AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
I read that years ago but I don't remember much about it. One of the few instances where the film is better.
January 2021 Reading Thread.
- Thread starter Ian Fortytwo
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MartinChis
Member
I've somehow never seen the film. Plan on watching it now the book is out of the way.
hitmouse
Well-Known Member
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The film is so different that it is not in competition with the novel.
The Scribbling Man
Tenant of the Tower of Flints
Finished No Country For Old Men last night. Here's a short review (spoiler free):
Been a while since I saw the film, so I might rewatch that soon to compare. As for next reading... I think I might dig into some short stories. Got this on my shelf and I haven't heard of many of the authors within. Thought it might be a good way to discover more (hopefully good) forgotten science fiction from back in the day:
4.25
No Country For Old Men is a solid, pensive thriller. The dialogue is great, and the prose is economical but poignant. I probably would have given this a slightly higher rating if it weren't for two things:
A. Punctuation (or lack thereof). The absence of speech marks for dialogue will throw many off. I found it pretty frustrating, though I did get used to it. By the end of the book it felt much more natural to read that way, but there were still times where I had to double-take/re-read, and I feel like the author's intent to "declutter" the prose introduces about as many problems as it solves. It's kinda like when someone decides to tidy your house for you and make it all nice and tidy. And you agree... it is nice and tidy - but now you don't know where a damn thing is.
B. The end is indulgent. The last quarter or so of the book drags and feels unnecessary. The main narrative is over by this point, and so 60 pages of epilogue tested my patience.
Otherwise, it's very good. I've seen the film, but I'd forgotten about how anti-climactic (in a good way) the ending is (the ending before the ending). It's shocking and bleak and fits the thematic of the novel very well.
All in all, (mostly) good stuff.
No Country For Old Men is a solid, pensive thriller. The dialogue is great, and the prose is economical but poignant. I probably would have given this a slightly higher rating if it weren't for two things:
A. Punctuation (or lack thereof). The absence of speech marks for dialogue will throw many off. I found it pretty frustrating, though I did get used to it. By the end of the book it felt much more natural to read that way, but there were still times where I had to double-take/re-read, and I feel like the author's intent to "declutter" the prose introduces about as many problems as it solves. It's kinda like when someone decides to tidy your house for you and make it all nice and tidy. And you agree... it is nice and tidy - but now you don't know where a damn thing is.
B. The end is indulgent. The last quarter or so of the book drags and feels unnecessary. The main narrative is over by this point, and so 60 pages of epilogue tested my patience.
Otherwise, it's very good. I've seen the film, but I'd forgotten about how anti-climactic (in a good way) the ending is (the ending before the ending). It's shocking and bleak and fits the thematic of the novel very well.
All in all, (mostly) good stuff.
Been a while since I saw the film, so I might rewatch that soon to compare. As for next reading... I think I might dig into some short stories. Got this on my shelf and I haven't heard of many of the authors within. Thought it might be a good way to discover more (hopefully good) forgotten science fiction from back in the day:
Started Susan Cooper's Silver on the Tree. Was astonished to find the word "mucking" used in dialogue as an obvious euphemism, in a children's book written in the 70s. But it obviously worked, as I never noticed it when I was an actual child.
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
I am about to start Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World (2017) by Laura Spinney. That would seem timely.
can someone remind me which book are we suppose to be living in? is this in the political thriller section or post-appocalitical? and which writer?last year it was tom clancy... now it's what, robert ludlum with special participation of stephen king?
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A few years ago I struggled through the Silmarillion. I know others love it, but I found it hard going. I followed this with several David Day books and found them really helpful in digesting more of the storyline.
AE35Unit
]==[]===O °
I like those anthologies,. I need more of them. Also there was a series called Nova. I had one years ago but I don't think I ever read it.
The Scribbling Man
Tenant of the Tower of Flints
I pick them up every now and again when I see them going cheap in charity shops. I enjoy old sci-fi, and I'm always on the look out for a lost gem.
williamjm
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I finished S.A. Chakraborty's The City of Brass. I thought it was a good book, particularly for a debut novel. I think the world-building was a highlight, it's not the first fantasy story I've read to use an Arabian Nights-inspired setting but I thought it did manage to feel quite different to the typical epic fantasy novel. Early on it does feel like it could turn into a simple good-vs-evil story but once it gets to Daevabad it does get more complex since there are a number of different ethnic and religious factions among the djinn who live there and it isn't immediately clear what side some of the characters are on or what their motivations are. The two main characters were both likeable even if they can be a bit exasperating at times when they sometimes say or do things first and think about the consequences later. The ending of the book did bring in some twists and I'm sure I will pick up the other two books in the trilogy soon.
