April 2021 Reading discussion

[thaddeus6th]

Been a long while since I read Ovid. I was less taken with it, at the time, than I thought I might be, although Tereus, Procne, and Philomela[sp] stuck with me.

Just started Rhythm of War, by Brandon Sanderson. A rare case, as with the recent Fitz and the Fool trilogy, of me reading a fantasy book that's not electronic.

 

[Vertigo]

I actually finished these mostly last month but what the heck!

The Human by Neal Asher - classic Asher, but might have been better with a little more story and a little less battle. More here.
The Expert System’s Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky - a very good thought provoking novella. A little more here.
The Spherical Trust by Mjke Wood - quirky, bureaucratic SF with nerdy humour. Better than that sounds really. More here.

Almost finished, but rather struggling with, Transfigurations by Michael Bishop (SF masterworks) and bracing myself to tackle Musashi by Yoshikawa Eiji, which I'll probably tackle in several chunks (internally it is spilt into several books and is often published in separate volumes).

 

[Danny McG]

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley.
A sci fi story

This turned into a human/alien romance & then a bit of gruesome weirdness.
Ok story, but a bit too wordy and 'literature school' for my reading taste.

I'm now starting life on planet Earth by Andy Gorman

https://authorandygorman.com/lifeonplanetearth

 

[Danny McG]

I'm now starting life on planet Earth by Andy Gorman

Too much of a YA story, very much a DNF.
I'm stuck for a read now, maybe I'll fall back on an old fave

 

[Danny McG]

A cold war thriller...
The old boy's club by Christopher Masterman.
A new author to me, we shall see

 

[Randy M.]

Currently reading In a Glass Darkly by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu with a GoodReads book club. I've enjoyed LeFanu's stories since I was a teen, notably "Green Tea" and "Carmilla," both of which I'll be rereading in this collection as well as a couple of tales I don't recall reading before.

 

[williamjm]

I read Yoon Ha Lee's Hexarchate Stories, a collection of stories set in the world of their Machineries of Empire trilogy. Some of the stories are very short 'flash fiction' but there is also a novella Glass Cannon which is a sequel to the original trilogy. Some of the shorter stories felt a bit redundant but I liked the different perspectives given on Jedao and Cherris at various times in their life. I think that last story might be the most interesting although I think the trilogy's ending was maybe a better conclusion than the end of the novella which seems to be starting off new plotlines.

I'm now reading Neil Gaiman's A Game of You.

 

[MartinChis]

Last month I read a couple of books by classic authors, The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein and The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke . I enjoyed The Door Into Summer, though the main character's actions seemed a bit questionable. The Sands of Mars took a while to get going but I ended up enjoying it a lot.

I'm planning on reading more by both by both authors and currently reading Starship Troopers by Heinlein. It's one of the best books I've read in a while. I've always liked non-fiction military books so the military setting is really appealing.

I've heard that The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is kind of a response to Starship Troopers, so maybe I'll jump straight into that one next.

 

[Parson]

All the wicked girls by Chris Whitaker.

This is an ebook with no blurb so I'm trying to categorise as I read.
It seems to be a hybrid of a crime thriller and a supernatural horror (I might revise this opinion after a few more chapters)

I was expecting this to turn out to be porn. But since you gave up on it.

 

[Danny McG]

This morning I'm into a horror book. (I much prefer reading horror stories in daylight!)

The children God forgot by Graham Masterton

 

[Hugh]

John Connolly "Hell's Bells"
A pleasant change of pace for me. YA, probably aimed at boys aged 8 to 13, and very very boyish. Boy and his dachsund are transported to hell by a vengeful demon (from Book I of the series) along with, accidentally, an ice-cream van, four unpleasant dwarves and two policemen. There's plenty of description of the landscape and its inhabitants along with much stupidity and crass behaviour, though no fart jokes (clearly some standards). At the same time, there are occasional thought provoking comments on the nature of good and evil.
This is what you get when on impulse you pick up a ridiculously cheap book in the clearance bin as you're waiting to check out at Tescos. I enjoyed it but have no desire to read Books I or III.

 

[biodroid]

The Fireman - Joe Hill

 

[彐ildHunter]

I finished reading and translation of G.V.Anderson's Water Bird.
I thought I got tired with the robot freewill kinda stories, but this fiction is different. She really did a good job in this short story.
And I'm now trying to start reading my first long novel in English with Dark Moon, hope I can understand all of the contents.
If I came across some problems while reading, hope I could get some help from you guys.

 

[hitmouse]

About 50 pages into Catalan Cuisine by Colman Andrews. Very interesting, but no spaceships so far, mainly garlic and aubergines.

 

[Parson]

Just finished Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel it is the first Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez novel. Overall an above average lawyer novel. I especially liked that it did not resort to the lawyers being kidnapped, or having a shoot out with the police and/or criminals. It was also notable that the "big reveal" did not come on the witness stand; Perry Mason style, and that it took me 100% by surprise. I expect that I will read further in this series. But whether it's my next novel or not, that's unsure.

 

[Danny McG]

The Fireman - Joe Hill

I know he initially used the surname Hill to avoid accusations of favouritism in the publishing world, given that his dad is Stephen King.

What makes me give a 'yay' shout out to Stephen King is that this kid grew up being known as Joe King

 

[HareBrain]

What makes me give a 'yay' shout out to Stephen King is that this kid grew up being known as Joe King

I had a colleague once whose name was Jo King. Needless to say, much office hilarity ensued. You have to wonder about some parents.

 

[Danny McG]

Tonight I'm reading Last one at the party by Bethany Clift.
One survivor of the super plague makes her lonely way through the city of dead bodies

 

[Hugh]

I'm now reading Neil Gaiman's A Game of You.

I really liked that.

 

[Bick]

I'm reading the newest Issue of Clarkesworld Magazine, like I always do (gotta enjoy what is given to you for free!). I've said in the last discussion thread that that month's issue was the best in a long time, and the first one that I read all the stories without getting bored to death.
Well, it still is.
I'm finding this new issue's stories to be extremely derivative. For instance, A House Is Not a Home, about a high-tech house with "feelings" is pretty much There Will Come Soft Rains, by Ray Bradbury; or The Sheen of Her Carapace, about an astronaut whose body is changing, thus becoming much alike the aliens he encounters in a new planet (uh, Avatar?). I instantly link the stories with something I have read or watched, so nothing feels new. This doesn't mean the stories are bad per se. I just had the bad luck of having the "source material" fresh in my mind.

As it happens, alex, I'm currently reading Clarkesworld for review on Tangent, so you'll be perhaps be interested to read that, once its up. So far, I've enjoyed one story. Another story I found almost unreadable (the prose was terrible, like the writer was trying desperately hard to come across as clever and literary) and the current one I'm reading is no great shakes either - derivative and very amateurish. Once the Tangent review is up (couple of days probably) I'll let you know which stories fit these descriptions. I tend to find Clarkesworld provides about one decent SF story each month.