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

[Dngrsone]

Finished The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone, who happened to be one of two people who literally wrote the books on crypto a hundred years ago. This woman, Elizebeth Friedman cracked three different Enigma devices during WW2!

[Rev. Bob]

Since several graphic novels are on sale through the end of the year, I picked up a few with Amazon credit so I could read them with the comiXology app. I just finished the first two years of DC's Injustice series, which ties in with the videogames (which I haven't played and don't even own the hardware for). The series starts five years before the first videogame, in which Superman rules Earth with an iron fist and Batman runs the resistance.

In a word: whoa.

The saga reminds me quite a bit of another publisher's Irredeemable, in which a Superman-like hero snaps and turns evil, slaughtering several of his teammates before they know what hit them. The big difference here, of course, is that the authors have the whole DC universe to play with. That mainly plays out in terms of there being a lot more supers (heroes and villains), characters we know well, who have to respond when Superman starts killing. Some side with him, others oppose him, and where those chips fall may surprise you.

The precipitating event here is brutally simple. The Joker decides to take a trip to Metropolis and mess with the Big Blue Boy Scout for a change. One whiff of Scarecrow's fear gas, laced with a touch of Kryptonite, and Superman ends up killing Lois Lane... and their unborn child. Metropolis falls instantaneously, in a nuclear blast triggered by her death. Superman kills the Joker - in police custody - without hesitation, and blames Batman's no-kill code for the death toll. If Batman had killed the Joker instead of sending him to Arkham only to get loose, Clark reasons, those millions of people would still be alive. Once Superman embraces the logic of killing a few to save the many, things get worse fast. The Justice League chooses sides, and some heroes fall early while others praise Superman's efforts... even when that means deposing dictators and defying the UN to impose "peace" on Earth.

The bulk of Year Two deals with Sinestro dropping in to lend a hand, manipulating events so that the Green Lantern Corps fights it out with both Superman's team and Sinestro's Yellow Lanterns. From descriptions of the Year 3-5 collections, it looks like those consist of Superman and his forces defeating other threats to his reign, such as magic-based forces and the actual gods. (That he keeps coming out on top is not a spoiler; the whole series is technically told in flashback, so we know from the first pages that Batman lives and Superman rules the planet.)

It's not a nice story, and parts are rough to see, but it's a good story that's well-told. I may have to pick up Years 3-5, but when I last looked, they were shorter and more expensive than the first two big collections, even on sale. (Years 1-2 are collected as one big book per year, while the rest are two or three collections per year.)

tl;dr - Shocking, gory (in parts), and depressing, but powerful. Recommended if my warnings don't scare you off.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

After reading some Literature (great stuff), I'm ready for something where any thinking involved can be tossed out the window like a tin of used 'Spam'.

So....I'm reading an author whom I love: Fred Saberhagen.

And the book?

The Dracula Tape (Saberhagen's Dracula Series Book 1)

This is wonderful and fun, although I'm only about 60 pages into it.

Highly recommended.

Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Tape-...Z49QZS763RR56W



ADDED:

For a take on all the books in the series, see the review written by Amanda Pike: The heart of a great book series. (It's the second review.) She goes through the entire series and gives her thoughts on them. Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/Friend-Family...Z49QZS763RR56W

Good vampire books are back in fashion? Yaaaaay! I'll sample this.

[astrangerhere]

Still listening to Middlemarch (while I do Christmas baking no less). Checked out a paper version of Patrick Modiano's Nobel Prize Winner Missing Person. I'm finding it very atmospheric so far, though I suspect that I am losing something in the translation.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

Since several graphic novels are on sale through the end of the year, I picked up a few with Amazon credit so I could read them with the comiXology app. I just finished the first two years of DC's Injustice series, which ties in with the videogames (which I haven't played and don't even own the hardware for). The series starts five years before the first videogame, in which Superman rules Earth with an iron fist and Batman runs the resistance.

In a word: whoa.

