December 2021 Reading Thread

[AE35Unit]

Buggrit. Onto a re read of Mort (Death #1) by Terry Pratchett

 

[Danny McG]

Buggrit. Onto a re read of Mort (Death #1) by Terry Pratchett

You can't go wrong with Pratchett's stuff

 

[Randy M.]

True, but there's something compelling about the way Dickens wrote that. I suppose it means I have a love for purple prose. But there it is.

It's part of the chummy feel he's going for, a raconteur telling his story to a group sitting around him actually listening before the days of folks staring at their cell phones. (Of which, I'm as guilty as the next guy.) I can imagine him reciting the story during his tours.

I've begun reading some stories by Mrs. J. H. Riddell, and they aren't that discursive, but I have to gear down my expectations from reading more recent fiction.

 

[The Big Peat]

I've returned to Mercedes Lackey and Valdemar for Eye Spy. Just two more books and I'm caught up with the series.

Also just finished KittyQuest, a charming fantasy adventure comic for kids involving cats which I recommend, and The Labyrinth's Archivist, a very busy novella that I mostly recommend but did feel a bit frustrated by.

 

[Danny McG]

This morning I'm starting Schrödinger's cat, a mil SF by Paul Crittenden.

This is book one of a new trilogy.
It seems ok so far, brutal aliens and equally brutal space marines

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Sun Horse, Moon Horse, by Rosemary Sutcliffe. This is only the second of Sutcliffe's books I've read, and it's very different from the other, Eagle of the Ninth. I much prefer this one. It's a short but powerful speculation on how and why the White Horse of Uffington came to be made in the first century BC (I got the recommendation from a non-fiction book I read about the chalk carving, Land of the White Horse). I think anyone who's ever found themselves fascinated by the monument would like it. Having grown up knowing about it, I suppose you lose sight of just how weird and amazing the thing is. She really gets across a plausible ancient mindset.

@The Big Peat has recommended other novels by Sutcliffe in the past, and on the strength of this one, I'll certainly be looking them out.

 

[The Big Peat]

Finished Sun Horse, Moon Horse, by Rosemary Sutcliffe. This is only the second of Sutcliffe's books I've read, and it's very different from the other, Eagle of the Ninth. I much prefer this one. It's a short but powerful speculation on how and why the White Horse of Uffington came to be made in the first century BC (I got the recommendation from a non-fiction book I read about the chalk carving, Land of the White Horse). I think anyone who's ever found themselves fascinated by the monument would like it. Having grown up knowing about it, I suppose you lose sight of just how weird and amazing the thing is. She really gets across a plausible ancient mindset.

@The Big Peat has recommended other novels by Sutcliffe in the past, and on the strength of this one, I'll certainly be looking them out.

The bolded is one of her big strengths to me.

Also, I haven't even read that one. I really should.

 

[The Judge]

I read The Lantern Bearers only the other day and loved it, so I'm certainly going to be looking at more of Sutcliff's work. The exhibition about Eric Ravilious at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and associated online talks have also made me want to know more about the white horses, so I'm definitely interested in this novel of hers. (One of the things that makes my mind boggle about the horses is that the chalk has to be scoured at least every ten years otherwise the image is lost, which means that Uffington horse has not just been seen, but has been actively cared for generation after generation for perhaps 3,000 years!)

 

[Bick]

I've started Crusade, the second Destroyermen book by Taylor Anderson. Good so far, it's very action-packed and entertaining, if you're looking for that sort of alternate history/universe kind of thing.

I did finish Triplanetary a few days ago. What to say? It's two different things, depending on perspective and sentiment, and willingness to overlook it's age and the imperfections of the time in which it was written. It is both:

(i) An energetic, classic space opera with big ideas.
It has a naïve positivity and exuberance about it that charms for much of the time. The language and attitudes shown are like a history lesson in how things were seen, and while the young woman in the main story is given less to do than the heroic menfolk, she is not without agency. It's also a lot of fun to see the invention of ideas for the first time that were subsequently used by others in more recent SF. Notably, there are many elements that were clearly used by George Lucas, who is said to have been a fan of the books. Here we see a 'Death Star', effectively, though instead of containing Darth Vadar, it houses... wait for it... Roger! Heinlein was also on record as saying that no one influenced him more than Smith and he loved his work. So, if you're happy to go along for the ride and not worry over pesky details, it's an entertainment that will provide a good example of classic pre-Golden Age fiction.

(ii) Rubbish.
And I mean that in the nicest possible way. It's badly written and chock full of plot developments that are ludicrous. The reverse engineering of extraordinary alien technology by humans in days (or even hours) is perhaps the most ludicrous thing about it, but there are many things one could pick apart. There's also not a clean plot arc here - it's really disjointed. As most will know, Triplanetary was a mash-up of a 1934 serial of the same name that had nothing to do with the Lensman series and some 1948 material tacked on the beginning. The tacked on prologues don't really work or help, and the refit of the 1934 serial is clumsy, as it tries to shoe-horn Lensman alien races and war into a story they don't easily fit. However, I knew all this going in, and wanted to read it for 'educational' purposes as much as anything - I feel that if I'm going to comment on SF books, I should try for a rounded experience of what's historically important, and the Lensman series was a hole that needed filling. On that basis, I will be reading further, as this first prequel is not representative of the ultimate story arc.