Galactic Bus Driver
Unrepentant Book Junkie
Wow, nine days into January and I've yet to finish a book. The two that were unfinished at the end of 2020 remain so, though there has been some marginal progress on "With Blood Upon the Sand," book 2 of The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu since it's on the Kobo and I always have a few minutes before dropping off to read a few pages. Now that I've binged my way through the 3 1/2 seasons of "Haven" that I needed to finish before Netflix pulls the plug on the 15th, and once gaming winds down to something less than an all encompassing free time sink (got some new games during Steam's holiday sale), I'm sure I'll be getting back to some reading again.
Thanks for review of this one; I might try it myself.
I finished Exceptions to Reality by Alan Dean Foster. A really enjoyable and eclectic collection of short stories. There is other-world SF here, a space station emergency, a Spellsinger fantasy tale, a short Pip & Flint tale, as well as several superior earth-bound peices, some SF, some magical realism, one non-genre. Recommended. These were mostly originally published in quite diverse places, so you’d struggle to hunt them down without the collection.
I’m now moving on to the Keith Laumer novel A Plague of Demons. This was nominated for the very first Nebula Award for best novel in 1966 (Dune won, of course). It sounds fun!
I’m now moving on to the Keith Laumer novel A Plague of Demons. This was nominated for the very first Nebula Award for best novel in 1966 (Dune won, of course). It sounds fun!
The Scribbling Man
Tenant of the Tower of Flints
Well, I just finished New Writings In Sci-fi 13. Here are my thoughts on individual stories (no spoilers):
Overall, I enjoyed the collection quite a bit and breezed through it in two days. Even if all weren't corkers, all the stories were very readable and there were aspects that I enjoyed in each one. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like many of the authors I'm interested in reading more of have had much of a science fiction output beyond collections such as this.
The Divided House by John Rackham - 3.25
"Divided we both fall."
Interesting dystopian novelette touching on slavery, class divide, intellectual discrimination, "thinkers" vs. "dreamers". The prose is dry and competent, without flair. The characters are fairly flat; some plot points are a bit convenient and the dialogue can lean on the side of expository. But it's generally solid and engaging, if unremarkable.
Public Service by Sydney J. Bounds - 2.75
"Isolation our salvation."
Another dystopian nightmare and more commentary on class divide, as well as overpopulation and historical negationism. A city regularly under attack from spontaneous fires contains the ever increasing danger by flooding the flames and rebuilding on top of the remains (and the corpses of any who happen to fall victim). Buildings are made tall, with the privileged living in high-up inflammable flats and the unfortunate lower dwellers regularly at a dangerous disadvantage.
Elements of the story seem far-fetched and hard to imagine; but it's readable and the premise is interesting, if clunkily told. Sydney J. Bounds is also (and perhaps better) known for his pulp westerns.
The Ferryman On The River by David Kyle - 2.5
"Hector, the salvager, stood patiently in two places at once, waiting for the almost corpse to fall from the sky."
A decent enough premise weakly delivered. It's mysterious enough to hold your attention, but doesn't really deliver the final blow convincingly enough. The opening line certainly hooks you in though (above).
Testament by Vincent King - 4.5
"The Rule! The Rule!"
It was this story that made me pick up the collection in the first place. I hadn't read it, but I had read two novels of Vincent King's which I found to be highly enjoyable in spite of flaws. His style is unique, and I felt it would be better suited to short fiction. His output is minimal and obscure, so I've been keeping an eye out for where I might find his shorter works.
Right away this stuck out amongst the rest. Quirky, poetic prose describing desolation, isolation, galactic mystery... juxtaposed by the witty interjections of an impatient listener. It takes the form of a court hearing, with interrogation in italics and the rest of the text from our witness' perspective. It immediately draws you in with its lack of context and bizarre style, and culminates with an excellent twist.
The Macbeth Expiation by M. John Harrison - 3.5
"Guilt. That's what you said, isn't it, Poet? Guilt."
MJ Harrison is apparently one of the better known names in this collection, although I've been unfamiliar with him beyond having heard of his novel, "The Centauri Device". He is still active and writing today.
After a mysterious shootout on an alien planet, a guilt-ridden and trigger-happy soldier is seemingly haunted by a spectre. This was nicely written and mostly well told, though a significant part of the climax could have been set up better. Characters are fairly well drawn for a sci-fi short, some more than others; the tension of a small crew in an abnormal situation is well composed.
Representative by David Rome - 4
"We have already dealt with one persistent salesman."
David Rome: seemingly the most obscure of the lot, I can barely find anything on him. He's not on goodreads and he doesn't have a wiki page. I found one SF bibliography page with him on and it listed one novel and nothing else; I found some random blog post that claims he wrote several novels and short stories as well as having worked as a screenwriter for Australian TV.
Representative is a solid, tightly paced thriller in the form of a (now) familiar suburban nightmare; young couples all too perfect to be real popping up everywhere. Reminiscent of something like The Stepford Wives (although this does predate that).
