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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'll be interested to hear your views on it if you read it.

I'll let you know. It's odd -- the book is not really available on Amazon, nor are most of his others, even the ones still showing on Baen at $6.99 and available. There was a Regiment omnibus, but that's no longer available on Baen. And while Soldiers was in a bundle, it doesn't appear to be a bundle that I bought. So not sure how I ended up buying a copy, but it definitely shows as "Previously Purchased" and it's in my Calibre. (And I checked -- it's not currently in the Baen Free Library.)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'll let you know. It's odd -- the book is not really available on Amazon, nor are most of his others, even the ones still showing on Baen at $6.99 and available. There was a Regiment omnibus, but that's no longer available on Baen. And while Soldiers was in a bundle, it doesn't appear to be a bundle that I bought. So not sure how I ended up buying a copy, but it definitely shows as "Previously Purchased" and it's in my Calibre. (And I checked -- it's not currently in the Baen Free Library.)

Didn't you buy it on my recommendation about a year ago? I seem to recall you doing so. Perhaps you've read it already?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Didn't you buy it on my recommendation about a year ago? I seem to recall you doing so. Perhaps you've read it already?

Could be. If so, somehow I don't think I read it. I'm not showing it as Read, nor do I have a rating in Calibre. (Checking purchase history on Baen... Well, I'll be. Yup, there it is, 3/23/2016, bought as a standalone, and nothing else bought that day. )

Well, this time it's made it to my Kindle. And there's a paucity of things I actually want to read on there, though I've mostly been listening to books lately (lots of travel time.)

[Apache]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Hmmm. The only one of his I'm showing in my Calibre is Soldiers. Not sure where it sits in the series, but will push it forward on the list a bit.

It is not a part of The Lizard Ward Series. There are only two books in the series.
Apache

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, a light detective murder mystery Doosra - The Other One by Vish Dhamija, to soothe out the thought process for now.

It was an interesting read. A murder mystery and burglary of precious diamonds, a lot of detective work and action.

Next I am taking up Swimming Pool by Mary Roberts Rinehart, a print book lying with me since last few years, bought from a train station book stall, tried earlier to read but did not finish it. In fact the print quality of this paperback is not good and appealing, but this time I'll read it finally and pack in my print books' boxes.

[Dngrsone]

Finished The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum. Now reading Vaccinated: Triumph, Controversy, and an Uncertain Future by Paul A. Offit M. D.

It's mostly the story of one man: Maurice Hilleman, who created vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitus (A and B), pneumococcus, meningococcus, and Haemophilius influenzae type b, and others.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Galactic Games edited by Bryan Schmidt. Part of a Baen bundle bought back in June.

It was OK. Some hits, some misses. I particularly objected to a story with a librarian that completely misrepresented what a good librarian should be. The many (or so it seemed) American football stories were unfortunate. (And not one about cricket!)

Next up: Wizards at War by Diane Duane (NME edition). I've nearlu caught up with my re-read.

This one seems to run too fast with recent astronomical ideas for my liking at the start.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I couldn't get into that, so instead I grabbed A Death in Sweden by Kevin Wignall from Prime Reading. It was ok but nothing spectacular.

Next up: The God's Eye View by Barry Eisler, I enjoy the John Rain series so I have high hopes for this one.

Finished this tonight, not my favorite of his books.

Originally Posted by orlok

Be interested to hear what you think. I like and have read all of the John Rain books too.

I much prefer the John Rain books that I have read (through book 5) over this one. The bad guy was a cliche and nothing else, his main henchmen weren't any better. I also don't care for how "steamy" some scenes got. There was one character that was had at least some internal conflict but it was very predictable. Overall: C, I don't feel like I completely wasted my time but I certainly wouldn't read anything more in this series if it becomes one.

Next up: As You Wish - Cary Elwes

[HarryT]

Just finished "The Helverti Invasion", by John Dalmas, which I bought from Baen in November 2003. A sequel to "The Lizard War", but much, much better. A thousand years after WWIII the Earth has reverted to medieval level technology, watched over (unknown to the inhabitants) by an extra-terrestrial monitor corps who pose as a religious order with supernatural powers to explain such things as radio communication. Agents of the order have to take action to try to prevent a war fomented by alien visitors from a chaos cult (the "Helverti" of the title). Very highly recommended!

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Finished this tonight, not my favorite of his books.


I much prefer the John Rain books that I have read (through book 5) over this one. The bad guy was a cliche and nothing else, his main henchmen weren't any better. I also don't care for how "steamy" some scenes got. There was one character that was had at least some internal conflict but it was very predictable. Overall: C, I don't feel like I completely wasted my time but I certainly wouldn't read anything more in this series if it becomes one.

Thanks. I'll give it a miss then - too many other books on the list to risk a disappointment.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Luffy

I gave Where Are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark, 5 stars. Now I'm reading another book by the same author, A Cry in the Night.

I DNF A Cry in the Night. Instead, I went ahead with A stranger is Watching, by the same author (i.e Mary Higgins Clark), and I enjoyed it and I gave the book 4 stars on Goodreads. Below is my review of the book...

A Stranger is Watching is a very simple story, but the killer here is not given God like status. He needs to work hard so as not to avoid being brought in by the New York police. Eventually bad luck, plus some hard work on behalf of those people on the angels' side, literally catch up with him.

I think that the author will never kill a main character, unless the latter has died in the past, viewed via flashbacks. It's kind of understandable, it makes sense. The blow of death is softened, because the death happened to someone who isn't as known by the readers as the living characters in the present.

Formulaic though the structure of the book is, it's a winning formula. Mary Higgins Clark must have exhausted every permutation throughout her career before her readers said enough was enough. Before, i.e, fatigue set in. The author experienced a lofty position, and I'm glad that she is not as forgotten as say, Harold Robbins.

I myself want more, even if it is of the same. I need the simple sustenance, and I am certain that I will not ditch most of her books. That is a boon. To purchase an ebook and not finishing it is so wasteful. I like Clark's books, so far. I like to follow the coincidences, the poetic justice, the alibis, the plotting, the piety, the good vs evil, the battle of wits, the race against time. This book has got all of that and some more.

[Luffy]

Next book is Mary Higgins Clark's Before I Say Good-Bye.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Luffy

To purchase an ebook and not finishing it is so wasteful.

For someone with that philosophy, you seem to abandon an awful lot of books . I'm probably guilty of the reverse myself, though: I never abandon a book, no matter how awful it is. I've struggled through some real stinkers. I really should force myself to stop reading when it's obvious I'm not enjoying a book.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

.

Next up: As You Wish - Cary Elwes

I am requesting this from my library.

Finished Vaccinated: Triumph, Controversy, and an Uncertain Future by Paul A. Offit M. D. Very interesting, though a bit depressing/scary near the end because of anti-vaxxers and whatnot (then my inner darwin kicks in and I think, go ahead, let your spawn wither...).

At any rate, going to read Aerie by Maria Dahvana Headley, a novel about a girl who once thought she was perpetually dying (in Magonia) but discovered that she wasn't.

... is that vague enough?

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For someone with that philosophy, you seem to abandon an awful lot of books . I'm probably guilty of the reverse myself, though: I never abandon a book, no matter how awful it is. I've struggled through some real stinkers. I really should force myself to stop reading when it's obvious I'm not enjoying a book.

I would stick with unpromising books myself, but I get depressed if I persist. Once I got sick from reading a book (Icons) by Margaret Stohl. Nevertheless I do recognize that ditching books willy nilly is wasteful.