September 2022 Reading Thread.

[Elentarri]

I had my heart set on reading a vampire novel (other than Dracula) set in the Carpathians. The Golden by Lucius Shepard is what I found. This novel is set in the Carpathian hills of the 1860s, in the enormous, bizarre, creepy and strange Castle Banat that makes Gormenghast look tame and boring. The vampires are sensual, conniving, not particularly nice, no longer human and they do not sparkle. These are vampires that lust after blood (and sex – lots of it), can be killed by a wooden stake and go up in flames on contact with torches and sunlight. There is also a fair amount of explicit sex and some gore in this book. The murder investigation by a former Parisian police chief detective, now vampire Michel Beheim, is something of a vehicle to explore this fascinating castle and its inhabitants (residents and visitors), as well as for the main character to explore his relatively new state of being an immortal. There is also Alexandra, his new acquaintance. The novel is recounted in 19th century literary style, with gothic elements and foreshadowing. The vampire mythology and world-building for this novel is particularly complex, and fairly different from anything else I’ve read about vampires. I found this novel to be different and interesting, providing an entertaining reading experience. I was absolutely thrilled when the vampires turned out to be of the nasty variety that see humans as food.

 

[Elentarri]

I thought I might be in the mood for Fairy Tale the day it came out, so looked at it in Waterstone's. I was hoping for something like Black House, but the first-person put me off (I've nothing against it as such, but I much prefer King in third). It also seemed kind of waffly in the beginning. Did you find that?

Isn't Stephen King always waffley?

 

[Danny McG]

I thought I might be in the mood for Fairy Tale the day it came out, so looked at it in Waterstone's. I was hoping for something like Black House, but the first-person put me off (I've nothing against it as such, but I much prefer King in third). It also seemed kind of waffly in the beginning. Did you find that?

It waffled most of the way through tbh

 

[HareBrain]

Isn't Stephen King always waffley?

Probably, at least recently. I seem to remember The Gunslinger and The Bachman Books being tighter.

 

[Vertigo]

Upgrade by Blake Crouch
This is my first Blake Crouch novel. If you want a fast paced thriller with futuristic, dystopian window dressing, and lots of chasing and shooting then you might like this book. If you were expecting an intelligent science-fiction book exploring the implications of genetic modification and what it means to be human, you need to look for something else. Interesting concept, inferior execution.

Oh dear "Interesting concept, inferior execution." possibly sums up most of what I've read from Crouch. I keep hoping to find one that steps beyond that and I sort of did but only a short story/novella of around 75 pages called Summer Frost. I did have Upgrade on my to read list but "expecting an intelligent science-fiction book exploring the implications of genetic modification and what it means to be human" is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for! But I'm, sadly, not to surprised and I might drop it from the list.

 

[Vertigo]

A few more books completed and not the best bunch I've read recently:

Idoru by William Gibson
This is the second book in Gibson’s Bridge trilogy. Whilst it is set in the same future world as Virtual Light it is a very different book and story. There is one character from Virtual Light who puts in a cameo appearance and another with a more significant role but, really, it is a standalone. Also, whilst Virtual Light moved away from many of the key elements of cyberpunk, though retaining that Bladerunner, noir seediness, Idoru moves a little closer to the old cyberpunk structure with significant action taking place in virtual reality. Overall, I found it good but not brilliant, much the same as I found Virtual Light. The characters were interesting, though why Gibson felt he had to remind us that one of them was built like a tank at least once in every scene in which he appeared I’m not too sure, and it certainly grew very tedious after a while. In fact, the book suffered from quite a bit of repetitive description. Also, I did not find the essential mystery being solved very convincing. Still it was good enough that I will probably read the third book. 3/5 stars

Dust by Hugh Howey
Dust provides an ultimately satisfying conclusion to the Silo trilogy but somehow felt rather drawn out. I think the three books would have benefited by being edited down to just two. It had some good features, characters and action, but they were sometimes spread a little thin in amongst a lot of mundane irrelevance. I don’t think I’m sufficiently enamoured of Howey’s writing to read more of his work; Sand looks like more miserable post-apocalyptic dystopia, and I can only take just so much of that sort of SF. 3/5 stars

The Archer’s Tale (aka Harlequin) by Bernard Cornwell
The Archer’s Tale is the story of a young British Archer fighting in the English army of Edward III at the start of the Hundred Years War. This has all the generally very good elements of historical writing for which Cornwell is so well known: good research (with notes at the end), excellent battle descriptions (rather more gory here than I found in the Saxon and Arthurian series), interesting characters and good down to earth realism on the realities of life on campaign in that period. And whilst it is very good, for me it never quite came together as well as those Saxon and Arthurian books. It was, however, plenty good enough for me to continue with the rest of the series. 4/5 stars