 

[Extollager]

I haven't read any 'new' sf in years.

Ha! I'm just now getting around to reading Heinlein's Door into Summer. Very clever.

 

[tobl]

Ha! I'm just now getting around to reading Heinlein's Door into Summer. Very clever.

since we are in the winter if you find the key, remember us

 

[J-Sun]

I did finish Triplanetary a few days ago.

Excellent capsule-review, Bick. I essentially agree with all of it but will just quibble some for the heck of it.

The reverse engineering of extraordinary alien technology by humans in days (or even hours) is perhaps the most ludicrous thing about it, but there are many things one could pick apart.

True, but it's no worse than the TV and movies of decades later (up to today, even) or certainly the matinee serials of the time.

The tacked on prologues don't really work or help

If I've got the right thing in mind where it's a war story in the front, I actually thought that was pretty effective in isolation, but that might just be me. I agree that the whole thing is a bit cobbled together and the same applies to a lesser extent to the second one (in internal order). The last four (in internal order) are the core.

while the young woman in the main story is given less to do than the heroic menfolk, she is not without agency.

He's good for that generally and the best example of his strong woman may be in Spacehounds of IPC.

 

[Extollager]

I shall continue with the Dickens trilogy I have, with The Chimes. One of the stories I found difficult to read if I remember correctly. Dickens can be... difficult.

Your business, of course, what you read! But I can say: I have read all 14 of the finished Dickens novels, more than half of them more than once; and I read "The Chimes" a while ago -- it's really not up to the level of any of the novels, in my rumble opinion. To judge Dickens by it -- not that you are doing that -- would be kind of like judging the Beatles by "Mr. Moonlight."

 

[Bick]

If I've got the right thing in mind where it's a war story in the front, I actually thought that was pretty effective in isolation, but that might just be me. I agree that the whole thing is a bit cobbled together and the same applies to a lesser extent to the second one (in internal order). The last four (in internal order) are the core.

Yes, the WWI story at the beginning is rather good in some ways - as a standalone novelette, I enjoyed it, and Smith's writing is better in the prologues (1948) than it was in the following (1934) serial part - but it was a funny way to introduce the idea of Arisian's and Eddorian's I thought, and didn't really mesh well with Triplanetary storyline.

 

[williamjm]

I finished Josiah Bancroft's The Fall of Babel. I've enjoyed all four of the books in the series, it has been fascinating exploring the mysteries of the tower throughout the series and although the final book certainly doesn't explain everything I think it did a good job of answering some of the key questions even if every answer does lead to another set of questions. I suspect opinions might vary a bit on the way in which it ends but I thought it managed to strike a balance between resolving plotlines and leaving some things open-ended, there would certainly be scope for more books in this setting but I don't think they're necessarily required. I thought many of the characters got some good development in this book, particularly Adam in the first section, and I think I enjoyed the series more as it became more of an ensemble piece rather than focusing on Senlin who I often felt was one of the less interesting characters, although I think his story arc does come to an appropriate conclusion here.

Next up I'm going to go onto another concluding volume with a titles about falling: James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Falls.

 

[tobl]

I finished Josiah Bancroft's The Fall of Babel. I've enjoyed all four of the books in the series, it has been fascinating exploring the mysteries of the tower throughout the series and although the final book certainly doesn't explain everything I think it did a good job of answering some of the key questions even if every answer does lead to another set of questions. I suspect opinions might vary a bit on the way in which it ends but I thought it managed to strike a balance between resolving plotlines and leaving some things open-ended, there would certainly be scope for more books in this setting but I don't think they're necessarily required. I thought many of the characters got some good development in this book, particularly Adam in the first section, and I think I enjoyed the series more as it became more of an ensemble piece rather than focusing on Senlin who I often felt was one of the less interesting characters, although I think his story arc does come to an appropriate conclusion here.

Next up I'm going to go onto another concluding volume with a titles about falling: James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Falls.

if you liked babel try paulo coelho's the fifht moutain

 

[tachyon]

Just finished The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham. Interstellar SF with FTL. Settled human systems are invaded by an exiled rival human faction, there are no aliens present in the universe.

I ended up liking this a lot once the characters and setting got established. The beginning was a lot of quick jumps between characters which felt somewhat choppy, the time spent in each character's POV too short, but he's written quite an interesting cast and and I enjoyed it a lot. Will be picking up the sequel.

 

[Bick]

Just finished The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham. Interstellar SF with FTL. Settled human systems are invaded by an exiled rival human faction, there are no aliens present in the universe. ...Will be picking up the sequel.

Interesting tachyon, this is the kind of thing I like. How well does it stack up as a complete/standalone novel, given it is the first in a trilogy?

 

[Dave Vicks]

Reading Janet Evanovich and David Halberstam.

 

[tachyon]

Interesting tachyon, this is the kind of thing I like. How well does it stack up as a complete/standalone novel, given it is the first in a trilogy?

Definitely not a cliffhanger ending, but you can see that it's setting the scene for the future books. To my taste it was satisfying as a stand-alone story.