November 2012 Readin

Still reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin (sequel to The Passage and so far very good)...

Readin' are ya?

Finished up Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels (A-) yesterday; fun, but very idiosyncratic. Let's just say that the criteria for inclusion was lost on me at times.

Currently reading Throne of the Crescent Moon for review for Interzone.

Not really hard scifi but currently reading Transition by Iain M. Banks.

That book was published as by Iain Banks in the UK.

I finished The Golden Globe a couple of days ago, and now I am reading a non-fiction book.

Still reading At the River of the Mouth of Bees by Kij Johnson.

Am reading Reality 36, it's not the most interesting or exciting book I've read but it's passable.

Just finishing Illyria by Elizabeth Hand. Many themes packed into this short, well-written little book.

@2 I'm from the South, what do you expect?

;o)

Started Catching Fire having read The Hunger Games some months ago. Amazes me how engaging and well written some YA stuff can be.

Some of the best YA stuff is simply adult fiction with fewer plot lines and a stronger story.

Or some so-called adult fiction is just YA from a publisher who hasn't figured out they can shift more copies if they badge it as YA :-)

I'm currently reading the Nebula Awards Showcase 2012 lots of fantastic stories in here, but I'm particularly in love with "Map of Seventeen" by Christopher Barzak and Kij Johnson's "Ponies" was delightfully disturbing, too.

I'm halfway through The Pollinators of Eden which is surprisingly loaded with witty dialogue and oratorical displays.

I am reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Why have I never read this? Sorry Dan Simmons, didn't know I would enjoy this so much!!

I'm reading The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still, the 6th in a series of humorous detective stories set in an alternative reality version of the Welsh town where I went to university.

I'd count the series as fantasy rather than science fiction, but in this book people have been seeing UFOs and having close encounters with aliens, so I thought I would mention it here.

Finally finished Anathem. I feel like a heretic saying this, but I didn't like it as much as I expected. I was so busy trying to absorb all of the "stuff" and obscure references that I couldn't get into the actual story or the characters. The characters could have had a bit more depth as well.The story would get going a bit, then slooooow waaaaaay doooown while the characters would engage in a 10-page "dialog." Amazing worldbuilding, and lot of food for thought, though. ONe positive - think of all the cool inside jokes you can tell now - "A Procian, a Deolater and an Incanter walk into a bar..."

I get really busy in the Fall and this was no exception. It doesn't mean that I completely stop reading fiction, but my reviews certainly stopped. I was also on a fantasy kick for most of the time. Here's the last couple of months.

The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells. Second book of her Raksura trilogy. I really liked her first book, at least partially because while there was magic in her world, there were no wizards or anything remotely like them. It seemed very fresh and almost sci-fi like. This book has wizards. Oh well, it was still good.

Next was Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn, I think it's number ten of the series and a worthy member of it.

Continued on with Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb. Second book in that series and eleventh in that world I believe. I liked it better than the last book which I thought fairly good.

Re-read Bujold's Shattered Knife quadrilogy. (Quadrology? :-) ) Still good.

Actually read a book billed as sci-fi, The Last Sunset by Bob Atkinson. Luckily it was only barely sci-fi as I found the sci-fi aspects doubtful to unbelievable. It was primarily alternative history with a strong side of period thriller. (The period being 1746.) Mostly read like a Sharpe book by Bernard Cornwell. I thought it was pretty good but I also like historical fiction books like Cornwell's.

I'm about a fourth of the way in to J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy. Frankly, if it wasn't Rowling I would have quit reading by 40 pages in. I don't like any of the characters and don't really care what happens to any of them. Has anyone finished the book, does it change later on?

Next up is Adrift on the Sea of Rains by Ian Sales which may happen quickly because I don't like the Rowling.

Finished Reality 36 and it was just ok so I won't be moving on to the next book in the series because frankly, I just don't care what happens next.

I have started Control Point which is more fantasy than sci fi and I'm really enjoying it so far.

@20

Thanks for not giving anything away about Anathem because I've just got it back from the repair shop (Waterstones had to order me a new copy because pages 491 to 506 were missing). I filled in with the non-fiction Darwin's Island by Steve Jones.

(Didn't this series of threads used to be about any books you were reading - not just science fiction?)

>23 by @Noisy, Well, I suppose you could post about anything, but since it's the sci-fi group, it seems more appropriate to post here about sci-fi reading... There's the generic "what are you reading" group (along with other groups that don't keep to a narrower subject matter) for posting about anything you're reading. Just my own take on it.

In the past two weeks I've read and enjoyed the first two books in Allen Steele's Coyote series. I liked the 2nd, Coyote Rising more than the first. I had read parts of each book previously via short stories in Asimov's magazine. I'm hoping to read the third book of the initial trilogy, Coyote Frontier before the end of the year so that events are still fresh in my mind.

