What Are You Reading?

[Nunavut Pants]

Many years ago, I read and loved "Forgotten Beasts of Eld" by Patricia McKillip. The mood was wonderful, the story cycle hit all of the appropriate touch-points, and so on. I borrowed her "Riddle-Master of Hed" books from the library, and did not like them at all. I don't really remember why any more, except that they were depressing. I still re-read "Eld" with some frequency and still love it.

Borrowed a book of her short stories from the library recently. Too depressing, without the mood or epic feel or storyline that I appreciated from "Eld". Didn't even finish it.

I also checked out a book by Jack Vance. I also enjoyed some of his writing in the long-ago, particularly the "Dying Earth" stories said to have partly inspired the spell system in classic D&D. This one was "Night Lamp", which was an odd sort of coming-of-age meets space-opera meets revenge story. It felt like the very flat characters were kind of brought in and out nearly at random, and the near-constant inclusion of names that are rarely if ever explained seems to get in the way rather than making the story feel mythic as it had in his earlier work.

At least the book on the Pottsdam treaty was pretty interesting. And we'll see how the Monuments Men book goes.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Speaking of 'what if' or alternative history books, have you ever read any of Harry Turtledove's work? He's apparently written a few such books. I say "apparently" because the only one I've read to date is Ruled Britannia, in which the Spanish Armada was successful in conquering England.

Another of Harry Turtledove's books is The Guns of the South in which time travelers provide the CSA army with AK47s in 1864. It is a good story.

Another alternate history I have but not read yet is Harry Harrison's trilogy Stars & Stripes Forever, Stars & Stripes in Peril and Stars & Stripes Triumphant. These are about Great Britain siding with the CSA, then the USA and CSA combining to fight GB.

The story of Britain and France siding with the CSA is also told in Peter Tsouras' trilogy Britannia's Fist, A Rainbow of Blood and Bayonets, Balloons & Ironclads.

[Seanette]

I'm currently rereading Stephen Fry's Making History, which does address what would have happened if Hitler hadn't been born. Interesting read.

[Mental_Mouse]

Things like "what if Hitler made it into art school"? Tensions were still high in Germany, so something would have happened, but would it have been anything like WW2 as we know it? Hitler was the charismatic figurehead, but there were a lot of Nazis who went along with him. Would there still have been a Holocaust, and would it be aimed at the same groups? Would the war have gone past a few skirmishes, or would it still have become a world-wide war?

Wind forward a few decades, and what would be the knock-on effects? If there wasn't a Holocaust to shock the world, would any of the human rights laws or civil rights movements we know have come about, and if they did, how would they have looked? What would later wars look like, with "just following orders" still being an acceptable defence? I just find the butterfly effect fascinating.

Sorry, I've just rambled on for ages.

Others have addressed this elsewhere, with far greater erudition than I, but offhand and IMHO: Germany and most of its allies would certainly have risen to war, because WWI had ended with "a peace to end all peace", leaving Germany among others humiliated and furious. Hitler himself was a charismatic leader, but there were a lot of other Nazis that were pretty charismatic and smart, so odds are that there would have been another leader handy.

The resulting war might not have looked quite the same... or maybe it would, because that "Final Solution" just combined centuries of traditional persecution against Jews, Gypsies and later gays, with the already-in-progress development of eugenics. Note that the Shoah wasn't even the first genocide of the century, that would be the Turkish massacres. Then too, another German (or Soviet) leader might have been able to convince the Japanese to hold their water... and then America probably wouldn't have joined the war until after Europe had been thoroughly redrawn.

Similarly, the human-rights movements weren't something that appeared in response to the Holocaust, they had roots running back to the Enlightenment. There were already Jewish defense groups, the feminists and suffragettes were still around, and various groups organizing among American blacks. Even Israel might have been founded anyway... by the end of WWII, a lot of imperial nations (especially Britain) were finding their colonies and possessions to be as much liability as asset.

[Pixelated]

I so envy you, being able to read it for the first time. I remember how much I loved it, and was gutted that they never managed to sync their schedules enough to write a sequel.

I've always loved "what if?" stories; whether it's alternative universe versions of history or just "what if the anti-Christ was raised by normal middle-class people?" I find it fascinating how things can spin off, so long as the author is good enough to make everything hang together.

Things like "what if Hitler made it into art school"? Tensions were still high in Germany, so something would have happened, but would it have been anything like WW2 as we know it? Hitler was the charismatic figurehead, but there were a lot of Nazis who went along with him. Would there still have been a Holocaust, and would it be aimed at the same groups? Would the war have gone past a few skirmishes, or would it still have become a world-wide war?

Wind forward a few decades, and what would be the knock-on effects? If there wasn't a Holocaust to shock the world, would any of the human rights laws or civil rights movements we know have come about, and if they did, how would they have looked? What would later wars look like, with "just following orders" still being an acceptable defence? I just find the butterfly effect fascinating.

Sorry, I've just rambled on for ages.

With Good OmensI really LOVED the basic premise ... Armageddon is days away and they've lost the Antichrist ...

