What book are you reading...

[chroniclard]

I recently finished The Wise Man’s Fear and I loved it (along with TNOTW).

Can’t wait for the third instalment.

Did you read The Slow Regard of Silent Things? Auri never really interested me as a character so I haven’t bothered with it, but it is meant to be a good read…

I have a couple of books on my shelf waiting to be read but I have a six-week old who is currently taking up my spare time.

I have, its worth a read if you have nothing else to read.

From what I can gather the third book is in the endless re-writing/rehashing stage. So potentially next year or so......

 

[Sean34]

Alien: The Cold Forge

 

[mid_gen]

I want to read the books but the show is doing such an ace job i don't want to risk ruining it.

I really need to start reading the books as I like the setting and story, but can't stand the wooden acting and cliche-ridden performances

 

[Ninco!]

AJ: How Alan Jones Climbed to the Top of Formula One

F1 racing from the late seventies and eighties.

From the opening chapter AJ calls out his faults and as our Aussie friends do - call a spade a spade, simply no mincing of words throughout.

 

[Tombstone]

I cannot highly recommend this book enough, especially the audiobook version of it. (Read by the absolutely excellent Ray Porter)

14 by Peter Clines.

Its superb, when it starts out you think you know what its going to be but it takes you on one hell of a ride.

I literally cannot tell you anything about the story without spoiling it, but take a dose of Stephen King, a chunk of Lovecraft, a dollop of Alfred Hitchcock, throw in some Lost and some X-files and a smattering of The Twilight Zone and you might....just might...get close to what this story is.

 

[SixTwoSix]

The Revelation Space books are incredibly, incredibly dense. They are full of storylines, important characters, different time periods, mind bending ideas, different planets, etc. They have a real sense of desolation and huge scope. It's like a sci-fi War & Peace. You feel mentally exhausted reading them, there is so much in there, and you find new things when you re-read them. They are very good, but you do have to gird your loins to read them, they are that intense.

So i'm about 150 pages in, it's been a slog and i've felt like putting it down a few times and moving onto something else. However just got to the part explaining the Shrouder space and Jugglers, can't wait to go back and read more.

 

[Steampunk]

So i'm about 150 pages in, it's been a slog and i've felt like putting it down a few times and moving onto something else. However just got to the part explaining the Shrouder space and Jugglers, can't wait to go back and read more.

The amount of world building is immense. It is a very rewarding series once it gets going, and stuff that you saw in the one book gets fully explained in another when you see some of those events from another perspective. Some of them (like the Prefect books) are more standalone, but they take place in the same universe at a different time when Yellowstone and the Glitter Band were at it's height before all the technology falls and takes society with it. There's another one that takes place mostly on a half wrecked lighthugger, there's the stories of the Demarchists versus the Cojoiners, etc. It's ambitious without being dumbed down or with half an eye on a movie option. It's in the style of "impossible to film" story, and a great example of why people should still read sci-fi instead of just watching it on the TV.

Stick with it, it's worth it if you like sci-fi stories that make your brain throb.

 

[checjb]

I cannot highly recommend this book enough, especially the audiobook version of it. (Read by the absolutely excellent Ray Porter)

14 by Peter Clines.

Its superb, when it starts out you think you know what its going to be but it takes you on one hell of a ride.

I literally cannot tell you anything about the story without spoiling it, but take a dose of Stephen King, a chunk of Lovecraft, a dollop of Alfred Hitchcock, throw in some Lost and some X-files and a smattering of The Twilight Zone and you might....just might...get close to what this story is.

I just finished listening to this last week whilst doing a DIY project and I have to agree that it is brilliant. I loved every minute of it. As you say, I had no real idea where it was going and had to keep mentally adjusting my thinking throughout. Highly recommended. If you want to read this DO NOT read any plot synopsis as it is a great to feel it unveil itself as it goes along.

 

[Irish_Tom]

You'll have to wait

Still not sure what the deadline is or if he has even made any progress. I believe he has had some personal issues which really delayed things.