#23
Sometimes I'll mention other things I'm reading, but usually either in relation to some SF, or in a "I'm glad to be getting back to SF after reading War and Peace" mode.

>14 anglemark: As someone pointed out to me, good YA fiction like this has a great time investment to enjoyment ratio.

Finished Catching Fire and am moving on to Mockingjay.

I finished reading Kris Longknife; Furious. What a stinker. Save your money and buy something good. My goal for this month is to read the Hunger Games Trilogy, as well as a number of other books.

Started North by 2000+ and Information Cloud, both from the Early Reviewers program.

I've posted my review of the disturbing, excellent postapocalyptic novel Who Fears Death in my thread...post #161.

Who Fears Death looks fantastic. It's been on my TBR list for a while, and I really should bump it up.

>31 andreablythe: I would strongly encourage you to, and soon. I was so hooked.

Abandoned The Food of the Gods, but not because there's anything particularly wrong with the book - I'm just having a lousy reading month. Kind of between books at the momement, but I think I'm going to take a break from fiction in general next and read Pete Townshend's autobiography Who I Am.

>23 Noisy:

(Didn't this series of threads used to be about any books you were reading - not just science fiction?)

IIRC, although discussion of SF has (obviously) always dominated in these threads, everybody seems to be okay with talking about whatever else they're reading, too. Personally, I think this is great, as one of my favorite topics of discussion is what people who like genre x like to read when they're not reading that genre.

That's a great point. It's "What science fiction fans are reading", from that point of view. Plus it gives the excuse for posting about Fantasy reads. ;)

#34
Art's last point is very interesting -- I think I'll start a thread about what other types of reading people do.

On those grounds: currently reading Edmund Wilson's study of European revolutionary movements, To the Finland Station: to be followed by Banks' The Hydrogen Sonata and a long-overdue re-read of Forster's The Machine Stops.

I also just started The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. It's marketed as a literary novel (if I base it on the cover) and I didn't know anything about it when I picked it up. But the story is about human reaction to an apocalyptic disaster -- the earth's rotation slowing down -- which took me by delightful surprise. I'm loving it and I'm just 30 pages in. The writing is absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks >37 andreablythe:. I'll move it to the top of the TBR pile!

I've just started Stone by Adam Roberts. It's intriguing so far.

Wait till you get to the nostril sex.

> 40 Does that make it sinus fiction?

> 40 LOL

I'm about halfway through The Black Seas of Infinity and I'm not to sure what's going on or what the book's actually about. That's not to say that it's bad, I'm just not sure on where it's going.

I'm currently reading The Fractal Prince

I recently read Deathworld , Harrison's first novel according to the wiki. Great stuff.

Now onto Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement.

I am re-reading High Crusade by Poul Anderson. I added this book to my library about 4 years ago but this is my first re-read in probably 20 years. What a delight!!! I have forgotten just enough of the details to make this a great read the second time. You know how when you read a book for the first time you tend to gloss over some details because you just want to move through the pages. Well the second read (it is a very short novel but about right for the topic) is a very satisfying tale of a medieval kingdom becoming masters of the universe. Funny, logical it has it all.

Edit: By logical, I mean to say given the outrageous premise that such an event could happen (the basis of all good sci-fi IMHO) the storyline proceeded in a logical sequence of events.

Just finished The highest frontier by Joan Slonczewski, which restored my faith in deep, serious YA novels - it is way, way better than The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers. Just started John C. Wright's Count to a trillion in which, so far, all the 'characters' are maths genii...I have a bad feeling about this book.

Finished Throne of the Crescent Moon (A) this afternoon.

I gave up on Finch by Jeff VanderMeer after the transcript of yet another torture session. I'm just too big a wuss, I guess.

I finished The Twelve by Justin Cronin - it was a bit slow towards the middle so I ended up putting it down more than usual - then it picked up towards the last quarter of the book. I'm not sure if I liked the ending much - too many convenient things happening towards a semi-happy ending.

Now reading Jump Gate Twist by Mark L. Van Name - I've already read the first "Jon and Lobo" book in this volume One Jump Ahead which was surprisingly good. Looking forward to rereading and continuing with the second book, Slanted Jack also part of this volume...

Currently reading The Hydrogen Sonata.

Finished Stone, which was a good read. It reminded me of a Culture novel in many ways, particularly the bizarre social and sexual customs and the utopian society filled with people who have endless leisure to explore and experiment. Reminiscent of Jack Vance's work too in that regard. I'll be looking for more of Adam Roberts' backlist.

Just (legally) downloaded Snow Crash. Despite being underwhelmed by Anathem, I have this urge to read more Stephenson. (For the record, I liked Cryptomicon and Reamde.)

