August Reading Thread

[hitmouse]

Having trouble getting into Ray Badbury and Fredrick Pohl.

Maybe slow down a bit.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Yes. Distractions plus,Coffee and Tea.
Maybe soda water and/ or spring water.

 

[Bick]

I've not got on very well with Bujold's work in the past, with Falling Free and The Vor Game both DNF for me. But I thought I'd give The Vor Game one more go, seeing as it won both the Hugo and Locus awards and Bujold herself managed to win the SFWA Damon Knight Grandmaster award a few years ago. The first time I attempted to read The Vor Game I gave up within 10 pages, but this time I persevered like a Trojan and lasted 120 pages. DNF again. It's actually better written than Falling Free (which I think is badly written and structured), but it has other failings that led to my dropping it . It spends 100 pages on a scenario that is a set up for what's to come, and this scenario appears to be disconnected to the new main plot. There's no emotional pay-off or character advancement from this long first section, and the next section seems like starting a different book, and not a very convincing one at that. Furthermore, her writing doesn't command an emotional connection from me or provide any sense of emotional or intellectual depth. Overall I would say it is rather shallow, derivative space opera, with few SF ideas of note, and doesn't really offer much to lift it above the average. I feel I've given her work a good go, but probably won't return to her again.

 

[Hugh]

McKillip has written some of my very favorite books.

Are there one or two you can recommend?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The Riddlemaster Trilogy, Ombria in Shadow, Song for the Basilisk, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld are my favorites.

If you want to start with something short, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld could be a good choice. Or if you are up for starting a series (none of the books are long compared to what one usually sees in series fantasy these days), you might like to try The Riddlemaster of Hed.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Currently BRIAN DE PALMA INTERVIEWS,
Lawrence F. Knapp editor. 2003.

The Joy of Numbers, Arthur T. Benjamin.

 

[Hugh]

The Riddlemaster Trilogy, Ombria in Shadow, Song for the Basilisk, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld are my favorites.

If you want to start with something short, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld could be a good choice. Or if you are up for starting a series (none of the books are long compared to what one usually sees in series fantasy these days), you might like to try The Riddlemaster of Hed.

Many thanks indeed

 

[saulfan]

Just finished 'A Voyage to Arcturus' - I thoroughly enjoyed it but don't think I've ever read anything quite like it before.

Have started: 'Total Eclipse' by John Brunner

 

[Parson]

I'm reading something a far bit from my normal fare: She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan. A tale of a somewhat famous transwoman and her life before (I'm 30% in) and I expect after she made the transition. At this point I can say that the writing is really good and the way she tells the story is both engaging and insightful for me.

-----

Before this I've finished Monroe Doctrine Volume Four by James Rosone & Alex Aaronson. This is a story set in the very near future about the opening salvos of WW III where China has attacked much of the rest of the world depending on the advice of the first self-aware A.I. My feelings about these books seem at odds with my actions. I don't find them especially well written and to say that they are a compelling story, not so much. But I keep reading them and I have volume five queued up and am anxious to read it. The best I can say is that the ideas and the tech, none of which save perhaps the A.I. is much if any beyond the cutting edge right now. I'm torn in my rating of these books, as I would guess my review lets you know. I've decided to lean into my feelings more that analysis.

Avoid --- Not Recommended --- Flawed --- Okay --- Good --- Recommended --- Shouldn’t be Missed

 

[williamjm]

I read David Mitchell's number9dream. I've read most of his later books and liked them a lot. Initially I found this a bit difficult to get into, each section of the novel has interludes in different styles in addition to the main narrative and in the first one we get the protagonist's lurid fantasies (involving lots of guns and occasional androids) of how he is going to track down his father, interspersed with the real-life Eiji procrastinating in a Tokyo cafe. However, I thought the story got more involving once we got to know more about Eiji and his background. There is some violent action in the book, as Eiji unwittingly stumbles across warring groups of Yakuza, but I think the book tended to be at its strongest in the quieter, more character-centred moments. I liked some of the interludes in the book more than others, probably my favourites were the whimsical Goatwriter children's stories and the very different tone of the wartime diaries of the pilot of a human-guided torpedo.

