Jean (Majkia) : Secrets, Swords, Sorcery and Space Ships

Great Blue Heron on Beach at St. George Island


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New Year!

Books Read:



Pages Read:



TBR Books ROOTed Out:

Books Read

January

1. Black Ships - Jo Graham
2. Emperor: The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
3. To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
4. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Thieftaker - D.B. Jackson
6. A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine

February
1. Still Life With Crows - Preston/Child
2. Willful Child - Steven Erikson
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley
5. Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh
6. Beauvallet - Georgette Heyer
7. Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
8. The Dreaming Void - Peter F. Hamilton
9. The Iron Jackal - Chris Wooding
10. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak
11. The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham

March
1. The Last Kingdom - Bernard Cornwell
2. The City & The City - China Mieville
3. Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
4. Lament for a Maker - Michael Innes
5. Imperium - Robert Harris
6. A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley
7. The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier

Books Read

April
1. City of Bones - Martha Wells
2. Charming - Elliot James
3. Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton
4. The Alehouse Murders - Maureen Ash
5. Labyrinth - Kate Mosse
6. The Flinck Connection - Estelle Ryan
7. Thomas the Rhymer - Ellen Kushner
8. The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham
9. The Devil's Eye - Jack McDevitt

May
1. The Egyptologist - Arthur Phillips
2. Judas Unchained - Peter F. Hamilton
3. The Princess Bride - William Goldman
4. The Serpent Sea - Martha Wells
5. The Butcher of Anderson Station - James S.A. Corey
6. Reaper's Gale - Steven Erikson
7. Ghost Country - Patrick Lee
8. The Siren Depths - Martha Wells
9. The Iron King - Maurice Druon

June
1. Libriomancer - Jim C. Hines
2. The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
3. Dark Jenny - Alex Bledsoe
4. The Red Wolf Conspriacy - Robert V.S. Redick
5. Deep Sky - Patrick Lee
6. Dauntless - Jack Campbell
7. Dark Eden - Chris Beckett
8. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor
9. The Palace Tiger - Barbara Cleverly
10. The Churn - James S.A. Corey
11. Powder and Patch - Georgette Heyer

Books Read

July
1. The King's Gambit - John Maddox Roberts
2. Brimstone - Preston/Child
3. Restoration - Rose Tremain
4. Under the Empyrean Sky - Chuck Wendig
5. A Madness of Angels - Kate Grifith
6. Conflict of Honors - Sharon Lee
7. Why Mermaids Sing - C.S. Harris
8. The Confessor - Daniel Silva
9. Cold Magic - Kate Elliot
10. Off To Be the Wizard - Scott Meyer

August
Ha'penny - Jo Walton
The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks
The Last Oracle - James Rollins
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
Moriarty - Anthony Horowitz
The Warded Man - Peter V. Brett

September
1. A Fine Summer's Day - Charles Todd
2. Replay - Ken Grimwood
3. A Conspiracy of Paper - Charles Liss
4. A Perfect Evil - Alex Kava
5. Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer
7. Osiris - E.J. Swift
8. Angelmaker - Nick Harkaway
9. The Adamantine Palace - Stephen Deas

Books Read

October
1. Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny
2. The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
3. The Dance of Death - Preston/Child
4. The Summoner - Gail Z. Martin
5. Under the Eagle - Simon Scarrow
6. The Prestige - Christopher Priest
7. Book of the Dead - Preston/Child
8. The Technologists - Matthew Pearl

November
1. The Water Room - Christopher Fowler
2. Bellman and Black - Diane Setterfield
3. Bloodsucking Fiends- Christopher Moore
4. Blackout - Connie Willis
5. Skinwalker - Faith Hunter
6. Blindsight - Peter Watts

December
1. Gods of Risk- James S.A. Corey
2.Two Ravens, One Crow- Kevin Hearne
3. The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney
4. William Shakespeare's Star Wars - Ian Doescher
5. All Clear - Connie Willis
6. Ice Forged - Gail Z. Martin
7. Wings of Fire - Charles Todd
8. Stop Press - Michael Innes
9. The Demon Barker of Wheat Street - Kevin Hearne
10. Tilt-A-Whirl - Chris Grabenstein

Bingo DOG:
{Books I read for the Bingo DOG challenge}

24. Black Ships - Jo Graham
7. Emperor: The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
5. To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
25. Thieftaker - D.B. Jackson
22. Willful Child - Steven Erikson
16. Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
19. Way Station - Clifford D Simak
2. The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham
1. The City & The City - China Mieville
9. Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson
3. A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley
21. The Flinck Connection - Estelle Ryan
6. The Egpytologist - Arthur Phillips
11. Reaper's Gale - Steven Erikson
18. Libriomancer - Jim C. Hines
19. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor
17. Ha'penny - Jo Walton
25. The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
23. Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny

saved just in case.

Nice title!

Happy New Year to you, too. I dropped off a star!

Hope you enjoy the Willis! I liked it a lot.

Happy New Year!

#11 by @Jim53> I'm frustrated on the Willis. We're in the RV and I only brought an audio version, having left the book at home. Since it was too darn cold from Jim to be outside, I've had little time to listen to it. But we'll be home tomorrow so I will get more privacy to read it there. :)

Amber, Karen and Syliva: Happy New Year!

>12 scaifea: Special happies to you Amber! You've been missed here in the pub!

Happy new year! Following along again :) Where have your RV travels taken you for the new year?

Starred! I hope you'll like the remainder of the Willis.

Hi Imyril and Marissa. Thanks for stopping by.

WRT RV plans mostly here in Florida to our favorite beachy State Parks. But we're talking about venturing off to other locations as well. We'll see!

> Starring your thread. Good luck with 2015.

Starred as well. I love Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog had me laughing out loud. Hope you'll enjoy her too when you get the chance.

Happy New Year!

>18 majkia: Pity there's no plausible overland route from Florida to the Old World!

>18 majkia: If you head for NC again maybe we could meet.

1. Black Ships - Jo Graham


Genre: Historical Fiction/Magical Realism
Rating: Very Very Good

A retelling of the Aeneid, told through the eyes of a young girl enslaved when Troy falls. She is hurt, and no longer able to work, is then given to the temple of the Lady of the Dead as an acolyte, who when grown, becomes the chosen of the Lady and the Sybil to Aeneas.

Written beautifully, plainly and clearly told with no fake embellishments, moving and engrossing.

What a great book to start the year with.

>23 majkia: mumble mumble winged me again. Carry on, I've got a band aid and my wish list handy ;)

...but seriously, this sounds fascinating. I studied Latin at school, so I've read chunks of the Aeneid (in Latin) as well as Homer (in translation) and modern takes like The Penelopiad, The Firebrand and The Song of Achilles. There's so much to come back to in the stories of Troy - and I'm very curious to read a book that focuses after the fall.

#24 by @imyril> Yes, fascinating about what happens after the major events everyone knows about. And told from a woman's POV is a plus.

If you venture south and ever visit Myakka River State Park (15 miles inland from the west coast, at Sarasota) you'd be on my doorstep....do shout. They have a trailer camp.

>24 imyril: Yeah, she got me with that one too.

