September 2018: Reading Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Next I'm reading my first book by one of the members. Monsters, Maces and Magic: Outpost by @TWErvin2. I read The Sleeping Dragon when it came out in the 80s, which seems to have started this genre. I remember that I enjoyed it at the time.
 
Have started reading The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge on my breaks at work - looks like the sort of book I'll need to be patient with, but hopefully it'll be rewarded.

At home I'm steaming through Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee and really enjoying it - it's nice to read a science fiction novel that actually gives a sense of being so far in the future that the technology - and ordinary experience of using it - is barely comprehensible. As a futuristic book should, IMO. :)
 
Finished the Dispossessed and it grew on my as it progressed. I was pretty impressed overall. Le Guin's writing style has always been a bit off-putting to me (lots of introspection, minimal dialogue), but the world kind of drew me in and I came around to the characters. The politics maybe aren't as revolutionary as they once were, but I thought they were far more deftly handled and their relation to the characters more convincing. I recently reread Fahrenheit 451, which by comparison felt somewhat over the top and cartoonish for as much as I love the concept. I'm very happy I read it, though part of me wishes I'd read it in my 20's when some of its arguments would have seemed newer and more revolutionary to me!

Now I'm back to Robin McKinley, reading The Blue Sword, award-winning prequel in her Damar series. I rather enjoyed her take on Robin Hood, so hopefully this one is as enjoyable.
 
Slim, Master of War by Robert Lyman. This is a history book about WW2 general William Slim and his victory over the Japanese empire in Burma. It's an interesting and well-written book about a somewhat forgotten war that probably saved many millions of lives.

Two points arise that might be of interest to military SFF writers: (1) a reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness (as cultivated by Dune's Sardaukar) is probably a bad idea. The commander of the British forces at Kohima, where a small force defeated an army ten times its size, said that there was simply no point surrendering to people who would murder you very slowly. You might as well fight to the death. (2) Never retreating is also a bad idea. One of Slim's tactics was to choose a strong place to defend and let the Japanese waste men in pointless attacks.

Now I'm on Red Bones, a detective story by Anne Cleeves.
 
Brian G Turner said:
Have started reading The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge on my breaks at work - looks like the sort of book I'll need to be patient with, but hopefully it'll be rewarded.

At home I'm steaming through Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee and really enjoying it - it's nice to read a science fiction novel that actually gives a sense of being so far in the future that the technology - and ordinary experience of using it - is barely comprehensible. As a futuristic book should, IMO. :)
Click to expand...
I'm still not sure whether to continue with this series. The whole numerology/calendrical stuff along with the 'possession' really grated with me.
soulsinging said:
Finished the Dispossessed and it grew on my as it progressed. I was pretty impressed overall. Le Guin's writing style has always been a bit off-putting to me (lots of introspection, minimal dialogue), but the world kind of drew me in and I came around to the characters. The politics maybe aren't as revolutionary as they once were, but I thought they were far more deftly handled and their relation to the characters more convincing. I recently reread Fahrenheit 451, which by comparison felt somewhat over the top and cartoonish for as much as I love the concept. I'm very happy I read it, though part of me wishes I'd read it in my 20's when some of its arguments would have seemed newer and more revolutionary to me!
Click to expand...
Hehe! I did originally read this in my twenties (back in the '70s) and then recently reread it and whilst I still enjoyed it and found it interesting it didn't have anything like the impact on me that it did back then. I even named my cat that used to travel the country with me Shevek; I always thought naming a cat after an anarchist was somehow appropriate!
 
Brian G Turner said:
I thought that might for some, as it probably comes across as somewhat mystical rather than scientific. However, I am enjoying the Silence of the Lambs inference. :)
Click to expand...
To be honest the whole numerology/calendrical thing being treated as a science was worse than the possession for me.
 
Just finished Black Spirits and White by Ralph Adams Cram, a collection of ghost stories from around the turn of the 20th century. Cram was a major American architect in his day and his love of architecture shows in his stories set in various European locales. Perhaps oddly, the strongest story is the last, "The Dead Valley," and that eschews architectural fascinations for a hilly, wooded area and ... well, a dead valley.

Just started Final Girls by Riley Sager. Several blurbs compare it to one or another of Gillian Flynn's books. Dunno about that, but shares Flynn's compulsive readability.

Randy M.
 
Toby Frost said:
Slim, Master of War by Robert Lyman. This is a history book about WW2 general William Slim and his victory over the Japanese empire in Burma. It's an interesting and well-written book about a somewhat forgotten war that probably saved many millions of lives.
Click to expand...

I knew a retired soldier who had fought in that conflict, having survived being hit by Japanese light machine gun fire.
 
I finished Sapkowki’s Blood of Elves. The book mostly sets the scene for the war about to start, and ends without a concrete conclusion, set up as it is to go on to the next in the series. So, having enjoyed it, I’m now starting the next book directly, Time of Contempt.
 
I've read a few short stories recently:

Summer At Grandma's - Hao Jingfang
Life Pod and Three Tales - Vandana Singh
Tongtong's Summer and Goodnight Melancholy - Xia Jia

and now I'm enjoying The Masked City - Genevieve Cogman, the second in The Invisible Library series.
I was going to write "trilogy" but it appears there are now five.
 
It does appear to be available on Kindle, anyway, from Amazon. Expensive, though; a used print copy would be a lot cheaper, it seems.

So far it would help a lot to be familiar with the trilogy, as what I have read up to this point is mostly more intimate stories of the characters involved in the dramatic events in the three books.
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
It does appear to be available on Kindle, anyway, from Amazon. Expensive, though; a used print copy would be a lot cheaper, it seems.

So far it would help a lot to be familiar with the trilogy, as what I have read up to this point is mostly more intimate stories of the characters involved in the dramatic events in the three books.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I loved the trilogy. I think I might order a second-hand copy to have.
 
This weekend I'm into an Ed McBain 87th precinct book. THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Ursa major Tie-breaker Poll -- September 2024 75 Word Writing Challenge -- DAYSMAN WINS! Writing Challenges 0
Ursa major POLL -- SEPTEMBER 2024 75-word Writing Challenge -- READ FIRST POST! Writing Challenges 0
Ursa major POLL -- September 2018 75-word Writing Challenge -- MOSAIX WINS! Writing Challenges 0
TheDustyZebra Discussion Thread -- September 2018 75-word Writing Challenge Writing Challenges 342
TheDustyZebra September 2018 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO MOSAIX! Writing Challenges 39

Similar threads


Back
Top