Second Quarter 2020 reading

[Jo498]

The plague/isolation framework is why I finally got the Decameron from the shelves; I don't even know where I got this copy from, probably inherited it or from some garage sale but could never be bothered to start. And the beginning with the preface addressing the fair ladies who made the author suffer through rejection and whatever is a little tedious. So are the couple of pages framing each day with their walks in the pleasure garden, dancing and singing. (These poems/songs are probably great in Italian, but not that impressive in translation.)

[Zorral]

What you find slow I find fascinating from a cultural, historical perspective.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

Finished Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari.  (Non-fiction, just in case anyone is unfamiliar with him). The historian moonlights as a futurist to produce a less interesting and less compelling book.  The best parts were the reframing of historical patterns e.g. animism in hunter-gatherers morphing into theism with agriculture morphing into humanism in modernity, the power of intersubjective abstractions (religion, nations, corporations, ideals), and the 20th century as a battle between three competing forms of humanism.  But his central premise is very weak: that there will be widespread acceptance of humans as biological algorithms, ending the idea of free will/agency/self/mind/responsibility and therefore we’ll voluntarily replace ourselves with AI.  I think the sense of self will persist, even if it is a fiction.  And I think he overlooks that in the past 30-40 years large portions of the population have already become unnecessary to economic production or military power (which he sees as a future event), and society has already reassigned them roles primarily as consumers with token contribution to economic production in the form of low wage service sector.

I knew going in that this was less well regarded than his Sapiens.  It wasn’t terrible but my pace of reading dropped noticeably because it just wasn’t that compelling.  During this book I watched my first TV series in several weeks. 

[Peadar]

13 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

The best parts were the reframing of historical patterns e.g. animism in hunter-gatherers morphing into theism with agriculture morphing into humanism in modernity

If this is your bag, I would highly recommend Barbara Ehrenreich's Blood Rites. I found it fascinating.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Nearing the end of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. A classic, of course, but an uneven collection, and you keep wondering how, exactly, we are to see the Prioress' Tale (myself, I differentiate between character and author, but even so....).

In other news, I can now report that I have successfully memorised the poem Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll. There are worse ways of spending lockdown.

[ljkeane]

Over the last few days I've read Vicious by V.E. Schwab, The Names of the Dead by Kevin Wignall and Thorns of a Black Rose by our own Derfel.

Vicious is a bit of a twist on the usual super hero story. It's entertaining enough. The Names of the Dead is pretty good it feels pretty similar to the other book of Wignall's I just read only with the protagonist sliding a bit more to the sociopathic end of the morally ambiguous scale. I'll read some more of his books by I'll probably leave a bigger gap before I pick up another one. Thorns of a Black Rose is very good. If there's anyone else here who hasn't read it I'd absolutely recommend it.

Next up I'm reading Ben Aaronovitch's False Value. I've been a bit torn on this one so I've not gotten round to it as quickly as I usually do with his books. I really like the series but it really felt like the last book was a bit of a natural ending point and a lot of what was good about the series was related to him being in the police. I was going to wait until it came down in price but I've run out of patience. 

[Rorshach]

On 4/3/2020 at 6:02 PM, Iskaral Pust said:

I started, but abandoned at 15%, Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley.  This is a grimdark fantasy about a power struggle and clash of civilizations.  So far there seems to an elf-like nomadic tribal race and a splinter group of religious zealots who are seeking to overthrow a feudal medieval nation undergoing an internal power struggle.  It started well enough, albeit a bit dense with new and unfamiliar names and naming structures, and then got bogged down with very emo, self-pitying character arcs and plot arcs.  I’m not sure if this is worth indulging further.  Does it get better?

I see that it's answered already, but no. Very average.

For me, I've just read M L N Hanover (or Daniel Abraham, if you prefer). The Black Sun's Daughter was a fun series, fast-paced and easily accesible - and fun. Not very deep, but that wasn't what I read it for.

Also read Lord of the Hunt by @Derfel Cadarn. So should you, but seeing as it's a second book, read Resurrection Men first. I like the atmosphere of these books, and it doesn't hurt that they're well written. 

Currently reading The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook by Luke Barnes and Geraint Lewis. Seeing as it's about science, methodology and thelike, it's different than the other two. I thought they did a good job with A Fortunate Universe, however, in making accessible the science they take on, so I'm giving this one a go as well.

[Peadar]

I'm currently reading Haven by Adam Roberts -- set in the same shared world as Dave Hutchinson's Shelter. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

1 hour ago, ljkeane said:

Over the last few days I've read Vicious by V.E. Schwab, The Names of the Dead by Kevin Wignall and Thorns of a Black Rose by our own Derfel.

