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

[CRussel]

I just noticed that there are new editions of the Ngaio Marsh books showing on Amazon US. When I finish the Campion books, I think I'll try another run through some of them.

[jmilica]

I started The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

The 3rd book in Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series, Secrets of the Demon turned out to be the best in the series thus far and it really added a lot to the overall series arc as well as telling a suspenseful and exciting free-standing story. Kara Gillian is almost as much fun as Harry Dresden! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

The 14th Nancy Drew Mystery, The Whispering Statue was quite interesting to me as I remember the title from when I read it in elementary school but remembered nothing else about it. It was a fun and nostalgic read though.

Now on to The Space Pioneers by Carey Rockwell, the 4th selection in the Tom Corbett Omnibus and the 4th book in Diana Rowland's Kara Gillian series, Sins of the Demon.

The Space Pioneers by Carey Rockwell, the 4th selection in the Tom Corbett Omnibus turned out to not be quite as good as the 3rd selection, On the Trail of the Space Pirates was, but still, it was a pretty good space opera and also still stayed within the parameters of the old TV show so it was nostalgic to me!

Diana Rowland's Sins of the Demon was really good and I'm looking forward to the 5th (and last [so far anyway]) Kara Gillian novel, Touch of the Demon, I'm going to go ahead and read it next along with the 15th Nancy Drew mystery, The Haunted Bridge by Carolyn Keene (Mildred A Wirt).

[Apache]

I just finished Matt Helm #1 Death of a Citizen by Donald Hamilton and have started #2 The Wrecking Crew. The next three are due to be released in the next few months and I will be getting them also. I have them all in DTB and am eagerly looking forward to getting all of them as eBooks. If you have never read the Matt Helm Series I highly recommend them. If you think of the movies with Dean Martin at the mention of Matt Helm don't. The movie book comparison is worse than the one existing between the Bond books and movies. When reading them remember the times they were written in. The first was published in 1960 and the last in 1993.
Apache

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I've finished Joyce Carol Oates' The Accursed - a fascinating melange of historical fact & Gothic story telling! Anyone who can make Woodrow Wilson the "hero", well protagonist, of a quasi-vampire novel is truly a master author. [Why hasn't Oates won the Nobel Prize yet? Or the Pulitzer?] It's hard to describe without spoilers [as Stephen King noted in his laudatory review in last week's NYT Book Review] - but if you are fond of historical fiction, Gothic fiction, vampire tales, and the obsessional usage of the word 'unspeakable' - or if you've previously read Oates' Bellefleur or Mysteries of Winterthurn - you'll enjoy this book.

In one sense, this could be Oates' love letter to Princeton University -- in her own unique style.

I just bought this yesterday and I'm looking forward to delving deep into it. She's one of my favorite authors. She started this in 1980, but never completed it (I believe; I don't have the exact circumstances on hand). Finally, revised and with a different name, it now published!

I also have Bellefleur on pre-order. I read this in 1980 and have the First Edition hardback in my library.



Don

[LovesMacs]

As requested, here are some thoughts on Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. It was quite a change from my previous read, Stephenie Meyers' The Host. The Lewis book lacked the emotional highs and lows of Meyers' book, so it was a bit of an adjustment. On the other hand, the Lewis book had a much greater sense of wonder about it. The book is about a philologist who is brought to the planet of Malacandra against his will, and what he finds there. Out of the Silent Planet and the other two books in the trilogy (Perelendra and That Hideous Strength were written long before the facts of space travel were known, so much of the book is completely wrong on a technical level. The book however is filled with imaginative descriptions of landscapes and aliens, and even a partially-developed new language.

Out of the Silent Planet can be taken at face value or read as a Christian allegory. Lewis doesn't beat you over the head with "This is really Jesus," etc. but I think it's pretty obvious to any reader familiar with Christianity. A good read.

I've begun the second volume in the trilogy but it's slow going at 10% through it, so I'm not yet certain if I'll finish the book.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by LovesMacs

As requested, here are some thoughts on Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. It was quite a change from my previous read, Stephenie Meyers' The Host. The Lewis book lacked the emotional highs and lows of Meyers' book, so it was a bit of an adjustment. On the other hand, the Lewis book had a much greater sense of wonder about it. The book is about a philologist who is brought to the planet of Malacandra against his will, and what he finds there. Out of the Silent Planet and the other two books in the trilogy (Perelendra and That Hideous Strength were written long before the facts of space travel were known, so much of the book is completely wrong on a technical level. The book however is filled with imaginative descriptions of landscapes and aliens, and even a partially-developed new language.

