The Sword and Laser discussion

Silvana wrote: "Have you read Mieville's books? Whose works are weirder, his or Harkaway's? ..."
Not much. I read The City & the City. That's an interesting comparison for plain weirdness. I think Harkaway wins, but its a close thing. I gave up on Perdido Street Station, but I think I ought to try it again.

Just finished Trail of Lightning, which is a solid if not terribly original entry in the Badass Woman Warrior genre of Fantasy.

3 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Alan wrote: "Not much. I read The City & the City. That's an interesting comparison for plain weirdness."

TC&TC is by far the least weird book Mieville wrote. Even his YA novel is bizarre.

Just picked up Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik from the library. I'm intrigued and can't wait to see how she handles another classic fairy tale trope.

I just finished my slog through the culture series with the hydrogen sonata. Actually slog is harsh it was a really enjoyable series. Every book had their similarities in writing style and world feeling. It was great also seeing how banks confidence and writing prowess developed throughout the series.
I broke up the series with two absolute gems of books, Jade City, and the first murderbot novel. Both were brilliant and I will be carrying on with both series.
However I have now moved onto Thrawn Alliances. I'm only 10% in but am completely hooked. Loving the way the relationship between them both is explored.

Next up: Night Winds, the final book in Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series.

Just finished listening to The Thirty-Nine Steps which holds up surprisingly well for a book from 1915. After getting some languages that is shocking to modern ears in the first chapter (which on completion is actually not as racist as it appears). A short enjoyable read. It's fallings are similar to those of most modern thrillers, coincidence and the villains acting like idiots (and of course this would not work with modern communications). This is also the template for North-by-Northwest (complete with Biplane).

Finished the parasol books with Timeless. It was fun but began to wear on me. For the moment I have had my fill with Victorian silliness.

Have now started European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman and I am also listening to Postmortem for some variety (and darkness after the sugary confections).

Happy to be reading Altered Carbon and thrilled that it’s different than the Netflix series. 78% complete and will probably finish this weekend. Then I’ll watch the series again.

Finished my annual Heinlein reread. This year it was For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs. This was his first written (1939) but last published (2003, 15 years after he died) book. It's the story of a man from 1939 who gets transported to 2086, as people were wont to do in those days, where he gets lectured for about 80% of the book about politics, economics and social customs. I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone except Heinlein fanatics and completionists like me. I found it fascinating to see the seeds of later stories that he cannibalized from this one. As an interesting addition to the discussion of eugenics in Slan, which was written around the same time, there is passing mention of how, in Heinlein's Utopian future, insane people are prevented from reproducing.
Back to The Black Prism.

Just starting The Calculating Stars with some help from my dog Wabash.

Just finished the third book in the MurderBot series: SO GOOD! Except, you know, way too short. This series could've just been two normal length books.

Before that, read Empire of Silence, which would be a perfect Sword and Laser pick. It's described as "...merging the best of space opera and epic fantasy." I couldn't put it down.

I finished reading Across the River and into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway and The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. I am reading Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card. I plan to read How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz and Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow next.

Having finished the Kane books (what can I say? I've had more reading time than usual this month), I started rereading Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company (since he just release a new book, Port of Shadows, that fits between the first & second novels in the collection).

In addition to Slan I've read Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, which I enjoyed quite a bit more than I expected to. I'm not a big fan of YA, but this one had great character development and interesting world building exploring how dragons and humans try to live together, and end up not being so great at it. It's the first in the series, and I think I'll continue on reading.

I also read The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal and I LOVED it. I haven't read the novella or the second book she's written in this world, but they are both high in my 'next to read' pile

And last night I finished The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons. It's not out until Feb 2019, but I was lucky enough to score an ARC at San Diego Comic-Con. Tor is pushing it hard and pitches it as a mix of The Name of The Wind and Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series, and that's not wrong! It's a bit grimmer than Sanderson (lots of F-Bombs and people have sex with lots of other people) but it weaves a good tale with a bunch of interesting characters (don't want to get into specific because of spoilers). It's solid epic fantasy if you're into that, which I'm sure many of you are :)

Now diving into Lost Boy by Christina Henry, which apparently is a retelling of Peter Pan from the perspective of Captain Hook. Looking forward to it!

