May's Manic Mining of Marvelous and Melodious Manuscripts

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GOLLUM

GOLLUM

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OK everyone.

Please post what you have been reading in the merriest of months...:)
 
I'm kicking off May's reading with 2 books:

Eva Ibbotson's "The Dragonfly Pond" and John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines".

So far so good. Will probably move on to reading "Allegiant" as well this month.
 
I'm still reading Edgar Allen Poe stories, and also working through "I, Robot" by Asimov. I want to finish both the robot series and the Foundation series.
 
I finished Stephen Palmer's Hairy London this morning. It was a weird, yet wonderful tale that I won't soon forget. Such an original concept and their adventures were fast and fleeting and fun. Well done.


I moved on to a re-read of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb in preparation of the new Fitz book coming later this year. I'm not sure if I will read all 6 of them again but we'll see how they go. So far, 20 pages in and it's like putting on an old pair of jeans. It fits just right ;)
 
Recently re-read David Drake's entire RCN series in anticipation of The Sea Without A Shore. Discovered that there is actually more character development going on than I thought when I read the books strung out when they were published. And anyway, a great read and one of the few military SF-series that are actually fun. Definitely a recommendation!

Today I finished Bloodsong by Anthony Ryan. This is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in years. Better than Dagger And Coin (one of the more recent fantasy successes), actually, so very highly recommended, indeed. And the second book of the series will be out, soon. Now that's a read I look forward to ...
 
Shah of Shahs Ryszard Kapuscinski

Looks at Iran in the run up to the revolution. Excellent.
 
Currently reading "Mr Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters" by John Langan. I read his story 'Bloom' in Black Wings 2, the Lovecraftian anthology edited by the estimable S.T. Joshi and was very impressed so I'm diving into the rest of his oeuvre.
 
vanye said:
Today I finished Bloodsong by Anthony Ryan. This is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in years. Better than Dagger And Coin (one of the more recent fantasy successes), actually, so very highly recommended, indeed. And the second book of the series will be out, soon. Now that's a read I look forward to ...
Click to expand...

Loved that book, I totally agree its one of the best of the recent crop. He is one of my top 5 authors.
 
I have a terrible confession to make, I've gone over to the dark side.
YES! I've started to read non-fiction, Dah- Dah-Daaaaaaaaah!!!!!
I've just started "Operation Crossbow" by Allan Williams, so far it's very well written.
It's about the hunt for Hitler's V-Weapons, a good part of this involved the use of photo reconnaissance, using un-armed Spitfire's & Mosquitos who's only defence were there speed, needless to say they were flown by very skilled and very brave pilots!
Fortunately we had the best photo interpreters in the war, most of which were women.
This plus the use of Enigma decrypts, Agents and the interrogation of prisoners, plus bugging there cells where they would talk freely amongst themselves.
All in all a very interesting read, especially if your interested in WW2, Intelligence & Aircraft as I am.
Good luck & good reading to everyone!
 
Finished Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks and was rather disappointed. It was pretty thin on plot, had some unbelievable moments, and an unnecessary twist at the end that lent nothing to the book. Of all of the Banks books I've read (except for the rubbish A Song of Stone) this was the one where the weaknesses in his writing showed the most.

I am now reading a book called Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis, about a British spy in WW2 who is also a wizard. It's not bad so far, although there are quite a few small mistakes that even I can spot. The pacing is rather odd, too. We'll see how it turns out: it could become really good, or end up as a missed opportunity.
 
Toby Frost said:
I am now reading a book called Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis, about a British spy in WW2 who is also a wizard. It's not bad so far, although there are quite a few small mistakes that even I can spot. The pacing is rather odd, too. We'll see how it turns out: it could become really good, or end up as a missed opportunity.
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I tried this and didn't get on with the first book at all, but others do rave about it. I much preferred The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar - alternate history WW2 (or at least to start) where 'superheroes' are present, on both sides. Strange writing style but a real gem.

Need to get some more of yours too, only have the first book!
 
Finished Mark Lawrence's Emperor of Thorns last night, and with that his Broken Empire series. It was another great book, and a fine ending to a great series (the last page or two were particularly satisfying).

I'll miss Jorg. He's got to be one of the most proactive characters in all of fiction. In Emperor this is typified by how he handles the problem of his antagonistic cousin riding disguised amongst Jorg's guard - without spoiling anything, this is a perfect example of Jorg's problem solving instincts. I'll also miss Jorg's wit. And his self awareness. In short I'll miss the series, but that's what rereads are for.

Mark Lawrence has moved into my highest echelon of writers, and in a month I get to jump back into his world with his new book, Prince of Fools. Can't wait.
 
Toby Frost said:
Finished Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks and was rather disappointed. It was pretty thin on plot, had some unbelievable moments, and an unnecessary twist at the end that lent nothing to the book. Of all of the Banks books I've read (except for the rubbish A Song of Stone) this was the one where the weaknesses in his writing showed the most.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat anathema amongst Banks fans because I wasn't hugely impressed with Use of Weapons either. It did contain perhaps the funniest joke I've ever read though (I believe the punchline was, "A hat." I'm sure you'll recall).

Chin up though! The next Culture book (if you are reading in publication order) is Excession and in my opinion it's the best of the series. Rip roaring good spacey times ahead.
 
I posted this in the April thread, but will repost in May. :)


I just finished The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It was alright, nothing special. However, I would like to read other books about Achilles, Hector, and the Trojan War so any recommendations would be appreciated. :)

Now I'm picking up Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. I saw him recently at our book festival and was really impressed with him so I bought this book. I'm really hoping its good, my most recent reads have really left me wanting more.
 
Reading Max Hastings' Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 (I believe the UK title is All Hell Broke Loose), Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes in R. B. Russell's translation, finishing Gogol's Dead Souls (Part One) n the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, the first hundred-odd pages in which once again brought tears of laughter to my eyes, but which overall isn't delighting me quite as much as i might have expected, etc.
 
Finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman last night. Loved it.

I'm still reading Scrap Metal by Harper Fox on the Kindle, but need another book for bedtime.

So... do I try to get back into Anne Lyle's Merchant of Dreams? Or pick up something else. Maybe Anansi Boys.
 
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