It's September. What are you reading?

[Vince W]

Started "Starman Jones" by Heinlein.

This and Space Cadet are my favourite Heinlein juveniles.

Started reading The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester and really enjoying all the telepathic stuff and the patterned conversations.

Just finished The Demolished Man last week. Some incredibly inventive stuff. It's a bit chilling really.

I'm about six chapters into Leviathan Wakes by S. A. Corey. There seems to be strong feelings about this series. Not bad so far, but it feels a bit like a David Weber clone at the moment. I hope it picks up a bit.

 

[Vertigo]

I really liked The Life of Pi, though I'm still not sure what it was about. Especially that island.

Yeah, couldn't figure out what that was meant to signify. Bick mentioned the film leaving bits out -- I hope it wasn't the island because the image did stay with me.

I'm very far from being an expert on interpreting books but for me the island served two purposes. One was simply to push the limits of your believability and belief and fiction is largely what I consider the book to be about; remember that the Island was one of the major sticking points for the Japanese investigators (the second lifeboat with the other blind survivor also falls into that category for me and was another sticking point for the Japanese). The other thing with it is that what looks like a paradise can sometimes turn out to be a hell. This again is about belief. We believe the story we want to believe and ignore the truth behind it; Pi wants to believe it is a paradise and contemplates remaining there for the rest of his life. But then he gets suspicious and starts to look a little deeper.

 

[Parson]

Continuing my trek through David Weber's books about Honor Harrington: Honor Among Enemies. Great stuff!!

 

[biodroid]

Final Days by Gary Gibson.

 

[Bick]

Looking at my TBR shelf I think I'll be reading one of:

1) The lions of Al Rassan
2) Spin
3) Mists of Avalon
4) Zoo City

Regarding these - works by Bradley are under a bit of a cloud I guess, but that shouldn't detract from the book itself I guess. I didn't care much for Zoo City. It was well written, but wasn't SF enough for me and I didn't finish it.

 

[Mangara]

Regarding these - works by Bradley are under a bit of a cloud I guess, but that shouldn't detract from the book itself I guess. I didn't care much for Zoo City. It was well written, but wasn't SF enough for me and I didn't finish it.

Oh, I'm now torn after reading the horrifying revelations of a few months back. I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about reading it now. It's a shame because I understand it is a real good read, I'll have to think long and hard as to if I pick it off the shelf or donate it to charity.

 

[Bick]

Oh, I'm now torn after reading the horrifying revelations of a few months back. I'm not sure how comfortable I feel about reading it now. It's a shame because I understand it is a real good read, I'll have to think long and hard as to if I pick it off the shelf or donate it to charity.

I suppose folk have to make up their own mind whether to read her works. I read the poems on this site by her daughter and to be honest, I couldn't ever read her now. There's a thread on this topic.

 

[Mangara]

Oh god, that poem is crushing. To the charity shop you go Lions of Al Rassan.

 

[Chris Guillory]

Reaper's Gale Steven Erikson. I always have to mentally prepare myself before jumping into the next Malazan Book of the Fallen. People always comment on how many characters are introduced in GRRM books. I just kinda look at them and say, read Erikson sometime...

 

[The Bluestocking]

Oh god, that poem is crushing. To the charity shop you go Lions of Al Rassan.

Mangara - Lions of Al Rassan is by Guy Gavriel Kay who is a FANTASTIC writer and a staunch supporter of the anti-Violence Against Women movement. I know because my nonprofit collaborates with him on awareness-raising campaigns etc. Terrific writer, terrific human being.

Mists of Avalon is the Bradley book.

 

[Mangara]

Sorry I wrote that whilst half asleep. Fear not Lions is still on my shelf. I reported that post too so hopefully a mod can delete or change it.

 

[The Judge]

Since the post has been noticed and commented upon, it's best if we don't remove or amend it now, Mangara, and you've explained the confusion (you did well -- when I'm half-asleep my posts are wholly incoherent!). Sorry we didn't get to it in time, though!

 

[Mangara]

That's sensible. Thanks for responding.

 

[Zoe Mackay]

I'm re-reading Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series. These definitely qualify in the big dumb fun department: I am currently on Kris Longknife: Deserter

 

[The Bluestocking]

Sorry I wrote that whilst half asleep. Fear not Lions is still on my shelf. I reported that post too so hopefully a mod can delete or change it.

No worries! I just wanted to make sure you didn't chuck out the wrong book

 

[thaddeus6th]

Just begun Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns. Not read much, but liking it so far.

 

[Vertigo]

I'm re-reading Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series. These definitely qualify in the big dumb fun department: I am currently on Kris Longknife: Deserter

An apt description; they are quite fun, though I did grow tired of the implausibility and probably won't go beyond Undaunted which is the last I read. In fairness they were one of the series of books that helped me ease back into the reading habit after a very long (20 odd year) hiatus.

 

[VALIS13]

After starting Ben Marcus' "The Age of Wire and String" and thinking: WTF? I purchased Adam Roberts' debut, "Salt" which I am rattling through nicely.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.

So, one of my favourite lit-fic authors does SFF. What a treat! Isn't it?

Well, for the first couple of hundred pages, yes. The second POV section, a final-year Cambridge student in 1991 who's a complete a-hole, is a tour de force of wit and brilliance, some of the best writing I've read in ages. But after that, it becomes ever-clearer that the SFF element isn't strong enough to structurally underpin the whole book, and yet there isn't enough else. There's too much I feel I've read in other books, including Mitchell's. A real shame.

 

[hitmouse]

Have re-read 2 of the Alastor novellas by Jack Vance: Marune: Alastor 933 and Wyst: Alastor 1716
Of Vance's works these are a bit neglected. Marune might be the first Vance novel I ever read, years ago (could possibly have been The Languages of Pao.) It has been a while since I picked these off the shelf. Excellent stuff. Marune is a really good book with all of the classic Vance sardonic dialogue and economy of description. Wyst is not quite so good, but still worth a read for a vision of a utopia gone very very wrong indeed.
Now I just have to find my copy of Trullion: Alastor 2622.