Marvellous March Manuscripts? So what are you reading this month?

[Ragnar]

I picked up Mark Chadbourn's Age of Misrule omnibus because it looked interesting.

 

[Nesacat]

I'm really enjoying it, Nesa. Although Death being the narrator isn't something original, it is very well-written and deeply touching.

No, not original but as you say, it's well done this time. I cried lotses. Should go out and buy shares in the Kleenex company at this rate. I like that the story comes full circle. It's a good sense of completion for everyone including the reader; because I had been wondering about the book Death picked up.

 

[mortbury]

Finished this week:
Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
Hellfire Today - richard Harrington

 

[Michael01]

Reading now:

Moon Goddess by Jim Melvin
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

 

[Connavar]

A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V Jones

So far its pretty typical but her writing has impressed me alittle specially compared to other epic fantasy i have tried lately.

 

[Pyan]

Just starting Marrow, by Robert Reed.

Any word on this? I'd never heard of him before picking up the book....

 

[mortbury]

23rd Pan Book of Horror Stories

 

[Durandal]

Just starting Marrow, by Robert Reed.

Any word on this? I'd never heard of him before picking up the book....

"Marrow" looked very appealing to me, but I was steered away from it by a friend who just hated it. (Dull writing, lack of character development, etc.) I'll be curious to hear your take, as I'm still sort of interested in it despite being warned off....

As to my reading, I've just finished Asimov's "Robots of Dawn", which was a disappointment. I really enjoyed his 1950s robot novels, and this one just didn't have the same snap. Far too long, especially considering the nature of this series' characters. A quick, pulp-ish crime novel can work just fine with cardboard cutout characters, but this longer novel just felt really stretched. A lack of action, plus an odd interlude about the psychology of sex near the end that really didn't seem to fit in.

Next up, I'm doing the fantasy thing for a while -- I'll be starting David Farland's Runelords series this evening.

 

[murphy]

Today I read a light, fluffy mystery by Charlaine Harris called the Julius House. Fun read and enjoyable. I'm now back to my reread of Michelle West's Sunsword series with The Broken Crown. I seem to be enjoying the reread more than the first time I read it. West does a good job of building interesting worlds.

 

[elvet]

Today I read a light, fluffy mystery by Charlaine Harris called the Julius House. Fun read and enjoyable. I'm now back to my reread of Michelle West's Sunsword series with The Broken Crown. I seem to be enjoying the reread more than the first time I read it. West does a good job of building interesting worlds.

I'm looking forward to rereading Sunsword. The fisrt time, it took me quite a while to sort out the social and political structure in the story. She puts in a lot of detail, and while frustrating at first, the effort to understand the machinations of the countries enhances the story. Reminds me of the first time I read LotR after reading the Silmarillion, it was like having a 2d cartoon become a 3d world.

 

[UltraCulture]

Will start The Eye of the Queen by Phillip Mann tonight, i'd never heard of him tbh, but the premise interested me and it was cheap as chips.

 

[K. Riehl]

Starting James Branch Cabell by Carl Van Doren. When finished I hope my advance reader of Small Favor by Jim Butcher will have arrived in the mail.

 

[Talysia]

Fool's Errand, by Robin Hobb.

 

[Happy Joe]

so far in March... (I'll probably forget some);
Asaro, C.; Primary Inversion (free E-book, Baen free library)
K. Laumer; Ultimax man
Bradley, M. Z.;
Landfall
Stormqueen
Cook, Rick;
The Wizardry Cursed
The Wizardry Consulted
The Wizardry Quested
Foster, A. D.; The Dig
Heinlien, R. A.;
Rocket ship Galileo (reread)
The Number of the Beast (reread)
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls
Norton Andre; Echos In Time
Campbel, J. W.; The Ultimate Weapon (free E-book, reread)
Burton, Sir Richard; To the Gold Coast For Gold (on line copy of original text)
Galton Francis; the Art of Travel (5th ed. 1877 - how to book on expiditions, camping and outdoor living)

Enjoy!

 

[sci-fi girl]

I'm reading "The eye of the world" by Robert Jordan. Seems that I'll have a long way to go lol.

 

[j d worthington]

Starting James Branch Cabell by Carl Van Doren.

Been a while since I read that -- quite a long while, actually. But it's good seeing someone else looking into something about Cabell... I'd be curious about your thoughts when you've finished....

 

[Razorback]

Just finished Slan, by A.E. Van Vogt. It was a nice tight story and a thoroughly entertaining read. There were several nifty plot twists. It’s a bit dated, but it holds up really well for a story that originated in 1940. I rate this one 8 out of 10.

 

[Connavar]

Just finished Slan, by A.E. Van Vogt. It was a nice tight story and a thoroughly entertaining read. There were several nifty plot twists. It’s a bit dated, but it holds up really well for a story that originated in 1940. I rate this one 8 out of 10.

Good to know i was reading a review about it in sfsite.com and thought about trying Slan as first Van Vogt story.

 

[Razorback]

It was my first by him. Let me know how you like it.

 

[Ursa major]

I have just finished:

• The Stone Canal and
• The Cassini Division,

both by Ken Macleod.

These follow on from The Star Fraction, which I read last month. (To recap, this was a good book spoiled, at least in my eyes, by the over-abundance of politics and the, by comparison, lack of focus on the speculative scientific side.) I thought I'd see where the author was heading and I'm glad I did.

Both books are excellent. There is still a lot of politics, but it seems much better integrated into the stories. (The politics was the story in The Star Fraction.)

At the heart of both sequels is the development of intelligence: its storage; its implementation on other wet (human) and machine platforms; what this means to our concept of time and mortality. And all of it held together by interesting storylines.

Being the fusspoy I am, there were parts I liked less, but all in all I thought these were good books. On the other hand, there is a lot of humour, and Ken Macleod likes his wordplay. So do I.

(I understand that there is an alternative sequel (The Sky Road) and I shall be looking forward to finding a copy.