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

[xg4bx]

The Spur:Loki's Rock by Mark Ellis-

''The colony world in the Orion Spur known as Loki wasn't so much lost as forgotten. In the 188 years since a world-wide catastrophe destroyed what passed for civilization there, Loki had become a savage wilderness of strange cultures, as well as being the sanctuary for every bizarre cult, mad sect and outlawed scientific discipline in the Sol 9 Commonwealth. Quentin Crockett, a Colonel in the department of OffWorld Operations leads a team of specialists to Loki to monitor, catalog, and if necessary, eliminate the myriad societies that sprang up in the wake of the global cataclysm. In their armored ACP Ambler, the team travels Loki, searching for the lost Terran Enclave, while fighting off not only wild beasts, and the wilder natives but also the ruthless schemes of a mastermind about whom they know practically nothing. In The Spur: Loki’s Rock, Crockett and his team contend with the bizarre native fauna, but also with resurrected Nazi supermen, flocks of flying piranha, and the denizens of the kill-crazy town of Loki’s Rock, led by the psychotic Django Bonner and his bloodthirsty hench-wench, Pagan.''

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Well finished up the Nancy Drew Mystery, The Secret of Shadow Ranch and also Jeffrey Deaver's, The Bone Collector and enjoyed them both a lot! Next I'm going to give Lory S. Kaufman's SciFi YA novel, The Lens and the Looker a try and I'm also reading the sixth Nancy Drew Mystery, The Secret of Red Gate Farm.

I read almost 20% of The Lens and the Looker and decided that it wasn't for me or at least wasn't for me, at this particular time. So I picked another book instead, Blood of the Demon, the second of the Kara Gillian novels by Diana Rowland. I was hooked by the middle of the first chapter.

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, MAN AND DEMON, SHE’S ABOUT TO FACE THE ONE THING SHE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE.

Welcome to the world of Kara Gillian, a cop with a gift. Not only does she have the power of “othersight” to see what most people can’t even imagine, but she’s become the exclusive summoner of a demon lord. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The fact is, with two troublesome cases on her docket and a handsome FBI agent under her skin, Kara needs the help of sexy, insatiable Lord Rhyzkahl more than he needs her. Because these two victims, linked by suspicious coincidence, haven’t just been murdered. Something has eaten their souls.

It’s a case with roots in the arcane, but whose evil has flowered among the rich, powerful, and corrupt in Beaulac, Louisiana. And as the killings continue, Kara soon realizes how much there’s still to learn about demons, men, and things that kill in the night—and how little time she has to learn it.

[alanHd]

I'm 20% into 11.22.63 - Stephen King and it's shaping up to be one of the best books i have read in ages.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

So... that's definitely not the publication order, then But I trust you, so I'll follow your recommended order (if I ever finish this thousand-page book to continue another thousand-page one... )
(I picked Shogun in the first place because it's the most read one in the saga )
You don't suggest the two later ones, Whirlwind and Gai-Jin?

I simply could NOT get past the first 100 pages of Whirlwind, and I had to force myself to keep reading Gai-jin, although it was a very accurate portrayal of the times. It just kept bogging down!

Not so with 'most' of the others in the Asian Trilogy, though 'Tai-pan' was not nearly up to the quality of 'Shogun' or 'Noble House.' Yet, it was still a good read, just somewhat shallow in comparison. 'King Rat,' on the other hand, keeps you riveted though each page, and the ending just smacks you upside the head! The same happens in 'Noble House,' but there are a so many 'sub-plots' going on in 'Noble House,' so you get that head slap a dozen different times!

Originally Posted by alanHd

I'm 20% into 11.22.63 - Stephen King and it's shaping up to be one of the best books i have read in ages.

I think that's going to have to be my next read. So many have recommended it.


Stitchawl

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Sunset of the Gods by Steve White. One of my recent Baen purchases, the second in a series that starts with Blood of the Heros, which gets recapped quite well in the first chapter or two.

Well, it's OK. Readable, and quite interesting in the historical bits of it, but the characters themselves are uninterestingly depicted, and I didn't find that I really cared much about them one way or another. That's probably why the previous book hasn't stayed with me.

Next up: Ivory by Mike Resnick. I bought this one back in 2005!

[DrNefario]

I just finished The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas, the first in a fantasy series I can't remember the name of - ah, Memory of Flames, thanks, google. I enjoyed it a lot. It's not your usual quest fantasy, it's all politics and backstabbing and affairs and poisoning and fun stuff like that. And dragons with an interesting twist that looks like it will run through the series. All of the characters are flawed but somehow still not wholly unsympathetic.

Perhaps the best recommendation is that I really want to see what happens in the next book. Which fortunately I already own, but I'm going to make myself wait before starting it.

I'll probably have a go at A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute next, since it has come up for the book club. It breaks my intended pattern of one book for me and one for each of my three sub-challenges, but that was just meant to be a loose guideline. My copy of the Shute looks to be a first edition. I can only hope it holds together, and doesn't make me sneeze too much.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Up Next:

Attempt #2 of Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers #1) and
Book #2 The Guns of Avalon (Amber: The Corwin Cycle).

