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Author Topic: The Book Thread  (Read 37136 times)

The Butcher

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The Book Thread
« Reply #735 on: April 11, 2015, 03:01:11 PM »
Just finished Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse series, book #1). Fun little book that reads at least a bit like what I'd want a Traveller: Orbital game to be (STL Solar-system antics sans the exaggerated transhuman accretions that seem so ubiquitous nowadays), but I found Macguffin a bit too much like Revelation Space. I mean, it's always been a genre trope, but this is a bit too transparent. Nice read for a long trip, though.

Can anyone say whether the subsequent books are any better?

danbuter

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The Book Thread
« Reply #736 on: April 23, 2015, 08:25:29 PM »
I finished Cold Days. I had read it before, but somehow didn't realize it until about halfway through. I guess I'm getting old. ;)

Next up is In the Night Garden by Catheryn Valente. Seems like it's going to be a riff on the Arabian Nights. So far, it's pretty good.
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danbuter

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The Book Thread
« Reply #737 on: May 08, 2015, 12:57:35 PM »
I ended up dropping In the Night Garden about halfway through. It's interesting, but ends up being a huge mess of intertwined short stories.

Now reading Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar. I like his writing, and I'm pretty sure I'll like this book.
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jeff37923

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The Book Thread
« Reply #738 on: May 15, 2015, 07:54:11 PM »
I've set aside Asteroid Mining 101 by John S. Lewis for now. Only 20 pages into what would normally be a fascinating book for me and I've run across a section where two whole paragraphs were repeated and I am having trouble continuing. I'm not a professional editor, but having done freelance proofreading, this kind of mistake just kills the enjoyment for me.
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danbuter

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The Book Thread
« Reply #739 on: July 23, 2015, 05:38:19 PM »
I finished up Curse of the Wolf Girl a couple days ago. I liked it, but it took a while for me to finish. Too much other stuff to do!

Now reading Empire State by Adam Christopher. It's a pulp 30s setting, but in a slightly different world than ours. So far, the main hero (a tough detective) and his friend (a savvy reporter) have gotten a case from a damsel in distress to find her missing girlfriend. The atmosphere is similar to the old Chandler detective stories, but with ironclads, robots, and other pulp stuff added in. I like it!
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danbuter

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« Reply #740 on: August 23, 2015, 04:06:11 PM »
Finished up Empire State. If you like pulp adventure, I recommend it!

Next up is Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont. It's set in the Malazan world, and I expect I'll love it, as it is my favorite fantasy setting.
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jeff37923

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The Book Thread
« Reply #741 on: August 23, 2015, 06:51:45 PM »
If you like science fiction survival thrillers, then The Martian by Andy Weir is a must read. Once I started it, I could not put it down. Great book. Scientifically sound and very entertaining.
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Nikita

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The Book Thread
« Reply #742 on: August 26, 2015, 06:58:25 AM »
Last book I read as a source book was:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_and_the_Second_World_War

Part VI: "The Global War"

It is excellent in teaching how wars are being fought at strategic level and how personal suspicions and infighting grow and grow within supreme headquarters.
It also gives good examples on how to buy and sell countries according to situation and what kind of strategic concerns need to be taken into account in war time planning. Overwhelming need to take logistics and realism to account are also well presented.

The Butcher

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The Book Thread
« Reply #743 on: September 12, 2015, 05:11:36 PM »
Curiosity about the upcoming TV series got me to pick up and start reading The Sword of Shannara.

Maybe it was the originator of at least some tired old tropes, but nowadays it just feels like, well, a bunch of tired old tropes. And the expository writing makes me cringe.

But I spent money on this, so I might as well finish.

Does it get better? Please tell me it gets better.

One Horse Town

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The Book Thread
« Reply #744 on: September 13, 2015, 05:39:32 AM »
Quote from: The Butcher;855443
Curiosity about the upcoming TV series got me to pick up and start reading The Sword of Shannara.

Maybe it was the originator of at least some tired old tropes, but nowadays it just feels like, well, a bunch of tired old tropes. And the expository writing makes me cringe.

But I spent money on this, so I might as well finish.

Does it get better? Please tell me it gets better.

I enjoyed it as a teenager, but i recognised, even then, that it was a hackneyed plot. I keep meaning to pick it up again to see what i think after 20 odd years of reading other hackneyed plots to see how it stands up. I prefer Elfstones of Shannara myself.

danbuter

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The Book Thread
« Reply #745 on: September 13, 2015, 06:38:03 PM »
I agree. Elfstones was a much better book. I will say that the Shannara books have some great battle scenes. Terry Brooks is very good at writing them.
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danbuter

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« Reply #746 on: September 14, 2015, 08:52:03 PM »
I just finished Blood and Bone by Ian Esslemont. It is very good, and if you like the Malazan setting, definitely a must-read.
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Doom

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« Reply #747 on: September 15, 2015, 01:04:35 AM »
I tried reading Shannara too, around 25 years ago. I couldn't make it past the first chapter.

I'm sad to say I think I read more of Twighlight. It was page 28, if memory serves, when Bella had decided that she had fallen hopelessly, utterly in love with the vampkid. And, it was page 28 when I put the book down, never to open it again.
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danbuter

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« Reply #748 on: September 15, 2015, 04:05:25 PM »
I'm now reading Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle. It's presented as a series of anecdotes and stories, each a chapter long. I really enjoyed his first book (A Year in Provence), and so far, this book is also really good. Mayle has a very conversational style, and his stories are informative and humorous.
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Aos

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The Book Thread
« Reply #749 on: September 16, 2015, 04:19:36 PM »
I reread Shannara recently, it is okay, but I'm pretty lenient,  and well ontouch with my inner 14 year old, though.
I like the post apocalytptic elements, and I don't read much high fantasy, these days, so I probably wasn't as predisposed to find it tired as some, although I can see how that could easily be the case.  I will say that Vs. Jordan or GRRM,,at least some shit happens on a fairly regular basis. I found the lack of child-rape and hundreds of pages devoted to Tar Valon kitchen politics, refreshing.

I hadn't heard there would be a TV show, because I intentionally keep my head under a rock.

I fisnished up both Jack Kirby's Omac and The Demon over the last couple of nights; I'm rereading Simonson's Thor; reading The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens, and listening to Oliver Twist (also by Dickens) while I draw. The latter makes me cry.
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