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

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by Apache

Me too. Although I was a litlle younger when I discovered him.
Apache

Before I discovered RAH I was into the Miss Pickerell series by Ellen MacGregor, like Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars and Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea, and also stuff by Philip Latham like Five Against Venus. And of course The Rick Brandt science adventures, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm not surprised you would have a preference for a British speaker over a US one.

BOb

He isn't American - that's the point . Jim Dale is British.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

Looked it up at IMDB and that's it. I thought I recalled that the film settings was in San Francisco. Very clever script. Some nice quotes (from IMDB):

[H.G. Wells tracks down Jack the Ripper in the future]
Jack the Ripper: "You are, quite literally, the last person on Earth that I expected to see."

[Jack demonstrates to H.G. that 1979 isn't a social utopia]
Jack the Ripper: "The future isn't what you thought. It's what I am!"

Jack the Ripper: "We don't belong here? On the contrary, Herbert. I belong here completely and utterly. I'm home."

Amy Robbins: "I like that suit. Is that what they're wearing in London?"
H.G. Wells: "It was when I left."

An excellent movie. When I first saw the movie the date in the present that the movie occured on was a few days in the future. It made it even more interesting. BTW, the director went on to direct "Star Trek II - The Wrath Of Khan," an excellent movie. I'm not sure if that movie or the recent "Star Trek" is the best movie.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you remember the old British slapstick "Carry On..." films from the 60s and 70s? Jim Dale appeared in many of those, normally in a "nice young man" part.

I have the "Carry On..." DVD set, which includes "Carry On Cowboy," "Carry On Cabby" and "Carry On Cleo." Those three movies feature Jim Dale.

One thing that is interesting about "Carry On Sergeant," the first movie in the series, is that it features William Hartnell. Hartnell went on the appear in "Doctor Who" as the First Doctor.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Also fun, even though there doesn't seem to be much overall plot, in tthe series as a whole.

Onto the last in the series (so far):Infected: Freefall by Andrea Speed

Which was also fun, in a dark sort of way. I certainly enjoyed the antics of the characters, although there are fewer clear-cut resolutions than there usually are in fiction. On the whole, I like the books, and I'm glad I bought them.

Next:

Bio of a Space Tyrant, vol.1 by Piers Anthony.

I read this years ago, and picked it up when it was recently a freebie, along wit the others in the series.

I must admit that the sympathetic depiction of a paedophile in the first chapters worries me more than it did when I first read it (indeed, I'd forgotten it was there). Perhaps because I now know that this theme has appeared in some of his other books.

In fact, I think it now disturbs me enough that I think I'll abandon this and move on to other things, and write off a few items on my TBR list.

So, next: City by Clifford D. Simak

[CRussel]

Finished: Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon. This is a re-read of the second book in the Paladin's Legacy series with Paks still present and so far a secondary character. But one has the suspicion she will come into the foreground a bit more in the third book, Echoes of Betrayal: Paladin's Legacy which will be released in a week. I reread the first two books in the series to get prepared for the release, one I've been looking forward to for quite a while.

Up next: Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow, and A Rising Thunder by David Weber. But I'm going to be seriously busy at work for the next week before I go on holiday, so I may well not get these done before the new Paks book is downloaded to my Kindle. But that's OK, I'll get a lot of reading done on holiday.

[DianNC]

Originally Posted by alansplace

RAH is my favorite all-time author! I first read him when I was 10 and I don't believe that there's anything he published that I haven't read at least once.

Good to know! I now have several titles by him in my TBR list, so I'll look forward to reading them.

For now, however, I decided to stick with the 'omg, the world is ending' genre and started Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling (also recommended in that older post-apocalyptic thread here on MR -- many thanks to all the contributors!).

I'm about a hundred pages in and it's holding my interest quite well. I think there are 5 or so books in the series -- so far, I only have the first volume.

[xg4bx]

Greatshadow by James Maxey

"Greatshadow is the primal dragon of fire, an elemental evil whose malign intelligence spies upon mankind through every candle flame, waiting to devour any careless victim he can claim.

The Church of the Book has assembled a team of twelve battle-hardened adventurers to slay the dragon once and for all. But tensions run high between the leaders of the team who view the mission as a holy duty and the super-powered mercenaries who add power to their ranks, who view the mission primarily as a chance to claim Greatshadow's vast treasure trove. If the warriors fail to slay the beast, will they doom mankind to death by fire?"



the description doesn't do justice to the humor of the book, how absolutely over the top it is nor the fact that the story is told by the disembodied spirit of a drunk. one of the mercenaries has the power to create a straight out of hell stench to nauseate his enemies and the protagonist is a near-invincible woman who is,at the point in the book i'm at, disguised as a robot in a chainmail bikini. it definitely skews somewhat lighter and is definitely a lot of fun.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

City by Clifford D. Simak

An interesting linked set of short stories, although the linking text is a bit weak.


Next: my other recent Simak purchase: Worlds Without End and Other Stories by Clifford D. Simak

I notice that a lot (22) of Simak's books have recently released by Gollancz at £4.99. While not extortionate, it's more than I'm willing to pay at the moment. At £2.99 I'd probably pick up two or three of my favourites. If all 22 were offered in a bundle for (say) £35 I'd be very tempted to get the lot. (City cost me $2.70, Worlds Without End $1.70: about £1.90/£1.20)

[CRussel]

Gosh, I haven't read any Simak in years and years. I vaguely remember really liking his short stories, however. Well, maybe Gollancz will get smart and put together a bundle.

[Dr. Drib]

I'm half-way through "The Night Circus," by Erin Morgenstern.

I like the writing and the subject matter, but the book itself seems to be a mess and is poorly constructed, in my opinion.



Don

[mewmartigan]

I just started the long journey of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.

[jgaiser]

Mystery/Crime month Finished or reading in the past couple of weeks:

When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger (cyberpunk meets murder mystery)
The Hunter by Richard Stark (hardboiled, nasty, violent crime story - loved it)
Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout (currently reading)

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Up next: Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow, and A Rising Thunder by David Weber. But I'm going to be seriously busy at work for the next week before I go on holiday, so I may well not get these done before the new Paks book is downloaded to my Kindle. But that's OK, I'll get a lot of reading done on holiday.

I moved Restless in the Grave to my Audible list, since I have always enjoyed the Shugak books as audio books. Started No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie, the latest Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel. I've had it here for a couple of weeks now, and my wife finished and really liked it, so I decided to jump on it and hold the Weber book as incentive. Plus I'm going to need plenty to read next weekend, when we're headed to 3 days of relaxing in the sun, and then I have a week of no work, but lots of conference.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Gosh, I haven't read any Simak in years and years. I vaguely remember really liking his short stories, however. Well, maybe Gollancz will get smart and put together a bundle.

That would be great, but I'm not holding my breath. He does really good speculative science fiction, and I suppose once my TBR is more under control I might well pick up a few even at their current prices.