The Sword and Laser discussion

Finished recently with the excellent The Moon and the Other - the book deserves far more recognition, with its excellent worldbuilding and thoughtprovoking social experiment and human struggle.

Also finished with an okay short story A Rare Book of Cunning Device - now I know why Rivers of London audiobooks are so popular. Great narration.

Starting The Fireman. So far so good.

Dara wrote: "Finished Persepolis Rising. Definite pacing issues but I enjoyed it once things got going. My review.
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Agree. The writing has become more mature.

Yesterday evening I finished Waistcoats & Weaponry, the third book in Gail Carriger's "Finishing School" series. Lots of fun! I liked how the plot moved in one direction, then ramped up and took a turn in the last quarter of the book. The characters are great as well. I hope to start on the last book in the series this weekend.

Nearing the midway point on The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., it's been a pretty fun read thus far. Liking the characters and the plot is advancing steadily enough.

Looking forward to Gridlinked and The Amulet of Samarkand which are currently sharing the on deck circle.

Silvana wrote: "Agree. The writing has become more mature."

Yeah! More refined and confident.

Dara wrote: "Now reading Theft of Swords. I've been reading a lot of sci-fi this year so going back to a traditional swords and horses kind of story is nice. ."

Rob will be happy :-) Maybe it will still win March Madness one day.

BTW it is a great book. I enjoyed it.

Tassie Dave wrote: "Rob will be happy :-) Maybe it will still win March Madness one day.

BTW it is a great book. I enjoyed it."

Someday it will be a pick, I have faith.

It's good so far! I'm really invested in the story.

I also like Theft of Swords and the Ryira world in general

The summer is here but I'm still carrying my kindle everywhere with me, hoping to have an opportunity to finish the books i've started in spring. One of which is Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.

Even though it's scientific, it's an interesting and occasionally really funny book which studies stress. While it's mostly giving the biological explanations of how things work, I enjoyed it more like the psychology/social science book, that didn't make me doubtful about it's content, like pure psychology books do.

What really made me read this is the into: both to this book and to - Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst - another book of same author. Which are so good they make you believe the 1k pages of facts that are behind them cannot possibly be boring if the same person wrote them!

I also just finished Persepolis Rising - really liked it, including the slower first half. Because of the time jump, I thought it felt right to gradually adjust us to the changes. I think watching the show, with it's incredibly fast pacing, made the book feel even slower. Anyways, I liked it a lot.

Now 1/3 of the way through Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson and really liking it. It's a YA tale of the American Gold-Rush era with just a slight twist of magic. It's very easy reading, fairly predictable so far, but feels fresh enough. And the main character, 15 yr old Leah, who has to disguise herself as a boy and head west, is very likable so far.

High time I dug into the Broken Earth trilogy, so I'm cracking open The Fifth Season while also continuing the Hard Case Crime train with one written by a friend, The Corpse Wore Pasties

Currently reading Startide Rising by David Brin, classic scifi book from the 80s that has won the respectable trio of awards: Hugo, Nebula and Locus.

I can't believe I haven't read this before, it's been sitting on my shelf forever... It's the dolphin in the cover which always got me thinking "wtf" and skip this book :D. You see, the book features a spaceship crew consisting of humans and "uplifted" dolphins (oh, and an uplifted chimp as well).

I'm down to first quarter of the book and it's been good so far. I haven't read the first one of the Uplift series (Sundiver), because I only had this one on my bookshelf and I was seriously craving for some vintage scifi... As far as I've understood, this should work as a stand-alone novel as well. Is the first book any good? Any of you read it before?

Maria wrote: "Currently reading Startide Rising by David Brin, classic scifi book from the 80s that has won the respectable trio of awards: Hugo, Nebula and Locus.

I can't believe ..."

