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The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin (Remembrance of Earth's Past #2)
This leads on straight away from the previous book. The Trisolarian fleet is on its way to invade Earth. It will take over 400 years to get here and their technology is ahead of us now. So in order to stop us overtaking them in technology by the time they get here, they have sent Sophons into out atmosphere. These are subatomic computers that can eavesdrop on everything and hear what is being said. Think of cameras in the sky that cannot be get rid of!
Earth decides to make 4 people Wallfacers. These are people who will make the strategies to fight the Trisolarians but keep it to themselves only.This way the Trisolarians cannot find it out as they cannot read minds. One of them is an obscure Chinese professor. The Trisolarians have help here on Earth in the form of the ETO. The Earth-Trisolarians Organisation. These are humans who want the Trisolarians to take over and this is something that would definitely happen! Three people of the ETO are appointed Wallbreakers and they have to work out on behalf of the Trisolarians what the Wallfacers plan is so it is ruined in advance!
I think I enjoyed this book more than the first.What would we do if we knew an invasion was coming in 400 years? Like people in this book, there would be a lot of people saying so what, I will be dead by then! I liked the idea of humans wanting the aliens to win as that would happen. Some humans hate humans so they would want us to die even though it makes no sense! Then if the Aliens know every move we do, how can we win?! Maybe a theory called the Dark Forest could help us win.......!!
I am not sure if the theory was meant to be a secret until near the end of the book but I realised it early on. I still enjoyed the book though and think this book is better than the first. Maybe as I was used to its uniqueness! Again though, characterisation is in short supply to the overall story and that is my complaint again.0 -
Death's End by Liu Cixin (Remembrance of Earth's Past #3)
This is the third and final book in this trilogy and while I liked the first 2 books somewhat, I was halfway through this book and just wanted to finish it up! It felt like the whole thing had outstayed it's welcome.
So this is now 50 years after the Doomsday battle and the Dark Forest Deterrent keeps the Trisolarians at bay. Can we now co-exist with them in peace? Cheng Xin is an engineer from the 21st century that wakes from hibernation and she has knowledge of a forgotten program started at the very start of the crisis. What she knows, could upset the delicate balance....
I found this the poorest book in the whole trilogy as there are a load of time jumps so it feels very disjointed. After a while, it felt like characters do a bit then go into hibernation and then wake up in the future. What it is like, is explained and then the cycle starts again. Maybe it wasn't like that but it felt like it!
This book felt very like Arthur C. Clarke again as we literally go until the end of time itself. Reading it felt to me like going there too! :pac: Characters take a total back seat here to the grand scale of things and Cheng Xin could be one of the most stupid characters ever. She literally is entrusted with humanity's future and she shouldn't be trusted to look after a potted plant!! Then she compounds it later again with another stupid decision. I can't say what they are as it would spoil it if you intend to read it. It was like to get where he wanted to go, Cixin Liu had to make her really stupid but it just didn't work for me. No one could be that stupid!
I don't think I have ever hated a character so much!
This book just felt very dry and felt a very fizzling out type of end. I would have ended things on the second book. It felt like things fell off a cliff and it went into an academic book with long descriptions of things and not much happening.Very disappointing but I am glad to be finished with this series now. I liked the first 2 books but I wouldn't read them again. Yet I am glad I read them but not this one. As it was the end of the trilogy, I finished it but I would have abandoned it otherwise.0 -
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
Another Walter Tevis novel and I have yet to read a bad one. This is about a young chess prodigy that is female. Her name is Beth Harmon. It's particularly about the inner workings of the female mind. On the surface it seems like a chess novel and of course it is that too but there is a lot more here. Adoption, addiction and coming of age are all themes here too.
Beth Harmon is an eight years old girl and is in an orphanage. She is quiet and looks like there is nothing really remarkable about her. Then one day she sees the janitor playing chess in the basement and asks him about it. She seems to pick it up almost straight away and plays him regularly. As it happens, the orphanage tends to give the kids tranquillisers to keep them quiet and Beth develops an addiction as she stockpiles the pills for night time. Soon people realise that Beth is great at chess and could actually be one of the greatest ever.
