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What Else Are You Reading?
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What else are you reading? - October 2015
Just finished Armada by Ernest Cline. While it was enjoyable enough for me to finish quickly I'm not sure I've ever read a book that is more derivative of other movies / book including Cline's prior book Ready Player One. Currently listening to a A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. I read it right after it first came out but decided to go back and listen to it since its the only WoT book that I've only read / listened to less than three times. I'm sure that makes some who gave up on WoT groan but I have in fact read or listened to the entire series except Memory three times and the first seven books four times.
Rik wrote: "Just finished Armada by Ernest Cline. While it was enjoyable enough for me to finish quickly I'm not sure I've ever read a book that is more derivative of other movies / book inclu..."I love the wheel of time, and I think Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are great narrators.
Picked up Terminus last night. So far, it's pretty straight forward mow 'em down sci-fi. Not a lot of deep thinking, but it's fun and the read is quick.
the man in the high castle phillip k dick, abaddons gate. James s a corey.
Along with the pick, I'm re-reading A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. I'm doing one chapter a day (each chapter is one day in October) because apparently that's a thing some people do, and it sounds kinda fun.I'm also listening to Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles by Bernard Cornwell. Surprisingly (for Cornwell) it's straight history, not historical fiction.
Joel wrote: I love the wheel of time, and I think Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are great narrators. "Yep. They are really good and are part of the reason I've done the whole series on audio.
Finished Cibola Burn yesterday; still really enjoying this series. Dallying with Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings (and finding it hard work) while waiting for Ancillary Mercy.
John wrote: "Finished Cibola Burn yesterday; still really enjoying this series. Dallying with Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings (and finding it hard work) while waiti..."
I totally forgot that Ancillary Mercy came out this month. That's incredibly frustrating since I've already blown my monthly book budget on the book of the month, The Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent and Changes. It's going to be a good month for reading I think.
I totally forgot that Ancillary Mercy came out this month. That's incredibly frustrating since I've already blown my monthly book budget on the book of the month, The Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent and Changes. It's going to be a good month for reading I think.
Read Koko the Mighty, the second in this great SF extreme action series. My Review.Read Winter Be My Shield. An intense focussed political and magical epic fantasy. Highly recommended. My Review.
Read The Blue Sword which was a fun fantasy series with a female warrior, but in a problematic setting. My Review.
Read The Way Into Magic, a nice short middle book in an excellent fantasy trilogy. My Review.
Read Empire of Dust. Excellent space opera with Psi powers and a strong romantic subplot. My Review.
Currently reading The Player of Games.
I read The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown over 25 years ago when I was about 12 or 13. I remember really enjoying them, I even made an "aged" map from one of them for an english class back then. It also made me keep an eye on Robin McKinley and her work, and I remember thinking it was cool that a woman was writing these great fantasy stories. I was a bit shocked with how adult Deerskin was when I read that at about 17, after reading her other works.The one thing I did not remember until you mentioned it, was that the main character was a girl/woman. I looked it up and it was true for both books in that series. I'm guessing that says more about my memory then anything else. But it could be I'm so used to fantasy having male hero characters, I just replaced them in my head since then, and that is sad.
It was a very different sort of book from her more recent stuff. It's still unusual outside of urban fantasy to read a book about a woman training as a warrior and then going on to demonstrate superiority with those skills.
John wrote: "Finished Cibola Burn yesterday; still really enjoying this series. D"I thought Cibola Burn was by far the weakest book in the series. Not horrible but not good. Fortunately Nemesis Games is amazing and the best book in the series since Leviathan Wakes IMO. I was worried about NG because at first it seems like it might be a throwaway type book used merely to delve into the origins of the Rociante crew outside of Holden whom we already know a lot about. And while it does do give some needed backstory to Amos, Alex, and Naomi, its only a small part of the book and the rest of the book has major events happen that will literally leave you going holy ****, I can't believe that just happened. Seriously, there is a point about one half way through the book where your jaw will drop when you realize whats happening. Thats about as much as I can say and still be non spoilerish.
Rik wrote: "I thought Cibola Burn was by far the weakest book in the series. Not horrible but not good. For..."Interesting - Cibola was more visceral for me; Murtry was a great villain, I thought, and Basia's storyline kept hitting me. I'll definitely be continuing and glad to hear your endorsement for NG.
Matthew wrote: "I totally forgot that Ancillary Mercy came out this month. "
I pre-ordered this one; don't do that often but was really looking forward to it (and I justified it with hoping there might be a price drop before pub day.)
Finished The Aeronaut's Windlass-I mostly enjoyed it. There are some really cool characters in there and it was a fun ride.Read all of A Mad Zombie Party yesterday. Those books are like candy-fun and done too fast.
The library has The Traitor Baru Cormorant ready for me to pick up. Also have holds out on Six of Crows, The Copper Gauntlet, and Days of Blood & Starlight.
