What Else Are You Reading - October 2019

[Silvana]

Finished with Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation which was wonderful and highly recommended. I have some authors now in my watchlist especially Xia Jia.

Starting something that I really, really hope I'll like: The Future of Another Timeline

[David H.]

Silvana, I think the newest anthology Ken Liu edited (Broken Stars) also has a Xia Jia story (though that one is free on Clarkesworld, too, "Goodnight, Melancholy.")

Xia Jia is one of my favorites from China, too! Neil Clarke ran a Kickstarter for a collection of her works that should be out by the end of the year (hopefully!).

[Silvana]

David wrote: "Silvana, I think the newest anthology Ken Liu edited (Broken Stars) also has a Xia Jia story (though that one is free on Clarkesworld, too, "Goodnight, Melancholy.")

Xia Jia is one of my favorites..."

Splendid! Thanks for the info. I have Broken Stars in my wishlist but will now go to find that freebie first :D

[Joseph]

I read a Xia Jia collection a few years back -- Spring Festival -- and liked it quite a bit.

(I was trying to do an alphabet read -- get an author for every letter of the alphabet -- and X was always going to be a sticking point, so I'm happy I came across it.)

[Jack]

The Rise of Speculative Fiction?
What do you think?

https://www.troubador.co.uk/blog/#!ri...

#cern #speculativefiction #TheHandMaidensTale

[John (Taloni)]

Jack wrote: "The Rise of Speculative Fiction?
What do you think?"

I think self promotion belongs in the specified section.

[Karen]

Just finished The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. It was fun. And it was cool to read something with a told in a different way.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished:


We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick - perhaps the "unofficial" prequel to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


A Quest for Simbilis by Michael Shea - the "unofficial" official Dying Earth book that Jack Vance never wrote

[John (Nevets)]

I always get the titles We Can Build You and We Can Remember It for You Wholesale mixed up. The stories are significantly different, but the titles are similar enough, that if it's been a while, I'll forget which it which.

[Misti]

Just finished The Black Tides of Heaven. I’m starting the second novella in the series The Red Threads of Fortune next.

[John]

A two book series. Children of Time and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a super fine novel set. Children of Time was 2016 write and should be read first. Children of Ruin in a continuation. Later. Keep Reading.

[Brad]

I finished Alice by Christina Henry and I really didn’t like it. It’s just a typical point A to point B fantasy quest punctuated by extreme brutality toward women. It’s like the author forgot to think up a plot while thinking of all the horrific ways women can be used. It started out interesting but quickly fell flat.

I also finished listening to The Fisherman by John Langan and was somewhat disappointed by it, I was sure this was one I’d love. Ultimately I found it to be just OK and I thought the middle section of the book where a different story is told really dragged.

I finished listening to the last novella in Strange Weather by Joe Hill (the nail rain one) and I thought that was excellent, the best of the four novellas in that book.

I’m still slogging through listening to The Elementals by Michael McDowell and it feels so middling to me. The horror elements are really starting to ramp up though so maybe it will get better.

I started listening to NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and in a week have blasted through 60% of it. I am loving this book, it feels like a top tier Stephen King novel.

Lastly I’m still reading Night Shift by Stephen King which is very hit or miss. I don’t want to start another full on horror novel at this point because once October is over I really need to get moving on The Witcher series if I want to finish that before the Netflix series is out.

[Iain]

Just picked up two books from the library: The Fated Sky and The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl , wheeee.

Also listening to Exhalation: Stories which is fan-was-tic!

[John (Taloni)]

The final book in the Pern reread, plus an extra (next post.) A Gift of Dragons: Illustrated Stories. These are generally sappy, treacle filled shorts, okay one at a time but a little overwhelming four at once. There are inconsistencies to other stories, such as dragons getting old when they're supposed to be essentially immortal, or the introduction of "Lady Holdless" in the second story when Thella carefully hid her real status in the series.

The Smallest Dragonboy: A small sized twelve year old, barely old enough to stand in the candidate pool for Impressing a dragon, is routinely bullied by an older boy. The adults in the story act like cardboard cutouts, even characters we know well from other books. The finish, straight out of happy ending central casting. This story showed up in many high school readers, so I can't particularly hate on it since it introduced so many to Pern. It's just thoroughly unrealistic - well, even MORE unrealistic than dragons and threadfall. I found it overly sappy as a teen and even more so now.