The Uplift Universe is very much a matter of personal taste - it matches my preferences, I think its great - but I am aware that others disagree.
If you like Startide Rising, then also read Sundiver and most definitely read Uplift War, probably the best thing Brin ever wrote (and I reckon he is a pretty good author!) - but after that comes a trilogy (Brightness Reef et al). Only read those if you are really addicted to Uplift Universe - the setting is the same, but the quality of writing is so different that it is hard to believe they are by the same author

I love the Uplift setting myself. Sundiver is so different and small a story compared to the rest of the series (Sundiver is basically a locked ship mystery, vs. the expansiveness and size of the following stories).

Maria wrote: "I'm down to first quarter of the book and it's been good so far. I haven't read the first one of the Uplift series (Sundiver), because I only had this one on my bookshelf and I was seriously craving for some vintage scifi... As far as I've understood, this should work as a stand-alone novel as well. Is the first book any good? Any of you read it before? "

I’ve read them and I recall liking them but not loving them. I view Brin’s Uplift Universe as a sort of knock-off of Niven’s Known Space series.

Alan wrote: If you like Startide Rising, then also read Sundiver and most definitely read Uplift War, probably the best thing Brin ever wrote (and I reckon he is a pretty good author!) - but after that comes a trilogy (Brightness Reef et al). Only read those if you are really addicted to Uplift Universe

I ..."

I will second this. If you like Startide Rising, definitely give Sundiver and Uplift War a try. I am working on Brightness Reef right now and it has been slow going for me. I have read and enjoyed just about everything else Brin has done, but I am finding this one tough to get into. I can't really figure out why though.

After lemming Annihilation I decided to listen to something I knew I'd like: Stay Close by Harlan Coben. I read it years ago and vaguely remember what happens but Coben is like Diet Mountain Dew to me: nectar of the gods. I always yearn for another page (drink) and can't get enough even when I know whats coming next. I don't pretend his books are the deepest but they do motivate me like few others to keep listening (turn the page).

I'll be done tomorrow. At which point I probably move on to finishing Tad Williams Otherland series with Sea of Silver Light. Read the whole series some 16 years ago or so. Seems much more tedious this time which is why I'm taking breaks between books. I do seem to remember it going out with a bang though.

Following up on a thread from last month. The Capital ships beat the Golden Knights in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. So just like in our March tournament the Sci-Fi team came out on top. Despite the knights only winning 1 game in this series, they played some very good hockey along the way, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them back again soon.

Now back to your regularly scheduled book thread.

Oh boy, the previous messages on Uplift in this thread makes me want to read it sooner :)

I just finished Joe Hill's The Fireman and now I am positive he is a better writer than his dad. Great pacing and suspense despite the length.

Starting The Alloy of Law with medium expectation. The first Mistborn trilogy at times felt too YA for me despite the super cool magic system so I hope the next era will be better. And I am glad this is not a tome like A Way of Kings.

Current S&L challenge tally:
Sword 22
Laser 15 - catching up! 😆

Silvana wrote: "Finished recently with the excellent The Moon and the Other - the book deserves far more recognition, with its excellent worldbuilding and thoughtprovoking social experiment and hum..."

This is on my TBR, definitely looked interesting! Hopefully my library has it.
I just finished The Poppy War which was pretty good, a bit gruesome at points but a well told story. Now I'm deciding between All the Birds in the Sky, Strange the Dreamer, and Every Heart a Doorway... don't know which to start first.

Maria wrote: "Currently reading Startide Rising by David Brin, classic scifi book from the 80s that has won the respectable trio of awards: Hugo, Nebula and Locus.

I can't believe ..."

I tried reading Sundiver about 20 years ago or so but lemmed it not too far in. I no longer remember why though.

MURDERBOT!

Just finished Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries. So awesome! It's simultaneously a commentary on geek life, a slice of geek life in a superpowered half human android, and hacking adventure. I love it!

The first book was billed as a novella. This one's a "novel," but only in the old school technical sense. At about 1600 Kindle locations which average out to 25 words per location, it just edges over 40K words. And that's just fine. The commentary about life, hiding from people and preferring to sit in the dark and watch media, anxiety around even small groups of people, intelligence boosts leaving side effects of depression and anxiety, it just keep getting better and better.

