October 2022 Reading Thread

[THX1138]

Not so much as reading as just purchased @Stephen Palmer Beautiful Intelligence. It's next on my reading list.

 

[Danny McG]

Not so much as reading as just purchased @Stephen Palmer Beautiful Intelligence. It's next on my reading list.

I've been dithering about getting that, can you possibly do a mini review after you finish it?

 

[Vince W]

I would say go ahead and read Beautiful Intelligence. It's very good.

 

[THX1138]

I've been dithering about getting that, can you possibly do a mini review after you finish it?

Sure! I'll give it a try. It will be a couple of months; I'm a slow reader due to my dyslexia.

 

[smellincoffee]

I just got into Blake Crouch, so I've read his Recursion and Dark Matter, and am waiting for Upgrade to be returned at the library. In the meantime I just finished The Skeptic's Guide to the Future, which was good. I liked how the authors examined the ways past SF got the future wrong.

 

[Vertigo]

I just got into Blake Crouch, so I've read his Recursion and Dark Matter, and am waiting for Upgrade to be returned at the library. In the meantime I just finished The Skeptic's Guide to the Future, which was good. I liked how the authors examined the ways past SF got the future wrong.

I find I run a little hot and cold with him. I liked Recursion but really didn't get on with Dark Matter. I have Upgrade on my list for my next batch of purchasing.

 

[smellincoffee]

I find I run a little hot and cold with him. I liked Recursion but really didn't get on with Dark Matter. I have Upgrade on my list for my next batch of purchasing.

Considering how quickly I read those in succession, and their similarities, I'm surprised I like them as much as I did. Was there a particular reason Dark Matter didn't resonate with you?

 

[Vertigo]

Considering how quickly I read those in succession, and their similarities, I'm surprised I like them as much as I did. Was there a particular reason Dark Matter didn't resonate with you?

I found that the books are presented as fairly hard science fiction but I find the whole idea of moving around between multiple universes too improbable and couldn't suspend my disbelief sufficiently to enjoy it. The thing is that if you go for the multiple universes through forking then every quantum probability event in the universe, unimaginable trillions per second, will generate one 'forked' universe, effectively making infinite universes. Where is all that matter coming from? (rhetorical question; it's not something I'm wanting to discuss again having done so many times before!) For me it just beggars belief.

Spoiler

So when multiple Jasons all appear together at the same time and place there should have been billions of them.

In Recursion the way in which he imagined the time 'travel' was quite clever and somehow managed to just bring it within my suspension of disbelief so I was able to run with it.

 

[smellincoffee]

I found that the books are presented as fairly hard science fiction but I find the whole idea of moving around between multiple universes too improbable and couldn't suspend my disbelief sufficiently to enjoy it. The thing is that if you go for the multiple universes through forking then every quantum probability event in the universe, unimaginable trillions per second, will generate one 'forked' universe, effectively making infinite universes. Where is all that matter coming from? (rhetorical question; it's not something I'm wanting to discuss again having done so many times before!) For me it just beggars belief.

Spoiler

So when multiple Jasons all appear together at the same time and place there should have been billions of them.

In Recursion the way in which he imagined the time 'travel' was quite clever and somehow managed to just bring it within my suspension of disbelief so I was able to run with it.

Gotcha. Personally, when things go quantum it's in such an area of unreality that it might as well be fantasy to me. My head is stubbornly Newtonian.

 

[Bick]

Now reading The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman. Terrific thus far. Very British, very observant, very witty. And I haven’t even got to the murder yet.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm starting this one, I've already did The Rook and Stiletto.

 

[The Big Peat]

At the moment I'm currently flitting between

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - I've tried getting into it a couple of times, but this time I'm really liking Simon's voice, really getting into it

Death's Master by Tanith Lee - Not sure Lee's made for flitting, but not getting into it otherwise

Moving Pictures by Sir Pterry - Better than I recalled. The picture of Victor as focused slacker is actually quite intriguing.

Paladin's Strength by T Kingfisher - Tum ti tum. Not sure how long this will stay on a very crowded pile.

Queen's Assassin by James Barclay - Ehhh it's an ARC (from forever ago) or I'd have quit, and probabyl will

The Pastel City by M John Harrison - Very garish, very mannered, intrigued to see it goes

Second Spear by Kerstin Hall - I need this to get weird soon, I'm not reading weird funky adventures for personal soap opera

Hyperborea by Clark Ashton Smith - Very fun, weird, grotesque S&S

The Shape of Fantasy: Investigating the Structure of American Heroic Epic Fantasy by Dr C Palmer-Patel - Dr Palmer-Patel is my new hero

Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt - I've no idea how you make the story of some of the CIA's most influential early female agents boring but it's been managed, top banana

There's probably a few others (including a beta read) but that's my life right now

 

[Foxbat]

Just completed Why The Universe Exists.
I’ve read a few books on Quantum Mechanics now and I think the most important thing I’ve learned is the limitations of my own mind. Each book on this subject has taught me new things and understandings but much of it just doesn’t stick in my memory for very long. I feel that this is a subject you’d keep having to refresh yourself on and this book is no exception. I have no doubt that much of what I’ve learned from it will fade from my memory but, hopefully, a small amount will stick and add to the other tiny portions already resident in my brain.

