What are you reading right now?

[Falkenhayn]

The Secret Battle by Michael Roper, Dynamic of Destruction by Alan Kramer, and Germany After the First World War by Richard Bessel. You'd think I'd have learned not to try and read three monographs at once. "Finish One, Start the Next" is such a simple, intuitive concept.

[Raesene]

A Dance with Dragons by a certain George R.R. Martin

Saw the 20th anniversary issue of Heir to the Empire mentioned above - does anyone know wether the other two will also be reissued as hardcovers ?

[weemadando]

After America by John Birmingham. Good fun RAR fic.

[Argosh]

How would you compare it with Drake's Slammers novels?

Haven't read them, yet.
I looked them up on google, sounds like a fun read if I we're a tank-enthusiast.

[weemadando]

Currently reading the first Shadow Unit e-book. It's an episodic thing where various authors do episodes of this show. And I'm being quite literal here. It's pretty much Criminal Minds, but with a horror twist. Read an episode and see what you think. It's completely free.

[Soontir C'boath]

I wish my local libraries carried more paperbacks. It's impossible to find any of the Baroque Cycle books, but they have at least thirty copies of the entire fucking Twilight saga. As I try to hunt for some Asimov or something, I'm stuck reading The Silmarillion, which is like shoving jagged shards of Tolkien directly into my brain.

Get yourself NYPL/QPL/BKPL cards and munch! You're a NY state resident. Put a ton of books on hold and go for it.

Currently reading Duty Calls again because somehow I can't find books I haven't read yet. Can't find all the Analog magazines I bought either... Though I finally finished all the Horus Heresy I had in my collection after all this time. I really need to get the next book.

[Dalton]

I wish my local libraries carried more paperbacks. It's impossible to find any of the Baroque Cycle books, but they have at least thirty copies of the entire fucking Twilight saga. As I try to hunt for some Asimov or something, I'm stuck reading The Silmarillion, which is like shoving jagged shards of Tolkien directly into my brain.

Get yourself NYPL/QPL/BKPL cards and munch! You're a NY state resident. Put a ton of books on hold and go for it.

I thought about doing that. I pass Bryant Park on my walk up to 30 Rock and detouring to 5th Avenue to get to the NY Public Library wouldn't add much on to my travel.

Though right now I'm trying to muscle through Slaughterhouse-Five while not being distracted by my daily podcasts, which means I'll have to renew The Lost Symbol (yes, I'm reading Dan Brown; no, The DaVinci Code didn't impress me - I've read Stephenson and he does that cypher-thriller type stuff a million times better).

[Phantasee]

How would you compare it with Drake's Slammers novels?

Haven't read them, yet.
I looked them up on google, sounds like a fun read if I we're a tank-enthusiast.

No tank enthusiasm necessary, there's some tank tech talk but that's sci-fi for you. I enjoyed the stories. Let me know how the Falkenberg books go for you!

[Pelranius]

AM reading The Horse that Leaps Through Clouds by Eric Enno Tamm. Tamm retraces Gustaf Mannerheim's 1906 expedition through Russian Central Asia and western and northern China, while recounting the Baron's exploits and experiences. A pretty entertaining and thoughtful read that comments both on the state of the former Soviet Union and China's development and ethnic tensions, pretty funny at times too (such as the interesting reception Mannerheim received from the Tibetan Buddhist monks at the Labrang Monastery).

[Argosh]

Let me know how the Falkenberg books go for you!

Finished reading the Legion last night. In the end I felt like a blind man playing chess with the wold champion.
Falkenberg is the mastermind who's two to three steps ahead of everyone else or just get lucky, or both. Some politic machinations, a closeup of a holding action (a squad against a batallion) etc. The author knows his stuff, obviously.
I enjoyed it, though it felt short. Now I feel like I need more.

[Guardsman Bass]

I just finished Servant of the Underworld, which is basically an Urban Fantasy novel set in the 1480 Aztec Empire (specifically the capital city, Tenochtitlan). Great stuff, with lots of action and a unique feel to it because of the setting (I've seen precious few english-language fantasies set in Mesoamerica or a fantasy equivalent). On to the sequel!

Or at least, I'll eventually read it after reading A Dance with Dragons. That's what is up next.

I'm also re-reading Strange New Worlds by Ray Jayawardana (a professor at the University of Toronto), about extra-solar planets. It helps that it's very recent (2011).

[Phantasee]

Let me know how the Falkenberg books go for you!

Finished reading the Legion last night. In the end I felt like a blind man playing chess with the wold champion.
Falkenberg is the mastermind who's two to three steps ahead of everyone else or just get lucky, or both. Some politic machinations, a closeup of a holding action (a squad against a batallion) etc. The author knows his stuff, obviously.
I enjoyed it, though it felt short. Now I feel like I need more.