Stop dilly dallying and get going on the Wool Omnibus.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Ivory by Mike Resnick. I bought this one back in 2005!

Ahem.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Not quite the level of Hugh's work, but it was good.

Now onto something completely different. Probably. I really don't know what I am going to read next. I will decide tomorrow.

I have started Lockdown by Sean Black and am about 75% through it after 1.5 workdays of reading, very easy reading. Should be done tomorrow.

Apparently my next book with be Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell which just came available through my library. I reserved it last year for the book club. So, just to be clear, Cloud Atlas is science fiction, right Jon?

I will leave it there for now and decide later if I think it fits elsewhere better.

[WT Sharpe]

Finished two non-fiction books this week. One was A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer. It was a very readable and sound book of essays, but there was little new to even casual followers of recent biological developments. Perhaps the most interesting segment came toward the close of the book where Zimmer discusses how scientists in the past decade have begun to revisit the old question of whether viruses are truly alive and, by extension, what it means to be alive. Should chemistry and biology be seen as a continuum with no tangible line dividing living from non-living matter?

The other book I read this week was Gracie: A Love Story by George Burns. This was a wonderful, well-written, and fascinating tribute to Gracie Allen written by her greatest fan. I highly recommend this one to anyone who ever enjoyed watching the duo's TV show, movies, or listening to their old radio show. There's not a dull moment in this 300+ page recap of their life together. Unfortunately there is no eBook and it's apparently out of print in paper. I had to buy a used hardcover edition. Hopefully interest will pick up in reading about these two now that Antenna TV is rebroadcasting some of the episodes of The Burns and Allen Show. And you young folks out there who have never seen the show, do yourself a favor and tune in. They're wonderful together; she's a riot.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Ahem.

Yes, yes. OK. But I am trying to get through my older titles!

[fantasyfan]

When I was about 13 or so I first read Rip Foster Rides The Gray Planet. I remember that I loved it. It still holds some interest. Goodwin writing under the pseudonym of "Blake Savage" creates an exciting plot which has more of a "science" element in it {at least by 195os standard} and the characters show a wider range of cultural ethnicity than we find in the Tom Corbett series.

Politically, the world of Rip Foster is quite dated. The bad guys are citizens of the "Consolidation of Planetary Governments" . They are usually simply referred to as "Connies". Hmm--I wonder whom we are supposed to be reminded of now. Rip and the rest of the good guys come from the "Federation of Free Governments". When the Connie soldiers are invariably defeated, they itch to defect to the land of their captors.

That said, there's quite a bit of nostalgic entertainment in this little novel.

The book is included in the Kindle Tom Corbett Megapack along with the seven Corbett novels, Star Born by Andre Norton and The Secret of the Ninth Planet by Donald A. Wollheim. This Megapack is well formatted and you get good value for the low price. However, the Corbett Novels are available free here on MobileRead and in Project Gutenberg in editions which include the original black and white illustrations--absent in the Megapack edition. Rip Foster with illustrations is also separately available in PG but the formatting isn't as good as one would expect.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I have started Lockdown by Sean Black and am about 75% through it after 1.5 workdays of reading, very easy reading. Should be done tomorrow.

That was quick. Will start Cloud Atlas this afternoon.

[tilia]

Finished A Civil Campaign, which was a fun read! I don’t like thinking about how few unread Vorkosigan books I have left. I could do well without Mark though. After that, I read Shadow Chase, the second Shadowchasers book by Seressia Glass.

Then I read A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenov. I’ve had it for a while, after getting it for free from the author‘s web-site. I think I have found a new favourite! The books are pretty short, so went strait to number two, A Fatal Thaw (as soon as I could get online to buy it, so I had to wait a couple of hours ). I bought the third as well, but I’m going to save it for a bit, until I need a little treat. I just hope all nineteen are worth reading .

After Kate Shugak, I wanted another book with a strong female lead, so started Dance for the Dead, the second Jane Whitefield novel by Thomas Perry. I'm enjoying it, but after reading about The Rook by Daniel O’Malley, I couldn’t resists starting that as well. It‘s an Urban Fantasy and so much fun to read. Almost done, and then I’ll finish Dance for the Dead.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I simply could NOT get past the first 100 pages of Whirlwind, and I had to force myself to keep reading Gai-jin, although it was a very accurate portrayal of the times. It just kept bogging down!

Not so with 'most' of the others in the Asian Trilogy, though 'Tai-pan' was not nearly up to the quality of 'Shogun' or 'Noble House.' Yet, it was still a good read, just somewhat shallow in comparison. 'King Rat,' on the other hand, keeps you riveted though each page, and the ending just smacks you upside the head! The same happens in 'Noble House,' but there are a so many 'sub-plots' going on in 'Noble House,' so you get that head slap a dozen different times!



I think that's going to have to be my next read. So many have recommended it.


Stitchawl

This discussion has made me start reading Shogun for the fourth time since 1975.
Apache