Feersum Endjinn by Iain M Banks
This is my second reading of Feersum Endjinn and the whole thing came together somewhat better for me this time around. I found myself getting rather muddled when I first read it and, frankly, was a litte concerned coming back for a second serving (I’m rereading all of Banks’s SF books). Yet this time around I had no trouble and loved all the big (epically huge!!!) ideas here. This book probably engenders more debate than any other of Banks’s SF books due to those strange phonetically written sections of “Bascule thi Rascule” whose head isn’t wired quite the same way as everyone else. I didn’t have a problem with these sections and it’s a shame it seems to spoil such an excellent book for some. If u fink yule ½ a problim wif this sort ov riting then I’d advise getting the book in audio format! Get past that and you have a book so chock full of big ideas it’s astonishing. There’s virtual reality, a far future where the majority of humanity dispersed to the stars so long ago it’s almost myth, multiple lives both in the physical and the virtual, and a castle whose walls are hundreds of miles wide and whose tallest tower pierces the upper reaches of the atmosphere! How big is that? An excellent book that I loved second time around. 5/5 stars

The Sky Lords by John Brosnan
Brosnan is a new author for me, and the book was a Terry Prathchett recommendation and to be honest I struggled with it. Published in 1991 for me it managed to somehow embody a very eighties vision of a post-apocalyptic future that grated with me time and again. All sorts of aspects of it simply seemed to me utterly implausible: the genetics gone crazy, airships the size of large towns, the mix of feudal and high tech, the list just keeps going on. Not for me and I won’t be continuing with the series. 2/5 stars

The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes
Oh dear, maybe it’s just not wise to have books written by committee. Published in 1989 this is the second book I’ve read in two weeks that managed to revel in many of the worst aspects of eighties life. Women were allowed to be educated and have degrees but when it comes to action a big heroic man is needed to rescue and protect all those poor little girls! Just two hundred colonists have been hand-picked from forty million graduate volunteers for this first interstellar attempt at colonisation so they really should be the best and most compatible team the world could assembler. Yet once they got started on the colony, they all seem more interested in bickering and jumping in and out of bed with each other (married or single, who cares?) like a bunch of sex starved students than actually dealing with any of the many risks of colonising an alien planet. Except for our hero, of course, an ex-soldier who everyone, including himself, refers to as a warrior rather than a soldier and who goes around exuding so much machismo, I’m sure his knuckles must have been dragging on the ground. Sadly, underneath all this dross was a very interesting premise struggling to escape; an almost invulnerable alien horror species that could just destroy the fledgling colony. It could have been brilliant but, in the end, I’m surprised I finished it. 2/5 stars

 

[Elentarri]

Oh dear "Interesting concept, inferior execution." possibly sums up most of what I've read from Crouch. I keep hoping to find one that steps beyond that and I sort of did but only a short story/novella of around 75 pages called Summer Frost. I did have Upgrade on my to read list but "expecting an intelligent science-fiction book exploring the implications of genetic modification and what it means to be human" is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for! But I'm, sadly, not to surprised and I might drop it from the list.

If you do read it, I suggest the library instead of buying it. Also, if for some reason you really have to read it, I suggest reading Part 1 and then the last chapter. The middle can be inferred - just add lots of shooting and chasing.

 

[Elentarri]

Oh dear, maybe it’s just not wise to have books written by committee.

Committees never get anything done (usually), I'm surprised the book managed to get written.

 

[Elentarri]

Finished a nonfiction book: No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz by Victoria Bruce

This is a fascinating (and tragic) account of the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz and the 1993 eruption of Galeras, both located in Colombia. This is also the very human story of the scientists trying to understand the volcanoes and the type of fiscal, political and social pressure they were under. Of how spectacularly some of them mishandled a field trip to the crater of an active volcano and the aftermath. Of how communication is important.

More than 23000 people died in when government officials ignored scientists' warnings about an imminent eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. On November 13, 1985, pyroclastic flows erupting from the crater melted the glaciers covering the summit, which resulted in enormous mudflows, landslides and debris travelling down the volcano at approximately 50km/h (30mi/h). This river of mud and debris engulfed villages and towns (including Armero) in its path. Ham radio operators living in the mountains also sent warnings, but these were in conflict with the reassurances of the town mayor and the local priest that nothing would happen. The citizens of Amero did not even evacuate when local firemen started pounding on their doors.

