The Sword and Laser discussion

AndrewP wrote: "Currently listening to Ubik on audio and reading Monster Hunter International on kindle."

If you do audio, I really really suggest listening to Larry's books instead of reading them the worst narrator he got was Tim Gerald Reynolds.

Finished Agents of Dreamland. Loved it. I don't know why but stories about fungi are weirdly fun and fascinating.

Finished Killing Gravity, which I wanted to like but it kind of kept falling short for me. The main character was just so overpowered until it was convenient for her powers to run out.

Finished Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch. Loved this one, probably more than volume 1.

Currently reading Beren and Lúthien, which is really nice but also really a slow read with all of Christopher's added commentary about how things were pieced together and evolved.

Also reading The Art of War because I'm preparing for the influx of middle school hellions in the library when school starts back up next week. :P

Jordan wrote: "Finished Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch. Loved this one, probably more than volume 1."

Yeah, it was worth the extended wait.

Ian wrote: "Just started reading Artemis by Andy Weir.
I loved The Martian so really hoping this is just as enjoyable."

So jelly of you guys with ARCs of Artemis.

Finished Elantris. 3 stars.

Just started Redshirts by Scalzi. Funny first chapter.

Started The Terror by Arthur Machen. Lovecraftian horror meets actual human horror (in the form of World War I).

Trike wrote: "Finished Elantris. 3 stars.

Just started Redshirts by Scalzi. Funny first chapter."

I do not get the love that Redshirts gets. I hope you enjoy it but I just did not click with that book at all.

Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "Finished Elantris. 3 stars.

Just started Redshirts by Scalzi. Funny first chapter."

I do not get the love that Redshirts gets. I hope you enjoy it but I just did not..."

I'm'a try it, but I'm not sure it's gonna be my scene. So far Collapsing Empire is my breakaway favorite of the Scalzi-verse.

So jelly of you guys with ARCs of Artemis."

I got mine through NetGalley.
For those who may not be familiar, its a website where readers can sign up to receive free copies of books, mostly before they are released for publication. In return, you review it.
Sometimes you get real gems like Artemis (loving it so far, btw).

Allison wrote: "Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "Finished Elantris. 3 stars.

Just started Redshirts by Scalzi. Funny first chapter."

I do not get the love that Redshirts gets. I hope you enjoy it but I..."

I think Redshirts is case of the book just not being for me rather than the novel having fundamental flaws.

Saw the trailer for Ready Player One, and a YouTube about the easter eggs in it. Fortunately not that many people in town seem to want to listen to it. Kinda cool that I'm listening to a Playaway copy; not the 80s but kinda retro techish.

Just finished the audiobook of Cosmos that was released ths year and narrated by Levar Burton.

Just started a re-read of The Drawing of the Three. I'm gonna try to commit to finishing the series this time. Re-reading The Gunslinger brought me back to that world.

I also started Dan Jones's The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors.

I'm also reading The Origins of Totalitarianism, which may take me a while.

Just finished The Gunslinger. I'm afraid I'm in the "I don't get why King is so popular" camp. I've read of few of his books now because of book lists and clubs and find him mediocre at best. He sometimes has some mildly interesting ideas that he then drowns in a sea of purple prose and overwrought metaphors. I think if I had read this when I was 12 I would have been titillated by the sex references and blown away by the philosophical info-dump at the end but at 54 it doesn't do much for me.
Starting The Salmon of Doubt.

I finished reading The Gunslinger last week, and I've been reading Slaughterhouse 5, but I'll finish that soon and am planning on moving to The Handmaiden's Tale. I started watching the series and it's disturbing as fuck, and seems relevant to the Trump presidency. I welcome others whom might want to read along with me!

Just realised I hadnt posted on here in a while. So thought i would check in with the ole what are you reading.

Since last post i read Strange Dogs by SA Corey. Which i absolutely loved and found it really quite haunting. Buy as usual they cant do wrong in my eyes and i jusy want to read everything expanse.

I then moved onto some more light fun sci fi. Started with Dark Run by Mike Brooks. Dont know if anyone else has read any of his stuff. Was good fun with some good characters and just a nice easy read.

I then jumped back into the BobiVerse series. Read book two in a day, absolutely loved it. And im now ploughing through the third in the series. Im really enjoying it so far. Was wondering whay evryone else thought as i know a few people have read it. I know its nothing ground breaking but it has that light/fun sclazi feel that I really enjoy.

Next up o think is going to have to be the fifth season that i have been meaning to read for aaaaages.

Finally finished Deadhouse Gates. It took me a while because I was only reading it before bed since it was a paperback copy. I enjoyed the book, but it was not a good before bed read. It was difficult to read much of that book before getting too tired to read. Overall, I would give it four stars.

Callum wrote: "Bobiverse...Was wondering what everyone else thought as i know a few people have read it."

I found the first two books hilarious and the references just magnificent. It's a bit of a disconnect because the books reference scientifically rigorous works but themselves engage in a large amount of (acknowledged) handwavium. But it works! Taylor is having fun and he lets the reader know that pretty fast.

