Alytha

Check out the runner-up from Luxembourg: (the board wouldn't let me post it as embedded although it automatically embedded it itself?)

Aww, sad to hear that. How good has the track record of these predictions been lately?

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I'm reading the collected short-stories of Arthur C Clarke. (it was cheap on Kindle a while ago...). Can't count how many times and in how many ways he's destroyed Earth (or at least humanity) so far. And once even Venus, too. Mars is doing OK so far. Most of the stories are actually OK, despite sometimes showing their age. It must have been so challenging to write about space in the 40s and 50s, before science actually got a good idea about the conditions on the moon and our neighbouring planets. As far as I can tell, he consistently gets Venus wrong, but the moon seems to be reasonably realistic, apart from the plants in his stories. And would it have killed him to have a female protagonist every once in a while? Interstellar travel, no big deal, but a woman outside the house, nah that would be too much. Ok, to be fair, he does mention that there's female scientists even fairly early on, but they're never very visible.

Also, Luxembourg is back! I hope we'll at least make it to the final. Personally, I preferred the runner-up of the national finals, but Tali's song isn't too bad either. I guess the final choice was between a ballad and a dance-music song, but I think both would have fit in quite well.

I've read a sample of The Portable Door by Tom Holt, and I thought it sounded like fun, but I'm afraid that there will be the seemingly inevitable romance (or attempt at it) between Paul and Sophie, and I'm not in the mood for that. Has anybody read it and can advise? Further, I've read Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins because somebody on here recommended it. In general I really liked it, although I would have liked the ending to be a bit more... twisty?, with all the unreliable narrator thing she had going on. Also read Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, a supernatural / horror story about the things you can find up in the mountains. It's really creepy (especially the intro...) and really messed-up in a good way. I've bought Hex by the same author but haven't read it yet.

I have been reading a couple of samples on kindle lately, and would appreciate some help deciding if I should get them or not - Babel17 by Samuel R Delaney - I'm always a bit wary of classic sci-fi as it tends to not age very well. Has anybody read it and could comment on that? - The City of Dusk by Tara Sim: I found the premise interesting, but from the sample, there seems to be a lot of teenage drama incoming? Has anybody read it? Is it rather YA or adult level? Thank you!

I'm rereading the Witcher books, currently Time of Contempt. I might be the only one who actually quite likes the English translation . It gives it a kind of a unique tone, different from the usual fantasy style. In between the Witcher books, I've recently read the following: Unraveller by Frances Hardinge, which I really loved. It might be a bit YA, but it has this awesome magical world-building, and I'd like to read more set in this or a similar world. The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castel, which was nice solid snarky pretty grim fantasy Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey which I didn't like all that much. Other people did the space marine thing much better, and there wasn't that much to the plot. Probably not going to pick up the sequels. (also kept reading Pandemonium instead of Pandominion in my head) Age of Ash (Kithamar 1) by Daniel Abraham: quite liked it. Sammish is awesome. Alys was a bit annoying although psychologically, you can understand what she's going through and why she does what she does. Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths by Darren Naish, because I'm really into skepticism of paranormal stuff at the moment. The Essex Serpent: A Novel by Sarah Perry, which I really liked (also fitting in quite well with the above, coincidentally). Usually not a fan of Victorian lit, but this one is different. Has anyone read her other novel After Me Comes the Flood? Airside by Christopher Priest. Really weird beastie of a book, but it combines two of my major interests, aviation and movies, so I liked it. Also reading Jodi Taylor's Saint Mary's and Time Police novels as they come available as kindle deals. I like the style that's weirdly between comedy and tragedy.

Lany! It's been such a long time, I've missed you (yes I'm terrible at communicating) and Merry Christmas or other Midwinter celebration of choice, to everybody!