April 2018 reading thread

[awesomesauce]

The long Way to a small angry Planet by Becky Chambers was indeed just as good as the first impression. Great storytelling, very personable characters - really a "feelgood comfort book". Something seldom found in SF. Loved it and already have the follow-up on my list.

I loved that book! I was disappointed when A Closed and Common Orbit didn't follow the same main characters, but I ended up loving it too. It has the same positivity as the first.

 

[awesomesauce]

April has been a heavy reading month for me. I didn't even realize.

Nonfiction

• Thus spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (Graham Parkes translation) - I read the first three parts of this last year, put it down, and then felt like I had to start again from the beginning. (I was wrong.) It's very dense. I ended up both appreciating Nietzsche's ability to write scripture and wondering what on earth women and cats did to him.
  
• Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression by Charb (English translation) - this is the manifesto Charb finished shortly before the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices where he was murdered. Reading it made me sad.
• Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print by Lawrence Block - my edition is the 2010 ebook issued by Open Road Media and the info on publishing hadn't been updated since the 1970s. It was good, but I'd get the updated edition if I was buying it today.

Fiction

• Aliens Wrecked Our Kegger (book 4, Shingles series) by Drew Hayes - a goofy novella about a crew of aliens whose mission it is to travel through the universe and party battling it out with a frat to decide who are the supreme party masters of the universe. Drew Hayes is in the feel good category for me.
• Critical Failures VI: The Good, the Bad, and the Neutral by Robert Bevan - latest installment in a series of LitRPG novels about a group of tabletop gamers who get trapped in the game world as their characters. I love this series, but don't recommend for people who are squeamish about bodily functions or think jokes about anything are off limits.
  
• Topher Nightshade vs. The Camp of The Undead Apocalypse by Drew Hayes - another "feel good" novel by Hayes, about a crew of internet ghost hunters who accidentally get caught up in the ghost apocalypse.
• Skyfarer by Joseph Brassey - I think this is a love-it-or-hate-it book. I didn't love it, but I slogged through it.
  
• Klaus Encounters: The Legend of Klaus Richter by Robert Bevan - a novella in a series of origin stories for characters in a RPG podcast I listen to. (Authors & Dragons)
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - the classic novel where fainting man-baby Victor Frankenstein runs away from his responsibilities and his creation grows up to be an entitled, murderous monster who blames his parent.

Comics

• The Wicked + The Divine Volume 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie - series about gods incarnating, in this volume, Satan is accused of a crime she (probably) didn't commit.

 

[soulsinging]

I actually read it about 5 years ago and -- making all necessary allowances for the verbose Victoriana -- actually enjoyed it a good deal. It's actually quite pacy for its day, and has a corker of a female character who is brave, forthright, loyal and intelligent. Of course, though, since she's identified with all the masculine virtues, she can't be the MC's beloved, who has to be weak, insipid and borderline feeble-minded.

I read this a few years back because I enjoyed The Moonstone in undergrad and agree about its pacing... it sucked me in in a way many novels of that era don't. Also totally agree on that female character, she might be my favorite in all Victorian/Romantic lit.

I wrapped up Treasure Island, which was pleasant enough but forced me to admit that I just don't really go for "swashbuckling" lit the way I thought.

After that, I ripped through God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut, a personal favorite author of mine. It was excellent and feels shockingly relevant to current times despite being 50 years old now. It's about a certain sum of money and the all-important matter of who gets it and how to spend it appropriately.

Now I'm starting either Homegoing or The Forever War.

 

[Randy M.]

Asesomesauce: I laughed at your description of Frankenstein.

Currently reading an oldie, Shock I by Richard Matheson, a collection. So far, as with most collections, some work better for me than others -- I like "The Children of Noah," "Lemmings," "Long Distance Call"; less fond of "Mantage"; and one has kept me wondering the point, "Dance of the Dead," though in this case that may be a good thing rather than a bad.


Also, off and on dipping into The Horror on the Links by Seabury Quinn. First in a series of collections of his Jules De Grandin stories. Good fun if you don't read too many at once, otherwise the formula begins to wear.


Randy M.

 

[soulsinging]

Well, I’ve just finished the Silmarillion. My curiosity got to me while following the “Re-reading the LOTR” thread and this was further galvanised by the kind encouragement/warnings of several members.

To be honest, for quite a while reading was with gritted teeth as my grasshopper mind struggled with the style/content, and though I looked at every page, retention was distinctly limited. However, as time went by, something started to come alive in me. By the end I was truly grateful I had made the effort, and my perspective on the LOTR now seems significantly different. I was also very interested in the 1951 Tolkien letter included in the introduction. For instance “….yet always I had the sense of recording what was already ‘there’, somewhere: not of ‘inventing’ ” really resonated in me. It looks like there is much for me to digest and much to read further. For the moment I am pleasantly reading through David Day’s Tolkien Bestiary, as it makes a lot more sense now. All in good time.