The saga reminds me quite a bit of another publisher's Irredeemable, in which a Superman-like hero snaps and turns evil, slaughtering several of his teammates before they know what hit them. The big difference here, of course, is that the authors have the whole DC universe to play with. That mainly plays out in terms of there being a lot more supers (heroes and villains), characters we know well, who have to respond when Superman starts killing. Some side with him, others oppose him, and where those chips fall may surprise you.

The precipitating event here is brutally simple. The Joker decides to take a trip to Metropolis and mess with the Big Blue Boy Scout for a change. One whiff of Scarecrow's fear gas, laced with a touch of Kryptonite, and Superman ends up killing Lois Lane... and their unborn child. Metropolis falls instantaneously, in a nuclear blast triggered by her death. Superman kills the Joker - in police custody - without hesitation, and blames Batman's no-kill code for the death toll. If Batman had killed the Joker instead of sending him to Arkham only to get loose, Clark reasons, those millions of people would still be alive. Once Superman embraces the logic of killing a few to save the many, things get worse fast. The Justice League chooses sides, and some heroes fall early while others praise Superman's efforts... even when that means deposing dictators and defying the UN to impose "peace" on Earth.

The bulk of Year Two deals with Sinestro dropping in to lend a hand, manipulating events so that the Green Lantern Corps fights it out with both Superman's team and Sinestro's Yellow Lanterns. From descriptions of the Year 3-5 collections, it looks like those consist of Superman and his forces defeating other threats to his reign, such as magic-based forces and the actual gods. (That he keeps coming out on top is not a spoiler; the whole series is technically told in flashback, so we know from the first pages that Batman lives and Superman rules the planet.)

It's not a nice story, and parts are rough to see, but it's a good story that's well-told. I may have to pick up Years 3-5, but when I last looked, they were shorter and more expensive than the first two big collections, even on sale. (Years 1-2 are collected as one big book per year, while the rest are two or three collections per year.)

tl;dr - Shocking, gory (in parts), and depressing, but powerful. Recommended if my warnings don't scare you off.

Interesting story. The setup is similar to Kingdom Come except there it is Magog who kills The Joker (after he kills everyone in The Daily Planet, including Lois Lane), and it results in Superman abandoning the world when the Public supports Magog killing The Joker. In turn, the rest of the Old Guard Heroes also leave, leaving behind a new generation of metahumans who fight for the sake of fighting without concern about who gets injured in the crossfire and the collateral damage.

Considering the nature of Sinestro, his appearance and his siding with Superman here is not a surprise. He basically got kicked out of The Green Lantern Corps for doing exactly what Superman has been doing.

Based on your comments I will need to give the series a try.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm well into R. F. Delderfield's Long Summer Day, and what a pleasure after Artemis. The complete opposite -- not a lot of action, but a whole lot of superb writing, about a period in England that I know little about -- the Edwardian Era, starting with the end of the Boer War, and the coronation of Edward VII. This is a rich book that would be a wonderful read for the New Leaf Book Club, but it's probably a bit too long. I might just go ahead and nominate it for the It's All Relative theme regardless.

Finished R. F. Delderfield's wonderful Long Summer Day, the first book of his A Horseman Riding By trilogy. This was a wonderful examination of Edwardian England, with the majority of the story taking place in Shallowford, a rural valley in Devon, but with the forces from the Suffragette Movement and the looming war with Germany impacting even this protected valley.

The story centres around Paul Craddock, a city-bred Lieutenant invalided out of the Boer War with a near fatal injury, who takes his inheritance from a scrap metal yard and buys a thirteen-hundred-acre estate in rural Devon that has been allowed to run down and become rather derelict. As the new squire, he knows nothing of farming, but through hard work, and the generous application of cash where (long) needed, turns around both the estate and the lives of his tenant farmers.

