May's Manic Mining of Marvelous and Melodious Manuscripts

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I'm roughly halfway through the highly acclaimed novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2004). Normally I'm allergic to super-popular books, and to very long books (just a bit over 1000 pages) but I found this copy for free. So far I enjoy it well enough. Jane Austen and Charles Dickens collaborating to write a tale of magic would be the shortest way to describe it.

 

[biodroid]

I tried reading To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts but her style is too sophisticated for me. I find myself drifting off and thinking about other things while reading her book and then I have missed parts of the story. Moved on to The Passage by Justin Cronin, very excellent so far.

 

[Toby Frost]

Well, I finished Bitter Seeds and was slightly underwhelmed. It works fine, but it doesn't seem to take full advantage of the opportunities that its premise allows. I think it takes itself slightly too seriously, while the mixture of commandos, Cthulhu-like beings and supervillains really ought to lead to non-stop pulp action.

And now - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, which is funnier than I remembered, and some short stories by H.P. Lovecraft. "I saw something squamous and batrachian in the woodshed!"

 

[Talysia]

I haven't been reading a lot this year so far (something I aim to rectify as soon as possible), but I have recently read Ben Aaronovitch's Broken Homes, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[kythe]

I finally finished "I, Robot" by Asimov. But I have noticed something odd about the library copy I had. It has a picture of Will Smith on the cover along with the caption "One man saw it coming". Will Smith was in the movie of the same name, but his character does not appear in any of the short stories in the book. The subtitle also has nothing whatsoever to do with any of the stories. Not sure why it was marketed that way.

What really sucks is that book is the only copy of "I, Robot" in our entire library system that serves 600,000 people. Yet they have 5 copies of the movie!

Now I will read "Caves of Steel" by Asimov online. Thankfully I found it on a website since the library does not have a copy at all.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I have now finished Fade to Black by Francis Knight (Kissmequick) and am now starting the last book in my Chrons reading project, The Brass Man by Neal Asher

 

[vanye]

I have now finished Fade to Black by Francis Knight (Kissmequick) and am now starting the last book in my Chrons reading project, The Brass Man by Neal Asher

Asher is one of those authors whose books I always pick up without a second glance. Sure, some are better reads than others, but even his weakest are thoroughly enjoyable. And The Brass Man is one I remember very fondly.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Asher is one of those authors whose books I always pick up without a second glance. Sure, some are better reads than others, but even his weakest are thoroughly enjoyable. And The Brass Man is one I remember very fondly.

Glad to hear it, thanks change. It makes the anticipation all the exciting.

 

[AndrewT]

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 plot device did not work for me where he runs one story backwards and the other forwards. It became unnecessarily confusing, not that I could make much sense of the different vignettes to begin with. Was anyone reminded of Stephen Erickson by this? I started GoTM and bailed out after a bit because of having to work too hard to follow the story. Some people don't mind that and think it's brilliant from what I have read here.

 

[Grunkins]

Finished CJ Cherryh's The Pride of the Chanur. One of her more fun books (everything I've read of hers is very good, but not always fun). Solid, well written space opera featuring multiple species, interstellar civilizations, and political brinksmanship, all told with her typical close third person POV. Good stuff. She's never disappointed.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe (1984)

A novel of character, often comic, and not very similar to the rest of what I've read by this great author. Reviews I've read of it range from enthusiastic to dismissive. The basic plot involves four people -- a prostitute, a witch, a salesman, and a detective -- who accept an offer to live rent-free in a building about to be torn down. When the authorities start demolishing the building, the four join forces to find out what happened to the old man who let them live in the building, and to try to find the mysterious "treasure" that he may or may not have hidden somewhere in it. I've read enough of the reviews to know that a classic SF gimmick is going to be involved, but so far it could easily be a mainstream novel.

 

[Bick]

Finished CJ Cherryh's The Pride of the Chanur. One of her more fun books (everything I've read of hers is very good, but not always fun). Solid, well written space opera featuring multiple species, interstellar civilizations, and political brinksmanship, all told with her typical close third person POV. Good stuff. She's never disappointed.

That's interesting to hear, Grunkins. I like Cherryh for the great sense of place you get, but sometimes the books do seem a touch slow to me. They're not overly long though, so its not usually a problem. I need to give the Chanur books a go at some point as I've not read them.

 

[wam]

And now - Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, which is funnier than I remembered, and some short stories by H.P. Lovecraft. "I saw something squamous and batrachian in the woodshed!"

Read Cold Comfort years ago and discovered there were a couple of sequels. They had copies at a local library but I've never seen copies on sale.

 

[ratsy]

I'm over 3/4 done Assassin's Apprentice by Hobb in my re-read of it. I first read it in 2007 I think so it's almost like reading a new book. The first person feels a little odd in it for some reason. Maybe it's just because Fitz is telling his life in sections from being a little boy to a teenager. Something feels a little off about it, as if the story needs to 'catch up'. It is great though and as I read, I remember things and characters from the other books. Something about it is very comforting.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Just finished Paper Towns by John Green.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Now reading An Abundance Of Katherines (also by John Green) and about to dive into Hollow City, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. Am hoping it's as good as the first book.

 

[Extollager]

Last fall I offered a couple of weeks' intro to sf in an Introduction to Literature course. A student just asked for some summer reading suggestions. I'll bet my recommendations will differ from what most of y'all would send, but I was thinking of ones that I could personally attest to finding to be of special interest.

