Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
I've just finished "All that's dead", the new Logan McRae novel by Stuart McBride. Very enjoyable, as they always are, but as it's been so long since I last read one (he's done one or two featuring different characters, so the last one was a while back) I'd forgotten what appear to be some key details.
essayer said:
Just read “Player of Games” from Ian (M) Banks’ Culture series - I’ve never read any of his books before, struggles initially to get into it but once I’d got my head around the “Culture” and he(?)’d gone off to the Empire it picked up a bit.
I quite enjoy the ‘far away Sci-fi’ genre and found a lot of Harry Harrison’s works in the same vein, especially the Stainless Steel Rat series.
Now moved on to Heinlein’s “Moon is a Harsh Mistress” and will try to make some inroads into it this weekend..
Iain M Banks, a favorite I quite enjoy the ‘far away Sci-fi’ genre and found a lot of Harry Harrison’s works in the same vein, especially the Stainless Steel Rat series.
Now moved on to Heinlein’s “Moon is a Harsh Mistress” and will try to make some inroads into it this weekend..
all his culture novels are awesome Just started A Dog Called Dez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS-s7UsvPZo
I've just finished "Down among the dead men" by Kerry Wilkinson, a kid is taken under the wing of a local gangster-type, spends a few years working up the organisation then wants out, doesn't end that well. It's a pretty good book, a few too many flash-backs for me, but a bit of a twist at the end. I wouldn't be put off buying other stuff from the same author, they have a series as well as this one.
Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to a lifetime under house arrest at the beginning of the Russian Revolution. His ‘house’ is a room in the most elegant hotel in Moscow and we follow Alexander as he copes with his confinement in the hotel and all the challenges that confront him as communism sweeps through Russia.
Beautifully written and engaging. Takes a little time to get into its stride but Amor Towles beautifully encapsulates life in a luxury hotel whilst the country goes through a period of massive upheaval and change.
Deffo worth a read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
droopsnoot said:
I've just finished "Down among the dead men" by Kerry Wilkinson, a kid is taken under the wing of a local gangster-type, spends a few years working up the organisation then wants out, doesn't end that well. It's a pretty good book, a few too many flash-backs for me, but a bit of a twist at the end. I wouldn't be put off buying other stuff from the same author, they have a series as well as this one.
I like his stuff - mainly the Jessica Daniels series, crime fiction with a dry sense of humour is exactly what I want when led by a pool.I've currently got 2 on the go
Mein kampf (just because it would be rude not to look at a different perspective)
And this:
Edited by Herbs on Friday 19th July 09:42
Legend83 said:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
100 pages in and not much has actually happened but the writing has taken me like a big wave and there is sufficient intrigue to make me want to read just one more chapter before bed. Great characters too.
I loved this book, a big departure from the kind of thing I normally read but it was great.100 pages in and not much has actually happened but the writing has taken me like a big wave and there is sufficient intrigue to make me want to read just one more chapter before bed. Great characters too.
So much so that I've purchased and read the rest of the series too, on book 4 now and thoroughly enjoying that too. Hard to put down!
After seeing Kiss live the other week I read Paul Stanley's Face The Music. Decided on the back of that I needed to read Gene Simmons Kiss And Makeup.
They tally quite well at the moment and both are equally disparaging about Peter Criss and Ace Frehley so once I'm done with Gene I think i'll read Peter and Ace for what I imagine is the other side of the story.
They tally quite well at the moment and both are equally disparaging about Peter Criss and Ace Frehley so once I'm done with Gene I think i'll read Peter and Ace for what I imagine is the other side of the story.
I've just finished 'Becoming Superman' by J. Michael Straczynski.
Covers his life and his families, parts of which they tried to keep secret, and his time as journalist, writing for radio, TV (live action and cartoons), comic books and films. often leaving a possible comfy job/contracts due to creative differences with the people in suits.
Its a great read, reading about his upbringing and the family issues (mainly due to his father) is hard going at times, but you can see where he got his drive and issues from.
For those not familiar with him some of his creations, writing, screen play credits over the years include
for TV -Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah, Sense8, The Twilight Zone, The Real Ghostbusters, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power
Films - Changeling, Ninja Assassin, Thor, Underworld: Awakening, World War Z
Comics - worked for for both DC and Marvel and doing stints writing for their biggest sellers Superman, Wonder Women , Spiderman, Fantastic 4, Thor
Covers his life and his families, parts of which they tried to keep secret, and his time as journalist, writing for radio, TV (live action and cartoons), comic books and films. often leaving a possible comfy job/contracts due to creative differences with the people in suits.
Its a great read, reading about his upbringing and the family issues (mainly due to his father) is hard going at times, but you can see where he got his drive and issues from.
For those not familiar with him some of his creations, writing, screen play credits over the years include
for TV -Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah, Sense8, The Twilight Zone, The Real Ghostbusters, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power
Films - Changeling, Ninja Assassin, Thor, Underworld: Awakening, World War Z
Comics - worked for for both DC and Marvel and doing stints writing for their biggest sellers Superman, Wonder Women , Spiderman, Fantastic 4, Thor
slopes said:
How to Become a Supple Leopard by Dr Kelly Starrett - a book based on making your body more supple, fixing poor posture and muscle imbalances etc blah blah, yadda yadda. Currently helping overcome a rotator cuff issue.
Ooohh feel your pain, had that few years back. It's slow. Good luck with recovery. Holiday reading over the last 2 weeks:
The Long Earth and The Long War (2nd reads of these) - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
The Crow Road - Iain Banks
The Death of Ian Ilyich, Happy Ever After and The Cossacks - Leo Tolstoy
The Dry - Jane Harper.