Gave up on The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling about a third of the way in. I didn't like any of the characters and didn't care what happened to them either. Life is to short, and my only regret is I didn't quit at page 40 when I wanted to and I went on to page 178.

Then went on to Adrift on the Sea of Rains by Ian Sales and it was much better. (I can just see the advertising blurb on the next edition of the book, "Much better than J. K. Rowling" :-) ) I'm assuming the lack of quotation marks in the book was an intentional publishing decision and not a quirk of the ebook but it took me ten or twelve pages to get used to it. It wasn't a cheery book, Armageddon books rarely are, but it was thought provoking and interesting. I gave it four and a half stars on my review.

Re-read The Fall of Ile-Rien fantasy trilogy by Martha Wells. Still good.

Yes, the lack of quotation marks was deliberate. And what do you mean "not cheery"? Just because everyone on the Earth dies in a nuclear war... :-)

>54 by @iansales, I know it was deliberate, but my personal opinion is - they (or some other mark) are needed. It definitely confused things a few times.

> 54: "All die. O the embarrassment."

>54 iansales:

Always look on the bright side of death.

>52 drmamm:

Just finished Anathem myself and was whelmed - loved the world-building, but not the denouement. I hope you enjoy Snow Crash - that was one of my five star reads.

Reading Total Secession -- near future sf.

>54 iansales: Well, there is that whole sub-genre of Klingon apocalyptic literature where all the characters have a big party with singing and drinking and then they go out, start the killing, and everyone dies at the end. Good times. }:-l

(In case anyone is wondering, }:-l is my rendering of a Klingon smiley face emoticon. And while there probably is Klingon literature somewhere on the internet, I've never looked for it let alone read any.)

You'll be happy to learn the population of the Earth is completely unharmed in the second book of the quartet :-)

Finished The Black Seas of Infinity and all I can say is that I read it. It wasn't interesting and I didn't care for the main character.

Am now reading Serial Killers Incorporated which so far is interesting and I don't like the main character but I don't think I'm suppose to.

Just started 'The Hydrogen Sonata'. After reading the chapter with the implausibly-named, difficult to play musical instrument, I'm now convinced Banks remembers the same BBC Radio 3 spoof early music concert I heard back in 1976-77 which featured the "Flemish Clacket", a six-foot tall, pear-shaped musical instrument with twelve bowed and twelve sympathetic strings, that the player had to sit inside (only then, the player ran the risk of implosion...).

I enjoyed "The Hydrogen Sonata" (on audio; good narrator btw).

I seem to be hitting a wall in that I'm having to ILL (inter lib loan) from hundreds and hundreds of miles away. I've apparently depleted Delaware of good SF. Does anyone have any suggestions as I'm on a definite "Hard SF interstellar conflict riff" and am running out of ideas.

recent reads:
Earth Unaware
The Hydrogen Sonata
Further: Beyond the Threshold --I was pleasently surprised and looking forward to more
Line War
Technician --very cool. I've run out of Neal Asher that I can get through library system.
Bowl of Heaven --meh
In the Lion's Mouth --I want more
Sister Alice --can't find more of this series
Nova War

So..anything new along these lines?

>63 RobertDay:
Hang on tight to your Shagbut! ;)

November reads:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Disappearance by Philip Wylie
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
The Ginger Star by Leigh Brackett
The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett
The Reavers of Skaith by Leigh Brackett
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

I read a bunch of older books I had never read back when; the Adams, the Wylie, and the Bracketts. The Weber is a YA of which half is a novella from the first Honor Harrington collection of stories. CVA just came out, and I hadn't read Ethan of Athos in ages and got curious about it again after reading the Wylie. I'd been meaning to read some Leigh Brackett--we'd probably call them fantasy now, as the spaceships are primarily a mechanism to put an individual down on an exotic world and watch him come into contact with many different cultures. The Creech is a children's fantasy, and the Carson the second book in her rather good YA fantasy series.

#64 Sister Alice is a one-off fix-up of stories originally published in, I think, Asimov's. Reed has written several books about the Great Ship though: Marrow, Well of Stars, Mere and Eater-of-Bone. Plus some short stories.

Gibson's Nova War is the middle of a trilogy, begun with Stealing Light and ending with Empire of Light. He's had two books published since then - Final Days and The Thousand Emperors.

If you like that sort of stuff, you should give Paul McAuley a go.

> 64 My suggestions are Sean Williams for serious stuff and David Gunn's Death's Head series for some serious fun. You might also like Nick Harkaway or David Weber.

Thanks Ian & bj.

I've already hit some of those (all Stealing Light trilogy and first two of Marrow). I'm hoping McAuley writes more Quiet War universe. Seems I do have some Astropolis on my to read pile so I may give Sean Williams a try.