Several years later, a volcano conference held in the city of Pasto, ended in disaster when several scientists hiked to the crater of the local volcano to take measurements. Hard hats, gas masks, and other safety/emergency equipment was not available, radio relay signals were not organised, and warnings from the seismologist were ignored. Several journalists were also invited to tag along. Later on, the group was joined by 3 local tourists. At around 1:45pm on January 14, 1993 Galeras erupted unexpectedly while they were at the summit, resulting in the deaths of six scientists and the three tourists. Victoria Bruce also takes a look at the controversy surrounding the actions and account of expedition leader (and 1 of 5 survivors), geologist Stanley Williams.

This is a intelligently written book, with a linear narrative, that does not overwhelm the reader with scientific information. Rather Bruce manages to weave relevant science into the narrative in an easily understood manner. She does not discuss the science of volcanoes in general, but focuses on these two incidences. Bruce writes compassionately about the tragedies, without sensationalism, sometimes including the survivors' own account of events. No Apparent Danger is a compelling book that examines what happens when Mother Nature strikes.​

 

[Vertigo]

Chat committees never get anything done (usually), I'm surprised the book managed to get written.

In fairness Larry Niven and Jerry Purnelle have, of course, collaborated very successfully before with The Mote in God's Eye being the outstanding example. But maybe adding a third author is just too much!

 

[svalbard]

Just finished this and it is brilliant.

 

[Danny McG]

Larry Niven and Jerry Purnelle have, of course, collaborated very successfully before with The Mote in God's Eye being the outstanding example

Brilliant book

 

[Randy M.]

I had my heart set on reading a vampire novel (other than Dracula) set in the Carpathians. The Golden by Lucius Shepard is what I found. This novel is set in the Carpathian hills of the 1860s, in the enormous, bizarre, creepy and strange Castle Banat that makes Gormenghast look tame and boring. The vampires are sensual, conniving, not particularly nice, no longer human and they do not sparkle. These are vampires that lust after blood (and sex – lots of it), can be killed by a wooden stake and go up in flames on contact with torches and sunlight. There is also a fair amount of explicit sex and some gore in this book. The murder investigation by a former Parisian police chief detective, now vampire Michel Beheim, is something of a vehicle to explore this fascinating castle and its inhabitants (residents and visitors), as well as for the main character to explore his relatively new state of being an immortal. There is also Alexandra, his new acquaintance. The novel is recounted in 19th century literary style, with gothic elements and foreshadowing. The vampire mythology and world-building for this novel is particularly complex, and fairly different from anything else I’ve read about vampires. I found this novel to be different and interesting, providing an entertaining reading experience. I was absolutely thrilled when the vampires turned out to be of the nasty variety that see humans as food.

I've meant to read this for years. I think this and Kim Newman's Anno Dracula came out within a year or so of each other, both well-reviewed and even lauded, but only Newman's book has stayed in the public eye to any extent.[/b]

 

[pogopossum]

Just finished Provenance by Ann Leckie.
It is set in the same universe as her Ancillary Justice trilogy, but on a different world with different customs and structures. Reading Ancillary et al is not necessary to an understanding here. Provenance was a finalist for the Hugo in 2018, although I think that was probably due to the quality of the earlier series. It seems increasingly that fans of one book/series carry over in their votes for continuations irrespective of the absolute quality of the later work. Of course when this occurred in the past and I liked both the originals and the sequels, that was a good thing..
The book is a first person narrative that explores the mores and culture of several worlds. I applaud Leckie for expanding her universe and the originality of those expansions. The book itself has lots of action, but I was constantly waiting for some sort of resolutions to the several conundrums The lead, Ingray Aughskold, is appealing, plucky, and likable. Hence the hope for her resolving the quandaries she faces kept me turning pages. Until the end. Which left me with a huh(?) reaction. Read it for world building and characters, but be prepared to want more solutions.

 

[Vertigo]

Just finished Provenance by Ann Leckie.
It is set in the same universe as her Ancillary Justice trilogy, but on a different world with different customs and structures. Reading Ancillary et al is not necessary to an understanding here. Provenance was a finalist for the Hugo in 2018, although I think that was probably due to the quality of the earlier series. It seems increasingly that fans of one book/series carry over in their votes for continuations irrespective of the absolute quality of the later work. Of course when this occurred in the past and I liked both the originals and the sequels, that was a good thing..
The book is a first person narrative that explores the mores and culture of several worlds. I applaud Leckie for expanding her universe and the originality of those expansions. The book itself has lots of action, but I was constantly waiting for some sort of resolutions to the several conundrums The lead, Ingray Aughskold, is appealing, plucky, and likable. Hence the hope for her resolving the quandaries she faces kept me turning pages. Until the end. Which left me with a huh(?) reaction. Read it for world building and characters, but be prepared to want more solutions.