Reading Zero World by Jason Hough (The Darwin Elevator). It's an odd parallel-Earth story. I get the impression he played a lot of Assassin's Creed and wanted to do a version of that. I picked it up because I needed a book that starts with Z, which is generally how I choose books this time of year.Still dipping into Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics, which is a series of self-contained essays about the history of physics as well as the principles themselves, so you can read one chapter at a time and set the book aside.
Ancillary Mercy is next. After that I'm finishing up book 2 and 3 in Joe Abercrombie's Shattered Sea series.
I'm sorry to hear that, Sumant. The book is fine for me in nostalgia, but I haven't read it for a good 25 years.
Read Ancillary Mercy last night. Well, until 5am this morning. Review upcoming, but for me this is 5 stars, as good as Ancillary Justice though, of course, different.
Zipped through The Last Dragonslayer. It was a fun, quick read. About to start The Rise of the Empire: Star Wars: Featuring the novels Star Wars: Tarkin, Star Wars: A New Dawn, and 3 all-new short stories.
Finished Rule 34 by Charles Stross.The good: moderately interesting plot, the character of Liz, info dump on free will which I enjoyed.
The bad: present tense (I blame The Hunger Games), multiple POV characters whom I mostly don't like (I blame Game of Thrones), info dump on economics (I blame economics).
The ugly: the real killer for me was the annoying second person perspective (I blame Choose-your-own adventure books and The Talking Heads). I hated that and hope to never see its like again.
Starting Heir to the Empire.
Charlie did 2nd person specifically because there was an entity observing things, i.e. once decided that, the perspective ind of fell out of it. Present tense does too, mostly. I've never understood the issue with present tense - it works in some cases, doesn't in others (the Sandman Slim novels use it well). That you assign blame to the Hunger Games is... amusing.
It seems to be way more popular to use present tense since The Hunger Games hit it big. I don't remember ever seeing it before that except as an exercise for new writers.
Finishing The Traitor Baru Cormorant left me so nihilistic, I decided to reread a series I enjoyed in my youth: Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar. The magical sentient horses and practical approach to personal magical talents will save me. I think there's actually been a few new ones written in the universe since I stopped reading them (because, at the time, I had read them all).
Finished Uprooted, which was excellent!, and had to finish up Ann Leckie's trilogy with Ancillary Mercy.
I loved Lock in. I really loved the fact that there are two different version of the audiobook, since the mc never got old enough to really gender identify.
I got the Amber Benson version, but I hear the Wil Wheaton is great too.
I am on Aftermath and after that The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, a book the LA Times reviewer raved about.
Went to pick up The Traitor Baru Cormorant and found that I had Shadows of Self and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits: A Novel both also waiting on me! Decided to jump on Shadows first-because I know there will be other holds on that one. I love Wayne.
Gaines wrote: "Let us know if it's any food :-)"
Trike wrote: "Gaines wrote: "Let us know if it's any food :-)""
HA!! Nice one. :-)
Read Cuckoo Song. Brilliant version of the classic faerie changeling story. My Review.Read The Player of Games. Interesting sociopolitical SF with all the Culture high-concept SF stuff. My Review.
Read Written in Red. Solid fun urban fantasy. My Review.
Currently reading An Ember in the Ashes.
Currently I'm reading The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski. It's about a man who travels back in time to the Titanic which results in an alternate America which is mostly controlled by the Japanese except for the Confederacy. So far iit has been an excellent read.
Neal Asher's Dark Intelligence was on sale for $1.99 so I grabbed it as I've liked some Asher in the past. This is a Polity book set after the Polity-Prador war. Odd book - the first half is written in an almost too fast, one event after the other style and just when you think the protagonist should really start questioning things, he does. Good but not great so far.
I'm reading Summer of Love: A Time Travel from the PKD Story Bundle which is still up for five more days."With the help of Ruby A. Maverick, a feisty half-black, half-white hip merchant, Susan and Chi discover a love that spans five centuries. But can they save the world from demons threatening to destroy all space and time?"
Heh.
listen to Locke & key which is free until November on audible. So better get ita multi-cast audio drama --at 13 hrs. 26 min.
Finished the other book, now on to Maplecroft by Cherie Priest. The first two pages are really good.(I finally got my copy of XCOM to work after sitting on my desk for 3 years. It's a lot of maddening fun. I might not read any more books this year because of it.)
Started Ancillary Mercy, but I've been so busy lately that's all I've done...but I have a day off now so...yay! :D
Ruth (tilltab) wrote: "Started Ancillary Mercy, but I've been so busy lately that's all I've done...but I have a day off now so...yay! :D"I have it too, aim to start today. :-)
Finishing Ink Mage and Memory of Water while listening to You're Never Weird on the Internet on Audible.
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The Sword and Laser
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Next up: Uprooted by Naomi Novik.