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

[AlexGrama]

Currently reading:

- The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm, by Winston S. Churchill (0%)

- The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (13%)

- 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami (6%)

- A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin (9%)

[Apache]

Just started Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith.

They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale.

In Grahame-Smith's telling, the so-called "Three Wise Men" are infamous thieves, led by the dark, murderous Balthazar. After a daring escape from Herod's prison, they stumble upon the famous manger and its newborn king. The last thing Balthazar needs is to be slowed down by young Joseph, Mary and their infant. But when Herod's men begin to slaughter the first born in Judea, he has no choice but to help them escape to Egypt.

It's the beginning of an adventure that will see them fight the last magical creatures of the Old Testament; cross paths with biblical figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist; and finally deliver them to Egypt. It may just be the greatest story never told.
Show More
Show Less

So far I like it a lot.
Apache

[dreams]

The Buried Pyramid by Jane Lindskold is on hold right now. I've listened to a couple of freebie books and have just started The Curse of Senmut by Vickie Britton, another freebie from our Deals forum and a just joined MR author. This one is holding my attention, although I'm not far enough in to really know how good it will be.

Spoiler:

from amazon:
Outside a small village near the Valley of the Kings, archaeologist Ardis Cole arrives in Egypt to help excavate a tomb recently discovered by her mentor, Jane Darvin. When Jane is murdered, Ardis must assume responsibility for the project.

With the help of mysterious Blake Lydon, she must unravel the tomb’s mystery—an ancient secret concerning two miniature obelisks of gold hidden by Queen Hatshepsut’s love, Senmut, over 2000 years ago.

As Ardis uncovers the ancient mystery, she finds herself drawn into a modern action tale of hatred, murder, and revenge.

[HarryT]

Just finished "Colour Scheme", the 12th book in the Inspector Alleyn series. Published in 1943, this book is set in New Zealand (Marsh's native country) and features secret agents, 5th columnists, and everything else one might expect in a story set (and written) in the middle of WWII. It's unusual in that Alleyn doesn't feature very heavily in it - or does he? You'll see what I mean when you read it.

I really enjoyed this one. Well up with Marsh's best, and with very interesting descriptions of Maori life and culture in it, too. Well worth a read.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A back-issue of F&SF, September 2005 by Spilogale authors.

Well, that was a really good issue. Mostly, perhaps, because of two really nice short stories by David Gerrold. But the other stories were nearly all above average too.

Next: Flandry's Legacy by Poul Anderson.

[tecweston]

Originally Posted by tecweston

Currently Reading:

- A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King (53%)

Heh I tweeted about how much I was enjoying this book and then saw this:

https://mobile.twitter.com/#!/mary_r...87908516696064

Originally Posted by @mary_russell

That case changed my life. I do hope you enjoy the memoir.

[ericws]

I am currently reading "Cradle of Solitude" in the Rogue Angel Series. Just finished the third book in the Storm of Prophecy Series by Michael von Werner.

[The Terminator]

I'm finishing Executive Power by Vince Flynn.

On an unrelated topic, can you see what people have edited in their posts now?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

Not sure why a link is showing up instead of the picture but....the book is

The System of the World by Neal Stephenson.


If words are preferred instead of pictures, I will go that route from now on.....i like to see book covers especially since I don't see them on a Kindle!

It is OK to put a cover image. But also please put the title/author as well.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I finished reading The God of Lost Things and really had fun doing so. I'm definitely a G. Norman Lippert fan. Now, what with all the Robert B Parker discussion here I just began reading the first Jesse Stone novel, Night Passage. I'm convinced that this'll be good as I thoroughly enjoyed the TV movie (and the other Jesse Stone TV movies as well).

Finished my first Robert B Parker book, Night Passage and it certainly didn't disappoint! In fact I added the TV movie to the top of my Netflix queue so I can see it again.

Now I'm going back to Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series to read Breakup, $4.99.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Finished my first Robert B Parker book, Night Passage and it certainly didn't disappoint! In fact I added the TV movie to the top of my Netflix queue so I can see it again.

Now I'm going back to Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series to read Breakup, $4.99.

I enjoy the Stone books (and TV movies), but honestly don't think they're as strong as his Spenser books. Possibly because I've been reading the Spenser books since the beginning, and I see things in the Stone books that are just one more rehash of the same old thing. (His protagonists have significant problems with relationships, and even though Spenser has a long-standing relationship with Susan, it's very much non-typical and rather uneven. And also fairly unbelievable.)

Breakup is possibly my favourite Stabenow book. It's funny, totally tongue in cheek, and she clearly was trying to see just how far she could go.

Charlie.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Finished my first Robert B Parker book, Night Passage and it certainly didn't disappoint! In fact I added the TV movie to the top of my Netflix queue so I can see it again.

Now I'm going back to Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series to read Breakup, $4.99.

Originally Posted by CRussel

I enjoy the Stone books (and TV movies), but honestly don't think they're as strong as his Spenser books. Possibly because I've been reading the Spenser books since the beginning, and I see things in the Stone books that are just one more rehash of the same old thing. (His protagonists have significant problems with relationships, and even though Spenser has a long-standing relationship with Susan, it's very much non-typical and rather uneven. And also fairly unbelievable.)

Breakup is possibly my favourite Stabenow book. It's funny, totally tongue in cheek, and she clearly was trying to see just how far she could go.

Charlie.

I remember a TV series back in the '80s called Spenser for Hire. But I never saw even part of an episode, and have never read any of the books, so I know absolutely nothing about the character. Conversely, I believe I've seen all the Jesse Stone TV movies and have liked them all. Just never read any of the books before.

Wow! I just read the first 3 chapters of Breakup!! Are the remaining fifteen chapters as crazy as these were? Love it so far!

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by dreams

The Buried Pyramid by Jane Lindskold is on hold right now.

I got this as a Tor freebie a long time ago. It starts out well, but I thought it devolved into an utter mess toward the very end.

[WT Sharpe]

Because of other reading I was doing and other issues, it took me longer than usual, but I just finished The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner. First published in 1938, this was one of the early Perry Mason books, and one of the best. He and Della really took some bold risks in those early books. Paul did, too, but reluctantly, and only because not only was Perry his most lucrative client, but also a friend. Playing by the rules wasn't nearly as important in those early books (picture Jack Black* as Perry Mason) as it would be to the Perry Mason of the 50s and 60s (think Raymond Burr).


* Apologies to poohbear_nc, who first suggested Black for the role of the early Mason.

[JSWolf]

I am currently reading Star Trek: DTI: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett.

The agents of the Department of Temporal Investigations are assigned to look into an anomaly that has appeared deep in Federation territory. It’s difficult to get clear readings, but a mysterious inactive vessel lies at the heart of the anomaly, one outfitted with some sort of temporal drive disrupting space-time and subspace. To the agents’ shock, the ship bears a striking resemblance to a Constitution-class starship, and its warp signature matches that of the original Federation starship Enterprise NCC-1701—the ship of James T. Kirk, that infamous bogeyman of temporal investigators, whose record of violations is held up by DTI agents as a cautionary tale for Starfleet recklessness toward history. But the vessel’s hull markings identify it as Timeship Two, belonging to none other than the DTI itself. At first, Agents Lucsly and Dulmur assume the ship is from some other timeline . . . but its quantum signature confirms that it came from their own past, despite the fact that the DTI never possessed such a timeship. While the anomaly is closely monitored, Lucsly and Dulmur must search for answers in the history of Kirk’s Enterprise and its many encounters with time travel—a series of events with direct ties to the origins of the DTI itself. . . .