Finished The God’s Eye View, a thriller.
Started Consider Phlebas, first in the much praised Culture series.
A difficult and challenging book. Relatively raw as Banks stuff goes. Some people really love this novel; my opinions were mixed, but good enough so I read the rest of the series, which I thought improved in subsequent volumes. So if you don’t like this one, consider skipping ahead to one of the smoother later books in the series like Excession.
Finished A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, semi-sequel to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.
These are charming, moving space operas (well, the sequel is a planetary opera, I guess; not much happens in spaceships) in a world where the galactic government is kinda fucked up, but people in general, aliens and humans both, are generally pretty decent. Pretty much the opposite of grimdark, but not twee or cute, rather human in scale, even as regards the aliens and AIs.
Currently reading Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee, sequel to my vote for SF book of the year in 2016, Ninefox Gambit. This is sort of fake-out milsf in that many of the main characters are soldiers, an interstellar war is going on, and it’s important to the plot, and yet the book isn’t really about the war itself. it’s more politics and intrigue than anything else, I think.
Done with Antony and Cleopatra, on to As You Like It. After 30 years of reading Shakespeare, it seems easier now.
That was really good. I love Barry Eisler’s stuff.
Like it so far, about a 100 pages in…
Yep!!
Livia Lone was also excellent by him.
I just finished the God of Guilt, one of the Lincoln Lawyer series by Michael Connelly, I liked that one as well.
I believe that is now the only Eisler I have not read yet.
And I have read every Connelly, I believe.
I am Out of sync on the Bosch books. I need to go back to the beginning and start over some day.
Just finished The Crossing. Not sure I liked it. The story was good, but I’m not sure I liked Harry working for his half-brother.
I’m restarting The Wrong Side of Goodbye, which I got about half way into before moving onto other books. I’m going to give it another try, but I’m not sure I like post-retirement Harry
Finished Consider Phlebas. Decent science fiction ,although I was not fond of the ending.
Started Fall from Grace, new David Raker.
I’ve been listening to Cast Under an Alien Sun (Destiny’s Crucible Book 1) by Olan Thorensen and I am at about Chapter 10. I would agree that the author is inexpert, but he seems to be getting better as the novel picks up.
I think the correct analogy to the tale is not “Connecticut Yankee”. No, this is Outlander for Men. (This is not an invitation to debate the appropriateness of the Outlander series for male readers; simply that the Romance genre is not aimed at them).
The premise of the novel makes the removal of Joe to a 17th century tech world seem slightly plausible. Unlike Diana Gabaldon’s Claire in the Outlander series, Joe is a more practical man; and the novel is intended for consumption by more practical readers. This is not a bodice ripper. Claire Fraser was a WWII battlefield nurse in her mid 20s, ripped from late 1945 in post-War Britian. Joe Colsco is a 26 yr old Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry from Berkeley, CA. For what it is worth, the author appears to be a retired zoologist with a Ph.D. in genetics.
This practical background in the author’s life experience helpfully frames the scientific perspective of his protagonist, Joe Colsco.
So far I’ve enjoyed it and I’m prepared to see where the author takes this. I won’t go so far as to recommend it yet as I’ve not finished it, but Cast Under an Alien Sun is growing on me.