What have you been reading this April? > Likes and Comments
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I read Gateway
for my 70's bingo slot. I found it depressing. I was going to give up when I realized I was halfway, so I went ahead and finished it. Bleh.
Georgann wrote: "I read Gateway for my 70's bingo slot. I found it depressing. I was going to give up when I realized I was halfway, so I went ahead and finished it. Bleh."Thanks for the heads up. That is one of those ones where I go back and forth on whether I want to read or not. I think I'll pass for awhile at least.
Finished Catcher in the Rye. Hated it. Almost a DNF at one point.
Andy wrote: "Finished Catcher in the Rye. Hated it. Almost a DNF at one point."I like Salinger's short stories much better than that one.
Just started Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I read it years ago. Thought I’d revisit it.
Yrret wrote: "Just started Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I read it years ago. Thought I’d revisit it."His Matthew Corbett series is one of my favorites.
I have started The Steam Engines of Oz. This graphic novel collects the 6 comics that tell a steampunk story set in Oz about a century after the events of the book.
Finished The Sailor on the Seas of Fate. This one ties in with the rest of the Eternal Champion world where various champions are gathered together and I was like, hmm, should I read some of those books first. So I went to Google and asked it to list me the Eternal Champion novels in publishing order to get some idea where the Elric books fit in.I broke Google AI. It literally errored out.
It starts off saying how hard it is to generate the list, what with the stories first published in magazines, and the revisions of the books and the collections, etc. And then it had an error message. I reworded it, got another error. Moocock's world is so complicated its literally blowing an inhuman mind. I think he'd like that :)
*edit* - I tried again today, this time it managed to produce a list, guess it had some time to think about it
Next up I'll finish a trilogy with Wings of Shadow by Nicki Pau Preto
Haha,Andrea! For "cover has a tree" I read Born at Midnight
. Not bad, but too too YA for me. Did get me a bingo, tho, so there's that.
Andrea wrote: "Finished The Sailor on the Seas of Fate. This one ties in with the rest of the Eternal Champion world where various champions are gathered together and I was like, hmm, should I read some of those ..."Moorcock would definitelty love that lol! But yeah, both Elric and wider Eternal Champion reading order is notoriously complicated. Different titles for the same stories depending of publication, and many reworked versions. Even with a list, different readers prefer different orders. For most series in general, I tend to be one to go for publication order, but with Elric I went internal chronology and enjoyed it that way. I think its one of those universes that could be enjoyable any which way.
Sailor on the Seas of Fate parts 1 and 3 are so damn good! The merging of the champions in, I think, part one was like psychedelic "power rangers assemble" haha. I love how trippy some of these books get, so awesome.
I finished The Pilgrim and the Wolf: Book 3 of Humanity's Leap. I enjoyed that volume less than the previous two. I see that a fourth book in that series will be published later this year, so I'll return to it later. For now I am starting Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Reading The Veiled Throne. After reading books one and two of The Dandelion Dynasty last year, I took a break. I'm back in it, about 20% of the way through book three, and remembering why I took a breather. These books are brilliant but a LOT. The best word I can think of is "vast." Action, politics, transhistorical structures, engineering, philosophy, and fun fantasy elements. Everything is layered. Every idea is given a steelman counterpoint. So two questions:
What else is this good?
Why isn't this more popular (this one I think I know the answer to - it isn't easily approachable. It would make a pretty great TV show if they agreed to stay true to the spirit of the source and not try and sanitize it to look feel and think the same as every other recent attempt at epic fantasy TV. Also the commitment, like the series, is vast).
Andrea wrote: "Finished The Sailor on the Seas of Fate. This one ties in with the rest of the Eternal Champion world where various champions are gathered together and I was like, hmm, should I read some of those ..."I found a reading order for all of Moorcock's work online some years ago and kept a copy. The person who posted the list says that he actually collaborated with Moorcock to create it, although I'm not sure that would be all that helpful. I'm fairly certain Moorcock has changed his mind a few times about where certain books fit with others.
The list is a spreadsheet nearly 400 lines long, and includes a lot of work by other authors - it includes all the comic adaptations and a lot of short stories written by other authors but featuring Moorcock's characters.
NekroRider wrote: "Sailor on the Seas of Fate parts 1 and 3 are so damn good! The merging of the champions in, I think, part one was like psychedelic "power rangers assemble" haha. I love how trippy some of these books get, so awesome."It was part 1 and I was thinking if you tried to pull that off in a modern fantasy people would roll their eyes but with they style of writing these books have it just worked somehow. Very trippy but fun. These books have a certain kind of atmosphere you don't get from modern fantasy. I loved the idea of the riderless horse in the second part, and the Jade Man in the third part as well as those "crystal domes" (and what they actually were) that the characters get lost in.
Tony wrote: "The list is a spreadsheet nearly 400 lines long, and includes a lot of work by other authors - it includes all the comic adaptations and a lot of short stories written by other authors but featuring Moorcock's characters."
