. The previous book was a recent reading highlight, so I’m greatly looking forward to this one. Also released at the same time is a collection of Ciaphas Cain short fiction,

5th – Warhammer 40,000: Longshot, by Rob Young – A standalone Astra Militarum novel, this one focuses on a sniper in the war against the T’au. It’s Young’s debut, so I’m interested to see what he brings to the table. Black Library have a good crop of authors right now, and fresh faces are always worth a look.

5th – Warhammer 40,000: The Fall of Cadia, by Robert Rath – Capping off a phenomenal weekend of Black Library releases is a return to the shattering of Cadia. I’m a big fan of Cadia, and of Robert Rath, so this looks good. The unfortunate news is that it’ll only be available in a ludicrously expensive deluxe edition for the foreseeable future, so I may have to wait a while before reading.

8th – Halo: Outcasts, by Troy Denning – The first new Halo novel since I began my readalong, this one follows the alien known as the Arbiter as he continues his crusade. I’ve got a lot to catch up on, but I’m likely to pick this one up if and when I see it.

As always, there’ll be something I’ve missed in my schedule. Let me know what you’re looking forward to reading this month in the comments.