February 2020 Reading Thread

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Paul_C said:
I read the first story of Greg Egan's Instantiation, and due to its subject (modern business practices) rather than its telling, I felt like reading something else before returning to the next one (the state of humanity right now feels very gloomy, so reading is very much an escape from reality for me :) ) so I read Adrian Tchaikovsky's (I spelled his surname correctly without checking first, which was a nice surprise) Ironclads, which turned out to be about modern business practices too, to some degree *sigh*) but nevertheless I enjoyed it. I've got one or two of his picked up cheaply from Amazon (though I'm hoping to find a more ethical source for eBooks if possible) which will get bumped up the TBR list now.

Next up, while I wait for a hardback copy of Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts to arrive (tomorrow, hopefully) I'm going for a novelette, One/Zero by Kathleen Ann Goonan.
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One/Zero was good, Dead Astronauts arrived and has been started :)
 
I finished Jeanette Ng's Under the Pendulum Sun, which I thought was an impressive debut novel. The plot starts off relatively slowly, although even from the early chapters it does a good job of building up the Gothic atmosphere as Cathy explores the sprawling and sometimes illogical faerie castle that her missionary brother has been assigned to. Once she is reunited with her brother the pace picks up significantly and the author isn't afraid of throwing in a few vicious plot twists, the faerie characters in it are both capricious and expert manipulators. I did anticipate the major plot twists since there's enough foreshadowing to at least hint at what might be really going on, but they were still effective when they happened. I think it's a book that rewards careful reading, there are lines which might superficially seem innocuous but turn out to be very significant. There is quite a lot of theological discussion in it, I think someone more familiar with the bible might get more out of that than I did. I think it's fairly clear the author doesn't think much of the idea of 19th Century missionaries believing they can convert others to their worldview, but at the same time the book does respect that the characters are sincere in their faith.

Bick said:
In between other things, I'm now starting A Memory of Empire, by Arkady Martine. This is likely to be nominated for a Hugo, and I need to read a few things from the last year so I can fill in my Hugo nominations form with some degree if knowledge at least. I've also heard good things about it, so looking forward to this.
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It does sound intriguing from what I've heard about it, I may have to pick it up at some point.
 
Bick said:
In between other things, I'm now starting A Memory of Empire, by Arkady Martine. This is likely to be nominated for a Hugo, and I need to read a few things from the last year so I can fill in my Hugo nominations form with some degree if knowledge at least. I've also heard good things about it, so looking forward to this.
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My favourite SF novel of 2019.
 
Azoraa said:
@Randy M. I guess you're right, but still it's frustrating. I consider her a feminist writer, and I would simply LOVE to read more of her stories, but with female protagonists.
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Read The Tombs of Atuan and Tehanu from the Earthsea series.
 
Just finished J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country. Lovely little book in which nothing happens. It's about a time and a place and some people and the narrator's reminiscences of them. I want more books in which nothing happens. Plots are overrated.
 
dannymcg said:
A fairly old one this weekend,
The forlorn hope, by David Drake
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I’d call it ‘recent’ myself, as it’s from 2006. My thinking tends to be if it’s from this century it is recent, last two decades of 20th century ‘fairly recent’ and 1970’s and earlier ‘older’. Perhaps I need to recalibrate. The Drake I recently read and enjoyed (With the Lightnings) is from 2000.
 
I finished The Bonehunters, and decided to go with Ian C. Esselmont’s Return of the Crimson Guard, rather than Reaper’s Gale.
 
Rereading William Gibson's Virtual Light for the first time since 1994. No idea if it will hold up.
 
Since I last posted, a whopping four days ago, I have finished:

"Any other Name," book 10 of the Longmire Mysteries.

"Face It," the autobiography of Debbie Harry. There's a Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times." By that thinking, Debby Harry has lived an interesting life. This is a great book, especially for fans of Blondie/Debbie Harry.

"Skulduggery Pleasant," book one of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. A re-read for me, as will be the next two, because it's been so long since I read them yet so recently that the others have become available on this side of the pond. International copyright and publishing laws have got to be the most convoluted in existence.

"Gifted Thief," book one of the Highland Magic series by Helen Harper. I initially DNF'd this book a couple years ago, and it must have been that I simply wasn't in the mood for another urban fantasy. I gave it another shot and am very glad I did.

"And I Darken," by Kiersten White. Good enough to read the next in the series, but I'd be just as happy if it were stand alone.

"New York Dead," book one of the Stone Barrington books by Stuart Woods. Not sure about these. This first one was fun, but also terribly misogynistic. I'm hoping it's a product of it's time, not a reflection of the author's attitudes. His Ed Eagle books certainly didn't ooze male dominance the way this one did.

So far, 54 titles finished in 2020. :D
 
Bick said:
I’d call it ‘recent’ myself, as it’s from 2006. My thinking tends to be if it’s from this century it is recent, last two decades of 20th century ‘fairly recent’ and 1970’s and earlier ‘older’. Perhaps I need to recalibrate. The Drake I recently read and enjoyed (With the Lightnings) is from 2000.
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You must have seen a reprint, it was first published in the mid eighties so it'll be 34 or 35 years old.
IMO that's 'fairly old' for a mil sci fi book
 
dannymcg said:
You must have seen a reprint, it was first published in the mid eighties so it'll be 34 or 35 years old.
IMO that's 'fairly old' for a mil sci fi book
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Quite right! I looked it up on Goodreads and was given a bum steer. Yep, that qualifies as quite old. I’ll be interested in what you think of it incidentally.
 
Bick said:
It’s not a competition, Bus Driver. You’re allowed to take you time and savour a book, you know.
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I spend a lot of time with hands and eyes occupied, CAD work during the day and some part time graphic design evenings and weekends. These things are not terribly mentally challenging so I occupy my mind with books. I guess I could just mindlessly drag my brain through the Van Halen/In This Moment/Motley Crue catalogues, but I did plenty of that before audio books were widely available and easily transported. Besides, books are so much better.

I do have titles I savor. Those are on my Kobo, along with titles that are simply not available in audio format.

As I've said before, we all know that guy who has headphones on, seemingly 24/7, listening to music. I'm that guy, but with audio books. :)

Also, I've finished "Playing with Fire," book two of Skulduggery Pleasant and moved on to "Pyramids," book 7 of the Discworld, so... 55. :D
 
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