The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
>
What Else Are You Reading? July 2014
message 51:
by
David Sven
(new)
Jul 04, 2014 01:45PM

reply
|
flag
David Sven wrote: "Rupert Degas also narrates Patrick Rothfuss King Killer chronicles. One of my favourite narrators."
Not in the US.
Not in the US.

So I'm finally reading Metro 2033, which my teenage son adores."
Has he read 2034 as well?
I just finished Authority by Jeff VanderMeer, which I read in print but also listened to the audio.
Right now I'm in the limbo of packing to go on a trip and haven't selected my plane book yet!

Not in the US."
That's just criminal!

Leviathan - sea (space?) monster
Caliban - half human, half monster or demon, servant of Prospero, a magician
Abbadon - place of, or angel of destruction
Cibola - legendary city of gold, debunked by Coronado in 1540.
So, going by the titles of this series, I wouldn't be expecting happy things too much :)
A monster awakens, he's the servant of something powerful, he opens a gate to destruction, and no city of gold waits on the other side.

I started out by reading Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, the second book in the "Dresden Files" series. I shouldn't have placed my hopes too high. I really did not enjoy this book at all. My Review
Afterwards I decided to read a book from the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club. I managed to snag Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, the first book of "The League" series. It started out strong but then fizzled for me after the first quarter of the book. Another dud. My Review
After two duds, I decided to read The Death Cure by James Dashner, the last of "The Maze Runner" trilogy. I thought myself safe since I enjoyed the previous two books. Oh sure the plot is simple and predictable, but it was a good enough popcorn book to keep me entertained and they were fast reads. Oh how wrong I was. In my opinion, this last book was the weakest of the trilogy. My Review
Frustrated with the three books I've selected and that I've read these books back to back, I decided to change my pace and read some "Independent Readers" books that I've had for awhile. I started out with Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George, the first book in the "Dragon Slippers" trilogy. My Review
It was a refreshing change and I was so impressed that I immediately continued by reading the sequel, Dragon Flight. My Review
I am now almost finished reading Dragon Spear, the last of the "Dragon Slippers" trilogy. I'm grateful for this series for giving me a much needed breather after those previous books and I'm now ready to read more complex stories. I'm not sure what I will read after that. It will be either Ancillary Justice or Ready Player One, but either way, I know they will be good solid stories.

A monster awakens, he's the servant of something powerful, he opens a gate to destruction, and no city of gold waits on the other side. "
Yeah, Michele pretty much nails it with that short and to the point summary. I was slightly let down with Cibola Burn, but this is still my favorite series currently being written. And now the year long wait starts for the next book to come out.

My audiobook for the drive to and from work, Modern Scholar's lecture series The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World, Part II: Society, Economy, and Culture, after finishing its predecessor, The Modern Scholar: The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War.
And reading She as a secondary read if I get caught without my primary read.

Spoiler Alert!
Yes you will. I'm awaiting my copy of Cibola Burn where I'm sure at the end I still won't know who or what Cibola was. Don't care, though. Great reads.

I was really keen to begin a new fantasy trilogy and after a pleasant hour of debating in the bookstore I settled on this one. After a slow start, I'm pleased to announce it is really actually rather good, great descriptions, magical systems and tensions building up.
I'll have my review for it shortly.


Rupert Degas is the narrator. His reading is damn good! The audiobook is like hearing angels singing the joys and grief..."
I'm surprised the recent American bout of love for all things Irish hasn't translated into some Skulduggery love.

Great review Killian!

I was reading Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation in print but picked up the audio so that I can listen while I'm doing some driving, also meaning I can read in print some stuff I signed up to beta read and a book that I was requested to review (Scarlet Quest).
In the near future, I also plan on listening to Copycat Killing (which should be light) for SFFAudio and I'm debating re-reading Outlander and possibly trying to read the other books...I'm contemplating getting Starz on my cable package so that I can watch the show, but I'm not sure how the show relates to the books (is it a mish-mosh of all the books or more like Game of Thrones where it's a season on more per book?).

Just finished it today. Bit annoyed at the start but one hundred pages it picked up,and at times it rose to true fantasy escapism. I already bought The Crimson Campaign so can get straight onto it - it's a much bigger book though!

Rupert Degas is the narrator. His reading is damn good! The audiobook is like hearing ang..."
I wish I knew where this current American Irish craze came from. Some of the books strike a chord with the US therapy culture, but I can't explain the bars/pubs and dancing.