I was almost turned off in the first 20 pages of the first book since the author seemed to be engaging in a thorough trashfest of conservatives in a way I found completely detached from reality. I shrugged and decided he was doing his own take on Revolt in 2100. Anyhoo, I'm glad I went on because there is definitely a payoff. Oh, the tropes fly fast and furious, but why not. Come for the SF, stay for the fun, and let the contrived nature of the plot just be, because the humor is so definitely worth it.

John you summed up the books perfectly in your final paragraph.

Have you read the third one.? Im halfway through and it continues the fun sco fo and story well. I think the author had a bit of trouble now that he had so many bobs and so many storylines, but he wraps some up nicely and is setting up the final half well.

^ I haven't read the third yet but it is on the list. A bunch of books came off hold at the library all at once and I'm plowing through them. Also was on a cruise (anniversary gift for the wife) with odd lumps of reading vs non reading time.

May as well talk about those now...finished Left Hand of Darkness. Good sociological SF, explores an idea even handedly. LeGuin works in some pretty interesting theology (cosmology?) It's easy to see why this is a classic. I like how the narrator identifies more with the people he's been with by the end and finds his own people odd. All a matter of perspective.

On to Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour from there. Oddly uneven, you get the Western flair right away but at times the writing is very choppy. There are duplicate word choices that any editor would flag. Louis L'Amour was extremely popular so I am thinking this must have been deliberate, but I can't figure out why. I also found the first-person narrative a bit hard to follow as the narrator repeatedly goes over the same topics. The alternate universe was done well, and the historical parts well researched and interesting. All in all a serviceable mashup Western / SF tale.

Worked in the Poul Anderson novella The Makeshift Rocket. It was billed as humor but I didn't know what to expect. Well, it has to do with the construction of a beer-powered rocket and lots of slapstick humor wrapped around a scifi premise. A decent read, but definitely showing signs of age.

I also want to mention the graphic illustration of The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds. This books boils down Homer's work into an easily digestible format. If you love the idea of the story but can't handle the turgid prose of the translations then this is a good take. I figured it would be good reading on a ship. :)

Also leafed through Space Careers by Steve Sacknoff (foreword by Buzz Aldrin) because who knows when you might make a career change.

Now on to The Dispossessed.

Just finished Race for the Iron Throne: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just started my free tor ebook club copy of The Bloodline Feud

John (Taloni) wrote: "^ On to Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour from there. Oddly uneven, you get the Western flair right away but at times the writing is very choppy. There are duplicate word choices that any editor would flag. Louis L'Amour was extremely popular so I am thinking this must have been deliberate, but I can't figure out why."

Popular is not a synonym for good. I don't mean to cast aspersions on L'amour since I've never read anything by him (as far as I can recall), but there are lots of super-popular writers who are churning out garbage. For instance, I looked at Fifty Shades of Gray and it's like the literature equivalent of raw sewage. Just horrible on every level.

Trike wrote: For instance, I looked at Fifty Shades of Gray and it's like the literature equivalent of raw sewage. Just horrible on every level."

I had a co-worker talk me into reading the series.... After the first half of the first book, I looked at her and went "are you kidding me?"

She said it got better and that I needed to read the whole trilogy for the pay off..... At the end I told her I wanted my reading time back.....

Calling it the literary equivalent of raw sewage is being a little too nice....

I finished Ninefox Gambit today, and The Stone Sky gets released tomorrow! Woo hoo!

God I have to read those NKs next month.

I do not understand how fads happen, I really don't. So many amazing books out there that go under appreciated, and so many mediocre to bad books that get movies and cult followings. I try to keep an open mind, because people reading is always good, right?

But then when they have implications about things like how these people view relationships...I'm a wee bit concerned. Don't try 50 Shades at home, kids!

In better book news, this month has been a little topsy turvy so far.

I started with Kill the Dead which was just as sarcastic and gross as the first book, which is a feat to me. Usually second books aren't as strong, and this one brought the fiya.

Seven Surrenders was like the un-cloned ambassadors talking to the Ariaki from Embassytown to me (maybe not a popular enough book to use as a cultural reference, but I say get on my level! ;-) ). It reverberated down my spinal column and I can't stop thinking about it. If you are interested in Too Like the Lightning, get this at the same time and don't give up hope. Seven Surrenders answers all your questions.

The Saga of the Volsungs continued my "read the classic myths" project. I LOVED it! It was one of the most twisted, most badass stories of its kind I've read to date and I think I'll re-read it soonish. Anyone know a retelling besides King Arthur stories?

Then I hit a slump. I ended up lemming Hounded at the finish line. I just gave no fox about him and his weird thought processes. I will simply abscond with Oberon.

The Zero Stone was a tease. It started with a bang and then fizzled. No emotional attachment, no high stakes...it was sort of like "Princess of Mars" but without the army of one gallantry, and written 50 years later.

We Should All Be Feminists was a funny, fast read that would be a good primer, especially if the title makes you roll your eyes. It was very measured, lively and gave lots of examples for a more moderate understanding of feminism.

