What are you reading?

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Have used this COVID downtime to try to ploy through the Wheel of Time series. I’m barely even halfway through so selfishly, assuming I keep up this pace, I need the state of emergency to last until somewhere around Mid-July to give me ample time to finish reading.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished The Last Odyssey by James Rollins. I like his characters and he definitely keeps the action moving and I found it enjoyable. But this one had a major portion of the book revolve around almost "magical" creatures supposedly built over 1,000 years ago that were just too much for me to fully buy into. I liked some of his other stuff better in that respect. While his other books also tend to have some fantasy/sci-fi twist to them, I could more easily accept the premise or implementation in most of the others.

I do REALLY enjoy that after the end of the book he goes into the real history of the items, people, places, and events that form the basis of his plots. In this case, things like Greek Fire, astrolabes, Leonardo da Vinci, history on the Greek Dark Ages, World War Zero, the Vatican, etc., etc.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished Crooked River by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - the latest Pendergast novel from these two. Enjoyed it overall - seems like they are transitioning some characters into the ongoing story lines more after killing off a couple in previous books.
 
Admittedly not a big reader, but last 2 I read were A Long Way Gone, an autobiography by a former African child soldier, and Mystic River . Both were great: as much as I loved mystic river the movie, the book was even better.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Just finished Crooked River by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - the latest Pendergast novel from these two. Enjoyed it overall - seems like they are transitioning some characters into the ongoing story lines more after killing off a couple in previous books.
DOUGLAS PRESTON... Duh. I saw an Audible book offering from James Prescott and mistakenly thought it was the same author as the Pendergast guy, who you turned me on to a few years ago. (My defense is that it was late at night and I didn't bother to check). I bought the book with my free credit for the month. I'll let you know how it turns out. :p
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Any Audible subscribers here who would like to be gifted "The Stand" by Stephen King (full length edition with all the restored content). I just got a notice from Audible that I can gift it to a fellow subscriber. First come, first served. If you're interested, drop me a PM with your email addy. It's pretty danged good -- the reader is incredible.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I saw that Apple TV+ has a series coming out based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. While I don't have a subscription to watch, I was inspired to go back and read those dusty books sitting on my shelf. While on vacation I finished the two prequels he wrote (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation). On to the original trilogy next!

If you aren't an Asimov fan, his Robot books were tied into the Foundation series but I did not read those as well. Sticking with Foundation books right now. :)
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
I saw that Apple TV+ has a series coming out based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. While I don't have a subscription to watch, I was inspired to go back and read those dusty books sitting on my shelf. While on vacation I finished the two prequels he wrote (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation). On to the original trilogy next!

If you aren't an Asimov fan, his Robot books were tied into the Foundation series but I did not read those as well. Sticking with Foundation books right now. :)
The original Foundation trilogy is pretty great, just read it for the first time last week!
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
The original Foundation trilogy is pretty great, just read it for the first time last week!
It's probably been 20-30 years or so since I last read the series. I've carted the books around intending to re-read them and seeing that they are turning it into a show inspired me to do so.

Some of his Robot series is pretty good, too.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Stephen King used to be my favorite author. Back in 1978, he wrote an incredible book called The Stand about a weaponized strain of the flu that wipes out almost all (99.4%) of civilization. "In 1990, The Stand was reprinted as a Complete and Uncut Edition. King restored some fragments of texts that were initially reduced, revised the order of the chapters, shifted the novel's setting from 1980 to 10 years forward, and accordingly corrected a number of cultural references. The Complete and Uncut Edition of The Stand is considered to be King's longest stand-alone work. The book has sold 4.5 million copies." (Wikipedia)

I just got the audio version of the latter edition. Listening to it, I was drawn in once again by a true wordsmith. King at his best, without a doubt. The pictures he paints are so vivid you can almost touch them. The character development is unbelievable. With a total of over 47 hours, this one book is longer than most trilogies I've listened to. I'm already 10 hours in and totally immersed in the narrative.

Of course, the timeliness cannot be ignored. For some reason, I keep picking post-apocalyptic novels. I'm just glad to have rediscovered vintage Stephen King in the process.
In my humble opinion, The Stand is the best book King ever wrote, and I've read most of his books. The effort to bring it to the screen was pitiful in my opinion, but that's not a surprise. They did a better job with The Shining.
 
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bajaden

Hall of Famer
Have used this COVID downtime to try to ploy through the Wheel of Time series. I’m barely even halfway through so selfishly, assuming I keep up this pace, I need the state of emergency to last until somewhere around Mid-July to give me ample time to finish reading.
I'm currently on book five of the Wheel of Time series. Great books but if you not into fantasy or 1000 page books, their probably not for you. Robert Jordan was a very creative writer. I would call the Wheel of Time series a combination of Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones, with a few other bells and whistles thrown in.

