What book are you reading...

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Currently reading Children Of Time. Spaceships and spiders :p - still not sure I like the story but am 50% of the way through so will push to the end! Need to get through some of my backlog on kindle
 
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The sequel to 'Children of time' is also great. Octopodes in that one in place of spiders and a very ... different slant to the story but stick with it as it's a very rewarding ending, imo.
 
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The sequel to 'Children of time' is also great. Octopodes in that one in place of spiders and a very ... different slant to the story but stick with it as it's a very rewarding ending, imo.
I've seen a few people say the same thing so I am going to stick with it. The bits I like are really quite good.
 
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The sequel to 'Children of time' is also great. Octopodes in that one in place of spiders and a very ... different slant to the story but stick with it as it's a very rewarding ending, imo.

Loved children of time but struggling with sequel , around 75% through. Sounds like I should push through. Like some bits but finding it a bit of a slog.
 
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The "We're going on an adventure" bit was very jarring but the pay off is excellent at the end. One of those concepts that had me pondering for days after.

Yeah, it all went a bit horror! I'm in two minds about that book (ironic given it's subject matter!).
Loved the end of the first, can't decide on how I feel about how the 2nd ended.
 
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I loved the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, 'event' not withstanding. The world building and characters are very strong. It does get a bit preachy in places but I have fond memories of reading it in my teens and have re-read it twice since (a rarity for me as there are so many good books in the world).
I'm not so keen on the Second Chronicles though. They always felt like the result of a contractual obligation, rather than a story he wanted/needed to tell.

Forced myself to read the whole lot for closure and the second set of books are total pants. :(
 
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"Salvation Lost" - Peter F. Hamilton (part two of the Salvation series). As per the first book this continues to show that Hamilton has regained his sharpness. This is another page turner that gives Neal Asher a run for his money in the "big space battles" arena. The story directly follows on from the first book, this time with a more simplified narrative structure. You have several threads in the present day (year 2204) following different people as they fight against the surprise alien attack. They are fleeing, hiding, and fighting back on a solar-wide scale as the friendly space travellers are revealed to be religious zealots determined to cocoon humanity and offer them up to their "God at the End of Time" - as they've done for every civilization they've found in the galaxy. Each clever ruse by the humans is countered by ever increasing force and numbers from the aliens, who just want to take us to their god for our own good.

The second timeline takes place ten thousand years into the future where a group of humans has set up a trap to find where the aliens home world is, but it's a trap that goes wrong, and shows that things are even worse than they thought for the last of humanity hiding between the stars and running a hit and run guerrilla war against an overwhelming opponent.

I think this may actually be better than the first book "Salvation", which spends a lot of time setting up the characters and showing you their past. This jumps into space warfare with no flashbacks and a straight run into the main story, and the eventual outcome ten thousand years down the line.

I'm really enjoying this series so far. It's got the sci-fi of Nights Dawn and Void, without the heavy weight and slow pace, and the sharpness and pace of Greg Mandel. Very recommended if you like sci-fi on a big canvas where you have to keep reading because you really, really want to see what happens next.
 
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First time ever reading Dune ( never seen the movie ) Not really into fantasy as a genre but do like sci-fi. 200 pages in and gripped enough to want to finish. Concurrently reading The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short. Was listening to Lewis talk about the subject matter on Adam Buxton's podcast ( ep 66 if you're interested ) and it was fascinating - about two Israeli scientists who were geniuses and met and a lot of their research underpins modern thinking and ways of life. Only a chapter or two into that one but a real page turner as well. Made a few changes at the tail end of 2019 to stop watching so much television and get back into books which I love but never have time for now with so many screens.

I also re-read the Long Walk recently - probably my favourite Stephen King book. A dystopian near future look at a competition where you have to walk down 99 other competitors and if you stop walking - you pay with your life.
 
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Slowly working my way through the volumes of the Horus Heresy.
I am quite enjoying it, and the variance in each book is good.
As indeed are the crossovers where the same event from a different perspective is enlightening.
 
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Working my way through Martin Middlebrook's various military history books.

Purchased a few and currently reading Arnhem 1944 - The fighting to get to the bridge and surrounding battles are often overlooked. The airborne/glider drops, trying to fight armoured vehicles and the fearsome Tiger with inadequate weapons.

Highly recommended and gives a whole new perspective to the bravery of the soldiers who fought. Simply brilliant book(s) & author.
 
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Well after who knows how many years of on and off reading, finished the Arisen series.

Things certainly got pretty ridiculous in later books but then again it was never the most realistic series. Rolled my eyes a few times, cringed here and there at the story but all in all pretty entertaining for a an easy to read and follow series.

Any other zombie stuff I've missed out on over last few years that's worth checking out?
 
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Started re-reading Consider Phlebas (read it when it original came out), tried Use of Weapons a few years later but couldn't get past the first 10 pages (don't think I was in the mood for it), but going to work my through the Culture series properly. Already a way into Consider Phlebas and I'd forgotten how good it was. Heard its being turned into a TV series, not sure if they'll do it justice tbh.
 
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Tried three books since Christmas. The first book of one series and two books of a different series. Despite all 3 books getting great reviews on Goodreads, I was disappointed in all three.

Unraveling by David Kazzie. First book in the Immune series. Post apocalyptic novel about a virus that kills everybody apart from those that are immune. Started off really good but I hated the main character so much. Another character tried to kill him halfway through, I was genuinely hoping he would succeed. Nothing about the book made me want to read the second of the series.

We are Legion (We are Bob) and For We are many by Dennis E. Taylor. The first two books in the Bobiverse series. I think there are 3 more. The books are about Bob, he is a rich guy in this time who dies in accident but has paid to be cryogenically frozen in the event of his death. He wakes up many years later to find that he has been uploaded into computer hardware to become an AI that's going to control a probe launched into space to find habitable planets and save mankind. He is called a replicant and can make copies of himself. His probe is also equipped with 3D printers that can print anything and some lesser AI's.

Got me hooked in the first few chapters. But then got really silly really fast. Bobs can't die, they just back themselves up and replicate themselves again. Bobs are annoying. They sit around in VR spaces that they craft for themselves and drink coffee. They are supposed to be coming off as cool and funny. Bob laughs at his own jokes more than I did. The VR thing is annoying as hell, the Author spends a lot of time describing the areas that the Bobs have made for themselves. Oh, I should point out that there is only one Bob called Bob, the others are pick their own names, Mario, Howard, Goku etc. But they are all made from Bob. Hence the Bobiverse.

I didn't bother to finish the second book.
 
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