What Are You Reading Right Now 2.0

[Ahriman238]

Finished White Night.
Spoiler

Did Harry... redeem Lasciel? Well, not Lasciel, but the shade created specifically to tempt and destroy him, with millenia of experience in doing the same?

And yeah, of course she's gone. Harry with a purely helpful Lasciel he's not afraid to turn to would be stupidly broken. Plus there'd be little use for Bob in a story, and we can't have that!

Molly made a big step, and is at least listening now and doing the right thing for the right reasons. Good on her, good moment in the story.

Lara remains a snake in the grass, clever enough that even her enemies dance to her tune. And now she's been shot out of a cannon with Harry, who seems to be topping every last book with some crazy awesome stunt. I hope Justine watches her back.

I didn't like al the references to New Mexico in the beginning and with the flashback.... I'm quite certain the book was first but because I got to it later all I could think of was 'NO MORE.'

"Toe-moss" the stylist was hilarious.

Oh and Marcone is now recognized as a "free-holding lord" essentialy his own magical action on (legal, with the Accords) equal standing to the White and Red Courts, the White Council, etc. Nice to see Harry doing some long-term planning for the future, but I suspect there's going to come a day, and soon, where Harry really, really wishes he hadn't done that.

[Ralin]

Can I suggest making a general Dresden Files thread in Fantasy to talk about this stuff? I'm sure we'd all love to combine the joy of watching a new reader go through the books with being able to focus on Dresden stuff exclusively.

[JME2]

Halfway through Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell now.

Still committed, but it's taking time.

[Broomstick]

The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond. It was both different than I expected, and somewhat better than I expected. It would make for interesting discussion. Anyone interested in a thread on it?

[The Grim Squeaker]

The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond. It was both different than I expected, and somewhat better than I expected. It would make for interesting discussion. Anyone interested in a thread on it?

Sure. It's a lot looser than his other works though. (There's a definite trend there- "Third chimpanzee"| "GG&Steel" -> Collapse -> "The World Until Yesterday".

+1 To the Dresden file suggestions too.

JME2 - Tell me what you think of the book once you reach the last third. You'll know what I mean.

[Vanas]

Flicking idly through the Ketty Jay books by Chris Wooding, they're always good steam/dieselpunk novels to keep around. Other than that, my night-time reading's been Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars. I find it utterly fascinating, as a 2000 year old book that's the next best thing to someone who's actually been there talking about it.

[JME2]

Almost at the end of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, but this is easily the longest book I've read since A Dance with Dragons.

I've also reserved a copy of Terry Prattchet and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens with my eLibrary book.

Based on the Audible sample alone, this is going to be a VERY good read.

[Broomstick]

Zombpunk Book 1: STEM by Christopher Blankley, currently available on Amazon for free for Kindles and related apps. It's a different take on zombies (these zombies don't rot - they are eternally young and beautiful looking) and, in accordance with old fashioned SF, requires you to suspend your disbelief on 1 item to make the whole plot go. Definitely can't go wrong at the current price. I enjoyed, expect there will be a sequel coming along in the near future.

ETA: Yep, there is a Book 2

[Dalton]

Currently into "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke, which so far is less depressing than "Childhood's End"

[Vendetta]

Currently rereading Metro 2033, since the translated edition of Metro 2034 is now out.

Hopefully when 2035 comes out it doesn't take five years to get a translation.

[JME2]

Finally finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, thank God.

[JME2]

I have started reading Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamorra[/i} based on its description as a Fantasy Ocean's Eleven.

Wasn't sure about it for the first couple of pages, but now I'm hooked.

This is fucking awesome and I'm loving Lynch's sense of humor.

[Dalton]

Currently into "The City and the Stars" by Arthur C. Clarke, which so far is less depressing than "Childhood's End"

What a shit denouement. Total deus ex machina.

[dragon]

Just picked up "Like a mighty army" Webers' new Safehold book

[JME2]

60% of the way through The Lies of Locke Lamorra and I'm still fucking loving this.

I'm especially amused by the antics of the Sanza brothers; they're like the Weasley twins on crack.