Just finished Raven Stratagem. A very different experience to the first book in that series, but thankfully another one that I really enjoyed. A far more conventional plot this time around, with 90% less baffling and unexplained pseudo-science, but it turns out that Yoon Ha Lee can write engaging characters and tell a story without so much set-dressing. Hooray.

Also finished All These Worlds at the weekend, which was just the antidote I needed after toiling a bit on Slan. Unashamedly geeky and light-hearted in tone - a quick, entertaining listen, but the series as a whole has more substance than I had suspected at the outset.

Next up, I'm abandoning Swords and Lasers to enjoy (I expect!) Lethal White, the latest detective novel from J.K. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith.

I've restarted Golden Son on audio after who knows how long, only to interrupt it with my library hold for European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman which came in over the weekend.

I've also started Space Opera in hardcover, only to interrupt THAT with Killing Gravity which I had on my e-reader when I was camping this weekend.

So I'm in the middle of 4 books I guess? (Plus a couple I've marked my place in but haven't picked up in at least a year+, though I do intend to get back to them at some point, so they aren't Lemmed.... )

Just finished The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (I know, I took a break from the group for almost two years(!), and I'm trying to catch up.) I liked it a lot. Just in time for the sequel.

I also started The City Stained Red. If you know Sam Sykes from his awesome twitter feed, then you should know that his personality comes through in his writing.

Just finished Foundryside. Slightly disappointed with the YA main character since I am used to the mature ones in his Divine Cities trilogy. Plus, the worldbuilding type is a trope that I am not comfortable with, but the writing remains good, the action sequences are cool and the final chapters are just so promising. Can't wait for book 2.

Starting Deathless. I hope this is better than Space Opera, or else I won't be reading any more Valente in the future. First chapters were great, though.

Trike wrote: "Just starting The Calculating Stars with some help from my dog Wabash.

"

That is one cute doggo.

Reading A Spark of White Fireand listening to Lavinia.

Last night I finished reading Howl's Moving Castle. Another fun read! Not sure what I'll start on next...

Still slogging my way through the ARC of Peter F Hamilton's newest, Salvation> that I got in May. I've listened to other books while reading this dead-tree version, but it's taking me a long time because it's boring. I know that this is the first book in a new series, but do you have to spend the entire novel doing backstory on the 5 main characters? The book is essentially several short stories strung together towards a common thread, I hope.

^ Thank you for saving me the effort. Will wait until more of the series is out to bother.

Finished up Woken Furies, the third Altered Carbon book. A lot of people love this book. I'm not one of them. The book averages four stars in the LA Public Library. I gave it two.

Plenty of murder death kill so if that's what you like, it abounds. But there's little in the way of coherent plot. The book suffers for lack of a framing device like the murder mystery of the first. This book rambled so much I kept expecting Grandpa Simpson to start narrating that Kovacs wore an onion on his belt, which was the style at the time.

This book is set on Harlan's world and deals heavily with Quellists and Quellism, so if you've been wanting more of what the other two books have hinted at, you'll get it. But rather than a story, this book feels like a bunch of backstory notes forced into a novel.

There's a very short bit at the end that functions as a capstone to the series. That might have worked had, say, the last quarter of the book been a slow burn to that conclusion. Instead Morgan had to repeat earlier parts of the book, since it's a cinch that readers wouldn't remember them.

Were this the third book in a longer series I would chalk it up as a self indulgent installment and hope for better things later. The idea this was the author's best work, the "thrilling" end to a trilogy, just left me cold.

Reading New Spring

Reading now Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. I am 4 chapters in and it looks amazing!

Taloni - agreed on Woken Furies. For me, Altered Carbon was the best of the series.

Finished European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. The book seems to have been left in a library unsupervised where it ate a few of the other books. A good book that would have been better after some editing.

Finished listening to Postmortem which is a well put together murder mystery with an engaging protagonist.

Started listening to Dracula and reading a dead trees version of a Record of a Spaceborn Few.

