215 replies to this topic

[peterbound]

nickg, on 20 February 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

I might be wrong, but I believe the garret series, or at least the first few, were published in the 80s. I didnt find them dated though. To be honest, im not well read in this particular genre.

Hell, HE doesn't talk about them much. The last panel i saw him on he didn't bring it up, not once, and when asked about them he kinda brushed them off.

[Brady]

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis. It's super powered Nazis fighting warlocks in WWII! WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS???

[Merrin]

nickg, on 20 February 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

I might be wrong, but I believe the garret series, or at least the first few, were published in the 80s. I didnt find them dated though. To be honest, im not well read in this particular genre.

I finished the first book in the omnibus and quite liked it. It was quick and easy and was a pretty fun read. I honestly didn't even think about when they were published so I guess they're not obviously dated. I'm looking forward to the next one!

[Alytha]

Continuing the Mary Gentle binge with the Orthe / Chronicles of Carrick V omnibus.

About 120 pages in, and it's quite ok for a first-contact with difficulties kind of story.

[Peadar]

I have started Jo Anderton's Debris.

[jdiddyesquire]

Peadar, on 21 February 2012 - 03:32 PM, said:

I have started Jo Anderton's Debris.

I enjoyed that. Solid.

Working on a different Angry Robot title myself: Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle

[Grack21]

nickg, on 19 February 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

After getting sidetracked, I'm finally getting into All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear. I haven't read anything from her before this so I wasn't sure what to expect. Its based loosely on Norse mythology though, and that's basically all I needed to know.

Its a great book so far. The prose, the characters, and the world building are all excellent. I really like the post apocalyptic setting.

I really want to try that, but every time I Think about it I remember A Companion to Wolves.....Ick.

[nickg]

Grack21, on 21 February 2012 - 11:30 PM, said:

I really want to try that, but every time I Think about it I remember A Companion to Wolves.....Ick.

Lucky for me, I missed that one.

[Myshkin]

Finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.  Really great book.  Hilarious and heartbreaking.

Now onto A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami.

[Ormond]

I finished The Help last night. I ended up enjoying it for the most part. I can see why it became a bestseller, because the characters are interesting and there is a lot of humor, especially in the chapters narrated by the character Minny. And I thought it was some ways a good presentation of what it must have been like to be living in the Deep South during the early 60s.

I wish Kathryn Stockett had done even more with the issues of classism as well as racism. She tries to point that out with the character of Celia, but since Celia is the ONLY White character in the book from a poor or working class background, I think it is too easy to see her situation as just being purely personal instead of very much connected to the general prejudice against poor whites that the Junior League women surely had.

I also didn't find the criticisms I've heard to be just except in one respect. It certainly is true that the Black men in the book aren't presented very positively. All the adult Black males except for the pastor are drunken lazy spouse abusers. The couple of positive teenage Black males are offstage characters who are dead or blinded by a racist beating. Though the assassination of Medgar Evers is mentioned, there is never a description of his leadership qualities, personality, or even exactly what actions he took that made him a target except just being the head of the local NAACP. So I can agree with the critics who fault Stockett's depiction of Black men, unlike her depiction of Black women, as reinforcing negative stereotypes instead of challenging them.

It will be interesting to see what others think at this afternoon's discussion.

My next book to read is the science fiction novel Appleseed by John Clute, the well-known critic of science fiction and fantasy.

Edited by Ormond, 23 February 2012 - 09:07 AM.

[Bellis]

Ironically, Ormond, I just saw the movie The Help last night. I didn't realize the book included multiple POVs. I also noticed the paucity of black males (or really any developed male characters) in the movie. The Help was also interesting because to me it was a follow-up to Downtown Abbey, and so I was also thinking about the concept of domestic service, divorced from the issues of race. Minny's almost equal friendship with Celia is really interesting in this regard.

So, yeah, this is a book thread. Ahem.

I read Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics. They were quick and easy, but also a mixed bag. Some of the episodes were more thought-provoking than others (e.g. the bit about altruism and the prisoner's dilemma). At times, it seemed the authors just wanted to get onto their own soapbox (e.g. with thier unconventional views on combatting climate change). There's also a beyond obnoxious level of self-promotion and promotion of their favorite economist friends. Every introduction to a new scholar includes a backstory and a tell-not-show about this person being the smartest coolest most iconoclastic person ever. I guess it's written more for the business-inspirational crowd than the popular science reading crowd.

[Merrin]

I finished off the omnibus of Garrett, P.I. stories. I actually really enjoyed it. I've seen it mentioned that people are reminded quite a bit of the Dresden books and, yes, there are some similarities between the main characters, but I ultimately found they were quite different. I just don't get the same vibe from these stories as I do with Dresden although I'm hard-pressed to think of why.

I'm going to start the first book in David Weber's Honor series. I picked it up because I haven't seen any reviews or talk about it so I really have no idea what it's going to be like. It's a strange feeling!

[Grack21]

Its Horatio Horrnblower in space.

[polishgenius]

I picked up Kate Griffin's latest book, The Minority Council, along with Benedict Jacka's debut, Fated at their signing in London tonight. So them.

[RedEyedGhost]

I finished Falling Free by Louis McMaster Bujold yesterday, and it was really enjoyable.  It's about a research station that gets around human genome manipulation and creates a new race of humans perfectly adapted to zero gravity called "quaddies" because one of their adaptations is that their feet and legs are replaced by hands and arms.  Definitely an interesting introduction to one of the most popular space opera series ever.  I'm looking forward to reading more.

I'm now about 20% through City of Dreams and Nightmare by Ian Whates.  I can't recall seeing it mentioned on the board or any of the blogs I follow, but it's really good so far.  It came to my attention from the Angry Robot ebook sale last month, although it looks like it's still on sale at amazon.

[nickg]

I bought City of Dreams and Nightmare as well. I'm only a couple of pages in though. Not sure when I will get back to it

[SkynJay]

nickg, on 24 February 2012 - 01:49 AM, said:

I bought City of Dreams and Nightmare as well. I'm only a couple of pages in though. Not sure when I will get back to it

That does look good.  As it is still on sale,  I eagerly await updates.  There are still a couple of those I thought about trying.  A little reluctent to go into it blind again as Roil was so iffy for me.

[Grack21]

After a week of crazy schoolwork followed by a week of illness, got to finish up Use of Weapons.

Mind = Blown.

[pat5150]

Just finished Tad Williams newest collection of short fiction, A Stark and Wormy Knight. Some stories are hit or miss, but there are a few gems in there. It should satisfy the author's legions of fans.

Check out the blog for the full review.

Cheers,

Patrick

[Cuchulain]

I recently finished Pynchon's V. Really enjoyed it. The novel is written in the author's typical, sprawling style but I found it much easier to read than say Gravity's Rainbow.

I'm currently reading Dan Simmons' Summer of Night. Forty-odd pages in the basic setup seems very similar to Stephen King's It.