October Reading Thread
- Thread starter The Judge
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I'm just starting on Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Looking forward to exploring its alternative approach to story telling.
Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
Good addition to the Rebus series.
Now I'm doing a SF re-read.
Raising the stones by Sheri S Tepper
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
I want to get back into SF but I'm not sure what to read...
biodroid
A.D.D.
I read the first 2 Amos Decker books and they were very goodtry camel club and amos decker books when you can
Did you download my Destroyer trilogy when it was free, by any chance?
If not, a couple of interesting recommendations recently were for The Soldier by Neal Asher and Salvation by Peter F Hamilton: Reviews
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
Hmm I don't fancy wading through Hamilton's doorstop tomes, especially as they're in serieses. No I'm looking for classic standalones. I have The Stars my Destination by Bester on my shelves, might give that a goDid you download my Destroyer trilogy when it was free, by any chance?
If not, a couple of interesting recommendations recently were for The Soldier by Neal Asher and Salvation by Peter F Hamilton: Reviews
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Oh, you really should, The Stars My Destination is a fantastic read!
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
I'm sure I read it years ago, but I've been asleep since
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Well, that book will wake you.
OHB
Crazed Writer
Continuing my Poe-a-thon:
"A Predicament" (the second part of "How to Write a Blackwood Article") - Ridiculous and fun. You have to read the first part to get the jokes, though, so it's by no means a standalone.
"Mystification" - Dull. I get the joke, it just takes way too long to get there.
"Loss of Breath" - Meh.
"The Man That Was Used Up" - Pretty disparaging of Native Americans, wounded war veterans, and amputees. I almost didn't get through this one.
"Diddling" - An essay, not a story. I hadn't realized that "diddle" was once a term for "con." This was pretty interesting.
"A Predicament" (the second part of "How to Write a Blackwood Article") - Ridiculous and fun. You have to read the first part to get the jokes, though, so it's by no means a standalone.
"Mystification" - Dull. I get the joke, it just takes way too long to get there.
"Loss of Breath" - Meh.
"The Man That Was Used Up" - Pretty disparaging of Native Americans, wounded war veterans, and amputees. I almost didn't get through this one.
"Diddling" - An essay, not a story. I hadn't realized that "diddle" was once a term for "con." This was pretty interesting.
I just finished Before They Are Hanged, the second installment of the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It was as captivating as the first.
I also am re-reading 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. I think this book will always be one of my favorites.
I also am re-reading 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. I think this book will always be one of my favorites.
Finished Crystal Witness by Kathy Tyers. This was a surprisingly good read. But that shouldn't have been surprising. She's written two novels in the "official" Star Wars universe The Truce at Bakura and Balance Point. She's won the 2019 Christy Award for Shivering World and the 2013 Carol Award for Daystar. And I'd never heard of her??
Anyway it's a solid story about an interstellar resistance to a dominate power (all the characters are human). I was really pleased with characters, each of them rang true. The "heroes" were not "perfect," and although the "villians were reprehensible, they also rang true and could be equated to humans we've known. I left my normal 4 star rating, didn't rise to my high level for a 5, but I will definitely consider reading Shivering World. She has a series set in the Firebird Universe that sounds a little too "romantic" for my tastes, but even that remains on the "maybe" list.
I've moved on to one of my go-to authors Laurence E. Dahners and am reading Radiation Hazard book 3 in The Stasis Stories. Half done and it seems one of his weaker efforts. The science is a bit more slipshod than normal. There is a shudder love triangle developing. And there is a lot of politically correct "insights." But still a pretty good read.
Anyway it's a solid story about an interstellar resistance to a dominate power (all the characters are human). I was really pleased with characters, each of them rang true. The "heroes" were not "perfect," and although the "villians were reprehensible, they also rang true and could be equated to humans we've known. I left my normal 4 star rating, didn't rise to my high level for a 5, but I will definitely consider reading Shivering World. She has a series set in the Firebird Universe that sounds a little too "romantic" for my tastes, but even that remains on the "maybe" list.
I've moved on to one of my go-to authors Laurence E. Dahners and am reading Radiation Hazard book 3 in The Stasis Stories. Half done and it seems one of his weaker efforts. The science is a bit more slipshod than normal. There is a shudder love triangle developing. And there is a lot of politically correct "insights." But still a pretty good read.
I finally finished For Whom The Bell Tolls and, although a difficult read, I did enjoy it. It’s filled with archaic word usage. Given that, although written in English, the protagonist spends most of his time talking with Spanish peasants turned guerrillas, I’m assuming this archaic style is to reflect the lesser developed style of Spanish that these people would probably use.
I think the book’s strongest aspect is Hemingway’s ability to bring to life a full three dimensional character. I would say that anybody wishing to see how a character can develop within a novel could learn a lot from this particular tale.
