What are you reading now? Showing 3,651-3,700 of 5,286

[Sharon]

I. Curmudgeon wrote: "What happens on deployment, stays on deployment..."

snicker

[Mike (the Paladin)]

True.

[Miekey]

Pam (E.P. Scott) wrote: "I just finished ... it was a very good series and I hope the author has more ideas in his head because there was just enough threads there to maybe continue the story. I c..."

Mr. Howey has said there will be no more. :( But then, so did JK Rowling.

[Seeley]

I've finished (finally ... whew, 455 pages that could've been 290; review soon) and am moving on to .


Peace, Seeley

[Tim The Enchanter]

Just finished The Kill Artist . It was my first Daniel Silva book. There is plenty of spy vs. spy action in the book. The first half is slow as the story develops but it finishes on a high note.

[Naomi]

Going for three in a row... Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: Dance of Death, Book of the Dead, and now started on Wheel of DarknessDouglas Preston, Lincoln Child

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Careful, the Pendergast books are good, but I kind of burned out pn them.

[Travis]

Started

[Seeley]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Careful, the Pendergast books are good, but I kind of burned out pn them."

I almost burned out on them. The plots get pretty far out there with metaphysical/new age concepts. But the writing is so good, I read them anyway.

Peace, Seeley

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I know. I'm taking a break and pln to get back to them later.

[Sharon]

Just finished from my last library run. Very good high-tech thriller with a tech info and politics not overwhelming the storyline.

[Dave]

Close to finishing Extinction by Mark Alpert. Pretty good, but not quite what I expected (in a good way).

[Magiccats]

Just finished Blowback by Valerie Plame and I must say, thanks Jim for the recommendation. I really, really liked this book. It was a very good book with current political subject matter and thrilling with a bit of mystery. Oh, I must say the ending just whets your appetite for another in the series. I definitely recommend this book.

http://www.amazon.ca/Blowback-Vanessa...

[The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be]

On the last third of my re-read of Monster Hunter International. (sigh) this is such a fun read for me. Even the second time through.

[Tim The Enchanter]

Reading The Last Oracle. Didn't realize I was so far behind in reading these books. Having a house full of babies pretty much killed my reading the past four year. I have a lot of catching up to do.

[Travis]

Started

[Tim The Enchanter]

Travis of NNY wrote: "Started "

I have the audiobook for that one. Can't wait to start it. I've been waiting for it for so long I am afraid I will be disappointed.

[David]

Over half way thru by Raymond Benson. A pretty good James Bond (007) thriller.

[Travis]

Tim wrote: "Travis of NNY wrote: "Started "

I have the audiobook for that one. Can't wait to start it. I've been waiting for it for so long I am afraid I will be d..."

I too am audio and so far I have not been disappointed. Has more the feel of #1 by how it goes back in time to when they were learning how to become thieves all in a way to tell the tales of Sabitha. Flashbacks I should say.

[Eileen]

I finished and it's been a few days since I've finished this book. I can't decided how to rate this one. Anyone else have problems rating a book you've read? It was well written and a interesting idea for a story. It just didn't hold my interest or maybe as simple as I couldn't relate to the characters. I guess my point is, do you rate a book on just the writing or how much you enjoyed the book? To answer my own question, I'll give it 4 stars for writing and 3 stars for enjoyment.

[J.]

Just my opinion I count both aspects since it really takes good writing, characters that I care about, and a story that is interesting enough to fuel my want to keep reading. Certainly if it doesn't have all three I can't justify anything higher than 3 stars with an "it was okay" kind of review. Having said that, there are always exceptions.

[Travis]

I rate purely by enjoyment because there are many well written novels that just aren't for me. Also poor writing may be a reason for not enjoying but good writing does not guarantee you'll like it. Ex: Anna Karenina beautifully written but a big fat 2 stars because it wasn't for me

[Travis]

I finished which I enjoyed but was quite different than the previous books scheme wise. Started

[J.]

Hey Travis, are big fat stars worth more than the usual ones. By the way, good point, no matter how well written, if a book isn't something you like then it just isn't and for you few stars is the right call.

[Scott]

I recently read Doctor Sleep and The Exorcist.

Now I'm reading Roadwork.

[Travis]

J. wrote: "Hey Travis, are big fat stars worth more than the usual ones. By the way, good point, no matter how well written, if a book isn't something you like then it just isn't and for you few stars is the..."

