|
The Devil and the Dark Water I enjoyed the first 95% of it well enough (vague Obra Din vibes) but utterly lost interest at the end. It's possible that I don't care about the 'big reveal' at the end of mystery books. I had sort of a similar experience with The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I adored that book right up until the very, very end. Sort of frustrating. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Grabbed this on a whim after hearing about it earlier in this thread or maybe it was the recommendation thread. I really enjoyed the casual mood, world building and focus on interpersonal dynamics. Found families, etc. I must have been in the right mindset for this sort of thing because I immediately plowed through the rest of the series: A Closed and Common Orbit Just terrific, my favorite of the series. Can't say enough good things about it. The fact that it continues linearly from the first but is almost totally separate was a nice surprise. Record of a Spaceborn Few I was a little slow to warm to this one, but it did win me over by the end. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within A great end to the series. Really heartwarming and well-crafted. Pretty unique series overall. Probably not for everyone or every mood but I found it moving. I alternated between audio and text and was pleased that the same narrator was used for all 4 and was really consistent. This is How You Lose the Time War I didn't know what to expect from this one but I loved it. I went full audiobook and it was just great. The overall length was just about right and each chapter was also paced pretty well considering how flowery some of the prose is. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Every five years or so I grab a Murakami book and remember why its been five years. It got intolerable towards the end and while kindle/audible says I finished it I'm not totally sure, nor do I care.
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 07:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 13:11 |
|
|
The Only Good Indians by Steven Graham Jones. Four Blackfeet on the res go hunting elk in a forbidden area and wind up unleashing an unexpected horror. This is a real good one but is tough reading at times and is definitely not for the squeamish. It's about life promises lost, what could have been and still might be, all mixed with powerful social commentary without being overly woke.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 11:10
|
|
|
Burke posted:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet The author also begun a new series that's got book #2 coming out this year, and I look forward to reading the series once it's done - it's so nice with fresh perspectives from new people in the science fiction genre, especially from a woman who knows the LGBT spectrum.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 16:24
|
|
|
Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. It was okay? It was a mostly straight forward telling of a 2015 expedition to find a mythical lost city hidden in some of the densest rainforest on Earth. The history of previous expeditions to find it and how the new effort came to be are given, and since the author did come along on the mission, the lay person's impression of being there in a place where no human had trod in a good 500 or more years looking for evidence of human occupation. And then of course the joys of half the crew having picked up a tropical parasitic disease that is extremely difficult to cure, author included. The book ends with discussion on how tropical diseases are migrating north thanks to climate change and an observation on how fast a pandemic would happen thanks to air travel. This book was published in 2017, so that hits way different now. Overall an alright read, but I can't really recommend running out and buying a fresh copy, maybe if it turns up cheap at a used shop instead.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 17:08
|
|
|
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Aside from the prose (wonderful) and the plot (folk-realist?), I have to say it's also a wonderful blend of eastern-European folklore and history. Read it one sitting and only got a little burnt out by the numerous perspective shifts towards the end. Nowhere to Be Found by Bae Suah. Lately, I've found myself gravitating towards tone pieces over more traditional narratives and this book definitely hit the spot. Understated, quiet desperation. The feeling that something good has just passed you by. An Incident Involving a Human Body by Tim Rogers. Autobiography or self-mythology? Hard to say, and I'll admit I only tracked down this book (and the others he wrote) because of the difficulty in finding them. I guess there is a thrill in finding a book that was never printed and is no longer hosted anywhere. As for the book, it's an experience in inhabiting someone else's mind. Is it true, embellished, or fabricated? Probably all three, and it makes it more of an experience than a narrative. It's the book that made me realize it is possible to know too much about someone to like them.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 23:16
|
|
|
Turbinosamente posted:Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. It was okay? It was a mostly straight forward telling of a 2015 expedition to find a mythical lost city hidden in some of the densest rainforest on Earth. Ha! I literally found that book in a little free library and gave it a read. I'm with you, its OK. I just finished - The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power. I LOVED this book. One of the better single subject history books I've ever read. He does such a good job explaining various governments dealings with oil throughout the book. As an ignoramus it really filled in a lot of gaps I had about modern Middle Eastern history as well. Highly recommended.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2022 23:38