In a bigger book this would be one "quest" on the way to a lengthy novel. Perhaps these will eventually be collected, as another three are on their way at a minimum. This way, though, we get more Murderbot more quickly. The commentary itself is worth the price of admission.

There's a plot as Murderbot investigates its origins and helps some other people on the way. A pretty good plot, but what makes this is Murderbot's constant commentary on the events around itself.

Give me more, more, MORE!

I totally agree John, MORE MURDERBOT!

I finished The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. I am not a huge YA fan but this book was a lot of fun -It looks like there is a sequel, The Iron Will of Genie Lo, but neither amazon nor goodreads has a publication date.

While I wait for Revenant Gun to come out on Tuesday, I am reading How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan. Good stuff.

Just finished Touch by Claire North. Very enjoyable and I've added The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August to my tbr list.
She has a fascinating biography, publishing under 3 different names (Catherine Webb & Kate Griffin as well as Claire North) from a very young age and, until recently, being a full-time Theatre Lighting Tech.

John (Taloni) wrote: "This one's a "novel," but only in the old school technical sense. At about 1600 Kindle locations which average out to 25 words per location, it just edges over 40K words. And that's just fine."

Just FYI, John, your Kindle math is off. Artificial Condition is 32,446 words long, well within novella length limits. :)

^ Thanks David. I went looking for a total word count and didn't find one.

As for current reading: I did polish off Artificial Condition in one sitting, so went back to the World of Tiers books. Well, there was a reason I took a break. Books two through five of that series are one cliffhanger after another, with a new set of challenges on a new world blah blah blah and I got tired of the formula. Skimmed major portions of The Lavalite World as it was a rehash of storylines from the first book. Yet another Amerindian level, yet another palace invasion, treachery, imprisonment, escape, zzzzzzzzz. There's nothing wrong with the book as a stand alone, it was just too much of the same in a short period.

There's two more books in the series which I will likely get to eventually. Just not motivated at the moment. For now it's back to a novella by Kate Danley, the "Maggie for Hire" book "A Maggie Valentine," and probably after that Gail Carriger's work How To Marry A Werewolf. Children of Time is also stacked up and about to come off library hold.

Finished with The Alloy of Law. I missed the depth and characters of the first trilogy but I will give this 2nd era a 2nd chance.

Starting Zoe's Tale. I was disappointed with The Last Colony so maybe this Scalzi's YA is better.

Silvana wrote: "Starting Zoe's Tale. I was disappointed with The Last Colony so ma..."

Zoe is basically the same story as Colony told from the kid’s POV.

The later OMW stuff is fair to middling. I did enjoy the last one. For more of the trademark Scalzi funny, Redshirts or Fuzzy Nation.

Yep, I heard that it is better than the Last Colony. Hopefully I get more of the (view spoiler)[two aliens who were Zoe's companions. I remember liking them. (hide spoiler)]

So the last book is good? Glad to hear that. Frankly I would have dropped the series if I had not bought the whole thing.

I think my fave is still Redshirts. Still considering Head On.

My latest round of reviews:

The Outsider - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

The Handmaid's Tale - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Oh and I got to meet Jim Butcher for a signing of Brief Cases (which I'm reading now) yesterday!



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Was Jim Butcher in the area and I missed it?

I guess I should say I'm reading Binti and Circe. Digging both.

terpkristin wrote: "Was Jim Butcher in the area and I missed it?

I guess I should say I'm reading Binti and Circe. Digging both."

Yeah. He was at the Barnes and Noble at Tysons corner

DAGNABIT. That was super close to me, too (well, closer than anywhere in Maryland...but I do have one of the B&N's that serves real food about 3 miles away).

It was about an hour drive for me (Fairly light traffic). Very glad it was a Saturday or I'd never been able to go.

Rob wrote: "Oh and I got to meet Jim Butcher for a sig..."

Are you never again washing the hand he shook?

Lemming Theft of Swords after reading the first story. My review details why. The first story was okay but the second one is a whole lot of NOPE.

Not sure what to read now.

