The Sword and Laser discussion

Finished Sword and Laser Anthology
My review

@Alan - I really liked Great North Road, just as it is. There are some long drawn out bits, but I thought they echoed what the characters were experiencing, so it didn't bother me. Also, I like big, long books, so ymmv.

Currently listening to The Stress of her Regard by Tim Powers and doing a reread of the Otherland series by Tad Williams.

Alan wrote: "For those who've read it, is Great North Road worth the investment of t..."

I'd say so. You could say that all of PFH's stuff needs a more brutal editor but they're usually worth the effort. GNR's no exception.

Finishing up The Given Sacrifice by S.M. Stirling. The overall series wasn't bad at all, but he stretched the last several books out unnecessarily in my opinion. Still, writing quality is high enough that I'm not that annoyed that I had to buy a couple extra books.

Alan- I actually abandoned Great North Road. It's well written but there's just too much extraneous, unnecessary detail in there. Some of that adds a feeling of flavor and dimension to a book but Hamilton does it to excess for my tastes. Note, though, that I tend not to like Hamilton much anyway, so if you're a fan of his stuff you may well feel differently.

Thanks to everybody who answered my question. I haven't read any Hamilton before and it seemed like a pretty big hole in my SF reading. I gather from the comments that Great North Road is pretty typical for him so I'll give it a try.

It may be my "what else are you reading" answer for a long time to come ;)

Just finished Storm Front (5 stars).
Just starting The Brand.

Do we know May's book yet?
Weren't we promised a poll for Veronica's next pick? (I love polls).

Tom already read it and gave it 5 stars.

So I'm back to reading Wit'ch Fire. The book isn't bad, though it certainly could be better.

Viola wrote: "So I'm back to reading Wit'ch Fire. The book isn't bad, though it certainly could be better."

I've looked at those a few times but keep getting driven away by that apostrophe in "Wit'ch". Grates like nails on a chalkboard.

Joseph wrote: "I've looked at those a few times but keep getting driven away by that apos..."

If you have problem with the apostrophe in wit'ch then this book is not for you because it is a recurring theme in the book. It is in names and other words.

Viola wrote: "Joseph wrote: "I've looked at those a few times but keep getting driven away by that apos..."

If you have problem with the apostrophe in wit'ch then this book is not for you because it is a recurr..."

I don't necessarily mind apostrophes in names or other made-up words; but "witch" is a perfectly cromulent word in its apostrophe-free original form.

Joseph wrote: "I don't necessarily mind apostrophes in names or other made-up words; but "witch" is a perfectly cromulent word in its apostrophe-free original form."

Yeah, but it isn't only names and made-up words. I believe ogre is a real word so og're is a bit jarring.

Viola wrote: "Joseph wrote: "Yeah, but it isn't only names and made-up words. I believe ogre is a real word so og're is a bit jarring."

GAAAAHHHH!!!!

On a happier note, I finished Elizabeth Bear's Steles of the Sky, which was shatteringly good, and am starting The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe.

Finished The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher
My review

Finishing off horror month with The Keep by F. Paul Wilson

David Sven wrote: "Finished The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher
My review

Finishing off horror month with The Keep by F. Paul Wilson"

The Keep Is one of my ALL TIME favorite books.
Really Liked Burning Dark want to read more

I just finished Little Bee in audio. Now, I'm starting Afterparty by Daryl Gregory.

I only have two chapters left of Insurgent. My next ebook will be Dark Places.

Paul wrote: "Really Liked Burning Dark want to read more "

It's going to be a trilogy - and seeing it's called The Spider Wars Trilogy I'm hoping we'll learn a lot more about the Spiders.

David Sven wrote: "Paul wrote: "Really Liked Burning Dark want to read more "

It's going to be a trilogy - and seeing it's called The Spider Wars Trilogy I'm hoping we'll learn a lot more about the Spiders."

The Prequel Short Story Cold War was good.

Paul wrote: "The Prequel Short Story Cold War was good. "

I didn't realise there was a prequel

Paul wrote: "The Prequel Short Story Cold War was good."

Just finished it. Thanks for alerting me to it.

My review

Timothy wrote: "Just finished the ARC for the AWESOME Half a King and now I find out we are reading the Martian next month which Ive been staring at for quite a while. Audible here I come!"

I'm really looking forward to Half a King. I'm glad to hear it is awesome!

David Sven wrote: "Paul wrote: "Really Liked Burning Dark want to read more "

It's going to be a trilogy - and seeing it's called The Spider Wars Trilogy I'm hoping we'll learn a lot more about the Spiders."

Yeah, I'm not done with it yet, so no spoilers, please, but I'm enjoying the hell out of the spider intensive chapters. That's odd because I'd typically be more into the creepy stuff on board the station.

Yes I love Sci-fi Horror since the first time I sat slack-jawed watching Alien. I even made my mother ...much to her chagrin ...Take me to see Galaxy of Terror...she has yet to forgive me. There just seems to be very little so finding Burning Dark was great. I tried Ship of Fools and it was ok but lacking the punch i want.

I'm about half-way through Farina by George Meredith. I'm loving it. The style of language is strange but fits the story just fine. The story has some fairy-tale tropes. Knights, robber-barrons, damsel in distress, poor but honest and heoric young lad, lots of classic stuff. Just a fun read. I think I'll have to add some more Meredith to my to-read list. (As if its not long enough already)

Next up is Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende

Let's see... I read The Martian (my review), Daniel Suarez's Influx (review), Cody Goodfellow's Radiant Dawn, then the second volume of Saga.

Also read some of Poul Anderson's Flandry stories.

Meanwhile, I'm 1/2way through Thomas Piketty's Capital, so monstrous an undertaking that I might publish a review blog post now, just to organize my thoughts.

