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What Else Are You Reading?
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What else are you reading - July 2024
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Rob, Roberator
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Jul 01, 2024 08:14AM
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Rob wrote: "leaning towards going back to some Michael J Sullivan and finally giving one of his Riyria prequel series a try (since I own all/most of the books already)"If you’re talking about the various “Age of…” books, I liked most of them quite a lot, but I also listened to the GraphicAudio dramatizations of them, which were stellar. Still, a couple 5-star stories among the six installments.
I've decided to jump into Discworld. I read The Color of Magic years ago and never continued the series. I can't remember why. I do remember enjoying it. So, I'm rereading it and then I'll continue in publication order.
^ TBH I didn't particularly enjoy the first two Discworld books. I suppose they rose to the level of "adequate" which got Pratchett a deal for more, and I'm quite grateful for that. But they do make a significant rise in quality starting with book 3.
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If you’re talking about the..."
No. I read those and I was kind of up and down on them. I really liked books 1 and 3, but found the last 2 books slow.
This is a shorter series that is between that one and the original called "The Rise and Fall". It starts with Nolyn
Nolyn was the one I got to beta read on while I was laid off during the pandemic. I liked it, it was my first exposure to Sullivan. I thought it worked pretty good as a beginning, even though I’m sure I missed things that those who had read the earlier books would pick up on. I might read a few more in the series at some time.
John (Nevets) wrote: "Nolyn was the one I got to beta read on while I was laid off during the pandemic. I liked it, it was my first exposure to Sullivan. I thought it worked pretty good as a beginning, even though I’m s..."He’s a good writer but none of his subsequent characters can hold a candle to Royce and Hadrian.
Will nodded toward Hadrian. “Look at the swords he’s carrying. A man wearing one—maybe he knows how to use it, maybe not. A man carries two—he probably don’t know nothing about swords, but he wants you to think he does. But a man carrying three swords—that’s a lot of weight. No one’s gonna haul that much steel around unless he makes a living using them.”
“So,” Royce said, “you want us to escape from this prison, kidnap the king, cross the countryside with him in tow while dodging soldiers who I assume might not accept our side of the story, and go to another secret prison so that he can visit an inmate?”
Arista did not appear amused. “Either that, or you can be tortured to death in four hours.”
“Sounds like a really good plan to me,” Hadrian declared.“Royce?”
“I like any plan where I don’t die a horrible death.”
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I agree. I'm just waiting for his latest Royce and Handrian adventure to come out on audio book. Drumindor. It's a story that's been alluded too in several of the books too, so I've been hoping he'd finally write it.
He did a kickstarter for the ebook months ago (I want to say February?). Presumably it's taking forever for the audio because Tim Gerard Reynolds is now a very in demand narrator
I have just finished City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky in audiobook, I’m now moving straight into the sequel, House of Open Wounds. It’s a fantasy book set in a multicultural city with different cultures, types of magic and even gods rubbing along together… until revolution starts fomenting. I have no idea what the sequel has in store.
Starting off with a book I have no memory of why I brought it, other than it might have been on sale, So, first up is The King's Bastard by Rowena Cory Daniells. Later on my pre- order of the new Lev Grossman book The Bright Sword. Lev gong to foray into an Arthurian world and I am fairly excited by the prospect. Hope the BOM hold from the LAPL come in before the month is up.
Just finished the latest from Robert Jackson Bennett, the fantasy/mystery The Tainted Cup. I thought it was great. For some reason, I've read quite a few SFF/mystery blends lately and this was the best of the lot. About equal parts fantasy and mystery and both parts work.
Finished Chlorine, a solid 4 star read and great debut novel.
My copy of Cursed Bunny just came in and I picked up Lost in the Moment and Found at the same time. Also just started The Eyes Are the Best Part which has hooked me in the first few chapters. Deliciously disturbing so far.
My copy of Cursed Bunny just came in and I picked up Lost in the Moment and Found at the same time. Also just started The Eyes Are the Best Part which has hooked me in the first few chapters. Deliciously disturbing so far.
