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

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I'm not sure why I keep falling behind in this thread but I haven't updated it since April 21.
...
Next up is Bill Bryson's African Diary ...

It has been over a month this time. Sheesh. I have been keeping my 2015 reading list up to date but keep forgetting to post here.

African Diary was interesting enough for me to put a couple of his other books on my holds list. Since then I have read:

• Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett, book 4(?) in the Moist Von Lipwig sub-series. Another entertaining read.
• The Road Not Taken by Harry Turtledove. An alien invasion goes all wrong for the invaders in an unexpected way.
• Troll Bridge by Terry Pratchett, a Discworld/Cohen short story.
• Phantoms by Dean Koontz. Gee, I can't understand how he got the label of "horror" writer. I enjoyed this a lot even if he regrets getting that label because of it.
• Kraken by China Miéville. Certainly "weird" fiction but very fun.
• Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry, the first of the Jane Whitefield books.

I just started The Magicians by Lev Grossman this morning and it is looking good although it doesn't seem to have the same magic that made Harry Potter such a wonderful series.

[readerlover]

The reason I haven't posted anything on MR for quite awhile is because my other Sony PRS-300 wound up having an unfortunate encounter with the washing machine and I hadn't ordered a replacement one until the 11th of this month & it's arriving sometime tomorrow, which I'm super excited about. Once I get some of my books on it I'll be back in action here on MR. Just wanted to let people know that I haven't flown the coop and that there is a legitimate reason that I haven't been on.

[covingtoncat73]

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles. It is pretty good but way too "real world" for me. I'd probably like it better as an audiobook to listen to while I do other things. I'm pretty sure my reaction is completely due to my personal preference for more speculative fiction. I don't do too many modern-set thrillers, certainly not ones set in the South, except as the aforementioned audiobooks from the library.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Because of some confusion on my part where in some listings The Bedroom Bolero is listed as #11 and in other listings it's #13 and #11 doesn't seem to exist at all!! Anyway, because of this I read The Living Bomb (Ed Noon #12) before reading The Bedroom Bolero (Ed Noon #11 or #13). This oops is significant because in The Bedroom Bolero Ed moves to a new apartment, rents a new office, and hires a new secretary whereas in The Living Bomb nothing has yet changed! Oh well!

I liked The Bedroom Bolero a whole lot (the best of this series that I've read so far).

Next will be...

Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus by P.C. Martin.

I really enjoyed Steampunk Holmes: Legacy of the Nautilus!

Next a novella...

Clementine (The Clockwork Century #1.1) by Cherie Priest.

[CRussel]

Just finished reading (and in some cases, re-reading) the last two years of Baen Free Stories. These are freebies posted on the main Baen site to promote new books each month, and then made available in a collection at the end of the year. The appeal of individual stores varies, depending on how much I like the author, but the overall quality is pretty good. And I do sometimes find new authors this way.

Next up, Sister Time, #2 in the Cally's War series by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane.

[poohbear_nc]

In my seemingly never ending quest to read the entire oeuvre of Henry James in chronological order of publication, I have just finished The Spoils of Poynton (1897) - a fantasy tale of sorts with quite uneven writing styles, ranging from the clumsy melodrama found in Watch and Ward to the bright social banter found in many of his short stories. I kept imagining a film version with Patricia Routledge cast as Mrs. Gereth, feverishly arranging her treasures within her perfect house.

But most of all I pondered what sort of deranged authorial brain could create and name a character 'Fleda Vetch'? The name conveys images of bindweed, or other noxious garden pests, or a less salubrious neighborhood in Maida Vale. Could James repress a chuckle every time he penned this name?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: A break from the Lost Fleet - The Multiplex Man by James P Hogan again.

So far it's OK, but hints of his descent into weird science and conspiracy theory are in the story.

It was OK. I had to wince at the rather obvious author message, but on the whole it was OK.

Back to the Lost Fleet: Relentless. I can't help feeling that this title is a bit of an author's joke. The repetition is beginning to wear on me a bit, but perhaps that's because I'm read them so quickly.

[Dngrsone]

Finished The Mermaid's Sister. Already started Bloody Mary: The Life and Legacy of England's Most Notorious Queen by Charles River Editors.

So far, pretty succinct... we'll see if it gets any better.

[Fbone]

Next will be Blue Labyrinth by Preston & Child. I'm anxious to start this.

This was comfort food delicious. For a change, Margo and Constance were the main characters in this one. A bit more action adventure and less detection than usual. Definitely, not their best but satisfying. This book does answer a question some may have had. We learn more about Pendergast with each book. Interesting plot line for one of the previous characters. There were a few sudden character realizations and coincidences too many that brought this down somewhat. With each author writing separate books, I worry their collaborations may be hurried and quality suffers. Rated B- [4 stars].

Next TBD.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Bloody Mary: The Life and Legacy of England's Most Notorious Queen. I guess I got what I paid for, and it was worth every penny (I paid nothing BTW).

That Tudors books I read last month was much more thorough.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Back to the Lost Fleet: Relentless. I can't help feeling that this title is a bit of an author's joke. The repetition is beginning to wear on me a bit, but perhaps that's because I'm read them so quickly.

But they are keeping my attention. On to Victorious!

[HarryT]

Finished "Guardian of the Horizon", by Elizabeth Peters, the 16th book in the "Amelia Peabody" series of Egyptological mysteries. This story jumps back to the year 1907 (the previous book in the series was set in 1919) and tells the story of the Emersons' return to the "Lost Oasis", which they visited in the book "The Last Camel Died at Noon". Excellent.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

But they are keeping my attention. On to Victorious!

Which was a satisfying conclusion to the series. I don't think I'll be moving on to the follow-on series anytime soon though. I just didn't find the physics of the spaceships convincing enough.

Next up: Strength by Stones by Greg Bear. My last unread book purchased before 2006! After this I'll be down to just an 9.5 year backlog!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Strength by Stones by Greg Bear. My last unread book purchased before 2006!

It turns out it wasn't unread, and I didn't like it enough to re-read, so straight on to one bought in early 2006: Warp Point by Darrell Bain.

[HarryT]

Just finished "The Puppet Master" by John Dalmas, bought from Baen in 2001. Excellent near-future SF set in a slightly alternate world in which a "gravitic drive" was invented in the 1990s which transformed society, followed by a plague in 2000 which killed a billion people world-wide. This is an omnibus containing the main novel (called "The Puppet Master") with a novella before it, and a short story after it. All are detective stories, featuring a private investigator in LA working on a variety of interlinked cases.

Very good indeed. Highly recommended.