What Else Are You Reading - April 2019

[Rob, Roberator]

Sheila Jean wrote: "Example with potential spoiler for Hackers: (view spoiler)."

lol! (view spoiler)[Pool on the roof must have a leak! (hide spoiler)]

[Erik]

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Erik wrote: "Also just ordered Atlas of Remote Islands and am so pumped for it. Most places had it fairly expensive because it's hard to find but I was able to snag a near perfect on...">

I've heard nothing but great things! It'll move pretty far up the queue once it arrives.

[Melani]

Sheila Jean wrote: "Stephen wrote:

"...I had to do a lot of re-reads lately because I am getting all my series mixed up. "

I can usually reorient myself to a story in the context of reading or listening pretty quic..."

There are many times when I wish authors would put a primer in front of their big series books. Like, oh say, Brandon Sanderson. I still haven't read the most recent book in the Stormlight Archive because I don't really remember what happened in the first two books and I don't think they're worth the time to reread them. Re-reading is reserved for favorites, life is too short.

Though to be fair, I'm generally fine after the first couple of pages, it's just... a 'this is what happened' would be nice. Especially since you can skip it if you don't need it.

[Rob, Roberator]

Mark Lawrence has done that with his Book of the Ancestors series and it's fantastic. I wish all writers did it.

[John (Taloni)]

Melani wrote: "There are many times when I wish authors would put a primer in front of their big series books."

Maybe Wikipedia? Their synopses are fairly short. Although you'd want to be careful to limit to books you've already read and not get spoilers for the current book.

[Sheila Jean]

Rob wrote: "Mark Lawrence has done that with his Book of the Ancestors series and it's fantastic. I wish all writers did it."

I just finished Otherland by Tad Williams, and Books 2-4 all had recaps of the prior works before the start of the new story.

[Stephen]

Last year was too many books I had problems with. So this year was going to be a re-read of my favorite authors who had books coming out. I did it for the Expanse books and surprised how much I had forgotten. And when everyone in the topic of Tiamat's Wrath: Book 8 of the Expanse had problems with the Elvi POV I did not, I credit the re-reads. (view spoiler)[ I totally forgot about the part where Miller became a mechanical bug and helped Elvi turn off the planet! how could I forget that, but I did. (hide spoiler)]

[Iain]

Had a busy week.

Finished Tiamat's Wrath during the week which finished strongly after a slow start. Not sure about the ending, I feel its beginning to resemble a ST:TNG episode where everything resets to the beginning at the end of the show.

Finished listening to Nyphron Rising today showed a steady improvement in writing style and pacing. Not to mention actually developing the female characters.

In between I read Binti which is a perfectly formed novella. A must for SF readers.

Started in on Spinning Silver in ebook and about to listen to Black Notice while waiting for The Martian Chronicles to come in on 4 May in audiobook at the library.

[Joseph]

Finished Empire of Sand (which I really enjoyed), read The Black God's Drums (a shortish novella which ditto) and decided to go old-school with Swords of the Steppes: The Complete Cossack Adventures, Volume Four, the fourth volume of Harold Lamb's adventure stories set mostly in Asia in the early 17th century. No overtly fantastical elements, but he was a huge influence on Robert E. Howard, and his stories are still eminently readable.

[Shad]

Finished The Martian Chronicles. Started reading The Flight 981 Disaster: Tragedy, Treachery, and the Pursuit of Truth since it was $1.99 and I've had to deal with some of the regulations that came about from the incidents described in the book.

[John (Taloni)]

Finished Timescape. Won the Nebula in 1980 and written by a hard SF author, I should be loving this. It was meh.

The book is a "science procedural" following the attempt of a later time period to communicate with an earlier one in order to avoid ecologic catastrophe. More than that though, it's a character study of the many people involved in the effort.

Problem is, I didn't find a one of them sympathetic. We've got a snooty upper crusty type in the future that somehow is irresistible to every woman he meets and philanders accordingly. The main scientist in the earlier era is angst filled and whiny. Other characters snide and mean. I get that this is supposed to be an inside look at the scientific process, but I just found it dull.

There's a "ticking clock" of a kind as time runs out to forestall the future's collapsing ecology, but it ticks exceedingly slowly.

The book picks up in the second half and actually has a decent 25% up until the last 5% or so. Then there's a series of increasingly strange developments thrown into the conclusion.

I appreciated the book more than enjoyed it. It's likely I'll refer to it later. I'm glad to have read it but didn't particularly enjoy the journey.

[Rick]

The problem with Benford is this... "it's a character study of the many people involved in the effort."... and he can't write characters well. His characters are all types, not people.

[Trike]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Finished Timescape. Won the Nebula in 1980 and written by a hard SF author, I should be loving this. It was meh."

That was one of my early DNFs. It taught me to let go and move on.

[Ruth]

Joseph wrote: "Finished Empire of Sand (which I really enjoyed), read The Black God's Drums (a shortish novella which ditto) and decided to go old-school with [book:Swords of the S..."

I too have just finished Empire of Sand, and although I appreciated many aspects of the writing I overall I still found it a bit of a struggle to get through. I think it was a mismatch of expectations as much as anything else- I was expecting something very epic in scope, with lush world building and lots of viewpoints. The actual book is very tightly focused on just a few characters and locations, with relatively little sense of a wider world.

[Erik]

Started Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life and it instantly pulled me in with it's combination of humor and honesty. It's a series of essays on writing and everything Lamott has learned about writing throughout her career. Genuinely delightful.

