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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Another enjoyable read. I must say, though, that reading the Wimsey books is not about figuring out who did it, or the details of how it was that person, but about the characters and the writing. There are certainly other mystery writer's books where I enjoy the actual mystery much more.

Next up, the latest from Wen Spencer, Wood Sprites. I'm looking forward to this, and expect to have a lot of fun with it.

Originally Posted by CRussel

Well, that wasn't quite what I expected, since it follows a parallel story line and really doesn't include Tinker at all. But, having said that, I enjoyed it a lot.

Finished Murder Must Advertise, which is certainly one of my favourite Lord Peter Wimsey books, along with several shorter Wimsey stories.

This was followed by Kerry Greenwood's Devil's Food, #3 in her Corinna Chapman series of mysteries based around a baker in modern day Melbourne, Australia.

The first in this series was Earthly Delights, and it was good, if not as good as her Phryne Fisher series, and so I went ahead and started the second one, Heavenly Pleasures. This really bogged down, and while I finally finished it, I was not encouraged to read another. So Devil's Food has been sitting in my TBR collection for months and months. But I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. Much better than #2, and an all-round good read. Ms. Greenwood's recurring theme of building and nurturing your personal community is very much present, the characters are fleshing out, and the story flows well. The ending is weak, but that's always Ms. Greenwood's tendency. IAC, I liked it enough to go ahead and start #4, Trick or Treat. With any luck, I'll finish that today.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished Murder Must Advertise, which is certainly one of my favourite Lord Peter Wimsey books, along with several shorter Wimsey stories.

It's very good indeed. For me, though, it's just edged into second place by "Gaudy Night".

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

The last graphic novel I read was The Picture of Dorian Gray (Marvel Illustrated) by Oscar Wilde, Roy Thomas, and Sebastian Fiumara, and it was utterly fantastic as well as extremely faithful to the 1891 version. That the Marvel edition was a hardcover with an attractive cover was a bonus.

Excellent, Tom. I will have to check that out.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's very good indeed. For me, though, it's just edged into second place by "Gaudy Night".

Probably true, I'll re-evaluate when I get to Gaudy Night. I remember it as a favourite, but can't really rank it since it's been so long since I read them last. First I have to get through Nine Tailors, which is one that I remember liking the TV version far more than the book version, where all the complicated bell stuff got in the way of reading.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Probably true, I'll re-evaluate when I get to Gaudy Night. I remember it as a favourite, but can't really rank it since it's been so long since I read them last. First I have to get through Nine Tailors, which is one that I remember liking the TV version far more than the book version, where all the complicated bell stuff got in the way of reading.

Yes, "Nine Tailors" I remember as being a bit of a slog, too.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Into the Hinterlands by David Drake and John Lambshead

One of the back catalogue I bought from Baen in July. I like both their individual works, it will be interesting to see what they do together, although I suspect it's more plot provided by David Drake and writing by John Lambshead rather than a full collaboration.

Very obviously a David Drake plot, and executed competently, but I don't think it's really a happy match. I like John Lambshead's own works (Lucy's Blade and Wolf in Shadow) much better.

But it's an OK space opera/Mil SF novel.

next up: Touched by the Gods by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Looking good.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

next up: Touched by the Gods by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Looking good.

Just as a heads-up, LWE is currently Kickstarting his next novel. 29% funded with four weeks to go.

[fantasyISbetter]

Luffy, try these authors
Jim Butcher of course
Mario Acevedo
Michael Carey
Daryl Gregory
Glen Duncan
Ian Tregillis
Charlie Huston (Already Dead)
Harry Connolly
Michael Shevdon
Ben Aaronovitch
Daniel O'Malley

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by fantasyISbetter

Luffy, try these authors
Jim Butcher of course
Mario Acevedo
Michael Carey
Daryl Gregory
Glen Duncan
Ian Tregillis
Charlie Huston (Already Dead)
Harry Connolly
Michael Shevdon
Ben Aaronovitch
Daniel O'Malley

Thanks fantasyISbetter. I don't know anyone on the list bar Jim Butcher. I've read very little fantasy in my life. I'll make an effort though, and try to read one book of each author.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

I think this is my first time posting here, and I might as well say what I'm currently reading, which is Agatha Christie's The Big Four.

This week I completed The Big Four, The Blue Train (both by Agatha Christie) and Around the World in Eighty Days (by Jules Verne/audio). The Big Four wasn't awful but I was happy to be done with it. Just too over-the-top for me, plus I didn't appreciate all the running around (so fatiguing! ). I like settling in one locale with one manageable cast of characters and let's unravel stuff

I enjoyed the Jules Verne book and I think the (audio) narrator's skill had a lot to do with that. The Blue Train was a good read but I missed the Poirot/Hastings interaction that I've come to love.

