two books I don't recommend
His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik. stuffy and humorless. all one thing after the other. the main character spent most of the book being more proper and doing his duty better than everyone else. notably, he spent a good amount of time thanking other characters.
The Book of Jhereg, by Steven Brust. all the plot lines are backed up by intricacies that only the main character seems to know, and he only starts knowing them when the plot needs to move forward. solutions basically fall into his lap. the plot elements that are probably supposed to be funny... aren't. also, it brings up huge cultural issues, discusses them for one and a half pages, and then drops them entirely.
on the other hand, I read all of both of them, and am bothering to note their titles.