I think the book’s strongest aspect is Hemingway’s ability to bring to life a full three dimensional character. I would say that anybody wishing to see how a character can develop within a novel could learn a lot from this particular tale.
I've finished the month with five more books read, all very different.
First up, classic Victorian SF with The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells, made all the more macabre by the rather flat tone of the first person narrator, Edward Prendick, even when describing the horrors of Moreau's sadistic experiments and the poor creatures abandoned to their fates.
That was followed by modern fantasy, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, which I bought as a result of a recommendation here on Chrons, and which I enjoyed despite some flaws in its structure. More details of my thoughts under Werthead's review here.
A second purchase on the basis of a review here on Chrons, and another modern fantasy, was The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, with a plot based on the life of Isabella of Spain, but thankfully without the religious bigotry, and with the additions of a good helping of magic and five gods actively intervening in human society. An enjoyable read, but not, for me, one which requires superlatives.
Another fantasy followed, but this time a steampunk set in kind of USA which is an archipelago, The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. I picked it up with a load of other books from a charity stall without realising it was for older children/YAs, but despite being well outside its target readership I found it an engaging read. Terrible creatures called wild chalklings -- imagine figures chalked on cave walls but mobile and murderous -- are kept at bay by rithmatists, who are chosen at the age of 8 when they demonstrate abiliities to create chalk lines which have power. Joel, 16, isn't one of the chosen, though his natural ability in mathematics, and his father's preoccupation with the chalk lines, means he's well able to help when some rithmatist children at the academy he attends are kidnapped, believed killed.
And finally, another of the Mapp and Lucia stories by EF Benson, Miss Mapp. Mapp herself is a monster "her malignant curiosity and her cancerous suspicions about all her friends" being the least unlikeable of her traits, and despite Benson's irony and sly wit, seeing her browbeat shopkeepers and servants and go through ridiculous feuds with her other upper middle-class neighbours, all topped off with snobbery, jealousy and hypocrisy, made me itch for someone to give her a good metaphorical kicking.
First up, classic Victorian SF with The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells, made all the more macabre by the rather flat tone of the first person narrator, Edward Prendick, even when describing the horrors of Moreau's sadistic experiments and the poor creatures abandoned to their fates.
That was followed by modern fantasy, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, which I bought as a result of a recommendation here on Chrons, and which I enjoyed despite some flaws in its structure. More details of my thoughts under Werthead's review here.
A second purchase on the basis of a review here on Chrons, and another modern fantasy, was The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, with a plot based on the life of Isabella of Spain, but thankfully without the religious bigotry, and with the additions of a good helping of magic and five gods actively intervening in human society. An enjoyable read, but not, for me, one which requires superlatives.
Another fantasy followed, but this time a steampunk set in kind of USA which is an archipelago, The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson. I picked it up with a load of other books from a charity stall without realising it was for older children/YAs, but despite being well outside its target readership I found it an engaging read. Terrible creatures called wild chalklings -- imagine figures chalked on cave walls but mobile and murderous -- are kept at bay by rithmatists, who are chosen at the age of 8 when they demonstrate abiliities to create chalk lines which have power. Joel, 16, isn't one of the chosen, though his natural ability in mathematics, and his father's preoccupation with the chalk lines, means he's well able to help when some rithmatist children at the academy he attends are kidnapped, believed killed.
And finally, another of the Mapp and Lucia stories by EF Benson, Miss Mapp. Mapp herself is a monster "her malignant curiosity and her cancerous suspicions about all her friends" being the least unlikeable of her traits, and despite Benson's irony and sly wit, seeing her browbeat shopkeepers and servants and go through ridiculous feuds with her other upper middle-class neighbours, all topped off with snobbery, jealousy and hypocrisy, made me itch for someone to give her a good metaphorical kicking.
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TOR and Simon & Schuster (sp?) have been reported to start horror imprints largely because readers dived into horror titles like Mexican Gothic this year.
Randy M.
@The Judge - do try Paladin of Souls. I like Curse of Chalion a lot, but I think Paladin is better. It is what becomes of "Poor Mad Iselle" - but with rather a lot to the story.
I'm currently on a Jasper Fforde re-read and just finished First Amongst Sequels. It was a glorious antidote to the state of the world, particularly all the mention of "The Common Sense Party", "The Prevailing Wind Party" and the ongoing problem of the stupidity surplus. About to start the Next in the series.
I'm currently on a Jasper Fforde re-read and just finished First Amongst Sequels. It was a glorious antidote to the state of the world, particularly all the mention of "The Common Sense Party", "The Prevailing Wind Party" and the ongoing problem of the stupidity surplus. About to start the Next in the series
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Galactic Bus Driver
Unrepentant Book Junkie
I found all the King and Maxwell books to be well written page turners. I do tend to hold onto his new books until I have several, though. One never seems to be enough.
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