My grandson asked me who my favorite author was, and that was difficult to answer. I finally came down to Nelson DeMille. I wish he wrote more often. Maybe he needs to rub elbows with Patterson, who I think writes about a book a day. He barely beat out James Rollins and Michael Connelly. I would have had Vince Flynn in there but unfortunately he's no longer with us.

By the way, for those that don't know, and someone may have mentioned it one of the earlier posts, The Wheel of Time series is being made into a series by Amazon and it's reported that it will be the most expensive TV series in the history of television. Can't wait!
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I saw that Apple TV+ has a series coming out based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. While I don't have a subscription to watch, I was inspired to go back and read those dusty books sitting on my shelf. While on vacation I finished the two prequels he wrote (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation). On to the original trilogy next!

If you aren't an Asimov fan, his Robot books were tied into the Foundation series but I did not read those as well. Sticking with Foundation books right now. :)
I think I've read all the Foundation books, but not the prequels. I've read a lot of Asimov's books, I Robot, Caves of Steel etc. But the Foundation series was the best.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I just finished Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion Into the American Museum of Natural History by Douglas Preston. A pretty easy read, this very interesting book delves into the beginnings of the museum as well as the stories behind some of the artifacts they keep there (from dinosaur bones to meteorites to stolen jewels to cultural histories of now-lost societies to all kinds of animals). The discussions on the expeditions they mounted (from the arctic north to Indonesian islands, Africa, eastern Asia, and across the US) and histories of the collections are equally fascinating. Blended in are bits and pieces of a "walking tour" of the facility. Definitely recommended.

An interesting tidbit - as told by wikipedia:



Relic largely takes place inside the American Museum of Natural History.
I read Relic a thousand years ago, but it's a very good book and will have you looking under your bed before you go to sleep. The movie version wasn't bad for low budget film and no big star.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I'm currently on book five of the Wheel of Time series. Great books but if you not into fantasy or 1000 page books, their probably not for you. Robert Jordan was a very creative writer. I would call the Wheel of Time series a combination of Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones, with a few other bells and whistles thrown in.

By the way, for those that don't know, and someone may have mentioned it one of the earlier posts, The Wheel of Time series is being made into a series by Amazon and it's reported that it will be the most expensive TV series in the history of television. Can't wait!
Thanks for mentioning that series. It is one I have always wondered about but never tried. I'll likely queue it up after I finish the Foundation books.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I think I've read all the Foundation books, but not the prequels. I've read a lot of Asimov's books, I Robot, Caves of Steel etc. But the Foundation series was the best.
The prequels essentially deal with Seldon trying to formulate psychohistory mathematics and assembling the first members of the Foundation, if you are interested.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
The prequels essentially deal with Seldon trying to formulate psychohistory mathematics and assembling the first members of the Foundation, if you are interested.
I would definitely be interested, but they would have to get into my pecking order. I only have 9 more Wheel of Time books to go after this one, those will be followed by a Michael Connelly book and then the new Nelson DeMille book. My hope is that I live long enough to read them all. Always something to look forward to...
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished the Foundation trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation).

Time to dig into the sequels! Next up: Foundation's Edge.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished Anathem by Neal Stephenson on a recommendation, and I don't pass that recommendation along. The writing style is fine, but man, the first 20% of the book (and 10% of the rest of it) could be condensed into a few pages/removed and you sure wouldn't miss anything, and the ending is pretty anticlimactic in my opinion. Parts of it are engaging and interesting, but not enough.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Just finished Anathem by Neal Stephenson on a recommendation, and I don't pass that recommendation along. The writing style is fine, but man, the first 20% of the book (and 10% of the rest of it) could be condensed into a few pages/removed and you sure wouldn't miss anything, and the ending is pretty anticlimactic in my opinion. Parts of it are engaging and interesting, but not enough.
My problem with Stephenson is that he can't write an ending for the life of him. He's a great writer, he weaves a bunch of really interesting threads, and then it's like he realizes he's about to go 400 pages over his contract length and he says...how do I fix all this in 30 pages? Umm...RANDOM BATTLE! Every time. Every single time. I love the first 90% of every Neal Stephenson book and then might as well just toss it and imagine the ending myself.

That said, I found the world building in Anathem to be quite fascinating, and that first 20% of the book was maybe my favorite part.

