It's not been a great week for focus. I've been trying to get into Adrian Tchiakovsky's Days of Shattered Faith, but it really wasn't clicking for the 1st 100 pages. It's just locking into place now. I'm glad I stuck with it.
Some weeks it doesn't matter what I'm reading, my brain is 1 big dead end.

Please tell me he shouted back.

You're not wrong. That man must be writing in his sleep

I've had that with some books the entire world seems to love. Some of them I go back & try again later, but not all of them work for me in the end.

After House of Open Wounds, I've moved onto Lives of Bitter Rain. The world of the tyrant philosophers is so rich. Bitter Rain is a different, swifter flavour to the novels, but there's still such depth. Particularly when you're focused on one character.
It's no wonder this series is so popular.