What Are You Reading?

Dades · 28-10-2018 11:44pm

Nody wrote: »

Agreed; I read it after having seen the movie but they are so different that there's nothing really lost in doing so.

Verhoeven deliberately turned the source material into satire as he disagreed so much with the source material's message.

Great book and an even better movie for different reasons.

Thargor · 28-10-2018 11:45pm

Nody wrote: »

Agreed; I read it after having seen the movie but they are so different that there's nothing really lost in doing so.

The

power armour

was a fairly revolutionary idea for something written in the 1960s I thought, and a lot of other stuff aswell, a lot of it feels like it was written recently, its a bit bizarre in places.

coffee_cake · 29-10-2018 12:10am

Just read the Brilliance trilogy by marcus someone. It was brilliant, highly recommend it

Read his Afterlife book as well. Must find out if he has more

Thargor · 29-10-2018 1:02am

Brilliance added to my list, never heard of them, thanks.

Hope they're not anything like Brandon Sandersons evil superhero sh1te that I cant even remember the name of, easily some of the worst things Ive ever read.

coffee_cake · 29-10-2018 10:39pm

Thargor wrote: »

Brilliance added to my list, never heard of them, thanks.

Hope they're not anything like Brandon Sandersons evil superhero sh1te that I cant even remember the name of, easily some of the worst things Ive ever read.

I'm a big BS fan but not into those if you mean the YA ones.
nothing like BS anyway!

Forgot to add i read the discovery of witches books also, nice holiday reads. I liked the mystery and the characters but i wouldn't go around shouting about it either. the show is very enjoyable. the author is a historian of some sort which comes through in the books.

I also finished laini taylor's trilogy starting with Strange the Dreamer, i'd read the first two ages ago and forgotten i had the third. really enjoyed it, excellent unexpected twists (to me, anyway)
nothing too massively in depth but good

Thargor · 30-10-2018 10:57pm

I started Heretics of Dune yesterday and Im already half way through it, even though I usually say Dune when someone asks what my favourite book of all time is Ive never actually finished the series, I was planning on it but it really lost its way in Messiah or one of those and put me right off, Heretics on the other hand is fecking brilliant, cant put it down.

ixoy · 01-11-2018 12:41am

49% into "Ethan of Athos" by Lois McMaster Bujold, another entry in her Vorkosigan Saga.
The plot idea is fairly amusing - a doctor from an all-male planet is forced to goto space where he'll encounter women for the first time - and the plot has a few fun set pieces, but Ethan's no Miles, Ivan or Cordelia and the book's lacking the wit and smarts of them. It's very easy to read, and the lead is perfectly likeable, but it's the weakest entry in the series so far for me.

coffee_cake · 07-11-2018 8:31am

I don't know where to put this so I'll stick it in here - brandon sanderson 's newsletter has a deleted WoT chapter extract preview
Here is the background
We’ll be publishing a deleted (non-canon) scene from A Memory of Light in the upcoming charity anthology Unfettered 3. Harriet has graciously agreed to let me show you a preview here.

Fian · 07-11-2018 3:46pm

Reading "the Darkness that comes before", been meaning to get around to this for a while. enjoying it.

I started playing the Wticher 3 this week though. That had been sitting in my steam account for ages but not gotten around to playing it. Probably because i don't have RDR2 I decided to start it a w2eek ago or so.

Brilliant.

Consequently I stuck the witcher books on my kindle and am being pulled towards abandoning the darkness that comes before in favour of the witcher books.

Why is gwent not a mobile game on phones? Would be great. better yet if you could link it to your in-game decks.

smacl · 08-11-2018 3:06pm

Just finished Legend as recommend on here, thoroughly enjoyable romp and a gift on Amazon at £0.98p Picked up a few more in the in the series for a later date.

bluewolf wrote: »

Just read the Brilliance trilogy by marcus someone. It was brilliant, highly recommend it

Read his Afterlife book as well. Must find out if he has more

Also dirt cheap on Amazon, just picked up the trilogy for the Kindle at £3 and really like the look of them. Picked up Scalzi's 'The consuming fire' while I was at it so now have a decent backlog on my Kindle once again. Brilliance is top of the list and should get a few chapters in this evening.

Trojan · 08-11-2018 4:15pm

ixoy wrote: »

49% into "Ethan of Athos" by Lois McMaster Bujold, another entry in her Vorkosigan Saga.
The plot idea is fairly amusing - a doctor from an all-male planet is forced to goto space where he'll encounter women for the first time - and the plot has a few fun set pieces, but Ethan's no Miles, Ivan or Cordelia and the book's lacking the wit and smarts of them. It's very easy to read, and the lead is perfectly likeable, but it's the weakest entry in the series so far for me.

I love the Vorkosigan books, re-read the whole series just a while back. The last couple of books have definitely been a drop in (very high) standards IMO.

Nody · 08-11-2018 11:50pm

Nody wrote: »

As for myself I threw in a re-read of Equal rites by Pratchett before I started up The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan; after 100 pages in I've gone and preordered book 3.

