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Whats everyone reading?

Started by Paul faplad Finch, 30 March, 2009, 10:04:36 PM

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The Legendary Shark

Yes, not exactly brain-food. Then again, you don't read Star Wars books (or watch the films) for enlightenment. It's just escapism, really. The "hot chocolate" thing annoyed me, too, as did having to read Leia Organa Solo all over the place. Somehow, that name just got on my nerves.

Just finished NJO - Dark Tide I - Onslaught. Can't see how it can fit in with canon, what with You-Know-Who being dead and all, but it was diverting enough. Whether I'll bother with the next (or even the previous) novel is far from certain. Maybe when I'm at a loose end.

Opted for Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness next.

Disappointed to hear that Starship Troopers is so poor - I've been looking forward to that.
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Mikey

Just finished Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

He's not shy of large page counts so he gave himself plenty of room to examine the consequences of the Moon being inexplicably destroyed (not a spoiler as it happens in the first line of the book). It'll take a while for me to fully process the whole thing, but it's somewhere between the idea density of Snow Crash and the epic scope of Anathem and is packed to the gunnels with orbital mechanics nerdery and some great big SF concepts.

The book is split into three parts and the first I found really engaging and thoughroughly warmed up my hard SF receptors - it's been a while since I read something that's got such a solid basis. The rest of the book follows what happens next...

It was at turns frightening and exciting with some fantastic and truly tense action sequences and there's a delicious reason for the title. The negatives for me are that it's so big at times it necessarily needs to skip some chunks of time and, like some of the best hard SF,the characters can tend to act like their occupation demands. But I can see why, so really a minor niggle.

A great read that's given me plenty to mull over. Now I can read the progs that have built up while I worked through it!
To tell the truth, you can all get screwed.

JamesC

I'm currently on a big re-read of my collection of Wagner (well, for a couple of issues), Grant, Breyfogle Batman comics and also trying to plug any gaps via Ebay.
They still stand up as satisfying, fun, continuity light adventure stories. They're quite similar in tone to the Animated Series (apart from the various drug references).
Probably my favourite Batman run. (the last issue I read contained adverts for two upcoming series - V for Vendetta and Grant Morrison's Animal Man - those were good days!)

I've also been reading the original run of Punisher: War Zone. The first arc by Chuck Dixon and JR Jr is classic Punisher and great fun. I have no idea why it's been so hard to get a decent version on Frank Castle on the big screen as these comics seem so cinematic.
I'm now on the 'Psychoville USA' story written by Dan Abnett - a sort of Punisher version of 'For the man who has everything', at least that's how it starts off.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: JamesC on 05 February, 2016, 01:59:45 PM
I'm currently on a big re-read of my collection of Wagner (well, for a couple of issues), Grant, Breyfogle Batman comics and also trying to plug any gaps via Ebay.
They still stand up as satisfying, fun, continuity light adventure stories. They're quite similar in tone to the Animated Series (apart from the various drug references).
Probably my favourite Batman run. (the last issue I read contained adverts for two upcoming series - V for Vendetta and Grant Morrison's Animal Man - those were good days!)

I've gone on about this numerous times here before but the Grant / Breyfogle run has been for years my favourite on Batman - only these days does the GMozz run challenge it in my affections.

Its simply good comics, let alone good Batman comics, in many ways its defines what I want and expect from mainstream comics. Just glorious stuff and Breyfogle is without doubt favourite Batman artist. His version is so kinetic and alive, while retaining a gloriously dark menace.

Theblazeuk

Personally I love Heinlein. Great SF to read as a 12 year old, not sure how much is just nostalgia now.

I enjoy Starship Troopers but the best are really Red Planet (young adult book), Doorway into Summer (time travel) and the best of all, The Pupper Masters.

von Boom

Quote from: Theblazeuk on 07 February, 2016, 11:14:19 PM
Personally I love Heinlein. Great SF to read as a 12 year old, not sure how much is just nostalgia now.

I enjoy Starship Troopers but the best are really Red Planet (young adult book), Doorway into Summer (time travel) and the best of all, The Pupper Masters.

I love Heinlein too. Those are all great books, but I have a special soft spot for Space Cadet and Starman Jones. Both fuelled my passion for SF as a kid.

Professor Bear

Armageddon 2419AD - the novellas from the 1930s that introduced Anthony "Tony" Rogers to the world - although we would later know him better as "Buck" from the tv show from the 1980s.  It's a surprise to see the enemies here are the Chinese, constantly described as a shrunken, cowardly race prone to brutality and every conceivable vice and sin, with the final leg of the first book dedicated not to a battle against the invading hoards that have conquered post-apocalyptic America, but to wiping out an enemy even more vile - those who would collaborate with them.  Clearly this was a product of a time when people had a bit of an issue with the idea of foreign chums, and it does kind of make it difficult to view the searing hatred of all non-white humanity that radiates off the page like toxic poison of the soul as a charming throwback to "simpler times" when at one point the characters speak of a savage and feared tribe called the "Negrons" that indulge in some suspiciously stereotypical behavior, and then the book signs off with the hero standing over the burning corpses of collaborators announcing that now the race traitors have been disposed of, he can turn his attention to the Chinamen and "We shall live to see America blast the yellow blight from the face of the Earth."
Well anyway, they changed a few things before it got to tv.