|
|
|
Bilirubin posted:The Only Good Indians by Steven Graham Jones. Four Blackfeet on the res go hunting elk in a forbidden area and wind up unleashing an unexpected horror. This is a real good one but is tough reading at times and is definitely not for the squeamish. It's about life promises lost, what could have been and still might be, all mixed with powerful social commentary without being overly woke. Oh hell yeah, this is up next for me
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 03:42
|
|
|
Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I loved the world building and everything about the early presentation of the Shrike (I would describe the Shrike as an evil force of nature that lives on Hyperion). Did not love the awkward sci-if sex scenes. I thought most of the short stories were interesting, in their own way. The story involving a character being taken out of the proper flow of time was really heartbreaking. I’m saving any lore videos or research into the Shrike until I finish the series. I hope it has a satisfying conclusion. The ending of the first book would be an incredible way to end a tv season or movie, people would lose their poo poo! Brief ending summary for anyone curious: a group spends the entire book journeying to meet the Shrike. They share their experiences that led them to this mission. The book ends with them arriving at the Shrikes lair, but before any confrontation
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 03:49
|
|
|
tuyop posted:Oh hell yeah, this is up next for me Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The last third was hard to put down. Have a question I'd love to discuss with you once you are done.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 04:15
|
|
|
I just completed The Sea-Wolf by the wonderful Jack London. I've never really enjoyed fiction and have generally stuck to philosophy, primarily Nietzschean, but this book managed to awaken a passion for fiction within me that I could not have predicted before picking it up. It's probably one of the best-known Jack London books, however I'll explain the story a bit anyway: a literary critic named Humphrey Van Weyden is kidnapped and forced to work aboard a seal-hunting schooner led by a powerful captain named Wolf Larsen. After witnessing the murder of a crewmate, Humphrey (referred to as "Hump" by Larsen) is slowly broken down by his experience aboard the schooner, as he and the rest of the crew are brought to the bleeding-edge, what with the physical and psychological torture they're forced to endure throughout their journey. The relationship between Larsen and Van Weyden is beautifully written - each interaction feels incredibly important and deeply inciteful as they wax philosophical about the nature of man and his ultimate purpose in life. The romance was a bit underdeveloped to say the least, but even that aspect did little to sway my opinion on the text. This book is an incredible read and it's inspired me to go all-in on Jack London: I'm currently reading White Fang, and have The Call of the Wild and The Iron Heel on-deck.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 05:08
|
|
|
B.F. Pinkerton posted:I just completed The Sea-Wolf by the wonderful Jack London. I've never really enjoyed fiction and have generally stuck to philosophy, primarily Nietzschean, but this book managed to awaken a passion for fiction within me that I could not have predicted before picking it up. Having just read a Jack London collection with The Call of the Wild and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, the latter has London vibes. He doesn't have London's penchant for throwing in big words in his descriptions, because he prefers direct simple language and minimal punctuation. It does have the whole human survival aspect and the will to survive harsh conditions and the pleasure of simple comforts like a fire against the cold wind, that's all there. It's a post-apocalyptic novel, but that aspect is vague, so hopefully it doesn't deter you. I read it in a weekend, and loved it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 14:01
|
|
|
BaseballPCHiker posted:Ha! I literally found that book in a little free library and gave it a read. I'm with you, its OK. Yeah it got hyped up to me by someone else so I spent the 12 bucks on Amazon for it to help fill out an order and in an age of cheap books that's probably my biggest regret about it. I expect I'll just donate it after I get it back from the coworker who's borrowed it. I should be reading Van Gogh's Letters but instead have distracted myself with Bloom County: Real, Classy, and Compleat, which is outside the scope of this thread. At least I understand more of the references now that I'm an adult. Still remains one heck of a look into 80s America though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 15:08
|
|
|
Gravity’s Rainbow: first time reading it. I enjoyed it. Humor was a bit grating at times. My Brilliant Friend: Wonderful book. Free of sentiment and a great story of kids growing up in a time and place. The Stranger: I’ll probably be revisiting this soon. I actually read it directly after Gravity’s Rainbow and I think that made absurdity all the more real.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 15:30
|
|
|
Turbinosamente posted:Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. It was okay? Preston is almost a guilty pleasure for me - he covers interesting subjects, but the actual writing feels overwrought, like he's trying to wring a story out of things, to the point that I don't entirely trust his version. Monster of Florence was a bit purple, carrying on about depravity and darkness and corruption, such that you think the author might be enjoying himself too much. And Hot Zone just fizzled out, much like epidemics do. Interested to hear about My Brilliant Friend: I bounced off it hard and I'm not really sure why. Too miserable, too many run-on sentences?