The Girl Who Heard Dragons: Essentially an excerpt from Renegades of Pern. Aramina can hear all dragons, an exceptional ability on Pern. Her family is on the run from a renegade, who they can identify by name yet somehow the Hold that they run from wouldn't be interested in that information? There's a series of setup silliness where people avoid or turn down help that would lead to a swift denouement. Yet another treacle filled ending here, although if you've read Renegades that's an instance of knowing where to stop, as Aramina goes through quite a bit more in her life.

Runner of Pern: By far the best in the bunch for me. I was a distance runner in junior high / high school and did another marathon in college. The description of wanting to be outside running no matter the weather is a definite hit as that easily described me. Other parts were less realistic. The economics seem silly as a series of runnerbeasts would likely have been cheaper, and definitely faster. Having a runner do a distance run with an injured heel and leg seems very implausible as the best thing to do is rest in that circumstance. The described "perfect form" for running was already debunked by the time I hit high school, but Anne started writing well before that so I guess she didn't get the message. I'll suspend disbelief on the runners doing daily marathon / ultramarathon distance as I have heard of some people who could plausibly do that.

This story follows a female runner coming into her own and taking on early missions. She's run down on a "trace" by a person on a runnerbeast even though the traces are reserved for human runners and are maintained by the runner's Hall (guild).

From there we get a view of Hold life, interaction with the Lord Holder and his family, and even a romance shoehorned in at the end. The story shows the equality of the various sectors of Pern life, and showcases the servant leadership of the Lords.

Ever the Twain: Inseparable fraternal twins are Searched to be candidates for Impressing a dragon. At first only the girl is selected but she insists that her brother accompany her. They both take to Weyr life while waiting for the dragons to hatch so the reader is expected to root for them against some of the snobbish people also brought along. There's a bit stolen from Jaxom's storyline as the dragon the boy Impresses has some difficulty getting out of the shell and might have been left to die if not for the intervention of the sister and her new draconic lifemate. It's a bizarre take on the "inseparable" concept since their new lives will force them apart, but they will always be in contact through their dragons.

[John (Taloni)]

Having finished all the Pern books written by Anne McCaffrey, I decided to give the latest Pern book a try. This one is by Anne's daughter Gigi McCaffrey, following a fairly long run by son Todd McCaffrey.

Gigi's book is Dragon's Code. It follows Piemur, the protagonist of Dragondrums and side character in the other two Harper Hall books, Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, plus appearances in later books. The good news is that Gigi has captured the feel of the characters and they act like themselves. More good news is that the well loved Masterharper Robinton appears regularly, as do Menolly and Sebell. The bad news is that, well, pretty much nothing new happens.

Spoilers for full series below...(view spoiler)[
We get another view of the theft of the Gold egg by the Southern Weyr Oldtimers previously described in White Dragon. Since we already know Jaxom retrieved it on his own, a big chunk of the action has no tension. Then there's a secondary plot to assassinate Jaxom, which we also know couldn't have succeeded. Piemur comes in for some character development, about which, yay. He was a bit flat in the original books. But his big accomplishment is pretty inconsequential.

This book doesn't have a romance in it, and pretty much all of Anne's books did. Plus, the "9th Pass" which includes the storyline from Dragonflight forward, has been pretty roundly concluded by Anne. The next thing to do would be to have the dragons extend into space and explore the surrounding solar system. From there, if there is any story to be told, the dragons and their riders will have to confront the malevolent intelligences strongly implied to exist in the Oort cloud. They are suggested to be a leftover ancient bioweapon used to destroy planets. The first phase of that bioweapon is a "softening up agent" (Thread) followed by asteroid / comet bombardment. As Pern was hit by a comet in Skies of Pern, there is a strong suggestion that the Oort cloud intelligences are aware of Pern and acting against it. Since Aivas had the Pernese send a biological agent into the Oort cloud to kill them, it sure seems like it's war.

Even better for a later Pern storyline, there is a contingent on Pern who feels that pushing the Red Star away messed with the natural order of things, in which Thread fell, Dragonmen fought it, and both Hold and Hall supported the Weyrs. They've been roundly criticized. Yet if the effort against the Red Star woke up the ancient bioweapon, they would essentially have a leg to stand on. That's true even if they're wrong, as in, the bioweapon intelligences might have attacked anyway.

I could go on, but...that's the storyline I would want to see. Yet most Pern fans are into the tactile senses of Pern - the Dragons flaming the ancient menace Thread, the Harpers singing and playing music, teaching and not coincidentally working to keep the peace on Pern. Living close to the land and even the roughness of living, as the dragons eat cattle whole and "blood" cattle before mating flights.

