[Salt-Man Z]

 Macros, on 18 March 2022 - 07:21 AM, said:

I think I have the whole series lying about somewhere, but book one started soooooo slow I didn't finish as far as I recall. May have to revisit

The first book isn't one of my favorites. (Personal preference: 2 > 4 > 1 > 3 ? 1 and 3 could probably go either way.) It's still good, but it always struck me (it's been over 4 years, so my memories of it are mostly vague) as very episodic and hard to latch onto a single character in a large cast. I feel like the rest of the books all tell smaller, more personable stories with a tighter group of characters. And the best part is, they don't even need to be read in order, or even really regarded as a series, rather just as separate stories in a shared universe. The strongest tie is between the first two books: Book 2 follows two characters on from the end of Book 1, but it starts fresh and tells an entirely different story.


Speaking of Becky Chambers, I am currently reading her sci-fi novella, TO BE TAUGHT, IF FORTUNATE, about a manned scientific expedition to some exoplanets. I've just reached the point where things have started to go... not wrong, but less than ideal. But somehow my brain interpreted it as the beginning of the end, because a couple of my dreams last night involved the book veering straight into horror territory. But it's not actually there yet! We'll see.

[Abyss]

Peter Clines' latest, THE BROKEN ROOM, is rock solid and worth the time and money. If you enjoyed his other weird sf stuff, The Fold, 14, Terminus, etc, this is squarely there. Just finished and totally enjoyed.

Starts w a familiar premise, kid walks into a bar, finds an ex soldier, tells him she needs help. But... Who sent her? His fellow soldier friend, whose been dead a few years. When did his friend tell her about him? Last week. And yes, he's still dead.

Great low key sf/horror elements, amazingly well written action, two of the best characters Clines has created. And yes, it ties in to his other 14 related stuff, sideways and not essential.

[Maark Abbott]

 Abyss, on 18 March 2022 - 08:53 PM, said:

Peter Clines' latest, THE BROKEN ROOM, is rock solid and worth the time and money. If you enjoyed his other weird sf stuff, The Fold, 14, Terminus, etc, this is squarely there. Just finished and totally enjoyed.

Starts w a familiar premise, kid walks into a bar, finds an ex soldier, tells him she needs help. But... Who sent her? His fellow soldier friend, whose been dead a few years. When did his friend tell her about him? Last week. And yes, he's still dead.

Great low key sf/horror elements, amazingly well written action, two of the best characters Clines has created. And yes, it ties in to his other 14 related stuff, sideways and not essential.

"This black hole, which we have just discovered, is transmitting a signal that clearly asks - in our language - for the scientist aboard our nearby vessel. Analysis suggests the signal has been transmitting for some seventeen million years."


WHAT WAS WILL BE. WHAT WILL BE, WAS.

[Abyss]

 Maark Abbott, on 22 March 2022 - 08:51 AM, said:

 Abyss, on 18 March 2022 - 08:53 PM, said:

Peter Clines' latest, THE BROKEN ROOM, is rock solid and worth the time and money. If you enjoyed his other weird sf stuff, The Fold, 14, Terminus, etc, this is squarely there. Just finished and totally enjoyed.

Starts w a familiar premise, kid walks into a bar, finds an ex soldier, tells him she needs help. But... Who sent her? His fellow soldier friend, whose been dead a few years. When did his friend tell her about him? Last week. And yes, he's still dead.

Great low key sf/horror elements, amazingly well written action, two of the best characters Clines has created. And yes, it ties in to his other 14 related stuff, sideways and not essential.

"This black hole, which we have just discovered, is transmitting a signal that clearly asks - in our language - for the scientist aboard our nearby vessel. Analysis suggests the signal has been transmitting for some seventeen million years."


WHAT WAS WILL BE. WHAT WILL BE, WAS.

Ref lost me.

[Maark Abbott]

 Abyss, on 22 March 2022 - 07:04 PM, said:

 Maark Abbott, on 22 March 2022 - 08:51 AM, said:

 Abyss, on 18 March 2022 - 08:53 PM, said:

Peter Clines' latest, THE BROKEN ROOM, is rock solid and worth the time and money. If you enjoyed his other weird sf stuff, The Fold, 14, Terminus, etc, this is squarely there. Just finished and totally enjoyed.

Starts w a familiar premise, kid walks into a bar, finds an ex soldier, tells him she needs help. But... Who sent her? His fellow soldier friend, whose been dead a few years. When did his friend tell her about him? Last week. And yes, he's still dead.

Great low key sf/horror elements, amazingly well written action, two of the best characters Clines has created. And yes, it ties in to his other 14 related stuff, sideways and not essential.

