July 2022 Reading Thread

[Elentarri]

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

This is an interesting and eye-opening book. The book does cite a lot of statistics which are always open to interpretation, but the book provides a different perspective.

The main theme in this book is exposing the lack of data (and also the apparent lack of interest in obtaining this type of data) that differentiates women from the general mass of data or even bothers to collect data on women at all and only uses men (e.g. public transport use, medical experiments and car safety tests). Pérez covers a plethora of topics relevant to daily life, the work place, public transport, public toilet facilities, safety, health and medicine (I would have thought it was pretty obvious that women's bodies do not work the same as men's bodies but apparently many doctors and researchers don't know this or simply don't care!!), tool and PPE sizes, taxes, income, politics and the unpayed work such as child minding, elderly care and household work, amongst others.

As stated by the author: "Invisible Women is the story of what happens when we forget to account for half of humanity. It is an exposè of how the gender data gap harms women when life proceeds, more or less as normal. In urban planning, politics, the workplace. It is also about what happens to women living in a world built on male data when things go wrong. When they get sick. When they lose their home in a flood. When they have to flee that home because of war.
But there is hope in this story too, because it’s when women are able to step out from the shadows with their voices and their bodies that things start to shift. The gaps close. And so, at heart, Invisible Women is also a call for change. For too long we have positioned women as a deviation from standard humanity and this is why they have been allowed to become invisible. It’s time for a change in perspective. It’s time for women to be seen."


Next up is Eugene Onegin by Pushkin. A novel written as a poem. Should be interesting.
​

 

[Vertigo]

I've recently finished Outlander by Diana Gabaldon -- a bloated adventure story à la Kidnapped with a supposedly intelligent woman thrown back in time falling in lust with a young Jacobite. I bought it because I'd picked up the sequel cheap, but the chances of me reading that sequel have plummetted.

What are you reading now?

I had someone trying to recommend that one to me a year or two ago but reading the blurb and some of the comments I fairly quickly decided it was not going to be for me. Sounds like I was right, it sounds horrible especially the 'supposedly intelligent' bit. I so hate it when authors present their readers with a wonderful intelligent character and then have them behave like a total idiot!

 

[Vertigo]

A few more books, admittedly mostly finished in June, but never mind!

Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell
This is the third book in Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles trilogy; a speculative historical story of the Arthurian legend. It is, as ever with Cornwell, excellent reading with great pacing, characters and action. However, he doesn’t seem to have quite decided whether he was writing a speculative historical novel or a fantasy. If the former then it’s fine to show the superstitious beliefs held in those times, if it’s the latter then it’s fine to have those superstitions be real. The books begin with the former and slowly morph to the latter. In this third book the magic is presented as very much real and this spoilt it for me. Contrast this with the Saxon Saga (The Lost Kingdom) in which all the magical beliefs are never presented as anything more than superstition. A shame because otherwise these books provide an excellent, realistic and eminently readable vision of how the legendary figure of Arthur might have actually fitted into the known history of those times. 4/5 stars

Against a Dark Background by Ian M Banks
Following my reread of all Banks’ Culture books I’m now embarking on the remainder of his SF output. I was surprised that I had forgotten almost everything about this book (apart from the solipsists and the monowheel vehicle) but then it’s probably twenty-five years or more since I read it. I have often seen this one criticised but I loved it on this reread. It is very Banks; both dark and filled with his dark humour. The pace rattles along with a generally very sympathetic main character, though Banks doesn’t have much sympathy with any of the other characters and is quite ruthless with them! Yes, it’s dark but certainly no darker than Use of Weapons or Surface Detail. I found it brilliant this time around, standing up there with the best of Banks’ SF. 5/5 stars.

Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky
This is probably the most disappointing of Tchaikovsky’s books that I’ve read so far. There is little in the way of his signature alien biology, this being a very much earthbound military SF story and, to be honest, I didn’t find the whole Scion thing or the plot particularly plausible, so I struggled throughout to suspend my disbelief. Not terrible but not very good either. 3/5 stars

Crucible of Time by Jeffrey A Carver
I am just loving this series and, whilst I was reading, I was dreading finishing this volume believing it be the last in the series. But it turns out there is another book planned, hooray! On the other hand, Carver is now seventy-three, so here’s hoping he’s still got another book in him! I understand he had a lot of trials and tribulations during the writing of this one. This book neatly concludes the story begun in the previous volume and gets there with a cracking, page-turning pace. I had a couple of late nights reluctant to put the book down and probably could have read the 400 plus pages in a single sitting if work hadn’t had to be done! An excellent book that once again pushes the current limits of known science to the very limits of speculative science. An Excellent read and possibly the best of the series so far. 5/5 stars

Nation by Terry Pratchett
An excellent book by Sir Terry, but don’t come to it expecting lots of Discworld style silliness. Whilst it does have flashes of Pratchett’s exceptional humour in it, this book is far more serious than his usual fare. On the surface it is something of a young adult, alternate history fantasy but it has a vein of serious philosophical thought running through it concerning religion, belief and knowledge. The YA aspect is endearing but never sentimental. Altogether a very well-balanced story, my only complaint being that the alternate history aspect, of which I was initially unaware, was not very well flagged at the beginning leaving me more than a little confused. But all in all, an excellent read. 5/5 stars

Immunity Index by Sue Burke
This was a little disturbing. Published in 2021, it is about a coronavirus pandemic, which felt a little opportunistic and yet, unsurprisingly, Burke felt the need to explain in an author’s note up front that the story was begun long before the Covid-19 pandemic started and was finished as the full ramifications of that pandemic were just becoming apparent. In fairness the fact that it is about a coronavirus is pretty much the only point of similarity. And this story is far, far darker than the real one unless you choose to believe all the various conspiracy theories. So, in the end, I got past the too-close-to-reality aspect and enjoyed what is a very good techno thriller slightly let down by an almost complete lack of an ending; it just stopped with very little conclusion. 4/5 stars

Ark by Veronica Roth
This is the third novella (short story really) that I’ve read from the Forward Collection curated by Blake Crouch and the weakest so far by a long way. There was nothing particularly novel about the setup; an approaching massive asteroid is due to destroy all life on Earth. And everyone, bar the last remaining scientists trying to catalogue samples of as many plants as possible before the final collision, has already been evacuated from the planet. I hate this sort of plot line; have these authors ever sat down and done the sums for the resources and time it would take to evacuate all of humanity? You’d probably struggle just to evacuate the annual increase in population never mind the entire population. Regardless, this story is not actually about that, it’s about…well nothing really. It’s a slow and rather boring account of a few scientists’ nostalgia for the planet and the life they’re going to leave behind. Disappointing. 2/5 stars

Shift by Hugh Howie
Shift is the second book in Howey’s Silo trilogy and I’m not sure I buy into his initial setup. Could you really get enough people to believe such a horrendously radical solution is necessary and then keep it secret? I struggle with that aspect throughout the book especially in the Silo 1 sections. Set that aside and it is mostly another good, dark follow up (prequel and sequel) to Wool. But for me it is somewhat less coherent than Wool. There is too much that is skimmed over by the author leaving me wondering how certain things worked and having to simply take it on faith. Slightly unsatisfactory in comparison with the first book. 3/5 stars

 

[williamjm]

Shift by Hugh Howie
Shift is the second book in Howey’s Silo trilogy and I’m not sure I buy into his initial setup. Could you really get enough people to believe such a horrendously radical solution is necessary and then keep it secret? I struggle with that aspect throughout the book especially in the Silo 1 sections. Set that aside and it is mostly another good, dark follow up (prequel and sequel) to Wool. But for me it is somewhat less coherent than Wool. There is too much that is skimmed over by the author leaving me wondering how certain things worked and having to simply take it on faith. Slightly unsatisfactory in comparison with the first book. 3/5 stars

I did feel that the series got weaker the more Howey tried to explain things. I agree character motivations often didn't entirely make sense in this one.