[His Divine Shadow]

Words of Radiance, actually finished a few weeks ago, it was good, Sanderson rarely disappoints.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

So far, a shade over half through Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, yet another story in which I find myself rooting for the aliens because the humans are such corrupt, sadistic scum. Another warning that we must not let the future turn out to be like this.

Karl Schroeder's Sun of Suns, which is basically written in the margins of Larry Niven's the Integral Trees, similar setting, with a dose of venetian- esque backstabbing politicsl, and nowhere near enough infodumps.

[Ahriman238]

Got half a dozen more superhero books, Dan Powers' Infected series on the Kindle for a song. Every couple dozen pages there's a typo that drives me nuts, and at least once sentence that's effectively gibberish, but I'm digging the story even if I'm mostly done after one day.

In this setting superhumans first appeared at some point in the seventies, much is made of how silly baby boomers could be for continuing to care so long about race, religion or sexual orientation in a world where people can start fires with their minds. The Infected with superpowers have a downside, similar to (or so I've heard) Exalted, each has a single aspect of their character, an emotion, mood or trait, magnified to an insane degree. So you have lots of supers that are consumed by rage or fear and paranoia, or guilt which isn't a healthy thing to have in someone who can level a building. There are also kleptomaniacs, supers with no impulse control and the rare sort that are inhumanly compassionate, principled or self-sacrificing. Something like a 60% majority of Infected, though, are varying shades of evil, insane or self-destructive so there's understandably a lot of prejudice.

Also, at some point the black hats took over France, which has since become a Haven for Infected? I'm a bit fuzzy on that part.

Each book follows a different character in this world. The first, Proxy, is about a man with the unfortunate power to switch place via teleportation with someone who is about to be murdered, not killed by some force he cannot best, but murdered. After being jailed, beaten and nearly killed by the local police for losing a fight with a serial killer (swapping back with the victim to narrowly escape death) and coming home covered in blood while being part of a hated minority, he accepts training on the basis that he's almost certainly going to die soon anyways, but he might save a dozen lives first. They can't stop his power, you see, except that it doesn't work while he's asleep, drugged or injured. So they train him physically into the ground every day so he won't switch with anyone until he's ready, until he snaps and sets out on his own. Not helped by cops who continually harass him for turning up in exciting circumstances.

[JME2]

Currently -- and finally -- working on Return to Atlantis, AKA Book 8 of Andy McDermott's Eddie Chase & Mina Wilde series.

While he's since released one more novel, I can tell Book 8 was meant to be the series finale. It's concluding the Atlantis myth arc by finally getting back to the mystery of why Atlantis sank.

McDermott's also revisiting plot points and characters from throughout the series and is linking them into a coherent conspiracy that's been in play all along. The best one so far is finally explaining...
Spoiler

…why ex-President Victor Dalton didn't try to assassinate Eddie and Nina after they forced him out of office back in Book 4.

The lack of any revenge attempt bothered me and it's finally addressed -- though it backfires and lands Dalton in even more trouble with the law.

[JME2]

JME2 - Tell me what you think of the book once you reach the last third. You'll know what I mean.

Well, I definitely enjoyed the twists regarding...
Spoiler

...the truth behind Vinculus and the deliberate anti-climax resolution of the hunt for the Raven King.

And it was enjoyable seeing the Man with the Thistle Down Hair finally bite it at the hands of Stephen.

Currently working on Scott Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies, AKA Book 2 of the Gentleman Bastard series.

I'm glad that Lynch is playing up Locke and Jean's blind spot regarding...
Spoiler

...the Bondsmagi.

I love how they honestly thought that they were in the clear just because they didn't kill the Falconer at the end of the last book.

They honestly didn't anticipate that the Bondsmagi were still going to come after them for what they did to him -- and they're realizing just how screwed they are.

[Crazedwraith]

So I finished Hounded by Kevin Hearne. Which was recommended to me because I liked the Dresden Files. It's a first person point of view story about a magic user. Those are the similarities.

Hounded is about a 21 century old druid who happens to possess a magical sound that no armour can stop. Gods want to take the sword back from him. He doesn't want to give it back, plots to kill him ensue.