>26 JannyWurts: I was just saying to my DH that we had to revisit Myakka again when we did our annual Sarasota trip. We didn't get a chance to do the tree walk when we last visited because the kids were too young.

#22 by @Jim53> That would be cool, Jim. I'll let you know when we're up that way again.

#21 by @hfglen> You know, I've seen a picture of folks putting their RVs on barges....

#26 by @JannyWurts> I'll definitely keep that in mind. We keep talking about heading further south.

>23 majkia: Black Ships sounds amazing. Adding to my wish list.

>23 majkia: I loved Black ships when I read it a few years ago, and have been trying to find the author's other books ever since. Glad that it will find a few more readers thanks to your praise, majkia!

Hope you are enjoying your travels!

>29 majkia: I believe some people ship them in containers or even airfreight them ;)

>23 majkia: Note to self. Medieval armor does not stop BBs...

I see you have started on The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden. Looking forward to see what you think of it. This was one of the first books I read when I started to get into books in 2007 (bought it because I liked the cover).

2. Emperor: The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden.


Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: Very Good

I was surprised to read that this was Conn Iggulden's first novel. He did a bang up job as a new novelist.

He begins the story of Julius Caesar when Julius (Gaius as he was known as a child) was still a young boy living on his father's minor estate. From there we follow him, and his childhood companion Marcus into the city of Rome and their immersion into the politics and the pitfalls of the city. Young Marcus, with no money of his own, and no family to help him rise, is the fist to join the legions and head out to make his name in the military.

Julius remains in the city and is taken under the wing of his mother's brother, a consul of Rome and a great General.

But Julius's life is thrown into doubt when Marius and his rival General Sulla, fight over Rome itself.

Colorful and nicely written, the time, the city and the boys come to life.

3. To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis

Genre: Speculative Fiction/Time Travel
Rating: Very very good!

The second book of the Oxford Time Travel Series. The first book, The Doomsday Book, dealt with the Black Death. This one is a comedy of manners, and takes place during WWII, involving the search for some missing artifacts from Coventry Cathedral which was bombed during the war.

Tongue in cheek from the very beginning, poor Ned is sent through time to jumble sales all over England in search of ‘The Bishop’s Bird Stump’ an admitted atrocity of Victorian proportions but still wanted to go into a reconstruction of the cathedral.

But time goes awry nearly from the beginning when a young woman save a cat from drowning, and Ned adopts Cyril the bulldog. So suddenly the problem is finding what has messed up the future, to say nothing of retrieving the cat who is accidentally transported into the future.

Highly recommended!

>36 majkia: Glad to see you enjoyed it. Have you ever read the short story that introduces Jim Dunworthy and crew? It's the title story in her collection called Fire Watch. Some of the stories are less than fabulous, but I enjoyed that one and a couple of others, particularly "Blued Moon."

#37 by @Jim53> No, I haven't read that. I will look for it. Thanks!

>37 Jim53: I enjoyed Fire Watch. It us the only Willis I have read so far.

The 15th was my 8th Thingaversary.

And yes, I bought books:

1.Black Wind - F. Paul Wilson
2.Why Mermaids Sing - C.S. Harris
3.Dead Medium - Peter John
4.Sick - Brett Battles
5.Andromeda's Fall - William C. Dietz
6.The Barrow- Mark Smylie
7.Nefertiti's Heart - A.W. Exley
8.Malice - John Gwynne

and one to grow on:
9.A Fine Summer's Day - Charles Todd

I have Malice awaiting me on kindle. I bet you'll read your copy before I get to mine!

Happy Thingy!

Happy Thingaversary and well celebrated.

I'm thinking we need to work a DNBR day into the Thingaversary rules. If we are going to encourage one another in all this acquiring, we need to give them time to read, as well. :) Happy Thingaversary!

>44 MrsLee: I like that idea!

#44 by @MrsLee> oh yeah, that sounds great!

>44 MrsLee:

Wait! We're expected to read them? That may throw pgmcc's calculations off.

>47 suitable1: The calculations meet the specification. The requirement was the calculation of books to be acquired. Reading was not in the specification.

4. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro



Genre: historical fiction

Rating: Good

The story of one man’s life as a butler during the run-up to World War II.

I’m unsure what to say about this book. Beautifully written, but depressing and rather hopeless. Talk about living your life through others and letting them be your conscience and your guide. But he certainly maintains his dignity throughout.

5. Thieftaker - D. B. Jackson


Genre: Alternate History

Rating: Interesting!

We’re in 1765 Boston, where Sam Adams and his buddies are beginning to stir up Boston against the Crown and its taxes. During a night where the rabble attack and break into three houses of prominent Bostonians, a girl is found dead, with no apparent wound on her.

It turns out the girl is from another prominent Boston family and so Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker, a conjuror, and a convicted felon, is called in to search for a valuable brooch she was wearing, and if he can, to find out who killed her.

I thought the setting was drawn very well, the miseries of the poor in Boston and the relatively easy life of the wealthy made all too clear. The magical system was intriguing.  Ethan, who’d nearly been hung as a witch, but had been instead sent to Barbados to work in the sugar cane fields, is hiding in plain sight. People ‘know’ he’s a conjuror/witch, but mostly because he’s been no threat, they leave him alone. But when he’s employed by a wealthy merchant to find out about the merchant’s daughter, that draws way too much attention to Ethan and he finds himself up against not only the only other thieftaker in Boston, but also up against a conjuror far stronger than he.

I’ll definitely be continuing this series.

Oooh, that one sounds good! It may have to go on the list.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I picked up Leviathan from the library. I loved it! Thanks for mentioning it to me! I don't know why I didn't like it when I first tried reading it, but I really enjoyed it this time around. :)

#52 by @catzteach> Oh, so glad to hear that, Cindy! Planning to read the rest of the series? I loved the whole thing.

And yeah, Thieftaker was good.

Totally planning on reading the rest of them! I just need to find them.

>7 majkia: I finished reading When Women Were Warriors last night.  That should fall under #17 since I think everyone is either B or Q.  Falls under the thread title since there are lots of swords. ^_^

If anyone's curious, the first book is free.  You don't even need an e-reader, if you don't mind reading it online.  Since I have this on the Kindle Android app, and I haven't purchased many books with it, I spent a good amount of time wondering if I bought it or not.  After discovering that it's free, I triumphantly told my husband, "I have solved the mystery of whether or not I actually paid for this book!"

6. The Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine


Genre: Historical Mystery
Rating: Very Good

I had no idea when I began reading this that this book would dredge up so many childhood memories. I’m sure the pain of revisiting some of that colors my thoughts regarding it, but I will say that the book was riveting, emotional, and very much a story that could only happen during the timeframe it is set. Times have changed, attitudes are different, circumstances would be very different at other times.

It is the story of a murder, dredged up from the narrator’s past, when a writer contacts the family and wants to write a book about the murder and the circumstances of the murderer’s life.

The narrator, Faith, revisits what she knows, what she didn’t learn until too late, what she thinks is true, and how it is that the truth is never clear or logical.

Very much a psychological tale, examining all the characters in an extended family and how secrets and lies lead up to misery and hatred.

My personal experience is that lies and family secrets most certainly do that.