"This black hole, which we have just discovered, is transmitting a signal that clearly asks - in our language - for the scientist aboard our nearby vessel. Analysis suggests the signal has been transmitting for some seventeen million years."


WHAT WAS WILL BE. WHAT WILL BE, WAS.

Ref lost me.

Stellaris, Horizon Signal questline, where a seemingly innocuous transmission turns into something absolutely eldritch.

[QuickTidal]

Reading Will Wight’s SKYSWORN (Cradle #4), and the series is now firing on all pistons. Book 3 amped everything up, but book 4 is really sailing along now. I can see why people binge this series so fast.

[Briar King]

LotR

[Abyss]

Catching up....

ESCAPE FROM YOKAI LAND - Stross gives an a Laundry Files short, A Bob solo mission to Japan to secure a bunch of demons causing trouble. It's fairly straightforward, Bob is Bob, the supporting cast is very small, a set of Japanese officials from their Laundry equivalent. From a worldbuildling point there's some interesting background to Angleton's time as the Eater if Souls. It's good fun and a nice addition to the series, nothing earthshaking. Earbook narrator is solid.

WHAT ABIGAIL DID THAT SUMMER - This is a novella set in Aaronovich's Peter Grant/Rivers of London series, focused on Peter's 14 yr old cousin Abigail.
It. Is GREAT.
Take all the fun elements of the series, move them around a brilliant 14 yr old who is learning her way but knows enough that she doesn't need to re-explain everything to readers who hve been w the series for years now, move the narrative, story, and action up a notch or two above 'YA'. Aaronovich clearly has a blast writing Abi and her cast and it shows. The pace is fast but well done, the magic is original in places and familiar inothers, and end utterly satisfying. Also, the talking espionage foxes are here and they are so so muh fun. Great story, great addition to the series, totally worth the read.

RIVER OF SILVER - I adored Shannen Chakarabortay's Daevabad trilo, that ended two years ago. The author has been working on an Arabian Seas type pirate story i'm very looking fwd to, but the pandemic messed w her writing time, as it did many, and so she revisited a bunch of short stores and alternate/deleted scenes from the series and rescribbled them into this anthology. It's a total treat for people who enjoyed the trilo. The bits and short stoires are all interesting, and bestest is three epilogues that did not make it into the third book that became near perfect codas for all of the (surviving) main characters. If you enjoyed the series, you pretty much need this.

And now on to Andy Weir's latest, HAIL MARY.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

On book three of C J Sansom's Shardlake series. Friend gve me the first one Dissolution for Christmas.

If you like murder mysteries, worth a read.

If you like Tudor history, worth a read.

If you like both, my goodness these are gold!

[Salt-Man Z]

 TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 31 March 2022 - 09:01 PM, said:

On book three of C J Sansom's Shardlake series. Friend gve me the first one Dissolution for Christmas.

If you like murder mysteries, worth a read.

If you like Tudor history, worth a read.

If you like both, my goodness these are gold!

An internet friend sent me Dissolution a number of years ago, and it was fantastic! (A few years later, my dad also recommended it to me, lol.) I've picked up like the next 3 or 4 in the series, just haven't gotten around to them yet... (that old refrain)

[Aptorian]

It's April and we're started the next batch of books for the forum Book Club to be read between April 1st and July 1st:

THE PRINCESS BRIDE BY WILLIAM GOLDMAN AKA S. MORGENSTERN'S CLASSIC TALE OF TRUE LOVE AND HIGH ADVENTURE

https://forum.malaza...illiam-goldman/


THE SEVEN DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE BY STUART TURTON

https://forum.malaza...-stuart-turton/

Jump in when ever you have time.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

 Salt-Man Z, on 02 April 2022 - 05:52 AM, said:

 TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 31 March 2022 - 09:01 PM, said:

On book three of C J Sansom's Shardlake series. Friend gve me the first one Dissolution for Christmas.

If you like murder mysteries, worth a read.

If you like Tudor history, worth a read.

If you like both, my goodness these are gold!

An internet friend sent me Dissolution a number of years ago, and it was fantastic! (A few years later, my dad also recommended it to me, lol.) I've picked up like the next 3 or 4 in the series, just haven't gotten around to them yet... (that old refrain)

Enjoy when you get there! I just bought number four - all of the first three are very strong, I think book three has been my favourite thus far but they're all narrow margins.

[Abyss]

Just Finished Weir's HAIL MARY.
Great read. Nailed a lot of what made THE MARTIAN work so well. Earth man astronaut is sent on suicide mission to far off solar system to try to save humanity from a solar disaster. When he arrives almost nothing is as planned and he has to improvise to complete his mission. Also, he may have some help.

