What are you reading right now? For 2024

[John]

I'm not yet finished Echo of Worlds, but I'll need to get moving as its a library book and needs to be returned.

Sometimes its more trouble to borrow a book from the library, bur our local library was under threat of closure last year and was only saved by a concerted campaign. As the local authority had claimed that it wasn't used enough, everyone is trying to ensure we make more use of it.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished rereading April 7. This is a good place to break in this series, so I’m going to tackle my pile of free previews, free books, and KU books that I have on my ereader to see if anything grabs me. If nothing does I’ll take another stab at the books I started reading and put aside.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Found a few romances that were worth reading (and did). Still can’t get into fantasy for some reason except in a trusted series. None of the SF books grabbed me. So I’m back rereading April series. Currently on #8 It's Always Something by Mackey Chandler.

Here’s a quote I saved from it one of the previous times I read it:
“Some people would jump at the opportunity to wield such power,” Heather told her.

“Some people would juggle hand grenades as a hobby,” Dakota said.

“A poor simile,” Heather said. “A grenade has a much smaller lethal radius than a government official in full plumage.”

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished April #8 days ago. April #9 is too easy to get distracted from. It helps me to just skip the scenes set in California after the Vandenburg bombing. When I’m in the mood for post apocalyptic I reread the series starting with April #9 but skipping the non-California scenes.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Finished rereading April #9. Currently about 40% through rereading April #10. I’m still skipping the scenes set in California. If memory serves the California characters that eventually make it to space finally get there in April #12.

Tomorrow a new fantasy book is scheduled to drop in a series I love, so I’ll definitely be taking another break from the April series.

[John]

In November I'll be reading our READER BOTM - Aurora, but I don't want to start it on the kindle until I've finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata.

So in the meantime I'll be reading the "failed" nomination for October's BOTM - The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey, a copy of which has finally become available in the library - and if I don't enjoy it more than our choice for October (Lost Solace), I'll eat my library card.

[John]

John wrote: "In November I'll be reading our READER BOTM - Aurora, but I don't want to start it on the kindle until I've finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata.

So in the meantim..."

...and re our thread about book covers - it has an interesting cover, with not a space ship in sight...

[Caitlin]

I’ve started reading Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake - the brooding castle setting felt appropriate for late fall. It’s been two years since I read the first volume, Titus Groan, but Peake’s inimitable prose got me right back into his world.

[David]

SPACER by Stephen Pratt. Hard to put down.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I haven’t been reading much SF recently however I enjoyed a free short story set on a space station, from the point of view of an alien. This particular alien plays a key part in the first section of Outcaste by Christie Meierz which is being published later this month, either the 12th or the 19th (author says 12th, but Amazon says 19th). I thoroughly enjoyed the eARC of this book and have it preordered.

The short story is called “Two-Five’s Adventure”, and can be read for free on the author’s website:
https://christiemeierz.com/freestuff/...

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

New Bob and Nikki book just out today: Deuces Wild by Jerry Boyd. This is #52 of the series.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I finished Deuces Wild about bedtime yesterday. It was almost entirely set on Earth, however the fleet is heading out again at the end of the book, so next month’s book will be space opera again.

[John]

I have to admit that the reviews suggest I'm wrong - but I find it difficult to take seriously a series that now extends to 52 books (and as a recent review states "there is no end in site" (their spelling).)

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Bob’s Saucer Repair and most of the rest of the Bob and Nikki books is what used to be termed pulp fiction. Somewhat similar to a TV sitcom, or perhaps an episode of Star Trek.

[John]

Teresa wrote: "Bob’s Saucer Repair and most of the rest of the Bob and Nikki books is what used to be termed pulp fiction. Somewhat similar to a TV sitcom, or perhaps an episode of Star Trek."

I think then that I owe it to the memory of many happy hours watching Star Trek to at least try some pulp SF.

Teresa, what would you recommend as a good example of a Bob & Nikki book?

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Try the first one: Bob’s Saucer Repair. Or just the free preview of the ebook. Later books introduce various alien species and the robots grow real personalities, but that’s the book that hooked me.

I’m sure this author is one of the “love or hate” with not much in between. Nathan Lowell is another author that readers tend to either love or hate.

