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

[Rumpelteazer]

I finished A Game of Thrones last night. I loved it and can't wait for the tv series to be released on DVD here.

Now I'm in the mood for something easy and quick so I got the fourth in the "Cat Who..." series, The Cat Who Saw Red, by Lilian Jackson Braun.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I finished A Game of Thrones last night. I loved it

I've got the first two books in the series but I'm a bit reluctant to start, does the first book stand well on it's own or is there an abrupt ending?

[gmw]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's more disaster movie than SF, really, but it was a fun re-read. It was interesting to see which scenes had stayed with me, and which had faded.
[...]
Interesting the find the dismissal of the CFC/ozone problem as just another environmentalist hobby-horse.

Which only goes to show that even SF authors have their hobby-horses

Despite being less SF than many of their other works I did like Lucifer's Hammer, much much better than Footfall, although neither of those come close to The Mote in God's Eye and Legacy of Heorot, which I consider to be two of the best classic SF.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

I've got the first two books in the series but I'm a bit reluctant to start, does the first book stand well on it's own or is there an abrupt ending?

No abrupt ending, some storylines end others are clearly still open. But it didn't feel like it was part of a longer book which is cut into multiple parts as some series do. I am planning on getting the next book soon.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's more disaster movie than SF

Well, after Lucifer's Hammer, I decided to read one of my Frederick Pohl books, and starting with the earliest seemed sensible. So I read Drunkard's Walk. A very good SF story from 1960. Apart from the technological foresight failures (mechanical alarm clocks!) it still works well, and although is is probably decades since I last read it, after a very short way through it came back to me. Always a good sign for a book. If it had been mediocre I would have forgotten it completely.

Next up: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I got this in one of fictionwise's many sales back in July 2009. It's probably about time I read it. I might not finish it, but I should see what all the fuss is about.

[richvalle]

Originally Posted by gmw

Which only goes to show that even SF authors have their hobby-horses

Despite being less SF than many of their other works I did like Lucifer's Hammer, much much better than Footfall, although neither of those come close to The Mote in God's Eye and Legacy of Heorot, which I consider to be two of the best classic SF.

I also really like The Mote in God's Eye and Legacy of Heorot! Great books. Though I think in both those cases the 2nd books lose something vs the first ones.

Just finished Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchet. I like his old school non-Tolken take on elves.

Just started the 3rd Culture book by Ian M. Banks - Use of Weapons.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I finished A Game of Thrones last night. I loved it and can't wait for the tv series to be released on DVD here.

Did you know there is a boardgame based on this book?

BOb

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I've started Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes.

I started it yesterday. I'm liking it so far.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Did you know there is a boardgame based on this book?

No, I didn't. Unfortunately, I can only get my sister to occasionally play a (board) game with me. My father also likes boardgames but he's too fanatical about winning than enjoying the game and the company. But I was planning a visit to my favorite game shop soon so I might ask if they have it.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I finished A Game of Thrones last night. I loved it and can't wait for the tv series to be released on DVD here.

Now I'm in the mood for something easy and quick so I got the fourth in the "Cat Who..." series, The Cat Who Saw Red, by Lilian Jackson Braun.

I just saw the first episode of A Game of Thrones, and I loved it. I thought they did a fantastic job of filming it.

[Fbone]

Finished Sister Alice by Robert Reed. Don't ask me to describe it. It was so unusually bizarro that I had incredible difficulty imagining what was happening. His word skill was a little repetitive and at times amateurish.

I'm guessing Reed had a moral story behind it but he lost me with all the surreal unperceptionable visualizations. And seeming contradictions were confusing.

I did finish it, though. It did hold my attention with probably knowing it was only 316 pages and not a huge time investment helping.

Next up is a first for me. A self-publishing author. The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J Sullivan. It's not my usual subject matter but the library was able to get me a print copy.

[ChipnDale]

Dracula and The Importance of being Earnest

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by richvalle

Just started the 3rd Culture book by Ian M. Banks - Use of Weapons.

I've read this one and I really liked it. However, I was having a bad patch in my reading and the novel lasted me a month or two. I think that had an impact on my enthusiasm for it which was a bit of a shame.

Before this I had read Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games and thought they were magnificent.

Tell us how you go with this one.

Regards
Caleb

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Finished Sister Alice by Robert Reed. Don't ask me to describe it. It was so unusually bizarro that I had incredible difficulty imagining what was happening. His word skill was a little repetitive and at times amateurish.

I'm guessing Reed had a moral story behind it but he lost me with all the surreal unperceptionable visualizations. And seeming contradictions were confusing.

I did finish it, though. It did hold my attention with probably knowing it was only 316 pages and not a huge time investment helping.

Sorry you didn't like it. It definitely is a quite bizarre story. What really made the book for me was the ending. Definitely more concept driven and thought provoking than most although still bizarre.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I got this in one of fictionwise's many sales back in July 2009. It's probably about time I read it. I might not finish it, but I should see what all the fuss is about.

Well, it was OK. It was certainly better than I expected.

Spoiler:

The sudden conversion of the heroine from loner (in old school) to great popularity (in new school) is unexplained, and a weakness.

There are certainly problems with the working of the Meyer universe with vampires in it, and certain inconsistencies in the descriptions of vampire abilities.

And if you take it as an allegory for a controlling relationship, then it's rather disturbing. But I read it as a fantasy, as I think it should be read.

Bella's intention to become a vampire seems entirely rational to me.
Upsides: Beautiful, immortal, wealthy, strong, fast, with her love interest.
Downsides: Don't need to eat, breath or sleep. Inclination to murder people. Inability to have children (although that last isn't mentioned).

Being a vampire in Meyer's universe seems to have very few draw-backs at all - far fewer than in Charlaine Harris's universe.

I'm not sure what I'll read next. Perhaps another Agatha Christie.

Yes — Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie, her eleventh book.