What else are you reading - April 2022

[Chris K.]

Just finished listening to The End of Men. It's very good, but pretty intense. It's about a plague that wipes out 90% of men. Similar set up to Y: The Last Man but different execution.

The audio, with multiple narrators, is excellent.

Now, I'm listening to Sea of Tranquility. Also with multiple narrators and also excellent.

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

Chris wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I also started reading the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles


The Tale of the Body Thief by [author:Ann..."

So good!

[Rob, Roberator]

I finished Amongst Our Weapons. I thought it was a bit cookie cutter, but had some interesting developments at the end.

Now I'm listening to Lesser Evil which has all the usual bells and whistles.

[Ruth]

Finished Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World which was a dense read with a lot of information stuffed into it. Interesting to read about Russian international relations in light of the situation in Ukraine.

Now starting Gallant by V.E. Schwab.

[Brad]

I’m about 50 pages into The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu and I have to DNF it. I’m back in the game world again and I just can’t. I cannot.

[Misti]

Just finished listening to Falling Free on Audible. I enjoyed it but it had a bit of a cliffhanger ending, which I don't like. It looks like the series was published out of sequence so I'm not sure if I want to continue it.

I've also got about 50 or so pages left of Music Is History that I checked out on Libby from the library. There are lots of song recommendations to check out that aren't in my normal wheelhouse. It mainly covers the 1970s-2000s, though there are some songs from earlier decades that are mentioned.

[Serendi]

Falling Free is essentially a standalone that takes place several hundred years before the rest of the stories. I don't think it's intended to be a cliffhanger at all; (view spoiler)[the quaddies do appear from time to time in the Vorkosiverse, having thrived in the intervening centuries. (hide spoiler)]

Some of the Vorkosiverse stories are my all-time favorites and others I've never been able to make my way through. I'd have missed out hugely if I'd never read the good ones, though.

[Iain]

Brad wrote: "I’m about 50 pages into The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu and I have to DNF it. I’m back in the game world again and I just can’t. I cannot."

I found the series to be deeply nihilistic with far too much misogyny.. Nice ideas but the world view is very depressing.

[Ruth]

Iain wrote: "Brad wrote: "I’m about 50 pages into The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu and I have to DNF it. I’m back in the game world again and I just can’t. I cannot."

I found the series to be deeply nihilistic wit..."

It’s probably the most nihilistic book series I’ve ever encountered. I read it at a time (2016) when I was feeling pretty nihilistic myself so it suited my frame of mind. These days I find my taste in fiction veering more towards the optimistic it’s in that category of books I’m glad I’ve read but I don’t really want to re-read.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Chris wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I also started reading the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles


The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice"

One of my favorites of this series."

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "...So good!"

I am glad to hear that. There is some really cool stuff in this series, especially in The Queen of the Damned, like the Great Family and the Talamasca. I think I'm going to dip into the Mayfair Witches series too.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the science-fiction classic


I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Stephanie]

Just started The Fellowship of the Ring. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for TWENTY YEARS, friends. It’s about time I read it!

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

Stephanie wrote: "Just started The Fellowship of the Ring. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for TWENTY YEARS, friends. It’s about time I read it!"

You're in for a treat! I recently re-read (listented) to The Hobbit read by Andy Serkis & I saw he narrated the whole LOTR trilogy, so I bought those on audible too. I'll be re-reading (listening) to those in the near future!

[Ian (RebelGeek)]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Chris wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I also started reading the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles


The Tale of the Body Thief ..."

The Witch books are fantastic! The 2 series do cross over eventually, so It's a great idea. I read most of what Anne Rice wrote & love 90% of it. I can't say I love the Sleeping Beauty stuff. The narrator was especially obnoxious too. ha

[Iain]

Just finished The Hidden Palace the follow up to the The Golem and the Jinni.

This is a book about immigration and finding your place in a new world with fantasy elements thrown in to allow an element of masking with the two lead characters. A thoughtful and interesting read with a much slower pace than the usual fantasy I read.

If you liked the first book this is a good follow up which finishes the story in a worthwhile manner (I feel it takes a while to get going but worth it in the end).

[Brad]

I’m about 50 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and am bored to tears. I just can’t seem to find any book that I’m interested in lately.

[Ruth]

Finished listening to Amongst Our Weapons. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It was fine, although the series is getting a bit samey tbh - I'm hoping things might get shaken up a bit now that (view spoiler)[ Peter Grant is father to twin girls and Nightingale is planning to retire (hide spoiler)].

Also, I found that my previous knowledge of a) early modern history and b) Monty Python spoiled the surprise of the main plot but never mind.

[Colin]

Ruth wrote: "Finished listening to Amongst Our Weapons. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It was fine, although the series is getting a bit samey tbh - I'm hop..."

Ahh! I’m so behind on my reading and really want to get started on this one soon. You have piqued my interest with the Monty Python comment. I wonder if I’m deep enough into their lore to spot it.

[John (Taloni)]

^ Yep, I also finished Amongst Our Weapons recently. My feeling was, as fans we wanted another book even if Aaronovitch had to phone it in. He did, but it's still Rivers of London and has enough of the overall feel of the series to be a decent read. Some elements were stock repeats, but there was also enough moving forward of the overall storyline to stay interested. So yay, Rivers of London, another book, not one of his best but still worth reading.