#55 by @Rozax> Thanks for that. I picked it up and hope to read it soonish!

No problem! 

Regarding your assessment in #56, my past week was pretty much dominated by fuzzy assessments of the truth.  A friend wasn't honest with me, because he thought the truth would hurt.  Instead, he'd say, "I need to deal with this myself," so I had no explanation for something really stupid that happened.  He finally fessed up, yesterday, and while I'm sad about the truth, this angry beast that lived inside of me for the past week is finally at ease.  Oh, how the stories we read speak to life!

oooh, A Dark-adapted Eye is one of my favorite mysteries. I first read it not long after it came out and I remember feeling like I hardly knew which end was up, especially because not everything is explained in the end; she leaves you wondering. It held up well on re-readings, too.

January Summary

A slow January for me with only a total of 6 books read. Well finished. Books unfinished and set aside: The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt. I was enjoying it, but was just not in a good place to listen to it and pay attention.

Books Read: 6
Authors: 3 Female/ 3 Male
Genres: 2 Historical, 1 Magical Realism, 1 period mystery, 1 Alt Reality, 1 Sci Fi/Time Travel
Total Pages Read:2689
Oldest Book Read (original Pub date) - A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine - 1986

1. Black Ships - Jo Graham
2. Emperor: The Gates of Rome - Conn Iggulden
3. To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
4. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Thieftaker - D.B. Jackson
6. A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell)

Best Book of the month: I enjoyed all of them, so hard to choose, but I think I'll have to choose: To Say Nothing of the Dog.

#58 by @Rozax> Don't they just.

#59 by @Bookmarque> Yes, as the book progresses we learn stuff, learn it isn't true, learn we don't know stuff, and aren't sure what is truth, fiction, or simply misunderstanding.

But then, the narrator never does learn everything. Who ever does, really?

7. Still Life with Crows - Preston/Child



Genre: Horror/Thriller

Rating: Best of the Series I’ve Read so Far

Agent Pendergast, just as mysterious as ever, turns up in a tiny Kansas town after a bizarre murder is found with the scene set as a ritualistic tableau.

But the next murder makes no sense, at least none that anyone can figure out, since it breaks all the rules regarding serial killers.

Pendergast, unloved by the local cops, finds a young girl, an ousider like him, to assist and he and she set out to catch the killer.

Very good descriptions of the country, the scenes, the local flora and fauna, complex mystery, and lots of crazy chases.

To Say Nothing of the Dog is a fun read.

8. Willful Child - Steven Erikson (Cat X!! - Shiny and New)



Genre: Sci Fi Parody
Rating: Good

This is an all out over-the-top parody of Star Trek. Take all the silliness of the original series, stir, and and a biting wit, and you get The Willful Child.

If you adore Star Trek, don’t read it. Unless, of course, you can admit that the series was fun rather than an example of serious Sci Fi.

This couldn't get any more different from his Malazan series!

9. Pride and Prejudice – Jan Austen


Not much to say. My umpteenth reread of it. Great fun.


10. The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley


Genre: Historical Mystery

Rating: Very Good!

Second in the Flavia DeLuce series. I know a lot of people find Flavia annoying, but I think she’s utterly hilarious and I envy her dreadfully for being so interesting and complex.

Terrific characters, and intriguing world.

Wonderful series I’ll happily continue.

66> I love the Flavia books! I think there's a new one that I need to get around to reading.

>66 majkia:  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed P&P.  I admit, I watched the 1995 BBC production before reading, and I think it helped me appreciate the story, better than I would have without.  The 1980 drama simply confused the hell out of me.  "What do you mean 'they must marry'? That's your baby sister! Go protect her!"  The 1995 series helped me understand the politics.

When my dad was very ill and I had a 7 hour trip each way to visit him and my mother, my travel and my mind were eased listening to P&P quite often. I really like Emma as well.

11. Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh



Genre: Satire
Rating: Fair

Evelyn Waugh’s first novel, written in 1928, a satire of the British public school system, with our hero having been sent down, landing a job at a public school of questionable value. Not as good as some of his later books, but quite funny nonetheless.

12. Beauvallet - Georgette Heyer



Genre: Historical Romance (Elizabethan)
Rating: Good

Written in 1929, Heyer’s 5th novel, follows the adventures and romances of a pirate, Nick Beauvallet, and the Spanish lady he captures when he attacks a Spanish ship on the high seas. He decides he must have her, even if he has to risk his neck by going to Spain to get her.

Lots of intrigue and adventures even if Nick has all the fun and poor Dominica has to just wait to be rescued from the evil clutches of her aunt. Not my favorite Heyer, but it does have its virtues.

13. Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch



Genre: Urban Fantasy/Police Procedural
Rating: Excellent

5th in the Peter Grant/Rives of London series.

Apprentice wizard and policeman Peter Grant, city boy down to his tiny toes, has to trek off to the wilds of the British countryside, when two little girls vanish. Just due diligence, just to make sure there wasn't any supernatural critter involved in the abduction.

'The Starling' as he finds himself called, learns a whole lot on this jaunt:  about bees, about himself, about his boss, and about the aspects of magic in the countryside. Not to mention the unicorn and castle.

Excellent addition to the series.

>13 majkia: Good to see more love for the latest instalment.

14. The Dreaming Void - Peter F. Hamilton


Genre: Space Opera
Rating: Very Good!

It is the far future and humankind have spread across the stars, and met a host of alien species. Wars are over, and things are going pretty well. Except for this massive thing sitting in the middle of the Galaxy. At first it is thought to be a black hole devouring the Galaxy, but then it becomes clear it is something else entirely.

Then one man, an astrophysicist who is studying it, begins to dream. Through the existing tech that connects the worlds, his dream is broadcast across the stars and people begin to believe that within the Void humans live and are happy and prosper. This spawns a religion around the Dreamer, Inigo.

But after several centuries, the Dreamer disappears. Has he died? Or has he simply pulled out of society and hidden himself somewhere.

Then, suddenly, there is a second Dreamer. This sparks the Living Dream, the religion spawned around the first Dreamer, to suddenly awaken from its slumber and call for a pilgrimage into the Void. ; But many scientists, and all the alien species, rise up in alarm, afraid such a thing will cause the Void to speed up and begin, once again, to destroy worlds and civilizations as it chews its way through the Galaxy. The pilgrimage must be stopped!

Hamilton does a great job at creating a Galactic civilization, Religion, and people who are complex and intriguing. The societies are various, with different worlds having quite different problems and opportunities, not to mention goals. Some people, the wealthy of course, live for centuries, and have augmented bodies and minds, and a mental connection to the mass of humanity through the vast gaianet that lets thoughts and dreams spread across worlds and peoples.

I’m excited to read the next outing. Oh, and Fifty Shades doesn’t hold a candle to the future folks and their versions of sex and erotica.

>73 majkia: That sounds interesting. I'm going to have to check that out.

Thanks for the review, I've been thinking of picking this one up for a while. I generally like Hamilton but I've fallen behind on his recent books.

I've only read Great north road by Hamilton but it was excellent. I have one of his space opera trilogies but it's not grabbed me the way GNR did.

Hope you give it a try, Gale.

Jim, this was my first Hamilton. I'm going to follow advice and jump to Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained before I continue on with the Void trilogy.

