March 2019: Reading Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
Finished The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. A very interesting contrast to Tolkien, though both were obviously inspired by similar sources. Anderson is far more nihilistic and this is easily one of the most depressingly bleak fantasies I ever read, like Greek tragedy fatalistic. The action was far more visceral and blood-soaked than Tolkien, reminding me of the Iliad in a lot of ways. For as much as all fantasy gets compared to Tolkien, that style seems almost more popular today (GRRM, Abercrombie, even Peter Jackson's LOTR movies). Nonetheless, at the end of the day I see why Tolkien won out. LOTR is also often bleak, but there's a kernel of hope and spirituality that feel hard-won and refreshing, and there is no comparison in the depth of the world he created versus Anderson's hodge podge of Norse and British/Irish folktales. It was a fascinating read and worth the time, but not sure I'd say I loved it and it left me more wanting to reread LOTR, Homer, etc than ever pick it up again.

Now for what I expect will be a nice contrast, I picked up Tad Williams Dragonbone Chair.
 
This week I'm having a go at the Black Fleet trilogy by Joshua Dalzelle.
So far it's standard blood and thunder amongst the stars.

Discredited starship captain in an obsolete destroyer class vessel who suddenly finds himself the last defence against the evil aliens.
He's also fighting to overcome prejudice and disbelief in a peacetime space navy.
Enjoyable stuff!
 
Finished Robert Fabbri's Emperor of Rome. A fitting end to the wonderful series about the rise of Vespasian from bumpkin to Roman Emperor. An excellent series, for those who like that sort of thing. :)

Now will plod through the last chapters of The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks - a trilogy that started with a lot of promise, but ended up just meandering for too long through a light plot IMO.
 
dannymcg said:
This week I'm having a go at the Black Fleet trilogy by Joshua Dalzelle.
So far it's standard blood and thunder amongst the stars.

Discredited starship captain in an obsolete destroyer class vessel who suddenly finds himself the last defence against the evil aliens.
He's also fighting to overcome prejudice and disbelief in a peacetime space navy.
Enjoyable stuff!
Click to expand...
i quite enjoyed the series actually
 
tobl said:
i quite enjoyed the series actually
Click to expand...
dannymcg said:
This week I'm having a go at the Black Fleet trilogy by Joshua Dalzelle.
So far it's standard blood and thunder amongst the stars.

Discredited starship captain in an obsolete destroyer class vessel who suddenly finds himself the last defence against the evil aliens.
He's also fighting to overcome prejudice and disbelief in a peacetime space navy.
Enjoyable stuff!
Click to expand...
try christopher g nutall and h paul honsinger
 
tobl said:
try christopher g nutall and h paul honsinger
Click to expand...
I've got a few by Christopher Nutall (some of the Ark Royal series and a couple of the free ebooks on his website) but I don't think I'm familiar with anything by Honsinger.
I'll look into him, cheers for the tip.

Edit: update.... I've looked on his site and am going to try a book or two.
Star Cruiser H.M.S. Cumberland clinched it for me, the county I was born and raised in (until 1974 when it became Cumbria!)
 
Last edited:
R. C. Hutchinson's 1964 novel A Child Possessed, about a Russian exile in France who drives a truck and takes his severely retarded teenage daughter from a Swiss institution.
50755

I see it was made into an opera:

50754
 
Thank you Brian. Not available for purchase (free or otherwise) over here yet that I can see, at least on the link you supplied, and Amazon UK won't let me download it but I'll keep an eye open.
 
dask said:
Thank you Brian. Not available for purchase (free or otherwise) over here yet that I can see, at least on the link you supplied, and Amazon UK won't let me download it but I'll keep an eye open.
Click to expand...
This is the 'similar story to Bloodchild' that I asked about in Book Search... it was identified for me quite quickly, very creepy tale ....

(Found) Short story, read in early seventies, females sting males and implant eggs

I can't think of any other stories in the anthology, no memories of the book cover:- The story is told from an adolescent girl's viewpoint. What appears to be a low tech agricultural society. She lives with her mother, grandmother, a couple of aunts and some younger sisters. Also some man who...
www.sffchronicles.com www.sffchronicles.com
 
Thank you again Brian. This looks like the one. Since I already have the Kindle app I'm not sure why I have to download it again, it'd be a lot easier to just click a box to download the story into my library but I'll give it a whirl on my Kindle next time I'm in a place with free wifi. Don't want to download it onto my PC as I'd probably never read it. Okay to read it off my tablet though as it's about the size of a paperback anyway.
 
About to start The Early Stories of Truman Capote (2015). It's hard to get an exact handle on the exact dates these works were written, since some of them have never appeared in print, but they would seem to be from about 1940 to about 1945.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Ursa major POLL -- March 2024 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORIA SILVERWOLF WINS! Writing Challenges 0
Extollager Malvern Hills -- Tolkien angle -- Country Life magazine 20 March 2024 JRR Tolkien 3
Ursa major POLL -- March 2019 75-word Writing Challenge -- Note that the poll will now close at 23:59 on the 29th of March! Writing Challenges 0
nixie Discussion thread: March 2019 75 word story challenge. Writing Challenges 213
nixie March 2019: 75 Word Writing Challenge Writing Challenges 44

Similar threads


Back
Top