February 2022 Reading Thread

[Danny McG]

I downloaded Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury yesterday - the sequel to Dandelion Wine.
However it's been a while since I read the first book so I'm rereading that one beforehand

 

[Danny McG]

I downloaded Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury yesterday - the sequel to Dandelion Wine.
However it's been a while since I read the first book so I'm rereading that one beforehand

I've got as him talking Mr Sanderson in the shoe shop into giving him tennis shoes on credit.
Another country
Another time
Another culture
But it still somehow makes you nostalgic!

 

[tobl]

I finished Under a Graveyard Sky by John Ringo. For those who may not know, this is the first in his ongoing ‘zombie’ SF series. In this case, the zombie apocalypse is mediated by a rapidly spreading new virus that is both airbourne in its initial flu-like stage, and then morphs into a blood-bourne rabies-like neurological virus. One family of far-right survivalists take to the seas to survive the spreading pandemic. I can see the appeal here in a sense. I did finish the book, and Ringo is clearly a professional artisan who knows how to keep the pace up, meet the shallower side of reader expectations, and provide a fun holiday read. All that said, this is not a good book, as there are too many problems. Firstly it should be pointed out that it is the start of the story, and just stops at the end with the words “to be continued”. Just because this is book one in a series doesn’t preclude a satisfying conclusion. The other issues I had are concerned with the ‘message, or perspective on show and the fact that far too much that happens is ridiculous. The characters (who are not that appealing) speak in militaristic jargon throughout, not only I felt to bring some verisimilitude but mostly to bring a sort of military cool to the goings on. The zombies are infected, living humans, and yet Ringo delights in having the 13 year old daughter of the protagonist shoot, stab, butcher and bludgeon these infected people in their hundreds. The 13 year old is described as a ‘hottie’ who just loves killing zombies. She is the best zombie killer ever! Various other adult characters ‘joke’ that as soon as she’s ‘legal’ they’ll marry her, even going so far as to suggest that it would be legal at 14 in some States. I maintained an uncomfortable feeling about the action scenes and dialogue throughout, as it comes across as rather unsavory and voyeuristic; Ringo seems to have created a ‘cool’ scenario that allows (even requires) extreme violence and extreme perspectives to flourish. There will be many who find this extreme fun (and in some ways it is), but for those looking for some humanity or depth in their SF, I wouldn’t recommend it.

I’m now moving on to The Devil’s Eye, by Jack McDevitt.

i'm sorry you didn't liked john ringo. that's one of his better books. there's only one i actually hate, the last centurion. the others are at least readable. yes larry correia is somewhat similar in books but personallyi think in person is way more judgmental that ringo ( i spoke with him on line and let's say it didn't went well). and if you think they are extreme don't try the carrera books. it will blow you. as for jack... since it's an alec book is okay

 

[Bick]

While I think Correia's Monster Hunter International was probably better than the Ringo sounds, they also sound like they have a similar sensibility and effect. Basically, if you like or dislike one, you'd probably feel the same about the other, with a slight variance on the edge.

if you think they are extreme don't try the Correia books....

Thanks, it's good to get feedback and comparison with Correia from both of you, as now I know I need not spend any further time reading either of these authors! Very useful!

 

[BAYLOR]

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart Just started read it . So far Terrific !

 

[Galactic Bus Driver]

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart Just started read it . So far Terrific !

I first read the original trilogy in the Jr. High and have re-read it many times. I was introduced to "The Wicked Day" while in the Army in 1989. Despite the publication in 1995 of "The Prince and the Pilgrim," I hadn't heard of it until a couple years ago and haven't managed to get to it yet.

There is some significant fall off between "The Last Enchantment" and "The Wicked Day," but I've never felt it was as bad as many I've heard have claimed. I'm hoping "The Prince and the Pilgrim" is a return to form.

 

[chongjasmine]

I am currently reading crossroads of twilight(WOT) and Sherlock Holmes.