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 16:00
|
|
|
Just finished Palahniuk's"Damned". Enjoyed it very much. Seems meatier than his usual fare; like he was having a lot of fun writing it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2022 21:37
|
|
|
"Pebble in the Sky" because I decided to read all of Asimov's books in order as part of a broader "get into the basics of fantasy literature" effort (which, prior to this, has consisted of reading "Foundation" and "Hyperion"). A bit old-fashioned on account of being old, and the minor* love story is stupid as always. Clever enough sciencing. *) thank god not in THAT sense even though its a fantasy book by an old sex pest
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 00:34
|
|
|
BaseballPCHiker posted:Ha! I literally found that book in a little free library and gave it a read. I'm with you, its OK. Oh yeah that is a fantastic book. I was assigned chapters to read in college and ended up going through the whole thing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 19:34
|
|
|
FiveSixKilo posted:Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Aside from the prose (wonderful) and the plot (folk-realist?), I have to say it's also a wonderful blend of eastern-European folklore and history. Read it one sitting and only got a little burnt out by the numerous perspective shifts towards the end. I was amazed that this book juggled so many first person perspectives without ever confusing me about who it was following at any given point. Badger of Basra posted:I just finished The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which I enjoyed although I did think the marketing of it as making you question what it means to be human oversells the book. I learned there is also apparently a sequel. Has anyone read it? Is it any good? I haven't read either, but my mother loves them both and she doesn't normally read SF.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 21:19
|
|
|
Solitair posted:I was amazed that this book juggled so many first person perspectives without ever confusing me about who it was following at any given point. Yeah I love spinning silver and uprooted. I think A Deadly Education is a turd, though. Maybe a cool magic system but the rest sucks. Didn’t even finish.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 22:30
|
|
|
Blissfully Blindsided by Robin Alexander. This book became an instant favorite of mine very quickly, because while it's a very slice-of-life romance, it's one of Robin Alexanders books where she demonstrates how absolutely fantastic she is at using side characters to build a story that really comes to life.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 22:49
|
|
|
Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece by Michael Benson Pretty drat compelling considering it's a 450-page book about the making of a single movie. It does aim to be comprehensive though, so there are some parts where he delves a little too deep into technical descriptions of how things are done without, for some reason, including many diagrams that would probably serve things better. But overall very entertaining, there are so many good stories around the making of the film.
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2022 23:28
|
|
|
tuyop posted:Yeah I love spinning silver and uprooted. I think A Deadly Education is a turd, though. Maybe a cool magic system but the rest sucks. Didn’t even finish. Interesting. I liked A Deadly Education and the sequel, but I got tired of Spinning Silver about 100 pages in. De gustibus, I suppose.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2022 03:32
|
|
|
The Case of the Murderous Dr Cream. Really interesting in the way that you follow the life of this psychopath but never hear directly from him so it’s just this recounting of these terrible murders where you wonder how he got away with so much.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2022 06:05
|
|
|
ulmont posted:Interesting. I liked A Deadly Education and the sequel, but I got tired of Spinning Silver about 100 pages in. There’s this snarky precocious style that I can’t stand. Like, Connie Willis (in Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (A long trip to an angry red planet), John Scalzi (everything), and sometimes Andy Weir, for instance, all have this real tongue in cheek tone that rubs me completely the wrong way. A Deadly Education has that tone as well. It’s definitely a matter of taste because people rave about all of those authors.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2022 16:03
|
|
|
tuyop posted:There’s this snarky precocious style that I can’t stand. Like, Connie Willis (in Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (A long trip to an angry red planet), John Scalzi (everything), and sometimes Andy Weir, for instance, all have this real tongue in cheek tone that rubs me completely the wrong way. A Deadly Education has that tone as well. It’s definitely a matter of taste because people rave about all of those authors. The audiobooks that I've listened to for Becky Chambers's (who wrote The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - I'm not sure why you're confusing her with Martha Wells) books and those of John Scalzi don't seem to me to be filled with snark, although John Scalzi does have one character (John Perry in Old Man's War) who can be somewhat snarky, but I'm not sure that counts as it's just one character out of many.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2022 17:44
