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

[Fbone]

Finally finished The Silence of Stones (Crispin Guest Medieval Noir #8) by Jeri Westerson. This book was well written and researched. The author's notes were very informative. I did think the mystery was not as compelling as it could have been. And I thought there were a couple of loopholes involved but maybe I'm comparing modern day detective techniques to 14th-century ones. The dialogue between characters were excellent and quite moving at times. Lots of lessons learned in this book. Rated C [3 stars].

Next is Timothy Zahn's, A Coming of Age a library loan. Zahn is hit-or-miss.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

Not sure exactly what I’m going to tackle next, but there’s a good chance it’ll be the Jennifer Blood series that was included in the same bundle, about a woman who’s a suburban housewife by day and a vigilante by night.

That is indeed what I wound up doing. Ennis only wrote the first trade (issues 1-6), and I get the strong impression that he did not intend for the story to continue beyond that. His arc is a tidy, one-and-done limited series and works well.

Unfortunately, the publisher brought two new authors in to create another thirty issues, plus a completely unnecessary six-issue spinoff, an equally superfluous prequel, and a please-make-it-stop reboot. (Obligatory: Those last two were not included in the Humble Bundle, but the blurbs sound positively dreadful.)

Ennis created a methodical character who was thoughtful and took care of every detail. She had a specific, limited project in mind, prepared for years, and his arc deals with her attempt to accomplish her mission. The subsequent volumes turn her into a sloppy psychopath on a hair trigger, abandoning all attempts to think her way out of a jam in favor of simply blowing away anybody who even looks at her funny.

I recommend reading volume one. I also recommend stopping there.

[DiapDealer]

Finished up Chuck Wendig's Wanderers in a couple of marathon sessions this weekend. A very big book that I enjoyed. Can't say that I loved it, but I did like it a lot. For such a large book, I did read it pretty quickly (for me anyway). Very short chapters with alternating POVs can do that sometimes (pushing through the less interesting POVs to get to the ones that are).

I won't place it on the same tier as The Stand, or Swan Song, but it makes a pretty good name for itself in that subgenre. My main beef was the extremely overdone ripped-straight-from-today's-headlines approach. Not every single thing from today's current news cycle needs to have a corollary drawn from it (even if they're the same corollaries I might personally draw from current events) in your story. Once that penchant faded in the later part of the book is when the story really started to shine in my opinion.

I suspect that this book might benefit greatly from putting a little distance between it and today's real-life socio-political setting. Future readers might not feel quite so beat about the head and shoulders by all the real-life trending news/movements du jour references being made.

P.S. And yes - geek that I am - I DID stop to translate the binary message in chapter 65's epigraph.

I'm going to start either Martha Wells' All Systems Red or Linda Nagata's Edges next.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Finished Monster Hunter: Siege, which was quite good, but starting to get a bit silly.

I reached the "this is getting a bit much" stage by the end of the second book. I read the third, but didn't enjoy it. Authors (and publishers) need to be willing to say "enough" and move on to something better rather than beating a dead horse.

(Now there are series I hope continue virtually forever, but they tend to have a more well-rounded and character-driven world view. Shoot-em-ups don't really fit that description.)

[astrangerhere]

Started and dropped Becky Chamber's Record of a Spaceborn Few in one sitting. Fifty pages in, and I just didn't care. Sad as I enjoyed the first two in the series.

Luckily my hold of Karen Thompson Walker's The Dreamers hit the library the next day. Read it for an hour with my morning coffee today and did not want to put it down to go to court.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Started and dropped Becky Chamber's Record of a Spaceborn Few in one sitting. Fifty pages in, and I just didn't care. Sad as I enjoyed the first two in the series.

It was pretty rough for me too. I stuck it out--and there were some good things--but yeah ... compared to the first two books, it just wasn't easy to like.

[haertig]

Finally finished Burial Ground by Michael McBride. I was juggling reading a couple of books at the same time, which did noting but delay finishing them all. I need to stop doing that.

Good book. Well written - main characters were nicely flushed out and you felt like you knew them. Well edited - free from spelling/grammar/typo errors. Story pulls you right in. I would recommend it to anyone who likes jungle Action/Adventure mixed with peril from unknown creatures.

Next up:

Surveyor book #1 from the Corps of Discovery series by James S. Peet

**JOIN THE CORPS AND EXPLORE NEW PLANETS. EXPERIENCE ADVENTURE IN FARAWAY LANDS**

The *Corps of Discovery* goes where most men fear to tread - unexplored alternate worlds!

Bill Clark thought he had joined the *Corps* to explore new planets, only to find out there was a lot more to it than that. As the journey continues, Bill begins to wonder if he'll be able to survive on these new worlds. Is his life really worth joining the *Corps*? Who and why is somebody trying to kill him?

Join Bill in the multiverse as he finds out that adventure generally means someone else in danger in a faraway land, and he's on the adventure of his life. A great read for lovers of action and adventure.

*Customer Reviews*

"A new take on Heinlein’s “Tunnel In The Sky.”"

"This book reminded me of Lester Del Ray and Robert Heinlein classics that I read as a kid."

"Peet's writing evokes Scalzi and Heinlein ..."

**

[Greg Anos]

Employment ads. . . .

[ReadingManiac]

Just ordered a three book volume of Ray Bradbury stories because Dandelion Wine was one of them. That will be my next read. Finishing up Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim at present.

[Roodavis]

I was enjoying the Fox & O'Hare Series written by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. After a three year break in publication the sixth installment in the series was authored by Janet and her son Peter, events that happened in the first five books were forgotten, character development took a big u-turn, the main characters no longer had the same relationship or chemistry. Frankly, this latest book is unreadable, I read two or three chapters and then had to visit her website to make sure I wasn't reading out of order, read another chapter after noticing the author change. Put the book down and read three other books, but still wanted to continue the Fox & O'Hare story, fifteen chapters in I called it quits. I can't remember ever not finishing a book.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Back to Consider Phlebas

Which had great ideas, but wasn't too good as enjoyable story.

Then I read Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners which was OK, and I'll read the third one, but I think they've about played out this theme.

Now I'm reading Analog SFF for July/August 2019.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

Just ordered a three book volume of Ray Bradbury stories because Dandelion Wine was one of them. That will be my next read. Finishing up Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim at present.

Don't know if you're aware, but we read and reviewed Dandelion Wine about a year ago. I'd suggest you read it first, though, as the thread is full of spoilers

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...Dandelion+Wine

[bookfiend]

I decided to browse through Overdrive on my Kobo for a quick read, and ended up with Tell No One, by Harlan Coben. I don't read a lot of suspense (I like old-fashioned mystery better), but it's got a nice fast pace and lots of twists. I'm around 60% done.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now I'm reading Analog SFF for July/August 2019.

Which was pretty good, but not quite as good as recent issues for me.

I also read The Raven Tower by Ann Leicke. This was also a mixed bag for me. I loved the setting and the story was good, but I hated the style. But I'll certainly read other things by her. If I didn't have so much in my TBR pile I'd be buying the sequls to her great SF book, Ancilliary Justice

Next up: Monster Hunter Memoirs: Saints and Smoke and Mirrors.

The first is the conclusion of the prequel trilogy I've been reading. the second is the second volume in a murder mystery series set in post-war Brighton.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by orlok

Don't know if you're aware, but we read and reviewed Dandelion Wine about a year ago. I'd suggest you read it first, though, as the thread is full of spoilers

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...Dandelion+Wine

Will do. No, I didn't know there had been any group reads. I'll probably start that one this evening.