February 2022 Reading Thread

[Hugh]

"Mountain Magic" an anthology of Appalachian strangeness, containing four of Henry Kuttner's Hogben stories, a novella by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor, and "Old Nathan" by David Drake, a collection of five Nathan stories.

I bought this for the Hogben stories, the hillbilly family of mutants living in the backwoods of Kentucky. A pleasant change of pace. There's just one other Hogben story and I believe that's only tenuously related to these four.

The David Drake old Nathan stories were a very pleasant surprise as they are an excellent atmospheric tribute to Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John ("John the Balladeer") stories. Looking at Drake's website I see not only that he knew Wellman well and intended these stories as a tribute to him, but also that this collection of stories is one of the two pieces of writing that have given him the greatest satisfaction.

I'm afraid I thought the Flint/Spoor novella tedious. It had not previously been published and I can see why.

 

[tobl]

Next The Great courses DANTE:THE DIVINE COMEDY.

ah another great title for a book about the nowadays, Or human species in general.

 

[Rodders]

Finished with The Warmaster. Another great read. Now on to Anarch, which is sadly the final book in the series.

4 of my goal of 24 books read this year.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

For those keeping score, I am up to the fifteenth issue of Short Story International (January 1965), which is the one with Arthur C. Clarke's "The Star."

Notable in a couple of previous issues are very early stories by Joyce Carol Oates, when she was still calling herself "J. C. Oates."

 

[tachyon]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Gorgeous beautifully written exquisite gem of a novel. Clarke is a genius.

Hard to know what to follow this with.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm going back a lot of years this morning.
Death on the Nile

 

[soulsinging]

It's very different from the others. I like it very much (now), but I suspect you'll enjoy it more if you go into it without expectations. I first read it straight after the original trilogy and didn't think much of it; it was only on a reread years later, and separated from the first three, that I really appreciated it.

Looking forward to read your thoughts about it anyway.

I'd heard that and noted it was written well after the main trilogy. It is different so far, but not off-putting. I think me being older makes a big difference. I was too immature for the original trilogy when I first read it anyway!

Kay is indeed melodramatic, but I'm not sure why his characters would be seen as not fitting a medieval age, particularly if on grounds of melodrama - it's not like a great many recorded actions from that period aren't very melodramatic in and of themselves.

It's the blockbuster feel that gives me that impression I think. I saw a review about how everyone is impossibly sexy, presented in soft lighting that highlights their good side, ready with the perfect Hollywood quip. The two male leads don't just join forces, they destroy the best fighters ever and talk about their "chemistry" with slo-mo Top Gun bromance style eroticism. The spunky feminist lead is groping the most upright Christian in Christendom for a joke and he just goes with it. It just seems like there are a lot of modern sensibilities that conjure images of Brad Pitt in Troy more than medieval Spain. Scenes created for a big screen rather than because it fits the time or characters.

I feel like I'm being kind of harsh. I was enjoying it, it was a breezy read with a lot of momentum and great set pieces, much like the comparisons I mentioned (especially Pillars of the Earth or Trinity). But I'm hit and miss with that genre (sweeping historical epic) and don't feel the need to track down a new copy to finish it. That said, I could see myself circling back to finish it one day (maybe after I do the same for Shogun?) and still want to take a stab at Tigana sometime.

 

[tobl]

I'm going back a lot of years this morning.
Death on the Nile

you're just doing that because of gal gadot
i have a question: who has read sigma force and what do you think?

 

[Danny McG]

you're just doing that because of gal gadot

I've just googled, I didn't know there was a new version out.
I saw a short bit recently with Peter Ustinov and that got me interested in the original book

(Mind you, she is kinda hot!)

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm currently reading Belgarath the Sorcerer, by David and Leigh Eddings.
Brilliant read of pure fantasy, and an easy to follow as well. And you don't have to read any of the others to understand what's going on.

 

[The Big Peat]

It's the blockbuster feel that gives me that impression I think. I saw a review about how everyone is impossibly sexy, presented in soft lighting that highlights their good side, ready with the perfect Hollywood quip. The two male leads don't just join forces, they destroy the best fighters ever and talk about their "chemistry" with slo-mo Top Gun bromance style eroticism. The spunky feminist lead is groping the most upright Christian in Christendom for a joke and he just goes with it. It just seems like there are a lot of modern sensibilities that conjure images of Brad Pitt in Troy more than medieval Spain. Scenes created for a big screen rather than because it fits the time or characters.

I feel like I'm being kind of harsh. I was enjoying it, it was a breezy read with a lot of momentum and great set pieces, much like the comparisons I mentioned (especially Pillars of the Earth or Trinity). But I'm hit and miss with that genre (sweeping historical epic) and don't feel the need to track down a new copy to finish it. That said, I could see myself circling back to finish it one day (maybe after I do the same for Shogun?) and still want to take a stab at Tigana sometime.

I see your point but to me it didn't feel Hollywood, it felt Medieval Romance. Maybe not accurate to the realities of the period, but accurate to the way the people of the period would wish themselves presented, only in more modern language.

