What Are You Reading?

keane2097 · 16-10-2020 11:14pm

keane2097 wrote: »

Just started the new Dresden Files book. I was disgusted with the last one. It was just garbage. Like a badly edited fan fiction. I hear this one is much better, but I'm wondering if the spell is broken for me after the last one. A little ways into this one I can't avoid the sense that the series is going around in circles. The sense of fun is gone from it as well as Harry has almost become an angsty teenager archetype. Hopefully this'll win me over as I've really enjoyed the series but I'm a bit concerned basically that the author has run out of road.

Finished this. Definitely more enjoyable than the previous one and I suppose it was a bit of fun, but overall it was only fair. I'm inclined to glaze over the battle scenes in most books and this was basically one huge battle scene.

I'll definitely stick with the series until the end but it could do with a bit of a change of direction or something.

Lady Haywire · 17-10-2020 1:12pm

Whoever mentioned Harley Davis, I hate you, I'm now stuck in them.
Also read the 'Lake of Sins' series, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34390325-escape

Was very good, easy reading & a nice change from the usual bogey monsters.

coffee_cake · 17-10-2020 2:26pm

Lady Haywire wrote: »

Whoever mentioned Harley Davis, I hate you, I'm now stuck in them.
Also read the 'Lake of Sins' series, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34390325-escape

Was very good, easy reading & a nice change from the usual bogey monsters.

Was it harley merlin?

Lady Haywire · 17-10-2020 4:10pm

bluewolf wrote: »

Was it harley merlin?

Sorry, yes, Harley Merlin!!!

keane2097 · 20-10-2020 7:22pm

I'm listening to Kings of the Wyld on Audible at the moment. Dunno where I got the recommendation for it but I'm grateful as it's an absolute tonic. It's medieval style fantasy but the main characters are a bunch of washed up former mercenaries getting back together after years for one last job. It's very funny and most enjoyable

The White Feather · 20-10-2020 7:47pm

I am reading Mockingbird by Walter Tevis. Really enjoying it so far as its about people in a dystopian future not reading anymore. A scary thought to me!

Nody · 20-10-2020 9:52pm

keane2097 wrote: »

I'm listening to Kings of the Wyld on Audible at the moment. Dunno where I got the recommendation for it but I'm grateful as it's an absolute tonic. It's medieval style fantasy but the main characters are a bunch of washed up former mercenaries getting back together after years for one last job. It's very funny and most enjoyable

While KotW is very much a set of short stories the second book is much more somber and consistent as one story (and highly recommended).

Lady Haywire · 21-10-2020 11:38am

bluewolf wrote: »

Was it harley merlin?

Starting to drag on a bit by book 9 :pac:

coffee_cake · 21-10-2020 11:44am

Lady Haywire wrote: »

Starting to drag on a bit by book 9 :pac:

I did stop after about that many as well! i don't remember how far i got.
then amazon kept spamming them in my recommendations for ages ...

Igotadose · 21-10-2020 12:16pm

Just finished "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke, which I had posted about last week as I was so excited to have gotten it.

It is well written, but overall, pretty weak. Not much fantasy aspect to it, a bit of magic, and very little happens. Eventually I just waited for it to be over. I think she wrote it while experiencing a lot of illness and challenge in her life, and, sadly, it kind of shows.

Lady Haywire · 21-10-2020 3:07pm

bluewolf wrote: »

I did stop after about that many as well! i don't remember how far i got.
then amazon kept spamming them in my recommendations for ages ...

Yea, there's no way I'm reading 20 of them. Scrolled through Scribd for ages earlier looking for new ones & have the 'White Haven witches' series to try, along with Chuck Wendig's 'Blackbirds' which seems intriguing.
One annoying thing about Scribd is that it suddenly decides a book isn't going to be there anymore & just removes it from saved :mad:

keane2097 · 21-10-2020 3:31pm

Nody wrote: »

While KotW is very much a set of short stories the second book is much more somber and consistent as one story (and highly recommended).

