January 2021 Reading Thread.

[Danny McG]

Finished this one - A Rain of Fire by Ralph Kern. It was ok but tried a bit too hard for the Dunkirk story, especially with the end speech "we shall fight them in orbit....etc" copying Winston Churchill.

Now I'm into a crime novel by Will Dean
The last thing to burn

 

[Hugh]

Tony Hillerman "The Dark Wind"
Gripping, could barely put it down. Fifth in the series of detective yarns set in the Navajo Tribal Police. In this one Sergeant Jim Chee is investigating goings on in the border area between Navajo and Hopi land. I think they're brilliant. Although Hillerman is not Navajo, the Navajo Tribe gave him the Special Friends of the Dineh Award for these books.

 

[Paul_C]

Started The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley last night, I'm not a massive military sci-fi fan these days, but I do like her writing so it's worth a try.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

Finished Destiny Doll earlier today (review here). Now onto A Clockwork Orange, a classic that's remained unread on my shelf for far too long.

After that, I'm considering either reading The World of Null-A (my first Van Vogt) or continuing the Simak high and diving into A Heritage of Stars.

 

[alexvss]

I'm reading Uncanny Magazine Issue 38, a megapack from Apex Magazine that I got for helping funding it, and keeping track of all of the Escape Artists podcasts, as always.

I'm disappointed with the latest issue of Uncanny, really. Some stories I just dropped out of boredom.

 

[Spade]

I've been listening to The Last Human by Zack Jordan and reading The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Both are really holding my interest. I am really liking the worldbuilding in The Last Human. It's like the Federation from Star Trek on steroids.

 

[Bick]

I'm reading Uncanny Magazine Issue 38, a megapack from Apex Magazine that I got for helping funding it, and keeping track of all of the Escape Artists podcasts, as always.

I'm disappointed with the latest issue of Uncanny, really. Some stories I just dropped out of boredom.

That's interesting to read. I'm sure I've read in the past that Uncanny will publish anything they think is interesting enough idea-wise, even if it's not very well written. I don't know if that's true, but the occasional ventures I've made reading stories from this online 'magazine' have left me pretty underwhelmed.

On a more general point: I was reading the long-list of recommended reading for the 2021 Hugo's on the Nerds of a Feather website today, and was struck by the fact that all of the novelette and short story recommendations were from online 'e-magazines' not from an actual print publication. Analog, Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone - all completely absent. And yet, I would argue there is every reason to suppose print publications have a higher bar for publication regarding quality. Why the total absence from actual magazines, I wonder? Do the print magazines never print anything good anymore? Clearly that's not the case. So the online magazines, like Uncanny, Strange Horizons, FIYAH and Lightspeed are being favoured over traditional publications for obtuse reasons that are beyond my understanding. Is it that its easier and cheaper for the web-based reviewers to read and review these e-magazines, than to bother subscribing to print? It's curious.

 

[Vince W]

That's interesting to read. I'm sure I've read in the past that Uncanny will publish anything they think is interesting enough idea-wise, even if it's not very well written. I don't know if that's true, but the occasional ventures I've made reading stories from this online 'magazine' have left me pretty underwhelmed.

On a more general point: I was reading the long-list of recommended reading for the 2021 Hugo's on the Nerds of a Feather website today, and was struck by the fact that all of the novelette and short story recommendations were from online 'e-magazines' not from an actual print publication. Analog, Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone - all completely absent. And yet, I would argue there is every reason to suppose print publications have a higher bar for publication regarding quality. Why the total absence from actual magazines, I wonder? Do the print magazines never print anything good anymore? Clearly that's not the case. So the online magazines, like Uncanny, Strange Horizons, FIYAH and Lightspeed are being favoured over traditional publications for obtuse reasons that are beyond my understanding. Is it that its easier and cheaper for the web-based reviewers to read and review these e-magazines, than to bother subscribing to print? It's curious.

I wonder if print magazines are seen as the old guard so they're perceived as stuffy and by reflection so will the stories they publish?

 

[Bick]

I wonder if print magazines are seen as the old guard so they're perceived as stuffy and by reflection so will the stories they publish?

That may well be true Vince - which is rather depressing I feel. But I’ve learnt to ignore reviews and awards of modern short stories and just read what looks like it will appeal.

 

[Vince W]

That may well be true Vince - which is rather depressing I feel. But I’ve learnt to ignore reviews and awards of modern short stories and just read what looks like it will appeal.

I'm the same. Have you received your first issues of the new Analog and Asimov's yet, Bick? If so, what do you think?

 

[Bick]

They’ve not arrived yet - I’m all the way down-under, so they are taking a while I guess. I keep hoping each day they’ll appear.

 

[Bick]

On a more general point: I was reading the long-list of recommended reading for the 2021 Hugo's on the Nerds of a Feather website today, and was struck by the fact that all of the novelette and short story recommendations were from online 'e-magazines' not from an actual print publication. Analog, Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone - all completely absent. And yet, I would argue there is every reason to suppose print publications have a higher bar for publication regarding quality. Why the total absence from actual magazines, I wonder? Do the print magazines never print anything good anymore? Clearly that's not the case. So the online magazines, like Uncanny, Strange Horizons, FIYAH and Lightspeed are being favoured over traditional publications for obtuse reasons that are beyond my understanding. Is it that its easier and cheaper for the web-based reviewers to read and review these e-magazines, than to bother subscribing to print? It's curious.