 

[Foxbat]

Currently reading Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic. Enjoying it so far.

 

[Rodders]

That’s on my pile. Let me know what you thing, of it, Foxbat.

 

[The Judge]

I had someone trying to recommend that one to me a year or two ago but reading the blurb and some of the comments I fairly quickly decided it was not going to be for me. Sounds like I was right, it sounds horrible especially the 'supposedly intelligent' bit. I so hate it when authors present their readers with a wonderful intelligent character and then have them behave like a total idiot!

To be scrupulously fair, she wasn't meant to be an academic with that kind of cerebral intelligence, and she was deliberately portrayed as someone who frequently acted/spoke without thinking -- though since she was meant to be a senior nurse, possibly a matron, during the war, I'd have expected rather more self-control -- but every decision she made was based on emotion, and even on the infrequent occasions she considered matters properly, she usually did the wrong thing as far as I was concerned.

Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell
This is the third book in Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles trilogy; a speculative historical story of the Arthurian legend. It is, as ever with Cornwell, excellent reading with great pacing, characters and action. However, he doesn’t seem to have quite decided whether he was writing a speculative historical novel or a fantasy. If the former then it’s fine to show the superstitious beliefs held in those times, if it’s the latter then it’s fine to have those superstitions be real. The books begin with the former and slowly morph to the latter. In this third book the magic is presented as very much real and this spoilt it for me. Contrast this with the Saxon Saga (The Lost Kingdom) in which all the magical beliefs are never presented as anything more than superstition. A shame because otherwise these books provide an excellent, realistic and eminently readable vision of how the legendary figure of Arthur might have actually fitted into the known history of those times. 4/5 stars

Yep, I warned you! The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (I had a short PM-conversation with svalbard about it after that earlier thread and I did then wonder if Ceinwyn's illness was meant to be psychosomatic, and all the storm/mist at the end was sheer coincidence, but it was all a bit too handy if so.)

 

[AE35Unit]

Next up Sadie When She Died by EdMcBain (1972)

 

[Vertigo]

Yep, I warned you! The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (I had a short PM-conversation with svalbard about it after that earlier thread and I did then wonder if Ceinwyn's illness was meant to be psychosomatic, and all the storm/mist at the end was sheer coincidence, but it was all a bit too handy if so.)

Yes I know you did but I was already pretty well committed by then. This is really what I was getting at about not knowing if it was speculative historical or fantasy. Initially it felt like the former but it definitely drifted towards the latter. I couldn't really buy the psychosomatic bit as I'm not sure she was aware of what he had done with his hand until she had begun to recover. But there you go. I shall still move on now to his slightly more medieval series "The Grail Quest" beginning with The Archer's Tale. To be honest I'm wondering if he's going to be walking the same wobbly line in this one. But he is a very good story teller!

Also he's not alone in this sort of ambiguity. I've been reading Robert Fabbri's Vespasian books and they keep having very unambiguous oracles that prove true and other touches of supernatural rather than just superstition in what is otherwise a historical novel. Just enough to annoy but not enough to stop me reading!

 

[Toby Frost]

there just aren't enough fantasies with 18th century type settings to suit me

One day I will finish my very silly novel about a magic highwayman.

I'm reading The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll, a book that's been recommended to me several times. It's about two weird people who travel to a small town to write the biography of a writer who lived there. There's something intriguing and slightly unsettling about the bizarre (imaginary) children's books the writer produced, and it feels as if it could become comical, sinister, or both.

 

[Randy M.]

I'm reading The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll, a book that's been recommended to me several times. It's about two weird people who travel to a small town to write the biography of a writer who lived there. There's something intriguing and slightly unsettling about the bizarre (imaginary) children's books the writer produced, and it feels as if it could become comical, sinister, or both.

