What Are You Reading?

shrapnel222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120139032#Comment_120139032

the Chinese version (with subtitles) is available here. getting rave reviews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLompD6e_k

shootermacg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120154432#Comment_120154432

Just watched it, if you haven't read the book, you'll not have a notion of what's going on. But it's brilliant!

shootermacg

Just watched the first 3 episodes, this is some really high quality stuff.

Glebee

Taking a break from fantasy for some sci fi, reading Project Hail Mary, an easy but excellent read. Really enjoying and I think there is a film in the works. Will make an excellent film if done right.

lordgoat

Sanderson - Tress of the Emerald Sea, lovely light page turner.

Thargor

Saturn Run by John Sandford, a ship arrives in the Solar System and parks at Saturn, US and China race to get to it first... Im enjoying it so far, just a nice big single tome classic sci-fi adventure like you used to get in Arthur C Clarkes day without having to read a big series and a couple of novellas to get to the plot.

CalamariFritti

After all the recommendations here I started the Three Body Problem.

The premise is very good and I really enjoyed book one. Nice to have a completely different view point.

Book two is starting weekly though I must say. For one thing the translation isn't as good. Not that I know Chinese, it's just the writing isn't as good. And since it's the same author it must be the translation. I believe for book three the translator for book one makes a comeback.

Also I'm now really getting into trouble with too many new characters being introduced and to my western ear/mind the Chinese names don't help with that. Of course thats my problem it is a Chinese book after all. But still every chapter seems to introduce a whole new set of people and I'm beginning to lose track and interest here. Will probably stick with it 'cos it's such a good idea overall but my enthusiasm for it is definitely waning.

Also started to have a look at the Three-Body tv series (Chinese) but I think thats even harder to stay with. Season 1 already has around 30 episodes? Christ.

shootermacg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120189216#Comment_120189216

I've watched up to E16 and it's great stuff.

CalamariFritti

I must give it a go sometime.

I stuck with the books anyway, just finished book 2, and I didn't regret it. At all.

Those too many characters that put me off a bit weren't that relevant in the end and the story just develops fantastically. Just read the first chapter of book 3 last night and I love it.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120220316#Comment_120220316

The Redemption of Time is basically the 4th 3 Body Problem novel fyi, fleshes out the universe a bit after you finish the trilogy although it is a bit weird.

Must say Im having trouble tracking down this Chinese 3 Body series in the usual places, it doesn't seem to exist yet, I thought it would be all over the place.

ixoy

Been a while..

• "Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2" by Christopher Ruocchio. More stories, some of them offering further insights into major (but not the main) character from the Sun Eater series. I like the fleshing out of the broader universe too and, like the previous volume, got it free on Kindle Unlimited.
• "A Brightness Long Ago" by Guy Gavriel Kay. Based loosely on warring Italian states this is, as I'd have expected, beautifully written. Melancholy with that touch of tragedy. If I had a small nitpick it's something that Kay is a bit too fond of - constantly pointing out how fate would be different if not for this or that single event. A small quibble though for a man whose writing ability is streets ahead of most in the genre.
• "Kings of Ash" by Richard Nell, the second book in his "Ash and Sand" trilogy. Thought this was a good step up from the first book. The main character, Ruka, is (for me) much better realised here. The intelligent violent barbarian is done very well and I found him among the most interest fantasy characters I've read in the last few years. It built up nicely, albeit some characters journeys were a bit abrupt. Definitely reading the next (the entire trilogy is on Kindle Unlimited)
• "A Time of Courage" by John Gwynne, the final book in his "Of Blood and Bone" trilogy. I found this incredibly bland. It just seemed to consist of endless small skirmishes, none of which had real meat to them such as when Abercrombie describes battles. The evil characters are hilariously evil with little nuance but the good guys are a bit too squeaky clean. The ending is always obvious so I never really felt the stakes were high. And if I drank every time they shouted "Truth and courage!" I'd have died of alcohol poisoning halfway through the book. Seriously irritating. I will not be reading any more of Gwynne's books.
• "Children of Memory" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the third book his "Children of.." series. As usual, I enjoyed his work but perhaps not quite as strong as the previous two. It does build well on the themes of the different types of life but I felt that the middle was a little bloated - there's a big mystery in the book and that middle dragged it out slightly. Still a recommendation for anyone else who has enjoyed the series though.