[John]

Thanks Teresa, I checked to see if any Glasgow Libraries had a copy but no luck, so I've just bought it. It's pretty short so I should be able to fit it in after The Hydrogen Sonata, and before it's time to start December reads.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Most of what I’ve been reading recently has not been SF at all, however I just finished a novella that is set on a space station: Lost: A Christmas Novella by Jenny Schwartz. I liked her series that started with Space Deputy but didn’t get hooked on her next two series. Apparently she has another series coming out in February but is keeping details secret.

[John]

Teresa wrote: "Most of what I’ve been reading recently has not been SF at all, however I just finished a novella that is set on a space station: Lost: A Christmas Novella by Jenny Schwart..."</i>

I read [book:Astray back in February when it was a Limited BOTM for the group - it was OK, but not OK enough to make me read any more. But who can resist a Christmas novella - so I've just downloaded a copy of Lost: A Christmas Novella.

[Caitlin]

I started in on The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks last night, as part of the Culture series buddy read.

[John]

Caitlin wrote: "I started in on The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks last night, as part of the Culture series buddy read."

I hope you enjoy it Caitlin - how long is it since you first read it?

I'm about three quarters of the way through at the moment. (It's longer than I'd remembered!)

[Caitlin]

It’s been about ten years since my first read, John - I read it when it came out in 2013.

[John]

Since I've finished The Hydrogen Sonata a few days early, I have time to squeeze in the novella that Teresa mentioned - Lost: A Christmas Novella by Jenny Schwartz.

[John]

Finished Lost: A Christmas Novella - it's more of a short story than a novella. It's a pleasant enough short read, but with nothing that makes it stand out.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Yeah, Lost was readable but not something I’m likely to reread, unless the author writes what happens next.

I recently reread part of The Fall by Christie Meierz (looking for the parts that included Bertie) then reread Farryn's War which is our December Limited Pick. Not sure what I want to read next.

[John]

It may just be me, but I find that my reading starts winding down a bit in late November, when I'm starting to roughly plan out what my reading is going to be in the following year. Plus, reading time in December is reduced as you spend more time going to grandkids nativity plays and school shows, going to at least one pantomime ("Oh yes I will"), shopping...and then remembering what its all about and trying to fit in at least one or two religious events!

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I reread Food Fight by Christie Meierz which is a short story set between Farryn's War and Rembrandt's Station. It’s likely available free on BookFunnel.

Now I’m rereading Legacy by Bob Mauldin. If it holds my attention I’ll binge reread the series. It’s pulp fiction type space opera. Alien shuttle lands in the wilderness, and nearby campers (who like to read SF) investigate. Alien gives them the key to the shuttle before dying. Campers decide to test out the shuttle instead of waiting for the military to hog all the fun.

[dc]

I've got my hands on the first two Sun Eater books for the holiday break. Currently plowing though Empire of Silence and loving it.

[Betsy]

dc wrote: "I've got my hands on the first two Sun Eater books for the holiday break. Currently plowing though Empire of Silence and loving it."

753 pages! That's an epic. Is it worth it?

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I’m still working on my reread of Legacy by Bob Mauldin. I keep getting distracted by other books, and now I remember just how much I hated the ending of the first book (but the start of the second book redeems it). I’m trying to wait until December to reread Remnant Population for our Themed Pick, and I want to hold off on rereading Rembrandt's Station by Christie Meierz in case we pick it for January (it’s the sequel to Farryn's War).

[John]

I'm trying to squeeze another short book in before starting my December "Culture Series" read.

So I've started reading my first "Bob and Nikki" book - Bob's Saucer Repair.

[John]

I'm half-way through Bob's Saucer Repair and enjoying it more as I get tuned-in to the humour; I imagine you enjoy it more, the more books you read - although I can't see me committing to a 52-book series! But I'm guessing that a number of group members who've been reading the series from the beginning have done just that?

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I first read Bob’s Saucer Repair when there were just two books published in the series. When a series is lengthy most of the time I lose interest eventually. I’m surprised I haven’t done that with this series, although when I reread it I tend to quit around book 6 or 7 (Captain Caveman.

[John]

Page 110 of Bob's Saucer Repair and I think I need to take a short break from it. The incessant wisecracks and the constant "Space cadet" and "Caveman" stuff are growing very stale. Also, a lot of the American movie/TV show references go straight over my head.

