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Second Quarter 2019 Reading


Garett Hornwood

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I'm reading Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett which I'm really enjoying so far.

I've got a beach holiday coming up in a couple of weeks, which isn't really my thing, but on the plus side I should have a lot of time to read so I'm stocking up on books for my kindle. I've held off on reading Tiamat's Wrath and Children of Ruin and I just saw Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay is only £2 on Amazon so that's a decent start. 

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Coming into the final stretch of Assassin's Apprentice

Took a little while for it to get going for me, but that could be because it is my first book in seven months and my first fantasy novel in twelve months...:rolleyes:

I found that a few things happened too quickly, like the Forge scene, but all in all I'm loving it. I think what I've liked best (so far) is Hobb's ability to create believable characters. I've gotten really attached to a few which leads me on to...

@HelenaExMachina

You were right! I've just finished the Skill training with Galen and it's aftermath (now on the chapter 'Lessons'). Tough to read, you don't often come across depression discussed in fantasy novels, certainly not pertaining to children/YA. 

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14 hours ago, Peadar said:

I've started Blood Wedding and Other Stories by Robert Reed. He's one of my favourite writers, but I don't see much new work by him these days.

That's a shame he is one of the SF authors I like the most. He is awesome conveying a sense of  vastness when writing stuff set in space. Even better at it than Alastair Reynolds imo. 

I check on a regular basis if he has a new book out.

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I couldn't sleep the other night and ended up reading The Traitor's Wife in one go. Historical fiction about Benedict Arnold's wife. It was okay. The writing was very simplistic, as was the plotting as it related to the fictional side was as well, but the historical aspect was interesting and really tried to get in to the head of Peggy Arnold (without being from her POV). 

Not sure what to read next. I have a few things on my Kindle but none of them are screaming "read me", and browsing through the store and the library hasn't inspired me to grab anything. Might mean I'll go for some re-reads next.

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Reading two books at once at the moment:

1. The Long Price Quartet: An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham

2. Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond by Robert H. Nelson

The latter book is incredibly interesting and I highly, highly recommend it. I've grabbed the summary that's online on Goodreads:

"Robert Nelson’s Reaching for Heaven on Earth, Economics as Religion, and The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion Versus Environmental Religion in Contemporary America read almost like a trilogy, exploring and charting the boundaries of theology and economics from the Western foundations of ancient Greece through the traditions that Nelson identifies as “Protestant” and “Roman,” and on into modern economic forms such as Marxism and capitalism, as well as environmentalism. Nelson argues that economics can be a genuine form of religion and that it should inform our understanding of the religious developments of our times. This edition of Economics as Religion situates the influence of his work in the scholarly economic and theological conversations of today and reflects on the state of the economics profession and the potential implications for theology, economics, and other social sciences."

Nelson cites Paul Tillich, who my [first] undergraduate professor and supervisor studied under/had as a professor in his youth, which adds a sentimental note to the book for me. (Nelson is also referenced and cited in David Orrell's books, which I have also read, which makes me feel like I've come full circle somehow.)

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Finished Cibola Burn by James S.A Corey, the fourth Expanse book, last week. I didn't like the new characters as much I usually do with these through most of the book and then completely changed my mind in the end. Light spoilers:

Spoiler

I love how both Elvi and Havelock don't see how bad Murphy is through most of it. Then suddenly, when it gets bad enough, they both change their views. Thought it was a great insight into how people want to believe that their side is right and will see events through that lens until something completely chatters it. Also thought it was brilliant how the whole book is really small in scope, and then the epilogue comes along and places the story in the wider context of the world, making you rethink everything. 

I also always love how fast-paced these books are. It never gets slow or boring.

Currently finishing my LotR re-read with The Return of the King and loving it.

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32 minutes ago, Lord Patrek said:

Just finished Bradley P. Beaulieu's Beneath the Twisted Trees and you can read my review here.

Good, but not quite as good as the last two volumes.

I was just wondering when the next instalment was due out! Thanks for the review

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Alright, I avoided the forum during Season 8 for the most part so here is what I've been reading since my last post on April 20.

The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer by Caitlin Murray, a history of the U.S. Women's National Team not only their play on the field but also their struggles off especially over pay with U.S. Soccer.  Sword and Citadel by Gene Wolfe, this is a omnibus of the last two stories of The Book of the New Sun and unfortunately I hated it and think the overall tetralogy is overrated.  Politika (Tom Clancy's Power Plays #1) by Jerome Preisler, an international tech company's security force helps resolve a political crisis in Russia at the beginning of the new millennium.  While the overall story had issues, the concept was unique and still makes me look forward to re-reading the series for the first time in two decades.  The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, the first half of the book makes no sense that the second half is a reward for just sticking through.  Probably not the first book Faulkner book anyone should read that is for sure (I learn lessons the hard way).  Night Probe! by Clive Cussler, the sixth book of the Dirk Pitt series sees the titular character go up against a middle-aged James Bond (not the name used in the book because Cussler doesn't want to be sued, but the identification is unmistakeable).  The young Pitt bests the older Bond in finding a 75-year old treaty that would embarrass the UK and open up the possibility of uniting Canada with the U.S.  Finally reread Misson of Honor by Jeff Rovin, the ninth book of the Op-Center series which see's the titular U.S. crisis management agency switch from solving issues with a military team to a Black-Ops HUMINT team on the ground that prevents a civil war in Botswana based on religion (though the situation should have been placed in a West African country).

My next read is English Constitutional Conflicts of the Seventeenth Century: 1603-1689 by J.R. Tanner.

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Finished Assassin's Apprentice last night. Good stuff. Thought the pacing could've been a bit better, maybe; considerable time jumps in the space is a paragraph or two...It wasn't anything drastic or I wouldn't have carried on with it, but I would've liked to have known more about what had happened in those gaps. Loved it, though, and looking forward for my copy of Royal Assassin to arrive. 

In the meantime, I have started on Jurassic Park. FINALLY getting around to reading it!

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Re-reading David Gemmell's Rigante quartet. Essentially the first two books tell of a celt-like people preparing for invasion by. Rome-esq state. The last two books are set 600 years later, with muskets, the celts having been conquered by a people based on Scandinavians/Saxons.

 

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I just whizzed through One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence. I didn't really like Prince of Thorns so I haven't read anything else of his but I  really enjoyed this, it's tapping into the current market for '80s nostalgia but it does it pretty well. The second book is already out (a month after the first one was released) which is convenient. 

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15 hours ago, Ser Kafka said:

In the meantime, I have started on Jurassic Park. FINALLY getting around to reading it!

Are you doing a back-to-back reading of Jurassic Park and The Lost World? Or just Jurassic Park?

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