Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[Mike Hobart]

The Sinister Shadow (The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage Book 14)
by Kenneth Robeson/Will Murray 2015

If you aren't familiar with the great pulp heroes, you may take a while to get into this one, but I found it an agreeable pastiche in which the Man of Bronze crosses paths with The Shadow. Doc is baffled at first whether the Shadow is a bad guy or a crime-fighter, and even ships one of the Shadow's agents off to be treated at his secret "College" in the mountains.
The plot thickens .....

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

Unimpressed. Long slog. Reasons were the amateurish writing, cliches, immature romance scenes, slow plot and callous regard for life. The dragons were interesting, and the ending was unexpected. This may be a case where the TV show is better than the book.

Considering all the best-book-of-the-year awards this title won I expected more ... much much more. Regarding the "romantasy" category, Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education was far superior IMO.

Next, The Inverted World by Christopher Priest, a Hugo nominee 1975.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: A re-read for a book group: The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. The first in her Dr Ruth Galloway series.

Which was better than I remembered. Although a few oddities with the police procedure!

After that I raced through several books by Seanan McGuire in her October Daye and Incryptid series: The Brightest Fell, Night and Silence, and Chaos Choreography. All good fun.

Then a recent buy: The Death of Nnanji. A very good late fourth book for his Seventh Sword trilogy. Enjoyable, and didn't mess up the earlier books.

Most recently finished was A Desperate Undertaking by Lindsey Davis. The tenth in her Flavia Albia series. It starts off with an unnecessary first chapter which is then recapitulated in correct choronological order later. There's a very odd reference to golden age detective story tropes. On the whole, a bit odd, and too many of Albia's internal musings are anachronistic.

I also thought that given the common spectacles in Rome, her squeamishness and that of some of the other characters in here was overplayed.

Next up: The Wages of Sin by Harry Turtledove. A near-past (for Harry) alternate history in the 19th Century. A freebie from Phoenix Pick.

[drofgnal]

I’m still reading Tigana. Got slowed down by a bout of Covid. Just added a book to my TBR list for a strange reason. I happened to see Jefferson Starship (and Dave Mason) in concert. Was reading about some of the Jefferson Airplane songs that were played. The Crown of Creation album title was taken (with permission from the author) from John Wyndham’s dystopian sci-if book The Chrysalids. I picked up the ebook from Amazon for 3.99, and I’ll give it a read. Don’t know if it will be next, that goes to Towles’ Rules of Civility.

[CRussel]

Been reading a couple of the October Daye books - light and fun reads. And now starting what might be a fun series - Skylar Ramirez's The Worst Ship in the Fleet. So far, not quite getting there, but I'm hopeful. It's not up to Nathan Lowell standards, but in a similar vein.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Wages of Sin by Harry Turtledove. A near-past (for Harry) alternate history in the 19th Century. A freebie from Phoenix Pick.

Which was OK. I wasn't very convinced by it.

Next up: The Broken Bridge by Philip Pullman. OK so far. An almost plain YA novel.

[graycyn]

I started Moby Dick yesterday. A classic I've never got around to reading. Maybe I subconsciously chose it because it's August, and my parents always used to rent a beach house this month, and take us there for a week. And we'd frequently go out fishing on the Gulf in dad's boat.

I can remember a few times when we had to evacuate because of a hurricane headed our way, but that's part o' the fun when renting during hurricane season.

Seems a bit of a theme lately to read stuff involving the sea in some way. Recently read Walter Lord's A Night to Remember (Titanic) and am listening to an audiobook of Treasure Island before bed most nights.

Am enjoying Moby Dick so far, but I'm only a few chapters in.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Broken Bridge by Philip Pullman. OK so far. An almost plain YA novel.

And it remained OK. A bit of strange near-fantasy in the middle. Not as interesting as I'd hoped.

Next up: The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire. The next in her October Daye series.

This series does the story-per-novel with a series-wide ongoing story really well. I've really been enjoying these.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire. The next in her October Daye series.

This series does the story-per-novel with a series-wide ongoing story really well. I've really been enjoying these.

And very good it was too. Next up was Harbinger by Wen Spencer. Unlike the October Daye series, these are really all parts of one long novel, so end on a cliff hanger. I probably should have re-read some of the earlier ones to remember the complete cast of characters and races, of which there are a lot!
Still 4/5, and I'll get the next one when it drops in price.

Next up: An Assassination on the Agenda by T E Kinsey. The 11th and last (so far) in his Lady Hardcastle series.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

ANext up: An Assassination on the Agenda by T E Kinsey. The 11th and last (so far) in his Lady Hardcastle series.

Great fun in 1912 London, as expected.

Next up: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. A fantasy published 14 years after the time period of the book I've just finished!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees. A fantasy published 14 years after the time period of the book I've just finished!

And a strange and quirky fantasy it is too. It's interesting to see a fairyland fantasy with no influence from Tolkien. Mirrlees' Fairyland is mysterious and dangerous and completely mystifying.

4/5 for the strangeness.

Next up: Claudius the God by Robert Graves. the sequel to I, Claudius. I remember the TV series fondly, although without much detail.

[Renate]

I just read "Lawrence and the Arabs", Robert Graves.
I hadn't realized that the two were friends.
Of course I have read "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom", T.E. Lawrence.
Hmm, I should try, "I, Claudius".

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Claudius the God by Robert Graves. the sequel to I, Claudius. I remember the TV series fondly, although without much detail.

I devoured both as an early tween over a Xmas holiday fornight. My Mum had been given them as a Xmas gift and I drove her and others in our tend nuts with my incessant quoting from them as I read them before she did

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next, The Inverted World by Christopher Priest, a Hugo nominee 1975.

This was excellent stuff. The original ideas and actual math (yes, I had to look up hyperbola) hold up very well 50 years after publication. Like classic sci-fi the author's goal is have its readers explore new ideas, examine, reason and reach a conclusion then compare it to oneself and the world around us. Forces us to think! I believe the author did that beautifully. Rated A- [5 stars].

Next, a new author to me, Homeland by R.A. Salvatore.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Claudius the God by Robert Graves. the sequel to I, Claudius. I remember the TV series fondly, although without much detail.

Very good indeed. I especially like the way his death was handled, given this is purportedly an autobiography.

I had a week's holiday at a Folk Dance Festival. I also read quite a lot:

A Killing Frost and When Sorrows Come in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series. Excellent, as expected. Each novel has a definite, complete story in it, while still being part of a bigger series-level story.

Magic for Nothing, Tricks for Free and That Ain't Witchcraft also by Seanan McGuire, in her Incryptid series. Also excellent, as expected. A view from another member of the Price family.

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson. A mixture of police procedural and romance, that was pretty good. I have the rest of the series on my watch list.

Few are Chosen by M. T. McGuire - a freebie from some time ago. Comic fantasy that is good in parts. My main complaint is that this is really just the first part of a big story, not a story in itself. I won't bother getting any more.

And now I'm reading Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis, the most recent one (AFAIK) in her Flavia Albia series.