John (Taloni) wrote: "^ TBH I didn't particularly enjoy the first two Discworld books. I suppose they rose to the level of "adequate" which got Pratchett a deal for more, and I'm quite grateful for that. But they do mak..."Yes, standard advice for Discworld newbies: Skip The First Two Books.
I am reading Ghost Story by Jim Butcher and The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (which is also a Rincewind novel). I realized I kind of stalled on Discworld after Pratchett passed, so I try to read at least one a year.
Steve wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "^ TBH I didn't particularly enjoy the first two Discworld books. I suppose they rose to the level of "adequate" which got Pratchett a deal for more, and I'm quite grateful for..."I'm about half way through Color and it's not bad. It's a bit silly but I see evidence of Pratchett's sharp humor. I guess since I don't have anything to compare it to, I don't find it skippable. Maybe after I've read more I'll see what others mean about the first two books not being very good.
Just finished The Comfort of Ghosts, the final book in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series.Started the audio version of Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon. (FYI, the entire Vatta's War series appears to be free to Audible subscribers at present. No idea how long that will last.)
I finished Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon because of its nomination for the Hugo (er. I think it was the Hugo.) I really liked the premise but I found overall it missed the mark. I'm a writing/character doorway type and the writing wasn't great. The dialog was very choppy and in places quite awkward. I can see why it generated interest but ultimately it didn't live up to the potential for me. It needed a really solid editor to straighten out the kinks.
Finished the last couple of Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser books (Swords and Ice Magic and The Knight and Knave of Swords) and decided to mix things up with some SF: Alastair Reynolds's Aurora Rising.
Finally reading Splinter of the Mind's Eye, 40 years after it came out. I don't know what my reaction might have been had I read it in its time. Probably considered it halfway decent continuation fiction.From the remove now it is hilariously dated. Luke is hot for Leia, and she acts like a petulant idiot instead of the considered strategist she is now known for. Derivations into the Force are silly in light of later canon.
Then there's the planet Luke and Leia land on. It's so much like Dagobah that I wonder if Lucas is stealing from Foster or vice versa. Lucas is the more obvious, er, "borrower," but they could have been brainstorming ideas. I kinda want to say the on-planet villain was later stolen for The Mandalorian, but actually, it's such a basic trope that no theft was needed for them to be similar.
Anyway, it's kinda tough to keep reading this even with its competition only being the next Dungeon Crawler Carl book, a series for which I have other reservations. But at least Carl is recent.
I went in expecting a classic - dated and superseded but showing signs of brilliance. At the 35% mark I am not feeling it. Apologies to those who love this book. It's short so I'll finish it, but it'll take a push.
I finished The Color of Magic and I enjoyed it. It didn't wow me but I will continue with the series.I've started Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV. I'm about a quarter of the way in and absolutely loving it. It's so well written and researched.
I'm listening to Troy: The Greek Myths Reimagined, third of the series. I think it's just as good as the first two.
Haaa, finished Splinter of the Mind's Eye faster than I thought. Hit the 60% mark of the book, felt like it was ending and I wondered what else they would do. Nope, that was the end, with another 100 pages of Thrawn tacked on to the end as a "preview."So. The book got better and by the end I found it an adequate read. I'd call this "wet Barsoom" as Our Heroes go through trackless wastes (here, tunnels), meet up with big not-Tharks (but yanno) and engage in arena fighting. Then there's a face off with Darth, hilariously wrong given later canon, but probably worked at the time.
I did recognize behavior from Darth that I remembered from ROTJ, but wasn't apparent in the first movie. It furthers the idea for me that Lucas stole from Foster. (But then Foster stole from Burroughs...oh, who hasn't.) This has probably been discussed at length elsewhere, but I'm not sure I want to go looking. If anyone is a fan and remembers, please feel free.