|
|
|
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden This is a fantasy novel set in Middle Ages (?) Russia. It’s the second in her Winternight series- I really liked the first one and this was also great, if a bit less fairy tale and a little more action-y. I don’t know a ton about this region’s history or it’s folklore so it was fun to have a little peek into that world. It’s also GREAT winter reading. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman About a woman with a very awful childhood and subsequently awful social skills trying to find her place in the world. I found the main character’s quirks and observations often amusing in their clarity and/or utter rudeness. The story was good (especially the second half) and I’m glad Raymond remained just a good friend within the context of the novel, but I ironically don’t feel like the majority of the book was anything more than “fine” overall. The Pisces by Melissa Broder It’s about a completely miserable woman who falls in love with a ~mysterious swimming stranger~ while she’s trying to sort out her life. Holy poo poo this lady sucks. And while, sure, some of her spiraling anxiety about men and dating can be relatable and insightful, the way she interacts with the world is deeply unpleasant to read about. There were a lot of cool things and themes Broder could have expanded on (Sappho! The cycles of addiction! Obsession vs love!) or made impactful but it all ends up going nowhere. The climactic final decision that the protagonist makes is not because she’s changed at all but more because her ego is hurt and she’s jealous. It’s played completely straight, like it’s a triumphant, hopeful finish. I’m not against having an unlikable narrator (see Eleanor Oliphant above) but there’s got to be some kind of point.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 01:15
|
|
|
tuyop posted:There’s this snarky precocious style that I can’t stand. Like, Connie Willis (in Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (A long trip to an angry red planet), John Scalzi (everything), and sometimes Andy Weir, for instance, all have this real tongue in cheek tone that rubs me completely the wrong way. A Deadly Education has that tone as well. It’s definitely a matter of taste because people rave about all of those authors. The endlessly snarky hero is my least favorite character in modern light scifi, but I’ll defend a Connie Willis to death, her books are too good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 01:40
|
|
|
/\ /\ yeah the premises are so good! It’s a shame. BlankSystemDaemon posted:I can't help but wonder if this tone you're mentioning is a result of you reading the book and subconsciously projecting? Right you are, I meant Becky Chambers. Martha Wells did those murderbot novellas which are delightful (and I see there are more now! Woo). I think no matter what he’s writing, Scalzi has only one character, they just have different names. But like, people enjoy Terry Pratchet and stuff too. It’s OK to Like A Book. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 03:44
|
|
|
tuyop posted:/\ /\ yeah the premises are so good! It’s a shame. Liking books is okay and good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 04:14
|
|
|
With Musket, Cannon and Sword: Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies by Brent Nosworthy The title says it all. But not really. Nosworthy argues that military historians tend to neglect studies of tactics, either focusing on the big picture where battles are only worth mentioning as to who won or lost, or dismissing them as unworkable in the real world and unnecessary to study. Nosworthy argues that many tactics were practical and used regularly in battle but also pays a lot of attention to psychological factors intertwine with them, not just how to tactics were executed in the field but why they were used, which frequently involved exploiting psychological responses. His prior book covers earlier 18th century tactics so there's a lot of attention paid to how Revolutionary and Napoleonic tactics grew out of them. The French get the most focus of the book, with the British and France's other enemies getting less specific attention but given how the French were the most innovative in this period that does make some sense. I recently got my hands on his previous book The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics 1689-1763 which I'm going to read next, and I'm curious to find how much the two books operate as companion pieces.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 06:43
|
|
|
Just finished reading the last volume of John Ajvide Lindqvist's Himmelstrand trilogy. They're very loosely connected books with next to no common characters or locations, but taken together they form a coherent narrative. I kind of want to go back to the first volume to see the stuff I missed the first time.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 10:13
|
|
|
