Reading: The Book Thread

[Count Steer]

Had a bit of a book binge and completed the latest 2 'Rivers of London' books - 'False Value' and 'Amongst our Weapons' by Ben Aaronovitch. Getting formulaic now but still quite funny in parts. Finally picked up and finished 'A Desolation Called Peace' by Arkady Martine having parked my irritation at having characters called things like Seven Carpet Tile and Four Pile Ointment. Could have been edited down to half the pages but interesting antagonists.

('Rivers' books have magic and goddesses in which I'm normally as allergic to as dragons but it's all in a great setting. 'Desolation' is sci-fi and a follow up to 'A Memory Called Empire' which is 'a fictional version of her postdoctoral research on Byzantine imperialism on the frontier to Armenia in the 11th century, particularly the annexation of the Kingdom of Ani.' You'd be hard pressed to work that out from the space ships, imago implants 'n stuff. )

Going to start Jay Kristoff's Truelif3 next. It's probably teen sci-fiction but I like his style.

[KungFooBob]

I started reading A Memory Called Empire about 18 months ago, I put it down 3/4 of the way through and never picked it back up again.

Too much politics, not enough lasers.

[Supermofo]

Half way through 'A little hatred' by Joe Abercrombie. Not read any of his in a while but really enjoying this. He has such a way with creating absolute scumbag but lovable characters.

Picked it up about 2 years ago for 99p on kindle and then the 2nd one also for 99p about a year later. So can go straight into the follow up. Left them as was waiting for the 3rd to come out and then forgot about them being on my kindle before I was looking what I had for holiday reading.

Also realised I've got Mr Mercedes by Stephen King on there so will have to read that soon as well.

[Count Steer]

Just finished a 'sci-fi' book written over 30 years ago. Set, in part, in our near future, in Oxford. It has a pandemic (or two), groups campaigning against membership of the 'EC', groups that think the virus is spread by foreigners, heating pipes etc. It has videophones...but not mobile phones. No space ships.

The author has written less than Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke or Isaac Asimov but won more major SF awards than all of them put together. (Inc Hugo and Nebula). (I'd never heard of them until I picked a couple of books up in Oxfam).

The Galactic Kudos Prize if anyone can guess the author. The book shares a name with a quite well known tome.

[KungFooBob]

Connie Willis?

Doomsday Book.

<I'm a cheaty googling barsteward>

[Skub]

Also realised I've got Mr Mercedes by Stephen King on there so will have to read that soon as well.

The follow up 'End of Watch' is a good read too,if you enjoy Mr.King.

[Count Steer]

Connie Willis?

Doomsday Book.

<I'm a cheaty googling barsteward>

You can still have the prize.

It's an 'SF Masterworks' but not v SF. It's quite odd as the near future Oxford feels like the 50s...but then, Oxford colleges are a bit of a timewarp.

[KungFooBob]

They only stuff I could think of to do with Oxford was His Dark Materials.

[Count Steer]

They only stuff I could think of to do with Oxford was His Dark Materials.

It's a time travel thing. The Institute in Oxford Uni sends historians back in time. This one involves the Bubonic Plague while a parallel virus breakout is going on in slightly future Oxford (which all seems very Covid). Another of her books involves the Institute sending someone back to the Blitz I think. More history with a twist than SF really. Quite readable though and could be a fair TV series but that sort of thing has been done.

Got her 'To Say Nothing of Her Dog' (Victorian England) too. (That was a Hugo Best Novel winner). Probably read 'Near the Bone', Christina Henry next though.

[Count Steer]

Recently finished the 'Wayfarer' books (Becky Chambers, they won Hugo for best series).

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
A Closed and Common Orbit
Record of a Spaceborn Few
The Galaxy and the Ground Within

Not exactly riveting story lines but they all link together. Lots of contemplation on the nature of AI and what interaction with other species might actually be like. Gets a for actually considering how wormholes might actually be 'tunnelled'.

Just started The 9th Metal, Benjamin Percy.