I'm following the Poirot series listing on Goodreads so the next book should be Black Coffee. I'm also 60% into Dee Henderson's True Valor. That should do it for the weekend.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by CRussel

The first in this series was Earthly Delights, and it was good, if not as good as her Phryne Fisher series ...

I have 19 of the 20 Phryne Fisher books but have yet to read one. Maybe when I take a break from Poirot

[ATDrake]

Read the first selection of my haul of 79 Agatha Christie books from the currently ongoing $0.99 sale on them in Canada.

Ordeal by Innocence is one I'd seen previously in the ITV adaptation, which was pretty decent, and I was wondering how it would compare (i.e., what they changed for the adaptation and whether or not I could Spot The Clues™ that would lead the Gentle Reader to potentially solve the whodunnit before the sleuth did).

It turns out the major thing that they changed was turning it from a standalone mystery into a Miss Marple case and throughout the book, I kept waiting for her to show up, which of course she didn't. Also, they changed the secondary victims, so I kept waiting for people to die who didn't, and was surprised when other people died who hadn't.

As for the whodunnit, I could see who it was because I'd already seen the TV version and in retrospect, the clues were were indeed laid out in such a way that it was possible to guess, if you're not terribad at these things like I am.

I liked that this seemed much more of a psychological drama than the other Christies I'd read previously (only Marples and Poirots, IIRC), with a good deal of exploration of the effects of the crime not only on the murder victim, but also on their entire surrounding circle as distrust and suspicion spreads and taints their interactions and relationships.

And also the notion that what the affected persons want is not necessarily justice, but closure, even if it was actually a false sense of relief to begin with. And I liked Dr Arthur Calgary, the scientifically-inclined amateur sleuth. We need more scientifically-inclined amateur sleuths, IMHO. Don't let all the borderline-alcoholic socially-abrasive relationship-dysfunctional grudgingly-respected authority-defying ethically-dubious hardened maverick serial killer-chasing homicide detectives solve all the cold cases*.

According to the Wikipedia page for OBI, apparently at the time reviewers complained that it wasn't as typically sleuthy as her usual standard, but I enjoyed this change of pace. It reminded me a bit of Georgette Heyer's psychological crime drama Penhallow, which also explored the effects of an over-dominating family leader on the increasingly resentful members and their as-yet unsolved murder, which I'd read several years back after getting it in a similar Sourcebooks deep-discount sale on a huge chunk of her works.

The only annoying thing is that it seemed to cut off abruptly at the end, with, after having spent several chapters kind of discussing how important life decisions and changes were and the effects they had on people, there's an important life-changing decision impulsively made and I'd have at least wanted to see a couple of paragraphs of follow-up as to if not how it turned out, then some of the other characters' reactions to it.

Recommended if you'd like to try a Christie that you won't feel you might need to read in an order that might include up to 33 novels, and want something that may be a bit off the beaten track for her (I've no idea if she does many more like it or not). The ITV adaptation is decent, too, even if they change things (like inserting gratuitous Miss Marple, as if British people wouldn't watch a TV Christie without her or Poirot, sigh).

This is actually one of the Christies I own as a comic book adaptation (translated from the French BDs by Chandre) and I should go dig that up. And probably use the other ones I have as an easy guide to selecting which further Christies to read first, rather than trying to triage the 78 remaining ones by some more complicated fashion.

* Currently on Jo Nesbø's The Snowman, apparently the 1st in his Harry Hole series about a Norwegian cop who's exactly that, which I picked up in an excellently priced 3-book omnibus on sale for just $4.99 CAD this long weekend @ Kobo.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it thus far and it's got nice cultural background tidbits on Bergen, possibly my favourite Norwegian city that I haven't been to because they're surrounded by fjords and coniferous forest and mountains and get rained on constantly due to orographic precipitation, just like Vancouver.

But he really is a typical sort of type.

[DrNefario]

I thought The Snowman was pretty late in the series and The Bat was the first one? Or is it a chronological vs publication order thing?

[ATDrake]

^

You're right, it's actually mid-series, though weirdly, it got translated before the actual first. I guess I was just assuming that the omnibus they put on deep-discount sale would be the start of the series, for introductory value.

And also the way the story's laid out with Harry seeming to be this kind of returning-oldbie-turned-newbie outsider who finally gets to use his FBI-trained serial-killer-catching skillz on Norway's first big case regarding such made it seem like a 1st novel for introducing the character.

Oops.

But it does explain why there's this undercurrent of Stuff That Has Gone On Before That We Vaguely Allude To But Don't Really Talk About, which I thought was just clever backstory-setup-hint-building.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I just finished reading Mr. Mercedes and, like all Stephen King novels I've read before it, I found it quite engrossing and highly entertaining.

I just began reading Raisins And Almonds (Phryne Fisher #9) by Kerry Greenwood.

I just finished reading Raisins And Almonds and was quite pleased with the experience.

Next, The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2) by Agatha Christie.