My completionist brain just exploded. But I will say that though you sorta feel you should know these characters already in The Sailor in the Seas of Fate (like you'd get more impact when the 4 warriors are revealed and you'd be like oh yeah, they're back!) the very nature of that crossing worlds/timelines also made you feel like it wasn't maybe a character you were supposed to know already but more a foreshadowing of more books to come. So in the end it worked just fine not having read the others yet.
Since the only other novels I own are a few of the Cornelius ones and one Coram one that was on sale in ebook form just a couple weeks ago, I guess I'll just muddle through. I found a few on OpenLibrary if I'm in the mood to read on my computer. My physical library only had Elric stuff, unless it was in graphic novel form but I'd rather read the novels first before I pick up the a graphic novel version.
Did Moorcock start off with the idea all these characters would be related or was it kind of glued together after the fact?
Dean wrote: "After reading books one and two of The Dandelion Dynasty last year, I took a break. I'm back in it, about 20% of the way through book three, and remembering why I took a breather. These books are brilliant but a LOT."I read all 4 books for a BINGO challenge...made the mistake of leaving them till November so I had to read them all in two months to fit in the end of the year. Like you said it was a LOT.
I loved them, but I can see some people not being interested in all the problem solving (I'm an engineer so figuring out how to build stuff really appealed to me) and I'm more interested in the discussion of military strategy than the battles themselves since I often get lost in the battle.
Note that someone else who did battles well was Django Wexler in his Shadow Campaigns series...if you like Dandelion Dynasty you might like this series too.
Trying to decide what to read next; starting with Scavenger Hunt to continue the horror binge (local author) and will probably also start Tailored Realities, also a local author but pretty well known.Also listening to The Lotus Shoes, historical fiction.
Happy Easter! Almost finished with The Great Hunt and anxious to see how it finishes. I'm really loving The Wheel of Time series so far, but it is immense in world building and has so much going on.
Yes, Happy Easter! 🐣🐤🐥Still reading 'A Drop of Corruption' about halfway through now. It is really good so far and if it carries on as it has done, there is a good chance it may even be better than 'The Tainted Cup' 😁
Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Wesley wrote: "Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke"My Mom likes the books in that series, cozy mysteries are fun
Dogs of War was a quick DNF. Not for me.I am pausing my reading, while I search for the next book to start, amidst my want-to-read list and possibly other sources of advice. I am getting tired of endless descriptions of violence, fights, wars, combats, weapon usage, destruction, mayhem, etc.
Pierre wrote: "I am pausing my reading, while I search for the next book to start, amidst my want-to-read list and possibly other sources of advice. I am getting tired of endless descriptions of violence, fights, wars, combats, weapon usage, destruction, mayhem, etc."What would you like to read? We can pelt you with advice!
Digging into Book 2 of The Shadows the Apt. Malazan is still giving me the side eye. Blue Moon Rising. The Desert Spear Book 2 Demon Cycle.
Finished Wings of Shadow, was a decent YA trilogy and fun to have phoenix riders rather than dragon ones.Not sure what I'll read next, either I'll read The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware since its something I picked up at a Little Free Library and it will complete one of the Goodreads defined reading challenges.
Or I'll finish my first Elric omnibus with The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock
Many thanks, Mary, for the offer to pelt me with advice about what to read. For that I would first have to describe what I am looking for, and I find that difficult to express clearly. Well, meanwhile I settled on trying for a second time a book that I dnf'ed last year because I had found it boring at the time. It is The Line of Polity by Neal Asher.
I finished The Steam Engines of Oz a couple of days ago, I just haven't had to post an update. This graphic novel collects all 7 issues (not 6 as I had originally thought - it also includes issue 0 from Free Comic Book Day 2013) of the 2 series published.As a steampunk story it's quite good, and the artwork is lovely. As an OZ story it's a bit disappointing. It does include most of the major characters (including cameos from several introduced in later stories), but the characterisation for several of them didn't really ring true for me. 3 stars.
Tony wrote: "I finished The Steam Engines of Oz a couple of days ago, I just haven't had to post an update. This graphic novel collects all 7 issues (not 6 as I had originally thought - it also ..."Tony, that book looks like a different take on The Wizard of Oz. The artwork, like you said, is pretty cool.
Reading https://www.amazon.com/Dimensioneers-... Meandering a first, nice char reveal, but no plot really that I can see. strange strange story for sure ... Her"Star Rider" was really good though. Thought I would try one of her other works.
Last night I finished 'A Drop of Corruption' (R J Bennett) the sequel to the excellent 'The Tainted Cup' and it did not disappoint. I give it a good solid five stars. There was a point at which I thought it might even be better than the first book but in the end I would say they are equally as good. A couple of oddities... RJB seems to have been bitten by the exclamation mark fairy in this one! They are everywhere! Eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra in particular exclaims entire paragraphs! Yes! Constantly! Given the nature of her character I am sure this was largely intentional! But he gets a bit carried away nonetheless! And his other characters catch the bug!
