September Reading Thread

[Hugh]

Charles Allen "Plain Tales from the Raj" (1975)
A compilation of 1974 radio interviews of more than sixty men and women, the youngest of whom was born in 1918, who'd lived through the British Raj.
Though this book has its interest, I found the class consciousness, petty snobbery and racism more than a little irritating.

 

[Peppa]

I read The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May, all four books in a row.
It's a really crazy read, just the way I like it. A group of people from the future are sent through a time portal straight into the Pliocene Epoch (the same era where the dinosaurs are gone and human ancestors still look like apes). And this is not a scientific expedition, but a group of misfits who have no place in their own world and time. But in the Pliocene they meet two alien races who came to Earth at that very time and settled there.
These are very unusual books, and I really wish I had found out about them earlier, and that the author had already died.

 

[Dave Vicks]

AMBERJACK.Terry Dowling,2010
Horror and Science Fiction stories.
Australian writer.

 

[dask]

Setting aside The Beethoven Conspiracy for the time being. Not clicking and not sure why. This isn’t the guy’s first stint at the typewriter, he’s written a pile of books, both fiction and nonfiction, and received some journalism awards for boxing, but the pull ain’t there. Evidently there is some material about Beethoven’s symphonies that may be worth checking out, but for now it’s onward to:

 

[Dave Vicks]

THE GLASS BOX.2024,By J.Michael
Straczynski.
Science Fiction Psych ward.

 

[Elentarri]

Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel [History]

This is a political, chronological, history of the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire: from the first sultan, Osman I, to the abdication of caliph Abdülmecid II and abolition of the sultanate, and the creation of the Turkish nation state. The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and most influential empires in world history. It survived for more than 600 years, and at its height, the Ottoman realm extended to three continents: from Hungary to the Persian Gulf, from North Africa to the Caucasus. Covering approximately 800 years of history in just under 600 pages, this book is informative, but dense, and reads a lot like an encyclopedic overview of the subject. No particular event is given very much page space, though internal politicking, the Ottoman dynasty, and their relationship with various viziers, gets the lion's share of the narrative. Ottoman culture and society is given short shrift, which I thought was a pity, and would have made more interesting reading than the pages devoted to all the Janissary uprising and all the assassinations of the younger brothers of the Sultan. There was also no analysis of the events outlined in the book. The Ottomans also seem to have a fondness for recycling the same names, repetitively, making it a chore to keep track of who was doing what, where and when. The time line and list of sultans at the end of the book was particularly helpful in this regard. The narrative is plain and straightforward, uninspiring and stodgy, but I still learned things, so I can't completely condemn the book.​

 

[Elentarri]

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson [Fantasy]

I just realised how much I missed reading old-fashioned faery-tale type fantasy novels with archaic word usage (and poetry apparently - who knew?). The Broken Sword is the tragic saga of Skafloc Elf's-Foster, a human child stolen from his mother and fostered by an Elf Earl. The novel is dark and grim, also very norse/viking flavoured, inspired by events (or the type of events) described in the Icelandic sagas, and written in a style similar to those sagas. There are viking elves, Finland trolls, a changeling child (this one is definitely not made out of leaves!), some romance, not to mention a witch's revenge curse that practically drives the events of the whole novel. Oh, and also a portentous broken sword, Tyrfing. This is definitely not a novel for the squeamish. But I enjoyed it immensely.

NOTE: The Broken Sword was published the same year as J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. The differences and similarities between this novel and Tolkien's legendarium are rather interesting.​

 

[Hugh]

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson [Fantasy]

I just realised how much I missed reading old-fashioned faery-tale type fantasy novels with archaic word usage (and poetry apparently - who knew?). The Broken Sword is the tragic saga of Skafloc Elf's-Foster, a human child stolen from his mother and fostered by an Elf Earl. The novel is dark and grim, also very norse/viking flavoured, inspired by events (or the type of events) described in the Icelandic sagas, and written in a style similar to those sagas. There are viking elves, Finland trolls, a changeling child (this one is definitely not made out of leaves!), some romance, not to mention a witch's revenge curse that practically drives the events of the whole novel. Oh, and also a portentous broken sword, Tyrfing. This is definitely not a novel for the squeamish. But I enjoyed it immensely.

NOTE: The Broken Sword was published the same year as J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. The differences and similarities between this novel and Tolkien's legendarium are rather interesting.​

A remarkable work.

 

[Randy M.]

The Trees by Percival Everett

Everett wrote Erasure, basis for the movie, American Fiction. After I watched the movie, a book club on GoodReads decided to read this novel, and I decided I needed to do that, too.

Go into this not knowing too much. The novel moves from procedural mystery, to possible conspiracy mystery, to something like a contagion novel, to something like a horror novel, all while examining white supremacy and lynchings. I try to avoid the word "brilliant" but this novel is "brilliant" and ends on a breath-taking note.

 

[dask]

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson [Fantasy]

I just realised how much I missed reading old-fashioned faery-tale type fantasy novels with archaic word usage (and poetry apparently - who knew?). The Broken Sword is the tragic saga of Skafloc Elf's-Foster, a human child stolen from his mother and fostered by an Elf Earl. The novel is dark and grim, also very norse/viking flavoured, inspired by events (or the type of events) described in the Icelandic sagas, and written in a style similar to those sagas. There are viking elves, Finland trolls, a changeling child (this one is definitely not made out of leaves!), some romance, not to mention a witch's revenge curse that practically drives the events of the whole novel. Oh, and also a portentous broken sword, Tyrfing. This is definitely not a novel for the squeamish. But I enjoyed it immensely.

NOTE: The Broken Sword was published the same year as J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. The differences and similarities between this novel and Tolkien's legendarium are rather interesting.​

Not a huge fan of Poul Anderson but this was the first book of his I read and remember really enjoying it.