 Thorns of a Black Rose is very good. If there's anyone else here who hasn't read it I'd absolutely recommend it.

 

1 hour ago, Rorshach said:

 

Also read Lord of the Hunt by @Derfel Cadarn. So should you, but seeing as it's a second book, read Resurrection Men first. I like the atmosphere of these books, and it doesn't hurt that they're well written. 

Currently reading The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook by Luke Barnes and Geraint Lewis. Seeing as it's about science, methodology and thelike, it's different than the other two. I thought they did a good job with A Fortunate Universe, however, in making accessible the science they take on, so I'm giving this one a go as well.

Two of my books mentioned in an hour! Thanks @ljkeaneand @Rorschach  

Currently about halfway through writing The Blood Hour, the ‘follow-up’ to Thorns of a Black Rose, which is technically the prelude to The Bone King series (though may get marketed retrospectively as book 1, I’ll see).

@rorshach How do you feel Lord of the Hunt compared to Resurrection Men out of curiosity? I’m unable to judge albeit will have a better idea when i get the LotH paperback and read RM and it back to back.  Currently planning books 3 and 4 of the quartet (potential titles being Lucifer & Son and And Winter Came)with a view to start writing them back to back end of the year.

As a side note, if the lockdown continues, physical books may get a bit scarce (in UK at least) as the wholesalers (such as Gardners and Bertrams) are apparently closed down for now. My publisher is still supplying paperbooks via their direct website or Amazon Marketplace direct from their printer. So if books start running out from your usual places and you’re looking for more physical material, www.elsewhen.press have about 60 fantasy and sci-fi titles available (including @Zoë Sumra Underside space opera books). It was through those books that I learned of the publisher and ultimately got published by them.

Re the Godless World books (Winterbirth etc by Ruckley), I found them okay; very grim.

Re-reading Forge of Darkness by Erikson and enjoying it more than I thought I would.

[Rorshach]

55 minutes ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

 

Two of my books mentioned in an hour! Thanks @ljkeaneand @Rorschach  

Currently about halfway through writing The Blood Hour, the ‘follow-up’ to Thorns of a Black Rose, which is technically the prelude to The Bone King series (though may get marketed retrospectively as book 1, I’ll see).

@rorshach How do you feel Lord of the Hunt compared to Resurrection Men out of curiosity? I’m unable to judge albeit will have a better idea when i get the LotH paperback and read RM and it back to back.  Currently planning books 3 and 4 of the quartet (potential titles being Lucifer & Son and And Winter Came)with a view to start writing them back to back end of the year.

As a side note, if the lockdown continues, physical books may get a bit scarce (in UK at least) as the wholesalers (such as Gardners and Bertrams) are apparently closed down for now. My publisher is still supplying paperbooks via their direct website or Amazon Marketplace direct from their printer. So if books start running out from your usual places and you’re looking for more physical material, www.elsewhen.press have about 60 fantasy and sci-fi titles available (including @Zoë Sumra Underside space opera books). It was through those books that I learned of the publisher and ultimately got published by them.

Re the Godless World books (Winterbirth etc by Ruckley), I found them okay; very grim.

Re-reading Forge of Darkness by Erikson and enjoying it more than I thought I would.

If I may say so - quite different. 

I was wondering where you'd go after the end of book 1. Seemed like somehow the stakes had been raised a bit too high. And I kept thinking that about ... what, the first sixth part of the book or so. 

Then the book sort of kicked into gear for me, and there were twists enough to keep me guessing throughout - positive, that. 

I'm not entirely sure about the following, so take it with a grain of salt: I enjoyed the mood, the backdrop, a little bit better in book 1. Glasgow was perhaps a better background actor given the subject (cities tend to be dark after sunfall, after all). And it was tighter, in that we didn't jump as much between players and locations. 

The antagonists, on the other hand, were better this time around, to my mind. And there was more of an emotional impact - not least at the end.

I think I'd rate them about the same. Hoping to see Glasgow again, though

[The Marquis de Leech]

Finished Canterbury Tales. Annoyingly, like most modern translations, my edition omitted the Tale of Melibee and the Parson's Tale, so I chased those up online afterwards. Honestly, editors need to trust their readership more. If someone is sitting down to read Chaucer, chances are they won't mind wading through a pair of annoying religious treatises - at worst, they could at least be put as appendices, for completist purposes.

[Derfel Cadarn]

3 hours ago, Rorshach said:

If I may say so - quite different. 