 

[AE35Unit]

I'm currently reading Belgarath the Sorcerer, by David and Leigh Eddings.
Brilliant read of pure fantasy, and an easy to follow as well. And you don't have to read any of the others to understand what's going on.

I tried that recently, I gave up after a while

 

[Axovan Sol]

Currently reading Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.
I do enjoy the war tactics and technological/magical discoveries.

 

[williamjm]

I read Kate Elliot's Unconquerable Sun. I thought it was an enjoyable space opera. It is a bit slow to start off with as a large cast of characters and several different competing civilisations and factions are introduced without the overall plot being particularly clear to begin with but once it gets going it did move at a good pace. There were some good action scenes on both small and large scales ranging from a small group trying to escape pursuers through a city to an interplanetary battle involving thousands of starships. The characters were interesting as well although some of the supporting cast could probably do with a bit more time spent on them. One thing I did find a bit unbelievable was the way in which characters are so willing to talk back to the heir to the throne which didn't really seem to fit the setting and how powerful and short-tempered that character is. As the first book in a trilogy it did a good job of coming to a conclusion while still leaving several plot threads for the rest of the series to follow.

I'm now reading Daniel Abraham's Age of Ash which I like so far, I really like Abraham's two previous fantasy series so I have high hopes for this one.

 

[Bick]

Having re-read Neptune's Crossing (and liking just as much the second time), I've moved on to Jeffrey Carver's second offering in his Chaos Chronicles series, Strange Attractors, which is shaping up nicely. Carver writes well, and very carefully plots his books. I understand he writes very slowly, but the books don't lack zip for all that, and I would recommend his work.

I've also started dipping into a non-fiction book, while I read the book above, in the form of Alan Dean Foster's natural history writing on predators he's come across in his travels around the world: Predators I Have Known. This is part zoology, part travelogue, part autobiography, and good stuff generally.

 

[J-Sun]

Having re-read Neptune's Crossing (and liking just as much the second time), I've moved on to Jeffrey Carver's second offering in his Chaos Chronicles series, Strange Attractors, which is shaping up nicely. Carver writes well, and very carefully plots his books. I understand he writes very slowly, but the books don't lack zip for all that, and I would recommend his work.

Eternity's End, being the fifth (and last-written) book of the six in the Star Rigger series, is obviously not the best entry point, but that's the one I've read. Have you read that one and, if so, where would you rate it among his books?

 

[Bick]

Eternity's End, being the fifth (and last-written) book of the six in the Star Rigger series, is obviously not the best entry point, but that's the one I've read. Have you read that one and, if so, where would you rate it among his books?

I've not read it, J-Sun, so can't help you there I'm afraid. What did you think of it?

 

[J-Sun]

I've not read it, J-Sun, so can't help you there I'm afraid. What did you think of it?

I don't remember it very well but recall being sort of on the downside of indifferent about it. But, for some reason, I feel like he's someone I might like and, especially with your positive comments, I again got to wondering if I'd just run into one of his lesser books or something. Maybe I'll give him another try someday, maybe with that Neptune's Crossing.

 

[Parson]

I finished Black Salvage by J. M. Anjewierden it is book 4 in The Black Chronicles. This is an interesting series with a really nice premise. This book came in a slim 283 pages. In short this series is about the adventures of Morgan Black (not her last name but she was nearly an adult before she learned it and had already picked Black.) Morgan begins life as a slave and a tunnel rat working a very dangerous job at a very young age. It is now book 4 and about 10 years later. She has established herself as a mercenary with an adopted family. This book begins after a dangerous salvage job (book 3) which involved fending off pirates. Now she and a small crew have to bring the damaged jump ship home. She faces all manner of troubles. The pirates are not done with them. Her bunkmate has designs on the guy she might like, but doesn't want to admit it. And a bunch of other stuff.

My problem with this book was that mainly you had to remember what had gone on in the other three to some degree and my memory was fuzzy. The story here is not as strong as original as the first three, or that previous bit might not have mattered. It was just not as compelling to me. I read it quickly (only 283 pages -- 3 hrs.?) but I didn't feel as invested as the previous novels. I am looking forward to book 5. The set up makes me wonder if this is a kind of transition book which are notoriously hard to do well.

4 stars --- I will read book 5 when it shows.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

Books absorbed in the last few weeks:
"Blackfish City" by Sam Miller. Debut novel set on a floating city in the Arctic: the first half reminded me a bit of "The Man in the High Castle" by the intensity with which it delved into the various viewpoint characters. Thought the ending was the weakest part of it, but I think that about a lot of books.
"Notes from the Burning Age" by Claire North. Brilliantly paranoid- in the age after the apocalypse, a rising extremist group are looking to bring back the bad old ways.

Slowly rereading "Wonderful Life" by Stephen Jay Gould: a book about Precambrian paleontology which really put the cat among the pigeons when it came out in the '80s. It also has some stunning drawings by one Marianne Collins.