Glebee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120166855#Comment_120166855

Just finished Project Hail Mary, excellent book and will make a brilliant film if its coming to the big screen. Definitely my favourite from Andy Weir.

Just started Scott Lynchs, The Republic of Thieves. Third book in his Gentlemen Bastards series. Its been in my library for way too long. Time to get it out of the way. So far a decent start.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120230677#Comment_120230677

"Children of Memory" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the third book his "Children of.." series. As usual, I enjoyed his work but perhaps not quite as strong as the previous two. It does build well on the themes of the different types of life but I felt that the middle was a little bloated - there's a big mystery in the book and that middle dragged it out slightly. Still a recommendation for anyone else who has enjoyed the series though

The more I think about it the more disappointed I get tbh, if any other author had served that up without the 2 that had gone before to carry it it would have been completely panned. Barely any redeeming features apart from the odd sniff of history about the Ark Ships and some colonization stories. Really hope he's not finished with that universe and the next book is a return to form.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120221545#Comment_120221545

The ending of book 3 was a little weird already. At the moment I'm thinking I'll leave it there. But hunger for more stuff might bring me back anyway. So thanks for the tip.

What do you think of the tv series? I only managed 1 episode so far.

CalamariFritti

Been reading Dark Matter and Recursion both from Blake Crouch. An American author I hadn't come across before.

Well written easily consumable but not boring they both explore similar concepts as they delve into concepts of human perception of reality and how they shape or eve define our understanding of the universe. They're not space faring sci-fi or similar, they both play mostly in nowadays times on earth but have technology and time travel angles. A bit dark at times but certainly worth the time and would recommend to anyone stuck for something new.

shrapnel222

finished Norylska groans by Michael Fletcher. My latest foray into the grimdark genre. Pretty grim and graphic in its violence and misery, set in a fictional Russian/ukranian style world filled with poverty/war/crime etc with a unique magic system. I enjoyed enough to finish it, but maybe not enough to carry on the series (although not entirely sure one way or another yet).

lordgoat

Stormlight - Sanderson

Xofpod

Hopeland, Ian McDonald. A modern-ish, steampunk-ish, fantasy-type novel... To be honest, i'm a hundred pages in and don't quite know what it's going to be. Still, enjoying it and I love his other stuff so full steam ahead.

ixoy

A few more:

* "Kings of Heaven" by Richard Nell, the final book in his self-published "Ash and Sand" trilogy. A conclusion to his grimdark trilogy of a hyper intelligent ruthless warrior trying to find better lands for his people, it was a conclusion that I liked but didn't love. It spread itself over more characters than the previous book, some of whom I wasn't a huge fan of, and some of the action scenes didn't drag me in. I still think Ruka is a very interesting lead but there wasn't enough of him here. It also oddly didn't leave itself open for a sequel.

* "Neuromancer" by William Gibson, the first book in his 'Sprawl' trilogy. It's a classic of the cyberpunk genre, having pretty much created it. I found this one difficult to get into. Not withstanding suspending disbelief at some of the technology guesses that seem severely dated, I did like seeing the influence it had on works like 'The Matrix'. The characters though were a bit paper thin and I found the writing style hard to click with, in a way that left me struggling at times to piece together what was happening (it didn't help at all that I was dipping in and out of it).