Even though you didn't like Anathem, I would say that Seveneves was also extremely interesting, but he doesn't spend 20% of the book setting everything up. The first sentence of the book is the entire setup.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
My problem with Stephenson is that he can't write an ending for the life of him. He's a great writer, he weaves a bunch of really interesting threads, and then it's like he realizes he's about to go 400 pages over his contract length and he says...how do I fix all this in 30 pages? Umm...RANDOM BATTLE! Every time. Every single time. I love the first 90% of every Neal Stephenson book and then might as well just toss it and imagine the ending myself.

That said, I found the world building in Anathem to be quite fascinating, and that first 20% of the book was maybe my favorite part.

Even though you didn't like Anathem, I would say that Seveneves was also extremely interesting, but he doesn't spend 20% of the book setting everything up. The first sentence of the book is the entire setup.
I get what you are saying. And I understand establishing the "universe" you are in. But holy heck, even after reading the little "primer" before the book started I thought he was just being intentionally obtuse in his writing. No context or background to half of the words or concepts he was using; sometimes he would be using a word or concept since the first chapter and then finally explain what it was over halfway through the book. Why? What is the purpose in doing so?

I read for entertainment. When I'm artificially struggling with the concepts or ideas because the writer intentionally sets up roadblocks to comprehending his made-up words or concepts, I'm not really being entertained.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Wait, there's a new book? I'm on it.

Never mind. Audiobook only? WTF? That's asinine. Let me know if it ever comes out in print. :mad:
I didn't realize it was audio only. :( I hope they put it into print. It does a great jo of continuing the theme while adding yet another dimension to the picture.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished reading Dune: The Duke of Caladan and while good, it seems almost as much of a "setup" book for a sequel than anything else. There were a couple of plot lines in the book I was hoping would pay off at the end but when I flipped to the next page in the book and it was the end I was a bit disappointed. But these authors have been cranking out numerous books in this universe, so I expect another follow-up book to continue the story.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Just finished reading Dune: The Duke of Caladan and while good, it seems almost as much of a "setup" book for a sequel than anything else. There were a couple of plot lines in the book I was hoping would pay off at the end but when I flipped to the next page in the book and it was the end I was a bit disappointed. But these authors have been cranking out numerous books in this universe, so I expect another follow-up book to continue the story.
I bought a matched set of the six books that Frank Herbert wrote and am early on in Children of Dune right now. I think my plan is to read these, then stop, as I've heard only mediocre reviews for the followups.
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
I bought a matched set of the six books that Frank Herbert wrote and am early on in Children of Dune right now. I think my plan is to read these, then stop, as I've heard only mediocre reviews for the followups.
I've read them all so far (and own most of them in hardcover!). The "newer" works are definitely of a different vein. More like "Dune-lite" with regards to some depth, complexity, and overall wholistic "approach" to the universe than the originals. Maybe you could consider them "action movie" versions of Dune, if that makes any sense. As such, I don't think you (in particular) would like them as much. I read them just for quick entertainment in a "universe" I enjoy than anything else.

Please ignore the messy bookshelf - I just purged a whole bunch of books and haven't cleaned it all up/organized yet. :oops:

IMG_3834.JPG
 

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
Just finished The Three Body Problem, a sci-fi book translated from a Chinese author. It was different in that the writing style felt Chinese, in the fact that the Chinese culture and dialogue style was so dominant and made its way through to the reader. As such, I think the translator did a good job.

At first the book feels a bit like an amalgamation of other sci-fi books (hints of Ready Player One, among others), but it forges it's own path and while it doesn't fully explain itself until well over halfway through, I enjoyed it. Some of the technical aspects were hard for me to follow at times, but I placed a loan on the sequel already as the story is interesting and I definitely want to see where the author takes it.

@Capt. Factorial, I'd be interested to know if you have read this yet. Seems like it might be kinda up your alley.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Just finished The Three Body Problem, a sci-fi book translated from a Chinese author. It was different in that the writing style felt Chinese, in the fact that the Chinese culture and dialogue style was so dominant and made its way through to the reader. As such, I think the translator did a good job.

At first the book feels a bit like an amalgamation of other sci-fi books (hints of Ready Player One, among others), but it forges it's own path and while it doesn't fully explain itself until well over halfway through, I enjoyed it. Some of the technical aspects were hard for me to follow at times, but I placed a loan on the sequel already as the story is interesting and I definitely want to see where the author takes it.

@Capt. Factorial, I'd be interested to know if you have read this yet. Seems like it might be kinda up your alley.
YES!

I liked it quite a bit. The entire trilogy is completely worth reading. (I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but the journey was so good I can overlook that.)

So, the trilogy is usually referred to as "The Three Body Problem Trilogy", but I actually think of it as "The Dark Forest Trilogy". Not to throw out spoilers, but for me, the first book turns out to be just an intro, and the real sci-fi meat of the series starts hitting in the second book.