Apologies for quoting myself, but it's just to clearly continue the thought and same discussion. I've just been looking at Tangent's review of the best short fiction for 2020, and it is much more diverse* and includes numerous stories from the print magazines - a clear contrast to the Nerd's of a Feather site list. There is also a perceptive editorial you can read by Dave Truesdale, about the hijacking of awards and recommendations by, as Truesdale puts it "the Woke version of Diversity that has smothered the SF field for years now".

* ironically

 

[alexvss]

That's interesting to read. I'm sure I've read in the past that Uncanny will publish anything they think is interesting enough idea-wise, even if it's not very well written. I don't know if that's true, but the occasional ventures I've made reading stories from this online 'magazine' have left me pretty underwhelmed.

On a more general point: I was reading the long-list of recommended reading for the 2021 Hugo's on the Nerds of a Feather website today, and was struck by the fact that all of the novelette and short story recommendations were from online 'e-magazines' not from an actual print publication. Analog, Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone - all completely absent. And yet, I would argue there is every reason to suppose print publications have a higher bar for publication regarding quality. Why the total absence from actual magazines, I wonder? Do the print magazines never print anything good anymore? Clearly that's not the case. So the online magazines, like Uncanny, Strange Horizons, FIYAH and Lightspeed are being favoured over traditional publications for obtuse reasons that are beyond my understanding. Is it that its easier and cheaper for the web-based reviewers to read and review these e-magazines, than to bother subscribing to print? It's curious.

It's curious indeed, and I don't know the answer to that either (I'm a newbie). However, I can also say that I've been having a hard time reading award-winning short-stories and e-zines. I think that the editors try to include different stories from multiple perspectives, so the readers end up liking one or two per issue.

I really like the Escape Artists podcasts though--especially Escape Pod.

 

[Bick]

It's curious indeed, and I don't know the answer to that either (I'm a newbie). However, I can also say that I've been having a hard time reading award-winning short-stories and e-zines. I think that the editors try to include different stories from multiple perspectives, so the readers end up liking one or two per issue.

I really like the Escape Artists podcasts though--especially Escape Pod.

The nice thing about the Tangent reviews, alexvss, is that you can see what they recommend each month from every magazine, online or in print, and then read only the best stuff that's still available on each magazine site. The 2020 reading list I linked to looks very helpful from this perspective. Victoria Silverwolf, on these forums, contributes many of the Tangent reviews and her judgement always seems pretty good to me.

 

[Extollager]

Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis

I read Doomsday Book about 15 years ago and loved it. I read To Say Nothing of the Dog last month and really enjoyed it. This book split into two is a masterpiece, in my opinion. A thousand pages just fly by. I'm really upset that there aren't any more books in this series because I could read them nonstop. Time Travel and World War II are two of my favorite genres, and the blending is exceptional. The main characters don't stand out that much, but the setting they're tossed into is the star. I've been fascinated by the blitz since I read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, and this gave me another opportunity to explore what that time might have been like.

5/5 Stars

Good for you!

I've tried to start this set twice, and both times bogged down in so much dialogue. It is really hard for me to read the common contemporary novel that deploys a bunch of characters in various concurrent scenes, all of whose yakking we have to read. I wanted to like the first book but it was just too much work to read it. In contrast, I'm rereading (after only a few months) her first (I think) novel, Lincoln's Dreams, and liking it. It's fatally easy to write endless pages of dialogue, or so it seems. Maybe you have to grow up accustomed to it.

 

[Bick]

Good for you!

I've tried to start this set twice, and both times bogged down in so much dialogue. It is really hard for me to read the common contemporary novel that deploys a bunch of characters in various concurrent scenes, all of whose yakking we have to read. I wanted to like the first book but it was just too much work to read it. In contrast, I'm rereading (after only a few months) her first (I think) novel, Lincoln's Dreams, and liking it. It's fatally easy to write endless pages of dialogue, or so it seems. Maybe you have to grow up accustomed to it.

Yeah, I've heard too many mixed things about it, such as you've written, so have steered clear to date. What little Connie Willis I have read I didn't much like - I don't think I like her style and the things that interest her don't seem my cup of tea.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Purchased CITY by Clifford Simak.

 

[Bick]

Purchased CITY by Clifford Simak.

A good book - look out esp. for Desertion and The Huddling Place.
I also found the linking pieces between the stories very enjoyable and erudite.
Be sure to add your thoughts to one of the Simak threads. (Brian - there really ought to be a Simak sub-forum).

 

[Danny McG]

I'm reading a short story collection by Matthew Derby (a new author to me) and there's some surreal and weird stuff in it - all very enjoyable, so far, and SF
Super Flat Times

 

[AE35Unit]

Continuing with The Mammoth book of Golden Age SF with the second story, The Weapon Shops, by van Vogt. I was expecting a lot from this author, but I found the story dull, and boring, the writing awkward in parts. I do have a paperback copy of The Weapon Shops of Isher on my bookshelf, but I'm a bit reluctant to read it now...