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

[kansaskyle]

I finished up the life changing magic of tidying up, and rated it three stars. I jotted down several tips, and I plan to give the author's method a try in my life. I felt like the book didn't necessarily translate well from the Japanese culture to American culture, nor did I feel it really addressed how to tidy up a multi-person household.

Next on the list is Midnight Riot, which I stumbled on by reading some posts in the Book Club section. The author seemed to get some good praise, and I saw the library has several of his books.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Black Wolves of Boston by Web Spencer. Looking wonderful already.

And wonderful it was. A really interesting and well thought out urban fantasy with great characters and plot. Some believably power-hungrey and evil villains.

A very solid 5/5, my first of the year.

Next up: The Last Vampire by Whitley Streiber. An old Fictionwise purchase back in July 2008.

[JSWolf]

I am reading [b]The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde. It is the third book in The Last Dragonslayer series. If you've not read the first book but have only seen the movie made by ITV in the UK, the movie was lousy but the book quite good. There will be four books. The forth book is still being written.

The Mighty Shandar, the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen, returns to the Ununited Kingdoms. Clearly, he didn't solve the Dragon Problem, and must return his fee: eighteen dray-weights of gold.

But the Mighty Shandar doesn't do refunds, and vows to eliminate the dragons—unless sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange and her sidekicks from the Kazam house of enchantment can bring him the legendary jewel, The Eye of Zoltar.

The only thing that stands in their way is a perilous journey with a 50% Fatality Index—through the Cambrian Empire to the Leviathan Graveyard, at the top of the deadly Cadair Idris mountain. And it's a quest that sees Jennifer fighting not just for her life, but for everything she knows and loves . . .

I did enjoy the first two books.

[MickeyC]

Just finished Gallows View, the first in the series by Peter Robinson and it was very good. Am so pleased I have virtually all of his books in front of me.

[CharredScribe]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

Just finished Gallows View, the first in the series by Peter Robinson and it was very good. Am so pleased I have virtually all of his books in front of me.

Love this series (and I don't usually like series or police procedurals). I think what I like about the Banks books are that the characters evolve, and there is more than just police work: the books are also about relationships and social issues. Definitely a series worth sticking with, as I find the later books get even better.

[Ravensknight]

Gorgon (Alex Hunter #5)
Greig Beck
3.5 Stars

Definitely better than the previous book. Of course, after that ending, I wonder who his new arch-enemy will be? That russian dude was a fantastic foil to Alex Hunter.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And wonderful it was. A really interesting and well thought out urban fantasy with great characters and plot. Some believably power-hungrey and evil villains.

A very solid 5/5, my first of the year.

Next up: The Last Vampire by Whitley Streiber. An old Fictionwise purchase back in July 2008.

Interesting. I gave it a 5/5 when I read the eARC, but on a re-read of the final version, I dropped it to 4/5. Somehow, on the reread, parts of the middle dragged and felt slightly contrived. Which doesn't change my enjoyment of it overall, and I'd certainly like to read more about these characters and this world. (Note that there is a Baen Free Story, Does a Bear Shoot in the Woods up on the Baen site. Not directly related, but the same overall world. And quite a good story, I might add. And FREE. )

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

(Note that there is a Baen Free Story, Does a Bear Shoot in the Woods up on the Baen site. Not directly related, but the same overall world. And quite a good story, I might add. And FREE. )

And now added to calibre. Thanks.

[astrangerhere]

Just finished "The Haunted Ceiling" by HG Wells. The story was recently found in a library of rare papers and published in the Oct-Jan issue of The Strand.

Apparently it was written between 1894-1896.

It felt somewhat like

Spoiler:

a carbon copy of The Tell-Tale Heart, which was written 50ish years earlier in 1843.

[Rev. Bob]

I'm working on Christopher Nuttall's Schooled in Magic, first of eleven in the series (to date), but I'm having a little trouble getting into it. A little of that is editing, and at least some is general distraction on my part.

It's basically a cross between a YA portal fantasy (e.g. Narnia, Wonderland) and Harry Potter: an evil wizard casts a spell to summon a "Child of Destiny" and ends up with Emily, a teenage girl from our modern world... whose mother's name is Destiny. Emily has some magical aptitude, so her savior packs her off to the local Hogwarts analogue for testing and training. (Sending her back home is apparently not an option.)

As mentioned, I've found some editing issues in the first few chapters, but they're relatively minor so far. Little things like "chaff" instead of "chafe," random switching between " - " and "–" for parenthetical elements, and so forth. It's the kind of thing I like to see fixed, but it's better than a lot of the indie competition. If I end up liking the first two books, I'll probably pick up the others as they go on sale; they seem to do so often enough.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, Nothing Lasts Forever - No Secret Can Stay Buried by Vish Dhamija.

And that was excellent. A plain case of possible accidental death turned into something highly unexpected. I can't describe the plot here because that will be a spoiler. Recommended for thriller and mystery readers.

Next I am planning to read an old paperback Tau Zero by Issac Asimov waiting in my TBR since few years.

[mewmartigan]

Finished up Redshirts. It was a fun, light read.

Now I'm starting Brian McLellan's Powder Mage Trilogy with Promise of Blood.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

Finished up Redshirts. It was a fun, light read.

snip[/B].

I enjoyed that immensely when I read it in 2015!

[Ravensknight]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

Now I'm starting Brian McLellan's Powder Mage Trilogy with Promise of Blood.

Hope you're prepared for grit. I'd have a glass of milk handy to wash your mouth out when needed. Chocolate milk preferably :-)

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by Ravensknight

Hope you're prepared for grit. I'd have a glass of milk handy to wash your mouth out when needed. Chocolate milk preferably :-)

I can't tell if this is a good thing or not........but I do love chocolate milk.