Finished The Legion of Flame (as good as the first book I'd say with some interesting twists added) and started up on Bloody Rose which is book two in The Band series by Nicholas Eames.

ixoy · 10-11-2018 12:48am

59% into "The Annihilation Score" by Charles Stross, the 5th book in his Laundry series. Much like my previous book - "Ethan of Athos" - it's an installment where we jump away from the regular character, in this case to Bob's wife. It means the book is lacking something - Mo is not as funny and I don't get the kick that Bob gave me with his IT gags. She also complains a lot more. The plot itself is pretty decent though.

lordgoat · 12-11-2018 9:48pm

Finished Broken Earth Trilogy, neat third book. Would have preferred if some of the detail was in the story in the earlier books.

17 books done so far this year. 3 more is the target

Nody · 20-11-2018 1:59pm

Nody wrote: »

Finished The Legion of Flame (as good as the first book I'd say with some interesting twists added) and started up on Bloody Rose which is book two in The Band series by Nicholas Eames.

Finished the Bloody Rose which unlike the first book is much darker and uses less humour and gave me the feelz a few times. Unlike the first book it's one coherent story, each chapter clearly ties together rather then seeming as a set of short stories. It tells the story of Rose; the daughter from book 1 and how she's trying to overcome living in her father's shadow as the greatest merc that ever lived and is placed about a decade later but the meta story is a clear continuation even though you don't see that until the second half. Highly recommend it once again but it's written in a different style and is a much more somber story told about the world and it's inhabitants.

I've now moved on to The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French.

smacl · 21-11-2018 9:32am

Finished Scalzi's 'Consuming Fire', the second in the new Interdependency series which moves the plot along nicely. I find Scalzi's writing a bit like a great burger when you're ravenous, not exactly haute cuisine but really enjoyable for all that. Only downside is that it'll probably be a year or so before the next one.

About third of the way though the first of the Brilliance trilogy as recommended here which is also a real page turner and developing nicely.

mcgovern · 21-11-2018 10:01am

Finished Iron Gold which was probably not quite up to the standard of the first trilogy but sets things up nicely.
Also read the Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle which is kind of Lovecraftian horror. It's a short enjoyable read.
Almost finished The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes which is a fantasy heist with a large group of different characters. It's a decent read and I think I'll continue the series.
Finished listening to Elysium Fire. I'd still much prefer a Revelation Space book but I'll take what I can get.
Now listening to Broken Homes, #4 in Peter Grant series by Ben Aarronovitch. Much the same as the rest of the series, its very good and narrator real brings it to another level.

Xofpod · 21-11-2018 10:41am

Just started The Three Body Problem, Liu Cixin. Heard a lot of hype in the last few years and have to say it's pretty decent 100 pages in.

keane2097 · 22-11-2018 1:04am

Xofpod wrote: »

Just started The Three Body Problem, Liu Cixin. Heard a lot of hype in the last few years and have to say it's pretty decent 100 pages in.

I actually just read this a couple of days ago and found it quite enjoyable.

Anyone comment on how the second and third book are?

mcgovern · 22-11-2018 9:54am

keane2097 wrote: »

I actually just read this a couple of days ago and found it quite enjoyable.

Anyone comment on how the second and third book are?

They are quite different (and the second one has a different translator, third one returns to the first translator) but I did enjoy them. They don't have the parts going back to the past which was a positive for me.

Nody · 27-11-2018 9:16am

Nody wrote: »

I've now moved on to The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French.

Finished the Grey Bastards and I'm honestly not impressed. There are two fundamental flaws which the first one is admitted by the author himself at the back of the book (inspired by Sons of Anarchy); putting a bike gang in a fantasy world. It keeps breaking any level of immersion to constantly have SoA references to outriders etc. Second part and this makes me even more annoyed is the simple fact there's nothing to actually make the orcs, well orcs. Sure there's references to their skin color, the fact they are bigger etc. but honestly you could just as well said they were ogres, or werewolfs, or vampires or anything you feel like. Nothing makes them orcs, no culture, no lore, no magic, no religion, nothing. They simply are a different colored human living an outlaw life as 1%ers (see AoS again).

Going with Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence next.

mcgovern · 27-11-2018 9:37am

Nody wrote: »

Finished the Grey Bastards and I'm honestly not impressed. There are two fundamental flaws which the first one is admitted by the author himself at the back of the book (inspired by Sons of Anarchy); putting a bike gang in a fantasy world. It keeps breaking any level of immersion to constantly have SoA references to outriders etc. Second part and this makes me even more annoyed is the simple fact there's nothing to actually make the orcs, well orcs. Sure there's references to their skin color, the fact they are bigger etc. but honestly you could just as well said they were ogres, or werewolfs, or vampires or anything you feel like. Nothing makes them orcs, no culture, no lore, no magic, no religion, nothing. They simply are a different colored human living an outlaw life as 1%ers (see AoS again).

Not sure where I'm going next.

Well the Grey Bastards were only half orcs if I remember right, and were raised by humans so they wouldn't have had a chance to learn Orc culture. The actual Orcs did have their own religion I think?

