November Reading Thread

[Danny McG]

James Patterson - The house of Cross.
Number 32 in his series about detective Alex Cross

 

[Foxbat]

Overreach: The Inside Story Of Putin's War Against Ukraine by Owen Matthews
The author has spent 25 years as a correspondent in Moscow and chronicles the first year of the war from his point of view inside Russia. He uses multiple sources (including accounts from former Kremlin insiders) to show us the changing mindset in Russia in the years leading up to the war and tells how old friends suddenly became hostile or reluctant to communicate with him. It's an eye opener even for people who think they keep themselves informed when it comes to this conflict.

It's a clinical and often scary analysis of what is going on in and around the Kremlin and a book I just can't put down.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre. Just as good the second time (fifth if you include the two adaptations).

 

[Elentarri]

The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox
This is a nicely written account of how Arthur Evans, Alice Kober and Michael Ventril (and a few others) were involved in cracking the code to decipher the ancient Linear B script found on clay tablets on Crete and mainland Greece. Informative and interesting.

 

[hitmouse]

The Palace of Eternity by Bob Shaw. A falling-apart 1969 Pan edition I picked up second hand somewhere as a teenager. The cover has completely gone.
Stands up well to a reread after at least 20 years. There are some dated and slightly embarrassing passages, and it is a bit hippyish and of its time, but on the whole this is a decent SF novel about transcendent human group-consciousness and immortality.