Now starting the Fritz Leiber Megapack

 

[HareBrain]

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - I've tried getting into it a couple of times, but this time I'm really liking Simon's voice, really getting into it

As I might have said elsewhere, I've bounced off it a couple of times over the years since first reading it, but last time (a few months ago) it just clicked with me, Simon's sections anyway. I'll be interested to see what you make of it overall.

I'm about 1/3 through The Two Towers. Enjoying it, but not as much as I did in my youth.

 

[Vertigo]

Just completed Why The Universe Exists.
I’ve read a few books on Quantum Mechanics now and I think the most important thing I’ve learned is the limitations of my own mind. Each book on this subject has taught me new things and understandings but much of it just doesn’t stick in my memory for very long. I feel that this is a subject you’d keep having to refresh yourself on and this book is no exception. I have no doubt that much of what I’ve learned from it will fade from my memory but, hopefully, a small amount will stick and add to the other tiny portions already resident in my brain.

Now starting the Fritz Leiber Megapack

That's interesting I have similar problems with these sort of science for the layman books. I find I will forget the details but usually remember the overall ideas. Which is sort of fine for me; I'll remember what things are and know that I could go back to the book for more detail/reminders of how and why things are.

 

[Parson]

Finished this:

And I'm not sure what to say. This is a TimeTravel who-done-it. The mystery is good. It kept me guessing that's for sure. It had a really interesting part about trying to survive the late Triassic age. The Time Travel aspect is also interesting, and is about as believable as this sort of story can get. On the other hand it had a part that dragged for me about 2/3's of the way through. The ending was great, but after the climax the author seemed to want to show us how Time Travel could be good and still keep the timeline together. That part seemed weak to me.

It is very popular, but I doubt it's with hard core SF people like those who tend to reside here. If you have read a lot of time travel books I would rate it a weak 4 stars. If you're relatively new to the idea and love mysteries, I'd give it a strong 4 stars.

 

[Danny McG]

Having finished Blitz by Daniel O'Malley (somewhat disappointing tbh) I spotted a trailer on my telly for some film "Mrs Harris goes to Paris"
I had a little search and managed to download it, author called Paul Gallicino.
Totally outside my usual fare but I'm enjoying it immensely - so far.

 

[pogopossum]

Read Spin by Robert Charles Wilson.
You can google if you do not mind spoilers.

Basically, a barrier is placed around Earth by ?. For ? purpose. The characters both are affected by it and try to solve question about the phenomenon. It was somewhat depressingly dystopian to where I did put it down a couple of times for lighter fare. By the last third, I read it straight through.

Browsing the search engine I see that as well as winning the Hugo, Hobbit many gave it bang up reviews back in 2005/06.

Initially it was troubling to me that the author chose to flip back and forth between at least five different sequences of events. Such manipulation usually falls flat on its technique face.
As the story develops, I had less of a problem. Wilson made each sequence interesting to the point that I looked forward to a jump back/forward to a thread. Partially to see how they fit together. And they genuinely built on each other.

I was afraid that the basic idea was such that any explanation would be pro forma and not really explanatory. It was better than that.

 

[williamjm]

I finished Tamsyn Muir's Nona the Ninth. I found it a lot easier and more consistently enjoyable to read than the previous book Harrow the Ninth, having a protagonist who is often ignorant of what is going on around here (and who she is) does mean the plot still requires some work to interpret but at least Nona is a reliable narrator unlike Harrow. Nona is also a much more likeable protagonist and it's also the first time in the series we see a lot of 'ordinary' people, in the previous book it was debatable whether any of the characters really counted as human any more but here Nona and her companions are hiding in the midst of a busy city. I liked the return of some characters from the first book who were barely in the second. It was good to see a bit more of the setting, although it would be good to see more of what life is like in the Houses at some point. As the series has gone on I feel I'm understanding a lot more about the overall plot, although there are still a lot of mysteries left for the last book in the series to resolve.

I've now started Naomi Novik's The Golden Enclaves. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series and this one seems off to a good start.

Read Spin by Robert Charles Wilson.
You can google if you do not mind spoilers.

I was afraid that the basic idea was such that any explanation would be pro forma and not really explanatory. It was better than that.

I've read a few of Wilson's books and they do have a tendency to have a great premise but not quite live up to it. I think Spin is the the one that probably did the best job of living up to its premise.

 

[Danny McG]

Having finished Blitz by Daniel O'Malley (somewhat disappointing tbh) I spotted a trailer on my telly for some film "Mrs Harris goes to Paris"
I had a little search and managed to download it, author called Paul Gallicino.
Totally outside my usual fare but I'm enjoying it immensely - so far.

Note: it was the book I downloaded, not the film