It's quaint and perhaps not wholly original (I'm not 100% where this trend originated), but it's well told and I liked it enough to want to explore more from the author. Question is, who is he and where can I find his work?
The Beach by John Baxter - 3.75
"Ashes to Ashes. Sand to sand."
John Baxter is much more prolific as a non-fiction writer, having written several film books and biographies.
The prose in this is tasty, evoking a nightmarish atmosphere as a character awakes from some kind of blissful illusion. Engrossing merely by the way it is written, it conveys feelings of dread and curiosity in the reader, but leaves them mystified.
The City, Dying by Eddy C. Bertin - 2.75
"They are evil incarnations... given a horrid form of semi-life, to act from the Day on till the End of Time as disciples of the Evil Deity."
Bertin is a belgian author. He has written several novels and short stories, both for children and adults, though not many of his works have been translated into English.
The first part of this is fairly expository world building, which then moves into a rushed and clunky identity narrative. The prose is decent, but heavily derivative of Bester's fancy formatting. Bertin's writing came much too late for this to be given any more credit than being a homage; and while Bester often used such quirks to great effect, here it just feels like a distracting gimmick.
"Divided we both fall."
Interesting dystopian novelette touching on slavery, class divide, intellectual discrimination, "thinkers" vs. "dreamers". The prose is dry and competent, without flair. The characters are fairly flat; some plot points are a bit convenient and the dialogue can lean on the side of expository. But it's generally solid and engaging, if unremarkable.
Public Service by Sydney J. Bounds - 2.75
"Isolation our salvation."
Another dystopian nightmare and more commentary on class divide, as well as overpopulation and historical negationism. A city regularly under attack from spontaneous fires contains the ever increasing danger by flooding the flames and rebuilding on top of the remains (and the corpses of any who happen to fall victim). Buildings are made tall, with the privileged living in high-up inflammable flats and the unfortunate lower dwellers regularly at a dangerous disadvantage.
Elements of the story seem far-fetched and hard to imagine; but it's readable and the premise is interesting, if clunkily told. Sydney J. Bounds is also (and perhaps better) known for his pulp westerns.
The Ferryman On The River by David Kyle - 2.5
"Hector, the salvager, stood patiently in two places at once, waiting for the almost corpse to fall from the sky."
A decent enough premise weakly delivered. It's mysterious enough to hold your attention, but doesn't really deliver the final blow convincingly enough. The opening line certainly hooks you in though (above).
Testament by Vincent King - 4.5
"The Rule! The Rule!"
It was this story that made me pick up the collection in the first place. I hadn't read it, but I had read two novels of Vincent King's which I found to be highly enjoyable in spite of flaws. His style is unique, and I felt it would be better suited to short fiction. His output is minimal and obscure, so I've been keeping an eye out for where I might find his shorter works.
Right away this stuck out amongst the rest. Quirky, poetic prose describing desolation, isolation, galactic mystery... juxtaposed by the witty interjections of an impatient listener. It takes the form of a court hearing, with interrogation in italics and the rest of the text from our witness' perspective. It immediately draws you in with its lack of context and bizarre style, and culminates with an excellent twist.
The Macbeth Expiation by M. John Harrison - 3.5
"Guilt. That's what you said, isn't it, Poet? Guilt."
MJ Harrison is apparently one of the better known names in this collection, although I've been unfamiliar with him beyond having heard of his novel, "The Centauri Device". He is still active and writing today.
After a mysterious shootout on an alien planet, a guilt-ridden and trigger-happy soldier is seemingly haunted by a spectre. This was nicely written and mostly well told, though a significant part of the climax could have been set up better. Characters are fairly well drawn for a sci-fi short, some more than others; the tension of a small crew in an abnormal situation is well composed.
Representative by David Rome - 4
"We have already dealt with one persistent salesman."
David Rome: seemingly the most obscure of the lot, I can barely find anything on him. He's not on goodreads and he doesn't have a wiki page. I found one SF bibliography page with him on and it listed one novel and nothing else; I found some random blog post that claims he wrote several novels and short stories as well as having worked as a screenwriter for Australian TV.
Representative is a solid, tightly paced thriller in the form of a (now) familiar suburban nightmare; young couples all too perfect to be real popping up everywhere. Reminiscent of something like The Stepford Wives (although this does predate that).
It's quaint and perhaps not wholly original (I'm not 100% where this trend originated), but it's well told and I liked it enough to want to explore more from the author. Question is, who is he and where can I find his work?
The Beach by John Baxter - 3.75
"Ashes to Ashes. Sand to sand."
John Baxter is much more prolific as a non-fiction writer, having written several film books and biographies.
The prose in this is tasty, evoking a nightmarish atmosphere as a character awakes from some kind of blissful illusion. Engrossing merely by the way it is written, it conveys feelings of dread and curiosity in the reader, but leaves them mystified.
