November's Noble Neutralising of Literary Nadirs

[Fried Egg]

Just finished Neal Asher's "Gridlinked" and now started "When the Sleeper Wakes" by H. G. Wells.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Moorcock's Mother London a couple of weeks ago. Brilliant to the end.

Then had a go at Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, which I found disappointing and abandoned halfway through. I think she's brilliant when her setting is her home turf, but I've tried two of her "other world" fantasies now and wasn't taken with either of them. The sense of reality just wasn't there.

Now reading The Night of the Swarm, the fourth and last book of Robert VS Redick's Chathrand books. I was dubious about this as I struggled with the third volume, but it's pulling me happily along at the moment, and luckily is packed with reminders of what happened in previous books, as, true to form, I've forgotten pretty much everything.

 

[Grunkins]

Which other zombies have you read that is decent or good reads? Let me know after you finish if its good enough to read like 3/5 star rating meaning it is decent at worst and readable.

I didnt really care for zombies but i have been the awesome comics series The Walking Dead for the last 6 years and made me wonder if there are zombie novels about surviving a world that have collapsed to zombie chaos. I like the surviving part and not just one stand alone of creepy,action zombie story.

The problem with zombie books (and movies for that matter) is the good ones always come with the caveat: it's good, for a zombie book.

Both Plague of the Dead by Z A Recht, and Dead City by Joe McKinney were good...for zombie books.

Sadly when entering the world of zombie fiction we have to lower the bar for what "good" means. Somewhere out there is a good zombie book that is actually a good book, and I'm going to find it. I have a couple possibilities in my TBR stacks, and I'll tell you my findings after I read them.

I have a soft spot for apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic literature, and if that apocalypse is brought about by zombies all the better.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy was nearly a zombie book, and was certainly post-apocalyptic. If you haven't read that it's an excellent read. That's the closest I can come to a recommendation now.

I'm taking a bit of a break from zombies today, and starting Myke Cole's Shadow Ops: Control Point. I've heard good things.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Life On Air by David Attenborough.

 

[AE35Unit]

Life On Air by David Attenborough.

Ah another Attenborough fan! I have all his books bar a few, he has a fascinating history- 60 years in broadcasting!

 

[Rodders]

I finished Edmund Coopers!s "A Far Sunset" and was pleased to say that I really enjoyed it. (I read it as a teenager and loved it, but I was worried that it wouldn't age well.)

Now onto "Cloudwalker", also by Edmund Cooper.

 

[Vertigo]

Finished Iain Banks' Walking on Glass; my second non SF Banks book. Whilst the book was excellent I found the ending disappointing. I didn't really feall it resolved everything that needed resolution.

 

[Abernovo]

I wasn't too keen on the ending of Walking on Glass, either, Vert. I much preferred Whit and Complicity, and I think I'm the only person I know who loves The Business.

Just got Neal Asher's The Line of Polity at the top of my to read pile. Off to start that next week.

 

[Vertigo]

Could to know I'm not alone in that then, Aber. I've always loved his SF but have only just got around to reading his other stuff. Apart from that ending, I've so far thoroughly enjoyed it and will certainly be continuing to work through it. I just love the... weirdness of his writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Line of Polity by the way!

 

[j d worthington]

Finished Moorcock's Mother London a couple of weeks ago. Brilliant to the end.

Glad you enjoyed that one; it remains one of my personal favorites, and as I have frequently said, I'd rank it as among Moorcock's five or six best....

Myself... I am currently doing a reread of Thomas Moore's The Epicurean, a Tale, with Alciphron (the original unfinished verse version of the former). It has been a few years since I read it, and it reads differently now, but I am certainly enjoying it... and picking up on some interesting relations between it and some of HPL's work (beyond the fact he quoted Alciphron in both "The Nameless City" and "Under the Pyramids")....

 

[Kapelvig]

Life On Air by David Attenborough.

Great choice - I loved reading that book. Such a wonderfully generous and down-to-earth man. Plus he gives a fascinating insight into the workings of the BBC in the sixties.

 

[Kapelvig]

I wasn't too keen on the ending of Walking on Glass, either, Vert. I much preferred Whit and Complicity, and I think I'm the only person I know who loves The Business.

I liked Walking on Glass and I really loved The Business but was a bit disappointed with the ending - it seemed a bit... flaccid after everything that had gone before!