Also read the nonfiction God's Debris by Scott Adams. Adams flatters himself that he has discovered brand new philosophical ground. Yyyyeah. I recognized most of this from works by Jung that pre-dated Adams's work by 50+ years. Most of it is "asking the 2 million year old man" for insight - interrogating the collective unconscious.Anyhoo. The central idea of the book is that the Universe was created by God fragmenting himself, and is now working towards reunification. I mean, nice concept and all, fits with the Big Bang, but it does kinda destroy the entire concept of personal destiny and free will. No thanks. I liked this idea better in Babylon 5 where Straczynski had Delenn say "We are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out". And hey, he got it out in a sentence and didn't need a whole stuffy book to express the idea.
Adams also seems to think he's solved wave-particle duality. Er...no.
Best part of this book was the one on social organization. He talks about charismatic leaders and how they influence people to do things that are not good for themselves, to help the charismatic person. Um...yes, actually! Good point. It makes the Libertarian in me want to say "hell yeah!" The implication is that we are better off as a society without charismatic leaders creating policy. That's a yes from me.
John (Taloni) wrote: "Then there's a face off with Darth, hilariously wrong given later canon, but probably worked at the time."Splinter is more evidence that Lucas was making everything up as he went along. The whole idea that he had an entire saga planned out is laughable. His “trilogy of trilogies” master plan is revisionist history. I followed Star Wars avidly back then and at various times he said there would be 6 films, then 12 films, and then 7 films, until he settled on 9 films. It’s all just silly and aggravating that he felt the need to shine everyone on.
Started Paladin’s Grace last night and I quite like it. It is pretty funny at times, such as this amusing exchange:Three paladins are serving as guards to a bishop during a state dinner:
”Istvhan, you ever kill someone with an ice swan?” he whispered.
“I clubbed someone unconscious with a frozen goose once. That’s similar?”
The Bishop suffered a mysterious coughing fit.
“No, you had to use the goose as a bludgeon, didn’t you? For the swan, I figure you’d snap the head off and try to stab with the neck.”
“Hmmm…” Istvhan eyed the ice sculpture speculatively. “It’s pretty big. And not well balanced.”
“I figure you’d have to go two-handed with it.”
“I think I’d grab one of the candelabras instead. Some of those are nice and heavy.”
“Far too unwieldy. I could take you apart with the ice swan while you were still trying to get the candelabra off the ground.”
“Gentlemen,” said Beartongue, “I forbid you to smash the Archon’s decor and try to duel with it.”
“Yes, your holiness.”
“I’ll have you both excommunicated.”
Stephen coughed. “Technically we’re not in your church, your holiness.”
“Then I will have you confirmed so that I can excommunicate you even harder.”
“Yes, your holiness.”
He and Istvhan traded smug looks. Shane gazed into the distance, perhaps imagining a place where he had suitably serious colleagues.
I'm reading/listening to library books at the moment. I finished listening to The Roald Dahl Audio Collection this morning. I never read these books as a kid but enjoyed them as a 40-something adult. I finished it just in time for my hold on A Prayer for the Crown-Shy to become available. On e-book I'm reading Alexander Hamilton.
I’m continuing my Discworld read with Reaper Man. I have read it before but not for many years, looking forward to reading it again!
Just finished Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry.Greek myths were one of my gateway drugs into SF&F when I was a boy and it was a lot of fun to revisit them now. Fry writes with typically dry British wit and you can certainly hear his voice in your head as you read.
One thing that surprised me to learn was that about 80% of the stories were about sex and almost all the gods were bisexual. Of course an innocent 10 year old Catholic boy reads with a different understanding than a not so innocent 61 year old atheist.
I'll get to the next book in the series next year.
Next up is A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
Phil wrote: "Just finished Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry.Greek myths were one of my gateway drugs into SF&F when I was a boy and it was a lot of fun to revisit them now. Fry wri..."
My introduction to Greek myths (lo these many years ago) was D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, which I revisited recently and thought it held up well, but rereading it as an adult, boy did it gloss over a lot of stuff. Like the woman who dressed up in a cow suit because she, um, thought that one bull was really nice.
Joseph wrote: "Phil wrote: "Just finished Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry.Greek myths were one of my gateway drugs into SF&F when I was a boy and it was a lot of fun to revisit them..."