Exactly.

 

[Randy M.]

The Rightful Future (A Cadence Mystery) by Dianne L. Hagan

(My GoodReads review)

I read this in manuscript, testing our 40 year friendship by giving Dianne a hard time every chance I got. Which is to say, this review is probably biased.

It's a strong debut, an entertaining, frequently funny novel. Marion, the narrator of much of the novel, is a strong voice, and with her husband, Lester, and their friend, Enoch, all come across as believable human beings. What's outlandish is the premise of the novel, yet that, in my reading experience, isn't really any more outlandish than most "cozy" mysteries I've read (I'm thinking here of Christie, Sayers, Marjorie Allingham, John Dickson Carr and some other "Golden Age" writers). Beneath that outlandishness, as structural support, is a grappling with the issue of race in American history, what the stakes and the consequences are for individuals and families in a microcosm of the country as a whole.

A book like this, juggling an entertaining premise while tackling a long-standing and often divisive issue, is no small achievement for a first time fiction writer.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

One day I will finish my very silly novel about a magic highwayman.

I look forward to it.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Currently Robert E. Howard horror stories.

Ursula k le Guin Essays

 

[Danny McG]

This morning I'm starting Primitives by Erich Krauss
A few survivors struggle on in a world where most have turned Neanderthal due to a bio attack

 

[Bick]

Crucible of Time by Jeffrey A Carver
I am just loving this series and, whilst I was reading, I was dreading finishing this volume believing it be the last in the series. But it turns out there is another book planned, hooray! On the other hand, Carver is now seventy-three, so here’s hoping he’s still got another book in him! I understand he had a lot of trials and tribulations during the writing of this one. This book neatly concludes the story begun in the previous volume and gets there with a cracking, page-turning pace. I had a couple of late nights reluctant to put the book down and probably could have read the 400 plus pages in a single sitting if work hadn’t had to be done! An excellent book that once again pushes the current limits of known science to the very limits of speculative science. An Excellent read and possibly the best of the series so far. 5/5 stars

Excellent to read this review, Vertigo. I’m reading these too, as you may know, and have books 5 and 6 lined up. I understand he is working on book 7 currently.

 

[Vertigo]

Excellent to read this review, Vertigo. I’m reading these too, as you may know, and have books 5 and 6 lined up. I understand he is working on book 7 currently.

Yes I had seen you seemed to be enjoying them. I actually think they have improved as the series has gone along. When I started this one I genuinely thought it would be the last one then as the end of the book approached I couldn't see any way all the strands could be fully wrapped up in time and then realised that there was indeed another book to come. No complaints from me, but I just hope he can complete it. 73 is quite an age to be starting on a book like these!

I have to say that after I'd finished the first book I had absolutely no idea what sort of ride was yet to come!

 

[Bick]

Yes I had seen you seemed to be enjoying them. I actually think they have improved as the series has gone along. When I started this one I genuinely thought it would be the last one then as the end of the book approached I couldn't see any way all the strands could be fully wrapped up in time and then realised that there was indeed another book to come. No complaints from me, but I just hope he can complete it. 73 is quite an age to be starting on a book like these!

I have to say that after I'd finished the first book I had absolutely no idea what sort of ride was yet to come!

Book 7 is to be called The Masters of Shipworld. No idea when it will be out, and the author acknowledges he’s a slow writer, but I’d put money on it that you’ll be able to read it before GRRM’s long awaited novel!

 

[Toby Frost]

I look forward to it.

50,000 words in rough so far! Grave robbers, highway chases, hell-hounds, vengeful ghosts and a hanging judge. It's not historically accurate...

 

[Vertigo]

Yes I always wondered whether all the references, without going into any depth, to conflict between the various 'masters of shipworld' would be something he would go into or whether he would always keep them ineffable and unknowable. Looking forward to it!