My summer has been a bunch of “lite” reads so far, and I’ve continued that trend recently. I’ve just finished The Fuller Memorandum, the third book of Stross’ Laundry Files. I enjoy the universe and Stross’ prose improves with each new (to me) book.
Next up is The City’s Son, which @malkav11 recommended in last month’s thread and sounded pretty cool.
Lots of reading so far. Since June I’ve read:
Left Hand of Darkness - First book by LeGuin I’ve read. Overall a mixed reaction to this particular one.
Ancillary Sword - middle part of a trilogy, and one that does a better job exploring a society that is radically different from our own than LHoD does. Given both books have a central premise where societies (at least from the narrator POV) have different concepts of gender/ sex than our own, it greatly diminished my enjoyment of LeGuin’s work. Which, given the 4+ decades since LHoD is actually a good thing.
On its own merits Leckie writes a good middle book in a trilogy. Has a story that stands alone, full of intrigues, and one that makes good usage of the universe set up, despite (or perhaps because of) being located in a fairly small area.
Guns of August - Tuchman is arguably the best prose writer of any historical book I’ve read. And that is a not insignificant number. Really is as good as it was held out to be.
Currently reading
Ancillary Mercy - finish the series, so far about halfway through, and wondering how it can wrap up. Whole lot of threads about to collapse together I think.
Going Postal - Because something lighter is in order, and Pratchett is always a good choice for that.
I’ve been plowing through the Black Ocean series, which is a great mix of Firefly and the Dresden files. Currently on “Mission 9”, called Adventure Capital.
I also discovered there are Elder Scrolls books, which take the text of the tomes found in the games and make them into these really nice books. There are currently two for Skyrim (with a third on the way) and two for Elder Scrolls Online. I finished the first Skyrim volume recently and just began the second, which is even better.
Craig, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the last Ancillary book, it’s a real hoot.
Huh. I’ve just started Ancillary Mercy and LHoD is near the top of my “reading next” pile.
All along the watchtower…
Well I’m about halfway at the part where they finally enter the ghost gate.
I genuinely love how Leckie not only acknowledges, but makes an imporant element of the plot the nature of the protagonist, and her interaction with others. It is the kind of thing that a lesser book might drop or poorly execute.
Definitely give it a read. The fact that both play around with concepts of gender in society, however, is something to keep in mind. It may lessen the experience of one over the other. FWIW I do want to seek out a more modern Leguin to see how her craft evolved.
It’s just so intricate and detailed, yet has a wonderful momentum.
Just like a set of china, as it is thrown to the ground. Momentum!
Speaking of Stross, though the last book or two in the Laundry Files series have been a bit dull IMO, the latest, The Nightmare Stacks, is worth reading. The humor works again, perhaps because the main characters from the rest of the series have been given a rest. There is a lengthy and rather tedious military-thriller sequence near the end which isn’t really Stross’s forte but overall it’s pretty good.
I recently read Wolf in White Van and it sort of blew my mind. Anybody else read it?
Yeah, it was recommended on Idle Thumbs and sounded intriguing, although it seems like the Thumbs tend to read stuff that’s a lot more “literary fiction” than I’m usually into. But Wolf in White Van was quite the trip, and I kind of want to play the game the protagonist runs.
I started reading the first Wheel of Time book. God help me.
Didya lose a bet?
I just blasted through…
I’m not one to read a lot in this genre, nor to play games around it, etc. I was surprised at the similarities in story to Last of Us, though. Overall, I give it 3/5 stars. The Girl was an interesting character, but the others were all exaggerated anachronistic stereotypes.
About half way through The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wicham. Covers Europe from about 400AD to 1000AD taking a more “transition” position to the Dark Ages than classical historians typically have. I think he glosses over some of the real upheaval but very interesting.
For my fiction book, just finished re reading The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins. The ending really makes the book and the dialogue is great.
I think someone in last months mentioned Salvage Trouble by J.S. Morin, will be starting shortly.
You can decide for yourself whether the author is more guilty of misogyny or misandry or has achieved a happy medium in which he hates both genders equally… My money is on misogyny, though.
I prefer misanthropy myself. Just hate everything, easier that way.
Indeed, but the contempt Jordan shows for his characters in WoT is strongly gendered. The basic 4 characters would rather have hissy fits that wind up killing thousands of people than engage in the most basic conversation, and neither the men nor the women ever show the slightest respect to members of the other gender. The women are portrayed as vicious man-haters, and the men are malignant narcissists. At least that’s how the first couple of books felt to me before I quit reading…
Finished the Lost Fleet series, which was recommended in a thread here.
These were total beach reads. Not a one of them was any good, but at ~300 pages per, they were so quick to get through and just good enough that I grabbed the whole series. Utterly predictable, incredibly bland, and occasionally just bad, I nevertheless enjoyed my time with the series (even if I’m happy to now put them behind me).
I don’t think I’ll move on to the next series with these characters, nor am I likely to return to this author. Now to troll that same thread for another series in the hopes it will be better, but content if I find another series that’s “good enough”.
How dare you.
Do you mean this topic?
Or this similar topic?
I should try using the mod tools to combine them.