[Macros]

Finished Stephen Fry's take on Troy.
I didn't enjoy it as much as Myhtos or Heroes, can't really articulate why

[Stalker]

amphibian, on 06 December 2020 - 05:20 AM, said:

I finished the most recent Alex Verus book, Forged. Holy moly, the action scenes are the very best ever in the series. There's a heist scene that's honestly legendary. It must have been so much fun to write.

It feels like Jacka finally got Verus to a place where the cool stuff, the plot stuff, and the dangerous risks are all in sync.

Abyss, if you have the space for it on your reading list, get to it sooner rather than later.

Agreed, the action scenes were top notch this time around (and the final phone call he made had some great lines). That said, and without going into spoilers, it didn’t seem like all that much really happened in this book. Basically Alex is in the same position as at the end of the last book.

I saw on Reddit that Marked, Forged, and the final book are really all supposed to flow together so it makes sense that this is more setting the stage for the showdown. Timeline makes sense as this picks up two weeks or so after Marked. The final book seems like it will pick up immediately.

Still, I enjoyed it overall. Very much looking forward to the finale. I’ve only ever done this series on audiobook and would recommend.

[T77]

Finished Peter F Hamilton's Salvation trilogy and thought it was very good.

[Abyss]

amphibian, on 06 December 2020 - 05:20 AM, said:

I finished the most recent Alex Verus book, Forged. Holy moly, the action scenes are the very best ever in the series. There's a heist scene that's honestly legendary. It must have been so much fun to write.

It feels like Jacka finally got Verus to a place where the cool stuff, the plot stuff, and the dangerous risks are all in sync.

Abyss, if you have the space for it on your reading list, get to it sooner rather than later.

It is next the minute I'm done with Rhythm of War. VERY Psyched.

[Tiste Simeon]

T77, on 06 December 2020 - 01:54 PM, said:

Finished Peter F Hamilton's Salvation trilogy and thought it was very good.

Didn't realise it was finished, that might be my cue to get it!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Macros, on 06 December 2020 - 10:29 AM, said:

Finished Stephen Fry's take on Troy.
I didn't enjoy it as much as Myhtos or Heroes, can't really articulate why

I finished it recently and felt similarly. Still enjoyed it, but I think Mythos has been the best of the three.

[Aptorian]

I started up Robert Gilbraith's (JK Rowling) latest book Troubled Blood. That book is 947 pages long. HOW? WHY? Why is a crime/detective novel almost a thousand pages long?

The first was 479 pages
Second 486
Third 512
Fourth 671 - already felt far too bloated.
Now 947 pages???

How does this happen? I get that Rowling can write her own contract and publish what ever she likes but surely, at some point, an editor has to step and say no. Stop. Why are you doing this to your poor readers? Think of all the trees who will have to die for your out of control page length?

This post has been edited by The Incredible Aptorian: 07 December 2020 - 08:48 AM

[Macros]

Look at how HP bloated as the series went on

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Done with Orb, Sceptre, Throne.

On to Dust of Dreams.

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 11 December 2020 - 02:09 PM

[JPK]

Got my yearly supply of Audible credits and immediately picked up the rest of the Laundry Files books.

Onward to The Delirium Brief! I'm stoked. I've avoided spoilers so far, but this one seems very highly regarded.

[Aptorian]

Macros, on 07 December 2020 - 05:20 PM, said:

Look at how HP bloated as the series went on

I'm about two thirds through the book now and I get why the books are getting longer. Sneaky as she is, Rowling has disguised a family drama/romance novel as crime fiction.

I can't even be mad at her, the last book was the same, and it's not bad at all. Actually it's probably the most realistic, or at least probable, depiction of proper, exhaustive detective work I've ever read. But it's very "women's litterature".

Solid story and 600 pages in not a single action scene or a sense of danger.

This post has been edited by The Incredible Aptorian: 12 December 2020 - 05:30 PM

[Malankazooie]

British author John le Carré has died. My dad, being a ravenous fan of spy thrillers, had a few of his books.

[Aptorian]

I've always meant to read some of le Carre's books. Maybe I'll finally get the time during this lockdown.

[Macros]

I've read two I think. The Spy who came in from the Cold, and the kind of follow up to it.

Also watched the Nightmanager recently that was based on the Le Carre book, all enjoyable

[polishgenius]

I've only read Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy but that is incredible and I should read more.

[Morgoth]

I would very much support the earlier recommendation for Unconquerable Sun. It was a great space opera that engaged me and made me want to learn more about the world and the story.

I just finished The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart. It was by no means mindblowing, but it was a fresh and entertaining fantasy take that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I will definitely pick up the sequel when it turns up.

[Aptorian]

Finished Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith(JK Rowling). Really good book. In this one along with the fourth the series has really hit its stride, with Ellacot becoming more of an equal partner to Strike. The relationship drama has become predictable but the detective work is really solid. I really appreciated that they handled a cold case with out Rowlin feeling a need to inject unnecessary action and unrealistic danger to the case.

Interestingly, the book got some early buzz when the apparent criminal of the story was a "cross-dressing rapist and serial killer" - Tying in with the shitstorm Rowling has been frolicking in for the past year, with the TERF vs trans debate. Actually that worry was unwarranted. Instead I think she does a great job of presenting various me too and LGBTQ issues in this book. Ellacot is a great foil for this issues.

Also read Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Cixin Liu. Really fun book with an unimaginative ending, that makes the book end on a bit of a disappointing note. It's a satirical fable-like story of an age 60 million years ago, where the ants and the dinosaurs at the same time evolve their intelligence and become sentient. What transpires is a farcical story of the Ants and Dinosaurs entering into a symbiotic relationship where they build wast continent spanning civilizations and go through the same eras as humankind, with giant Dinosaur cities and ridiculous dinosaursized technology. Imagine a bunch of tyrannosaurs and stegorasuruses in ridiculous clothes, being helped by the ants to build advanced technology.

It sort of reminded me of reading Isac Assimov. And has a very obvious parallel to the US/Russia Cold War with China being the industrious, clever ants.

Just started Kill the Farmboy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne. It's a satirical take on "the Farm Boy is the Chosen One vs The Evil Lord trope". So far the humor feels veeery forced and therefore not that funny. I feel like Terry Pratchett, Shrek and the Fable games have done a much better job - But we'll see.

[amphibian]

I read the three Sun Eater books by Chris Ruocchio. They're very good, although the second one really takes the series into a higher gear. Very much recommend for an approachable version of a hero writing their memoirs with some incredible palace intrigue scenes and space/planetary warfare action.

I also read the side novella - it veers so weirdly into Catholic propaganda that I'm honestly at a loss as to why the author wrote this. Don't read that - it doesn't add a thing to the main series.

In general, it comes off as a poppier version of the Vorkosigan books if one replaces Miles with a not as smart main character who can fight much better, yet b also crack a book regularly.

[Aptorian]

110 pages into Kill the Farm Boy and I am rage quitting this book. The tag line of the book is "Once. A pun. A time." and that's all this book is. Terrible attempts at humour and brain dead ideas.

A dark lord called Toby who can only conjure stale bread. Hah ha, how random. A deadly black rogue who's as dumb as a rock and trips over herself, a barbarian in a chain mail bikini who's a feminist and likes botany, a giant with a giant nose called Nostrildamus.

And nothing of actual inventiveness besides regurgitating old fantasy tropes happens in this mess.

I hate this book.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 17 December 2020 - 04:32 PM

[Aptorian]

To get over the above travesty I decided to read something easy so I started Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

About 60 pages in it's good so far. Clearly intended for kids or young adults but it has style and character.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 17 December 2020 - 09:28 PM