Not too sombre I hope

Nody · 21-10-2020 4:48pm

keane2097 wrote: »

Not too sombre I hope

It takes a darker path for sure; not that it looses all the jokes etc. but it's no longer a monty python show of running gags and moves more towards a Blues Brothers kind of style. Still plenty of jokes but the tone is darker

shrapnel222 · 22-10-2020 8:17am

Nody wrote: »

While KotW is very much a set of short stories the second book is much more somber and consistent as one story (and highly recommended).

Thought the 2nd one was a really poor tbh. The first one was a hard one to follow, it was so much fun.

Really looking forward to seeing what he does next when he steps away from that world

baron von something · 23-10-2020 9:14pm

I recently read the 2 latest Dresden Files books. Peace Talks was utter rubbish. Probably my least favourite of the series.

Battle Grounds more than made up for it. Non stop from beginning to end. Very enjoyable. Hopefully we don't have to wait another 6 years for the next one.

I also just finished re reading The Collected by Joe Abercrombie which comprises of 6 books in his First Law world.

I'm taking a break now until the next Stormlight Archive book is released next month

PokeHerKing · 24-10-2020 12:49pm

Halfway through the 3rd book in Stephen Kings Dark Tower series.

The Stand is waiting on my bookshelf once I finish it.

I've decided to read every King book I can during lockdown 2.0.

Thargor · 29-10-2020 5:08am

Peter F Hamiltons Salvation Sequence will be finished with the release of the third book today (Kindle, hardback is in November), absolutely love his stuff and cant wait to read this series. Its a new universe nothing to do with the Commmonwealth or Federation:

https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Salvation-Sequence/dp/0399178880/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27ZZR5I47FZIH&dchild=1&keywords=saints+of+salvation&qid=1603944356&s=books&sprefix=saints+of+%2Cdigital-text%2C224&sr=1-1

Thargor · 29-10-2020 5:08am

Peter F Hamiltons Salvation Sequence will be finished with the release of the third book today (Kindle, hardback is in November), absolutely love his stuff and cant wait to read this series. Its a new universe nothing to do with the Commmonwealth or Federation:

https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Salvation-Sequence/dp/0399178880/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27ZZR5I47FZIH&dchild=1&keywords=saints+of+salvation&qid=1603944356&s=books&sprefix=saints+of+%2Cdigital-text%2C224&sr=1-1

Xofpod · 29-10-2020 10:45am

Finished the Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin, completing her Broken Earth trilogy. Absolutely loved it, even if the subsequent books don't match the heights of the first. Has anyone read her other stuff? How do they compare?

Igotadose · 29-10-2020 10:52am

Not reading, but abandoning "The Summer Tree" by Guy Gavriel Kay. What poorly written shallow boring junk. Steals part of his mythology from the much better Alfar series by Elizabeth Boyer, but what really put me off is what I think of as the first rule of fiction: tell me what I see, not what I feel. So badly written I wonder if he had an AI churn it out.

FWIW, I got about 20% in on the book and gave up. Nothing interesting or surprising happened, and the story felt like a bunch of other, better authors ideas stolen and slapped together.

As I'm recovering from various injuries due to a recent episode of acute clumsiness, I switched to some Max Gladstone novels, light reading but much better than Kay's opus.

coffee_cake · 29-10-2020 10:55am

Xofpod wrote: »

Finished the Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin, completing her Broken Earth trilogy. Absolutely loved it, even if the subsequent books don't match the heights of the first. Has anyone read her other stuff? How do they compare?

A lot of people prefer the hundred thousand ones i really like them but think broken earth book 3 is the best
Give it a go

New Hamilton? Yoink

keane2097 · 29-10-2020 11:27am

Xofpod wrote: »

Finished the Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin, completing her Broken Earth trilogy. Absolutely loved it, even if the subsequent books don't match the heights of the first. Has anyone read her other stuff? How do they compare?

I really enjoyed the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms one. Broken Earth was an excellent series in fairness.