So if there are more Pern books, they're likely to be more side looks at the 9th Pass. That story has already been told, but it's where fans like to visit. I'll probably read more such books, but won't run out to get them. Anne McCaffrey wove exceedingly well and has left an enduring legacy. If all we get are reflections of that legacy, well, it is a good one. (hide spoiler)]

[Rob, Roberator]

I finally caught up on all my reviews. Hopefully I don't fall so far behind again.

Uncrowned - I liked it, but not as much as the last one. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

A Little Hatred - It's good to be back in the First Law World. I thought this was a solid new addition to the series. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Career of Evil - I think this is the best book of this series so far. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - Pretty good at parts, and a bit annoying at others. ★★★½☆ - (My Review)

[Trike]

Just hit the halfway point in Velocity Weapon and holy shizznit this book is awesome. I am absolutely loving it. 🚀

[John (Taloni)]

^ Looks good, I tagged it.

[Robert]

Yesterday I finished The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss. I really enjoyed the book! The characters were as interesting as they had been. The plot moved along quite quickly. There were even some new references to Victorian fiction. It was such a fun read.

[Erik]

Robert wrote: "Yesterday I finished The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss. I really enjoyed the book! The characters were as interesting as they had been. The plot moved al..."

I totally missed that this came out. Gonna need to dive back in.

[terpkristin]

I’m also reading The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl and also digging it.

[TraceyL]

I read Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky and it was great. It gave me strong Stephen King vibes and I think King fans would love it. A small town has been taken over by an evil force and a 7 year old boy is the only one who can save it, with the help of his imaginary friend "The Nice Man.". The townspeople become physically sick and act out with violence. It becomes an epic battle of good vs. evil.

[Brad]

So I’ve finished listening to NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This felt like a top tier Stephen King novel to me. I don’t say that to be reductive but as genuine praise. This is my favorite Joe Hill novel, just ahead of The Fireman and I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading it.

[terpkristin]

I finished The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl and really enjoyed it. I liked the series a lot. I am moving onto the 5th (and final?) in The Lightbringer series, which I’m drawing a blank on the title. I think I need a good hour or two to jump in. Listening so far in 10-15 minute chunks isn’t helping. Also trying to get into SBIB. And then the November pick.

[Dara]

Finally getting out of my reading funk and started Revelation Space.

[John (Taloni)]

Read Shadow Captain, the second book of the Revenger series by Alastair Reynolds. It's his attempt at a female-oriented YA series.

I say "attempt" because this series doesn't really grab me. I read the first because he's generally good to sometimes great, and disliked it. Due to a weird mixup at the LA Library Overdrive app I wound up unable to take books out of there for a while. With nothing in the TBR, I went to LA County and cast around a bit, coming up with this one. Better than nothing.

It's a weird setup. Apparently humanity broke up all of the planets in the solar system some large number of years back, at least a quarter million. Possibly many millions, it's really not clear. There's no reason given for doing that. Now I'm as pro-space as the next guy, so long as the next guy is a rabid, foaming at the mouth space enthusiast, and even I wouldn't conceive of busting up ol' Mother Earth. Plenty of material elsewhere in the solar system.

Reynolds has also gone out of his way to set up a sailing / pirate feel in space. Somehow this techno future doesn't have fusion, so the ships get around on light sail. Rocket fuel exists but is hard to come by, and is mainly used for docking at the few stations that have "swallowers" (mini black holes) to provide gravity.

The entire first half of the book is taken up with the mundanities of space travel and a pursuit by a hidden ship. It's yawnsville. Picks up well after the halfway point with some good action and characterization of compromised, imperfect but well meaning people. I may pick up the third if it is not overlong.

There's some kind of ancient mystery introduced as civilization rises and falls Motie style on about a 22K year span, implying an object on a long orbit influencing things. I found that a lot more intriguing than the pirate stuff, but it was a faint whisper in this storyline, mainly a setup for the third book.

[Iain]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Read Shadow Captain, the second book of the Revenger series by Alastair Reynolds. It's his attempt at a female-oriented YA series.

I say "attempt" because this series doesn't reall..."

I assumed it was not the Sol system but "somewhere else" that has had waves of immigration from the stars.

[Trike]

John (Taloni) wrote: "Read Shadow Captain, the second book of the Revenger series by Alastair Reynolds. It's his attempt at a female-oriented YA series.