At the moment: The Praxis which is book 1, so I've gone 2 > 3 >1 johnnyapollo:

Just finished Heretics of Dune, which I quite liked. Looking forward to starting the last REAL Dune book, as soon as I can get my hands on it.

#69 I second Sean Williams, though I thought the Orphans of Earth trilogy and Geodesica: Descent duology better than Astropolis. And the Evergence trilogy is a lot of fun too.

>69 randalhoctor: I enjoyed Marrow, The Quiet War and The Praxis, and would recommend as similar Paul Schroeder's Virga series, and Phillip Mann's PaxWax novels, which have not been mentioned so far.

I read Roadside picnic this weekend, and thought it was excellent.

Started A Gentlewoman's Chronicles from Michael Coorlim. Enjoyable steampunk though his stuff is a bit overpriced at Amazon.

>73 Sakerfalcon:

Was it a tribute read following Boris Strugatsky's death?

>75 Noisy:: Yup. Sometimes I need a prompt to get a book down off the shelf and read it.

Like Roni, I read Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. It's a satisfying new entry in the Vorkosigan series, this time featuring Ivan.

Started Alas, Babylon a few days ago.

I've been having a flashback to my teen years with some of McCaffrey's Pern books - Dragonsdawn and Dragonseye. It's an interesting experience, to reread something that was so loved and so important to my earlier reading years. I'm sure no one will be surprised to find that they do not hold up as well as I might wish, but I'm still struck by the creativity of her worlds, and the number of interesting women who populate them.

I've started The Three-Cornered War which is book 5 in the series and seeing as I haven't read the first four I'm making the back story up as I go.

Finished The Hydrogen Sonata. It's not the advertised "return to form". Review here.

I read that review and wept. I devoured every single word by Banks up until The Algebraist, at which time I realised it had been half a decade since I'd really appreciated a book by him, and decided to drop him altogether.

He's still good as what he does, he's just not as good as he once was or yuo want him to be.

Yes, he's skilled. But he used to be brilliant, especially his mainstream books: Walking on Glass, The Crow Road, Espedair Street. Some of my favourite books, those.

Did a re-read of Needle by Hal Clement--still enjoyable.

Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi was very good, a grim but well thought out extrapolation of our problems with such things as climate, overpopulation, reliance on fossil fuels, body modifications, and corporate giants.

I started the new Harry Dresden, Cold Days (more fantasy than sci-fi), and it's living up to the entertainment level of its predecessors.

Sorry to hear that at least a couple of others (including Ian) were disappointed in Hydrogen Sonata, which I bought recently.

By the way, I started reading the review but stopped a little bit in, because it seemed I was about to encounter significant spoilers. If that's correct, perhaps a warning would be in order?

Actually, that's the whole point of the book - the secret mentioned in the prologue is given away a couple of chapters later. So mentioning it hardly constitutes a spoiler.

Finished The Killing Moon (A) yesterday evening. If nothing else it's an excellant portrait of a man of affairs being consumed by the magic that makes his high rank in his society possible.

I'm halfway through "The Hydrogen Sonata", and reviews notwithstanding, I'm enjoying it. That's not to say that I'm uncritical; we've debated before whether a book that is enjoyable is good, and vice versa.

Banks has said that there are a lot more stories in the Culture that remain to be told. That will mean that there will be some books in a sequence that are weaker than others. I suspect that Hydrogen Sonata will turn out to be one of them; hopefully, a mid-sequence book that fleshes out the Culture some more even if it adds little to the overall story. We shall see.

Now reading Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days , 2 novellas by Alastair Reynolds.

I would just like Iain Banks to focus his considerable literary talents on what we all really want at heart - blowing up Big Dumb Objects.

#88
I wondered about that since it didn't seem like you to do spoilers. Onward to the review....

Blasted through Snow Crash. Great story, fun read, memorable characters (Uncle Enzo and Y.T. were great.) The ending was a little...meh...but not as bad as I expected after reading other reviews (and Cryptonomicon, which left we wondering if the part of the book was missing.)

On a different note, have any British SF fans read Great North Road yet? It's not going to be released in the U.S. until January 1st. I'm a huge Peter Hamilton fan, but was disappointed by the Void trilogy.

#94

Great North Road is far more focussed than the Void trilogy. In essence it is a pretty straightforward plot. The future Newcastle police detective part makes up the majority of the book. Some reviewers found that the use (although they said overuse) of 'pet' to be annoying although I didn't. I enjoyed it more than most of the Void trilogy.

Now finished "The Hydrogen Sonata" and cleansing the palate with a dip into E.M. Forster The machine stops before a session of revisionist WW2 history.