A much sillier one... What it's me?😁 You probably have to be a Brit for this one... The blurb constantly refers to the two leads Din Kol and Ana Dolabra as 'Ana Din' Here in the UK a very well known brand of paracetamol based painkiller is called 'Anadin' It has the advertising catch phrase 'Nothing acts faster than Anadin.' So every time the blurb said Ana Din must act fast...😁
There is an old gag by the way, as old as the brand itself and it goes like this...
"I have a headache."
" Oh dear, did you take Anadin?"
"No, nothing.'
"Nothing?"
" Yes, Anadin is too slow... everyone knows nothing acts faster than Anadin"
So, yeah... 'A Drop of Corruption'... You drop straight back into the unique and inventive bio hacked/bio punk world of the first book with ease. The world building, character development and individual arcs all continue to satisfy as the twisty new mystery unfolds, alongside the plot threads left dangling from last time.
I found the puzzle of this particular crime to be slightly less difficult than the previous one, I managed to get ahead of the characters here and there, though I don't pretend that I solved every bit of it it or got every nuance before the big reveal at the end, not by a long way. I figured out just enough of it to be able to feel smug though.🙂
This is really a brilliant and truly original series that I highly recommend.
The third (and possibly final) part 'A Trade of Blood' is available to pre-order now and I gather it will probably be released sometime in June. As before, it is currently an eye watering how much again? Sort of price, even for just the Kindle edition, so it might be a while, possibly even next year before it drops to a price that I'm happy to pay.😁 I look forward to it none the less.🙂
Next, for a bit of light relief after the twisty intensity of 'A Drop of Corruption', I think I will take a look at the Brother Cadfael mystery 'The Confession of Brother Haluin' (Ellis Peters). It's not F&SF, it's a medieval whodunnit. It might be a bit like putting down Shakespeare's Macbeth and picking up 'The Beano' but I think it should be enjoyable. 😁 (For none Brits, the Beano is a famous kid's comic that has been around forever)🙂
Things have been weird, so my reading was impacted for a while. Percepliquis by Michael Sullivan is still on pause, and instead I've switched up genres to get my brain out of a bit of a funk.In April so far I've read two older murder mysteries, The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie (Poirot book) and Unnatural Causes by P.D. James (Adam Dalgleish book). I really enjoyed both of them a lot. The latter a good reminder I need to get back into the Dalgleish mysteries again.
I've since moved on to Foundation since I've had such huge science fiction cravings. I'm a third of the way through and absolutely loving it. Reminds me of a mix of the tone of the Robot series and themes of Canticle For Leibowitz (which, of course, was influenced by Foundation itself). Every time I come back to Asimov I'm reminded of how much I just love his writing style and authorial voice. He was such a talented author.
Have also been rewatching a lot of sci-fi movies too, like the Alien movies, first Predator, Interstellar, and watched Ad Astra for the first time. Can see myself rewatching Event Horizon and Total Recall (OG of course) soon.
Robin wrote: "Next, for a bit of light relief after the twisty intensity of 'A Drop of Corruption', I think I will take a look at the Brother Cadfael mystery 'The Confession of Brother Haluin' (Ellis Peters). It..."That's a bit unfair to Ellis Peters, Robin. She's not Shakespeare, granted, but her books are well written compared with many...
Oh, no offence intended Isabella 😊 Ellis Peters does indeed write very well and I have previously read maybe eight or nine Cadfael mysteries, which I wouldn't have done if they weren't well written and engaging. You know me well enough by now to know that I can never resist the (irresponsible) allure of exaggeration for comedic effect. Sorry if that wasn't clear.😁 I was just really saying I suppose that I was risking tonal whiplash going from the strange, complex and unique world of RJB's Shadow of the Leviathan series to the measured routine and humble life of a medieval monk. It is comparing apples and oranges of course. Ellis Peters writes close focus, mysteries grounded in the every day world, whereas RJB is doing something quite different. They both do what they do very well.
You know by now that if I see the gag I do the gag.... it's gotten me into trouble before.😉 Sorry Ellis Peters...
I think you momentarily mistook me for someone sensible.😁 My fault, I pretend to be sensible from time to time and it is confusing for people.😊
Robin wrote: "I think you momentarily mistook me for someone sensible.😁 My fault, I pretend to be sensible from time to time and it is confusing for people.😊"Sorry, didn't mean to come over quite as seriously as it did! Macbeth isn't my favourite play, so maybe a bruised apple compared to a nice juicy orange? 😉
I have finished Black Science, Vol. 2: Welcome, Nowhere, the second compilation of the Black Science comic. It didn't live up to the promise of the first volume.