 

[tobl]

Thanks, it's good to get feedback and comparison with Correia from both of you, as now I know I need not spend any further time reading either of these authors! Very useful!

ups my mistake.. aldo what i said was correct what i meant to write was:if you think Ringo and Correia are extreme don't try the CARRERA books

 

[worldofmutes]

Cracking open Tim Powers’ The Anubis Gates

 

[Parson]

So far this month I've finished Rebel by Jenny Schwartz. book 3 of The Adventures of a Xeno-archaeologist. It's a fairly strong series for Space Fantasy but for me it's beginning to wind down. There are two books left. I'll likely get to them another time. I liked the series better when Nora was a struggling Xeno-archaeologist. Now, she's rich, fabulously rich, and is a player on an inter-stellar scale. The story is moving as I predicted to a complete 180 of what the situation was in the beginning, but for me this is less interesting.

-----

A stand alone (or at least so far) murder mystery Not One of Us by Debbie Herbert. This was excellent story set in small town Alabama, and as I live in a small town it felt very true to life. The lead characters, a single divorced mom, deputy sheriff and a never married city daughter who has to return to small town Alabama to look after her brother and grandmother, are both well developed, true-to-life. Their struggles are real. But they take each day and do the best they can with them. Recommended, I gave it one of my rare 5 star reviews.

Here is my brief review:

This is a first class police mystery. I loved the characters. I felt connected to the two central characters and I was surprised at the ending. Not that the ending was impossible, but the people responsible were not the people I expected. The epilogue was heart rendering.

@Danny McG --- No romance!
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Now reading For Honor We Stand by H. Paul Honsinger, the second Man of War book. This is a series I started years ago and somehow forgot about it. This book continues the story, which I remember was OK. This book, however, has often been funny, while being serious. So far I'd call this one very good and book three Brothers in Valor is definitely on my radar.

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

Culture Shock by Seamus O'Dwyer and Madhouse at the end of the Earth by Julian Sancton, have been really bad for reading the last few months -think the net has been distracting me ...hmmm, the plug might be a solution

 

[tobl]

Now reading For Honor We Stand by H. Paul Honsinger, the second Man of War book. This is a series I started years ago and somehow forgot about it. This book continues the story, which I remember was OK. This book, however, has often been funny, while being serious. So far I'd call this one very good and book three Brothers in Valor is definitely on my radar.

very good books actually. there's just a small problem... the man died so no more books

 

[Danny McG]

@Danny McG --- No romance!

Glad to hear it, that sounds like my kind of story

Update: it's now downloaded to my device for "some time in the near future"

 

[Galactic Bus Driver]

Currently reading "Blood in the Water," Destroyermen book 11 byTaylor Anderson. Thanks again to @Bick for reviewing the first of these this past August. It prompted me to move them to my short list and I've been enjoying them quite a but.

 

[tachyon]

I'm in a slump! I've started and put down about 7 books in the past week. A bit frustrating, I'm looking for other ways to pass the time for now.

 

[psikeyhackr]

I finished Under a Graveyard Sky by John Ringo. . I did finish the book, and Ringo is clearly a professional artisan who knows how to keep the pace up, meet the shallower side of reader expectations, and provide a fun holiday read. All that said, this is not a good book, as there are too many problems.

What?

You don't find Ringo Jingoism hysterically funny?

Well, I guess we all can't be low brow aficionados.

 

[psikeyhackr]

“The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order”

The long game: China's grand strategy to displace American order

www.brookings.edu

The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace Ameri…

For more than a century, no US adversary or coalition o…

www.goodreads.com

Quarter of the way through. This only goes to 2017 so there is no discussion of what the recent real estate implosion will do to Chinese ambitions. I do not share the pro-Euro-American perspective of the author but the global power games combined with technology and global warming will have interesting effects over the rest of the century.

But it is so absurd that so much discussion ends at 2100.

 

[Danny McG]

A time to kill by John Grisham.
This is from 1989.

I've only read the first dozen or so pages so far and I'm finding it very disturbing - it might well become a DNF

 

[Dave Vicks]

ACROSS THE SPECTRUM anthology.
Black Mask magazine stories.

 

[soulsinging]

A time to kill by John Grisham.
This is from 1989.

I've only read the first dozen or so pages so far and I'm finding it very disturbing - it might well become a DNF

It opens with a very disturbing and upsetting crime, but there's nothing like that the rest of the book. Everything after takes place in the courtroom and follows the impact of that crime on and trial on the community. That opening is actually the most upsetting and visceral 20 pages Grisham ever wrote (as I recall, it's been decades since I read one of his).