The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading? October 2012

Great epic fantasy, should check it out if you've missed this.
Finally finished Cloud Atlas (Full Review). I liked it, but that book plus some other things have really killed my crazy reading bender I've been on the last 2.5 months or so since I joined the club.
I am looking forward to reading through all the discussion and we'll see if I have anything smart enough to say about it (I'm not optimistic at this point).
I'm now on to 2 books: I'm audio-booking The Godfather as I'll be taking a road trip back home this weekend, and the audio is longer than my drive.
I'm also finally back to Robin Hobb with The Mad Ship, which I've been greatly looking forward to since I finished Ship of Magic.
I am looking forward to reading through all the discussion and we'll see if I have anything smart enough to say about it (I'm not optimistic at this point).
I'm now on to 2 books: I'm audio-booking The Godfather as I'll be taking a road trip back home this weekend, and the audio is longer than my drive.
I'm also finally back to Robin Hobb with The Mad Ship, which I've been greatly looking forward to since I finished Ship of Magic.

Stuart wrote: "I am reading
"
First time? If so, lucky you.
Though this is one book I wish I had found at a younger age. I was in my mid 20s by the time I read it.

First time? If so, lucky you.
Though this is one book I wish I had found at a younger age. I was in my mid 20s by the time I read it.



Amazing short story collection by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Permeable Borders, pick it up if you've loved her other stuff. Also I started the collection of Patricia McKillip's short stories. And just started Libriomancer, which looks fun and genre savvy.

It's nice to know that I am not the only one out there who reads multiple books at once. lol.



Now listening to The Heart of the Matter: Odyssey One by Evan C. Currie. Book 2 in the military scifi Odessey Series.


I am now about to start

This is the first in a series.
Saw the book cover for the latest in the series which has a badass riding a bike and since I ride, well, why not, a guy who returns from hell and rides, I got to read this!

Tamahome wrote: "I'm 25% of the way done with Niven & Benford's Bowl of Heaven. It's like real science fiction, and not too long either."
Good though? I saw it earlier and was thinking of giving it a shot.
Good though? I saw it earlier and was thinking of giving it a shot.

First up is Doctorow and Stross's post-singularity comedy The Rapture of the Nerds, which is good so far.

I enjoyed it. Waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. 8-D"
It was quite good. Zzzap really stole the show for me towards the end.
Flip flopping between zombies and vampires again, and starting up Blood Oath tonight.


First time? If so, lucky you.
Though this is one book I wish I had found at a younger age. I was in my mid 20s by the time I read it."
It is an intriguing book. Just when I thought I had the measure of it, a passage involving a conversation between Enders siblings has caused me to rethink.

Was going to take a longer break from fantasy, but really want to listen to the Enduring Flame trilogy, starting with book 1, The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey.


First time? If so, lucky you.
Though this is one book I wish I had found at a younger age. I was in my mid 20s by the ti..."
You never ever get the measure of Ender's Game. I've read the book more times than I can count, and every time I reread it, I still find/learn something new from it.





So I just finished The Traitor's Daughter which was absolutely excellent, as expected, and this weekend I'll start in on the next two- The Ruined City and The Wanderers.
I'm so excited!

Maybe they'll get better, but so far, I don't like this trilogy as much as the first one. Having hard time caring if any of the characters survive. This trilogy takes place 1000yrs after the first one, so, except for a few long lived elves or dragons, it's all new characters. And the characters and story of the first trilogy are legends twisted nearly unrecognizably by the long passage of time.

Maybe they'll get better, but so far, I don't like this trilogy as..."
OK, found one character I like, the unicorn Kareta. She's fun to listen to, but if I had to travel with her, I think I'd strangle her by the 2nd night, to shut her up. 8-D


Also, I started Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, which is my first Zelazny book. Which of his other work would you recommend?

The Amber series (The Great Book of Amber) is the obvious suggestion (although I for one wouldn't think less of you if you just read the first five books and skipped the second five, which were a second series that came later). Lord of Light is his other most "important" book, I expect, although it's a bit on the 1960's experimental side, as are books like Doorways in the Sand.
I've also always had a soft spot for some of his sword & sorcery/fantasy novels -- Jack of Shadows in particular, and Dilvish, the Damned.

Read the Shadow series before going on to Speaker for the Dead. They're more in line with Ender. Some of the stuff he's written to fill in the time between Ender's game and Speaker for the dead, like Ender in Exile, are OK. But the the tone shifts so drastically with Speaker that it might as well be a whole new series.



Also, I started Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, which is my first Zelazny bo..."
Agree with Joseph on Zelanzy's stuff...one of my favorites of all time.

Have to say I'm loving these books more than ever, think this must be in my top 5 sci fi/fantasy series. Highly recommend them if you haven't already read them


Story getting better, but still don't care about the 2 main characters. As war boils around them and friends die, I am getting very tired of their whining and moaning about being forced to fight and kill. It was understandable at the beginning, but now after all that has happened, it's just childish.



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Authors mentioned in this topic
John B. Rosenman (other topics)Gene Hackman (other topics)
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Ben Aaronovitch (other topics)
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Speaking of comics, Mike Kaluta's Starstruck is out in trade paperback. The art is beautiful, but I still don't understand it.
Couldn't get past page 100 in Boneshaker.