What Are You Reading?

[Ghel]

I started reading Clan of the Cave Bear yesterday. I've heard it's good, but ... certain details are already making me uncomfortable.

[Nunavut Pants]

I started reading Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville. It is a book of short stories.

I read "Un Lun Dun" (also by Mieville) a while back, did not care for it. It seemed like the author was trying way too hard to be clever and cute, and failing pretty miserably.

I just finished David Drake's "Tom Kelly" books. I don't recommend them either. They have to go back to the library as soon as I get a chance.

[Jay 2K Winger]

After finishing up Ernest Cline's Armada (not quite as good as Ready Player One IMO, but I still appreciated the pop culture and video game references), I've now returned to Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century series, with book 3, Ganymede.

For those unfamiliar, the Clockwork Century series is set in an alternate history of America, one where the Civil War didn't end in 1864, and some twenty years later, still rages on. The Republic of Texas is still going strong, as well. But to go alongside the steampunk-ish setting, there's also zombies ("rotters") which are caused by a gas known as the blight.

[Mental_Mouse]

It looks like I haven't mentioned "A Practical Guide To Evil" yet, so here goes: It's a web series which is currently working through book five, out of a projected six. The author ought to take editing more seriously (especially since his commentators are helping), but that's not so bad as to be distracting, and the story is really good.

Summary: In this world, Good and Evil are largely essentialist, backed by a wager among the gods. Certain people have Names which grant them various powers, making them Heroes and Villains.

Twenty years ago, the Good Realm of Callow was conquered by The Dread Empire of Praes and its Legions of Terror, led by the Black Knight. It was a very thorough conquest, destroying the royal line and most of the Good institutions. Today, Catherine Foundling gathers money in the fighting pits... she's saved nearly enough to enroll in the College of War, which will let her join the Legion and rise in its ranks. She has dreams of gaining power and reforming the Empire from within. Then, in a dark alley, she is rescued by the Black Knight himself. He offers her a shortcut -- a way to gain power and position within the Empire within just a few years, instead of a lifetime of struggle. Catherine will become the Squire...

The Black Knight turns out to have some interesting ideas about the practice of Evil: “The key to the Empire maintaining control over the lands it conquered isn’t fear, my dear, it’s apathy. As long as the common people can go about their business and live their lives mostly untroubled, what do they care who their taxes go to? The Governor is making people care about who rules them again, and that is a very dangerous thing.” (Obviously, that doesn't end well for the Governor.)

But gaining a Name is only the first of her transformations. Yes, she will gain great power to change things... many things. I can't say too much about the plot without spoilers, but I will say that in the current book (Book V), her machinations were literally enough to make a saint swear... when she surrendered! She does come out of that on top (big-time), but that was only the prologue to the current arc, still in progress.

[smfrazier]

I'm rereading the Hobbit for about the 6th time. I read it and Lord of the Rings every few years.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I started reading Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville. It is a book of short stories.

[Pixelated]

And there's not many editors willing to do that for their authors...



Oh you mean the book 😇

I just finished reading Far From True by Linwood Barclay, one of his Promise Falls series.

Holy crap ... I need a scorecard. It's a series in which not only the characters but also the storylines carry over from one book to another. I had a helluva time keeping track of who was doing what with whom and what their individual backgrounds were and where they are in this particular storyline and so on ...

In this book there is a murderous character who's got an obsession with the number 23. And when the book ends ... we still haven't found out who he or she is. (I don't know whether Mr./Ms 23 was carried over from an earlier book.)

[Kit-Ginevra]

I'm his chief editor. It's a bit rough at the moment, but then, it's my job to smooth it out.

And there's not many editors willing to do that for their authors...



Oh you mean the book 😇

[Kittish]

I'm reading (and editing!) Binding Words book 3. Boyfriend is an author (and a pretty good one) and I'm his chief editor. It's a bit rough at the moment, but then, it's my job to smooth it out.

[AnaKhouri]

I'm reading Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. Can't put it down. In the book a preacher is losing his mind over the Satanic influence of...The Beach Boys. He'd take one look at Cardi B. and drop dead

[TheSHAD0W]

*sigh*

Couple of years ago, I read through Richard Kadrey's "Sandman Slim" books. Recently I noticed there are (at least) three more in addition to the seven I have. Now I'm going to have to reread them all.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Something called Romanitas. It's the Roman Empire...now!So as the strapline suggests it's the Roman world-gods and goddesses,slavery,crucifixions,chariot races but in the 21st century.Very interesting read-mass crucifixions on giant plasma TVs anyone?

[Ironclad Alibi]

I just finished reading The Dig by Alan Dean Foster. A 1996 novel that was based on the computer game of the same name.

[Ghel]

Apparently, it takes me a REALLY long time to finish a book. Maybe if I spent more than just my lunch time reading....

Anyway, I finished reading A Wise Man's Fear. I don't know that I can say much about it, except that there were many place where I wanted to yell at Kvothe: "Don't be stupid!"

[AnaKhouri]

I read that x couple months ago too and enjoyed it. The character of Murderbot is interesting.

Currently reading a history of black metal music and The Revenant, upon which the film was based.