* "Into the Narrowdark" by Tad Williams, the third book in his "The Last King of Oestan Ard" 'trilogy'. Like the previous two books, I thought this was excellent. Whatever it is about William's writing works perfectly for me - the right balance between characterisation, scene setting, plotting and action. It's not the most fast paced series out there but I find it far more immersive than most. My only complaint is that it ends a bit abruptly, which is because it's actually half a novel (the full novel being too long to publish in one volume). Very much looking forward to the conclusion.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120399904#Comment_120399904

Thanks for the Tad Williams rec, hadn't heard of it before but I'll be reading it. His Otherland series should be as highly regarded as Neuromancer imo, really fascinating world.

ixoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120404888#Comment_120404888

There's a small Irish mythology inspiration in the books, as there was in his "The War of the Flowers" solo novel and indeed in his Otherland series.

Glebee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120244479#Comment_120244479

Coming to the end of Republic of Thieves, its alright. Nothing spectacular. Story split over two timelines stuff, hate when this happens and one storey is better than the other.

shootermacg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120415147#Comment_120415147

Yeah, the books were only fair IMO.

pixelburp

Finished up Becky Chambers ' latest, A Psalm for the Wild Built: another novella length, so breezed through it during a 2, 3 hour flight TBH. A story of a monk having a crisis of career before meeting a robot from a race of former automations who had upped and disappeared decades ago.

She still hasn't quite caught the magic that was A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet for me. While this book was much more mediative than her others IMO; it wasn't until the second character, a robot, turned up that the book achieved a little energy, not really buying into the monk's own internal plight and reflections.

lordgoat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120404888#Comment_120404888

Otherland was years ahead of its time. Might re read it next I'll have a cosmere shaped hole in my life when I finish Starlight 4. The bad guy in Otherland I remember being astoundingly written.

Glebee

Not a book but just out of cinema after watching Dungeons and Dragons: Honour among thieves. It's great,really enjoyable show and is made better if you get the Sword Coast references, need to get back into my R A Salvatore books after watching this.

ixoy

* "The Light Fantastic" by Terry Pratchett, the second Discworld novel. Enjoyed this more than "The Colour of Magic" as that felt more episodic. This had a more solid story. It made me smile a bit more (a book has never made me laugh) and it was nice and short to read.

* "City of Last Chances" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A stand alone fantasy novel, set in a city, that reminded me a little of the "new weird" movement of China Mieville. It follows a significant number of characters, mostly players at a game that went wrong, and the fallout from when a senior member of an occupying suppressive nation is killed and what they do to the native folk and others. It's a little slow to start with, and the cast means it can take a while to return to favoured characters, but it built up nicely, concluded well enough though leaving itself open for a sequel (which is coming). Nice to see him go back to pure fantasy.

* "Ashes of Man" by Christopher Ruocchio, the fifth (and latest) book in his Sun Eater series. Good installment - it might not be my favourite, due to a slow start, but that can be attributed to the fact that it's actually the second half of a book that was too long. The ending, as is normal with the series, is strong and again shakes up the future of the series. Marlowe is still a bit of an emo in his outlook (I bet he'd love "The Cure"), but the world building is strong and there's some excellent action scenes. One of my favourite sci-fi series of the last while.

Glebee

Just started Malice by John Gwynne. So far am really enjoying this, short snappy chapters that switch between characters same as Game of Thrones to keep the story moving along. Looking forward to getting stuck into his books as I have at least 5 in my library.

lordgoat

Just about finished all the Cosmere written. A few short stories to do and I've got to say I enjoyed it immensely, Starlight 4 dragged in places but the ending was great. Just the year to wait for the last of the cycle. Happy for a few more recommendations. Or if people had other place to get recommendations that would also be great.

No idea what I'll move onto next!

Fian

Read the first mistborn trilogy. As usual with Sanderson very interesting/intricate magic system/worldbuilding.

Now reading short stories by Ted Chiang, reading exhalation and have stories of your life to follow. Enjoying most of them. I really enjoyed exhalation itself.