Out of the Silent Planet can be taken at face value or read as a Christian allegory. Lewis doesn't beat you over the head with "This is really Jesus," etc. but I think it's pretty obvious to any reader familiar with Christianity. A good read.

I've begun the second volume in the trilogy but it's slow going at 10% through it, so I'm not yet certain if I'll finish the book.

Thanks for that. Sounds interesting.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Apache

I just finished Matt Helm #1 Death of a Citizen by Donald Hamilton and have started #2 The Wrecking Crew. The next three are due to be released in the next few months and I will be getting them also. I have them all in DTB and am eagerly looking forward to getting all of them as eBooks. If you have never read the Matt Helm Series I highly recommend them. If you think of the movies with Dean Martin at the mention of Matt Helm don't. The movie book comparison is worse than the one existing between the Bond books and movies. When reading them remember the times they were written in. The first was published in 1960 and the last in 1993.
Apache

It's hard to think of Matt Helm and not think Dean Martin. But you're right, the books are so much better! Not just better... different! And thankfully, Helm isn't smoking a cigarette in every scene the Dean Martin did.


Stitchawl

[NickyWithNook]

I'm reading Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson. I started reading it yesterday during the day, and almost finished it at the roller skating rink when my daughter was skating. But then it was time to go just as the book was getting to the most suspenseful part, and I was too busy last night to finish it. At some point today I'll get to the end.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Heretic by David Drake and Tony Daniel.

Yes, writing by Tony Daniel, outline by David Drake.

I quite liked it. But I was surprised thatthere wasn't mention of an attempt at a direct approach as a solution to the problem.

Next up: Loot by Aaron Elkins. A stand-alone by Aaron Elkins, bought in the final days of Fictionwise in October 2012.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next is Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh. My first with this author.

I stopped after 60 pages. This book contained elements that I don't enjoy in science fiction. Unpronounceable words (and I did notice the pronunciation guide and declension of noun appendix), point of view changes, gaps in storyline and invented words (I saw the glossary too). I was confused much of the time and decided the author's style was not for me.
Also, I read the hardcover's end pages beforehand and its summary tells us what's going to happen and when. Took the surprise out of it.

Next is another "first contact." This one by Karen Traviss, City of Pearl.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I stopped after 60 pages. This book contained elements that I don't enjoy in science fiction. Unpronounceable words (and I did notice the pronunciation guide and declension of noun appendix), point of view changes, gaps in storyline and invented words (I saw the glossary too). I was confused much of the time and decided the author's style was not for me.
Also, I read the hardcover's end pages beforehand and its summary tells us what's going to happen and when. Took the surprise out of it.

I really liked foreigner. But it has "intense internal viewpoint" and unreliable narrator so it is a book that can be hard to get into. Other Cherryh books are easier reads like the Chanur series or Rimrunner or Downbellow Station.

[HarryT]

I find some of Cherryh's books to be hard work. She's an excellent author, but her writing style isn't always easy to deal with. Another one of hers that I would recommend is the Cyteen trilogy. Although it's a part of the Union/Alliance series, it can be read in isolation.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tompe

I really liked foreigner. But it has "intense internal viewpoint" and unreliable narrator so it is a book that can be hard to get into. Other Cherryh books are easier reads like the Chanur series or Rimrunner or Downbellow Station.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I find some of Cherryh's books to be hard work. She's an excellent author, but her writing style isn't always easy to deal with. Another one of hers that I would recommend is the Cyteen trilogy. Although it's a part of the Union/Alliance series, it can be read in isolation.

Certainly, this is a book that can be a bit tough to get into, and other, non-Foreigner books are easier. But I found the series worth it..

Just finished How Dark the World Becomes by Frank Chadwick (Baen). VERY pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by tompe

I really liked foreigner. But it has "intense internal viewpoint" and unreliable narrator so it is a book that can be hard to get into. Other Cherryh books are easier reads like the Chanur series or Rimrunner or Downbellow Station.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I find some of Cherryh's books to be hard work. She's an excellent author, but her writing style isn't always easy to deal with. Another one of hers that I would recommend is the Cyteen trilogy. Although it's a part of the Union/Alliance series, it can be read in isolation.

Thanks for the recs. I've put some on my TBR list. My library has many of her titles.