Just finished book one re-read myself a few days ago and midway thru book 2 now. I forgot how much I loved this story, at least the first 3 books. After that it gets a bit hit and miss for me, as I prefer Jamie and Claire's storyline to anyone else's.

She made it sound on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast like the Battlestar Galactica director will be very respectful of her work.

Depths
AudioBook: I've been listening to "The Kraken Project" by Douglas Preston (a favorite author). But I know enough about computer programs and the internet to be annoyed by some of the liberties he is taking. I'll write a full review, but at about the mid-way point, it's not one of his better novels.
The Kraken Project
Last weekend I read The Forbidden Library and found it enjoyable. (My Review)
Last week I also listened to Blood Song and absolutely LOVED it. A rare 5-star rating for me. (My Review)
I'm more than halfway through Tower Lord and loving that so far. I think this has easily become one of my favorites series.
Last week I also listened to Blood Song and absolutely LOVED it. A rare 5-star rating for me. (My Review)
I'm more than halfway through Tower Lord and loving that so far. I think this has easily become one of my favorites series.

Starting Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore.

Spoilers for the first book follow.
The series is excellent with a different feel for each of the second two books. I can say without spoiling that the second book deals with the Cold War from where the first book left off. England is in a much poorer state compared to our timeline after the catastrophically different outcome of the Dunkirk evacuation and Russia consequently has control over much more of Europe. The escalation of military technology parallels our timeline as well, but instead of atomics the powers develop/escalate along the lines of the first book.
Don't even read the blurb for the third book before you've read the second. It's one of those really annoying ones that give away what happened in the previous book. However, it's a satisfactory end to the series that wraps up the loose ends really well. There was only one thing I didn't like, but it is spoilery: (view spoiler)

Thinking of Christopher Moore reminds me of this quote from Stephen King's Duma Key
�. . . [A]nd at the bottom, all tragedies are stupid. Give me a choice and I'll take A Midsummer Night's Dream over Hamlet every time. Any fool with steady hands and a working set of lungs can build up a house of cards and then blow it down, but it takes a genius to make people laugh.�

I started out by reading Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, the second book in the "Dresden Files" series. I shouldn't have placed my hopes too high. I really did not enjoy this book at all.
I wasn't crazy about the first Dresden Files book either and people always say it doesn't get really good until the 4th book or so but I don't want to have to read 4 books for it to get really good. I ended up lemming Fool Moon.
I finished reading Tower Lord, sequel to Blood Song. It both delivers and disappoints. Here's my review



Spoilers for the first book follow.
The series is excellent with a different feel for each of the second two books. I can say without spoilin..."
Thanks, Lindsay. They sound interesting.

Already anticipating the next book, but may have a 3 or 4 year wait.

Just started The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. It's short, so I'll be finished quickly. But I will take time to savor some of his writing. Even a couple of pages in and I've been struck be several instances.
Finished reading The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma. Ridiculous book. Here's my review
Reading Robin Hobb for the very first time with Assassin's Apprentice. I'm regretting not having done so sooner.
Reading Robin Hobb for the very first time with Assassin's Apprentice. I'm regretting not having done so sooner.

Listening to The Law of Nines on audio.

I think you'll have many moons of enjoyment ahead of you. I love Robin Hobb.
David Sven wrote: "Rabindranauth wrote: "Reading Robin Hobb for the very first time with Assassin's Apprentice. I'm regretting not having done so sooner. "
I think you'll have many moons of enjoyment ahead of you. I..."
I'll need some comfort reading after this match between Brazil and Germany.
I think you'll have many moons of enjoyment ahead of you. I..."
I'll need some comfort reading after this match between Brazil and Germany.


For my commute, I'm listening to The Republic of Thieves. (I paused for a few days to listen to Death Masks which I managed to snag from the library.)


Loved it. I don't remember if Bob Howard's Laundry codename has ever been revealed before, but when it was used in this book while his superiors were discussing him I literally laughed out loud.
I also love how this series moves along in roughly in parallel to real time and the genuine aging process changes the characters beyond just the character growth in each of the books. The 2014 Bob Howard is very different from the early-2000s Bob Howard.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Golem and the Jinni (other topics)The Goddess of Atvatabar Being the history of the discovery of the interior world and conquest of Atvatabar (other topics)
Superman Is Jewish?: How Comic Book Superheroes Came to Serve Truth, Justice, and the Jewish-American Way (other topics)
Crossroads of Twilight (other topics)
The Shadow Throne (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Douglas Preston (other topics)Lincoln Child (other topics)
Greg Bear (other topics)
N.K. Jemisin (other topics)
Steven Erikson (other topics)
More...