I'm hoping that he maybe got all of that stuff out of his system after the first couple of books - so I might jump in next a few books into the series.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

Don’t bother. The books all do the caveman/space cadet bit, and most of them have references to movies and old SF books.

[John]

I've finished Bob's Saucer Repair, and enjoyed it by the end - a three-star rating from me. It was a pleasant, undemanding read and funny in parts - and there are times when that's exactly the sort of book we want.

I suspect that I missed out on a lot of the allusions to movies and songs etc, and on some of the humour - American and British humour can be very different! (And at one point I searched back a few pages to look for the appearance of the "Mr Franklin" who helped them out with a problem, before it dawned on me what they meant.)

I very much doubt if I'll read any more of the series, but I'm glad I read this one.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I’m currently rereading Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon. It’s not gripping me as strongly as the last time I reread it, but that’s probably because I’ve been easily distracted from most of the books I’ve started reading recently. And it doesn’t help that I remember the plot too well.

[John]

I'm now starting a re-read of Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks.

This was his first science fiction novel not to feature, or be set in, the Culture. Banks wrote an epilogue to the book that did not appear with the published text, but is available separately online - I didn't read this, or know of it, first time round, so I'm looking forward to checking it out once I've finished the novel.

"Lady Sharrow was once the fearless leader of a combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the vicinity of the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz - a religious cult hellbent on assassinating her - and her only hope of escape is to ­find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz track her down.

Her journey through the exotic Golterian system is a destructive and savage odyssey into her past, and that of her family and of the system itself"

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I’ve finished rereading Remnant Population. I have a preordered fantasy book coming out on Tuesday, but I don’t have any new SF in my pile of free unread stuff.

[John]

I can't match your pace, Teresa - I'm barely 10% into Against a Dark Background; interestingly I haven't remembered any of it so far.

[John]

Its that time of year again when numerous publications deliberate on their "book of the year", so why don't we do the same?

I'd love to hear what other group members choose as -

1. Their favourite book of the year from the books selected by the Space Opera Fans group in 2024.
2. Their favourite SF book of 2024, whether read by this group or not.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

From books the group chose: Ribbon Dance by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

From other books: Outcaste by Christie Meierz

Please note that I excluded books that I reread in 2024, just went by books I read for the first time in 2024.

[John]

I'm following Teresa's example and excluding re-reads, so

From Books the group chose - Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey

From other books - The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

[John]

I'm now a third of the way through Against a Dark Background and its beginning to pick up the pace - I'm still hopeful of finishing before Christmas celebrations get in the way of reading.

[Caitlin]

I found Against A Dark Background so interesting for the various shifts in tone the story undergoes, John - I had no idea until the end where the story was going, in a good way!

[John]

Caitlin wrote: "I found Against A Dark Background so interesting for the various shifts in tone the story undergoes, John - I had no idea until the end where the story was going, in a good way!"

Interestingly, I think Against a Dark Background was his first SF book - he wrote it immediately after leaving university, but it was apparently based on ideas he'd worked out in his first year as an undergraduate. He said that it was originally meant to be "a fantasy novel with a totally rational scientific background."

[John]

I've finished Against a Dark Background, and also read the Epilogue he wrote years later. I'd forgotten most of the book, and greatly enjoyed it - 5 stars from me.

In some ways it's a fairly straight-forward (but bloody) adventure story - a sort of SF Magnificent Seven. Golter is an example of extreme capitalism, a failed state where everything is for sale to the highest bidder. Another theme is religious extremism, religion as a means of control, contributing to a disordered society.

(Many aspects of Banks' books seem to see into the future - the character of Geis, created in the 1970s, feels - to me at least - like some sort of foul combination of Trump and Musk).

[John]

I've got time to squeeze another book in before we start our January choices, so I'm going to read Space Team by Barry J. Hutchison - which I remember (hopefully correctly!) as a nice light-hearted read.

[Caitlin]

I see a lot of the same themes in Against A Dark Background, John - it is prescient and that is probably because Banks understood historical cycles and the kinds of demagogue-type figures that arise at different moments of history.

[John]

I'm 20% of the way through Space Team and Cal has just met up with the rest of the team.