Bit of a mix of weight there, all great stuff.
Now back in the office reading bulls
t work emails. Grumpy face.
The Long Earth and The Long War (2nd reads of these) - Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
The Crow Road - Iain Banks
The Death of Ian Ilyich, Happy Ever After and The Cossacks - Leo Tolstoy
The Dry - Jane Harper.
Bit of a mix of weight there, all great stuff.
Now back in the office reading bulls
t work emails. Grumpy face.My excitement as the new Neal Stephenson, Fall, dropped in was tinged with nervousness. Would it be cryptonomicon or anathem ? First half of seveneves or the second ? I must report that it is all of these, but mixed up together in a continuous narrative.
It is unfortunately another example of "I'm now a really famous author and I don't need no steenkin' editor's notes". It is clear that nobody sat him down and said, "look, Neal, you've written a fantastic system of the world sequel, a fantastic mongoliad sequel, a fantastic exploration of the fakenews future, and a fantastic discourse on quantum computing. But do they all need to be in one book ?"
For that is what we have. Four books in one, spitting out great ideas. Ideas that like all the best sci-fi are completely obvious once someone has pointed them out to you but that you would never conceive for yourself. But what a structural muddle it is.
We open in the near future, with lots of shout outs to the SotW and Cryptonomicon characters. It is not at all necessary to read those prior to Fall, it's just to give the cognoscenti that warm glow of recognition and membership. The core plot is the emergence of technology allowing a brain to be copied to a computer and run in simulation. But before we get to that there's the first half of a superb book on social media, fake news, and identity. You're getting stuck into that and then bang, there's a wrenching context shift to what seems like one of those tedious dream sequences, the creative writing course equivalent of a 20 minute drum solo. It takes some skimming through the pages to realise that this isn't a very skippable part of the fake news book, it is now the actual book, and we are in a fantasy lord of the rings style perilous journey plot.
If you like that kind of thing, it seems well done. I don't particularly. I was hoping it would all revert to the opening structure in some way so kept going with it, but no, the entire back section is full of orcs. The main plot problems I have with this are that it is completely unrelated to the early parts of the book, and worst, there's no real consistency with the antagonist. It's never really clear what their problem is, why they are in conflict, and why their needs cannot be met really quite simply in the universe the author has set out.
Is it recommended ? Tricky. If you like the LotR schtick, then yes definitely, you'll like this. If you're a committed Stephenson fan then the first parts are probably just about worth it. Overall though it's a bit of a mess and if you're new to Stephenson you should absolutely not start with this book.
It is unfortunately another example of "I'm now a really famous author and I don't need no steenkin' editor's notes". It is clear that nobody sat him down and said, "look, Neal, you've written a fantastic system of the world sequel, a fantastic mongoliad sequel, a fantastic exploration of the fakenews future, and a fantastic discourse on quantum computing. But do they all need to be in one book ?"
For that is what we have. Four books in one, spitting out great ideas. Ideas that like all the best sci-fi are completely obvious once someone has pointed them out to you but that you would never conceive for yourself. But what a structural muddle it is.
We open in the near future, with lots of shout outs to the SotW and Cryptonomicon characters. It is not at all necessary to read those prior to Fall, it's just to give the cognoscenti that warm glow of recognition and membership. The core plot is the emergence of technology allowing a brain to be copied to a computer and run in simulation. But before we get to that there's the first half of a superb book on social media, fake news, and identity. You're getting stuck into that and then bang, there's a wrenching context shift to what seems like one of those tedious dream sequences, the creative writing course equivalent of a 20 minute drum solo. It takes some skimming through the pages to realise that this isn't a very skippable part of the fake news book, it is now the actual book, and we are in a fantasy lord of the rings style perilous journey plot.
If you like that kind of thing, it seems well done. I don't particularly. I was hoping it would all revert to the opening structure in some way so kept going with it, but no, the entire back section is full of orcs. The main plot problems I have with this are that it is completely unrelated to the early parts of the book, and worst, there's no real consistency with the antagonist. It's never really clear what their problem is, why they are in conflict, and why their needs cannot be met really quite simply in the universe the author has set out.
Is it recommended ? Tricky. If you like the LotR schtick, then yes definitely, you'll like this. If you're a committed Stephenson fan then the first parts are probably just about worth it. Overall though it's a bit of a mess and if you're new to Stephenson you should absolutely not start with this book.
Claire North - Touch (author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356504565?_encoding=U...
Kepler is like you, but not like you.
With a simple touch, Kepler can move into any body, live any life - for a moment, a day or for years.
And your life could be next.
Just started it and enjoying it so far.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356504565?_encoding=U...
Kepler is like you, but not like you.
With a simple touch, Kepler can move into any body, live any life - for a moment, a day or for years.
And your life could be next.
Just started it and enjoying it so far.
One of the best novels it has been my pleasure to read for some time. Two men in their early twenties decide to canoe the river in Canada before returning to their studies. The description of the wilderness is so good you can almost touch it and smell it. But they come across problems, a woman nearly dead, two drunks in another canoe and the husband of the woman out for revenge so he can escape prosecution. I've given nothing away in this description because all of this happens early on, but the twists and turns make this one you'll remember. This seems to be his first book but I'll surely look out for any sequel. This man knows all about nature and the backwoods.
Edited by lowdrag on Monday 5th August 02:56
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