Many happy returns

Sorry to have been MIA, but I was busy getting married, honeymooning, and such. It did give me some time to read:
- the new Chathrand Voyage book (okay, not great)
- the new N. K. Jemesin (very good, with a relatively unusual Egyptian-inspired setting)
- the new Catherine the Great biography (nicely researched but poorly organized)
- the second Dagger and the Coin novel by Daniel Abraham (which I thought would be the conclusion of a duology but apparently there's more to come; this series is so far the most well done and sly example of weaving brutalist fantasy elements into a traditional fantasy character setup that I have ever seen, and is superior to Abraham's seasonally themed prior series)
- Railsea, the new Mieville (which is, if anything, proof that Christopher Priest was completely right about the potential effects of winning multiple Arthur C. Clarke awards for only above-average work: I get it, man, you like trains and philosophy and think corporations are evil, but really? Moby-Dick crossed with Tremors, plus your hobby-horses?)

I can elaborate on any of these in particular in comments. Your recs for books and for pleasantly entertaining television series available on Netflix welcome.