Big fat ones are designated when you crap on a classic with a 1 or 2 star

[Eileen]

Travis of NNY wrote: "I rate purely by enjoyment because there are many well written novels that just aren't for me. Also poor writing may be a reason for not enjoying but good writing does not guarantee you'll like it..."

I agree with you. I ended up giving The Ghosts of Belfast 3 stars based on the enjoyment factor. From the reviews people have loved this book, maybe you will too or anyone else who reads it.

[Eileen]

Travis of NNY wrote: "J. wrote: "Hey Travis, are big fat stars worth more than the usual ones. By the way, good point, no matter how well written, if a book isn't something you like then it just isn't and for you few s..."

LOL!

[Tim The Enchanter]

Travis of NNY wrote: "Started "

I have just started this. Enjoying it so far!

[Travis]

While I did enjoy this third installment I had some issues getting myself mixed up with the past and present stories. It basically ends up being two stories in one book. The past story is interesting but I fail to see where it had any purpose to the present story other than providing some insight to sabitha and the gentlemen bastards. Once again the proper groundwork was laid to leave us waiting for book 4 but I won't go into any details on that.

[Ctgt]

I just finished a pretty long string of horror reads and am switching up a little bit.

Starting Ancillary Justice and The Companions.

[J.]

Hey Travis, You said "Big fat ones are designated when you crap on a classic with a 1 or 2 star" That got me laughing. I might have to go read a classic just so I can use the big fat ones. Would the first Agathe Christie mystery count as a classic because I am thinking of giving her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a read. I do like mysteries and have never read a single Christie. Seen PBS Masterpiece Mystery episodes based on her stuff.
Anyway, keep the one-liners coming. Book reviews too.

[Pierre]

Star Wars Old Republic: Revan and Kiss of Fire!

[Tim The Enchanter]

I just finished . I guess I have fallen behind in the Sigma Force Series. This one did not disappoint. As exciting as always. A short review

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

[The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be]

I am finishing A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and I'm finding it very enjoyable. It may not get a 5 star out of me but it's surely 4, maybe 4 and change. I need to see how things sort out in the next hour or so.



I'll pick up a short story inbetween this and my next read: Pagan by Andrew Chapman. I'm going to "Buddy Read" this one with somebody.

It's been billed to me as MHI with steamier scenes of physical intimacy. (yeah, you know what I mean.) I'm a big MHI fan, as you may know. :)

[Ctgt]

Just starting Midnight Riot. I think I saw Tim post about this series recently. This UF slipped under my radar somehow.

[Tim The Enchanter]

Ctgt wrote: "Just starting Midnight Riot. I think I saw Tim post about this series recently. This UF slipped under my radar somehow."

Excellent! I am a big fan of the series as I find it to be quite unique. The magic is light. Not the smash and burn of Dresden or found in the Alex Vera series.

I find it especially interesting how magic and science are closely entwined. The series essentially does away with the notion that magic and the occult go hand in hand.

I will look for your review.

[Magiccats]

Hm, sounds interesting. I just loaded "Midnight Riot" onto my kindle and think I will start this one too. Just finished another book so I am ready for something new. Thanks for the recommendation Tim and Ctgt.

[Tracy]

I am reading, well listening to and I there is an awesome surprise guest in this one. Harry Bosch is in this one as a detective. I am also reading and it's my first experience with a backwards book.

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

I've been listening my way through on audio. I'm still not too fond of books in this format...wish I had chosen to read it in print. Another good Matthew Reilly thriller regardless.

Just starting ...a free book I picked up for my Kindle.

[Tim The Enchanter]

Lisa P wrote: "I've been listening my way through on audio. I'm still not too fond of books in this format...wish I had chosen to read it in print. Another good Matthew R..."

I listed to the Seven Deadly Wonders. It was well done. The Jack West Jr. Series is pretty wild. Much crazier than his other series.

[Eileen]

Ctgt wrote: "Just starting Midnight Riot. I think I saw Tim post about this series recently. This UF slipped under my radar somehow."

I added this to my list. Let us know what you think.

[Ctgt]

Eileen wrote: "Ctgt wrote: "Just starting Midnight Riot. I think I saw Tim post about this series recently. This UF slipped under my radar somehow."

I added this to my list. Let us know what you t..."

It's got plenty of love from Tim, Mike and Lady D right here on AAA. I'll let you know.

[Travis]

I. Curmudgeon wrote: "I am finishing A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and I'm finding it very enjoyable. It may not get a 5 star out of me but it's surely 4, maybe 4 and change. I need ..."

I was gonna listen to the Vernor vinge book but the narration had some bad reviews did you read or listen to it

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

Thumbs up for Midnight Riot.

