November Reads 2015 2.0

[Garett Hornwood]

Well with the forum upgrade the last six weeks worth of content completely disappeared.  So I've restarted the November thread...

I just started reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as my primary read.

I'm still taking 5-to-15 minute chunks out of Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, over 50% through so far.

I'm also reading Death Vigil by Stjepan Sejic, a graphic novel that I should be finished with tomorrow.

Alright that's what I'm currently reading, how about you?

[Corvinus85]

I gave up on Endymion almost half-way through. Sorry, Revanchist, but it was dreadfully boring and I was reading it at a snail's pace. And I have a few other books I wish to finish by the end of the year. But I hate doing it. It is the 2nd time this year I gave up on a book, and in both cases it happened roughly in the middle.

Anyway, I am currently re-reading Cornwell's The Winter King, and then will continue with the sequels, which I hadn't read.

[SkynJay]

I am weak.  After four years of reading mostly new releases I fired up The Blade Itself on the ol Kindle.  I am now halfway through Before They Are Hanged.  Looks like it is time for a reread binge.

edit:  Not that it matters in the least but HOLY HELL, I lost a thousand posts here. Didn't realize I had been that active lately.

[RedEyedGhost]

I'm still working on my Autumnal reading, I'm in the midst of buying a house so there's been way too little actual reading taking place.  Banquet for the Damned by Adam Nevill was amazing and so far The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett is too.

edit:  Not that it matters in the least but HOLY HELL, I lost a thousand posts here. Didn't realize I had been that active lately.

I've lost about three thousand - I'm pretty sure I was at about 7800 at the save point (with about 8250 yesterday).

Something sure "[goes wrong]" a lot with the new board, typing lags significantly, I can click on links that have invisible buttons (go to first unread post), and poor Hobbes has lost half of his head. It's infinitely worse on my phone.

 

[polishgenius]

I read The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. I didn't hate it or anything, it was fun, but the more I think about it the more I can't believe this shit won a Hugo. I'm all for innacuracy in my SF but when you're presenting yourself in the manner of a hard SF or Neal Stephenson novel, all thought experiments and explorations of various ideas, you'd better have at least the pretence of rigour of thought and this just doesn't.

 

I mean there isn't even a fucking three body problem in it.

Plus a large part of the plot revolves around the idea that scientists will as a group start killing themselves if they find results which don't make sense, a notion which I find genuinely offends me.

[Darth Richard II]

Yeah the board on Mobile seems, well I know it's not the owners fault they didn't make the program. This new forum is shit. Hopefully it's just hiccups, but I find it odd there's no mobile version.  I gave a feeling this will all be rolled back again soon.

[Jo498]

I am reading the second witcher prequel (novellas) and while not bad, it is also not great. Apparently this series really gets going with the longer novels. Also slightly disappointed by a Rex Stout side-quel "The Hand in the Glove" presenting Dol Bonner as one of the first female (professional) detectives in fiction. For me quite a bit of the attraction of Stout is the narrative voice of Archie Goodwin. Similar to Wodehouse being best with Bertie Wooster narrating the stories.

 

[TheRevanchist]

I gave up on Endymion almost half-way through. Sorry, Revanchist, but it was dreadfully boring and I was reading it at a snail's pace. And I have a few other books I wish to finish by the end of the year. But I hate doing it. It is the 2nd time this year I gave up on a book, and in both cases it happened roughly in the middle.

Anyway, I am currently re-reading Cornwell's The Winter King, and then will continue with the sequels, which I hadn't read.

I understand. I also said that didn't like Endymion at all, but its sequel is very good, and in the end I was happy to have sticked with it.

There is a great payoff if you read the Rise of Endymion, but Endymion is really a weak book.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I barely recognize this forum!

I am about half way through Half a War by Joe Abercrombie.  I'm quite liking his YA take on his brand of fantasy.

[Astromech]

I'm roughly 100 pages into Leviathan Wakes and am loving it. It has been a while since I've read a good space opera. My previous November read was S.C. Gwynne's, Empire of the Summer Moon.

[williamjm]

I read The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. I didn't hate it or anything, it was fun, but the more I think about it the more I can't believe this shit won a Hugo. I'm all for innacuracy in my SF but when you're presenting yourself in the manner of a hard SF or Neal Stephenson novel, all thought experiments and explorations of various ideas, you'd better have at least the pretence of rigour of thought and this just doesn't.

Hidden Content

It did have some really interesting scenes and ideas in it, but there was also quite a lot that seemed unbelievable.

I agree that the idea of all the scientists committing suicide seemed over-the-top. I'm sure at least some of them would be delighted at having an apparently insoluble problem to attempt solve.

I did think a lot of the characterisation felt implausible, a lot of characters do some fairly extreme things and often they don't seem to have much justification for it. I did think the various traumas that Ye Wenjie went through did reasonably explain that she'd give up on humanity, but most of the rest didn't get as much character development.

For a Hard SF novel there were also some glaring factual errors, the Alpha Centauri system may have three suns but they're not arranged in the way described in the book.

[TheRevanchist]

Finished 'Golden Fool'. The only book from Hobb which didn't finish with a big event happening. Instead it was peaceful.

The story didn't progress that much, but the characters definitely did. Still, this trilogy screams for more Kettricken.

Now on 'Fool's Fate'.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I read the first Acts of Caine book. What wasted potential.

