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

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: A recent purchase: Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters.

An enjoyable re-read, and an interesting murder mystery.

Next up: Wingman by Mack Maloney. One I got as pat of a humble bundle, so it might not be to my taste. We'll see.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Wingman by Mack Maloney. One I got as pat of a humble bundle, so it might not be to my taste. We'll see.

Wow. Alternate history, and bad alternate history. OK, it was probably future when it was written, but it's still dreadful. Amazingly big info dumps at the start for an astonishingly improbable series of events to end up (in just a couple of years!) with the US split into waring mini-countries, through the actions of Russian secret agents, including the vice-president. Not my sort of thing at all. One star. Abandoned. No spoilers, as all that is in the first few pages!

Next up: I'd best try the other unknown (to me) from that Humble Bundle: Freehold by William C. Dietz. After the previous one, I have a bad feeling about this, but I hope I'm wrong.

[DrNefario]

Oh dear. I bought that bundle.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Oh dear. I bought that bundle.

I liked The Reluctant Swordsman, and I have previous read The Time of the Dark, which I remember as being excellent. Two (or perhaps three) out of four isn't bad for $1.

[bizzybody]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: I'd best try the other unknown (to me) from that Humble Bundle: Freehold by William C. Dietz. After the previous one, I have a bad feeling about this, but I hope I'm wrong.

He's written over 40 books, starting in 1984. The video game "Legion of the Damned" was based on his book (#1 of a 12 book series) by the same name and he co-wrote "Resistance: Burning Skies" for Playstation Vita. In addition to his own creations he's written 4 Star Wars books and one each for Halo, Mass Effect, Starcraft and Hitman.

He must be doing something right with his writing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Dietz

Blurb for Freehold.
"Colonel Stell and his band of mercenaries yearn for a place to call home. To them Freehold is like a bright diamond in the vast universe. But its desert conditions, economic instability, social disarray, and political turmoil render the planet perfect for takeover. Willing to fight anything that stands in their way, Colonel Stell and his small crew contend with all who seek to dominate their planet, even vast interstellar empires. Their success will not be determined by their size but by their resolution to create creating a home for themselves."

"As Dietz wrote Galactic Bounty it was his intention to create a sprawling universe that could be used as a setting for numerous books. Galactic Bounty, Imperial Bounty, Alien Bounty, McCade's Bounty, Drifter, Drifter's Run, Drifter's War, Freehold, and Prison Planet were all set in what Dietz refers to as the "McCade universe." And some of the books share characters or refer to each other in some way. Most of the themes that Dietz likes to write about including futuristic soldiers, alien politics, cyborgs, and shape shifters are all established in these early novels."

[Apache]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: I'd best try the other unknown (to me) from that Humble Bundle: Freehold by William C. Dietz. After the previous one, I have a bad feeling about this, but I hope I'm wrong.

I read this many years ago and I remember enjoying it. Of course my memory may not be as good as it once was.
Apache

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Well, after reading a couple of the Campion series, time for a complete change. Now reading the fifth in Alexander Kent's Bolitho series, In Gallant Company. I read many of these many years ago, but they became hard to find in American book stores. And then, of course, I found Patrick O'Brian, and that satisfied my naval cravings for a while. But these are still excellent books, and I'm enjoying my trip back to them. Especially knowing that they are all available in eBook format.

Finished In Gallant Company, and now reading another Campion, Dancers in Mourning. I can't say I'm inspired, but it's not really Margery Allingham's fault - I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump right now.

[Stitchawl]

I found myself in a reading slump recently too, so I did the only thing I could think of to get me out of it...

... I just finished re-reading all of the 'Spenser' series by Robert Parker. Nothing perks me up like the delightful dialogs between Hawk, Spenser, and Susan. Add in a dash of Vinny's quiet, Quirk's upright nature, Bellson's cigar chewing, Teddy Sapp, Cholo, etc., etc., and my reading clock is reset for another year!


Stitchawl

[CRussel]

Yes, that's the sort of thing that usually works for me. Actually, it's why I just re-read the Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh. And that was great while I was reading it, but then I seem to have fallen back into reading ennui again shortly after. Sigh. But this too will pass, I know.

[Lin2412]

I'm trying to finish 'The Calorie Myth' per recommendation. I find that basically what it's just trying to say is to eat quality foods instead of quantity. Also it says that it's the hormones that determine weight gain or weight loss (metabolism / set-point). It encourages its readers to lower their set point not by eating less but by eating the right amount of food. Nothing we don't know already, but still holds true.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Freehold by William C. Dietz. After the previous one, I have a bad feeling about this, but I hope I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by bizzybody

He's written over 40 books, starting in 1984.
[...]
He must be doing something right with his writing.

Originally Posted by Apache

I read this many years ago and I remember enjoying it. Of course my memory may not be as good as it once was.
Apache

Hmm... Well, I did finish it. But it was, IMO, poor Mil SF. The villains were villainous and obvious. The romance was dull. The introduction of human-level AI went nowhere. The actions taken by the heroes were ludicrous.

Not, I hope, one of his better books.

Next I read some shorts by favourite authors:

The Human Divisions Extras by John Scalzi
OK, but not great, and adds nothing special

Whom The Gods Love by Sarah A. Hoyt
Very good post-trans human story

The Big Ship and The Wise Old Owl by Sarah A. Hoyt
Excellent generation ship story

The Blood Like Wine by Sarah A. Hoyt
OK Vampire story

And now something I bought in a Kobo sale back in May:
Children of the Wolf by Jane Yolen

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished In Gallant Company, and now reading another Campion, Dancers in Mourning. I can't say I'm inspired, but it's not really Margery Allingham's fault - I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump right now.

Finished. And I did enjoy it, though I'm still in a bit of a slump. But new books coming tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to them.

[Moe The Cat]

Finished an advance copy of Richard Herley's latest, Dismemberment. The author is currently serializing the novel, one chapter or so per day, on his blog, in advance of the ebook publication.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished. And I did enjoy it, though I'm still in a bit of a slump. But new books coming tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to them.

So, a quick freebie short story from Sharon Lee The night don't seem so lonely, set in Archer's Beach. About the Trenvay. Highly recommended. And now I have two new books on my new Voyage, plus another Campion. That should keep me busy.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

The Case of the Bouncing Betty was, as it usually is for the Ed Noon books, a really enjoyable reading experience. Next I'll begin reading my freebie for December in the:

program, The Last Passenger by Manel Loureiro, Andres Alfaro (Translator). It concerns the Valkyrie, a German ship veiled in secrecy for decades after it was discovered adrift in 1939 with only one passenger aboard, a baby boy named Isaac Feldman. Along with The Last Passenger I'll also be reading Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne. This one I'm reading because Lexie Dunne is a friend's cousin's daughter.

I got into Superheroes Anonymous and finished it a couple of days ago. It was a really fun read and since Lexie Dunne's last line of the book was, "TO BE CONTINUED . . .", and it did in fact end in a sort of cliff hanger, I'll be looking forward to the release of the sequel to Superheroes Anonymous, the second in the Gail Godwin books, coming out in June of 2015.

Right now things are too busy around here for me to continue reading The Last Passenger right now, maybe tomorrow?