The best sci-fi is like crack: you need another hit. I'm pretty sure the Falkenberg books are part of a huge universe though, so you should be good for a while.

[His Divine Shadow]

I want to start reading Ghost Story but the fucking book is never coming, aaargh go faster postal service!

[wautd]

Started on Nemesis (Horus Heresy) and it's starting of excellent. I have hight hopes for the rest of the novel.

[Dartzap]

Had a bit of a binge recently, as my attention span utterly vanished a few months ago, but has now returned, due to reading the stupidest novel in existence: The Ghost. It was amazing.

Lost Fleet Series - had never heard of it untill a mate recommended it, blasted through it in about a week, reallly rekindled my love of reading Love all the characters and the setting.

Battle of the Fang/Fall of Damnos (Space Marine Battles) Battle of The Fang is actually set in 32k and the difference between the Space Wolves of Propsero Burns are already quite noticeable, and it has a good pace. Fall of Damnos was initally a bit of a slow read for me, as it features some of the more depressingly boring characters around: Ultramarines and Necrons. Thankfully it was much better than I had thought, with a good look into the effects of the tech-conversion has had on the Necrontyr and the hierarchy it has caused within it. Similar story for the Ultras - loking at the strange divide between battle and politics that the Lords of Ultramar are always dealing with.

Tickling the English by Dara Obriain, Irish comedian living in England wants to understand the Engliosh character and tries to do this by examining the culture whilst he is on tour around the country. Very funny read, and come to the conclusion that we are infact a bunch of miserable bastards in order to avoid disappointment.


Currently have these on the pile:

Dance of Dragons (This will be the end of my currently pile, realistically)
Anno Dracula (Finally reprinted!)
God Collar
Hyperion
Fahrenheit 451
Bloodforged

[weemadando]

Read American Gods finally and liked it.

Also re-read Kingdom Come (had read it before but was just out of the loop and hadn't read much for years and didn't even know/recall who some characters were) which I could honestly write pages about...

Then killed time with some easy stuff while waiting for some Sandman trades to arrive.

Did Deathclutch by Brock Lesnar which was an interesting look at some stuff while conveniently overlooking other sections.

Then I did Hatchet and The Return. Just because. Those are still awesome books.

And now with the Sandman trades in my possession I'm getting into that.

There was also a copy of Baader Meinhof Complex sitting there at the library when I grabbed the trades, so.I picked that up too.

[MrDakka]

Is American Gods that good? My roommate kept raving about it and how Gaiman is a genius.

Currently reading Shadow of the Scorpion by Neal Asher after being hooked by Gridlinked.

I'm thinking about picking up the Hyperion Cantos books; I liked Illium and Olympos well enough (even though when I first read it I had no idea about some of the concepts Simmons brings up).

Damn, now I want reread them

[Iroscato]

Im about halfway through Frankenstein, marvelling that I can find a 150+ year old book as enjoyable as any contemporary novel, usually I go for more modern books.

[Dartzap]

Is American Gods that good? My roommate kept raving about it and how Gaiman is a genius.

Whilst I won''t proclaim any authour a genius, I will say that Gaiman is very, very good at character pieces. Both American Gods and Neverwhere are fantastic tales.

[StarSword]

Catch the Lightning by Catherine Asaro, and Jack Frost by Jin-Ho Ko.

[Argosh]

Finished "Sign of Chaos" by Roger Zelazny just now.

[Guardsman Bass]

I finished my complete re-read of A Dance with Dragons last night. Good stuff - you always notice all the little details and foreshadowing that Martin likes to slip in to his books on the second read-through.

I've had Harbinger of the Storm sitting on my shelf for several weeks now. I think I'll finally give it a try.

[StarSword]

Last night I reread Rimrunners by C.J. Cherryh.

[spooky spice]

I'm proof reading a novel my friend wrote. Needs some tweaking, but so far it's good!

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Just finished "Blue Blood", Edward Conlon, a sort of autobiography in progress of a new york cop. This I would definitely recommend.

Started, for some reason, Barbara Kingsolver's "the Lacuna" because it had Trotsky in it- basically about his exile in Mexico; I can't recommend it and shouldn't have bothered, very little politics, entirely domestic and tediously, endlessly turgid.

Also half way through Nicholas Montsarrat's "Richer than all his tribe"; a novel of decolonialisation, of liberty, independence and post- withdrawal adjustment on a fictional African island near Madagascar. Fantastically politically incorrect of course, and very much better for it.

Oh, and just because, re-reading Vasily Grossman's "Life and Fate".