[Starkess]

I finally finished The Neutronium Alchemist. The first half was sooo slow, but it started to pick up some steam during the second half. Probably helped that I had some time off so I was able to sit down and read for 5+ hours to finish it. Long-ass book. I decided to get the last book, The Naked God, to finish out the trilogy, even though it's another long one. Hopefully I can finish this month...

[Lyanna Stark]

Rereading Ivanhoe by Walter Scott and marvelling at how it's both hilarious and annoying at the same time. Unfortunately I don't think Brian de Bois-Guilbert will survive this reread either. It may be potentially be a shite feminist view, but I think de Bois-Guilbert always get dealt a really bad hand. Dude's a marvel. More or less self made, handsome, skilled, he offers Rebecca untold riches, devotion and a life like a royal if she comes with him. He's totally willing to sacrifice absolutely everything, including his good standing, honour and everything he has worked for and defect to the enemy if only she would come with him. But no, she chooses to not abandon her faith!

 

So perhaps the feminist thing would be to say "Sod this!" to the patriarchal God and go off to live in marvellous sin and debauchery with Brian de Bois-Guilbert. That's my story and I am sticking to it!

 

Ivanhoe is also immensely quotable. It's also really obvious that GRRM has been very inspired by Ivanhoe when he wrote ASOIAF. There are mummers, tourneys, Sir Knights and then de Bois-Guilbert's (I love that dude, he's so messed up) brilliant debate with Rebecca about vengeance vs honour which is constantly re-imaged by various characters in ASOIAF.

 

Also, Brian de Bois-Guilbert is just badass.

"Say not so, maiden," answered the Templar; "revenge is a feast for the gods! And if they have reserved it, as priests tell us, to themselves, it is because they hold it an enjoyment too precious for the possession of mere mortals.—And ambition? it is a temptation which could disturb even the bliss of heaven itself."—He paused a moment, and then added, "Rebecca! she who could prefer death to dishonour, must have a proud and a powerful soul. Mine thou must be!—Nay, start not," he added, "it must be with thine own consent, and on thine own terms. Thou must consent to share with me hopes more extended than can be viewed from the throne of a monarch!—Hear me ere you answer and judge ere you refuse.—The Templar loses, as thou hast said, his social rights, his power of free agency, but he becomes a member and a limb of a mighty body, before which thrones already tremble,—even as the single drop of rain which mixes with the sea becomes an individual part of that resistless ocean, which undermines rocks and ingulfs royal armadas. Such a swelling flood is that powerful league. Of this mighty Order I am no mean member, but already one of the Chief Commanders, and may well aspire one day to hold the batoon of Grand Master. The poor soldiers of the Temple will not alone place their foot upon the necks of kings—a hemp-sandall'd monk can do that. Our mailed step shall ascend their throne—our gauntlet shall wrench the sceptre from their gripe. Not the reign of your vainly-expected Messiah offers such power to your dispersed tribes as my ambition may aim at. I have sought but a kindred spirit to share it, and I have found such in thee."

So when it comes to Messiah, de Bois-Guilbert claims that it's actually: Messiah <<<<< de Bois-Guilbert. He's better and more awesome than the saviour himself.  

 

[polishgenius]

It did have some really interesting scenes and ideas in it, but there was also quite a lot that seemed unbelievable.

 

Hidden Content

 

Yeah, it's pretty much not hard SF at all:
 

Even if Alpha Centauri was as described, which obviously it's not, I'm pretty certain the behaviour of the stars therein is impossible. And, you know, the whole 'if they get this far away you can't see the whole sun properly, just a big star' just makes no sense whatsoever. Anymore than our sun amplifying signals does, a development he included apparently to cover for the fact that a regular earthly signal wouldn't be strong enough to detect, a detail which almost no-one would have noticed if he hadn't corrected with a much worse failure of science.

[3CityApache]

I just started Storm Front, the first Harry Dresden novel. I'm hooked.

edit:  Not that it matters in the least but HOLY HELL, I lost a thousand posts here. Didn't realize I had been that active lately.

I lost almost 300 and there is no way I could make so many in the last two months only. Ergo - something went more wrong than it appears.

[Ser Drizztos]

Started reading Mark Smylie's The Barrow couple days ago. The sex is a bit over the top and doesn't really add anything to the story (unlike in Bakker's novels, where it's used sparingly and to great dramatic effect), reminiscent of the GOT show that had to show sex or tits at least once per episode. I am, however, intrigued by the incestuous relationship between two of the characters, curious to find out what their big secret is. So far so mediocre, but at least the reading goes quick. 

[williamjm]

 

Yeah, it's pretty much not hard SF at all:
 

Hidden Content

 

And, you know, the whole 'if they get this far away you can't see the whole sun properly, just a big star' just makes

no sense whatsoever

Yes, that's another thing that didn't seem to make any sense to me. I think it's one of those SF stories that the more you think about it the less sense it makes.

I lost almost 300 and there is no way I could make so many in the last two months only. Ergo - something went more wrong than it appears.

I think I lost about 3500 posts. In the help forum Linda explained that the new board has recounted all the posts and that doesn't include any deleted posts because they haven't been migrated - presumably most of the missing posts are in threads from several years ago which got culled at some point. 

[First of My Name]

I'm enjoying The Fall of Hyperion, but unless it ends with a bang of unusual size I don't think I'll pick up Endymion. I'm still looking forward to seeing how the pilgrimage plays out though.