Yeah it's fair enough if life gets in the way.

I have, it's worth a read if you have nothing else to read.

Ok cool, I may add it to my bookshelf.

From what I can gather the third book is in the endless re-writing/rehashing stage. So potentially next year or so…

It would be quite exciting if it's that close.

Who wants to bet on which will come out first — Doors of Stone or The Winds of Winter.

 

[No1newts]

I'm not sure if I'm weird in that I tend to have a load of books on the go at once;

Just finished A Brief History of Thought by Luc Ferry and Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche to help ease into philosophy. Nietzsche certainly wasn't easy but was blinking fascinating read.

Now reading Will to Power again by Nietzsche and also Bertrand Russell A History of Western Philosophy which are again both fascinating.

Ploughing through a combination of Walking Dead and the Saga as light read comics.

Got a classic on the go which at the moment is Brothers Karamazov which read surprisingly well, Dostoyevsky is an amazing author.

Reading The Stand by Stephen King after a recommendation but to be honest I'm struggling. The initial plague parts were brilliant, the mystical elements not so much.

Then as another light read dipping into the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden.

Also got Capital by Marx on the bedside when I'm in the mood I will read a chapter utterly fascinating stuff.

So yeah, I've got a little on the go but I rarely just read one book at a time.

 

[Flaevius]

I've recently finished Robert Harris' Fatherland.

An alt-history, slightly dystopian novel based on the premise that Germany had won WW2, that references some of the characters of the German Reich whilst altering their storylines to fit within a detective mystery novel. A sharp reader will catch the overall premise and thread of the mystery early on, but the story has plenty suspense and moves along at a rapid pace. I rarely read fiction - and even more rarely read books by the same author consecutively - but I found this a very enjoyable book to simply take 'as it comes' and I've lined up another of Harris' works, Archangel, as my next read. If that matches Fatherland in quality, I'll definitely look to purchase further of his material.

 

[checjb]

Just finished the non-fiction "SPQR: A history of ancient Rome" by Mary Beard. I listened to this on Audible and it really is good. Beard has an interesting writing style and it never gets bogged down in dull parrot-like fact-avalanches. Fascinating, eye-opening and engaging. I have to admit that I wasn't sure about the book, especially when trying to cram so much history into a single book, but it's as good as the reviews made out. Beard also has a clear-eyed view of history and doesn't just go along with things like Caligula = bad. She's very aware that the victor writes the history book and it shows throughout.
Some memorable little aside too. For example, Caligula isn't his real name and is a nickname his parents inadvertently made for him. It essentially means "Bootikins" after the miniature military style boots his parents made him wear as a small boy.

 

[j.col]

Just finishes "SPQR: A history of ancient Rome" by Mary Beard. I listened to this on Audible and it really is good. Beard has an interesting writing style and it never gets bogged down in dull parrot-like fact-avalanches. Fascinating, eye-opening and engaging. I have to admit that I wasn't sure about the book, especially when trying to cram so much history into a single book, but it's as good as the reviews made out. Beard also has a clear-eyed view of history and doesn't just go along with things like Caligula = bad. She's very aware that the victor writes the history book and it shows throughout.
Some memorable little aside too. For example, Caligula isn't his real name and is a nickname his parents inadvertently made for him. It essentially means "Bootikins" after the miniature military style boots his parents made him wear as a small boy.

If you like books about Rome I really recommend this series https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Rome

Colleen Mccullough Rome series is the best I have read in this genre. (fall off the Republic)

 

[RobDogDog]

Finally finished Book 4 of the Expanse. Probably my least favourite of the lot so far, but that was mainly because I wasn't really feeling one of the main characters perspective.

Spoiler: More information

Elvi started to annoy me a little throughout the book. I loved the return of Havelock though - that was bloody ace.

Think I might go straight on to book 5. I really want to watch the TV show but I don't want to ruin my minds eye of what the characters look like.