I wrote my undergrad thesis on this one. It is very interesting once you get into it. Suddenly the actual LOTR trilogy feels almost small and provincial in scope. He was heavily influenced by Norse mythology which tends to dark/elegaic, and some of the stories in the Silmarillion accordingly have the feel of true tragedy in the Shakespearean or Greek sense.

 

[vanye]

Chains of the Heretic, Jeff Salyards
The third (and final) book in his Bloodsounder's Arc series. Personally, I loved the whole series, which seriously took off with the second book. It may be grimdark, but finally one with well-done characters who carry a well-narrated story in a world that the author manages to build within the reader's imagination. Most of the grimdark I've read in recent times was all about from how high everybody (no exceptions, please) gets sh*t on. So Salyards makes a very pleasant change in ability as well as execution and I sure will be looking out for more from him.

Carried on with more fantasy, The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan. As expected, a very pleasing romp through one of Riyria's early adventures. Plenty of laughs and good storytelling. And it added additional texture to the world of the Riyria Chronicles. An easy recommendation, I say.

For now, I have changed to SF again. A Red Peace, by Spencer Ellsworth. So far, I am still on the fence. Especially using two first person narrators does not sit right with me. But let's see how I feel after reading the whole book ...

I wrapped up Treasure Island, which was pleasant enough but forced me to admit that I just don't really go for "swashbuckling" lit the way I thought.

The way I see it, Treasure Island is like Tom Sawyer. It is essentially a boys' book and you should read it in your early teens at the latest - and then you'll carry that loving glow within you for the rest of your life.

Now I'm starting either Homegoing or The Forever War.

The Forever War is pure awesomeness and for me one of the truly outstanding classics of SF. Definitely a recommendation.

 

[Hugh]

I wrote my undergrad thesis on this one. It is very interesting once you get into it. Suddenly the actual LOTR trilogy feels almost small and provincial in scope. He was heavily influenced by Norse mythology which tends to dark/elegaic, and some of the stories in the Silmarillion accordingly have the feel of true tragedy in the Shakespearean or Greek sense.

"Suddenly the actual LOTR trilogy feels almost small and provincial in scope."
Yes, that's my experience.

"He was heavily influenced by Norse mythology which tends to dark/elegaic"
I've read and enjoyed the relatively easy versions of Kevin Crossley-Holland (very much), and more recently Neil Gaiman. However I see that he was "greatly affected" by the Finnish legends (his letter in the introduction of the Silmarillion). I know nothing of these.

I can feel that I'm going to be reading much more along these lines, though it's early days yet. Currently I'm finding the "Unfinished Tales" very interesting. I've ordered several more easy reading books by David Day to attempt to ground myself in the bigger picture before reading further.

 

[HareBrain]

I've ordered several more easy reading books by David Day

His Tolkien Bestiary was one of my favourite books as a teenager. I especially loved Ian Miller's art (though it didn't match my own imaginings) and Victor Ambrus's elves. (Ambrus, now very old and not very well, exhibits a couple of figure drawings a year at a local art exhibition, I was recently excited to discover.)

 

[Hugh]

His Tolkien Bestiary was one of my favourite books as a teenager. I especially loved Ian Miller's art (though it didn't match my own imaginings) and Victor Ambrus's elves. (Ambrus, now very old and not very well, exhibits a couple of figure drawings a year at a local art exhibition, I was recently excited to discover.)

I'm very impressed by both. Both are new to me. I've just looked at Ian Miller's art on google images: truly remarkable.

I've found the Bestiary very helpful in assisting me in digesting the Silmarillion (though I've got many miles to go before any kind of true digestion).

 

[RJM Corbet]

Absorbing the horror caused by this man's life is really hard to do. But essential to know. It's hard to go on reading. He was responsible for the deaths of 70 million people. 'The greatest monster of them all' ...

 

[Amberlen]

Finished off Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth after a few months and absolutely loved it. I think anyone that's enjoyed an epic or two (whether it was GRRM-like sff, Dickensian classic, or mainstream bestsellers like Shogun, Lonesome Dove or the Godfather) would really enjoy sinking their teeth into this one. Larger than life characters, plots and schemes galore, set piece battles, frustrated romances... it was a blast. I wouldn't put much stock in it as history and it does have some truly awful sex scenes, but overall it was a lot of fun.

Now I'm following up that heavyweight with Treasure Island by RLS... one I've actually never read but feel like I've known my whole life...

out of curiosity...are you saying it was awful it had sex scenes? or that the sex scenes were awful bad?
lol
I loved Pillars too- I was just given another of his in that vein(not sure if a sequel or what, and cant remember title as i havent started it.) if its half as good, ill post about it!

 

[soulsinging]

out of curiosity...are you saying it was awful it had sex scenes? or that the sex scenes were awful bad?