The City, Dying by Eddy C. Bertin - 2.75
"They are evil incarnations... given a horrid form of semi-life, to act from the Day on till the End of Time as disciples of the Evil Deity."
Bertin is a belgian author. He has written several novels and short stories, both for children and adults, though not many of his works have been translated into English.
The first part of this is fairly expository world building, which then moves into a rushed and clunky identity narrative. The prose is decent, but heavily derivative of Bester's fancy formatting. Bertin's writing came much too late for this to be given any more credit than being a homage; and while Bester often used such quirks to great effect, here it just feels like a distracting gimmick.
Overall, I enjoyed the collection quite a bit and breezed through it in two days. Even if all weren't corkers, all the stories were very readable and there were aspects that I enjoyed in each one. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like many of the authors I'm interested in reading more of have had much of a science fiction output beyond collections such as this.
I'm surprised. His 2002 novel Light received a lot of attention from sf/fan press. I haven't read much of his work, but the fantasy novel, The Course of the Heart, an expansion on his novella "The Great God Pan," was excellent. Published in the '90s, it was one of my favorite reads in the Oughts.
As for me, I'm about 70% through my first book of the new year, The Man from the Diogenes Club by Kim Newman, which is tied to his Anno Dracula universe. While nowhere stated, this Titan edition (2017) is essentially an updating of the similarly titled collection from MonkeyBrain Books (2006), featuring the 1970s-'80s adventures of Richard Jeperson, Most Valued Member of the Diogenes Club -- i.e. at the time, the most experienced and successful field agent for a goup loosely attached to the government and charged with investigating the paranormal/supernatural, established late in the 19th century by Mycroft Holmes and disguised as a club for the "unclubbable". This trade paperback, at 711 pages, includes a 20 page glossary of British terms and allusions that is vital to a Yank understanding the by-play between the characters, and 7 pages of discussion by Newman about the origin of the stories and series.
If you've read Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen you'll have some sense of the sources, to which Newman adds pulp fiction, comic books, movies and television shows like The Avengers ('60s version, no relation to Marvel Productions). I would even describe the tone as often the literary version of The Avengers, a light even jaunty tone mixed with snark in the service of often preposterous and hugely entertaining premises. It's probably the best choice I could have made for reading during this tumultuous and unsettling time.
Finished Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper, last of the five-book Dark is Rising sequence.
I hadn't read this for a long, long time, and after the brilliance of The Grey King, I found it disappointing. It had its moments, but too much of it felt almost random, and the three Drew children had almost nothing of any consequence to do. I could probably have predicted this reaction from the fact that I remembered very little about it from the previous reading.
For the first time in ages, I'm in the mood for The Lord of the Rings, so am about to start The Fellowship of the Ring.
I hadn't read this for a long, long time, and after the brilliance of The Grey King, I found it disappointing. It had its moments, but too much of it felt almost random, and the three Drew children had almost nothing of any consequence to do. I could probably have predicted this reaction from the fact that I remembered very little about it from the previous reading.
For the first time in ages, I'm in the mood for The Lord of the Rings, so am about to start The Fellowship of the Ring.
As home education looms, I'm reminding myself that it could always be a lot worse and re-reading one of my favourite books, Carol Berg's "Transformation". It is so, so good.
It's one of those stories where the MC is a genuinely good, compassionate and decent person.
It's one of those stories where the MC is a genuinely good, compassionate and decent person.
soulsinging
the dude abides
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About halfway through The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. It reminds me of Mistborn, which I didn't love. I feel like comic books and fantasy are merging too much, and both rely on magic as super-powered Dragon Ball-Z type theatrics, with a dash of world-origin mystery thrown in to keep the pages turning.
Also reading A Red Death by Walter Mosely on my kindle. Not bad, but I guess there's a reason it took me 20 years to get around to this sequel to Devil in a Blue Dress.
Also reading A Red Death by Walter Mosely on my kindle. Not bad, but I guess there's a reason it took me 20 years to get around to this sequel to Devil in a Blue Dress.
I finished Plague of Demons by Keith Laumer. The first two thirds, set on Earth, is very good. A military specialist investigates disappearances in battle and discovers aliens are taking humans. He also discovers these same aliens are among us but only he can see them; once they realise he’s onto them it becomes a chase thriller. This first section is tightly plotted and exciting and makes internal sense. Then the final two third of the novel kicks in - it suddenly goes off-planet, it’s so full of plot holes it’s funny, and we no longer have any connection with or concern for our hero. Ultimately, it’s disjointed, silly (without meaning to be) and deeply flawed. The first two thirds were a blast though, it’s just a shame Laumer banged his head or something around page 110.
I’m now going to start Harlan Ellison’s collection Ellison Wonderland.
I’m now going to start Harlan Ellison’s collection Ellison Wonderland.
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