sheridan

Quote from: Scolaighe Ó'Bear on 08 February, 2016, 08:29:53 PMArmageddon 2419AD - the novellas from the 1930s that introduced Anthony "Tony" Rogers to the world - although we would later know him better as "Buck" from the tv show from the 1980s.  It's a surprise to see the enemies here are the Chinese, constantly described as a shrunken, cowardly race prone to brutality and every conceivable vice and sin, with the final leg of the first book dedicated not to a battle against the invading hoards that have conquered post-apocalyptic America, but to wiping out an enemy even more vile - those who would collaborate with them.  Clearly this was a product of a time when people had a bit of an issue with the idea of foreign chums, and it does kind of make it difficult to view the searing hatred of all non-white humanity that radiates off the page like toxic poison of the soul as a charming throwback to "simpler times" when at one point the characters speak of a savage and feared tribe called the "Negrons" that indulge in some suspiciously stereotypical behavior, and then the book signs off with the hero standing over the burning corpses of collaborators announcing that now the race traitors have been disposed of, he can turn his attention to the Chinamen and "We shall live to see America blast the yellow blight from the face of the Earth."
Well anyway, they changed a few things before it got to tv.
Uh, interesting - not heard of the history of Buck before.  Past the HP Lovecraft-style unfortunate relics of the time, is it any good?

ThryllSeekyr

Aside from the role playing game manuals I now download each fortnight...the last one the core rules for Planescape (Sigil) and the many comics, graphic novels and books I own both as hardcopy and digital.

I just brought this new novel called Warriors - The Sun Trail which is from series of books about tribes of cats.  That actually the big wild ones of today. Possibly set in word just like ours, but from theyre point of view.

I don't know much about this yet, but you can all read about the description more here.


ThryllSeekyr

Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 09 February, 2016, 10:53:03 PM

I just brought this new novel called Warriors - The Sun Trail which is from series of books about tribes of cats.  That actually the big wild ones of today. Possibly set in word just like ours, but from theyre point of view.


That actually are not the big wild ones of today. Possibly set in a world just like ours, but from they're point of view.

I, Cosh

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. Last year's Booker prize winner concerns itself with Australian POWs building the Death railway in Burma, hard men in harsh climates and people who generally get on with things without saying much. Doesn't have anything like the flair of his first few books but there's still a neat turn of phrase and it's definitely a return to some kind of form after his last couple.

I guess one man can only come up with so many extended metaphors for the history of Tasmania and its people.

I also finally got around to reading Sandman Overture, which I'd bought before Christmas. It's certainly a beautiful book. Both in terms of JH Williams' stunning art and the object itself which is a lush thing, all smooth and dark and stuffed with fold-out spreads and quite interesting notes on its production.

Gaiman certainly hasn't lost the knack for coming up with portentous guff for his characters to get involved with and the different voices are satisfyingly correct. If anything, I'd say I preferred the writing on this overall to some parts of original on my last reread but it also seems fairly hollow. It's full of echoes of things which will go onto be important in Sandman itself, references to things we know and maybe a little more background to some things previously left unexplained. It's all good clean fun for the fan and I'm sure there are still plenty of them out there but it doesn't seem to have much point in itself.

Unless the point is just to let Williams and his colourist produce six issues of such incredible art. It's not just the pictures themselves but also the layouts. He is able to come up with original and interesting layouts, quite often thematically linked to the story, and draw your eye around the page in exactly the way it needs to without you ever having to think about it. Pure magic, which yer man Grist from Demon Nic could do with taking a look at.
We never really die.

Theblazeuk

Reading the whole Hap & Leonard series by Joe R Lansdale.

Savage Season and Mucho Mojo are easily the best out of the 5 so far but I'm enjoying it thoroughly. I'll probably be going through some other Lansdale books after this, hopefully track down some of his more horror-themed/supernatural stuff. Got one Weird West book lined up, his Jonah Hex was damn good so got high hopes.

The casting for the TV show though is making me laugh. I love Michael K Williams but he's a fairly small guy and Leonard is supposed to be pretty big (though not massive). But James Purefoy to play Hap...heh.

Fungus

#5622
Quote from: The Cosh on 17 February, 2016, 10:42:04 PM
I also finally got around to reading Sandman Overture, which I'd bought before Christmas. It's certainly a beautiful book. Both in terms of JH Williams' stunning art and the object itself which is a lush thing, all smooth and dark and stuffed with fold-out spreads and quite interesting notes on its production.

Yup, beautiful stuff. 80% down to Williams' GENIUS art. Read issue 6 the other day and the worry that Gaiman's flowery prose MIGHT bog this down was unfounded. Too many years since I read the original to find pointless fault with continuity (or appreciate its cleverness, come to that). Now I feel a mug for buying issues, if I miss out on extras? Will wait for trades if this is the norm.

Famous Mortimer

Just finished the last Culture novel. Bit of a bummer to think there'll be no new Iain Banks stuff ever, but it's great that he wrote as much as he did.

von Boom

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on 26 February, 2016, 10:00:04 AM
Just finished the last Culture novel. Bit of a bummer to think there'll be no new Iain Banks stuff ever, but it's great that he wrote as much as he did.

Huge bummer.

I still have the last novel on my shelf unread. Soon, though, soon.