The Sword and Laser discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading - November 2017
Everyone's different, etc. but while I like North's writing a lot her books are a bit formulaic in high level outline. They all have as the protagonist someone with a condition that sets them apart from almost everyone else not just by being special but something that really does isolate them from the rest of us.She then explores some big event that affects the protagonist and develops that to a conclusion. I love the writing, but it's definitely a formula.
^ Yep, now at 70% mark and it is going strong. I guess it's broadly SFF although I'd be hard put to place it in SF or F. Time travel I suppose.I'm kinda hoping this is a series but there is no sign of that. So much potential to that world.
John (Taloni) wrote: "I'm kinda hoping this is a series but there is no sign of that. So much potential to that world. "Pretty sure it is a stand alone. I would have liked a sequel as well.
Iain - Touch is derivative? Of what? I can see some broad similarities to Butler's Patternist series, but other than that... I wouldn't say her other books as North are the same but they're broadly similar in setup - person with unique ability that isolates them from society reaches a tipping point, events ensue. For example, The Sudden Appearance of Hope deals with a woman who cannot be remembered. IF you meet her and then she's out of sight for even 30 seconds, you will forget ever having met her.
North's books are interesting in the way her protagonist and other characters interact and the effects of the protag's ''power'.
If you like how she writes but aren't sure about tackling another novel by her right now, check out her Gameshouse novellas. Linked stories that are one long arc but each self-contained.
BTW, I say "...as North" because this is the same person who writes as Kate Griffin.
Just finished Autonomous. I loved mostly everything about it, but had major issues with the relationship between Eliasz and Paladin. I had to put the book down because they just made me so frustrated/angry at one point.Just starting out on Barbary Station. The blurb sounds fantastic and Ann Leckie reccomended it on her blog, so I've got some high hopes for it. It definitely sounds like the type of thing I should love. So far, so good.
I completed Prelude to Foundation earlier this month and was left really underwhelmed by it. I kind of like how it tied the Robots and Foundation series together more, but it also was very very tedious at times. I'm taking a small break from Asimov after that disappointment.
And in my non-sf/fantasy reading, I'm just about done with the cozy mystery The Christie Curse on audio. I always want to like cozies and almost always don't, but this one is probably my favorite so far.
I felt similarly about The Bear and the Nightingale - there was much about it that I enjoyed, but it seemed too long for the kind of story it was.I finished The Collapsing Empire last night. It's the first Scalzi I've ever read, so I wasn't expecting the jokey tone, but once I got used to it I found it quite amusing. Decent story, well-written.
Now I've moved on to All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater.
I'm glad you liked your first taste of Scalzi, Jessica! I would venture to say that much of his work has a bit of that jokey-ness (except The God Engines). He doesn't work for everyone, but I've always enjoyed his stories.
Rick wrote: "Iain - Touch is derivative? Of what? I can see some broad similarities to Butler's Patternist series, but other than that... I wouldn't say her other books as North are the same but they're broad..."
I have read a lot of SF and comics over the years (too many to count) and have come across the plot device (view spoiler) a few times. When I read the book it felt like I had read it before. This happens a lot (sometimes I realise 50 pages in I have actually read the book before). I usually don't mind but this time it just didn't do it for me.
Finished up the latest Rick Riordan book, The Ship of the Dead. Riordan is really slipping. He's experimenting with underpowered characters, which works okay in the Apollo series but is just gagworthy here. Magnus is the name of the son of Thor in mythology, but this Magnus is actually son of Frey and a...healer. It's like a D&D dare gone awry.Reading this book is like playing PC bingo. Valkyrie who is somehow also Muslim; deaf major character and extensive use of ASL; genderfluid character who regularly switches identified gender. Evil rich father of one of the team members, a cardboard cutout of a dad. Odin played for a buffoon. Valhalla a hotel with ratings-seeking attendants. What made for funny bits in other Riordan books now overwhelm the book.
All he forgot was the, well, story. It's dullsville. This is message fiction without a decent story to sell it. The one decent twist shows up at about the 70% mark.
It's not clear if this is the end of the series at three books or if there will be the usual five. This series is not selling well and it's not hard to see why. The Egyptian series ended at three with a forced ending, but at least all the loose ends were tied up. This book leaves loose ends. I'd be fine with it ending here, though. If there are others I won't rush out to buy them.