The pacing is excellent, the few action pieces genuinely tense, the characters genuinely enjoyable. I really. Ant say more without spoiling but if you enjoyed The Martian you'll likely enjoy this.

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished Shogun and have started The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, for the book club. Already gripped

Also, Shogun was flipping superb.

[Aptorian]

Amongst our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch, the latest Rivers of London book just dropped.

I'm going to postpone Princess Bride and jump right in.

[champ]

 Abyss, on 06 April 2022 - 02:47 AM, said:

Just Finished Weir's HAIL MARY.
Great read. Nailed a lot of what made THE MARTIAN work so well. Earth man astronaut is sent on suicide mission to far off solar system to try to save humanity from a solar disaster. When he arrives almost nothing is as planned and he has to improvise to complete his mission. Also, he may have some help.

The pacing is excellent, the few action pieces genuinely tense, the characters genuinely enjoyable. I really. Ant say more without spoiling but if you enjoyed The Martian you'll likely enjoy this.

Read it a while back and loved it. The audio book is what I am currently listening to for the gym, the narrator is awesome!

Don't view the spoiler if you've not read the book, ruins it...

Spoiler

"I sleep, you watch, question!"

Rocky is a legend!

[Abyss]

 champ, on 07 April 2022 - 02:39 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 06 April 2022 - 02:47 AM, said:

Just Finished Weir's HAIL MARY.
Great read. Nailed a lot of what made THE MARTIAN work so well. Earth man astronaut is sent on suicide mission to far off solar system to try to save humanity from a solar disaster. When he arrives almost nothing is as planned and he has to improvise to complete his mission. Also, he may have some help.

The pacing is excellent, the few action pieces genuinely tense, the characters genuinely enjoyable. I really. Ant say more without spoiling but if you enjoyed The Martian you'll likely enjoy this.

Read it a while back and loved it. The audio book is what I am currently listening to for the gym, the narrator is awesome!

Don't view the spoiler if you've not read the book, ruins it...

Spoiler

"I sleep, you watch, question!"

Rocky is a legend!

Heh...

Spoiler

I adored Rocky.
On some level i thought Weir took the easy out on Rocky... for a being as physically alien as he was set up to be, once they got over the coms issue he was very very human. That said, i was not expecting EMBASSYTOWN from Weir, and as part of the story ROcky worked really really well. The relationship he and Grace form is utterly engaging.

Agreed re the narrator, he does excellent work w this. The way he can go from 'all is well' to 'holyshit i'm gonna die' to 'fuck that i am NOT dying like this' to 'well, that didn't work looks like i'm dying... nah fuck that too let's try something else' was amazing.

[Abyss]

 Chance, on 20 November 2019 - 06:35 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 20 November 2019 - 03:52 PM, said:

 Chance, on 19 November 2019 - 07:41 PM, said:

Finished up Sam Sykes Seven Blades in Black and very much enjoyed it.

....

I've considered that Sykes series a few times... overall worthwhile?

....

...

No clue about Sykes other stuff but Seven Blades in Black is a very solid vengence story with a very entertaining main character. It isn't high art but it is fast paced and action filled. The next book in the series goes onto the purchase when it arrives list which isn't all that common.

 Morgoth, on 21 November 2019 - 09:27 AM, said:

...

You are very much going to enjoy Seven Blades in Black. Sykes might very well have written the story specifically to appeal to your preferences.

33% into the earbook of SEVEN BLADES and you were both very very right w this reco (three years ago), i am enjoying the stabby hell out of this book.

[QuickTidal]

 Abyss, on 07 April 2022 - 05:07 PM, said:

 Chance, on 20 November 2019 - 06:35 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 20 November 2019 - 03:52 PM, said:

 Chance, on 19 November 2019 - 07:41 PM, said:

Finished up Sam Sykes Seven Blades in Black and very much enjoyed it.

....

I've considered that Sykes series a few times... overall worthwhile?

....

...

No clue about Sykes other stuff but Seven Blades in Black is a very solid vengence story with a very entertaining main character. It isn't high art but it is fast paced and action filled. The next book in the series goes onto the purchase when it arrives list which isn't all that common.

 Morgoth, on 21 November 2019 - 09:27 AM, said:

...

You are very much going to enjoy Seven Blades in Black. Sykes might very well have written the story specifically to appeal to your preferences.

33% into the earbook of SEVEN BLADES and you were both very very right w this reco (three years ago), i am enjoying the stabby hell out of this book.

Sykes is yikes….

https://www.reddit.c...cused_of_doing/

[Tiste Simeon]

Man another douche in the genre, shame...