@ Hugh, I have Pagan on my Kindle. Let us know what you think.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

Wow, this year is almost over! We are nominating books for our last group read of the year. You can drop by the thread below to take part in the nomination process before November 19th.

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

[The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be]

Travis of NNY wrote: "I was gonna listen to the Vernor vinge book but the narration had some bad reviews did you read or listen to it."

I think I'll have to go on record as saying, I listened and this wasn't my favorite audiobook. If the nonsense is consistnet, then I tend to auto-adjust for it and tolerate. I was able to tolerate the audiobook. I found the voices a bit too cartoonish and the presentation more like a performance with a crocked version of Rich Little trying to do voices.

As for the content of the story, I liked it. I don't know how much the audiobook took away from it, but I liked the multi-level plot and found the Universe Building to be pretty cool. it was confusing in the begining, and that should have been fixed by an editor, but that's not very many pages of it and, under the circumstances, the confusion was warnted by the situation depicted in the book.

I'm not ready to put it on the same tier as Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga) which I really liked, but some people didn't like Hamilton's excruciating attention to detail and monsterous plot that spread out like the tentacles of a squid in all directions.

Vinge, did not write to that level of detail and relied more on character interaction and a sort of "odd" sci-fi enviromnet. To me the environment was sort of like Dr. Who meets Star Wars with some hard science thrown in. It sounds strange, but it counts as a winning combination. Again, this may have been coloured by the auidobook.

I enjoyed it. For those who are thinking of reading it, I'll add that I have an old and dear friend who goes under the GR Profile name of Roger Bozo and is an avid reader or sci-fi (and other things). My assessment of his tastes are that he likes the traditional Asimov and Foundation series type sci-fi and, he liked this one.

I didn't get that "traditoinal feel" from this series, which is not important to me, I like lots of things, but that may be because the audiobook was a little off center. Having said that, if Roger likes it, you can bet that lovers of traditional Hard Cci-fi will find something worthwhile in it and like it too.

So, bottom line, the audiobook is "questionable" the story is not, its an enjoyable and readable story. I recommend the book, and would put a "this may not be for everybody" disclaimer on the audiobook.

[The Pirate Ghost, Long John Silvers Wanna-be]

Danielle The Book Huntress (Angels Weep For Goodreads) wrote: "Thumbs up for Midnight Riot.

@ Hugh, I have Pagan on my Kindle. Let us know what you think."

Short version, not as good as MHI (what is?) but, it has some strong points and is a recommendable read. It is fun, lots of humor that everyone can get and probably some that is more UK culture oriented. I'm not sure I like all of the sexual inuendo and what it means, but some of that actually counts as a positive for world building (yeah, I'll explain that). I thought MHI, if it had a weakness, it was in the intimate scenes. This is like 180 degrees out, so it's issue is that it's got a bit too much in the intimate scenes. (not that it's bad, just that there was a lot to them that wasn't needed for this type of book).

It had good action scenes and, I liked the big end battle. It wasn't loose and in directionless, more loose as a point of style. Sort of James Bond in Dystopian Vampire Earth meets Michael Caine in "Zulu" the movie.

This may sum it up, "The problem with Vampires is that their over fed, over sexed and over here."

(I adapted that quote myself... I'm trying to decide if I should be proud of it.)

Overall, it's fun, exciting, not quite on the level of MHI and definatly not for children. The characters are likeable (a couple maybe cartoonish, but still likeable) and it reads almost like a converted illustrated novel.

Pam also read it. We were doing a buddy read but I think she'll be about done with it as I am now. So, there wasn't much time to buddy talk about it. It's a fast read, but her thoughts on it would be valuable too.

I'm going to call it recommendable. Fun, good sense of humor, oversexed (as opposed to undersexed) and "looser" as a matter of style and art than MHI. (In other words it's not a mistake or a problem issue it's just how he tells the story and it's okay).

I liked it. Fun read 3.5-4 stars for me.

[Eileen]

This may sum it up, "The problem with Vampires is that their over fed, over sexed and over here."

Hugh, be proud! I laughed out load when I read it!

I just finished it was an excellent book, which left me amazed that anyone could really want to be a Navy Seal. How proud I am that there are men and women who serve for this country and who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

I think my next read will be on the lighter side. Not sure what that will be.

[Sharon]

Downloaded the sample for which was good enough to convince me to buy a first book by an author I've never read before priced over $5 ... something that happens very rarely. Hope it lives up to the sample!