The novel then follows her life until she is around 18 playing in Moscow in a chess tournament. Tevis has the ability to make anything seem exciting and I was glued to this book while reading it. This has been made into a netflix series and now that I have read the book I can now watch it!
Tevis is now one of my favourite authors ever. There is an audio interview he did here about The Queen's Gambit if you would like to listen and learn more. It is only 20 mins long but very good.
Obviously this book is highly recommended and a must read!0 -
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
More of the great Walter Tevis and this is a sci fi novel. Tevis was a teacher of literature at Ohio University and noticed that Kids were not reading much at all. This led him to write this novel in 1980.
Mockingbird is set in the 25th century in a decaying New York City. Humans don't read at all and everything is done by Robots. Basically everyone has become stupid and lazy as the Robots look after everything. Now here and there in society, Robots are breaking down but there is no one to service them as people don't read manuals and everyone is so used to the status quo. The most alarming thing is that birth rates are dropping as society prides everyone doing their own thing and not talking to each other never mind relationships. The robots dispense drugs too which keeps everyone quiet.
Spofforth is an android in this world that wants to die. He is an AI that has lived for centuries but is just sick of living. He meets Paul Bentley who is a human that has taught himself to read using an old film and a children's book. Spofforth doesn't like Bentley as he is envious of humans that can die and gets him decoding titles in old films instead of teaching others to read. While at a zoo, Bentley meets a woman and starts to teach her to read and starts a relationship with her. Spofforth sends Bentley to prison for the crime of reading and takes the woman as his "wife" Can Bentley get back to her and what will happen with Spofforth?
This is a great novel with many layers. People not reading, relationships, drug addiction, over reliance on computers/robots are all themes. This book is a sci fi classic like "1984" Not only did I find it said a great deal on its themes but it is also touching in its ending. This book really stays with you as a classic does and I will definitely be reading this again. Its like Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury but I think this book is far superior. It should be made into a movie or tv series and just before he died, Tevis said PBS in America was thinking of doing it. Maybe Netflix ,might do it now after the Queens Gambit.
This, like all Walter Tevis books is a must read.0 -
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Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual by Jocko Willink
A switch to non fiction here with a kind of motivational book from former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink. He was a commander of SEAL Teams in Iraq and is a real promotor of getting up early and not procrastinating. He does podcasts that you can find too on Youtube.
So going into this, I knew what I was getting. It is like a drill sergeant shouting at you to get up and going in your life. If you want to listen, then it is a really good book. If you are cynical and don't want to be lectured, then this book is not for you! I really liked it though as it is a book that is telling you what you know is true and maybe coming from a successful person can make the advice hit home. You should be getting up early getting things done rather than up late, arseing around on youtube!
He does give workouts as well if you are a complete beginner and a start is better than nothing but I think these workouts are far too hard for beginners. He advises pull ups which are great if you can do them but most people can't. He does however say to do something and anything if you can't or don't have the time which I think is good advice for everyone. Just getting the body moving is good.
It is 200 pages but there is really only a paragraph of info on each page. Its like getting a pep up talk so if you read it and apply it, it will help. Of course this is like everything! So its what you make of it really. What I have done, is take photos of pages with my phone so I have them straight to hand. I think this is a good idea as it is a book that you need to keep rereading to boost your morale.
I will always have my phone so this way I can just plug into his advice again. I do that with a lot of these type of books and hopefully that small tip will help you. Especially if some lines really help you or apply to you, its great to call them up on your phone while waiting to work out or whatever. Even on a break between sets or while you are getting your breath back on a run. It is these times, we need a reminder! Hope this helps someone!
So taking this book as a short pep up guide then it is worth your time. Try to take what you can out of these books and move on in my opinion anyway!0 -
The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity by Douglas Murray
Another non fiction book and this is a very serious type of book dealing with race and gender. I am not that familiar with Douglas Murray but thought this book looked like an interesting read. There seems to be a lot of craziness everywhere from all sides about everything so it is hard to make sense of it all.
Here, Murray tackles 4 issues in 4 different sections.
The 4 issues are- Gay
- Women
- Race
- Trans
(It makes no difference at all but) Murray is Gay himself and talks about the Gay struggle and how some things have gone crazy. He does the same with the other issues and I liked the way he tackles them all in a serious approach. Trying to come at them with a level headed view talking about how especially social media has helped stifle any kind of debate.