Yes, I'm sure the versions my school library had weren't all that forthcoming either.
I have also read Bulfinch's Mythology and the Greek Myths by Robert Graves many years ago.
About halfway through The Shining. You sure get a lot of inner thoughts and magazine articles. Just got to the topiary scene. As a bonus, the current paperback is in old man font (unlike Altered Carbon which is in teen boy font). Danny has his powers from the movie except the talking finger.
I'm reading The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei, and I'm really digging the deep space thrills, and the concept. The main character's jaded nature is getting to me a bit, but I'm willing to hear more of her backstory to understand what her deal is. Right now, she just sounds like an overgrown moody teenager, but I'm only 70 pages in, so she has time to grow.I also just finished the novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson, which was really well-written, had a cool older woman protagonist and feline companion. Fantastic world too.
I keep running out of time on my Libby audiobooks (my summer schedule has not been kind to my audio-routine), so I JUST finished Barrayar (really liked it), and am eagerly awaiting the return of To Shape a Dragon's Breath which I'm halfway through. It's an alternative history of colonial North America from an Indigenous perspective, but also with dragons! Again, excellent concept, and really liking the various metaphors and trope-flips. However, the protagonist is almost too competent and perfect. She's 15 and always says just the right thing, and has very 21st-century perspectives, which is a little unrealistic to me. I also felt that way about Iron Widow... I feel like SFF YA is reinventing the Competent Man trope of the 50s - whose unbeatable logic saved the world - but instead of a man, it's a Competent Young Woman whose emotional intelligence fixes the world. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Also, I'm finishing of the manga series of Naruto, which I followed as a teen/young adult, then I got "too mature" for it with just a couple issues left to be published and never finished. Now I'm older and don't care about reading kid-teen stuff vs "mature" stuff, and want to know how it ends, haha.
Chris K. wrote: "I've decided to jump into Discworld. I read The Color of Magic years ago and never continued the series. I can't remember why. I do remember enjoying it. So, I'm rereading it and th..."It is so long you could read a sub series See https://www.discworldemporium.com/rea... for a good break down of how to attack the Disc.
The not sure where to start can help.
I would start with the Death, Watch or Witches series. The Unseen University are more uneven.
Or a standalone like Small Gods which is excellent.
^ I read scattered books, then started at the beginning and plowed through. First up was, IIRC, Equal Rites, Making Money, Mort, Guards! Guards! ...somewhere around there I decided to read them all.
Tbh with the Discworld series I think there’s a lot of people who get put off by all the discussion about where to start. I don’t think it has to be complicated: either pick one up at random and see if you like it (they’re all basically standalone) or, if you want to be more systematic about it, start with the first one, The Colour of Magic, and accept that there’s a certain amount of Early Installment Weirdness to the first few books.
Thanks for the link to the Discworld Emporium. Cool site.Chronological order is the way for me. It's just easier IMO. I'll start The Light Fantastic after I've finished reading The Bright Sword, the new Lev Grossman novel. Just waiting for my copy to come in at the library.
I'm about halfway through The Saint of Bright Doors, another common nominee in this year's book awards. Unlike Brass Head, I'm loving this one. Its a mysterious, hidden, but captivating plotline. Well written. The characters have an impressive depth of backstory lurking under the surface of what you see. If you like well-defined magic systems this book isn't it. It feels a bit like a historical fantasy because of the society and politics and the MC's provincial background but it isn't; there are modern conveniences and public transit and...its a fascinating hodgepodge.
Oaken wrote: "I'm about halfway through The Saint of Bright Doors, another common nominee in this year's book awards. Unlike Brass Head, I'm loving this one."I just finished that one and really liked it too. I'm not sure if I entirely liked the way it ended, but I could see how it would be satisfying for some. I would definitely echo your thoughts about it being a 'fascinating hodgepodge' of stuff. It's pure fantasy, it seems, to start off, with a kid being raised to be an assassin for cultish religious sect, but it immediately takes a really welcome turn to skip a bunch of years to where the kid is now in his 20's and trying to make it on his own in a new place and going to therapy for his childhood issues and going to group meetings for people related to divinities but cast out of their cults. It's really neat. Definitely at least worth trying just because it tries to do some really unique things.