I've now started Chris Wooding's The Shadow Casket, so far I am mostly trying to remember what happened in the first book. I did enjoy the first book when I read it, but 2018 feels like a long time ago now.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I'm currently reading Five Plays, by Anton Chekhov. Ivanov. The Seagull. Uncle Vanya. Three Sisters. The Cherry Orchard.

 

[HareBrain]

I read David Mitchell's number9dream.

This was one of my favourite novels when I first read it, but the couple of times I've tried to reread it since I haven't got far in. I might just need to be in the right mood. I do think it's one of the most worthwhile uses of first-person present tense I've come across.

The fluke soccer goal and sawing the head off the thunder god still stick in my mind.

 

[Danny McG]

Pascoe's Ghost by Reginald Hill, a collection of crime short stories.

 

[Danny McG]

Before this I've finished Monroe Doctrine Volume Four by James Rosone & Alex Aaronson

I have read a few of James Rosone's Rise of the Republic series, quite enjoyable military science fiction.

James Rosone's Rise of the Republic books in order

James Rosone's Rise of the Republic book series in order, with the latest releases, covers, descriptions and availability.

www.fantasticfiction.com

 

[Hugh]

Charity Shop surprise:

Spoiler

Blacky unsuccessfully attempts to steal owl eggs, foils a duck hunter, and is baffled by a china egg.

 

[HareBrain]

A quick break from Ordinary Monsters to gallop through Tamara Drewe, Posy Simmonds's text-heavy graphic novel set around a rural writer's retreat. A good read (4/5), but not as good as the earlier Gemma Bovery (5/5), which to some extent is starting to look a bit of a fluke.

 

[Elentarri]

This week I finished:

Hôtel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - historical fantasy vampire romance novel. Interesting but a bit slow. Saint-Germain doesn't quite sparkle, but he isn't particularly diabolical or evil either.​

Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire by Roger Crowley

A fast paced, informative and entertaining (if bloody) account of the ruthless (and at times savage) Portuguese exploration, conquest and exploitation of the Indian Ocean. The story starts with various exploratory trips along the coast of west Africa, and then onto Vasco da Gama's trip around the horn of Africa; includes the various attempts (most downright vicious) at interrupting muslim trade in the Indian Ocean while attempting to build a Portuguese maritime empire; and ends with the death of ambitious Alfonso de Albuquerque, Viceroy of Portuguese India, also called "the Terrible", "the Lion of the Seas", and "the Caesar of the East". Crowley provides the reader with a well written over view of this 20 year period in Portuguese history, while also providing insight into the political and religious motivations and personalities of the key figures involved.​

 

[Dave Vicks]

Robert Sapolsky STRESS AND THE BODY.

Next Richard B. Spense's SECRETS OF THE OCCULT,2022.

 

[Parson]

I have read a few of James Rosone's Rise of the Republic series, quite enjoyable military science fiction.

James Rosone's Rise of the Republic books in order

James Rosone's Rise of the Republic book series in order, with the latest releases, covers, descriptions and availability.

www.fantasticfiction.com

I've also read the first 2 of that series and have third awaiting in the queue.

 

[HareBrain]

Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro. Another impulse buy, a Victorian-set doorstop about kids with weird powers. This is apparently an international bestseller, but I've neither heard or it nor its author. It's really well done though, feels authentic to the time period, and is so far an utterly compelling read. Looks to be a lucky find.

Hmm. 190 pages in and I've just lost interest. I'm not sure why. The writing is still good. Plenty is still happening.

Some possibilities. The characters themselves are OK, but there's no interesting dynamic between any of them. The supernatural powers seem pretty random to me, in the manner of superheros (which I have no interest in) so they don't say anything interesting about the story-world or our world. And I don't get any sense of what the author wants from the book, why they're writing it. None of those necessarily would be a problem by themselves, but together they add up to disengagement.

I might read some other reviews and see if I think there's anything worth going back for.