I've otherwise said it's a 400 page book told in 300 pages. Definitely feels like the second half is undeveloped. Welp, the fans wanted another book and we got one. It's a fine read. TBH our standards for this series might be a little high because he's delivered so well in the past. If this were the first one you'd read, you'd probably think it was a series that showed promise.

As for the Monty Python bit, I would think even the most casual fan would get it. It's pretty hilarious so enjoy.

[Rick]

John (Taloni) wrote: "...As for the Monty Python bit, I would think even the most casual fan would get it. It's pretty hilarious so enjoy. "
I dunno, no one expects... oh never mind :)

[Keith]

Just started Cory Doctorow's "Attack Surface". The Little Brother books have been a little angsty and whiny, but I do like the tech and culture descriptions. I have some science books and then Julian May's "The Nonborn King" on my short list.

[Keith]

Brad wrote: "I’m about 50 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and am bored to tears. I just can’t seem to find any book that I’m interested in lately."

I liked 19Q4, but that is the only Haruki Murakami I've read. His style is very much aimed toward the beach or long summer read. Not sure what of his to read next.

[Joseph]

Finished Swords from the West and started K.J. Parker's The Folding Knife.

[John (Nevets)]

Joseph wrote: "Finished Swords from the West and started K.J. Parker's The Folding Knife."

I'm sensing a theme here... ;-)

[John (Taloni)]

Recent finished Gail Carriger's Crudrat. It was...interesting?

Nah, not gonna front. I pretty much hated it start to finish. This is a pugnacious, nasty dystopia that gets more dismal as the book goes on. Even noble action is repaid with punishment.

The "Crudrat" in question is a twelve year old child who runs tunnels cleaning out "crud" for a minimal living. It's a space station that deals with those who can't handle techno-implants by abandoning them at a young age. The children do what they must to live. That part is an extended analogy of chimney sweeps, most pugnacious in London's past.

Gail Carriger is known for wit and charm, which comes through even in the most difficult situations. This book has none of that. It's a YA dystopia of horrific measure. Nor are other cultures particularly welcoming. There's not much arc to the plot, rather, events happen, slowly revealing the awfulness of this universe, each reveal worse than the last. Instead of Gail's usual "found family" aspect, in this book having or being a friend can bring out the worst consequences.

I finished it mainly because it is Gail Carriger and I have to date read everything she has written. This one is billed as part of the "Tinkered Stars" universe which includes The Fifth Gender. That's a retcon since Crudrat was a limited release published in 2014 via Kickstarter, long before Fifth Gender.

I'm sure more books in this universe will come out. I am not at all certain I will be able to bring myself to read them, no matter how good Gail's other work is.

[Brad]

Keith wrote: "Brad wrote: "I’m about 50 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and am bored to tears. I just can’t seem to find any book that I’m interested in lately."

I liked 19Q4, but that ..."

I’m not really sure what people mean by a beach or summer read. Granted I don’t go to the beach but it seems like any book that interests you during the summer would be a summer read.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I'd assume a summer read is a book you specifically buy to read while you're on summer holidays. (At beach or resort)

It would typically be less complex and short. Something you can read a few pages of between swimming, drinking cocktails or having fun.

Something that doesn't tax the brain or demand too much attention.

[Brad]

Ah, that’s definitely not The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle then.

[Joelle]

Keith wrote: "Brad wrote: "I’m about 50 pages into The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and am bored to tears. I just can’t seem to find any book that I’m interested in lately."

I liked 19Q4, but that ..."

My favorite Murakami is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World but I’ve only read it and 1Q84.

[Ruth]

Started the audiobook of She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. So far it’s gripping if a bit on the grim side. It reminds me of The Poppy War.

In dead tree edition I’m reading My Brilliant Friend, a non-speculative book set in twentieth-century Naples- it’s the first book in a series called the Neapolitan Quartet.

[Rick]

Finally got around to reading Agency, the second book by William Gibson set in his Jackpot universe. It was.. fine. Oddly, given the title, the characters we follow have no real agency and the central conflict ends up resolved offscreen. It's got the trademark Gibsonian prose but feels like minor Gibson.

[John (Taloni)]

Read Time Crime by H. Beam Piper. Don't know how I managed to miss Piper in my younger years, he's great. This book was a welcome antidote to the overwhelming downbeat of Crudrat.

The MCs are part of a crosstime civilization. They face a group that's running a slave trade across alternate realities. The action jumps from timeline to timeline and the home locations are generally appealing.

I say "generally" because the civilization is more than a little amoral. Their law enforcement is more concerned about the secret of alternate reality travel than about the slavery itself - that's even allowed depending on its status in the alternate reality. Not sure what Piper's point exactly is here, but my take was that nothing is black and white and good actors can arise in amoral situations.

The book reminded me mostly of Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium - not as good but a solid second. This book jumped around a lot and the plot was sometimes hard to follow. It pulled together nicely at the end tho. There are more books featuring the same universe. I'll be glad to give them a read.