April's Atypical Advances Into Amazingly Alluring and Action-packed Fictions

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Just finished this anthology:

Outstanding among a pack of pretty good stories were "A Song for Lya" by then newcomer George R. R. Martin and "The Four-Hour Fugue" by then oldtimer Alfred Bester.

About to start this one:

I think the only story included which I have already read is "The Shobies' Story" by Ursula K. LeGuin.

 

[Lobolover]

Finaly finished Ransome's The Elixir of Life today. Certainly a great work of it's sort, and it does benefit to be read after Lady in the Hippocampus press release, as the ending to Ransome's tale is more uplifting.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I finished Dragonsong and Dragonsinger. Now I'm finishing up the trilogy with Dragondrums. I have been enjoying my re-read through some of Anne McCaffrey's Pern books; its like seeing a friend you haven't seen in a long time.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Finished Echoes of War by Steven Poore, one from my Chronicles writer list, the review of which is here: Perp's Reviews

And am moving on to another:

The Source by William G. Gee

 

[Mangara]

Finished Synners it was brilliant, easily 4 stars on goodreads, I loved it!

Now, with some trepidation I've picked up Dune which I have never read, and I'm worried it might disappoint!

 

[Connavar]

Almuric by Robert E. Howard

It reads like ERB first John Carter book in early on but Howard style of writing,vivid action fit this type of book like no others. Leanest,grimmast Sword and planet story i have read so far and i have read all the famous ones.

 

[gully_foyle]

Have just finished Feersum Endjinn by the esteemed Iain M Banks, but am still scratching my head over it. Anyone want to pm me on what Serehfa was all about, i.e. why it existed on the scale it did. Now reading Timequake by the most worthy Kurt Vonnegut (Jr).

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Now, with some trepidation I've picked up Dune which I have never read, and I'm worried it might disappoint!

It won't disappoint!

 

[Lobolover]

Have moved on to Dennis Geoffrey's Harvest in Poland, which I've als acquired after years of wanting to get it.

Am not a great way into it yet due to time constraints so I can't say much about it atm.

 

[Vertigo]

It won't disappoint!

Though if you get inspired by it, some of the sequels might!

 

[mosaix]

Fair Stood the Wind For France by H.E. Bates.

Often described as a 'modern classic' but I found it quite disappointing. It's a romance in a second world war setting. There are contradictions in the story and some clumsy sentence structure.

 

[elvet]

Blood and Bone by Ian Esselmont. I'm a Malazan junkie, so I'm enjoying the story, but I'm stuggling to place this in the context of The Crippled God. Even after 3 rereads it's difficult to remember the specifics of certain characters.

 

[Grunkins]

Finished reading Banks' Against a Dark Background. The second half was less 'heisty' than the first. Bits were a little disjointed, but the finale was very satisfying and felt very much like Banks. I would rank it in the lower third maybe of the M Banks books, but that's not a bad thing because the top two thirds are so good.

Back to the world of Malazan Book of the Fallen with Reaper's Gale. Wish the series was longer.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Finished reading Banks' Against a Dark Background. The second half was less 'heisty' than the first. Bits were a little disjointed, but the finale was very satisfying and felt very much like Banks. I would rank it in the lower third maybe of the M Banks books, but that's not a bad thing because the top two thirds are so good.

possibly my fave novel by him.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I finished Dragondrums, and am going to take a break from my re-read of the Pern books.

I am now reading the historical fiction novel Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. My Mom gave me this book years ago because it is one of her favorite books, and I am finally picking it up for a read.

 

[Connavar]

Trullion: Alastor 2262 by Jack Vance

Now thats a tongue twisting title. A very lush imagery and more exotic Vance SF than the last SF books i have read of him. Its has been too many months since i have enjoyed his prose, his imagination.

 

[Extollager]

I read Geoffrey Household's thriller for adolescents, Escape into Daylight. Two twelve-year-olds are kidnapped and imprisoned underground in rural England; escape; are caught again; escape, but are threatened by the kidnappers. This book could be a warm-up for someone who'd go on to read Rogue Male.

 

[Rodders]

Chimera by T.C. McCarthy.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Currently working on this volume of Nebula winners:

It's a mixture of the winning stories, an excerpt from the winning novel (Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman), essays on the field, a reprint of an old Hal Clement story ("Uncommon Sense") in honor of his Grand Master award, the Rhysling Award winners for poetry, and some "short list" stories. So far I've read the winning stories. "Reading the Bones" by Sheila Finch (novella) was OK linguistic SF, not great; "Lost Girls" by Jane Yolen (novelette) was a feminist spin on Peter Pan that left me cold (I'm not crazy about stories "updating" old classics, and it felt like it was written for preteens); and "Thirteen Ways to Water" by Bruce Holland Rogers had a simple, not entirely unfamiliar plot (ghosts haunting a Vietnam vet) but was written in a "literary"/"experimental"/"New Wave" style that I liked a lot.

 

[hitmouse]

Just finished Majestrum by Matthew Hughes. Pleased to find it more than just a Vance pastiche.

I also scored this beauty:

One of the few Vance novellas left on my to read list (still trying to find an affordable copy of Vandals of the Void.) Not bad but nowhere near his best, and quite obscure. What I hadn't realised was that this is an Ace Double, with several interesting Vance short stories on the reverse side, including The Moon Moth, which I had not previously read.