Claire, I've got GNR but haven't read it yet. I've been picking up Hamilton's books for some time, not sure why I've not gotten to them before this!

I didn't much like Pandora's star. It didn't seem to go anywhere, and took a very long time in not arriving. Haven't been tempted by any of his other work because of that. I do generally like long books, but Hamilton just didn't seem worth it.

The Dreaming Void sounds fascinating. For some reason Hamilton has always felt very daunting - I think a friend I associated with ultra-hard SF recommended him years ago, and it sounds like I've had all the wrong impressions of him ever since :)

There is some hard science in it, but not much. No fear of eyes glazing over getting a physics lecture. :)

15. The Iron Jackal - Chris Wooding



Genre: Steampunk, SFF

Rating: Very Good

Third episode in the Tales of the Ketty Jay series, our ‘heroes’ are feeling pretty smug. For a change, things are going fairly well. That is, until Frey decides to do a train job. From there, things definitely get buggered.

Pirates, thieves, outcasts, former slaves, and a demonologist on the run make up the crew of the Ketty Jay. Lots of shades of Firefly in many parts, particularly The Train Job!

I love the characters. Everyone is a mess, and doing their best to make do with what they are, and somehow remain part of a crew.

Frey, leader of the crew, is shallow, narcissistic, and knows it. But for the first time in his life, he’s beginning to actually feel responsible for his crew and aware of his limitations. And is trying to do better. We’ll see if he can manage it!

16, Way Station - Clifford D. Simak


Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Quite Good
Originally published in 1963. Hugo Award winner and deservedly so.

Enoch is a quiet man. He keeps to himself and gives his neighbors no reason to be upset with him. He has little to do with anyone other than getting his mail and buying supplies now and again.

The neighbors do notice, however, that he has lived far longer than is normal, but well, he’s no trouble and nice enough so no one wants to make waves about weird goings on.

No one guesses that this quiet man is keeper of an intergalactic way station where aliens arrive most days, say awhile to rest, then continue on their light year journeys. Until, that is, a deaf mute girl local girl seeks his help from her abusive family.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Told in a very quiet, simple way, with an intriguing premise and interesting characters.

17. The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham


Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: Very Good
Made into the movie Village of the Damned.

A small town of no known importance is suddenly blocked off from the rest of the world, and all its inhabitants are cut down. At first the authorities assume they are all dead. Instead they discover the people and animals and every living thing in Midwich is asleep. After 24 hours, everyone awakes and all appear to be fine.

But then it is discovered that every woman of child bearing age who has been hit by the DayOut is with child.

Very intriguing take on alien invasions. Quite different from the movie, of course.

>83 majkia: I really enjoyed this book.

>82 majkia: I liked this one, and his City, waaaaay back in high school. Way Station was the better of the two.

>83 majkia: I remember this fondly from high school, way back in the Middle Ages.

Oh us old folk. I don't remember this from back then. But my access to Sci Fi back then was hit and miss. We lived in a small town, small library. I read everything I could find in the genre but that wasn't a lot until I got to college where I had better access to books.

>83 majkia: you know I love Wyndham, so no surprises that I love this one too. It also indirectly contributed to how much I enjoyed Discount Armageddon; while I'd already fallen for the incryptid mice, discovering that the incryptid 'cuckoo' was called Miss Zellaby made me happy as pie.

#88 by @imyril> Oh wow! Now I'll have to read Discount Armageddon

>89 majkia: it's just such a neat reference :)

We're away at the state park on St. George Island.

We arrived at St George Island on Wednesday. It has been cold and rainy since we got here. Did I say cold?

Here we are at a friend's house on Carrabelle, about an hour drive from the campground:

The Beach is behind the house, but it was so cold we were huddled in the front of the house.

Mr Majkia playing with fire. And the photo at the top of the thread he got this afternoon on the beach. The heron was deigning to accept Jim's shrimp he was using to fish with.

Alas, he didn't catch any fish.

Nice photos! That fire is shaping up to be lovely. Did you cook something on it, or just toast your toes?

no, we had the grill going for dinner. We just sat and enjoyed the fire. I do need to start bringing marshmallows!

18. The Last Kingdom - Bernard Cornwell



Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: Good

I confess to knowing nothing whatsoever about this period in Britain’s history so I have no idea how accurate the historical details are, although Cornwell does say something with regard to that in the afterward.

The action takes place when the Danes were overrunning England and had captured essentially most of it with the exception of West Sussex where Alfred, to be called Alfred the Great, is keeping them at bay.

The tale is told by a young man whose family is killed in a Danish attack. The boy attempts to kill one of the Danish leaders, Ragnar, and is subsequently adopted by the same fellow. He finds the young boy’s spirit that of a Dane and a Viking, and so the boy grows up as a Dane, learning how they fight, how they believe and how they think. He still dreams of his home though, and secretly wants the Danes out and the English to regain their homeland.

The story follows the boy’s life up until he is grown and finds himself torn between the two worlds.

Intriguing character development and interesting to me as I knew nothing about the Vikings nearly conquering England.

In general, I think Cornwell is applauded for his historical accuracy and research. I just read another of his books, The Fort and now this one you've read is piquing my interest, too.

>95 majkia: I keep picking up Cornwell books whenever I see them. I really enjoyed the one I have read, the first about King Arthur.

I wonder if that young boy grew up to write Beowulf? Well, maybe his grandson, who got back to England and became a monk. :)

>91 majkia: Love the sign!

>95 majkia: The Bernard Cromwell looks interesting.

Storm coming in but folks are still on the beach

>100 majkia: I love watching a storm come in. My best friend and I used to cycle to the beach in an evening sometimes and sit on the catamarans and chat. The best evenings were when you could see the storm out at sea as lightning on the horizon - but the rain hadn't yet hit the shore. The trick was leaving in time to cycle the 45 minutes home before you got wet ;)

#101 by @imyril> LOL. Me too when I was younger and foolisher...

19. The City & The City - China Mieville


Genre: Urban Fantasy Noir
Rating: Amazing

Mieville has an ability to imagine world and city-scapes that are so alien and fascinating.

Two cities/two worlds superimposed over each other, where citizens of one must ‘unsee’ those of the other. Areas of shared scape or totally separate cities, intermixed who knows how or why. The citizens just have to live there.

A detective of one city finds a dead body. But he begins to suspect that this isn’t only about his city, and that means the mysterious Breach might be invoked, the mystery that citizens of both cities fear.

Again, Mieville creates a world that is as much a character in the story as the humans living in it. Wonderfully imaginative, nicely noir and convincingly complex.

St George Island. We're here until Wednesday when we leave for Suwannee River State Park.

>103 majkia: I enjoyed The City & The City. That is a nice summary you presented.

 

Our site at Suwannee River State Park.

Notice the trees are pretty bare and all the leaves on the ground?

For those of you not familiar with Florida, these trees are called live and scrub oak. They keep their leaves all winter and only lose them in spring, when they produce seed pods. In a month they'll be offering heavy shade.

I'm enjoying your vacation photos. One of the things that I love about the Green Dragon is seeing pictures of different parts of the world. Right now it seems like most of our neighbours are either already in Florida, or headed there in the next few days. And I just realized that I've the farthest south I've ever travelled is 120 miles from here. (My travel tends more to the easterly.)