[Joseph]

Ruth wrote: "The actual book is very tightly focused on just a few characters and locations, with relatively little sense of a wider world."

Yeah, now that you mention it, that's true. I wonder if the subsequent volumes will get into the wider world.

[Ruth]

Joseph wrote: "Ruth wrote: "The actual book is very tightly focused on just a few characters and locations, with relatively little sense of a wider world."

Yeah, now that you mention it, that's true. I wonder if..."

The description of sequel, Realm of Ash, sounds like it might range further.

[Ruth]

Just finished The Raven Tower , Ann Leckie’s first fantasy book, and absolutely loved it! The narrative voice is unique, the world building intriguing, and the climax was breathtaking.

[Joel]

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve for the 3rd time

[Trike]

I’m listening to Spinning Silver and if I hadn’t enjoyed Uprooted so much I would have bailed on this long ago. Last night I was like, “Surely I must be halfway done by now?!” Nope, 12 hours still to go. Ugh.

[Dara]

I'm still in the mood for The Expanse so I'm going back and re-reading Cibola Burn. It's my least favorite of the novels but I want to refresh my memory for season 4 of the show.

[Ruth]

Just starting The Poppy War and tbh I’m a little bit nervous after reading so many comments about how violent it is, especially towards the end. But it’s had so much buzz, and I’m due on a discussion panel about violence in fantasy books so I feel like I need to read it.

[Iain]

Trike wrote: "I’m listening to Spinning Silver and if I hadn’t enjoyed Uprooted so much I would have bailed on this long ago. Last night I was like, “Surely I must be halfway done..."

About 1/4 of the way through it. Subtle story hidden by the life of a money lender dealing with anti Semitic villagers. Slow going. It is nice to have a protagonist who does not need magic or sword play. She isn’t even a thief, just good at business

[Cup]

A Memory Called Empire. Took me a chapter or two to get into it, but loving it now!

[Trike]

Ruth wrote: "Just starting The Poppy War and tbh I’m a little bit nervous after reading so many comments about how violent it is, especially towards the end. But it’s had so much buzz, and I’m d..."

Don’t get attached to the pig.

[Melani]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Melani wrote: "There are many times when I wish authors would put a primer in front of their big series books."

Maybe Wikipedia? Their synopses are fairly short. Although you'd want to be careful ..."

Wikipedia is where I tend to go. I'm not particular about spoilers (if a book is only holding my interest because I need to know what's happening, then it isn't a very good book) so I don't mind if I find out some events for the book I'm about to settle down with. It's just kind of annoying to have to search out a good summary every time I start a book instead of having one already IN the book. I'm being petulant, I know.

Trike wrote: "I’m listening to Spinning Silver and if I hadn’t enjoyed Uprooted so much I would have bailed on this long ago. Last night I was like, “Surely I must be halfway done..."

I wonder how much of that stems from the fact that the book started as a short story, a very good short story. In fact I initially wasn't going to read the book because I didn't see where she could expand it to fit novel length. Ultimately, I'm glad I did pick it up, and I thought the extended bits of the story really worked, but the book does have a kind of two part feel to it.

[Trike]

Melani wrote: "Trike wrote: "I’m listening to Spinning Silver and if I hadn’t enjoyed Uprooted so much I would have bailed on this long ago. Last night I was like, “Surely I must be halfway done..."

I wonder how much of that stems from the fact that the book started as a short story, a very good short story. In fact I initially wasn't going to read the book because I didn't see where she could expand it to fit novel length. Ultimately, I'm glad I did pick it up, and I thought the extended bits of the story really worked, but the book does have a kind of two part feel to it."

I’m further along (7 hours left) and it has picked up a bit, but even at 1.5 speed it sounds slow. I didn’t know it was a short story first. I subscribe to Jack Chalker’s opinion that an expanded short story adds nothing except length.

[Jonathan]

Just finished Holy Sister! Very well written. I thought it was a great ending to the series. Listening now to Mortal Coil by Derek Landy. Still readingOnes and Zeroes.

[Melani]

I subscribe to Jack Chalker’s opinion that an expanded short story adds nothing except length....."

That's pretty much why I was initially reluctant to read the novel. But I heard good things about it from people I trusted and thought it couldn't hurt to try it out. She essentially added two plot lines and interwove them into the short story, so I thought it worked. But mostly, I'm against it. Generally when authors expand short stories I find that either they had a bad short story that needs expanding or they end up with a novel that has too much filler. The short story is in The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales if you're curious enough to check it out and see what you think.

[Misti]

Since I finished The Martian Chronicles rather quickly, I thought I'd delve into the Sword & Laser backlog and read A Natural History of Dragons.

[Trike]

Misti wrote: "Since I finished The Martian Chronicles rather quickly, I thought I'd delve into the Sword & Laser backlog and read A Natural History of Dragons."

I liked that book so much I read the next two installments in the Lady Trent series. I need to get back to those.

[Ruth]

Trike wrote: "Misti wrote: "Since I finished The Martian Chronicles rather quickly, I thought I'd delve into the Sword & Laser backlog and read A Natural History of Dragons."

I liked that book so much I read the next two installments in the Lady Trent series. I need to get back to those.
.."

Yes you do! I thoroughly enjoyed all the Lady Trent books - like a Victorian adventure of exploration and archaeology, only with dragons and less racism than, say, H. Rider Haggard.

[TRP]

Just finished To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer

I wasn't sure about this book about half-way through but decided to add the next book in the Riverworld series (The Fabulous Riverboat) to my TBR list by the time I finished