I'm listening to the third book in that 'We are legion, We are Bob' series. Basically they're terrible, but they're easy listening on Audible so I find myself sticking one on if I'm out running or something.

shrapnel222 · 29-10-2020 1:23pm

Xofpod wrote: »

Finished the Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin, completing her Broken Earth trilogy. Absolutely loved it, even if the subsequent books don't match the heights of the first. Has anyone read her other stuff? How do they compare?

loved them both. didn't like her latest though. gave up a third of the way in

megaten · 29-10-2020 1:52pm

I did finish The city we became but it did feel like an entire book worth of setup.

lordgoat · 30-10-2020 7:32pm

Started the salvagers by Alex White. Enjoying book 1 a lot. Good fun, light sci-fi /F1 (yes that F1) romp.

Bits_n_Bobs · 02-11-2020 11:48pm

shrapnel222 wrote: »

loved them both. didn't like her latest though. gave up a third of the way in

Yup, same here. Last one was a s3lf indulgent stinker but couldn't recommend earlier works enough

mcgovern · 04-11-2020 11:18am

Thargor wrote: »

Peter F Hamiltons Salvation Sequence will be finished with the release of the third book today (Kindle, hardback is in November), absolutely love his stuff and cant wait to read this series. Its a new universe nothing to do with the Commmonwealth or Federation:

https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Salvation-Sequence/dp/0399178880/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27ZZR5I47FZIH&dchild=1&keywords=saints+of+salvation&qid=1603944356&s=books&sprefix=saints+of+%2Cdigital-text%2C224&sr=1-1

I'm halfway through the second one in the series at the moment. The first book is basically just a teaser with no real resolution. Second one suffers a lot I think from the split timelines. One in the not so distant future and one in the very distant future. But the fact that there is a very distant future means you know things don't go so horribly in the other timeline.

The Air War by Adrian Tchaikovsky was very good, getting near the end of the series now.
Also read Sythe by Neal Shusterman which is fairly derivitave YA Sci-fi.

smacl · 05-11-2020 5:01pm

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

Yup, same here. Last one was a s3lf indulgent stinker but couldn't recommend earlier works enough

Read most of hers, though haven't started "The city we became" yet. Really enjoyed her book of short stories prior to that "How long 'til black future month?"

Just finished Mike Carey's "The book of Koli" and "The trials of Koli". Highly entertaining post apocalyptic romp set in a future England where civilization has broken down. Nothing too high-brow but I found them real page turners and looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy coming out in March. Only warning is the end of the second book finishes on a bit of a cliff hanger, so for those that don't like suspense maybe wait until the last one is out before buying. I'd class Mike Carey in with Scalzi and Adrian Tchaikofsky as a very solid bet for entertaining and very readable sci-fi.

Just about to start into "Never let me go" which my youngest is doing for the leaving-cert and has recommended. Looking forward to it and also nice to have a book to natter about.

nhur · 08-11-2020 10:36pm

just finished Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson... Really wanted to like it having been blown away by some of his other stuff.. but Quicksilver was an ordeal - i was really hoping it would turn around and end well like Cryptonomicon... but it didn't. I presume the remaining books in the Baroque cycle are similar? They look to continue where Quicksilver left off...

I'm considering Hamilton's Void trilogy next... (or can i jump to the Chronicles of the Fallers?) - or perhaps Unsouled (Cradle Series) - thoughts/suggestions?

(also, Quicksilver is filed under Sci-Fi?!)

cdgalwegian · 08-11-2020 10:49pm

nhur wrote: »

just finished Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson... Really wanted to like it having been blown away by some of his other stuff.. but Quicksilver was an ordeal - i was really hoping it would turn around and end well like Cryptonomicon... but it didn't. I presume the remaining books in the Baroque cycle are similar? They look to continue where Quicksilver left off...

I'm considering Hamilton's Void trilogy next... (or can i jump to the Chronicles of the Fallers?) - or perhaps Unsouled (Cradle Series) - thoughts/suggestions?

(also, Quicksilver is filed under Sci-Fi?!)

Dunno why Quicksilver would be filed under sci-fi. It's historical fiction. The other 2 books in the Baroque cycle continue on chronologically and in the same style, with Cryptonomicon being a much further on in history very loose, sort-of, end to the cycle.

Luckily, I started off with Quicksilver, so hadn't known of his later sci-fi stuff.
I read the Void trilogy; not a fan of fantasy books, but it wasn't a big element to it, so despite that, it wasn't bad (I had started so had to finish).

What Are You Reading?

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