 

[Elentarri]

Not a huge fan of Poul Anderson but this was the first book of his I read and remember really enjoying it.

This is the first book by Poul Anderson I've read, as well.

 

[Dave Vicks]

THE HUMANOIDS ,and WITH FOLDED
HANDS.Jack Williamson, 1947,1949.
Science Fiction novel and novella.

 

[AE35Unit]

Having jumped back and forwards between different books I finished Expedition to Earth by Arthur C Clarke, a re read with a long hiatus, I'm going to read his The Lion of Comarre & Against the Fall of Night for the first time. Its a yellow VGSF edition, ex library so a bit scruffy
The latter of course was expanded into The City and the Stars, which I don't yet have a copy have but which I have read back in the late 80s/ 90s.

 

[Danny McG]

We solve murders by Richard Osman

 

[Dave Vicks]

DENNIS HOPPER. Peter L. Winkler.2011
Biography.

 

[Vertigo]

One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Another good volume in Fforde's spoof literary series although I still feel he is often quite self indulgent; introducing scenes that are really only there for him to exercise his wit rather than progress the story. Although I think there was less of this on this occasion as compared to the last book. 3/5 stars

Beyond the Reach of Earth by Ken MacLeod
When MacLeod manages to rein in his political proselytising, as he mostly manages to do in this series, he can write very good engaging novels. In this series he imagines a world in which America and Russia discover FTL back in the sixties but manage to keep it a secret from both the wider population and their own governments, which I have to admit is a bit of a stretch as far as suspending my disbelief goes. But that aside the ideas and story crack along at an enjoyably brisk pace with a good cast of well defined characters. 4/5 stars

The Fish That Climbed a Tree by Kevin Ansbro
Ansbro's brand of magical realism pushes the boundary into fantasy but still manages to keep the core story anchored in some kind of reality. This is a classic story of actions with unintended and unexpected consequences. It gets a bit grim and gory at times whilst otherwise maintaining a moderately whimsical air. A juxtaposition that I, at least, found a little uncomfortable. Combined with a sort of deus ex machina ending that I'm never very happy with. I really dislike books that end with "and then he woke up; it was all just a dream" or "and then the god clicks their fingers and resets time back to the beginning" which this book doesn't quite do but gets close enough to be disturbing And particularly annoying when it wasn't really necessary in this case. So the journey was good but the arrival not quite so much. 4/5 stars.

Down the Stream of Stars by Jeffrey A Carver
My first Carver book was the first book in his Chaos Chronicles which it turns out is actually a loose sequel to the Starstream duology of which this is the second. It is interesting that the Chaos Chronicles have a fairly modern feel to them whilst the first Starstream book, From a Changeling Star, had a much more '80s feel. This second book in the Starstream Chronicles has that more modern feeling again and is all the better for it. An interesting speculative hard science fiction story (if that isn't an oxymoron) that takes a number of modern physics theories (like cosmic strings) and pushes them out about as far as they can be pushed. One quirk of this book is that it is written from the perspective of an 8-year-old girl. This give it a bit of an Ender's Game feel, though without the guilt, which might have been a little off putting but in fact worked very well. It also presents a neat first contact dilemma where one side doesn't even realise that the other is actually life at all, never mind intelligent life. 4/5 stars

 

[Dave Vicks]

BLACK MASK AUDIO MAGAZINE Vol 1.

Pulp stories.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I have just started Zero History (2010) by William Gibson, the third part of a very loose trilogy, following Pattern Recognition (2003) and Spook Country (2007). My copy is an "advanced uncorrected proof for limited distribution"

 

[Peppa]

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson [Fantasy]

I just realised how much I missed reading old-fashioned faery-tale type fantasy novels with archaic word usage (and poetry apparently - who knew?). The Broken Sword is the tragic saga of Skafloc Elf's-Foster, a human child stolen from his mother and fostered by an Elf Earl. The novel is dark and grim, also very norse/viking flavoured, inspired by events (or the type of events) described in the Icelandic sagas, and written in a style similar to those sagas. There are viking elves, Finland trolls, a changeling child (this one is definitely not made out of leaves!), some romance, not to mention a witch's revenge curse that practically drives the events of the whole novel. Oh, and also a portentous broken sword, Tyrfing. This is definitely not a novel for the squeamish. But I enjoyed it immensely.

NOTE: The Broken Sword was published the same year as J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring. The differences and similarities between this novel and Tolkien's legendarium are rather interesting.​

I read this book a long time ago, as well as another book by this author whose title I can't remember. But it was about the children of a water king and a human woman.

As for The Broken Sword, I never tried to find out the year it was first published, so I just assumed that the author was just trying to write something like Tolkien, but darker and more connected to the real history. But now I realize that these books are two different attempts by two very different authors to adapt Scandinavian legends to the fantasy genre.

As for the changeling, the fate of the... er... original reminded me a little of the saga of Hlöd. This Hlöd was the illegitimate son of Heidrek, king of the Geats (i.e. the Goths), and a Hun princess who was captured by Heidrek. He was conceived unnaturally because his father raped his mother. When he grew up, he fled to the Hun King Humli, his maternal grandfather. Hlöd then fought with his legitimate half-brother.

Also, the magic sword in the story is called Tyrfing, as mentioned in this thread. So I suspect that the trolls in The Broken Sword are not only Finnish, but also a bit Hunnish.

 

[Elentarri]

Also, the magic sword in the story is called Tyrfing, as mentioned in this thread. So I suspect that the trolls in The Broken Sword are not only Finnish, but also a bit Hunnish.

I'm sure the trolls got around, as well as the vikings and the elves.
Tyrfing is a legendary sword - guaranteed to: win your battles, shed blood every time it's drawn, and kill the wielder before long.