There was a joke going around awhile ago that Florida was now a province of Canada, we get so many Canadian snowbirds. Nobody objected. :)

20. Quicksilver - Neal Stephenson (CAT XIII - TBR Challenge)


Genre: Alt History/Historical Fiction/SFF
Rating: Wow

I’ve been putting off saying anything about this book, because I wasn’t sure how to put it. It is an ambitious book, a retelling of the history of science, taking on the change from alchemy to science, and the massive social changes coming from the Reformation and the Plague.

If you don’t like science, you probably won’t like it. We meet many of the fathers of science, and they aren’t always figures to look up to, at least not personally, even if they are brilliant and driven.

I found it fascinating.

>109 majkia: I like your comments on Quicksilver. They are very useful as I have been pondering starting The Baroque Cycle for some time but have been reluctant to start something that might be disappointing. Your comments give me the confidence that Quicksilver is a good start to the trilogy.

I enjoy Stephenson's works but believe he has a bit of trouble with endings. I have found the Stephenson books I have read to be worthwhile and full of interesting ideas, but I always feel he does not construct the best endings. REAMDE had the best ending as far as I was concerned. It was the most rounded and balanced ending I have found in his books.

Quicksilver has moved closer to the top of Mt TBR thanks you your post.

Hmm, Quicksilver looks interesting. It's on my list. :)

I received Quicksilver a few years ago as a SantaThing gift, but I haven't read it yet, partly because it looks more complex than I've really felt like tackling in a science fiction book. I am quite interested in the history of science, though, so maybe I should get around to it.

21. Lament for a Maker - Michael Innes


Genre: Golden Age Mystery

Rating: Convoluted and Intriguing.

Timor Mortis conturbat me.

Third in the John Appleby mystery series.

As with all the Appleby books, extremely literary and quite convoluted. Quite a few twists and turns I did not see coming.

I do enjoy the series, even if it shows up my poor literary education. ;)

>109 majkia: I really enjoyed the Baroque Cycle once I got into it. I had a couple of false starts with Quicksilver before I got used to the language and the density of the prose. But it was definitely worth the effort. I hope one day to have time to reread the trilogy.

#114 by @Sakerfalcon> I've got the rest of the trilogy and hope to get to it before too long. You're right. It is very dense and lots of stuff happening, so it isn't a quick read.

#107 by @SylviaC> Glad you are enjoying the pics, Sylvia! Yeah, ours tend to be not too far from home. Mr Majkia's mom is not well so we don't want to be too far away.

#110 by @pgmcc> I LOVED REAMDE. And yeah, that had a great ending, for a great book.

I've heard the comments about Stephenson's endings before. But the books I've read of his are so dense and interesting, I haven't really been all that unhappy about the endings.

#112 by @SylviaC> and Catzteach:

It is interesting, that's for sure. All the big guns appear in it, so if you like the history of science I think you'll enjoy it.

For those who are un-decided about Quicksilver, it was one my most hated books, I really struggled to finish it, despite liking long books, and put me off Stephenson for a long time. I do like some of his other work, but the mangled history and lack of any kind of consistent plot ruined it for me. I'm not a big fan of alternative history, but this was worse than usual, as you're never quite sure which bits he's going to fiddle with and which bits he's going to leave relatively true, a lot of the "science" is suspect, and the alchemical interventions very annoying. The morass of never fully developed characters didn't help either.

But I'm glad Majkia liked it!

Defiinitely one of those books you either enjoy or hate.

When we were here two years ago, the river was just a trickle, after a couple of years of drought. Now, it is close to spilling over its banks, and has indeed flooded one campground up the road, but not at this one.

>121 majkia: Lovely pictures.

>121 majkia: I love the Spanish moss (though I know it's a parasite).

>123 Sakerfalcon: Not a parasite but an epiphyte! All it gets from the tree is a convenient perch! (I'll happily form a Friends of Epiphytes Society.)

>124 hfglen: I'm glad to hear that! I'd always been told that it killed the trees it lived on and so felt as though I shouldn't like it so much. Now I can admire it guilt free :-)

>124 hfglen: Do tell some of the others in the epiphyte family. I adore lichen and moss, mistletoe not so much. Are those guilt free? Pretty sure fungus only happens after the tree is severely ill, it doesn't cause the illness, am I right?

>126 MrsLee: Orchids (or at least some of them) are epiphytes. I love those :)

>126 MrsLee: Mistletoe is a parasite (so, curiously, is sandalwood). Epiphytes are many and varied: lots of bromeliads (including Spanish Moss), orchids, mosses, lichens, more than a few ferns, one or 2 rhododendrons (!) in tropical Asia. a Schefflera that is grown around here as an office plant, a rare member of the Coffee family here in South Africa ... probably quite a few others that I can't remember offhand. These are all harmless, unlike strangler figs, which start off as epiphytes and then choke their hosts. Then there are the strange things where a stray seed has germinated in the angle of a tree branch -- a couple of times I've seen an arum growing halfway up a tree, looking wierd.

>128 hfglen: Just Googled "arum" images. I love calla lilies, the only one I was familiar with, but some of those would look weird no matter where they were growing! Thanks.

>126 MrsLee: Just realised I didn't answer the fungus part. Often they do cause disease in trees, and I have a group of RL friends who earn their daily crust discovering and trying to prevent such diseases. One of the worst is honey fungus, which you may have in California. There's an infestation in Cape Town that is believed to have arrived with Van Riebeeck (our First Fleet) in 1652. But others consume dead matter, indeed.

>129 MrsLee: Calla lilies naturally grow in wet ditches, which is why seeing one up a tree is distinctly odd.

I've always loved Spanish moss and am delighted to see someone standing up for it! We have some in our trees at home and it does no damage to the trees. And it looks awesome!

I love spanish moss! We always let it grow wild. The horses will eat it, though, when the grass is sparse. And windstorms take it down, too.

>132 JannyWurts: Janny, here birds take it for nesting material, which means it could one day spread and become a problem. Does that happen in its native Florida?

While I have the experts here, I want to ask this: How do you say lichen? Is it like-n or li(as in lit)-chin?

It's nice to read about these plants where they actually live. We don't have that kind of thing here, although there are lots of other good things.

I say Like-n, you say li-chin, let's call the whole thing off.

What Jim says.

>134 nhlsecord: I grew up saying li-chin, but everybody in the botany department said like-n when I went to uni., so I changed. I suspect that Jim has it about right.

That's what I thought ;) If it looks the obvious way, it isn't.

!33 jfglen - Yes, birds here do use Spanish moss for nesting. Has it become an invasive where you are? That's disturbing.

>134 nhlsecord:, >137 hfglen: - I always thought it was li-kin.

>139 JannyWurts: Not yet, but as it becomes more widely grown so more birdies start to use it, and so it could become a problem.

It is that time of year again: My infamous white wisteria. Now this is definitely an invasive plant but I still adore it. It smells wonderful:

>142 majkia: Lovely.

23. A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley

 

Genre: Period Mystery
Rating: Pure Flavia

The third entry in the Flavia DeLuce series, has Flavia mixed up with Gypsies and old fears and murder!