I liked the way he talked about people online falling over tripwires so to speak in saying the "wrong" thing and then they get hounded out of their jobs. This is crazy stuff and leaves everyone stifled. He gives a load of examples.
As well we have big tech companies picking and choosing things to promote or highlight. He says to google white inventors and see what images comes up. In the english google there are one set of results but not in other languages.
I found it hard to argue with what he says in the book and it really makes you think about things. If you don't like serious discussions about subjects, then stay away from this book. For anyone else, this is a good read about hard to talk about subjects.0 -
A Running Duck by Paula Gosling
Yet another book that I have been meaning to read for ages. This is also known as "Fair Game" in the USA and it was made into a recent movie called "Fair Game" and an older one by Sylvester Stallone called "Cobra".
This is an old crime thriller written in 1978 and is about Clare Randell who works for an advertising firm. She is going for a Cab one day and somehow gets shot in the arm by a sniper. It turns out Clare has seen somebody who is wanted by the police but didn't realise it at the time. The person is a hitman who never lets anyone get away. Now his reputation depends on taking Clare out. Clare is terrified but gets protected by a former Vietnam sniper who is now a cop. Can Clare survive before the cops get the hitman? Will the hitman get to her first?
This is short enough at only 200 pages but there is a lot in it. Some good action and a simple story. I liked the way it was written with the only gripe is that it felt like a story you might see in the A-Team! It was simple but a lot of fun. You can see why it was made into movies although the newer one called "Fair Game" is meant to be very bad. It does star Cindy Crawford so I think I will give it a miss! I haven't seen "Cobra" in years but I remember it is violent and fun so I must watch it again!! :pac:
I would recommend this book as it is a short simple thriller that was a lot of fun. A bit predictable but that's no harm!0 -
The White Feather wrote: »
In 2019. I read 68 books. Now a good few were Graphic Novels/Comics but this has been a great year for me. Usually want to read at least 50 so I was well over that bar.
Even with reading that many, I still had a good bit of time where I didn't read anything. I'm hoping to shore that up this year and like the log says....keep on reading.
I am aiming high this year, I want to read 100 books or get over 25000 pages read.My record is 22500 pages for the year. This way I won't be too concerned with picking off small books just to get to 100!!
As we are now closing 2020, It is time to see where I am! As you can see from above I set a lofty target. So how did I do?
In 2020 I read 96 books. Again a few were graphic novels and comics like all the Tintins that I read. I didn't hit 100 though.
In pages read, which is always a better way to look at things in my opinion, I read 24,263. Still short of my 25000 goal but I got close at least!
It is both good and bad as there was maybe over a month added up where I didn't read.This was just due to personal stuff where I was too tired to read etc So I can still improve a little on my pages but maybe not much more.
This year I have decided to call it a bucket list year. I am going to read things that I have been meaning to read but always put them off. Most of these books are really long or in a series. It is about time I read these rather than having them on a shelf. I have these bought already so I don't need to wait on them. A lot of these are collectors items that I will keep even after I have read them. For example, I have a really old set of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. All 6 volumes in old hardback that is lovely to look at. Shout out to Black Sheep and his log as I read his with interest. He is reading it away this year.
I don't want people to think my log is inactive so I will probably give updates as I go along but I think my reading is quick now which is what I wanted before I started these big books. War and Piece is another book I have so its these kind of epics that I will read but I will read smaller ones to break it up.
I have a load of series that I have bought and just waiting on my shelf. Some of them are trilogies and some are even more!
The first that I am starting off with is the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. There are 10 books in the series and I have them all. Each one is very long and it is epic fantasy.
Here is to a good year again and I hope someone at least enjoys this log! I enjoy doing it at least! Any questions or comments are welcome anytime!
Happy Reading!
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Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven Erikson
Well, I am off and running for this New Year! First book read....
Around the start of last year, I was in a charity shop (my usual haunt!) and I found a few books by Steven Erikson. They were all big and I have seen a few of his here and there before. They always looked like big books and I knew they were part of a series so I usually just thought I have enough to read at home and didn't get them. I used to think that it is a hassle trying to get the missing ones from my collection. This is another reason why I gave up going to the library when I was a bit older. I was sick of reading a book and then trying to find the sequel that seemed to always be taken out by someone else!
