What Else Are You Reading - November 2017

[Trike]

I’m deep in the middle of The Night Circus, and I don’t know how I feel about it yet.

Jumper is not as good as the movie.

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts is great. Each chapter is self-contained, which makes it easy to dip into.

[David H.]

Trike wrote: "Jumper is not as good as the movie."

Really? I never saw the movie, but adding Paladins or whatever weird crap to a great SF story that's about a boy who's been abused always seemed the height of Hollywoodism.

[Trike]

David wrote: "Trike wrote: "Jumper is not as good as the movie."

Really? I never saw the movie, but adding Paladins or whatever weird crap to a great SF story that's about a boy who's been abused a..."

The movie has some issues (namely the studio-imposed narration at the beginning) but the book is far clunkier in terms of dialogue and plot.

[John (Taloni)]

Trike wrote: "I’m deep in the middle of The Night Circus, and I don’t know how I feel about it yet.
"

I noped out of it early on, when a young girl shows up at the circus with a note pinned to her clothing to meet a father she's never known after her mother commits suicide, as I recall in front of her. I didn't know where you could go from there and I didn't want to find out.

[Trike]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Trike wrote: "I’m deep in the middle of The Night Circus, and I don’t know how I feel about it yet.
"

I noped out of it early on, when a young girl shows up at the circus with a not..."

It’s pretty Dickensian in spots. My real issue so far is that it jumps back and forth to different eras, which feels random. I don’t know if there’s a thematic purpose to that or she just didn’t have confidence in her story.

[Kristina]

This month I finished Tower of Dawn, The Core, Siege Line, and Doomsday Book. It was a good month! Jumping right into A Plague of Giants

[AndrewP]

Trike wrote: "It’s pretty Dickensian in spots. My real issue so far is that it jumps back and forth to different eras, which feels random. I don’t know if there’s a thematic purpose to that or she just didn’t have confidence in her story."

IIRC the jumping between time starts out far apart and gradually gets closer together like a damped sine wave.

[TRP]

That nice Mister Simon Vance is currently reading me Jerusalem by Alan Moore

At the moment (1/6th of the way through) it isn't a Sword and Laser book but given the author things might change in the next 50 hours.
It's a series on long vignettes, historical and semi-autobiographical set around Moore's hometown of Northampton (UK). I'm enjoying it and finding it useful to have a map of Northampton in a browser window for occasional reference.

[Silvana]

November has been a very slow month for me, but hopefully I can finish Shaman's Crossing, book 1 of the Soldier's Son trilogy. Enjoying it so far. I hope it can be as good as the Fitz novels.

Also starting Murder on the Orient Express even though I am not sure whether to read this or watch the movie first. Apparently I have not read it when I was exposed to Christie's works in my school library.

[Keith]

I'm working on a thing that has me neck deep in old gentleman detective/gentleman thief books, so I splitting my days between the snappy adventures of Bulldog Drummond and the similarly snappy exploits of the Arthur Conan Doyle-enraging Arsene Lupin vs. Sherlock Holmes.

[AndrewP]

Silvana wrote: "Also starting Murder on the Orient Express even though I am not sure whether to read this or watch the movie first. Apparently I have not read it when I was exposed to Christie's works in my school library."

I would read the book first, but whichever way you do it the ending will be a major spoiler for the one you do second:) Personally I'm really surprised that they re-made this movie as I thought most people knew how it ends. It's not like there is limited supply of Christie novels.

[David H.]

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 134 edited by Neil Clarke. I recommend the stories by Sue Burke, Daryl Gregory, and Allen Steele. All stories are freely available online.

Asimov's Science Fiction, November/December 2017 edited by Sheila Williams. The Connie Willis novella was fun, the Jason Sanford novelette was pretty good though there was a slight something about the writing that bugged me, and the Emily Taylor story was kinda heartbreaking.

[David H.]

AndrewP wrote: "It's not like there is limited supply of Christie novels. "

I mean, technically there is, since she died, but yeah, she's got 66 novels. But usually people want to adapt only the best or most well known, which is why we're going to constantly see Orient Express and And Then There Were None (which is one I'd like to see).

[Colin]

Just started Pavaria by some bloke called Tom Merritt. I hear that he's a decent storyteller.

[Joseph]

Finished Test of the Twins and decided to go even further into the past with Michael Moorcock's The Eternal Champion.

[TRP]

Keith wrote: "I'm working on a thing that has me neck deep in old gentleman detective/gentleman thief books, so I splitting my days between the snappy adventures of Bulldog Drummond and the simila..."
Can I point you in the direction of Eric Ambler? He wrote spy novels and his first The Dark Frontier was intended as a parody of things like Bulldog Drummond but he found that he enjoyed the genre so kept writing spy thrillers.

[Trike]

Keith wrote: "I'm working on a thing that has me neck deep in old gentleman "

You should report that to someone.

[Trike]

David wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "It's not like there is limited supply of Christie novels. "

I mean, technically there is, since she died, but yeah, she's got 66 novels. "

Dude, spoilers.

[Tina]

David wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "It's not like there is limited supply of Christie novels. "

I mean, technically there is, since she died, but yeah, she's got 66 novels. But usually people want to adapt only the b..."

The BBC version of "And Then There Were None" with Charles Dance was very good.

[David H.]

Charles Dance was probably the only good thing about the Childhood's End miniseries on Syfy.

[AndrewP]

Trike wrote: "David wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "It's not like there is limited supply of Christie novels. "

I mean, technically there is, since she died, but yeah, she's got 66 novels. "

Dude, spoilers."

Opps.. that should be "(view spoiler)[ Murder (hide spoiler)] on the Orient Express."

[Shad]

Reread The Ghost Brigades. Starting on Off Armageddon Reef which will be the last of the Tor.com eBookclub of the Month books that I got from there. Hopefully, they start it back up early in 2018.

[Stephen]

Going to do a quick audible and re listen to the whole Expanse series before the release of Persepolis Rising in two weeks. easy to do because Jefferson May is easy to listen to.

[Phil]

Finished California Bones. I found the alternate world and magic system really interesting but never seemed to really connect with the characters. Also the alternate real-life characters didn't work for me. I'd still be interested in seeing more of the world in further books though.
Starting Exile.