Flavia is at her most stubbornly determined when she finds an old gypsy woman beaten near to death. She just can’t let it drop, of course, and keeps digging to find out whodunit, even in the face of yet another murder.

Flavia is, I realize an acquired taste, one some folks never quite get used to, but I do adore her. And some of the things she says and does brings back my own childhood so doubly a reason I adore her.

I am one of those who enjoys the spice of Flavia now and then. :) I haven't read the most recent, but I use these books as a refresher for my reading palate.

>144 majkia: Good to know there are more good Flavia stories out there. I recently finished the first (middle of last month) and am now making my way through The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - enjoying it so far.

25. City of Bones - Martha Wells



Genre:& SFF, Post-Apocalyptic

Rating: Very Good

Quite an interesting take on post-apocalyptic fiction. With well drawn and complex characters, and an interesting world. the magic is intriguing also.& Too bad it’s a stand alone. I’d like to read more of this world.

>25 majkia:
Touchstone points to a different work which is part of a series.

EDIT: It's working okay now. City of Bones Looks like another book bullet!

yeah. The touchstone is acting weird. I select the correct book and it defaults to another book.

Topsail Hill State Park. We're here until the end of April.

Here we are.

I like that you bring your own flowers with you. :)

It looks gorgeous. (Wonder why I can't help thinking of where in Xanth it maps to?)

hahaha! Hugh, good one!

MrsLee, we carry natural and unnatural ones. Never be without flowers, is my motto. :)

26. Charming - Elliot James


Genre: urban/country fantasy
Rating: I’m liking it!

First in the Pax Arcana series.

A blonde walks into a bar.  And the bartender avoids her. He knows she’s not human. He’s not quite human. But when the vampire walks in they end up having to work together whether he likes it or not. And just how did she know his name was John?

So much for hiding out in a small NC town.

Fun and quite well developed world a bit reminiscent of the Dresden Files, in that John is a reluctant hero, but not a mage. Told in the first person, we learn not only about John’s problems but he gives an ongoing commentary about fighting vampires.

I'll definitely be reading more of the series.

I love the cover! I would so read it just for that! But it also sounds like my kind of book. It's going on the list!

Whamm. That's two more on the wishlist. I've read Clare's City of Bones, which is YA fun, but fairly standard urban fantasy (a lot closer to charming probably). This one sounds a lot deeper.

27. Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton


Genre: Space Opera
Rating: Whoa!

Humans are scattered throughout the Galaxy. Their civilization is surprisingly peaceful, prosperous, and integrated with multiple aliens.

But then a dyson sphere is placed around two worlds and they feel they need to discover if it  spheres are for protection from an invading alien race, or instead is it there to stop whoever is on those worlds from escaping.

Then things really begin to go wrong.

Great space opera, encompassing multiple societies and lots of surprising alien viewpoints. Very thoughtfully presented with some deep subjects, like life and death and how we'd deal with a species that is so different from us that we can't hope to come to some sort of accommodation.

My only complaint is the book ends with cliff hangers. But at least there is only one more book in the series.

#156: Me too! And better yet, the cover fits!

#157: Hope you enjoy both!

28. The Alehouse Murders - Maureen Ash

Genre: Historical Mystery
Rating: Pretty Good for the Start of a Series

Bascot de Marins is a Knight Templar, returned from the Crusades, having been held captive and then served as a slave until he’d escaped. His faith has flagged and he’s taken leave of the Templars. He’s unsure what his future path is.

The Templars arrange for him to recover his health at the Castle of Lincoln. While there, three people are found murdered at the local Alehouse. The chatelaine of the castle asks de Marin to look into the deaths and discover what he can of them.

Quite interesting setting and seems quite well researched. But there are a few places where I felt modern ideas intruded into the atmosphere that bothered me a bit.

The mystery was pretty complex and I was unsure of the identity of the murderer until quite near the end, which is a surprise for me.

>160 majkia: Sounds promising!

Still at Topsail Preserve State park

29. Labyrinth - Kate Mosse


Genre: Thriller/ Historical
Rating: Right up my street

A volunteer on an archeological dig uncovers a cave that holds two bodies.  She discovers a ring, and sees a labyrinth carved into the wall of the cave.

This begins a deadly earnest race between two organizations who want to control the ring and use it to discover the secrets of the Grail.

I can see why some folks might not like this sort of book, but I adored it. Puzzles, ancient secrets, theories and commonly accepted beliefs turned upside down.

It is a complete book, and although it is part of a trilogy, could certainly be read on its own. I’ll undoubtedly read the rest of the Languedoc series.

>163 majkia: I remember enjoying the book. I described it as a thinking person's Dan Brown novel.

I was not delighted with the ending but the journey there was very enjoyable. The terrain and history covered interested me.

I have not yet read her other novels however they are in the house.

#164 by @pgmcc> I definitely agree with that description. Yeah, the very end was kind of abrupt but everything up to that I really could hardly put down.

Hmm, seems to me I have that on one of my TBR shelves, unless it is one that left in the purge. Nice to know that if I come across it, I might like it. :)

>162 majkia: Beautiful!

>164 pgmcc:"a thinking person's Dan Brown novel" Love that description!

30. The Flinck Connection - Estelle Ryan

Genre: Art Heist Thriller

Rating:  Did I say I loved art thieves?

Fourth entry in the Dr Genevieve Lenard series.  Jenny is a high functioning autistic woman who has somehow acquired quite the band of former thieves.  Due to past incidents they work toward recovering stolen art, but pose as crooks and cons.

This time out, they are invited to a house to see a Flinck painting, and when Colin, the art thief, checks the place out, he finds a body.

I really enjoy this series. Interesting characters, lots of fascinating interplay among them, and the art heists are cool.

There at the end of our RVing trip to Topsail I became lax about posting about my reading. Here's what I've read since my last post:

31. Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner. Meh. Not nearly as good as her Riverside books. Well written, but constrained by the fact it is a retelling of fairy stories.

32. The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham
I really enjoyed the world and the diversity of the inhabitants of that world. The plot was a bit hard to follow, what with quite a few threads woven through it, but then I like that sort of thing!

33. The Devil's Eye - Jack McDevitt
I really enjoy this series. Lots of action, archaeology in space, complex worlds and interesting and fun characters. The first of the series was told from the more staid character's viewpoint, but the rest are told from his female partner's POV and she's a lot of fun.

Unfinished: Maze - J.M. McDermott - I found it repetitive even if well-written. Just wasn't in the right mood for it, maybe. I wanted more fun and it wasn't providing that, alas.

169> I had the same impression of Thomas the Rhymer. It so slow moving, and I didn't care about Thomas.

#170 by @pwaites> I agree on both points.

May reading so far:

34. The Egyptologist - Arthur Phillips.
Genre: historical mystery of sorts, epistological
Rating: Uneven but interesting.

An interesting mystery, not only with regard to things archaeological, but also with regard to two missing men, seemingly unconnected, from different parts of the world.

