What am I Listening to Spring 2025
I’ve become a big consumer of audiobooks over the last several years, and so I wanted to run through what I’ve listened to so far this year, and give you guys my recommendations—because, if there’s one thing that’s hard to find these days, glutted as the marketplace is, it’s good fiction. Obviously, I listened to these, so that’s what I’m reviewing, but they’ll be just as good on e-book and print.
So, in no particular order (though I think this is the order I listened to them in):
The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi:
I’ve become a fan of John Scalzi, and this one was a lot of fun. Unique idea, and well-written as usual, with only a slight smattering of annoying politics here and there, which are sadly unavoidable these days, but he’s not obnoxious about it.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt:
It…wasn’t…bad? I dunno. I was hoping for more scenes from the Octopus’s POV, but there really weren’t many. The octopus scenes were great and insightful. The rest of the story was just kind of plodding. It was well-written, and I can see why many people liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. I’d neither recommend it, nor would I warn anyone away from it.
This Inevitable Ruin, Matt Dinniman:
Loved it. It’s the latest in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and I thought Matt outdid himself with this one. If you haven’t checked this series out, trust me, you’ll enjoy it.
Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky:
You know…just…meh. Really interesting idea. Really interesting worldbuilding. But the main character came off as a snob to me. He goes on and on about how amazingly smart he is because he’s a member of academia, which just makes me roll my eyes, uneducated peasant that I am. Plus, it was very heavy on the whole “communism is the best” thing, which, granted, is consistent with academia, but nevertheless annoying. I finished it, but only begrudgingly.
A solidly-written and fun quasi-western. It wasn’t mind-blowing or anything, but I was thoroughly entertained, and I see why CJ Box has gotten so popular. Open Season is the first book in a series of books featuring the main character.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Rober A. Heinlein:
I didn’t finish it—yet! Don’t get mad at me, all you Heinlein fans. I just wasn’t in the mood for this particular flavor when I started listening, so I switched to something else. I intend to go back to it. Probably.
Yeah, I got suckered by Robert Pattinson’s handsome face on the “Now A Major Motion Picture!” edition of the cover. What of it? I’m not immune to their advertising wiles. And it did turn out to be a good book. Light hearted and pretty funny, with just enough sciency-science-fiction stuff to keep it legit.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi:
Another good one. But come on! I almost didn’t WANT to like it. How dare this John Scalzi guy write a book about the moon being made of cheese, and he not only gets it published, but it DOES WELL? And it not only DOES WELL, but it’s actually GOOD? This book made me significantly jealous. Would recommend.
And my current listen?