I have only returned to the library recently as I found out that now you can get any book from all over Ireland once it is in the system! I have literally a room full of books that are all in the library system and if i had known earlier, I would not have got so many! So go to the library when it is back open.
The good thing for me now is I am not waiting on one book as I got the whole lot of the Malazan Book of the Fallen in charity shops over last year. Only a few look read!! There are 10 books in all and i think he is writing another now.
So in case you have no idea like me, Gardens of the Moon is the first in series of 10 books that Erikson started in 1999. As a kid i read the Hobbit and later Lord of the Rings and I loved them. This is fantasy too but I understand Erikson was more influenced by Role playing games rather than Tolkien.
To put my cards on the table, I prefer Sci fi rather than fantasy usually. I get put off by this is "book 6 in the tricera sequence of 10 books that is part of the wheel of infinity books" :pac: The kind of series that has no end at all annoys me. So I only picked this up as I saw a few all together. Then got the rest later. I have read Persido Street Station here though and i loved that.
This book is about an area of a fictitious world that is dominated by the Malazan Empire. I realised early on that there are not really goodies or baddies in this. It is like a tale that just says what happens and who you want to win depends on who you like or maybe you don't care at all!!
You are just thrown in with stuff happening at the start which is both good and bad. I felt like I loved what was going on but scrambling to try to keep up. There is a list of characters at the start and not even all of them and I found myself for about the first 100 pages keeping a thumb on it so I could flick and check who was this guy again?!! :pac:
After that 100 pages, I found it plain sailing for the majority of the characters though. The Malazan Empire is trying to conquer the continent of Genabackis and they are besieging the city of Pale. There were seven free cities but the Empire is taking them over and only Pale and Darujhistan are left. Pale is holding out as they have an alliance with Moon's Spawn and its owner. I only realised later that Moon's Spawn was a floating fortress as it was never really made clear!
The plot changes throughout the book from people in the Empire to the people everywhere else. Then it begins to culminate near the end. I didn't think I would like this as much as I ended up doing. I loved it as there seemed to be loads going on and it is a true epic. The copy i have was 657 pages but there was loads packed into each page so it felt longer.
I still think even a few sentences to explain a bit here and there would have been a good idea but this book was great. I loved everything about it and the fact that everyone has their own agenda and outlook was great. It felt real as everyone kind of did both good and bad things so its not like a pantomime where we boo the bad guys and cheer the good guys.The old tropes thrown out here but that can be weird for some people.
If you are going to read this and I recommend that you do, read it over a few days. To keep track of things is hard enough so read it like I did over a few days otherwise you will end up lost. I found myself reading it non stop after the initial start. So like Persido Street Station, I started off a bit apprehensive and then loving the book!
Now I am onto the sequel.......Deadhouse Gates!!0 -
Deadhouse Gates is 960 pages long which is even longer than the first book. The good thing for me is that it is in fact easier to read than the first book as it is physically bigger and the print better. I got it second hand but it was a new book and never read. The price sticker was still on it! 0
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Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen #2) by Steven Erikson
More Epic Fantasy! This is the sequel of Gardens of the Moon reviewed above here.It starts off a few months later than the events of the first book but its a whole new cast of characters and new places. Like the first book, my finger was on the list of characters that are given at the start of the book but also like the first book once I was used to them, I didn't need to look every time. What did catch me though , was the glossary is at the back of the book. It was the same in the first book and both times I forgot about it so I feel like an idiot !
It made my reading slightly harder trying to work things out but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I lost time reading as I was sick for a few days and on antibiotics. Couldn't seem to read at all while on them. No, it wasn't covid! So this took a bit longer than I wanted. It is 960 pages but I didn't feel bored at all. The book that I have was bought new by someone and looks like they started it and gave up! The price sticker was still on it when I got it in a charity shop! :pac:
Before I started this 10 book series. I was worried that I wouldn't like them and give up. Well, not worried but just thought it was a possibility. No chance now as I am hooked!
This book is about the Malazan Empire again and there is a mass evacuation going on while a rebellion called the Whirlwind is on. Meanwhile an assassin is on his way to kill the Empress. This is really simplifying the plot!! It is full of intrigue and different people and their viewpoints. Like the first book, there are not really good guys or bad guys, its just here is what is happening. You better hope the people you like don't die! This makes it exciting as who knows will prevail in the end.