35. Judas Unchained - Peter F. Hamilton.
Second in the Commonwealth Saga.
Genre: Sci Fi, definitely of the hard variety
Rating: I really love the sprawling sort of tale that builds galaxies rather than just worlds

Definitely have to read this after the first of the series. The action picks up directly after Pandora's Star and involves alien plots, and alien planets and lots of neat theories with regard to tech and how people themselves might evolve.

36. The Princess Bride -William Goldman
Genre: fantasy
Rating: Meh.

I liked the movie better.

37. The Serpent Sea - Martha Wells
Genre: SFF
Rating: Excellent sequel to The Cloud Roads.

Imaginative, entertaining and excellent world building.

38. The Butcher of Anderson Station - James S.A. Corey
Genre: Sci Fi
Rating: Meh

I'd hoped to get a better feel for the guy, but this didn't really seem to add a lot to what we know of Fred and his decision to join OPA.

Judas Unchained was 1024 pages and I'm deep into another thousand pager, Reaper's Gale.

I agree with The Princess Bride. I read the book back in high school right before the movie came out. Loved the movie and liked the book. I read the book again a few years back. Definitely didn't like it as well as the movie!

39. Reaper's Gale - Steven Erikson
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: Amazing series (this is the 7th book) 1280 pages would you believe.

Who can't love a series with characters whose names are: Ublala Pung, or Karsa Orlong, or an elder god who runs around disguised as a servant named Bugg? And dragons! Did I mention dragons? And Moranth explosives! Sappers Unite!

40. Ghost Country - Patrick Lee
Genre: Sci Fi Thriller
Rating: Intriguing

Second in the Travis Chase series, the Breach, which seems to be a doorway into another universe/time/planet/? keeps sending odd and mostly entirely alien 'things' through it. This time though, it sends two things through that see to show the Earth's future. And it is very, very bleak. Can our heroes stop the all too soon destruction of human kind? And what exactly did happen and who did it?

>174 majkia: Heh :) I really struggled to get into the Malazan books (I quit after the first one). You are making it sound far more fun!

I've been in a posting slump for quite some time. I'm going to try to be better and update my threads, beyond the number of books read and such.

I"ve read quite a few good books, but haven't felt like commenting on them. Sigh. Better than a reading slump I guess. ;)

>176 majkia: You should not feel pressure to be a regular poster. Like yourself I have had spells of not having the time or, on occasion, the inclination to post. This has been due to work commitments, family activities, laziness, or whatever. One of the things I dealt with was the pressure I felt to post something about every book read. I felt guilty that I hadn't posted something on several books but as time passed I realised I was forgetting my views on some of the books and that posting would be meaningless without going back and rereading. As it happened, the sky did not fall in.

It is always good to read your posts, and to see your great pictures of your excursions in the camper van.

(Do not tell anyone, but this post is really a coping mechanism for myself to help me appease the guilt I feel from not posting more regularly.)

;-)

The Green Dragon enforcers are forbidden to track posting frequency.

We are here to read, drink PGBBs, eat cheese (and cake) and share good cheer. All other activities are optional, I think?

>179 imyril: Hear, hear!

I agree being in a posting slump is greatly better than being in a reading slump. Keep Calm and Keep Reading!

I do love this place :)

My reading for the past couple of months included these books that I especially enjoyed:

June:
Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines. Imaginative urban fantasy with lots of humor.

Lions of Al Rassan - G.G. Kay. His usual highly emotional, beautifully written sort of fantasy. I'm always swearing I won't read him again because his stories are all so bloody heart wrenching.

The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick. This one surprised me. Very interesting world-building and well-drawn characters.

Just One Damned Thing after Another - Jody Taylor . Rollicking good fun with one sarcastic heroine you have to fall in love with.

July:
A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin. Very intriguing urban fantasy. One of those books that doesn't explain a lot of what is going on but drags you onward until all finally becomes clear - ish.

Why Mermaids Sing - C. S. Harris. One of those period mysteries that just entertains so well.

Cold Magic . Kate Elliot. Very surprising book. Great world-building and great characterization. I couldn't put it down.

Honorable mention:
Off to be the Wizard - Chris Meyer Just fun.

Ooh, Libriomancer looks like fun. I could use a light read, so I will check this one out soon. Thanks, I think ;-)

Lions is my favorite GGK. I've been underwhelmed by some of his more recent ones.

Finished The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I believe I read this eons ago and no doubt I hated it then too. It was a struggle to finish it. Meaningless cruelty in the name of religion, in my opinion. Your mileage will no doubt vary greatly.

>185 majkia: I believe I read this eons ago and no doubt I hated it then too.

I think that is a perfect review.

:-)

>185 majkia: , that one was certainly hard-hitting. I read it but haven't revisited it. Just couldn't cope.

>184 Jim53: I've struggled with the recent GGK too - I haven't even worked up the enthusiasm to try the latest two. Lions, on the other hand, is well loved!

>185 majkia: ...but then I loved The Sparrow too, in spite of your description being absolutely accurate. Mileage is a funny old thing.

>188 imyril: I can certainly see why others have loved The Sparrow.

Sadly, I've given up on Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Too much romance for my tender tastes. I wanted to like this series, but the whole lifemate thing, constantly at front an center annoyed me, and the action was minimal. Sitting around on a primitive farm not to my taste.

So beginning A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss instead.

You did start Sharon Lee and Steve Miller at the start, with Agent of Change? The second book would certainly drag, if you didn't. Enjoyed these as light reads, and Agent of Change had some priceless moments that were very funny. If I'd stepped in with Carpe Diem, yeah, I'd have crashed and burned, too. (there are some interesting quirks to the society and the back history that make what you are seeing make sense; it's not -- exactly -- the silly formulaic tripe you may assume)

More of it is explained in Crystal Dragon, and several other volumes that actually (timeline) precede this part of the Liaden continuum. I read in publication order with Agent, first.

YMMV...though knowing some of your favorites, Agent may be a lot more to your liking.

>190 majkia: The "lifemate" thing is annoying - I find it so in other authors' work, too (don't get me started on Christine Feehan's Carpathian novels, which I vowed never to touch again after the 2nd one I read (and I only read two because a friend loved them so much and I didn't want to disappoint her)), but I recommend persevering with Liaden. It's a very rich universe, and the other books (as Janny says) are not so overloaded with it. Indeed, in some it is not even mentioned.

#191 by @JannyWurts> and @tardis:

I did read Agent of Change and enjoyed it very much. Which is why I'm disappointed in both Conflict of Honors and Carpe Diem.

I don't like anything that has to do with the whole romance thingy about lifemates and such and agree, that the Carpathian series totally sucked and I only finished the first because as with you, a friend encouraged me.

I really like to read books in order but maybe I need to not do that with this series? What do either of you recommend I try next?

>193 majkia: Maybe try the two earliest books in the chronology, Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon. The two books about Jethri Gobelyn Ven'Deelin, Balance of Trade and Trade Secret might fit the bill. I'm not sure if there will be more in that sub-series, but I greatly enjoyed it. It is set quite a bit before Local Custom and doesn't feature Korval at all except in passing mention. Also the Theo Waitley subseries, starting with Fledgling, although that series follows on/is concurrent with Plan B and later books, and eventually intersects with them.

I found that I loved everything else about the Liaden books so much that I kind of glossed over the lifemate thing.