Iain wrote: "Finished European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. The book seems to have been left in a library unsupervised where it ate a few of the other books. A good book that would have been better after some editing..."

Oooh, I like that description. I was starting to agree with the editorial comments from the sidelines about the Ms. Moreau's puma references and the sales pitches.

Finished with Deathless which is just beautiful. Interwoven with Russian history from the pre-Bolshevik revolution till the end of World War II, this is probably the best folktale fantasy I ever read. Poetic, immersive, macabre, compelling, there were just too many adjectives to describe it.

Starting Ahsoka and Iron Council.

Read the second Lock In book, Head On by Scalzi. It's an entertaining piece of fluff. We continue on with the Haden (immobilized by disease) Chris Shane interacting in his "Threep" body and his hard-partying, self medicating, effective asshole partner Leslie Vann.

The plot is ridiculous even as a police procedural. Everything Trike objected to in the first book is back out in force: Coincidences abound, plot points occur without any real precedent, and characters act in silly fashions.

None of that mattered to me. I enjoyed the characters on their Pro Wrestling level of stereotype, the jabs at Federal bureaucracies, and the overall SFnal universe. He even made tax policy funny, and THAT is skill! I suppose I haven't taken any Scalzi book seriously since Redshirts. His books work fine as light and airy fun.

I respond to your summons!

...oh fer cry. Scalziiiiii!

^ He makes me laugh, what can I say?

Valid. But oh my god that first book annoyed me.

Scalzi is great popcorn SF. =D

I only expect to be entertained & enjoy my mental gymnastics due to how my brain works. The 'what if' aspect is a huge portion of why I enjoy reading fiction.

I've been in a bit a a funk lately so have mostly been binge watching anime.

I finally finished Revenant Gun. I thought the first two books in the series were better - more action and intrigue, but I found the series ended on a nice note.

Comic-book wise I finished Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN, Volume 5: Char & Sayla, Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN, Volume 6: To War, and Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, Vol. 7.

Next up I am reading Rogue Protocol and Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN, Volume 7: Battle of Loum.

Sky wrote: "

I finally finished Revenant Gun. I thought the first two books in the series were better ..."

I agree. (view spoiler)[retconning Jedao's character is also not helping. (hide spoiler)]

Rick wrote: "Taloni - agreed on Woken Furies. For me, Altered Carbon was the best of the series."

John (Taloni) wrote: "Finished up Woken Furies, the third Altered Carbon book. A lot of people love this book. I'm not one of them. The book averages four stars in the LA Public Library. I gave it two.

Plenty of murder..."

It is settled then. I won't be reading that one.

^could be worth reading the last 20 pages. Or, heck, I'll spoil it right here.

(view spoiler)[The orbiters on Harlan's World that vaporize anything that rises above 400 meters are actually digitizers that bring beings into a virtual world. The Martians traveled to Harlan's World to go to the next stage of reality, and flew up to be be digitized. It is implied not stated by the end of the book that humans would be in touch with the Martians soon. (hide spoiler)]

Sky wrote: "I've been in a bit a a funk lately so have mostly been binge watching anime."

I was just scrolling through anime on Netflix, not because I wanted to watch any but because I like to marvel at the random titles the Japanese give their shows.

A teenage kid gets the power of the grim reaper! We’ll call it “Bleach”! Makes perfect sense.

Devilman Crybaby. Nice Holystone. Puella Magi Madoka Magica — okay, now you’re just mixing random Latin with made-up words.

Trike wrote: "Sky wrote: "I've been in a bit a a funk lately so have mostly been binge watching anime."

I was just scrolling through anime on Netflix, not because I wanted to watch any but because I like to marvel at the random titles the Japanese give their shows..."

I thought you would like to know that there’s a board game called Channel A where you have to come up with pitches for anime series based on randomly chosen words and concepts. It’s very entertaining after a beer or two.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1...

I’m currently on Relics by Tim Lebbon which is a horror/urban fantasy from the author of The Silence

Ruth wrote: "I thought you would like to know that there’s a board game called Channel A where you have to come up with pitches for anime series based on randomly chosen words and concepts. It’s very entertaining after a beer or two.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1... "

Ha! That’s perfect!