Erickson could do with a few sentences here and there to explain a little bit more but the book is long enough I suppose! It isn't hard to understand things but it just takes a bit of time. Maybe that's what he wants anyway.
I am glad I am reading these in sequence as I am in a "Malazan frame of mind" and found this book easier to read than the first. Probably as I am used to the ideas now. I would suggest anyone reading them to do the same too. How do I know I enjoyed this book? I have only just finished it and want to start the next book "Memories of Ice" tonight!! That book is over 1100 pages. Hoping to have the first 3 read by the end of January but I'm not rushing things either.
So..........Memories of Ice is next!0 -
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Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen #3) by Steven Erikson
The third book in this Epic Fantasy 10 book series and here we have events that happen just after the first and the same time as the second book. The Malazan 2nd Army are on the continent of Genabackis (must try to book a holiday there after the lockdown!!) and a new superpower from the south have emerged. They are called the Pannion Seer and are like a cult that is sweeping areas.
The Malazan 2nd Army has supposedly gone rogue and has to team up with a few powers in the region to defeat the Pannion Seer. So they team up with Anomander Rake also known as the Lord of Darkness (he has to be a badass with a nickname like that!!) and Caladan Brood. Its like the USA and USSR coming together!
As the two forces come to meet each other, the Pannion Seer are besieging the city of Capustan which has its own small mercenary army protecting it. The city won't be able to hold out unless all the allies get there. Only some can get there in time and with the quick method of travelling through Warrens being disrupted, things look bleak.
So why are the Warrens being disrupted? Can Capustan hold out and can the Pannion Seer be stopped? Then, maybe there is something or someone else using all these events for their own purposes......
I think this book is a masterpiece and the best one of the three that I have read so far. I loved all 3 books but this stands out even more and I didn't think it was possible. The different plot lines can be hard to handle but now I am used to it and they all come together at the end. I loved all the battle scenes but the way everyone has a different agenda but ties together is great.
Even though the book is 1180 pages, I never felt bored and that is some writing to keep things interesting all the time. Now, its onto the next book in this series. House of Chains! Already looking forward to it!0 -
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House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen #4) by Steven Erikson
The fourth book in this series of Epic fantasy and this follows on directly from the second book Deadhouse Gates.
We start off in Northern Genabackis where we witness the rise or like an origin story of a badass warrior called Karsa Orlong. Then years later after the march known as the Chain of Dogs that was in the second book Deadhouse Gates, the new Adjunct to the Empress arrives in the last remaining stronghold of the Malazans in Seven Cities. The problem? The Sha'ik (described in the second book) has raised an army in Raraku called the Whirlwind.
The new Adjunct has not commanded an army before and has only raw recruits and some veterans leftover from the Chain of Dogs march. She doesn't know that it is her sister that is the Sha'ik!! The Sha'ik seems to have superior forces but her army has a lot of internal conflicts. Who will prevail?
Added to all this, there is a desperate struggle going on for the Throne of Shadow and also a lot of different characters having their own agenda too.
This was a different start to the other books where it focused on one character for a long while. I read that Erikson was responding to critics where they said he doesn't focus on one character for a long time. It was very enjoyable reading this part as it was like an origin story of a great warrior like Conan the Barbarian!
What was weird was he is all set up and now in the area of everyone else and then says he is a bodyguard for the Sha'ik. That part made no sense to me as he was repeatedly shown as a badass who didn't bow to anyone. Thankfully this turned out to be a just a break before he gets going on being a badass again.
The rest is top notch entertainment too with all the intrigue and battles. This is a great book! The only quibble is Erikson should put in more place names as in where characters are and in relation to other characters. There are maps given at the start of the book but I found them really useless in this story. Usually I can work out where everyone is but here I was a bit lost a few times.
This book is 1015 pages and didn't feel like that at all. I really loved it although probably not as much as Memories of Ice but it was close!
Now of course, I am starting the next book in the series "Midnight Tides" which will be the fifth book. Started the first on Jan 1st so I am seeing how long it will take to get through the lot! Really enjoying them which is the main thing!!!0
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