tuyop posted:There’s this snarky precocious style that I can’t stand. Like, Connie Willis (in Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (A long trip to an angry red planet), John Scalzi (everything), and sometimes Andy Weir, for instance, all have this real tongue in cheek tone that rubs me completely the wrong way. A Deadly Education has that tone as well. It’s definitely a matter of taste because people rave about all of those authors. There's a particular style that crops up a lot in SF, like the characters are all science fiction fans, or at least their idealised self image. A bit snarky, a bit superior to the normies, loves books / cats / hot chocolate, all about 'friends', not very self aware. I always figured it was the result of too much fan fiction, or having only friends in fandom. Wouldn't have immediately put Willis in that category, bit I think I can see it in retrospect. EDIT: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is a classic example. And a lot of things that win Hugo awards, which are voted on by fans, natch. nonathlon fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Jan 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 13:12
|
|
|
Books I’ve read recently that people probably haven’t heard of: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville (1725). A travelogue by a crusader, so the first two-thirds is mostly routes to Jerusalem, temples and monasteries along the way, and the holy relics within. The last third gets more fanciful as he apparently repeats any myth he’s heard as fact (“In that country [Ethiopia] be folk that have but one foot, and they go so blyve that it is marvel. And the foot is so large, that it shadoweth all the body against the sun, when they will lie and rest them.”) Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals by Mrs. R. Lee (1852). A book that caught my attention while browsing Project Gutenberg for the above book, it’s just what the title says - numerous short anecdotes about various species of animals. The cat videos of the 19th century, when it was apparently perfectly ordinary for a sailing ship to keep a monkey and perhaps a leopard on board. The Invisible Hook by Peter T. Leeson (2009). An economic analysis of society on pirate ships, why it differed from that on merchant and navy ships, and the success of efforts to combat piracy. It’s written for non-economists, and seems to provide logical explanations for historical facts.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 17:52
|
|
|
tuyop posted:There’s this snarky precocious style that I can’t stand. Like, Connie Willis (in Doomsday Book), Martha Wells (A long trip to an angry red planet), John Scalzi (everything), and sometimes Andy Weir, for instance, all have this real tongue in cheek tone that rubs me completely the wrong way. A Deadly Education has that tone as well. It’s definitely a matter of taste because people rave about all of those authors. It's been a while, but I don't remember Long Way being that snarky.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2022 18:13
|
|
|
Just finished reading the JG Ballard short story Now:Zero... Written in 1958, it's about a guy who discovers the power to kill anyone he wants by writing their death in his diary. So he kills his boss, his landlady etc by writing how they die in his diary. Then he moves on to convicted criminals etc. Remind you of anything? It is really great.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2022 07:04
|
|
|
Just finished Leviathan Falls by James A Corey. I’ve been on a popcorn sci-fi / fantasy kick, since I have 2 small kiddos I’m looking for things I can read while half conscious. Gonna bomb a few titles I finished in the last month. I’ve read the full expanse series. I really enjoyed the first few. I found the characters compelling and very much enjoyed the plausible future solar politics. But I felt like they kinda jumped the shark the last few books. The universe in the first few books felt much larger than the character being followed. But later on it felt like, despite the expanded scale of the set pieces there were far fewer actors involved. But they finished the series well enough and it was worth the time reading. Other things I’ve read in the past few weeks: Goblin Emperor The first 2/3 of this book had me enraptured. Very much enjoyed the court politics. The ending was too tidy for my tastes, though. The Muderbot Diares the first book had a fun gimmick with a murder robot with social anxiety disorder. Then she keeps using the same gimmick in the later books. Gets a little formulaic. Giddeon the Ninth very worth the read. Sometimes the characters see-saw in opinion or action in ways that don’t make sense, but its a solid murder-mystery with necromancers. Steel Frame solid space opera story with giant mechs. Writing is hypnotic. Also a rare case of a male author not totally screwing up writing women in the sci-fi genre.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2022 22:25
|
|
|
Dobbs_Head posted:Giddeon the Ninth very worth the read. Sometimes the characters see-saw in opinion or action in ways that don’t make sense, but its a solid murder-mystery with ftfw
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2022 23:47
|
|
|
Just finished The Foundation Trilogy by Issac Assimov. It was a quick easy read which I was looking for. It was light and enjoyable, but I felt like it got worse as it went on. Book 1 was great and it was, a bit, downhill from there. Still glad I read it finally as it is a classic I suppose of the genre. Galaxy what do I read next!!! Are the prequels and later sequels worth a read at all?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2022 02:26
|
|
|
I haven't read any of those but you could try I Robot. It is a few stories all revolving around robots malfunctioning.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2022 03:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 13:11 |
|
|
Chernabog posted:robots malfunctioning. Robots are just printers with appendages.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2022 13:14
|
|