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

[JSWolf]

I'm currently reading The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. It's #2 in the Mistborn series. I've read the first one twice and it's about time I continued the series.

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler—the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years—has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves. As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies—one of them composed of ferocious giants—now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal. As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

[CRussel]

Currently reading, back and forth between audio and ebook, At all Costs, #11 in the mainline Honor Harrington series. I started reading these because I got some good deals at Audible and I figured they'd be good workout books. And mostly they are, though I'm reminded that Weber desperately needs to put his books on a massive diet. His early works in the series are good, but some of these in the middle are hopelessly flabby and overweight. #10, War of Honor, was just awful. But they seem to be a bit better now. Probably because there is more relationship stuff in this one than pure MilSF. IAC, I'm enjoying #11 more than I did #10.

[fantasyfan]

I have just finished Brain Wave (1954) by Poul Anderson. I first read this as the first part of a serialised novel in the magazine,,Space Science Fiction at the age of 13! It was then titled "The Escape". However, I was never able to get the next issue--I didn't know it then, but the magazine had collapsed. A few years later, I got the ful novel and read it with delight.

Reading it now it doesn't seem quite as good though it still has some quite effective moments.Towards the end there is a tendency to social sermonizing (which as a teen-ager I probably found inspiring). Now those passages seem rather naive and boring. The main plot is well developed but the sub-plot with Archie Brock is much more engaging.

Overall, I am glad that the novel holds up as well as it does.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm currently reading The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. It's #2 in the Mistborn series. I've read the first one twice and it's about time I continued the series.

I read the whole trilogy. But, I think the first book was the best of the lot.

BOb

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I read the whole trilogy. But, I think the first book was the best of the lot.

BOb

I thought it was all good. The sequel, "The Alloy of Law", is excellent, too.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I thought it was all good. The sequel, "The Alloy of Law", is excellent, too.

Agreed... I didn't say it was bad... it was a good series. But, I didn't feel book 2 and 3 were as good as book one.

I'll have to check out the sequel... is that a stand alone book or a series?

BOb

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Agreed... I didn't say it was bad... it was a good series. But, I didn't feel book 2 and 3 were as good as book one.

I'll have to check out the sequel... is that a stand alone book or a series?

BOb

It's set 300 years after the end of the original trilogy. It could be the start of a new series, but it's a completely standalone book.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's set 300 years after the end of the original trilogy. It could be the start of a new series, but it's a completely standalone book.

Thanks for the info. Added to my wish list.

BOb

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

I just finished Snow Crash, also by Neal Stephenson, and enjoyed his wit and humour immensely. Cryptonomicon is rated even higher on Goodreads, so it automatically went onto my TBR list. Please let us know what you thought of it!

I loved Snow Crash, but I would also rate Cryptonomicon higher. Actually, it's one of my favourite books.

However, I can see that Neal Stephenson wouldn't have universal appeal. He sort of jumps between tight science/drama/history and very loose and goofy geek.

Snow Crash was the reason I started thinking of Cyberpunk as style without substance. That's a compliment really. I like the surface sheen.

[MickeyC]

Just finished Dog On It by Spenser Quinn and it was a real giggle. The story is about a detective (Bernie Little) and his dog Chet. Bernie runs a detective agency and he and Chet work cases together. What is funny is the story is told from the dog's point of view.

Ex: "I hate horses and don't get me started on cats" "Why do humans ask me to look at a specific color. I can't tell one from the other."

A good laugh in what, I think, qualifies as a cozy mystery.

[Jessica Lares]

I'm reading The Bite in the Apple: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs by Chrisann Brennan.

A much better read than the Walter Isaacson book. Very touching, a little funny, a little sad, and very relatable.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's set 300 years after the end of the original trilogy. It could be the start of a new series, but it's a completely standalone book.

I see that Mr Sanderson has now announced that it is indeed going to be a trilogy but, as I said, "The Alloy of Law" is a completely standalone novel in its own right.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My current read is a rather interesting book so far. It's Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to give it a go once I've finished the third in the Tom Sharpe series Wilt on High. Not very far into it, but it feels a little more vitriolic and less funny than the first two.

Wilt is back - in form, and in a good deal of trouble.

Henry Wilt is still teaching at the Fenland Tech, attempting to drill English into plasterers, dozing through tedious committee meetings and occasionally getting mildly plastered in 'The Pig in a Poke' with one of his few bearable colleagues. But the even tenor of his days is rudely interrupted when the shadow of drug dealing flickers across the Tech. Suddenly Wilt becomes the target of suspicion. His colleagues believe him to be responsible for triggering a departmental inquiry, and his old adversary Inspector Flint, knowing that he's guilty of something, sees a chance to settle a number of scores.

What starts with an accusation of voyeurism in the staff lavatory (of the wrong gender to boot) leads, more or less directly, to a massive confrontation at a nearby US airbase with the forces of law and order on both sides and Wilt in his usual place - in the middle.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by orlok

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm going to give it a go once I've finished the third in the Tom Sharpe series Wilt on High. Not very far into it, but it feels a little more vitriolic and less funny than the first two.

Hope that you like Kindred. I thought it was an excellent read. I just finished Wilt #1, thanks to a recommendation on this thread...probably from you. Very funny.

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've finished Kindred by Octavia E. Butler and I give it a thumbs up. Very good.

I read Kindred this past Saturday because of your post, and agree it was a very good read. Enjoyed it very much. Thanks for the recommendation, Jon.