November 2020 Reading Thread

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BigBadBob141 said:
Half way through "Dead Lies Dreaming" by Charles Stross, very good so far, not part of but similar to his Laundry series, this is probably a different universe, must read more of his stuff, excellent writer!
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same universe of laundry files
continuation of the series actually
A new adventure begins in the world of the Laundry Files.

Dead Lies Dreaming presents a nightmarish vision of a Britain 'under New Management', sliding unknowingly towards occult cataclysm . . .
 
Vince W said:
No, I haven't. I did read Eye of Terror and I thought he had written a Star Trek novel as well, but I can't find it. I must be thinking of someone else.
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He wrote the novella Enemy Mine which was filmed in the 80s, a film I really like. He also wrote the Alien Nation books.
There's no mention of Eye of Terror on fantastic fiction...
Scrap that I'm thinking of a different author, duh me
(Barry B Longyear)
 
tobl said:
same universe of laundry files
continuation of the series actually
A new adventure begins in the world of the Laundry Files.

Dead Lies Dreaming presents a nightmarish vision of a Britain 'under New Management', sliding unknowingly towards occult cataclysm . . .
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I've started it now myself, it really is good
 
kythe said:
Despite this, I'm considering giving Babel-17 a try. It seems to explore a unique idea, this time about the nature of language.
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I'd be interested in your views on it -- I read it back in September and was thoroughly unimpressed with it September Reading Thread but as I said to hitmouse, who really liked it, I'm not a Big Ideas person and I suspect Delany just isn't one for me.
 
Ian Fortytwo said:
I'm currently reading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A brilliant read, becoming one of my favourites.
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If you liked Gatsby, you might also like Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald. Those are the only two I've read by him, but I thought both were great.

Randy M.
 
I read that for the first time in January and look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. I loved the writing, which was intricate, elaborate, lyrical and bewitching, and I liked some aspects of the story, which to my mind was more fairy tale than fantasy, with that undertow of meaningless cruelty you get in the original tales, but I couldn't get on board with whatever message Mirrlees intended behind the fairy fruit.
 
I just read Alan Dean Foster's Pip and Flinx novel, Mid-Flinx. This is one where Flinx goes to Midworld, trying to escape some 'baddies' who are chasing him. The ecology and invention of the Midworld flora and fauna is the hero here. The characters are ok, but the plot is thin and ends abruptly without resolving in any way the key underlying revelations that formed the most interesting sub-plot. In short, this is not ADF's best. It was enjoyable enough, but weakly plotted and ultimately not very satisfying. But I've enjoyed Pip and Flinx stuff more in the past, so I'll go back for more at some stage I imagine.
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
I have started Lud-in-the-Mist (1926) by Hope Mirrlees. The style of this fantasy novel is very aloof and affected, which may turn some readers off, but I like it.
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One could view it as the roots of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. L-i-t-M is however funnier and altogether sharper than that novel.
 
Man-Kzin Wars V. Any excuse to revisit Larry Niven's Known Space. The thing I like best about this series is that it's not your typical gung-ho war story. They deal mostly with the aftermath and consequences of wars. That's not to say there isn't action, but it's not the main point of the stories. I truly wish someone would turn this into a television series.
 
Bick said:
Now making a start on The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson. A stone-cold classic I’ve not actually read before.
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It was made into a very good science fiction movie in 1957.:cool:
 
Current reading includes Sigrid Undset's saga Gunnar's Daughter, JRR & CJR Tolkien's The War of the Ring, Hawthorne's American Notebooks, and Steinmann's commentary on the Biblical book of Daniel. After the Undset I might pick up Merritt's Moon Pool, in a Wesleyan University Press copy from the library, only I feel discouraged about it: the editor's intro says that there are two book versions (Putnam -- preferred by Merritt -- and Liveright; but this WUP paperback seems to be the Liveright) -- and I gather many people think one is better off with the original magazine version of "The Moon Pool." (shrug)

Looking forward to getting a book about Bob Dylan called Surviving in a Ruthless World.

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