April 2017: What Are You Reading?

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Martin Amis's London Fields didn't get its claws into me at all. Started re-reading Stephen Donaldson's The Illearth War, but gave up; after three previous readings it seems to have nothing left to give. Looking for holiday reading in the bookshop, I impulse-bought Stephen King's It. Reaction so far: pretty good, but I'm wondering if he cut anything at all from the first draft. Only hoping it doesn't put me over my baggage allowance.
 
I've read another 25 comics (The backlog is really starting to look smaller now!!!) Nothing really stood out, but Red Team is by Garth Ennis so was never going to be bad, and the latest Serenity Ltd series is always welcome; a return to the 'Verse can be nothing other than fun.

I've started the final book in the Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan, The Autumn Republic.

Really enjoyed the first two in the series so I'm looking forward to this.

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Very nice cover.
 
Finally finished A Night Without Stars by Peter F. Hamilton, all rounded the 2-part series off nicely, a little too nicely really, and can't help but feel that this is simply a spin-off from the Commonwealth books, the scope just doesn't feel as big as the first two entries (the Commonwealth Saga and the Void Trilogy). So, anyway, off to something more lightweight now with The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch, I'd forgotten how funny the Peter Grant series is :)
 
Reading Ian McDonald's Luna : Wolf Moon. There's some excellent writing in here and the moon colony setting is fascinating.

pambaddeley said:
Read The Wool Trilogy by Hugh Howey. Well written and good characterisation but the basic premise had too many holes in it for me.
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I felt it was a series which got worse the more we found about the world, it was at its best when everything was a mystery - most of the first book was excellent but the sequels were disappointing.
 
Tried Greg Bear's Hardfought short story/novella - interesting use of language and structure, but didn't really click for me. Started his novel Eon, but I struggled to feel engaged and when I found myself skimming the text decided it was time to move on.

Started Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it's much more immediate. The main character so far has no name, and he spent much of the prologue listening to an info dump. However, it was done in a more interesting way than normal, there are more questions than answers so far, and interesting concepts have been raised. Enough to create a sense of intrigue to see where this goes.
 
Brian, I found Hyperion took me about 200 pages to really get into it. But when I did, I absolutely loved it. I need to get to that sequel soon. I think I only read Hyperion a few months ago now.

I finished the Gone Girl audio book, and have started to listen to Hell House by Richard Matheson. It is kind of typical of the genre so far, but I do love that type of story.

Im still reading Dragsonbane which I'm still enjoying and also have started Duel in the Dark by Jay Allan.
 
pambaddeley said:
Read The Wool Trilogy by Hugh Howey. Well written and good characterisation but the basic premise had too many holes in it for me.
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Yeah I don't remember much about this series now other than being very disappointed with how it pans out.

Brian G Turner said:
Tried Greg Bear's Hardfought short story/novella - interesting use of language and structure, but didn't really click for me. Started his novel Eon, but I struggled to feel engaged and when I found myself skimming the text decided it was time to move on.

Started Hyperion by Dan Simmons and it's much more immediate. The main character so far has no name, and he spent much of the prologue listening to an info dump. However, it was done in a more interesting way than normal, there are more questions than answers so far, and interesting concepts have been raised. Enough to create a sense of intrigue to see where this goes.
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Persevere Brian, once you get into each back story its compelling stuff!
 
I've started the epub of this one today.
Only half a chapter in so I can't honestly give an opinion or review yet. If anyone wants a review after I finish please let me know
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I finally finished the second part of my two-part Lankhmar omnibus, The second book of Lankhmar. Finally, because it grew considerably stale at some point. But I've had similar reactions to other traditional fantasy and sci-fi (couldn't really like Conan, either), so perhaps I'd better stay with more modern stuff.

Currently I'm a few pages into Robert Shelton's biography of Bob Dylan, No direction home. I took it up because Dylan's own biography was so uninformative (Why bother to write a biography if you do not want to reveal anything about yourself?). However, the print is very small and I am at that advanced age when countless hours of reading under the blanket with a flashlight back in my miscreant youth show that they have left a mark. Don't know if I'll be able to finish that one ...

Next in row waiting is Cathbad's Darganau. Very much looking forward to reading it.
 
vanye said:
I finally finished the second part of my two-part Lankhmar omnibus, The second book of Lankhmar. Finally, because it grew considerably stale at some point. But I've had similar reactions to other traditional fantasy and sci-fi (couldn't really like Conan, either), so perhaps I'd better stay with more modern stuff.
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[...]

Books of both Leiber's Fahfrd and Gray Mouser stories and Howard's Conan stories are collections. The stories were not written originally to be read together. Sometimes we do older authors a disservice by reading one story after another; the effect each story might have singly can be diminished when the tales are read in bulk.


Randy M.
 
Next up in the "Doomsday Classics" series:

After London (1885) by Richard Jefferies, an English naturalist. The beginning of the book deals with the way in which plant life has taken over the works of humanity after something which is not quite clear has happened to civilization. As one might expect, the description is vivid and detailed.
 
Perp, I have to get to those. I read book one when it came out and really liked it. Bought book two, and havent got to it

Glad you enjoyed them
 
Re-read the first two in the Witch World series by Andre Norton, Witch World and Web of the Witch World.

Also read The Spyglass File by Nathan Duncan Goodwin, partly set in WWII.
 
Stephen King's It was dreadful (or the hundred pages I read of it). I'm very fond of some people here who really like it, but, egads, the waffle! Epic length, but no sign of epic breadth or depth. Why do we need the detailed backstories of people who then disappear just after and are clearly never going to appear again?

Now started Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim, which is amusing so far but could also do with a deal of trimming. I bought it because I've been enjoying the BBC's adaptation of Decline and Fall, though I remembered afterwards (doh!) that this was by Evelyn Waugh.
 
HareBrain said:
Stephen King's It was dreadful (or the hundred pages I read of it). I'm very fond of some people here who really like it, but, egads, the waffle! Epic length, but no sign of epic breadth or depth. Why do we need the detailed backstories of people who then disappear just after and are clearly never going to appear again?

Now started Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim, which is amusing so far but could also do with a deal of trimming. I bought it because I've been enjoying the BBC's adaptation of Decline and Fall, though I remembered afterwards (doh!) that this was by Evelyn Waugh.
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There is a terrific film of Lucky Jim starring Ian Carmichael.

Re: Evelyn Waugh. Well worth reading DAF if you havent already. Scoop is my favourite of his.
 
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