Wow, I never got as far as you did, Dara--I read the first novel, thought it pretty much boring, and never bothered to continue (which is also funny given what you've said, because in the copy of "The Crown Conspiracy" that I had (the self-published version), Sullivan has like a weird lil author's note at the end about having it family friendly or some weird page.

David wrote: "David Holden (farrakut) | 679 comments
Wow, I never got as far as you did, Dara--I read the first novel, thought it pretty much boring, and never bothered to continue (which is also funny given what you've said, because in the copy of "The Crown Conspiracy" that I had (the self-published version), Sullivan has like a weird lil author's note at the end about having it family friendly or some weird page."

I get that it's supposed to be a lighthearted fantasy but it relies so heavily on tropes that I found it entirely too generic. And the second book "Avempartha" is just filled with NO.

Revenant Gun is out! So, obviously I am ditching Scalzi and reading this one.

Dara wrote: "Lemming Theft of Swords after reading the first story. My review details why. The first story was okay but the second one is a whole lot of NOPE.

Not sure what to read now."

It gets rave reviews because of the journey the characters go on. You bailed too early, but if that triggered you then you shouldn’t continue, because their redemption arc takes a while.

Royce is not a nice guy. He isn’t woke. He’s a thief and killer. That said, they have a code of ethics and a sense of honor. They didn’t take Thrace to the brothel because they think that’s all women are good for, they took her there because they know it’s a safe space for women. One of them (Hadrian?) is in love with a prostitute. This is actually a sex-positive message.

Not only do Hadrian and Royce ultimately modify their views, but the women characters come into their own and become total badasses. But it’s earned, not given, and there is some slight unpleasantness along the way.

Started Revenant Gun last night... mmmm.....

Just finished The Soldier. Not one of Neal Asher's best books. The characters this time around are even less fleshed out than usual (characterisation is not a great strength) and the hi tech smithies blowing shit up is a getting a bit old. Fun but could do better.

Enjoying The Name of the Wind in audio book. It is a compelling read with great narration. It will probably take another week or so to finish. A well used audible credit.

Starting Fool's Assassin in print (well e-book). Finally finishing Fitz's story...

Circe arrives on my device on the 20th.... twiddle thumbs

^ I'll probably read The Soldier, I'm fairly well invested in Neal Asher's "Polity" books. For my money The Technician is his best recent one. Still love Gridlinked for its sly take on secret agent tropes.

I think The Soldier suffers a bit from being the setup book for the trilogy. It's also a bit slow in the first third or so as we get introduced to some new entities and we don't have Cormac etc to anchor things.

I hope and think that it will fare better in the context of the complete trilogy.

Finished Delirium's Mistress and started Night's Sorceries, the final of Tanith Lee's Flat Earth series.

Started listening to Brief Cases by Jim Butcher which is a collection of short stories set in the Dresden Files verse. First story was disappointing - it was set in the the old west and managed to hit many of the tired old west tropes that we've seen a million times in other stories and guest starred Wyatt Earp, yawn who has been done to death. Plus it had a female narrator whose voice I found grating. Just started the second and its James Marsters thankfully as he's the regular narrator for Dresden stuff.

Rick wrote: "I think The Soldier suffers a bit from being the setup book for the trilogy. It's also a bit slow in the first third or so as we get introduced to some new entities and we don't have Cormac etc to ..."

It’s not the slowness. The characters are thinner than usual... Cormac has been gone for a while.

Finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and it lived up to the praise. Moving on to the book of the month.

Finished All Systems Red by Martha Wells and really enjoyed it. My review.

Now reading The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.

Dara wrote: "Finished All Systems Red by Martha Wells and really enjoyed it. My review."

Read this on vacation one raining evening. I enjoyed it as well.

Also finished The Quantum Thief which I found interesting overall, although I was confused by the ending (possibly jetlag induced), started Too Like the Lightning, and have been listening to 1Q84 in audio - I'm about 60% in right now. Kinda a weird one, but I picked it up as part of a 2-for-1 on audible recently. I think this was the current alt pick for S&L about the time I started listening to the show.