February 2021 Reading Thread.

[Vince W]

Is that new Vince?
I seem to remember reading an anthology like that but a few years ago.
Is it the one where it mentions his shoe size?

Apparently he takes a size eleven but wears a size ten when on patrol, this is to keep his grumpiness level up

It's from 2014.

It's long been known that Dredd wears boots too small for him.

 

[AE35Unit]

Deadly Eyes - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Ah very loosely based on the novel. The only other filmisation of a Herbert novel I know is Haunted

 

[MartinChis]

Just finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and didn't overly enjoy it.

The plot seemed to jump from one random event to another and just didn't grab me. There were a few moments that I laughed so it wasn't all bad.

 

[hitmouse]

Just finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and didn't overly enjoy it.

The plot seemed to jump from one random event to another and just didn't grab me. There were a few moments that I laughed so it wasn't all bad.

I absolutely love this book, but then I grew up with it, and my friends at school and university quoted it endlessly. I also heard the original radio series before I ever bought the novel, and I enjoyed the 1980s tv series. I cannot think about The Book without Peter Jones’ voice.

I can understand why someone who comes to this cold might be a bit nonplussed. Absurdist fiction can be a bit annoying at times.

 

[AE35Unit]

Just finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and didn't overly enjoy it.

The plot seemed to jump from one random event to another and just didn't grab me. There were a few moments that I laughed so it wasn't all bad.

You gotta read the rest of the series. Hilarious

 

[tobl]

You gotta read the rest of the series. Hilarious

thank you for all the fish

 

[AE35Unit]

thank you for all the fish

The film is quite good too

 

[hitmouse]

You gotta read the rest of the series. Hilarious

I think the first 2 books were great, and it all started to dip after that.

 

[Spade]

Game Changer by Neal Shusterman 3/5 - I was onboard through the whole novel, but the "science" didn't make sense, and the ending was extremely weak. I haven't been impressed with a book ending in a long time.

Currently reading The Doors of Sleep by Tim Pratt. The main characters wakes up in a new place. Maybe a new parallel reality or different planet every time he wakes up. Loving it so far.

 

[Vince W]

The film is quite good too

Freeman, Rickman, and Mos Def were quite good. Sam Rockwell was excrutiatingly awful. Brought the entire tone of the film down.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

During my time away from the computer, I read The Eclipse of Dawn (1971) by Gordon Eklund, his first novel. It was an odd book. Set in the future year of 1988, it deals with the Presidential election some time after a second civil war, apparently based on race, which resulted in the southern part of the former USA becoming a new nation. The narrator is a journalist covering the candidate opposing the incumbent. His sister claims to receive messages from aliens who, long ago, journeyed from their home star to Jupiter. Despite the SF elements, it's mostly a character-driven, introspective narrative, with political maneuvers making up a lot more of the plot than the outer space stuff.

Next up: Kitra (2020) by Gideon Marcus, editor of the Galactic Journey website, for which I write. This slim volume seems to be a direct attempt to recreate the so-called "juvenile" SF novels of decades past, without being anachronistic. So far, not bad.

 

[Danny McG]

Well I've finished the Ninefox Gambit trilogy (it turned out to be a load of twonk!)

Now I'm reading a spy thriller 'The Englishman' by David Gilman

 

[Bick]

Well I've finished the Ninefox Gambit trilogy (it turned out to be a load of twonk!)

That’s useful to know; it’s one of those books one hears about and wonders whether to read it or not. I’m not sure of the exact definition of twonk, but I’m getting a fairly clear idea. Now I can not. Shame you had to read a while trilogy of books to find out, but it does save me doing it.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I read the first and found it refreshingly original. But the sequel doesn't really seem to follow on directly - it follows a different set of characters, none of whom seem sympathetic - which killed my interest.

 

[Vertigo]

Well I've finished the Ninefox Gambit trilogy (it turned out to be a load of twonk!)

Now I'm reading a spy thriller 'The Englishman' by David Gilman

I'm glad I decided to read no further!

 

[hitmouse]

Approaching 40% of the way through Metaplanetary (2001) by Tony Daniel. I had never heard of the book nor the author, but my curiosity was piqued in this thread.

It is a pretty good yarn, and deserves to be better known. Lots of tasty ideas about posthumanism, and some nutty and quite detailed future physics all tied in to an epic saga of political and economic intrigue.

i would be interested to know if anyone else has read this. Last mentioned on Chrons in 2006.

 

[Danny McG]

Now I'm reading a spy thriller 'The Englishman' by David Gilman

I couldn't get into the story, more of a travelogue than a spy thriller IMO.
So now, inspired by this recent Book Search....

(Found) Book about helping a planet that worships "Mother" advance quickly so that they can help defend against an approaching alien fleet

I am trying to find a science fiction book about a federation helping a planet that worships mother advance quickly so that they can help defend against an approaching alien space fleet. They introduce new inventions (like gunpowder and the telegraph) to help them develop very quickly. The...

www.sffchronicles.com

I'm reading 10 years to Doomsday - and I'm totally enjoying it

 

[MartinChis]

I absolutely love this book, but then I grew up with it, and my friends at school and university quoted it endlessly. I also heard the original radio series before I ever bought the novel, and I enjoyed the 1980s tv series. I cannot think about The Book without Peter Jones’ voice.

I can understand why someone who comes to this cold might be a bit nonplussed. Absurdist fiction can be a bit annoying at times.

I certainly agree with there being lots of quotable lines. I'll probably re-red it one day and might enjoy it more now I now what to expect.

The film is quite good too

I'll check it out

 

[Vertigo]

Approaching 40% of the way through Metaplanetary (2001) by Tony Daniel. I had never heard of the book nor the author, but my curiosity was piqued in this thread.

It is a pretty good yarn, and deserves to be better known. Lots of tasty ideas about posthumanism, and some nutty and quite detailed future physics all tied in to an epic saga of political and economic intrigue.

i would be interested to know if anyone else has read this. Last mentioned on Chrons in 2006.

I've not come across this before and it does sound interesting. However I thought I'd mention that it appears to be a poorly flagged duology. There is a sequel called Superluminal and, according to GR reviews, the first book does leave a number of characters hanging from cliffs.

 

[hitmouse]

I've not come across this before and it does sound interesting. However I thought I'd mention that it appears to be a poorly flagged duology. There is a sequel called Superluminal and, according to GR reviews, the first book does leave a number of characters hanging from cliffs.

Yes, so I understand. Both available and inexpensive for Kindle. There are vague allusions to a third in the series that does not seem to have been published, or even written.