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

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Though it was quite different (in places) than the 1998 movie Practical Magic, which was a fun movie, Practical Magic (the novel) was a fun read.

Next I've begun reading my freebie for April in the:

program, Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1). It's the first book in a new Urban Fantasy series written by Melissa F. Olson.

I really enjoyed reading Boundary Crossed which was an exciting intro novel to a new series. I liked the story, the characters and the (new to me) locale (Boulder, CO)! All in all a fun read. Now on to my monthly freebie from the Amazon Prime lending library, Meanwhile Back at the Morgue (Ed Noon #10) by Michael Avallone!

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

On to Murder on the Orient Express, next. One of the very small number of Agatha Christie books where I definitely know who did it, and I don't know how that will affect my reading.

It turns out it doesn't make very much difference. Still very readable.

I'm going all high-brow next, with Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next: Deeds of Honor by Elizabeth Moon. A final instalment of short stories from the Paksenarrion Universe.

And very enjoyable it was too.

Next up: The Leper of St Giles by Ellis Peters.

[HarryT]

Two books finished over the weekend:

"Foreign Legions" by David Drake. A volume of short (and some not-so-short) stories by various authors set in the same universe as his original short story (and subsequent novel), "Ranks of Bronze", which is about a Roman Legion sold by their Parthian captors as mercenaries to an alien trading guild whose laws require them to fight battles using only the level of technology appropriate to the planet they are operating on.

Excellent. I particularly enjoyed the novella "Carthago Delenda Est" by Eric Flint, which is the longest story in the book, and a direct sequel to "Ranks of Bronze". I'm also pleased that Flint assumes his readers have some knowledge of Roman history, and so doesn't waste time explaining what the title of the story actually means!

"The Mummy Case" by Elizabeth Peters. The third book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. A re-read, and good as ever.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Leper of St Giles by Ellis Peters.

You're catching up with me.

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

As soon as I finished reading The Sanctuary Sparrow, I started reading A Dangerous Place, the latest volume in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear. It was fantastic. I highly recommend the entire series -- this is one that really needs to be read in the order written in order to experience the character development over time.

Quickly read A Dangerous Place and returned the book to the library. Now reading The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall. It's the 2nd book in his "Most Private Investigator Vish Puri" mystery series. I'm quite enjoying it. Would like to complete it tonight or tomorrow morning so I can return it to the library before I head out of town. Otherwise, it will wait for my return since I do *not* take physical library books with me on trips.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

I started reading A Dangerous Place, the latest volume in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear. It was fantastic. I highly recommend the entire series -- this is one that really needs to be read in the order written in order to experience the character development over time.

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

You're catching up with me.

Quickly read A Dangerous Place and returned the book to the library.

Agree completely about reading the Maise Dobbs books in order. Sometimes series it doesn't matter, but in this one, you'll definitely miss things. But a great series, one I really enjoy and always have on my pre-order list.

[Fbone]

I decided upon Red Rising by Pierce Brown a recent purchase.

I was hoping for more than a Hunger Games clone. The whole underground Mars mining colony was very interesting and unique. The speech, mannerisms, song & dance culture I enjoyed. But when Darrow went topside I felt things fell apart (just like Enclave). The rest of the book was just a futuristic medieval battle with the expected outcome. The author's writing skills were competent, poetic even. Good main character development. Originality. However, I did find the last half of the book somewhat dull and verbose. Too many dei ex machina? This boils down to another story of children torturing and killing other children. Not my cup of tea. Rated D+ [2 stars].

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Leper of St Giles by Ellis Peters.

Which was excellent.

Then I read Bloodchild by Octavia Butler. A very good freebie short story.

I moved swiftly on to Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell. An excellent historical miltary fiction. I'm looking forward to the rest!

Then Lady in Waiting by Sarah Gross turned out to be a time-travel romance, with the emphasis on romance. Not really my thing, and I just skimmed through it as I found I'd read it before (but not remembered I'd done so until I was some way in!).

And now I'm reading Sharpe's Triumph by Bernard Cornwell

[HarryT]

Just finished "Balshazzar's Serpent" by Jack L. Chalker, bought from Baen many years ago. This is the first book in the "Three Kings" trilogy.

Earth has expanded out into the galaxy via artificial wormholes, which has led to an explosion of religious sects, each occupying its own planet. In an event known as the "Great Silence", however, all the wormholes leading back to Earth stopped working, for unknown reasons, cutting off the colony worlds, which has gradually led to technological civilisations failing, due to Earth's policy of keeping the colonies dependent on Earth for high technology, ship-building, etc.

Several centuries after the Great Silence, a scout ship from the Roman Catholic world of "Vaticanus" discovers a fabulous solar system called the "Three Kings", where three habitable planets are in orbit around an immense gas giant, and strange alien artefacts litter their surface, but the scout fails to report their location. The quest for the "Three Kings" has become a kind of interstellar search for "El Dorado".