(TV hasn't been on much recently )

[KungFooBob]

I've finally finished A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.

I enjoyed A Fire Upon the Deep, but the ending was a bit rubbish. A Deepness took me a good 6 months (and three international flights) to read on and off, but the last 200 pages were done in days, it's a bit of a slog, with a great pay off.

Looking for something else Sci-Fi now.

[KungFooBob]

https://store.orbit-books.co.uk/collect ... -promotion

50% off applied at checkout.

There's some good stuff included, I can personally recommend the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin and the Ann Leckie Sci-Fi stuff.

Finishes midday tomorrow, I think.

[Count Steer]

https://store.orbit-books.co.uk/collect ... -promotion

50% off applied at checkout.

There's some good stuff included, I can personally recommend the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin and the Ann Leckie Sci-Fi stuff.

I did read the Broken Earth books - all of them so I must have liked them. I liked her 'The City We Became' too - learned a bit about New Yoik in the process.

[KungFooBob]

I'm reading "Senlin Ascends" at the moment, only one chapter in, but I bought it from waterstones two weeks ago at full price!!!

Also included in the sale is...

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz, which was okish, but not great.

Velocity Weapon, by Megan E. O'Keefe, which was average at best and I won't be reading the rest of the series.

There's also all the Expanse books, which start brilliant and fade as the series progress... imho.

[Cousin Jack]

Currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell. Fascinating, already bought the sequel. I usually avoid stuff that wins literary prizes, but this one is excellent despite the Booker Prize.

[Slenver]

Currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell. Fascinating, already bought the sequel. I usually avoid stuff that wins literary prizes, but this one is excellent despite the Booker Prize.

That's one of the few books I gave up on halfway through. Was enjoyable, but she had this weird thing whereby she only ever refers to Cromwell as 'he' rather than by name. In half the scenes it became impossible to work out who was who if there was another man in it, which there usually was. "He walked into the room. He looked at him. 'Why are you here?' he asked. 'I have my reasons,' he replied. He sat down heavily." etc. Huh? Who?

I'm sure it was clever conceit to make him sound mysterious or something, but got pretty old pretty quickly. Liked it apart from that.

[Cousin Jack]

Currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell. Fascinating, already bought the sequel. I usually avoid stuff that wins literary prizes, but this one is excellent despite the Booker Prize.

That's one of the few books I gave up on halfway through. Was enjoyable, but she had this weird thing whereby she only ever refers to Cromwell as 'he' rather than by name. In half the scenes it became impossible to work out who was who if there was another man in it, which there usually was. "He walked into the room. He looked at him. 'Why are you here?' he asked. 'I have my reasons,' he replied. He sat down heavily." etc. Huh? Who?

I'm sure it was clever conceit to make him sound mysterious or something, but got pretty old pretty quickly. Liked it apart from that.

It isn't an easy read, but it brings history to life, and (for me anyway) shows how incredibly powerful the Church had become, and how the ordinary man in 1500 had no information apart from that imparted by the Church.

[Count Steer]

I'm reading "Senlin Ascends" at the moment, only one chapter in, but I bought it from waterstones two weeks ago at full price!!!

Also included in the sale is...

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz, which was okish, but not great.

Velocity Weapon, by Megan E. O'Keefe, which was average at best and I won't be reading the rest of the series.

There's also all the Expanse books, which start brilliant and fade as the series progress... imho.

Autonomous is on my 'to read' heap - picked it up along with Mordew by Alex Pheby at the Oxfam bookshop.

Currently chugging through Earth Abides by George R Stewart - a view from 1949 of a post pandemic world that just leaves very, very few people alive. Quite interesting take on how civilisation decays and maybe starts up again.

[Taipan]

I've just bought Stuart Little in paperback and will probably buy Stig of the Dump too!

[KungFooBob]

I've just bought Stuart Little in paperback and will probably buy Stig of the Dump too!

I went through a stage of reading 'school' books, mine were secondary school level tho'...

Lord of the Flies, 1984, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New World, etc...