I finished reading Solaris by Stanisław Lem. It’s a book that makes you think. The question posed is what you do when you encounter an alien lifeform that is impossible to communicate with. I also watched the movies based on the novel from 1972 and 2002. It was an interesting experience. I am reading read Thinner by Stephen King. I plan to read Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin next. It is the book that the MAX show House of the Dragon is based on.
Just gave up on A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. This is a non-genre book that a coworker forcibly leant me when she saw me reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by the same author a couple years ago so I felt obligated to read it eventually. It rotates through it's 3-page chapters through the 4 members of an English family and the mundane conflicts they're having with one another and after about 70 pages I realized I just don't give a shit about any of them. It's like listening to a neighbor you barely know blather on about their boring personal life. It reminded me of Something Happened by Joseph Heller a little bit. This is my first DNF in a couple years.Next up is Matter by Iain M. Banks
Phil wrote: "Just gave up on A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. This is a non-genre book that a coworker forcibly leant me when she saw me reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Ti..."“I appreciate the loan but it wasn’t for me. Thanks, though.”
I just finished that one and really liked it too. I'm not sure if I entirely liked the way it ended, but I could see how it would be satisfying for some..."I just finished it. Wow, the ending really threw me for a minute but on reflection it made a ton of sense. The shift was quite subtly foreshadowed all through the book and it answered a lot of questions. I'm not often that surprised by an ending but the more I think about it the more I like it. My copy of the e-book had an excerpt from his next novel, Rakesfall; will definitely pick it up.
I’ve started reading The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle for WorldCon related reasons. I think it was a group read a while back, I can’t remember why I didn’t read it at the time.Edited to add: it was the pick back in June of 2019. Looking back at the announcement thread, it seems there was no audio or kindle version available at the time and I didn’t read it with the group because I was struggling to get hold of it. I was with a different library system back then. Now, I got it from my local library without any problems- but I’m struggling with the small print (middle aged eyes). I checked amazon and discovered that the ebook is available again - and it was on offer at 99p! So I’ve bought the kindle version to save my poor eyes.
I've started The Bright Sword, the new Lev Grossman book. His Magicians series is one of my favorites and I was very excited to read this. I'm about 20% in and loving it.
Now that I’ve switched to reading The Last Unicorn on my Kindle, I’ve started a new physical book, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, a historical novel about Lucrezia de’Medici, a young daughter of the Duke of Florence who was sent to marry a murderous husband. Not a fantasy book but a bit of a Game of Thrones vibe.
I'm currently reading Post Captain, by Patrick O'Brian, and it starts with a hard swerve into Jane Austen territory, which has taken some getting used to. It does finally get back into the more familiar Life On The High Seas, but it had me concerned for a while. It appears O'Brien decided that he needed to expand his world-building to setup the ongoing series, so I'm going with it for the time being...
Steve wrote: "I'm currently reading Post Captain, by Patrick O'Brian, and it starts with a hard serve into Jane Austen territory, which has taken some getting used to. It does finally get back in..."I’m gradually working my way through the Aubrey/Maturin books too! The third book, HMS Surprise, has more naval action again. We had a longer conversation about O’Brian’s books in the Classics thread,
I read Paladin's Strength, the sequel to Paladin’s Grace, and it was also enjoyable. Same world, different characters. 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️Listened to the non-fiction Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk, yet another entry in the “sailing wooden ships to a pole is a really dumb idea” genre. If you really like dogs, skip this one. 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read The Never Wars an excellent book that starts off as a typical MilSF but evolves into something deeper. 4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
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Theft of Fire (other topics)
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Elizabeth Moon (other topics)Devon Eriksen (other topics)
Eugene B. Sledge (other topics)
Phil Tucker (other topics)
Maggie O'Farrell (other topics)
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