Speaking of 'what if' or alternative history books, have you ever read any of Harry Turtledove's work? He's apparently written a few such books. I say "apparently" because the only one I've read to date is Ruled Britannia, in which the Spanish Armada was successful in conquering England.

Somewhere in my collection I've got a book about several pivotal points in history, but I haven't read it yet. Next time I go to my storage unit I'll dig through my boxes and see if I can find it. I'm hoping it does offer some speculation on what today's world would be like if those points had pivoted in a different direction.

[greek_jester]

I'm about 90% through Good Omens now and looking forward to see how it ends. They've found the Antichrist but he doesn't seem to be cooperating ...

I so envy you, being able to read it for the first time. I remember how much I loved it, and was gutted that they never managed to sync their schedules enough to write a sequel.

I've always loved "what if?" stories; whether it's alternative universe versions of history or just "what if the anti-Christ was raised by normal middle-class people?" I find it fascinating how things can spin off, so long as the author is good enough to make everything hang together.

Things like "what if Hitler made it into art school"? Tensions were still high in Germany, so something would have happened, but would it have been anything like WW2 as we know it? Hitler was the charismatic figurehead, but there were a lot of Nazis who went along with him. Would there still have been a Holocaust, and would it be aimed at the same groups? Would the war have gone past a few skirmishes, or would it still have become a world-wide war?

Wind forward a few decades, and what would be the knock-on effects? If there wasn't a Holocaust to shock the world, would any of the human rights laws or civil rights movements we know have come about, and if they did, how would they have looked? What would later wars look like, with "just following orders" still being an acceptable defence? I just find the butterfly effect fascinating.

Sorry, I've just rambled on for ages.

[Pixelated]

I'm finishing off The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. It's hilarious. The number of coincidences in the book is mind-boggling, but there's no indication the story was ever intended to be taken seriously (at this point he's had some totally lovely meals in the company of such pleasant notables at Josef Stalin and Kim Il Sung).

I also finally finished Double or Die, of the young James Bond series. I have to admit that for the final few dozen pages, all I could think of was "BUT DID THE CAT SURVIVE??"

[It's me]

I just finished book 10 of Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series. Anyone who is a Dresden Files fan should enjoy the Alex Verus books.

http://benedictjacka.co.uk/alex-verus/

Now I think I will go back to Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy. Well-crafted cyber-steampunk by an author (Gareth Powell) who excels at creating imagery with words.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I have started reading Un Lun Dun by China Miéville.

[Pixelated]

I'm so glad you said that, since I thought it was just me. I would re-read it, get so many books in, trying to build up to the next new one, and just lose interest.

I get trying to evolve a person's character to take into account things that have happened, but don't completely change the character of the person who got you interested in the series in the first place!

It's a shame, because I really did like the books when I first started in on them.

I'm about 90% through Good Omens now and looking forward to see how it ends. They've found the Antichrist but he doesn't seem to be cooperating ...

[greek_jester]

I slowly faded away from the Dresden series because of that, but I thought perhaps I was seeing things that weren't there ... and it didn't seem to be just Harry with the increasing baggage.

I'm so glad you said that, since I thought it was just me. I would re-read it, get so many books in, trying to build up to the next new one, and just lose interest.

I get trying to evolve a person's character to take into account things that have happened, but don't completely change the character of the person who got you interested in the series in the first place!

[Pixelated]

Still waiting on the most recent book.... It's been in final edit for months.

I really enjoyed the series at first, but in the more recent books Harry has so much baggage it takes the fun out of them.

Just noticed I have an alert on my Kindle account. "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet is on sale for $4 for a day or so.

I slowly faded away from the Dresden series because of that, but I thought perhaps I was seeing things that weren't there ... and it didn't seem to be just Harry with the increasing baggage.

I found my copy of "Good Omens" the other day and am about halfway through it. The Apocalypse is mere days away but they've lost the Antichrist ...

[Ghel]

I've finished the first two books in the Darth Bane trilogy and I'm on to the 3rd, Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. Bane's philosophy is internally consistent, which I love, even if it is thoroughly evil and ultimately self-destructive (IMO). Thankfully, the evil is not graphic. I would say it's PG-13 at most. Which, to me, is good. I would not want to deal with descriptions of body horror or sexual assault.

[Ceir]

Still waiting on the most recent book.... It's been in final edit for months.

I really enjoyed the series at first, but in the more recent books Harry has so much baggage it takes the fun out of them.

Just noticed I have an alert on my Kindle account. "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet is on sale for $4 for a day or so.

I'm still watching for the second Cinder Spires book, myself. Quite enjoyed Aeronaut's Windlass, and it's been three or four years since that one came out.

[It's me]

Re-reading the Dresden Files series. Harry Potter meets Sam Spade

Still waiting on the most recent book.... It's been in final edit for months.

I really enjoyed the series at first, but in the more recent books Harry has so much baggage it takes the fun out of them.

Just noticed I have an alert on my Kindle account. "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet is on sale for $4 for a day or so.