Now, I was slow to get into because given the origin of the recommendation, I was comparing it to Dresden Files and its not all like that. Harry is a hard luck hero with morals. Atticus O'Sullivan, the protagonist of hounded is more of a self-serving anti-hero at best and much more powerful. He nicked this sword, he's had many great powers, he kills gods and beds goddesses... Yeah. Its much more a light popcorn flick style book than even the Dresden Files. The narrative always want you to know just how damn cool its hero is.

So its not bad per se. But its not even trying for depth. It based on Celtic stuff though which is kind of rare in the things I've read. I can only take the author's word for it that its well researched.

In the end, mixed feelings, don't regret reading it but I'm not sure I'd get the next book in the series.

[The Grim Squeaker]

JME2 - Tell me what you think of the book once you reach the last third. You'll know what I mean.

Well, I definitely enjoyed the twists regarding...
Spoiler

...the truth behind Vinculus and the deliberate anti-climax resolution of the hunt for the Raven King.

And it was enjoyable seeing the Man with the Thistle Down Hair finally bite it at the hands of Stephen.

The bit about Vinculus was obviously foreshadowed though, you must admit .

Currently working on Scott Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies, AKA Book 2 of the Gentleman Bastard series.

I'm glad that Lynch is playing up Locke and Jean's blind spot regarding...
Spoiler

...the Bondsmagi.

I love how they honestly thought that they were in the clear just because they didn't kill the Falconer at the end of the last book.

They honestly didn't anticipate that the Bondsmagi were still going to come after them for what they did to him -- and they're realizing just how screwed they are.

Not exactly a blind spot... The third book has that a lot more. (The third came out only recently. After a looooong delay, Lynch had severe depression for a number of years apparently).
You'll be glad it did. There's a cliffhanger .

[Crazedwraith]

I just received a cheap copy of Honor Among Enemies and whatever else you can say about the series, this edition has flip-art of a spaceship exploding in the top corner for no apparent reason. Which is pretty darn cool.

[Spekio]

Finished All You Need is Kill. Meh.

[Vendetta]

So, I've been reading stuff.

I read Metro 2034 (Dmitry Glukovsky), which is still a really good story, but doesn't quite have the sense of mankind living in the gaps of a strange world that he no longer understands, let alone feels like the master of. No shoggoths in the Kremlin basement this time, and the existential threat isn't new life risen on the surface and coming to see the cousins below.

The focus this time is more the self destructive nature of mankind, which is appropriate for a post apocalyptic setting but not quite as compelling as the way the world was presented first time around. (Also, minor gripe: The translation convention for station names was changed, in the original they were untranslated, in this one they are translated, which I'm not sure is a strength, they felt more like the feifdoms and polities the story presents them with when they had their original names). Hopefully it won't be 2019 before Metro 2035 gets translated....


However, I also read Roadside Picnic (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky), which is about a world made strange and inexplicable, in this case by visitation by aliens who didn't even notice we were here. Unlike the semi-glamourised presentation of Stalkers in descendant media (Any time you've seen the term "stalker" for people who into dangerous places to find Stuff, like Metro and the Stalker games themselves, the word came from this book), Red is basically a loser who rummages through trash to find occasional gems, except the trash is weird alien trash and the whole area is deadly and dangerous in weird alien ways. The characters are compelling though, and the "aliens came, didn't care" aspect is original and makes for a great setting.


I've brought my reading of the year's Hugo* shortlist up to three with Parasite, by Mira Grant. I wasn't as compelled by this as Feed. It's got some nice sci-fi body horror squick going on, but it's too much the beginning of a trilogy, it doesn't resolve anything by itself really (unlike Feed which had its own start middle and end). I'll pick up the others when they come out because it's still fun, but it's just okay fun.

And I've just started on Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, which is one of those SF books which has been on my "read one day" list for ages, and I'm now getting round to it. I've heard that some of the trilogy is hard to chew due to getting sidetracked in geological details etc. but a comprehensive hard SF story about the colonisation and terraforming of a planet is something you probably aren't getting elsewhere, so why not, eh?


* Of the ones I've read, I think Neptune's Brood should win, but I think Ancillary Justice is going to, especially since it just picked up a Nebula.