I, too, found this to be a lesser book as compared to the Imperial Radch. I didn't think it felt as coherent.

 

[Raincloud Man]

I'm currently reading the Diamond Dogs/Turquoise Days collection by Alastair Reynolds. Before that I finished the Revelation Space to Inhibitor Phase series (with relevant side stories) although I haven't gotten to Galactic North yet.

 

[gOff2fish]

I have been revisiting a lot of the classic pulp fiction, sword and sorcery stuff, that I cut my teeth on in high school, Robert Howard, particularly Conan and the Swords Women stories, which led me to the Jirel of Jrory tales of C.L. Moore (which I have not read before.) I've been skimming some of the Elric stories and returned to the Mars stories by Burroughs as well. I am interested in the structures of the serialized stories, and the romantic/erotic elements of the classic Space Opera. Last year, or year before, I read that a live action film version of Red Sonja was in pre-production and slated to be written and directed by Jill Soloway (who created the series Transparent). I was excited at the possibility of an alternative interpretation to the impractically bikini-clad Barbarian. I just learned that Soloway is no longer attached to the project and some undernourished waify Gal Gadot looking thing has been cast as the lead. Moaning deep in my soul, I set off on this particular spiral. I've been looking at the more recent comic book adaptations of Red Sonja, but they don't hook me, at all. I guess I'm examining the subjectivity of women in pulp fantasy/space romance as opposed to their objectification. I suppose the real question is; is there a place for female subjectivity/self determination specifically in the genre of Pulp Fiction, or is the genre inherently limited as "Male Fantasy"? I'd be interested in your feedback.

 

[hitmouse]

I have been revisiting a lot of the classic pulp fiction, sword and sorcery stuff, that I cut my teeth on in high school, Robert Howard, particularly Conan and the Swords Women stories, which led me to the Jirel of Jrory tales of C.L. Moore (which I have not read before.) I've been skimming some of the Elric stories and returned to the Mars stories by Burroughs as well. I am interested in the structures of the serialized stories, and the romantic/erotic elements of the classic Space Opera. Last year, or year before, I read that a live action film version of Red Sonja was in pre-production and slated to be written and directed by Jill Soloway (who created the series Transparent). I was excited at the possibility of an alternative interpretation to the impractically bikini-clad Barbarian. I just learned that Soloway is no longer attached to the project and some undernourished waify Gal Gadot looking thing has been cast as the lead. Moaning deep in my soul, I set off on this particular spiral. I've been looking at the more recent comic book adaptations of Red Sonja, but they don't hook me, at all. I guess I'm examining the subjectivity of women in pulp fantasy/space romance as opposed to their objectification. I suppose the real question is; is there a place for female subjectivity/self determination specifically in the genre of Pulp Fiction, or is the genre inherently limited as "Male Fantasy"? I'd be interested in your feedback.

Elric does not really fit in with the other pulps you mention. It is more recent, mainly being written in the 60s& 70s, and it has a tendency to subvert the old cliches. Moorcock is a very knowing writer.

 

[Parson]

I've just finished Sol Shall Rise by G. P. Hudson. It's book 1 of The Pike Chronicles. This is that rare book which kept surprising me. Every time I felt it was going to be like "thus and so" book. It turned on a dime and was something else entirely. It is also one of those rare series where no character (I'd imagine not including Pike) is vulnerable to be dead by the end of each story. Plus, it's possible that every piece of cutting edge tech, will be destroyed. His enemies will change, as will his friends. All in all, some pretty interesting Mil. S.F. Book 2 Prevail will most definitely get a reading in spite of the fact I found myself frustrated that I kept being wrong about what would happen next.

But that is not next. Next I'm reading probably my all time favorite Mil SF book, Honor Harrington on Basilisk Station by David Weber for the 6th time. My excuse is that I'm reading it to listen to the new podcast Honorverse Today. The plan in this podcast to read all of the books in the main series and talk about them. I heard the introductory podcast and it is hosted by 3 dudes, one of which has read all of the series and the other two will be reading it as they discuss every book. It sounds interesting to me, but I'll wait to pass judgment.

 

[Bick]

In fairness Larry Niven and Jerry Purnelle have, of course, collaborated very successfully before with The Mote in God's Eye being the outstanding example. But maybe adding a third author is just too much!

Just to add a counter-point for those who may be wondering whether to read The Legacy of Heorot - I liked it a good deal, and think its a good book. I didn't have any of the problems you had with it, and think the alien life-cycle invention was terrific. I shall certainly re-read it at some point.