I was wondering where you'd go after the end of book 1. Seemed like somehow the stakes had been raised a bit too high. And I kept thinking that about ... what, the first sixth part of the book or so. 

Then the book sort of kicked into gear for me, and there were twists enough to keep me guessing throughout - positive, that. 

I'm not entirely sure about the following, so take it with a grain of salt: I enjoyed the mood, the backdrop, a little bit better in book 1. Glasgow was perhaps a better background actor given the subject (cities tend to be dark after sunfall, after all). And it was tighter, in that we didn't jump as much between players and locations. 

The antagonists, on the other hand, were better this time around, to my mind. And there was more of an emotional impact - not least at the end.

I think I'd rate them about the same. Hoping to see Glasgow again, though

Thanks, and thanks also for the Amazon review (assuming it is yours?)

All fair points. Glasgow did suffer a bit, in part because it was mostly through Kerry’s eyes, and also because unlike Hunt, she grew up in poverty and has a more jaundiced view of the city.

Glasgow will indeed feature much more in books 3 and 4. The plot will be more streamlined, with the protagonists coming together much earlier. I suspect had Penny Dreadful started before I began this series, I would have done so in Resurrection Men.

First review up on Goodreads, by reviewer Jill-Elizabeth - very happy with it, and relieved, as she’s not a reviewer to shy from low-scoring reviews.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3246574909?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

[Starkess]

I decided to give up on The Book Thief even though I didn't give it much of a shot. Lined up the last book in the Themis Files, Only Human, for my audiobook listening.

Started Rich People Problems, the third book in the Crazy Rich Asians series, as a (hopefully) fun and easy read. I scarcely remember the plot of book 2, but I figure that won't matter much.

[Rorshach]

10 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Thanks, and thanks also for the Amazon review (assuming it is yours?)

All fair points. Glasgow did suffer a bit, in part because it was mostly through Kerry’s eyes, and also because unlike Hunt, she grew up in poverty and has a more jaundiced view of the city.

Glasgow will indeed feature much more in books 3 and 4. The plot will be more streamlined, with the protagonists coming together much earlier. I suspect had Penny Dreadful started before I began this series, I would have done so in Resurrection Men.

First review up on Goodreads, by reviewer Jill-Elizabeth - very happy with it, and relieved, as she’s not a reviewer to shy from low-scoring reviews.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3246574909?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Amazon is mine, yes.

I know I'm no Wert, so I try to keep my "reviews" short and succint

[The Marquis de Leech]

Have started an Aristotle binge (yes, he's drier than a particularly dry piece of cardboard that has been left in the Sahara desert. But he's important, and it is lockdown).

Knocked off De Anima, Categories, and On Interpretation...

[Jo498]

On De Interpretatione 9 (truth value of contingent statements about the future, like "There will be a sea battle tomorrow") you could read several lockdowns worth of libraries of commentaries. It is probably one of the handful of most commented on texts in Western philosophy (I am guessing, I have not done the real research)

[The Marquis de Leech]

35 minutes ago, Jo498 said:

On De Interpretatione 9 (truth value of contingent statements about the future, like "There will be a sea battle tomorrow") you could read several lockdowns worth of libraries of commentaries. It is probably one of the handful of most commented on texts in Western philosophy (I am guessing, I have not done the real research)

It's also one of the handful of Ancient Greek texts to have been available in Western Europe prior to the twelfth century (Boethius translated both it and Categories into Latin) - which probably enhances its fame. 

[polishgenius]

On 4/11/2020 at 2:32 PM, mix_masta_micah said:

Mulling over whether or not to start the Acts of Caine series by Matthew Stover. I'm not big on portal fantasy tbh but the sample of the writing seems up my alley.

 

Would be a mistake to think of it as portal fantasy really- I mean in the literal sense of what happens it is, but both in terms of general tropes and cliches it employs and its general attitude and the themes it's interested in it's more of a cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk story that happens to be in Narnia.

[IlyaP]

2 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

Would be a mistake to think of it as portal fantasy really- I mean in the literal sense of what happens it is, but both in terms of general tropes and cliches it employs and its general attitude and the themes it's interested in it's more of a cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk story that happens to be in Narnia.

Adding to this: Matt himself considers Heroes Die to be Hard SF. 

 

[Iskaral Pust]

I finished 14 by Peter Clines, a new author to me so thanks to @ljkeane for mentioning him in this thread.  That was an enjoyable read and I pretty well tore through it.  It’s a modern day homage to HP Lovecraft.  I don’t enjoy horror movies but this sort of horror in a book is enjoyable.  The author unveils a pretty good mystery as the plot progresses.  Very fun.  I’ll look out for more by this author.