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

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I really liked Generation 18. It was an interesting story set in a future time period and in an unusual (to me) location. It's late in the 21st Century (my guess is about 2070) in Melbourne, Australia. Also there are interesting characters and they live in an interesting society not that different than our western society of today. There are only 3 books so far in this series, which only leaves me 1 book to go so I really hope that there'll be more of them written and published.

Next, Going Dark (Silo 49 #1) by Ann Christy. Hugh Howey talks in the below quote about this book on his web site, including links to it on Amazon.

Oops! I forgot to mention that Going Dark is currently a freebie on Amazon.

[DrNefario]

I read Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence over the weekend, and thought it was great. A first-person narrative from a properly twisted anti-hero. Pretty short for an epic/heroic fantasy, but unusual and well-told. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett was also good. I mentioned it in my last post when I was in the middle. Another off-beat fantasy. It was sold to me as a fantasy version of George Smiley, but I don't remember Smiley getting in that much trouble. In that sense it didn't really work for me - I felt I spotted a few turns of plot before our supposedly bright heroine, who also managed to walk right into an obvious trap - but it was a very interesting world, with a background of real gods and extremely powerful miraculous magic, and lots of colonial and technological complications.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

I'm now a 1/4 way into An Infamous Army; so far I'm liking it more than I thought I would. The plan is to continue with it, plus one or two Hercule Poirots next or alongside.

My weekend reading included the completion of An Infamous Army and two Hercule Poirots: Murder in Mesopotamia and Cards on the Table.

I was prepared to not like An Infamous Army but that wasn't the case at all, and I think it has to do with the fact I'm not reading as many romances as I used to. If I'd read this last year I'd probably have been ticked off that a huge portion of the book is dedicated to a detailed description of the Battle of Waterloo.

One of the books on my next up list is The Gauguin Connection, which Hampshire Nanny mentioned upthread. I might start it tonight if I don't watch an episode of Murdoch Mysteries

[Gazella]

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

[DrNefario]

Well, I fancied a bit of undemanding space action after my recent run of fantasy, so I started Crown of Slaves by David Weber and Eric Flint, the first in one of the Honor Harrington spin-offs. I've got to say I'm finding it mind-numbingly tedious so far, as lots of people have talked a lot. I hope it picks up soon, or it might irrevocably kill the whole series for me. I really enjoyed it up to War of Honor, which was a real slog, and if this turns out to be another one I'm not sure I'll be willing to face a third.

[Adrian_I]

New and refreshing point of view on evolution and human history.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I really liked Generation 18. It was an interesting story set in a future time period and in an unusual (to me) location. It's late in the 21st Century (my guess is about 2070) in Melbourne, Australia. Also there are interesting characters and they live in an interesting society not that different than our western society of today. There are only 3 books so far in this series, which only leaves me 1 book to go so I really hope that there'll be more of them written and published.

Next, Going Dark (Silo 49 #1) by Ann Christy. Hugh Howey talks in the below quote about this book on his web site, including links to it on Amazon.

Originally Posted by alansplace

Oops! I forgot to mention that Going Dark is currently a freebie on Amazon.

Going Dark was a treat!

Now back to another October Daye story, An Artificial Night (October Daye #3) by Seanan McGuire!

[Apache]

I decided to reread the first six RCN/Lt. Leary books by David Drake before reading the last four. This is a well written series and is very enjoyable. I highly recommend the series. I thought I had bought the four earlier, but I had missed number nine The Road of Danger. I popped over to Baen and bought it. These had been on my TBR for a while.

I just finished Sentinels of Fire by P. T. Deutermann. This is a historical WWII fiction book. It concerns a Gearing Class Destroyer on the Radar Picket Line at Okinawa.They served as an early warning of inbound Kamikazes. These ships were isolated and easy targets for the Japanese. The book really showed how the men faced fear and death and still did their jobs. The book is historically accurate and I highly recommend it. I give it five stars.
I so enjoyed it I am now rereading P T Deutermann's Pacific Glory novel. This is also highly recommended and concerns the Battle of Samar Island. Where The small Task Force Taffy 3 fought off and forced the retreat of the might of the Japanese Navy, including the Battle Ship Yamato. I has been cited by historians as one of the greatest military mismatches in naval history.
Also highly recommended.
Apache

[bfisher]

Wow, i hadn't known Deutermann had a new Pacific War book out - definitely going on my TBR. Thanks so much.

Agreed, RCN Lt. Leary/Mundy is a great series. Reread time, perhaps

[Apache]

His last three books have been WWII Historical Fiction. I hope he continues to write in this genre.
Apache

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Next up, and very nearly finished, Chris Haddfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. This book is about the lessons that Chris learned, sometimes the hard way, about what it takes to succeed as an astronaut. Which are all things we all could, and should, do better at. Interspersed with stories and commentary on his three trips to space, including the final one we all know about.

This is a very well written book, that has a lot for us to learn from, without being at all preachy. He says good things about many of his fellow astronauts, by name, while pointing out the ways that some were less successful but never by name. (Very Canadian.) He makes some compelling points about how to be successful in life that you won't often hear. Two of which resonated with me - "Sweat the small stuff", and "Aim to be a Zero". Astronauts are all over-achievers, but the ones that succeed do so not because they are aggressive about achieving, but because the plan, practice and take care of all the little things that make success possible, and they don't jump in before understanding what they're jumping into and what their impact will be. A highly recommended book, even if you don't have a whole lot of interest in the space program, but an absolute must read if you do.

Next up? No idea yet.

Well, I decided to listen to C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner since I wanted something to listen to that would keep my interest on a longish drive. Well, I got so caught up in the series again that I've started reading and listening again from the very beginning. I'm enjoying the read immensely, and discovering new things I'd missed the first time through. A truly excellent series. I'm through Foreigner and Invader, and moving on to Inheritor. There goes my TBR for a while, I suspect.

[MickeyC]

Just finished The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett and it was excellent. This is the first in the Century Trilogy and I understand the rest are just as good.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Origin by Stephen Baxter. The third in his Manifold series of alternate worlds.

Fascinating ideas, but not engaging. I had no real interest in any of the characters. Which probably explains why I was so slow to finish it.

(The contrast to the previous book, also the third in a trilogy, is stark. There were pretty much no new ideas in that third book (above those introduced in the first two volumes and the previous trilogy), but the story and characters were engaging, if sometimes irritating, and so nI finished a book twice as long in half the time.)

I was also was unconvinced by the non-homo-sapiens characters in Origins. Giving them different motivations/instincts/perceptions was a good idea, but I didn't think it was really done well enough.

Next up: The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters. The third in her Amelia Peabody mysteries that I bought earlier this year.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Well, I fancied a bit of undemanding space action after my recent run of fantasy, so I started Crown of Slaves by David Weber and Eric Flint, the first in one of the Honor Harrington spin-offs. I've got to say I'm finding it mind-numbingly tedious so far, as lots of people have talked a lot. I hope it picks up soon, or it might irrevocably kill the whole series for me. I really enjoyed it up to War of Honor, which was a real slog, and if this turns out to be another one I'm not sure I'll be willing to face a third.

I haven't given up on Crown of Slaves, but I didn't think it deserved to be my 100th "book" of the year, so I decided to start a quickie: The Winds of Gath by E C Tubb. I'm hoping it will satisfy my undemanding space action requirements, and if I like it, there are over 30 more in the series.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

Just finished The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett and it was excellent. This is the first in the Century Trilogy and I understand the rest are just as good.

How does it compare to Pillars of the Earth?