I read Sins of Empire. It's one of the best books I've ever read.I also just read Dark Matter. It's honestly the best book I've ever read, and I can't recommend it enough.
MorteTorment(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader) wrote: "I also just read Dark Matter. It's honestly the best book I've ever read, and I can't recommend it enough."That is a bold statement to make on a book group forum!
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That is a bold statement to make on a book group forum! "
Yeah, it's pretty bold. To be fair to Morte they did qualify their opinion with "I've ever read".
I read both of those books. I'd rank Sins of Empire as one of my best reads of the year, but I didn't find Dark Matter very good.
Neither of them would rank among my best books ever read either.
Of course all of this is subjective in the first place. I'm sure if I compared my top 5 list of books with pretty much anyone else there wouldn't be much overlap. Then again I'd have to think really hard to rank my top 5 are. My favorites shelf on good reads has 25 books on it. Some of those books will be quickly dismissed by others for being brain candy or poorly written. That doesn't mean I didn't greatly enjoy them though.
I do tend to be skeptical of any praise that is so over the top. Even when I love a book (like I did with Sins of Empire) I tend to avoid using words like "best" without a lot of context. Apparently I said Sins of Empire may be Mcclellen's best book yet. I'm sure other fans of his will disagree with me though.
I agree with Rob. I recently read Dark Matter and I loved it... though I would go as far as to shelf it as a 'best ever'. Still I also recommend it.
Brian McClellan's saga has been bumped up into the top10 of the to-read list.
Jordan wrote: "Just finished Autonomous. I loved mostly everything about it, but had major issues with the relationship between Eliasz and Paladin. I had to put the book down because they just made me so frustrated/angry at one point."I found their relationship kind of squicky but the character of Paladin raised a lot of interesting questions about gender and self-determination.
I was neither agreeing, nor disagreeing - just commenting on the use of such a superlative. It's great to see people getting excited about what they're reading.Dark Matter does have a lot of positive reviews, and at only 99p for the Kindle edition I figured it was worth a try, so it's been bought and added to my (already extensive) reading list.
Dara wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Just finished Autonomous. I loved mostly everything about it, but had major issues with the relationship between Eliasz and Paladin. I had to put the book down because they just made..."Definitely agreed. I like a lot of the issues the book brought up and how it makes you think about them, but it just handled that relationship so cringe-worthily.
Finished The Core 4/5, it's the best Demon Cycle book yet which started with the Warded man it's been nice watching this series kinda slide down a hill for a while then climb back up to being really enjoyable again.Read Time Reavers 4/5 It's a bit too YA for my tastes but it was still very good and the audiobook was narratored by Tess Irondale who is a master of her craft.
Currently juggling a large number of audiobooks that will all be 4s or 5s...and 1 that's temp dropped for now that's going to be a 3 at best. It's An Echo of Things to Come to be fair though my friend who I normally agree with loved the book so who knows.
Rob wrote: "Apparently I said Sins of Empire may be Mcclellen's best book yet. I'm sure other fans of his will disagree with me though"
I agree with you.
Jordan wrote: "Dara wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Just finished Autonomous..."I didn't like that relationship much either, and I couldn't tell whether the author was intending for us to be uncomfortable with it or not. My larger discomfort though was with the ambivalent (perhaps too subtle?) depiction of Eliasz and Paladin's job. Autonomous was in general a real feel-bad read for me, though that may be what the author was going for, in which case, success.
Speaking of uncomfortable, almost finished with the all-too-present-day-relevant Parable of the Talents. Butler is always a great read but i'll need something shiny and happy after this.
I'm just starting Babylon's Ashes. It's been sitting on my shelf for almost a year. I was so depressed after finishing Nemesis Games that I didn't want to go on. Now I've halfway through chapter 3 and things look even worse. Tell me there's a happy ending somewhere. Or at least some hope.
^There's hope, and retribution, but this is a noir series.The best bit of hope is so subtle and technical that you could easily miss it. Just a little bit of science that could save hundreds of millions. Read with eyes peeled.
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Yeah, I seem to be in a minority on the book. I thought it was OK, but was underwhelmed. I thought the ideas were interesting, but the actual story not as much. I got a free review copy of the audio book fwiw.