I finished Insurgent and am now reading Dark Places.

I'm halfway through Afterparty and am a bit disappointed. It's a good book, but it doesn't live up to my high expectations of Daryl Gregory. He usually does such unusual takes on tropes. For goodness sake, he made a zombie a sympathetic character in Raising Stony Mayhall. You can read the blurb for one of his books and know that whatever it says doesn't begin to describe it. So far, Afterparty is just what it's billed as. I keep waiting for a twist that just doesn't seem to be happening.

I'm working on finishing up Allegiant as well as starting The Undead Pool. Those are my main two reads of the month along with listening to Altered Carbon. I know I'm a month behind with the club. I have other books I have to read for the club as well that I am behind on. I just get reading so much other good stuff as well that I forget to read the club books.

I've finally finished reading American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel. It turned out to be a pretty good book and a great gateway into Neil Gaiman's writing. My Review

I've also finished A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton, the first in the Merry Gentry series. My Review

I'm now reading and almost finished with Old Man's War by John Scalzi and it's been a really good read so far. ^_^

Was removed from most of my technology today, except for my trusty Kindle, so I finished The Hum and the Shiver and got half way through Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa, both by Alex Bledsoe.

And I finished Wisp of a Thing: A Novel of the Tufa(what can I say? I was on a roll) and am going to wrap up my Tennessee faerie visit with Shall We Gather, a Tufa short story also by Alex Bledsoe.

OK, Shall We Gather was an enjoyable short story, but only about 10-15 pages long.

Now it's time to revisit the murky depths of my youth -- I'm about to start Dragons of Autumn Twilight for the first time in many, many, many years ...

Finished The Keep
My review

Finishing off Horror Month (for real this time) with Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

I just finished Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell. I'm not sure if I will continue with the next book, Dark Prince, and I highly recommend that.

Anyway, I'm now starting Extinction Point, by Paul Anthony Jones.

@Melissa - interested to see what you think of Extinction Point. I liked the idea but....everything else not so much.

Still labouring through Wit'ch Fire and have been for a month now, I've read other books during the time but still. Am considering putting it aside for now and read The Fall instead.

What really irritates me about this book is that I know that James Clemens is James Rollins, and I love Rollins writing.

To be fair Wit'ch Fire is the first book he ever got published and it is fantasy and not a thriller, but still I expected something better than this.

But I will persevere.

Just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies and I have to say, Scott Lynch is freaking hilarious. Given how much I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, I was ready to be disappointed. And while I think the second installment isn't quite as revolutionary as the first book, I was thoroughly entertained.

So, I guess my new book for May is gonna be The Republic of Thieves...

Emily wrote: "Just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies and I have to say, Scott Lynch is freaking hilarious. Given how much I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora, I was ready ..."

I thought Republic of Thieves was the best of all 3.

Finished Reaper's Gale over the weekend. I really loved it. My review

Now reading The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin.

Just finished Words of Radiance, loved it. Still reading Shift on Kindle and once that is done I will take a stab at A Dance of Cloaks:)

Dara wrote: "Finished Reaper's Gale over the weekend. I really loved it. My review

Now reading The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin."

I keep trying to read N K Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but the style is a little hard to get used to. I don't really like conversational tone novels. Have you read any of her other books? Do you think it's worth it to stick it through?

Kristina wrote: "Emily wrote: "Just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies and I have to say, Scott Lynch is freaking hilarious. Given how much I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora..."

Oh, that is awesome to hear! I'm really stoked now!

I liked the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but not The Killing Moon. I think the latter has a more traditional tone (although still an unusual setting), so you might like it better. No shame in putting down a book that doesn't engage you.

Finished listening to The Way of Shadows which was just ok. Nothing really grabbed me to continue w/ series but I could also be burned out on multi-book fantasy series as well. Also finished off reading all of The Sandman graphic novels. Good stuff. Finishing off April by starting a listen to Daemon.

Emily wrote: "I keep trying to read N K Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but the style is a little hard to get used to. I don't really like conversational tone novels. Have you read any of her other books? Do you think it's worth it to stick it through? "

I've read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and I really enjoyed it. It's sort of non-traditional fantasy and the style does take some getting used to. It took me some time to adjust but I ended up liking it. If it's not interesting to you, I'd stop. As Kvon said, no shame in putting down a book that you're not enjoying.

Dara wrote: "Emily wrote: "I keep trying to read N K Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but the style is a little hard to get used to. I don't really like conversational tone novels. Have you read any of ..."

I've hit about 50 pages, and I'm enjoying it a lot more. Maybe it's a personal bias, but when the narrator speaks directly to the reader, it feels theatrical and ingenuine to me. But, now that I'm getting to know the characters, I thin kit makes a lot more sense and it's easy to enjoy the plot, even if it means I have to roll my eyes a little bit at the narration.

I've not read the book in about a year, so I don't have a fresh memory of the start, but think of the narrator as someone writing a tale to a friend if that helps.

I'm glad you're liking it more. Jemisin's style of writing isn't working for The Killing Moon for me. It doesn't work for the story she's trying to tell.

Just finished Farina by George Meredith. A decent read. It did seem to get a bit mixed-up in the epilogue. Maybe a joke I didn't get? The language and style were inventive and fun.

Just started Jaufrey the Knight and the Fair Brunissende, a King Arthur story. So far so good. I like the style and language. It begins much like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Arthur won't dine until a marvel or adventure happens. It's short, only 79 pages. I think I'm going to enjoy this story.

I've also been reading the Captain Marvel Adventures comic books from the 40s and 50s with Tawky Tawny. Great fun. Whimsical. Aside from parts of Jeff Smith's Bone, I can't think of any recent comics that do fun and whimsey.