September Reading Thread

[Dave Vicks]

OT.Ordered THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS.Poul Anderson .
And Eric Robert's memoir. He's an actor.
2024.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Up next THE ENERGY OF PRAYER.
Tich Nhat Hanh. 2006.
Prayer and Meditation.

 

[smellincoffee]

Flash Back, John Turiano. Soft SF about time traveling becoming possible, leading to two nation-states trying to meddle in one another's affairs. More of an alt-history with some SF elements. Servicable, would read more of the author.

 

[Danny McG]

I stayed up waaaaay past my bedtime to finish this novel. Spore is a "zombie" novel that is certainly different

I've googled and there's a load of books with Spore title, can you name the writer please?

 

[Elentarri]

Spore by Tamara Jones [Horror, Speculative Fiction]

I stayed up waaaaay past my bedtime to finish this novel. Spore is a "zombie" novel that is certainly different. It's compelling and riveting (I did stay up all night to finish this book so I am using the word!). I wanted to see how it all ended. I think this is the only zombie book I've ever enjoyed.

Struggling comic artist, Sean Casey is an ordinary guy, living in a small town, in a small house with his long-time partner. Next thing he knows, ten naked and confused people are wondering around his back yard, including his Uncle Paul. Ten supposedly very dead and long buried people. One of those formerly-dead-people, Mindy, has an ex-husband who would rather she stayed dead, and is willing to pay a lot of money to arrange that. Then there are all those mutilated, dead children that are cropping up again... who eerily resemble Sean's recurring nightmares. Of course, once the media get wind of the zombie story, even more chaos ensures - usually on Sean's front step. Sean, and his partner Mare, try to figure out what caused the dead to rise from the cemetery behind his neighbour's Holiday Farm, and just generally, what is going on, all while trying to help Mindy get some semblance of life back and deal with her obnoxious ex-husband.

This isn't the usual zombie story with half-rotted corpses trying to eat the living. These spore people are real people (just confused and scared), they had lives and want to regain some sort of life again. I loved that all the characters in this novel were three dimensional. Even the bit-part characters had relevant roles, and weren't just scenery. Relationships and interactions (especially spore-Mindy, the sheriff Todd, Sean, his partner Mare and, his mysophobic mother) were well written. There is realistic character growth, which made me cheer for those characters. This is a novel that examines humanity - fear of the strange and unknown, kindness, the darker sides of humanity, grief, and a whole lot of other things. The narrative gets straight into the story, with no waffling or extraneous blather. I liked that the reaction of the characters to incredible events was at least credible, and the nature and origin story of the fungus raising the dead was at least vaguely realistic rather than supernatural.

There were a lot of things going on in this novel, but Jones manages to write in a manner which doesn't confuse the reader. However, I think the large scale, society-changing effect involving the spread of the resurrecting fungus is somewhat subsumed by the child-serial killer story line and the vicious ex-husband story line. On the other hand, it would have been a poorer novel without all those interwoven narratives. This compelling story has an original concept with great characterization and clean writing, making for an entertaining reading experience.​

 

[Elentarri]

I've googled and there's a load of books with Spore title, can you name the writer please?

Sooo sorry! I completely left out the title and author. I've asked for the post to be removed (edit time is over) and I've re-posted with the title and author, which is Spore by Tamara Jones. This is what happens when you read until the early hours of the morning then stare blearily at your computer while half asleep.

 

[Danny McG]

Cheers, I've downloaded a copy now
But first I'm reading The Escher Man by T R Napper, it seems, so far, to be a dark noir cyberpunk novel.

 

[The Judge]

I've asked for the post to be removed (edit time is over) and I've re-posted with the title and author,

As Dave Vicks has liked the original, and Danny has quoted it, we might as well allow it to stay now, to avoid confusion!

