December 2022 Reading Thread

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Last night - insomnia is a b4stard - I took a break from reading the endless pile of French language comic books that are my current obsession by reading something in English. I body-swerved A Woman in Space (see Worst SF Book Ever thread) because I was afraid I would wake the wife up by laughing too much. The next book on the TBR pile was The Broken Lands by Fred Saberhagen. A real pot boiler of made up as he went along fantasy / SF (magic and atomic powered tanks) thud and blunder. Jack Vance used to do this kind of stuff so much better.

Talking of first time reads of The Hound of the Baskervilles, I discovered earlier this year that my mum (82) had never read any Sherlock Holmes. I found her a couple of the novels. The Hound and The Sign of Four. She thought they were hilarious.
 
I struggled through to the end of Rotherweird. It wasn't worth the effort. You can read my review here.

I'm now on to something I hadn't even heard about until a couple of weeks ago, Michael Moorcock's latest installment of the Elric saga The Citadel of Forgotten Myths.
 
Vince W said:
I'm now on to something I hadn't even heard about until a couple of weeks ago, Michael Moorcock's latest installment of the Elric saga The Citadel of Forgotten Myths.
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I'll be interested to know what that's like.

I wasn't expecting Moorcock to release any more new stuff (I understand this is a mix of new and reworked), as he seems to have more or less dried up since 2014's The Whispering Swarm, which was meant to be first in a series and was never added to. Not that that was a great loss in my opinion, but new Elric stuff might be a different matter.
 
HareBrain said:
I'll be interested to know what that's like.

I wasn't expecting Moorcock to release any more new stuff (I understand this is a mix of new and reworked), as he seems to have more or less dried up since 2014's The Whispering Swarm, which was meant to be first in a series and was never added to. Not that that was a great loss in my opinion, but new Elric stuff might be a different matter.
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I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I'm enjoying it so far. I will never be as impactful as the first time you read Elric of Melniboné, but what will?
 
The Green Carnation. by Robert Hitchens. Published anonymously in 1895 it's an affectionate but not always flattering skit on the aesthetic movement with some nicely acid wit and what must have been, by all accounts, pretty accurate portrayals of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas. The author knew both men. Very funny in places though a lot of the bon mots, barbs, and references to contemporary celebrities had me scurrying to wikipedia to find out who the hell they were talking about. Most of them turned out to be long forgotten minor poets and once fashionable (but now concidered painters of kitch tat) artists.

I'm now going to have to get all artisanal and glue the battered yellowed, broken spine, 1961 paperback back together. It started to dismantle itself as I read it.
 
Recently oi have read

Pearls of Lutra by Brian Jacques - A book of such loose focus and wide plotting as even GRR Martin would never dream of, yet somehow it works. Highlight is the friendship between the Abbot and the Corsair

Thief of Time by Sir Pterry - A very, very good book. Lobsang as petulant apprentice and Lu-Tze as weird source of enlightenment is fantastic. The auditor part is very good and thought provoking.

Carpe Jugulum by Sir Pterry - Equally good. Stylish, nasty villains, fantastic character development, an excellent character dynamic in Granny Weatherwax and the priest, and an outstanding capstone to a series

The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings - One of the most hamfisted books the genre has ever seen. Worth reading for those who study craft to see how not to do it, and also how to somehow get away with doing it this way

Sharpe's Enemy by Bernard Cornwell - Probably the best Sharpe, don't change my mind because I'm right


Next up is finishing rereads of The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques (the best Redwall that doesn't start with an M) and Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (probably the best standalone in fantasy). That'll take me to within two of my reading target for the year which, hmm... maybe Hero in the Shadows by Gemmell and The Hogfather? I dunno. But I'm going through some humdingers to put me in a good mood. Well, some humdingers and The Redemption of Althalus.
 
I am about to dive into Maxims by La Rochefoucauld; or, if you, prefer, Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (various versions in 1665, 1666, 1671, 1675, and 1678; other material added posthumously) by Francois, Duc de la Rochefoucauld, translated by Leonard Tancock in 1959; this edition has a brief addition to the translator's introduction dated 1979. In addition to the 641 so-called maxims, ranging from short sentences to short paragraphs, this edition also includes a self-description by the author, a description of the author by a certain Cardinal de Retz, and, in retribution, a description of Cardinal de Retz by the author. With all this, it's still a slim little book.
 
I've been reading through Pierce Brown's Red Rising series. On his latest book, book 5 of the series now. Book 1 was as a contained, single PoV book with an interesting plot about a terraformer deep under mar's surface, and his desire to "rise". By book 5 it has grown into a multi PoV (although all characters written in first person present) sprawling space opera, with a similar tone to Game of Thrones.
Not quite for me. I'm looking forward to finishing and have queued up Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.
 
Currently reading Sixteen Souls, by Rosie Talbot, and have been pulled into the story. A ghost story/mystery, set in modern day York, with nods to its history. Holly Black, Alan Garner vibes.
@Juliana, you might like this. Sorry if it adds to the TBR!
 
A non fiction for me today.
The Elfish Gene by Mark Barrowcliffe.

Basically it's his story about wasting his teenage life playing Dungeons and Dragons, from the long summer of 1976 through to the early 1980s. Set in the suburbs of Coventry.
How he missed out on learning how to talk to girls, play punk etc

It's very entertaining so far
 
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Listened to the newish Penguin narration of Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. The guy who narrates Death does a very good DEATH voice.
Finished The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (liked it, probably better than Shadow of the Wind), also the short story collection The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which was a rather bland and forgettable.

I have currently stalled 57 pages into Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I'm not sure why. I really want to know what happens with the archaeological (archaeoxenological?) finding.
 
Danny McG said:
A non fiction for me today.
The Elfish Gene by Mark Barrowcliffe.

Basically it's his story about wasting his teenage life playing Dungeons and Dragons, from the long summer of 1976 through to the early 1980s. Set in the suburbs of Coventry.
How he missed out on learning how to talk to girls, play punk etc

It's very entertaining so far
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This sounds like me and my friends. D&D and Sinclair Spectrum games and cheap SF, and poorly developed social skills. Must get this book.
 
I have just started Knight's Castle (1956) by Edward Eager, one of seven dryly humorous children's fantasies, the best known of which is Half Magic (1954.) We've got the five others at home, too, so I'll be making my way through them. The author acknowledges the influence of E. Nesbit (author of Five Children and It [1902] and other children's fantasies), often making direct reference to her works in the text. The basic plot is a toy knight comes to life and takes the kids into an adventure. For adults, the author's subtle wit and wry account of knightly clichés is the main appeal.
 
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