John (Taloni) wrote: "^There's hope, and retribution, but this is a noir series.The best bit of hope is so subtle and technical that you could easily miss it. Just a little bit of science that could save hundreds of m..."
Oh good. I am so hoping for retribution. Thanks for the hint.
The Dispatcher by John Scalzi. Fun SF mystery novella.Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson. Fun SF mystery novella.
The Just City by Jo Walton. Amazing exploration of Plato's Republic. I loved just everything about this one.
Rob wrote: "Colin wrote: "MorteTorment(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader) wrote: "I also just read Dark Matter. It's honestly the best book I've ever read, and I can't recommend it enough."Th..."
Is it really a problem to highly recommend what has recently become your favorite book?
yeah, thanks, I don't really see the problem.
Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written.
MorteTorment(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader) wrote: "yeah, thanks, I don't really see the problem."You're not only the fastest reader, you're also the one who reads into things which aren't there. That's twice in 10 minutes you've done that. Relax.
Trike wrote: "MorteTorment(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader) wrote: "yeah, thanks, I don't really see the problem."You're not only the fastest reader, you're also the one who reads into things which aren't th..."
Yeah, that's totally me. I'm sorry, I've been working on dealing with it my entire life.
Finished my visit to the world of the Arabian Nights with Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange, and, for no particular reason, am returning to my ... college-age-hood with Time of the Twins, the first Dragonlance Legends novel by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Read Night Flower by Kate Elliott (prequel novella to Court of Fives) which was a nice quick read.Now starting Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson which will be... less quick
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You can read it all in one sitting. I believe in you!
I had meant to time it right so I read all the free chapters before the book came out today, but I got busy and I only had time to read the first 12 or so on Sunday (and nothing yesterday), but I suspect the book will be cutting into my video game/TV time for the foreseeable future.
I think I managed to read Words of Radiance in about a week or so, which is SUPER fast for me. Normally I read 1000 pages in a month or so (and lately I've been reading far less than that in favor of other hobbies).
Just read the short story Fire Watch by Connie Willis purely by coincidence. It's included in a collection that I've been working away at between other books for several months. Fire Watch was written (and won all the awards) about 10 years before Doomsday Book but seemingly takes place after it. (view spoiler) It's a nice quick read and worth tracking down if you enjoyed Doomsday Book.
Trike wrote: "Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written."And done. I never read a book that fast any more. Truly remarkable read.
Another LA Library suggestion, the short story "John Inglefield's Thanksgiving" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's hilariously dated. Apparently a favored daughter is now to be shunned because (view spoiler)
I get the distinct impression that Hawthorne was a perv of the day, obsessing on "sin" and writing for the benefit of other obsessives.
Maclurker wrote: "I'm just starting Babylon's Ashes. It's been sitting on my shelf for almost a year. I was so depressed after finishing Nemesis Games that I didn't want to go on. Now..."Like you I didn't like Nemesis Games and thought about giving up on the series. Babylon's Ashes is much better though.
Trike wrote: "Trike wrote: "Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written."And done. I never read a book that fast any more. Truly..."
And terrifying. Don't forget terrifying. (I also read that in almost one sitting).
Rob wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Now starting Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson which will be... less quick"You can read it all in one sitting. I believe in you!
I had meant to time it right so I rea..."
Yeah, I just finished DB on Audible last night. I bought Vallista on kindle the day it was released, but only got around to starting it before I got sidetracked with other things. So I said, "Cool, Vallista is a pretty short book, I'll try to get through that before my pre-order of Oathbringer on Audible appears in my library. That'll be sometime soon." Then I woke up this morning to an email from Audible telling me Oathbringer is in my library... :) . I'll still try to stick to my original plan. No sense in rushing through Oathbringer and making the wait for more Stormlight Archive that much longer.
Finished Winter Tide. Liked it ok, but don't think I will be picking up any more Lovecraftian stories. The overall mythos doesn't appeal to me.
The Gender Game by Bella Forrest- -Destination Oblivion by Christian Kallias- -
Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "Trike wrote: "Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written."And done. I never read a book that fast a...
And terrifying. Don't forget terrifying. (I also read that in almost one sitting). "
So terrifying. Watching the news, I feel like we're just about to tip into becoming Gilead any day now.