The leader of the missionary ship "The Mountain" learns the location of the "Three Kings", and the book tells the story of how he attempts to get there.

This is the first of Chalker's books I've read, although I have many of them in my library, and I'm very impressed. He's an excellent story-teller, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Highly recommended!

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Now reading The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall.

I finished reading The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing at the airport curb. I tossed the book to my hubby to return to the library for me, grabbed my suitcase, and headed into the terminal.

Read Beauty by Robin McKinley. This was a retelling of the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. It was also McKinley's first published novel (1978). The story is beautifully told. It's as fresh today as when it was originally published.

Now reading Kris Longknife: Daring, the 9th in Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series -- military SF. Kris is leading an exploration mission searching for an explanation for why Iteeche scout ships have been disappearing. Fearing that aliens are destroying the scout ships, Kris determines to sneak up on them by circling around and approaching the areas where these ships disappeared from a different direction.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I moved swiftly on to Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell. An excellent historical miltary fiction. I'm looking forward to the rest!

And now I'm reading Sharpe's Triumph by Bernard Cornwell

These are excellent, I need to dip back in to see what next Sharpe was up to. I got hooked by the TV adaptations, and read several of the early ones. And at some point bought a bunch of them in eBook format on the cheap. Plus the Audible implementations are very good. Read mostly by Frederick Davidson (David Case), with a few by Patrick Tull. Two of the truly great male voices who are no longer with us.

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Now reading Kris Longknife: Daring, the 9th in Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife series -- military SF. Kris is leading an exploration mission searching for an explanation for why Iteeche scout ships have been disappearing. Fearing that aliens are destroying the scout ships, Kris determines to sneak up on them by circling around and approaching the areas where these ships disappeared from a different direction.

I just finished the next in the series, Furious, in which we deal with a Longknife reduced to charity. But not for long. I had lost track of this series, and was pleased to link back in to it again. Fluff, but fun fluff. Sadly, the Audible narration of these books is barely tolerable, so I ended up doing more reading than listening.

Currently reading The Resistance Man, by Martin Walker. This is #6 in the Bruno, Chief of Police series, and I'm currently doing more listening than reading, but that will shift now that Kris Longknife is out of the way.

[Apache]

I enjoyed all of the books in the Sharpe series.
The last in the original series was Sharpe's Waterloo then number 14n now listed as number 20. In this one Cornwell is telling the story of The Battle of Waterloo. Sharpe ends up in most observing and or participating in most of the major conflicts within the battle. It was very enjoyable and gives you an overall view of the Battle for Waterloo.

http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-11-Sh...=UTF8&sr=&qid=

On May fifth Bernard Cornwell's non fiction Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles will be released. The Kindle price will be $17.99. A little pricey, but I am probably going to get it.

http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-Histo...N%3DB00MMFCEDC

My favorite Cornwell book is Azincourt. If you have not read it you are missing a really top notch story. The book is a standalone and is not part of any series.

http://www.amazon.com/Agincourt-A-No...N%3DB001NLL8X8

Apache

[Rumpelteazer]

I finished Dragonfly in Amber (#2 Outlander series) by Diana Gabaldon earlier this week.
I really liked it, not as much as the first in the series but still a very good read. I liked the balance between the domestic life (mostly the first part) and the more action packed second part.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Apache

I enjoyed all of the books in the Sharpe series.
The last in the original series was Sharpe's Waterloo then number 14n now listed as number 20. In this one Cornwell is telling the story of The Battle of Waterloo. Sharpe ends up in most observing and or participating in most of the major conflicts within the battle. It was very enjoyable and gives you an overall view of the Battle for Waterloo.

http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-11-Sh...dp/B002WPFHA4/

On May fifth Bernard Cornwell's non fiction Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles will be released. The Kindle price will be $17.99. A little pricey, but I am probably going to get it.

http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-Histo.../dp/B00MMFCEDC

My favorite Cornwell book is Azincourt. If you have not read it you are missing a really top notch story. The book is a standalone and is not part of any series.

http://www.amazon.com/Agincourt-A-No.../dp/B001NLL8X8

Apache

Don't know the Agincourt one, and don't have it. But have all the Sharpe's through 24, the three Grail Quest, and the three Warlord. Will have to look for a good deal on the Agincourt one, or maybe the BC Library has it? Not going to pay >$11 for it.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I really enjoyed reading Boundary Crossed which was an exciting intro novel to a new series. I liked the story, the characters and the (new to me) locale (Boulder, CO)! All in all a fun read. Now on to my monthly freebie from the Amazon Prime lending library, Meanwhile Back at the Morgue (Ed Noon #10) by Michael Avallone!

I certainly enjoyed reading Meanwhile Back at the Morgue! Next book is the newly published Hidden (Alex Verus #5) by Benedict Jacka!