While the principal story revolves around rural England, Craddock and Shallowford aren't divorced from the forces shaping England and the world in the Edwardian Era. It essentially starts with the coronation of Edward VII (1902), and ends with the coronation of George V (1911), and encompasses the rise of the Women's Suffrage movement, substantial changes to the tax code by the Liberals, and the increasing naval might and militancy of Germany.

This is a wonderful example of R. F. Delderfield's ability to tell a story about people, places and times. The writing is elegant without being frothy, and always a delight. As Books and Bookmen says: "It is always a pleasure to read R F Delderfield, because he never seems to be ashamed of writing well". This was an absolute delight, and goes right up near the very top of books I've read this year. Highly recommended.

ETA: There is an Audible version, but it's no better than so-so. Really, I'd suggest sticking to the eBook. It's KU in the US, and only £3.99 in the UK. And worth every penny.

[kansaskyle]

I finished The Christmas Story, which was on my TBR list since December 2010!

It was a good short story on Christmas to get you into the right spirit this time of year, and it shows how vital the smallest act of kindness can be.

[HLS]

Im 80% done with The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz. I purchased a load of ebooks and do not know what to start next. Im reading The last Don on the nook but its kinda boring so far but will probably read it

[astrangerhere]

I listened to Neil Gaiman do a dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol while driving to and from dinner today. He was using Charles Dickens' original prompt copy of the book.

[Dngrsone]

Finished reading The Pride of Chanur by C. J. Cherryh. A favorite series of mine.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Finished reading The Pride of Chanur by C. J. Cherryh. A favorite series of mine.

Probably her only books I've had trouble getting into for some reason. I suspect it's because I keep getting interrupted by other priorities. And now we have a new Foreigner book in a week.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

Im 80% done with The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz. I purchased a load of ebooks and do not know what to start next. Im reading The last Don on the nook but its kinda boring so far but will probably read it

What do you think of the Jane Hawk series so far? I've quite enjoyed it - I think Koontz has made a pretty good attempt at thriller writing.

I'm currently reading Deadly Straits by R.E. McDermott. I read somewhere that the protagonist was a good alternative to Jack Reacher - no evidence of that so far, but I'll persevere for a while and see where it goes.

[John K]

Originally Posted by orlok

What do you think of the Jane Hawk series so far? I've quite enjoyed it - I think Koontz has made a pretty good attempt at thriller writing.

I'm currently reading Deadly Straits by R.E. McDermott. I read somewhere that the protagonist was a good alternative to Jack Reacher - no evidence of that so far, but I'll persevere for a while and see where it goes.

I’ve put The Whispering Room on hold. I was becoming increasingly annoyed with all the unnecessary repetition of her motivation etc. I’m thinking that Koontz might be to big to listen to editorial advice.

It seems like a lot of the “Reacher like” recommendations are to emotional for my tastes. His dispassionate logic is an important element for me. I’ve been reading another series that features a smart homeless man wandering the earth living dangerously: Victor the Assassin by Tom Wood. I view these as a more lethal Reacher with an international spy novel overlay. He spends more time avoiding assassins out to get him than practicing his trade. With exception of book two, I think they’re excellent and two only suffers in comparison

I’m currently reading a book BelleZora listed as a favorite in the “What were your favorite books of 2017” thread: News of the World by Paulette Jiles and loving every bit and byte of it.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Probably her only books I've had trouble getting into for some reason. I suspect it's because I keep getting interrupted by other priorities. And now we have a new Foreigner book in a week.

I think I'm still two or three behind... I probably should read those last few.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by John K

It seems like a lot of the “Reacher like” recommendations are to emotional for my tastes. His dispassionate logic is an important element for me. I’ve been reading another series that features a smart homeless man wandering the earth living dangerously: Victor the Assassin by Tom Wood. I view these as a more lethal Reacher with an international spy novel overlay. He spends more time avoiding assassins out to get him than practicing his trade. With exception of book two, I think they’re excellent and two only suffers in comparison.

Thanks for the recommendation. Added to my TBRL.