Almost done with Catch-22, which is hilarious and bizarre but also wasn't maybe my best idea given the political climate. I've been really good this year at finding excellent books to read just at the exact wrong time to appreciate them for their own worth.

And I just started The Devil You Know which has more of that sarcastic, down-on-their-luck broody protagonist thing I seem to eat like candy.

Lena wrote: "God I have to read those NKs next month."

Yea definitely get on them! The first one is super good, one of my favorites that I read last year.

Allison wrote: "Seven Surrenders was like the un-cloned ambassadors talking to the Ariaki from Embassytown to me (maybe not a popular enough book to use as a cultural reference, but I say get on my level! ;-) )."

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Brendan wrote: "Allison wrote: "Seven Surrenders was like the un-cloned ambassadors talking to the Ariaki from Embassytown to me (maybe not a popular enough book to use as a cultural reference, but I say get on my..."

Thank you! I loved it!

Are these boys I should read? I've lost track.

Starting Scalzi's The Ghost Brigade and hopefully continue with the rest throughout this year.

Rereading The Obelisk Gate, aka that-sequel-that-just-won-the-Hugo, since I want to prepare for The Stone Sky.

Finished with Railsea by China Mieville which is a fantastic homage (with still many original inventive worldbuilding) to Moby Dick. We have moles instead of whales. A rarity in YA fantasy, truly captivating (and not annoying) read, likely because it is Mieville.

I'm almost done with Devil's Call. It's really good, definitely one of my favorite reads this year.

I am reading The Sunlight Pilgrims

Trike wrote: "Are these boys I should read? I've lost track."

Which boys? Or, as I think you intended, which books?

Allison wrote: "Trike wrote: "Are these boys I should read? I've lost track."

Which boys? Or, as I think you intended, which books?"

Heh. Undone by autocorrect. Yes, books.

Undone?? What're you doing to the boys now?

JK! I wasn't actually trying to be pedantic, I was asking which of the books mentioned were the ones you were asking if you should read.

If you are, as I assume everyone is, asking about Too Like the Lightning...I'd say you might be interested (very cool take on philosophy and theology in a well-imagined future) except for some of what I believe to be your particular aversions in writing. Please feel free to check my review of TLTL and Seven Surrenders, I do mark content warnings.

If you're talking about other books for some sort of bizarre, unfathomable reason, I am afraid we might need to narrow it down first. :-)

If Trike is asking about TLTL, i think based on his past comments that he probably skip it. He's indicated being uncomfortable at stalking/murderer/serial content before and there's a fair bit of that here and its pretty graphic.

Yeah, that was what I was alluding to :)

Yes, that. Thanks.

The Hyperion/Endymion books, by Dan Simmons. Somehow missed them back in the nineties.

After the interview with the SA Corey guys, I retrieved Leviathan Wakes from my To Read list, and am now on book 3, and a lot of other books have been pushed to the side.
Shows the power of the podcast, at least on me.
Can anyone tell me how I could watch the Expanse series - in Switzerland?

Margaret wrote: "After the interview with the SA Corey guys, I retrieved Leviathan Wakes from my To Read list, and am now on book 3, and a lot of other books have been pushed to the side.
Shows the power of the pod..."

Try Netflix. I think they have international rights to Expanse in most countries outside North America.

Is Netflix in Europe? Cool.

Just started Merlin's Blade. So far so good.

I've been reading horror novels, right now I'm reading the Exorcist

I am currently reading The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer #2) by Brent Weeks. I plan to read The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan (Book #2 of Powder Mage Trilogy) and then start Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

After reading The Left Hand of Darkness I went on to The Dispossessed. I found it curiously unsatisfying. The book is literary, historically aware, well constructed paragraph by paragraph, but just so overwhelmingly depressing I couldn't handle it. I found myself wanting to lem it regularly. I generally won't lem a book unless it is really terrible, but the impulse was there.

Just as I was finishing, Strange Dogs came in from the LA Public Library. That was a quick read, I've already returned it. I don't want to spoil, but yeah, that was weird. Stephen King like. I think these shorts are mainly written backstory that doesn't fit into the books, but I'm glad to read them. Anyhoo, for our California peeps with an LAPL library card, it's available. About a month wait but it'll get there.

With Gunslinger and the 3rd Polity book a week or so out on the LAPL wait list, I believe it's time for Bobiverse #3! Just bought it and heading to read.

I just finished The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three today. It's actually a re-read. But I am now on to The Waste Lands, whhich will be new for me.

I finished The Princess Diarist yesterday. It was a very quick read. I was kinda hoping it would have more behind the scenes stuff than it did.

Going to start The Collapsing Empire today.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I've mostly been catching up on some comics this week, but I also finally finished my audio reread of Wheel of Time.

A Memory of Light ★★★★★ - (My Review)

Lumberjanes, Vol. 5: Band Together - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
Lumberjanes, Vol. 6: Sink or Swim - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 6: Civil War II - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 7: Damage Per Second - ★★★☆☆ - (My Review)