The scenes were awful bad. To be fair, I consider it very difficult to write about sex well. Some experiences are just too primal for words... I feel much the same about music. They also seemed cringingly male-centric (in an awkward rather than offensive sense, like the so-called fan service trope), even when written from a woman's POV, but I'll grant that could be a bit of modern sensibilities. And I don't think they really detracted from the book so much as they provoked laughter when I'm sure transcendence was intended. I think it's a product of the style and time (sweeping historical epic written in the late 20th century during that strange period when adult films actually claimed to aspire to "art"). I remember similar reactions to contemporary works I also enjoyed like Trinity and The Godfather. Throwing in some explicit seediness was as much a part of the experience as the lengthy timelines and righteous violence

I'm definitely interested in reading the semi-sequel World Without End, but I've got a few other doorstoppers to get through first (Les Miserables and Our Mutual Friend)... from 70s pulp to to Victorian prudishness I guess. I'll be curious to hear what you think!

 

[Amberlen]

The scenes were awful bad. To be fair, I consider it very difficult to write about sex well. Some experiences are just too primal for words... I feel much the same about music. They also seemed cringingly (more in an awkward than offensive sense) male-centric, even when written from a woman's POV, but I'll grant that could be a bit of modern sensibilities. And I don't think they really detracted from the book so much as they provoked laughter when I'm sure transcendence was intended. I think it's a product of the style and time (sweeping historical epic from late 20th century). I remember similar reactions to contemporary works I also enjoyed like the Trinity and The Godfather.

I'm definitely interested in reading the semi-sequel World Without End, but I've got a few other doorstoppers to get through first (Les Miserables and Our Mutual Friend)... from 70s pulp to to Victorian prudishness I guess. I'll be curious to hear what you think!

lol...well, i will agree it can be hard to write about ....i think it has to be primal to be good.but that may be personal preference too..
i cant believe you havent read Les Mis...one of my all time fave classic books and musical(film and broadway)..ill let you know about Follet, and you let me know what you think about Les Mis! *leaves singing One day more...another day another destiny, this neverending road to Calvary....*

 

[nixie]

Last year I discovered a zombie apocalypse series Surviving the Evacuation by Frank Tayell. Set in UK I read the first ten then discovered another two. Spent the last couple of weeks reading the whole series. Might have to read the companion seres set in US.

 

[Danny McG]

This morning I've started John Mortimer's "First Rumpole Omnibus"

Only a couple pages in so I've no opinion as yet

 

[Danny McG]

Last year I discovered a zombie apocalypse series Surviving the Evacuation by Frank Tayell. Set in UK I read the first ten then discovered another two. Spent the last couple of weeks reading the whole series. Might have to read the companion seres set in US.

I have a Book by him.
Strike a Match
It's like a post Skynet Judgement Day thingy.
A couple of decades after mankind triumphs and starts rebuilding society - but then something happens.

Your mention of his zombie books got me to Google him and I've found a sequel to my story is available. Cheers

 

[Hugh]

View attachment 44256
Absorbing the horror caused by this man's life is really hard to do. But essential to know. It's hard to go on reading. He was responsible for the deaths of 70 million people. 'The greatest monster of them all' ...

Re: Mao by Jung Chang/ Jon Halliday

I read this with a lot of interest, in part because I'd read a fair amount of modern Chinese history back in the early 70s, when (horrors!) just about everything I read praised the Cultural Revolution. (Aargh!)

It was fascinating to read new versions of events. For instance on the Long March there was said to be a truly heroic capture of a bridge over a gorge, which had always seemed too heroic to be true, whereas the authors say that the army crossed by another bridge entirely.

Yet by the end of the book I was a little suspicious: it was just too unremittingly awful. It's a while back that I read it, but I don't remember a single positive note.

Nevertheless, a much needed account.

 

[Allegra]

After that, I ripped through God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut, a personal favorite author of mine. It was excellent and feels shockingly relevant to current times despite being 50 years old now. It's about a certain sum of money and the all-important matter of who gets it and how to spend it appropriately.

Read it a few years back and loved it too. Yes it's timeless. Love Vonnegut. I sometimes wonder what he would write had he been alive today.

 

[soulsinging]

i cant believe you havent read Les Mis...one of my all time fave classic books and musical(film and broadway)..ill let you know about Follet, and you let me know what you think about Les Mis! *leaves singing One day more...another day another destiny, this neverending road to Calvary....*

You'll need to be patient... it's like 1400 pages and I don't think I'll even get a chance to start it until next year!

Read it a few years back and loved it too. Yes it's timeless. Love Vonnegut. I sometimes wonder what he would write had he been alive today.

For his sake, I'm kind of glad he didn't have to see some of this. He earned a break. Now we've got to find someone else to take up that mantle!

 

[Parson]

Just finished Flicker by Rebecca Rode and it just got more and more psychic ability and fantasy filled as it went along. Not recommended.