Ultimate Bride Corps A! Featuring super robots and cute school girls. It’s mega mecha misogyny!

@trike it's called Bleach because no one thinks his [mc] hair color is natural.

The anime stops slightly after the manga starts falling apart.

I read the novelette "Beyond Between" by Anne McCaffrey in the Legends II collection. Didn't previously know this story existed and saw reference to it in a Pern FB group.

The story follows the events of "Moreta's Ride" and brings a spiritual dimension to what happens to dragons and their riders when they go Between and don't return, usually on death or mortal wounding of the rider. It left me cold. That's partly because in the original book (view spoiler)[ I saw no reason Moreta should die and that felt like a cheap stunt. (hide spoiler)]

It's also because I've seen this idea too many times. Superpowered character of some kind dies? They're not dead, just off in another dimension. It's all over comics. Jean Grey, dead and resurrected again and again. Professor X surviving death. Warlock, Pip and Gamora escaping the Soul Gem.

I read a German SF series for a while and they did a bit where some mutants that had died over the course of the series weren't dead, rather their spirits had been attracted to a planet made of exotic metal. And on and on.

Perhaps Anne was struggling with her own mortality, since the suggestion in the story is that if that realm exists for dragons and their riders, perhaps ordinary beings have their own, different realm. Nice sentiment, but just so regularly done that it is not all that effective as a story.

Ben wrote: "@trike it's called Bleach because no one thinks his [mc] hair color is natural.

The anime stops slightly after the manga starts falling apart."

I read a reason on Wikipedia supposedly given by the creator that is completely bananas, so I’m choosing to believe that one instead. 😝

I'm letting the October seep into September with my current reads: The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion and Waking the Moon

For those who have read all three books in the Howl's Moving Castle series: I want to know more about the world and tagged the second book in the series. That one seems tangential to the first, with only the third going back to the original storyline.

I'm kind of but not very interested to read more. If I read more, will more about the underlying world be revealed? (view spoiler)[I'm interested to know how the "real world" interacts with the fantasy one. Or at least more about Howl and how he came to live there. (hide spoiler)] I'm thinking I will need to read/skim through the second one to get to the third, but am really looking for some kind of payoff by the end of the third.

Nokomis.FL wrote: "Still slogging my way through the ARC of Peter F Hamilton's newest, Salvation, that I got in May. I've listened to other books while reading this dead-tree version, but it's taking me a long time because it's boring. I know that this is the first book in a new series, but do you have to spend the entire novel doing backstory on the 5 main characters? The book is essentially several short stories strung together towards a common thread, I hope. "

Hmm, the Geek's Guide interview made it sound really good. Apparently he was going for a Canterbury Tales/Hyperion type structure with a lot of stories by different characters that somehow connect at the end. It sounds like it has a lot of interesting sf ideas in it. The audiobook is only 19 hours. Maybe a future Laser pick? I know how he is; he has a long build up. I think his character depth is above average though.

https://geeksguideshow.com/2018/09/13...

Any word on the October pick?

I finished Rogue Protocol - just as great as the earlier entries in the series. Since Exit Strategy comes out Oct 2nd I'll be looking for something short to read and listen too. Probably will listen to the latest entry in Magic 2.0: Out of Spite, Out of Mind and read one of the video game history books I've been putting on hold for a while.

Comic-book wise I just finished Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN, Volume 7: Battle of Loum which I believes finishes the 3 volumes of backstory that take place before the original Gundam 0079 (and make up the Gundam: Origin anime). I've been watching the original series again while reading it together with Gundam Origin volumes - with the backstory filled in and many plot points changed, art updated, and characters left out, its interesting to compare them side by side. A lot of changes were made to the plot in Gundam Origin that were not in the original anime and a lot that did not make sense was changed or removed.

Phil wrote: "Any word on the October pick?"

It will be officially announced within the next 24 hours. Patreon members have been told just a few hours ago (one of the perks)

One of the mods will put a book announcement up tomorrow.