#194 by @tardis> thanks!

>196 majkia: Do I detect a degree of smugness in that last post? I suspect I do.

#197 by @pgmcc> guilty

198 ...and rightly so. Being smug is healthy.

I saw a similar blue yesterday: The sky was so deep blue for the Seahawks great football game, and the stadium was filled with blue and green. Great game, and a beautiful day, too. Autumn is a great season in my part of the country.

Month of September reading:

1. A Fine Summer's Day - Charles Todd TIOLI 20, AlphaKIT, RandomCAT
2. Replay - Ken Grimwood TIOLI 17
3. A Conspiracy of Paper - David Liss, TBR
4. A Perfect Evil - Alex Kava TIOLI 15, AlphaKIT
5. Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell TIOLI 1, TBR
6. Annihilation- Jeff Vandermeer SFFCAT TIOLI 6, AlphaKIT
7. Osiris - E. J. Swift TIOLI 20, SFFCAT, AlphaKIT
8. Angelmaker- Nick Harkaway SFFCAT, AlphaKIT
9. The Adamantine Palace - Stephen Deas TIOLI 7, AlphaKIT

I think I enjoyed Angelmaker and The Adamantine Palace the best.

>201 majkia: I am glad you enjoyed Angelmaker. I have not read any of the others.

Are you still enjoying those lovely autumnal colours?

I enjoyed Conspiracy of Paper simply because he wove in so much of the historical background and I had been unfamiliar with a lot of it. I also am a huge fan of Cranford.

>201 majkia: & >203 jillmwo:
I was looking at Conspiracy of Paper. I will not say I have been hit with a book bullet but I do feel the trace of the aiming laser on my back.

>203 jillmwo: Yes, Conspiracy of Paper was really intriguing. I've read books set in the same time period, but found this to be especially useful in feeling myself a part of the whole.

As to Cranford yes, it is certainly fun. Is it horrible of me to confess, though, I enjoyed the TV production more than the book! Eeep. Don't tell anyone!

>204 pgmcc: Duck faster! I think you'll enjoy it.

I did enjoy the madcap mania of Angelmaker. I have got to get to his Gone-Away World soon!

>206 majkia: The Gone-Away World makes Angelmaker look sedate ;) ...but it does have plenty of cake.

>206 majkia: Harkaway's Tigerman does not use any unreal technology and is also excellent. The characters and relationships are very touching.

>206 majkia: I heard the shot and am anticipating the impact any moment.

>201 majkia: I've read all 3 of Harkaway's books and he's quickly become a favourite author of mine. Each release has been quite different to what's come before. Glad you enjoyed your first taste of his work.

>207 imyril: And ninjas and pirates!

Month of October Reading:

1. Louise Penny - Bury Your Dead
2. The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson - SFF TIOLI 6
3. Dance of Death - Preston/Child - audio from Library, TIOLI 15
4. The Summoner - Gail Z. Martin TBR, SFF TIOLI 1
5. Under the Eagle - Simon Scarrow - TBR TIOLI 13
6. The Prestige - Christopher Priest - RTT, History CAT, TIOLI 5
7. The Book of the Dead - Preston/Child TIOLI 1 Alpha
8. The Technologists - Matthew Pearl - RTT, HistoryCAT, TIOLI 12

I LOVED The Technologists and couldn't put The Book of the Dead down

I liked The Prestige (although I saw the movie before I read the book). What did you think of it?

>211 majkia: I enjoyed The Prestige and enjoyed the film as quite a different entity. I was luck enough to attend Christopher Priest's Guest of Honour interview at the 2005 WorldCon in Glasgow. He spoke about the making of the film and how he was pleased how the film makers, who had him on site regularly, were interpreting his novel.

Your comments on The Technologists has pierced my book armour. It is a book I have been dithering about since it was published but you have pushed me over the edge and it will now be a definite future read.

>212 jillmwo: I really enjoyed The Prestige and also saw the movie before I read the book. Generally speaking, I prefer it that way because the books are so much more in depth than any movie.

>213 pgmcc: Peter, It is pretty heavy on science and engineering so I can see why some folks wouldn't like it, but that sort of thing fascinates me, thus me liking The Technologists so much.

Also Peter, thanks for that info on the Glasgow WorldCon. I thought the movie, although certainly different from the book, was very good in its own right and now I see how they managed it.

What with being RVing (at Topsail Hill State Park not that far from home - we'll be here until the end of December), having a new puppy (7 months old Labradoodle) and doing NaNoWriMo (31K or so at the moment), my reading has fallen off dramatically.

But then I kind of expected it to, at least until I hit 50K. But with the puppy getting used to our other dog (7 year old mixed Lab0 fixed on Friday and the resultant worry and care she needs, and then me feeling fluish all weekend, NaNo has taken a hit as well.

Hope everyone else is having a less crazy November.

Due to participating in NaNoWriMo I had a pretty slow reading month.

1.The Water Room - Christopher Fowler
2.Bellman and Black - Diane Sutterfield - TBR
3.Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore TIOLI 8 Horror
4.Blackout - Connie Willis
5.Skinwalker - Faith Hunter
6.Blindsight - Peter Watts SFFCAT

Blindsight was ... wow. Hard Sci Fi. Imaginative, very different than any other first contact novel I've read. It's a slow read, because it makes you think, which is intriguing. It redefines a lot of basic concepts we consider quite settled: intelligence, consciousness, communication.

>216 majkia: I've got a couple of those sitting on the shelf. How did you like Blackout? Is it similar to others in the series?

>216 majkia: I really enjoyed Blackout. It was a bit different, in that the historians are stuck in the midst of the Blackout and for some reason can't get home, so it's less lighthearted and follows the efforts of three historians attempting to find a way back to their own time. More like the first in the series, where they are no longer observers but now are in the midst of things and fighting for survival.

>216 majkia: Blindsight was a big ask - I found it demanded total intellectual engagement, and engaged in a relentless assault on my fuzzy feelings :) I'll certainly be reading the sequel, but I've had to explore some lighter reading first to recover!

I've been meaning to read Bellman and Black all year, having loved The Thirteenth Tale. How did you find it?

I'll have to look up Blackout too - I read a short story set in the sequence (also WW2) and it definitely left me wanting more!

Listened to the audio version of William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher. I gave it 5 stars. It was great! Especially the R2D2 sound effects. Definitely has got me into the mood for the whole Star Wars madness soon coming!

>220 majkia: I have that in my Audible library. I should suggest it to my son as our next in-car book after we finish The Hobbit.

>221 SylviaC: Good idea!

>220 majkia: there's an audio version? Oh wow. I've got the book and was considering reading it next weekend for giggles, but audio sounds... even better :)

Finished my 100th book for the year, Wings of Fire by Charles Todd. Excellent period mystery.

*clapping wildly and cheering* :)

:)

>224 majkia: Congratulations! Job well done!!!

Congratulations! I think that is remarkable.

>224 majkia: Well done on reaching your 100th book of 2015. That is a book count I can only admire in others.

Congratulations! I have yet to make that goal.

Finished Tilt-a-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein. Enjoyed it very much. Nice thriller with lots of surprises.

Since I'm starting a book that won't count until Next Year, starting my 2016 thread now.