Rob wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Now starting Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson which will be... less quick"You can read it all in one sitting. I believe in you!
I had meant to time it right so I rea..."
Words of Radiance took me a fortnight (that was with Whispersync) and I'm anticipating Oathbringer will take a similar length of time. Maybe a bit quicker but we'll see...
(I didn't pre-read the free chapters so I'm starting right from the beginning)
Edit: just checked my list and it actually took only 10 days, not two weeks. Also I've remembered that Americans don't say fortnight so apologies if I confused anyone with my crazy British words.
Trike wrote: "Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "Trike wrote: "Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written."And terrifying. Don't forget terrifying. (I also read that in almost one sitting). "
So terrifying. Watching the news, I feel like we're just about to tip into becoming Gilead any day now.
The Handmaid's Tale is the scariest book I've ever read, bar none. There's something particularly diabolical in reading a book about not being allowed to read books.
Ruth wrote: "Trike wrote: "Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "Trike wrote: "Just started The Handmaid's Tale which lives up to its reputation. Holy frijoles this is amazingly well-written."And terrifying. Don't forget terrifying. (I also read that in almost one sitting). "
So terrifying. Watching the news, I feel like we're just about to tip into becoming Gilead any day now.
The Handmaid's Tale is the scariest book I've ever read, bar none. There's something particularly diabolical in reading a book about not being allowed to read books. "
And, as I said in my review, Atwood also gets the seductive nature of false nostalgia for simpler times, such as when one of the older women in charge of the handmaids says about the fact that women don't get wolf-whistled at or groped or bothered on the streets by men yelling obscenities, "In the time of anarchy, you had freedom to, now you have freedom from."
There's a lot of appeal in that notion, which is how they got so many women to support the cause. I see that same thing working today. It's a lie, of course, but it feels like it would be a relief if it were true. Structured, simple, safe. Too bad it never works that way.
Hi, just finished reading Last Argument of Kings and was deeply disappointed in it (★★★☆☆). I did not need to read a version of Lord of Rings which is covered in excrement. Given the cover blurbs and buzz around the book I expected something more, possibly non-traditional format or storylines. Nope, none of that, the classic fantasy tale just with awful people. I think I spotted analogies to all the major plot lines and characters from Lord of the Rings, its just that the characters are not worth caring about (or betray you). I want my GrimDark books to push boundaries (see Game of Thrones or The Steel Remains) as well as being dark. Maybe reading Thomas Covenant in my teens introduced my to books that are "GrimDark" and that this is nothing new (The end of Once and Future King is pretty dark).
Damn, I will not get those four weeks back. Spoilers on plot points,
(view spoiler) This is definitely not needed in a Trumpian world.
I finished Gather the Daughters, a post-apocalyptic book I still haven't reviewed because I'm struggling to land on a star rating.On the one hand, I'm weary of the women-as-breeder trope so common in post-apocalyptic fiction. On the other hand, there are reasons this is so prevalent.
On the one hand, I find the child abuse in this, even though it is often "offstage," very disturbing. On the other hand, well. It's not unbelievable.
On the one hand, I was confused about the world building. On the other hand, the ending makes everything very clear, or at least provides reasons for it to be muddy. It is true that the daughters don't know enough about the world. That isn't a mistake, that's deliberate, both on the part of the author but also on the part of the men running the island they all live on. But would everyone feeling confused make it to the end?
I also very much like the rotating perspectives, always only the daughters.
3 stars or 4! One or the other!
Iain wrote: "Hi, just finished reading Last Argument of Kings and was deeply disappointed in it (★★★☆☆). I did not need to read a version of Lord of Rings which is covered in excrement. ..."Yet you rated it 3 stars? Damn, that sounds like a 1-star book if I ever heard one.
Trike wrote: "Iain wrote: "Hi, just finished reading Last Argument of Kings and was deeply disappointed in it (★★★☆☆). I did not need to read a version of Lord of Rings which is covered i..."I kept reading the bloody thing... I may go as low as two if I finish a book (one stars get thrown across the room) :-)
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The Sword and Laser
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Yeah, I th..."
I read Touch for a local book group and found it too derivative for my taste. Is it representative? Not inclined to read more of her work.