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I finished Alistair Reynolds Inhibitor Phase, so with the exception of the Prefect Trilogy, that's the Revelation Space series done. John Lee was a good Narrator and i enjoyed his precise diction which made me realise just how many words i'm mis-pronouncing. Overall, i really enjoyed it, but i've down graded it a few levels in my favourites list as they weren't as enjoyable as i remembered.

Now listening to Iain M. Banks's Matter read by Toby Longworth.

View attachment 123871

I've not read this

What did you think of Inhibitor Phase compared to the original trilogy? I made it halfway through but then had to return it to the library. It wasn't really grabbing me so I haven't picked it back up. That was a couple years ago and I'm wondering if I should give it another go.

And I really enjoyed the first two Prefect novels, The Prefect and Elysium Fire. I rated them higher than the Revelation Space trilogy. I didn't realize the third one was out, so I just put it on hold at the library. Thanks!

 

[Dave Vicks]

THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR Vol.11.
Editor Ellen Datlow.2019.
Anthology.

 

[BAYLOR]

I finished Son of the Poison Rose and The Dragon and Winder Books 2 and 3 of The Kagan the Damed fantasy Trilogy. Excellent reads !

 

[Danny McG]

Today I begin The Archimedes Engine a massive tome by Peter F Hamilton.

It's got a list of key characters at the start but loads of them have names I can't be bothered to try and pronounce

 

[AE35Unit]

Next up Moonseed by Stephen Baxter. I tried to read this years ago (library lend) but didn't finish for some reason.
I was going to read Lord of Light by Zelazny but I really don't fancy it...

 

[Dave Vicks]

Comic book CATWOMAN: FEAR STATE.
2021.By Ram V.

 

[jameschirstopher12]

I like IT I Mean Bill Skarsgård Was Just Fantastic As Pennywise I Mean Planning To Read The IT Novel

 

[Randy M.]

I like IT I Mean Bill Skarsgård Was Just Fantastic As Pennywise I Mean Planning To Read The IT Novel

It's different. That is, the book is somewhat different from the movie. Don't be surprised if a thing or two shocks you.

 

[jameschirstopher12]

It's different. That is, the book is somewhat different from the movie. Don't be surprised if a thing or two shocks you.

maybe maybe not who know's

 

[jameschirstopher12]

Also, I want To Read This amazing book about concerning my health my friend suggested me the book Reclaiming Your Health it is one of the books I want to read it's because I am worried about my health.

 

[Danny McG]

Also, I want To Read This amazing book about concerning my health my friend suggested me the book Reclaiming Your Health it is one of the books I want to read it's because I am worried about my health.

Author name?

 

[Elentarri]

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey [Nonfiction]

The subtitle "Journeys to the Depth of the Ocean" is essentially what this book is about. This isn't so much a natural science book about the critters in the ocean depths, but focuses on the history of manned and unmanned (robots) submersibles, the people who forked out boat-loads of cash to have them designed and built, and the experiences of the people who dive in them.

Manned submersibles carry passengers, who sit within dry, pressure-controlled cabin equipped with life-support systems and a breathable atmosphere. These submersible require a support vessel and crew to transport, launch, and recover the submersible. But once underwater these submersibles can move independently and explore the ocean depths. These submersibles are battery operated so can only stay underwater for approximately half a day or so. Globe-trotting Susan Casey meets up with various scientists, submersible pilots and explorers as they dive to the ocean depth for research to determine what's down there (fascinating creatures and splendid geological formations), for marine archeology purposes and the retrieval/study of lost shipwrecks (including naval vessels, Spanish treasure Galleons, and the Titanic), and also just for the sheer thrill of it. The author interviews pilots and passengers to gain a semblance of their experience, and also goes on a dive herself. These undersea stories are fascinating, and at times, nail biting. The chapter on deep sea mining is truly a horror story. Unfortunately it's real and it seems that it's up to the general population to stop it.

I would have loved more information about the actual deep ocean - the animals and geological process, but as it is, this book is interesting and makes a lovely companion to The Bathysphere Book by Brad Fox; The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales; and Below the Edge of Darkness by Edith Widder.​