 

[zxh800]

Finally finished Book 4 of the Expanse. Probably my least favourite of the lot so far, but that was mainly because I wasn't really feeling one of the main characters perspective.

Spoiler: More information

Elvi started to annoy me a little throughout the book. I loved the return of Havelock though - that was bloody ace.

Think I might go straight on to book 5. I really want to watch the TV show but I don't want to ruin my minds eye of what the characters look like.

I think I'd agree with you. I just finished the latest one myself. You're catching up at a good time, I think the next one is the last one. Haven't seen the TV show yet myself. I've been meaning too. I hear it's been done really well, so I'm looking forward to that.

Currently reading something completely different, The Chronicle of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. A bit of Chinese inspired fantasy. Fancied something a bit different and light hearted.

 

[Double07]

God is not Great. Christopher Hitchens.

But the book sure is

Just finished A Spy Among Friends and Stalins Englishman. 2 great books about Kim Philby and Guy Burgess respectively. I love anything vaguely espionage-y.

 

[SixTwoSix]

The amount of world building is immense. It is a very rewarding series once it gets going, and stuff that you saw in the one book gets fully explained in another when you see some of those events from another perspective. Some of them (like the Prefect books) are more standalone, but they take place in the same universe at a different time when Yellowstone and the Glitter Band were at it's height before all the technology falls and takes society with it. There's another one that takes place mostly on a half wrecked lighthugger, there's the stories of the Demarchists versus the Cojoiners, etc. It's ambitious without being dumbed down or with half an eye on a movie option. It's in the style of "impossible to film" story, and a great example of why people should still read sci-fi instead of just watching it on the TV.

Stick with it, it's worth it if you like sci-fi stories that make your brain throb.

At about the mid point of the book and dear god this is some good writing. Makes most of the other stuff i've read seem like primary school fiction in comparison

Is there an obvious progression after this book or is it worth jumping to some standalone stuff for a bit of a break before coming back?

 

[Steampunk]

At about the mid point of the book and dear god this is some good writing. Makes most of the other stuff i've read seem like primary school fiction in comparison

Is there an obvious progression after this book or is it worth jumping to some standalone stuff for a bit of a break before coming back?

You have two choices - gird your loins and keep going, or take a break with something lighter to give your brain a rest. The books are linked with a thread of continuing the stories of characters and stories set in the same universe, but you might get through half a book of what seems like a separate story before you realise where the link is to the one before. The stories are more like a web rather than a linear progression, so they can feel standalone, but set in familiar places. Each book can seem like something new, but it's set in the same universe, and the amazing world building just continues again and again with new characters and links to what has come before.

I read them consecutively as they were published, so I did get breaks, but it may be easier to read them together as it holds the story and universe in your head. If I took breaks, I would probably intersperse the Revelation Space books with short story anthologies just to put a different, less dense style of reading in my head for a while. If you want to stick with Reynolds, try some of the more standalone of his books that are set at a different time, such as the two Prefect books, or Chasm City. While technically a standalone, it was the book published after Revelation Space, and pretty much takes place at the same time, but on Yellowstone, so you get that world built for you.

Wiki has a list of his novels, and I would say they are all worth a read, but his weakest are the Poisidon's Children trilogy, and Terminal World, as they didn't particularly grab me, but everything else is worth a read.

 

[RobDogDog]

Straight on to Nemesis Games (Book 5 of The Expanse). 100 pages in...

Spoiler: Spoiler

Finally getting some back story to the main characters is cool. I like how it's alluded to things in their past almost drip-feeding the reader.

 

[PlacidCasual]

Wiki has a list of his novels, and I would say they are all worth a read, but his weakest are the Poisidon's Children trilogy, and Terminal World, as they didn't particularly grab me, but everything else is worth a read.

I have read the entire conjoiner space series and the Pushing Ice but I do find Reynolds quite hard going. They are also quite miserable in some regards, hope and growth are in short supply, misery and decay aplenty. But I can't deny they are beautifully written novels with real breadth and scope. I much prefer the tone of Peter F Hamilton.