I say "attempt" because this series doesn't reall..."

Sounds kinda like a swing-and-a-miss on the Big Idea front for you. Too bad, since sci-fi is perfectly suited for such epic grandiosity.

[John (Taloni)]

Trike wrote: "Sounds kinda like a swing-and-a-miss on the Big Idea front for you."

True dat! If the idea grabs, any issues fall away. I believe I was just waxing philosophic for Pern over the last six weeks. Full of errors, preposterous setup, don't care. Gimme Dragons and Weyr life!

I like Reynolds best when he stays away from horror, so yes to Revelation Space and bleah to Chasm City. This one has more than a little horror and the first book had the heroine mutilating herself.

Iain wrote: "I assumed it was not the Sol system but "somewhere else" that has had waves of immigration from the stars."

Me too, for the first book. This one includes mention of Old Earth and waiting 100K years before breaking it up to be sure they had a true consensus. I'm thinking the animals and plants that lost their habitat weren't polled. An otherwise-empty system hosting refugees from all over would fit better, and explain the loss of technology in a more satisfying fashion - they just can't afford it.

Dara wrote: "Finally getting out of my reading funk and started Revelation Space."

Wanted to chime in on this as well. I enjoyed Revelation Space a lot and am curious what you think. It owes a lot to Niven's Known Space, to the point where it felt like a sequel to those works. Which may be intellectual theft or maybe a tribute. TBH it feels more like a true update to Known Space than any of the actual followups Niven and Lerner did.

[AndrewP]

Brad wrote: "So I’ve finished listening to NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This felt like a top tier Stephen King novel to me. I don’t say that to be reductive but as genuine praise. This is my ..."

I thought Kate Mulgrew did an excellent job narrating that one.

[Joseph]

I admit that so far the only Reynolds I've read is House of Suns, Revenger and Shadow Captain, but I loved them all unreservedly.

[Iain]

Smashed through The Fated Sky which was terrific. Fast paced, interesting, damn fine followup to the Calculating Stars. More!

[Silvana]

Finished with The Future of Another Timeline which was fun, unabashedly feminist, and is a strong contender for my Hugo ballot.

Starting King Rat, which is China Mieville's first book so I don't have high expectation.

[Allison]

Definitely adding Future of Another Timeline to my tbr!

I got tricked into reading a bunch of Lovecraftian horror this month:

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe
The Twisted Ones
The Outside
and just about to finish A Night in the Lonesome October

At least Outside was interesting and Lonesome's been a lot of fun. The other two were...okay, I guess.

Really had fun listening to Moon Over Soho (but gosh do his plots run away with him) and Gideon the Ninth, which I very much want to play as a computer game.

Red Mars and I bumped heads. I disagree with some of KSR's stereotypes and assertions, but I'm told Green Mars is better, so I might eventually press on.

Heads of the Colored People was very well done, but I felt a bit like I was watching someone have a very serious conversation that didn't concern me, and I don't like eavesdropping.

Too Like the Lightning re-read was just as fun the second time!

Now reading Midnight's Children and Gods of Jade and Shadow

[Brad]

AndrewP wrote: "Brad wrote: "So I’ve finished listening to NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This felt like a top tier Stephen King novel to me. I don’t say that to be reductive but as genuine praise..."

Yeah she did. She’s done a great job at everything I’ve heard her narrate.

[Ruth]

Sliding in right at the very end of the month... tonight I started reading Eight Ghosts: The English Heritage Book of New Ghost Stories because I fancied some spooky tales for Halloween. This is a book of stories by various authors, all based on historic buildings in England. Every historic building in England has at least one ghost story told about it, and I liked the concept of turning these legends into literature.

[Trike]

As I sit here waiting for the 3 trick-or-treaters to show up, I finished Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe, a kinetic and cool Space Opera. It has so much neato-keen stuff in it: space battles, sentient spaceships, rough-and-tumble politics, secret societies, a hint of ancient aliens, smart and capable protagonists doing awesome space things... I was sure this was going to be a 5-star book. But then it just ends, leaving all of the multiple threads unfinished, which is completely unsatisfying. I’ll come back to it in 6 years when she finishes the tale.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Trike wrote: "As I sit here waiting for the 3 trick-or-treaters to show up"

That's 3 more than I got last night ;-)

Here it's opt-in. You have to make it clear you welcome "ToTs"

[Trike]

We ended up with about 10 or 12. Pretty good turnout considering the rain.