I've read C. S. Lewis's science fiction trilogy about a dozen times now: 1) Out of the Silent Planet, (2) Perelandra, (3) That Hideous Strength. They get my highest recommendation. After you read these, you might trythe book that Lewis said inspired him to write sf, Lindsay's A Voyage toArcturus. Our library has a copy with a hideous cover that was probablynot even painted to illustrate the book, so it has nothing to do with thecontents. Google Images will show you some better covers! But thetext in our copy should be fine.

H. G. Wells is the father of sf and his Time Machine and War of the Worldsremain very readable, also short stories such as "The Crystal Egg,""The Sea-Raiders," etc.

George R. Stewart's Earth Abides is a classic in the post-disaster genre ofsf. I've found Wilson Tucker's The Year of the Quiet Sun an impressivenear-future time travel story.

Walter M. Miller, Jr. wrote the famous sf novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. He wrote some excellent shorter fiction too, including Dark Benediction and theheart-breaking Conditionally Human.

In 220 we read Algis Budrys's Rogue Moon. You could try his sort novelWho?, which is kind of science fcition meshed with Cold War thriller.

When I taught American Lit a few years ago, I included Ursula Le Guin's TheLathe of Heaven.

Not really sf, but an imaginative and enjoyable mash-up of sf, weird fantasy,and thriller, is Tim Powers's Declare.

I thought Robert Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths, from a few years ago, wasvery entertaining, also Blind Lake and Spin.

The most recent sf novel I have read is Weir's The Martian, published thisyear. Very techy, but impressive.

 

[vanye]

H. G. Wells is the father of sf ...

To my mind, this title will always belong to Jules Verne.

And, while talking about the beginnings of SF, let me also mention Edgar Allan Poe's excellent narration or the adventures of one Hans Pfaall.

 

[Randy M.]

Last fall I offered a couple of weeks' intro to sf in an Introduction to Literature course. A student just asked for some summer reading suggestions. I'll bet my recommendations will differ from what most of y'all would send, but I was thinking of ones that I could personally attest to finding to be of special interest.

I've read C. S. Lewis's science fiction trilogy about a dozen times now: 1) Out of the Silent Planet, (2) Perelandra, (3) That Hideous Strength. They get my highest recommendation. After you read these, you might trythe book that Lewis said inspired him to write sf, Lindsay's A Voyage toArcturus. Our library has a copy with a hideous cover that was probablynot even painted to illustrate the book, so it has nothing to do with thecontents. Google Images will show you some better covers! But thetext in our copy should be fine.

H. G. Wells is the father of sf and his Time Machine and War of the Worldsremain very readable, also short stories such as "The Crystal Egg,""The Sea-Raiders," etc.

George R. Stewart's Earth Abides is a classic in the post-disaster genre ofsf. I've found Wilson Tucker's The Year of the Quiet Sun an impressivenear-future time travel story.

Walter M. Miller, Jr. wrote the famous sf novel A Canticle for Leibowitz. He wrote some excellent shorter fiction too, including Dark Benediction and theheart-breaking Conditionally Human.

In 220 we read Algis Budrys's Rogue Moon. You could try his sort novelWho?, which is kind of science fcition meshed with Cold War thriller.

When I taught American Lit a few years ago, I included Ursula Le Guin's TheLathe of Heaven.

Not really sf, but an imaginative and enjoyable mash-up of sf, weird fantasy,and thriller, is Tim Powers's Declare.

I thought Robert Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths, from a few years ago, wasvery entertaining, also Blind Lake and Spin.

The most recent sf novel I have read is Weir's The Martian, published thisyear. Very techy, but impressive.

We certainly agree on Miller and Le Guin and Wells. I'm especially fond of The Island of Dr. Moreau, but it's good to see someone pushing the short stories; I grinned to see "The Sea Raiders" which seems to me a bit underappreciated. It's been a favorite since I first read it in a kid's anthology in the 1970s.

I remain unimpressed by Lewis; though I liked Out of the Silent Planet, the other two felt lesser to me, Lewis forgetting to tell a story and busy preaching. How about Clarke's Childhood's End?

I will have to look into Wilson again.I've only read Julian Comstock and while I was mostly entertained, I felt like I was being manipulated to feel a certain way about the main character and that he hadn't quite earned it. I was rather fond of Dr. Watson ... er ... excuse me, his narrator, though.

And someday I will, I will, I will read the Budrys. Also that particular Powers.

What I might recommend:
a collection by Kuttner and Moore if something was still in print; also one by Eric Frank Russell. Also pairing Heinlein's Starship Troopers with Joe Haldeman's Forever War. And Fred Pohl's Gateway.


Randy M.

 

[Grunkins]

Finished CJ Cherryh's Chanur's Venture, the second book in the Chanur Saga omnibus, and the first book of a trilogy. The political maneuverings are ramped up about ten fold in this book, and with Cherryh writing in her super-tight third person POV, and that POV character being mostly out of the loop, it was a bit hard to follow. But knowing Cherryh as a writer, I had faith to simply strap in and read. This book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, with no resolution at all, and really didn't feel anything like a complete novel. Having the omnibus with the next book in the series right there, I don't mind, but if I was buying the book when it was originally published, I would have felt a bit cheated. What the book did contain though was very fast paced, high stakes, swashbuckling, good fun.

I think I'm going to hold off on the next book in the series and instead read a book (or books) that have been sitting in my TBR for years, Timothy Zahn's Conqueror's Pride.

 

[Extollager]

What I might recommend:
a collection by ...Eric Frank Russell.

I've read Sinister Barrier and perhaps a couple of short stories. So OK -- help me with this author, people. What are the novels and stories that you like a lot? If Dreadful Sanctuary is one of them, which version do you recommend and where would one find it?

Dreadful Sanctuary (Lancer Limited Edition): Eric Frank Russell: Amazon.com: Books