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

[Dngrsone]

Finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Very good. Then turned around and devoured Unnatural Causes by Gregg Olson and The Fortuitous Meeting by Christopher Kastensmidt.

Gotta sort through my TBR and do some library maintenance tomorrow...

[Ravensknight]

Black Mountain
Greig Beck
3 Stars

Right in line with the rest of the Alex Hunter series.

[Ravensknight]

Red Son (Superman: Elseworlds)
Mark Millar, et all
4 Stars

Superman as a commie. And Boris Wayneski. How can you not love that?

[Ravensknight]

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
Bill Watterson
4 Stars

Another Calvin and Hobbes collection that made me laugh.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Now reading The Phoenix Unchained which I am now sure I must have read at some point in the distant past. But at least it has no relationship to reality, which is what I want right now.

Well, I finished it. No better than 3 stars. There are two more in this story arc, but not sure I'll bother.

Reading Mary Russell's War, a collection of shorter works by Laurie R. King. So far, quite enjoying it.

On the audio book front, reading #4 in the Phryne Fisher series, Death at Victoria Dock. I quite enjoy this series, and this is a re-read, but as an Audible book, superbly read by Stephanie Daniel.

Loved it. Now reading $5, The Green Mill Murder.

[CharredScribe]

Annoyed with myself that I missed the book club discussion of Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. December just got away from me.

On the plus side, my late-2016 reading has been mostly very good. I just finished Petina Gappah's The Book of Memory, set in Zimbabwe. Very good - highly recommended, although I would have liked some aspects of the story explored a little more.

I recently purchased Peter Robinson's latest DCI Banks novel. I'm excited to start it but I usually like to read the two or three books preceding new books in the series to remind myself of recent events in the lives of the main characters, so I am (re)reading Watching the Dark.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by CharredScribe

Annoyed with myself that I missed the book club discussion of Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. December just got away from me.

The discussions stay open indefinitely, and it is still December anyway, so please join in. You may help revive the conversation.

[CharredScribe]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

The discussions stay open indefinitely, and it is still December anyway, so please join in. You may help revive the conversation.

Oh great. I'll go over now and see if I have anything to contribute. Thanks.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Asimov's SF Magazine for Jan/Feb 2017. A double issue, and it seems they are now switching to being double issues all the time.

An average, if double-size issue. Most I liked, one or two I wasn't too taken with.

next up: Analog SFF for Jan/Feb 2017. Analog have had a double issue for Jan/Feb for some time now. I don't know yet whether they too have gone to all double issues.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next I am not sure as to what I'll take in the busy festive schedule, but I will finish at least one more book before the year ends.

Very reluctantly I took up Dark Visions by Jonas Saul, after Christmas. It is the first book of Sarah Roberts Series containing 14 books, I had bought two years ago. It very surprisingly turned into a fast paced paranormal mystery, which I liked.

Spoiler:

Sarah Roberts has a unique problem. Routine blackouts occur to her on a random basis. What’s different about her temporary unconsciousness is she wakes to various notes written by her own hand. These notes are prophecies. Dark Visions. Future events of dire circumstances. Circumstances that she can avert, for Sarah is what they call an Automatic Writer.

The novel begins with Sarah perched under a bridge with no idea why she’s there, except what the note said;
Sit under the Elizabeth St. Bridge at 10:18am. Bring hammer.

Now I am sure I will not be reading anything for next two days. So the next read will be decided in the next year.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Reading Mary Russell's War, a collection of shorter works by Laurie R. King. So far, quite enjoying it.

The real problem with this book is it has long snippets (as in several chapters) from already published stuff interspersed. I know why, but I've already read all of them! The new stuff I'm enjoying, but overall, it's down to a 4 out of 5.

Now reading $5, The Green Mill Murder.

Finished. A good one. The next up is Blood and Circuses. Not one I remember particularly fondly, so we'll see. But I am so enjoying the Stephanie Daniels narrations that I'll likely enjoy it regardless.

Also reading The Truth of Valor, the fifth of the Confederation novels from Tanya Huff.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next is Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld the second in the Leviathan trilogy.

Very nice continuation of the Leviathan trilogy. The plot moved along at a nice pace. There was just the right amount of descriptive passages. The author does very well with the written word. And I love the illustrations. They add so much to the story. I wonder why more YA authors don't use them? Rated B- [4 stars].

I'll go on to finish the trilogy with Goliath by Scott Westerfield while waiting for my library holds to come in.

[Ravensknight]

Thraxas Under Siege
Martin Scott
3 Stars

A good ending to the year. The Thraxas books might not be high literature or EVER achieve 4 stars [forget 5] but they always amuse me and tell a fun story. They are as dependable as Thraxas drinking a Happy Guildsman or Makri wearing her axe.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Chaos and Order: The Gap Into Madness by Stephen R. Donaldson. That's my target for the year, just in time to start the next year...

I am now reading [The Girl Who Drank the Moon[/i] by Kelly Barnhill, which looks like it may be pretty quick, so it may go into this year's list instead of next year.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

My next-up reads are what I hope to complete before year-end:

1. The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty (I've already started this and it's in the first person present tense; I can already tell our relationship may be quite brief )
2. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (I'm curious how I'll fare with this one; the vibes are not good)
3. Redemption by Laurel Dewey
4. Silence by Thomas Perry
5. Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie (I really should put this book out of its TBR misery; I've begun it more than once, IIRC)

I finalized my 2016 reading with minutes to spare. Of the above, I gave up on #1 (couldn't get past the first person present tense), #2 (too shrill so didn't get far), #3 (mere disinterest), #5 (I left this one in its purgatory, poor thing). I completed #4 (average read).

Other than these, I ended the year with on a Georgette Heyer high:

The Nonesuch
Cotillion
The Unknown Ajax
The Quiet Gentleman
False Colours

This will be my last time posting here for a while. Happy New to everyone!