Just finished Use of Weapons - again, strange ending which I don't think quite worked, but was certainly very bold! Now I'm onto Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, which has come highly recommended by my brother!

 

[Vertigo]

Finished Toby Frost's Wrath of the Lemming Men. I Loved Frost's first book but found his second a little disappointing. However this one was a return to form and was a great fun read and tremendously paced.

I'm now going to continue a spell of light reading with ERB's The God's of Mars

 

[Abernovo]

I liked Walking on Glass and I really loved The Business but was a bit disappointed with the ending - it seemed a bit... flaccid after everything that had gone before!

Just finished Use of Weapons - again, strange ending which I don't think quite worked, but was certainly very bold! Now I'm onto Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, which has come highly recommended by my brother!

I know a few people who've said the same thing about The Business. I think it was the sappy old romantic in me that liked the ending. I liked the ending of Use of Weapons. My only complaint was that I'd worked it out some time before. Chekhov's gun and all that.

I've got Oryx and Crake in my pile of books to be read. I had a quick browse and it looks good, Noticed it alternates between past and present tenses. It's been waiting in line for a few months, so definitely a book for December, I think.

 

[Connavar]

Finished Toby Frost's Wrath of the Lemming Men. I Loved Frost's first book but found his second a little disappointing. However this one was a return to form and was a great fun read and tremendously paced.

I'm now going to continue a spell of light reading with ERB's The God's of Mars

As a new ERB fan who just bought The God's of Mars i dont like the idea of calling it a light reading. Sure fast paced adventure, not heavy read and short book but light makes me think of its mindless Gor typ trashy read

I respect ERB storytelling ability, his world building and a series that is better Sword and Planet than most books in the last century. Not even Jack Vance, Leigh Brackett wrote Sword and Planet as well imo.

 

[Grunkins]

I finished Myke Cole's Shadow OPs: Control Point a few minutes a go. Good fun. The series can go lots of different places from here. New one should be out in a couple months, looking forward to it.

Going to start Abercrombie's The Red Country tonight. I thought his The Heroes was about as good as a book gets, so I have high hopes for this one.

 

[AE35Unit]

Finished Mission of Gravity last night- loved it-review (and new avatar) coming soon...

 

[Connavar]

I read A Gent from Bear Creak by REH.

It was tall tales,over the top humourus western story and i chuckled,laughed many times reading the novel. Elkins i couldnt help laughing at and with. The way he spoke,thought was was really well done and i have rarely read books that was funny through a whole book. I liked the accent,speech patterns of southern west times and slang i had to translate in my mind at times. It was like reading a Johnny Cash song which added colour,character.

The only real flaw was that at the end it turned more into action,adventure western and lost the humourus tone that i enjoyed reading. I have read maybe 10 outright humour books but this one is easily the funniest i have read.

 

[Vertigo]

As a new ERB fan who just bought The God's of Mars i dont like the idea of calling it a light reading. Sure fast paced adventure, not heavy read and short book but light makes me think of its mindless Gor typ trashy read

I respect ERB storytelling ability, his world building and a series that is better Sword and Planet than most books in the last century. Not even Jack Vance, Leigh Brackett wrote Sword and Planet as well imo.

No don't worry, Con, when I refer to a light read I certainly don't mean a trashy one! I rather mean a book that I can just relax and enjoy without having to do to much heavy thinking, analysis etc. I do love these books but I do find them a nice short light read.

I have actually now finished The Gods of Mars (almost read it in a single sitting!) and loved it, depsite it pushing my suspension of disbelief as some points. For example there is chaotic battle going, an airships lifts off from the battlefield and John Carter manages to scramble aboard, throwing the only guard over the edge. Then he discovers that all the rest of the crew are lying asleep on the deck! Remember they have just lifted off from the middle of a raging battle. But never mind I can roll with that sort of thing and just enjoy the wonderful swashbuckling adventure!

Thinking of staying with classics and reading Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea next

 

[ratsy]

Going to start Abercrombie's The Red Country tonight. I thought his The Heroes was about as good as a book gets, so I have high hopes for this one.

Well I am over half way through Red Country and it is great. Joe just has a fantastic knack for writing a story. I was wondering where he could take such a simple story and have been blown away so far. And it has me eagerly awaiting the result.

If anyone has not read Abercrombie (which I am sure most have), do it!