July 2017: What are you reading?

[Ihe]

I'm reading Greybeard by Aldiss, and just finished Mieville's Railsea, which I found very inventive.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Still progressing through Count of Monte Cristo. I'm pretty hooked and it's definitely picking up steam. They don't write them like this anymore!

I agree. It's an amazing book, and I wish there were more like it.

 

[GCJ]

'Easy way to stop smoking,' by Allan Carr.

I read it during our week in a villa in Cyprus and made big promises to myself. I struggled when I got back, but I'm now vaping at work and have lost the notion of smoking during the day.

I'm still puffing the odd stogie at night though.

 

[TitaniumTi]

I'm re-reading Alex Hughes' Mindspace series. There are very few books that I happily re-read, and for a few minutes I thought the main protagonist was just too troubled, but then I was swept along by the pace of the story.

 

[williamjm]

They are great aren't they? I'd really like to see Wooding tackle some space opera.

I think Wooding's next project is meant to be an Epic Fantasy series, first book is meant to be out early next year if I remember correctly. I agree it would be interesting to see him try to do Space Opera some day.

And, yes, Sword Song is the fourth Saxon book following on from Lords of the North (

Spoiler

some few years on in fact because the book opens with him and Giselda already having two kids, the elder being around 5 or 6 I think

spoiler is for LotN not for SS).

I've enjoyed The Last Kingdom on TV, so I have been vaguely considering picking up the books.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Cheers for that Wooding info. Something to look forward to

Anyway, I've finished Primordial, and really rather liked it. Short, but a good length (I dragged it out a bit but it could be read easily in one or two sittings).

 

[Vertigo]

I think Wooding's next project is meant to be an Epic Fantasy series, first book is meant to be out early next year if I remember correctly. I agree it would be interesting to see him try to do Space Opera some day.

He does, I believe, mostly produce fantasy and the Ketty Jay series is about as close to SF as he has done so far. Sadly I no longer read much fantasy...

I've enjoyed The Last Kingdom on TV, so I have been vaguely considering picking up the books.

You'll not be surprised to hear me say the books are much better! But in truth the TV series took big liberties with the storyline and inevitably left a lot out. Or at least the first series did; I haven't watched the second one yet (I have it recorded so I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually!).

 

[williamjm]

He does, I believe, mostly produce fantasy and the Ketty Jay series is about as close to SF as he has done so far. Sadly I no longer read much fantasy...

The new book might not be to your taste then, I think he's commented that he is deliberately trying to write his take on the traditional High Fantasy novel.

You'll not be surprised to hear me say the books are much better! But in truth the TV series took big liberties with the storyline and inevitably left a lot out. Or at least the first series did; I haven't watched the second one yet (I have it recorded so I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually!).

Somehow I'm not surprised the TV series left things out, especially if they're adapting two books for each season. I think the second season was possibly better than the first.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[Gonk the Insane]

Just finished One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. It's a really funny story about time-travelling historians and is so much fun I want to read the next book in the series already. It's fast, witty, and has a great protagonist who really brings the story to life.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I've finished A Study in Scarlet and thoroughly enjoyed it. Review here

As is the case these days I should be reading another 25 Comics at this stage, But I'll be reading something else at the same time as I have been asked to read an advance copy of a book by one of our own.

 

[D.A. Xiaolin Spires]

I agree. It's an amazing book, and I wish there were more like it.

Count of Monte Cristo: So amazing. That book is great! I think it's the better than The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After.

Now I'm reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and just finished Waiting on a Bright Moon (excerpt from the novel on Tor) by JY Yang. Yang writes in the "Silkpunk" style, which I think is picking up some momentum after Ken Liu's series. Also picked up The Slow Regard of Silent Things Book by Patrick Rothfuss, but just started that one.

 

[Ihe]

I read Count of Montecristo when I was 8. The book weighed almost as much as I did . I loved it, even though I suspect there are several things that went over my head.

At that age, one doesn't focus on the technical prowess of a writer, on the subtleties of plot management and vocabulary, red herrings, foreshadowing, or any of those things. Without being aware of the literary quality of the book, my young mind was overtaken simply by the bare story and the incredible character development. That is a testament to just how amazing that book is, that even a young child can appreciate it, even while being blind to all the finer details.

 

[nixie]

Brandon Sanderson's Words of Radiance part two.

 

[svalbard]

Just finished this classic tale from 1970. It tells the story of when in 406 the Rhine froze and a confederation of Germanic tribes crossed into Gaul. It has it's flaws, but paints a great picture of a failing Roman Empire. Told from the first person POV of a fictional Roman general, Publius Maximus, the author finds an authentic voice in his narrative. It was a pleasant discovery.

 

[Extollager]

Reading John Webster's play The White Devil, William Morris's fantasy The Water of the Wondrous Isles, and John Brunner's The Stardroppers.

Would prefer to be reading the non-expanded version of the Brunner -- Listen! The Stars! -- but The Stardroppers was the freebie I had.

 

[Vertigo]

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell - another excellent volume in this excellent series. More here.
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham - a very thoughtful book, slow but good nonetheless. More here.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E Taylor - an excellent debut (?) by our very own @Dennis E. Taylor. More here.

 

[Randy M.]

Finished Still Life by Louise Penny.

This book, in its way, is truly wonderful. Penny has updated the cozy mystery, tamping down the more artificial and conventional aspects and inserting some touches that increase the sense of verisimilitude without losing the magic. Her community, Three Pines, is both an ideal and a messy real-life place where people with pain and sorrow find friends to laugh with and to love, and her detective, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Canadian Surete, intelligent and insightful without becoming unreal.

Jane Neal is a beloved member of the Three Pines community, killed by an arrow in the nearby woods one Sunday morning. Gamache and his team have to determine whether or not it was an accidental death and, of course, who did it. In the course of the investigation we get to meet and learn about the varied and sometimes eccentric villagers and view the life of the community. Penny treats all of them with a clear-eyed sense of humor, Gamache and his staff as well as the villagers.

As a writer this book displays Penny's generosity of spirit as well as her recognition of the less admirable traits of human beings. I found myself thinking at times of Bradbury. Really, a well-written effort for a first novel that sustained my attention throughout.


Randy M.

 

[Paul_C]

I finished The Stars My Destination last night and today made a start on a more recent book, Zoo City by Lauren Beukes.

Not for the first time I found The Stars . . . very different from what I thought it was going to be, but it was very enjoyable despite one or two plot points that confused me and something that can't be changed, the feel of the book based on the time it was written.

 

[pambaddeley]

Catchup - read Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks, and The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. Enjoyed both though they both had flaws. Then back to fantasy for a re-read of Louise Cooper's first novel, Lord of No Time. From there, started volume 1 The Initiate of the trilogy where she rewrote/expanded that book to develop the characters and story, and also make the protagonist sympathetic - really enjoying it.

 

[ratsy]

I'm about 80% through the audio book of Slaughterhouse Five. I must say I had no idea what to expect, but I've been pleasantly surprised by this extremely odd book. Just when I think I might not like it, I realize I love it.

I'm juggling a few books right now. Hoplite by Isaac Hooke (20%) Legionnaires, the massively successful, 'star wars not star wars' series by Nick Cole and Jason Anspach is killing it out there, and seems like it will be a lot of fun. (15%) and then I felt like some fantasy, and started The Copper Promise by Jen Williams, and it's great so far. Just what I needed. (10%) I looked this one up, and couldn't believe the low number of ratings on it on Amazon. I think people are missing out!