Nody · 27-11-2018 10:15am

mcgovern wrote: »

Well the Grey Bastards were only half orcs if I remember right, and were raised by humans so they wouldn't have had a chance to learn Orc culture. The actual Orcs did have their own religion I think?

There was NOTHING making them orcs; you can replace them with anything else in the world. They had no culture, they had no religion etc. and yes they did learn orc culture because one of the hoofs ONLY spoke orcish. That's not the point though; they did NOTHING to make them anything beyond being humans with a different skin color. Why claim them to be half orcs and then act as humans through out the whole book? What's the point then of them being orcs if there's nothing to distinguish them from humans? You could have called them Mexicans and then claim the humans as white Americans in the book and you'd not notice any difference in the story or dialogue. That's the flaw of the book; if you're going to have different races then they should be different and not the same race with a different name and skin color. The frustrating part is he do have other races that are distinct; we have the halfings, centaurs, elves (Tins) etc. that have actual unique quirks and characteristics shown in less than a page total of appearances but the orcs are simply bigger humans with different skin color riding around on motorcycles (hogs) and fight their cousins (full blooded orcs) and other humans for 400 pages. There was plenty of room to build out what made the orcs unique by comparison and in the end the answer is "well they speak a different language and are bigger".

pixelburp · 27-11-2018 10:59am

Started Becky Chambers' latest, "Record of a Spaceborn Few"; like the previous follow-up it's only tangential to "A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet", this time set aboard the Exodan Fleet (think Battlestar Galactica, if they weren't being hounded and never found a 'home' planet).

As with her other work, there's a deep humanity and gentle heart at the centre of Chambers' writing that sets it apart, I don't think there's a cynical bone in her stories at all. There is a slightly more bittersweet, contemplative tone this time mind you, being as it is set within a fleet of dwindling migrant ships, and one of the main characters being an 'archivist' (in effect an undertaker who takes care of, and composts, the remains of loved ones)

Then also picked up "Meddling Kids" by Edgar Cantero; a very obvious, unabashed riff on the Scooby Gang, only they're all grown up and mentally scarred, coming to terms with the realisation that a case from their childhood might have been more than just a man in a monster costume. It's incredibly trashy, but written with a flourish and wit that at least makes it an enjoyable read all the same.

smacl · 28-11-2018 11:02am

Finished Brilliance last night and really enjoyed it. Reminded by quite a bit of Scalzi's Lock-In in terms of writing style and plot.

pixelburp wrote: »

Started Becky Chambers' latest, "Record of a Spaceborn Few"; like the previous follow-up it's only tangential to "A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet", this time set aboard the Exodan Fleet (think Battlestar Galactica, if they weren't being hounded and never found a 'home' planet).

I've been eyeing up "A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet" for a bit now so might move onto that next rather than continuing with the Brilliance trilogy (which I definitely will do shortly).

Fian · 28-11-2018 11:39am

Finished the first book in teh prince of nothing series (the darkness that comes before). Was decent but for some reason i was looking forward to finishing it and getting on to something else.

Moved on to the last wish, first book in the witcher series. I am playing the witcher 3 atm, and enjoying it, so maybe that is why i was impatient to finish darkness that comes before. The last wish is pretty good, very much in keeping with the tone of the game. Its a series of short stories, in chronological order, rather than any larger story arc. a bit like the missions you do in teh game too actually.

Author is from eastern europe but he used irish words in naming the tribes on some in book islands - skellige. In the game these tribes are voiced using different accents from these islands - scottish, cornish, dublin, belfast etc.

Trojan · 28-11-2018 7:16pm

Just read the Murderbot series, recommend it to anyone who likes easy reading scifi. (This is not hard sf)

I have only one criticism, and that's about the price and division into 4 short books: it's $40 for what's effectively one regular length book. That said, I liked it enough to pay it, so it's obviously not that big a deal.

--

I like Becky Chambers stuff, it's actually quite similar to the above, I'm adding the latest one to my to-read pile.

01-12-2018 11:50pm

just read the last line of the seventh book of r scott bakkers world

jaysus hes got balls anyway. but the first trilogy had patience, wonder and craft and the second set of four was just a pile of things happening one after another

hes uh hes different tho ill give him that

keane2097 · 02-12-2018 12:03am

Looking on Goodreads I've found to my astonishment I've gone through the 15 Dresden Files books on Audible since July :eek:

A couple of the more recent ones I got slightly less enjoyment out of but the 15th one is up there with the best. Total pulp but pure entertainment.

Finally got around to picking up Brave New World also, about a quarter of the way through and it's quite compelling. TBH I didn't know anything much about it bar the fact that it's a classic but reminds me very much of Gattica. Interested to see where it goes.

Paddy Samurai · 03-12-2018 2:40pm

With about 50 pages left I am coming to the end of this one.:(
Top notch fantasy with a ton of great characters.Not sure when i will get to part three but I am looking forward to it along with part4,5,6,7 etc.:D

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