Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 1947

Uncle Robin · 09-21-2020, 02:41 AM

The Curious Charms of Arthur Popper WAS a more engaging read for me, happily, but confirmed that the genre is not really my thing. Now reading Dead Men Don't Chew Gum, bought on a 2-for-1 Kobo deal on the strength of the title. Not awful so far, at the halfway mark.

Emissarius · 09-21-2020, 03:48 PM

Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Guaranteed to appeal to fans of Ender's Game, Forever War, and Starship Troopers.

Fbone · 09-21-2020, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next, another freebie, Archangel One by Evan Currie. I'm trying to remove some of the free titles that are cluttering my TBR list.

Nothing here was good. I'm surprised I finished it. There are much much better space operas out there. I'm moving on. Rated D [1 star].

Then I read the Hugo winner novelette, The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer. Ah, good stuff! Serious and witty at the same time. Rated B [4 stars].

Uncle Robin · 09-21-2020, 09:29 PM

Dead Men Don't Flip, the third in the Martin & Owen series by Nina Cordoba. The actually mysteries aren't bad but the will they/won't they relationship of the leads is getting very tedious, very fast, I don't see myself trying the fourth, if there is one. Plus, what "serious geek" chooses Bing over Google (a running theme of book 2)? Going with DuckDuckGo or Wolfram Alpha may have sold it better than BING

Uncle Robin · 09-23-2020, 02:54 PM

Currently reading Death Distilled, the second in the Whisky Business series by Melinda Mullet, and it's a bizarre experience. The first in the series was quite taut and credible, with enough of an edge set it apart from most cosies. This one is awful. It's soggy, and with the lead coming across as a different character altogether - a hardened war photographer fleeing from a murder scene just one example. The language has changed too. The author's American, but the first book could have been written in the UK. Not this one, wherein the use of "check" for "cheque" is the least egregious of the "things she wouldn't say if she was from the UK"

astrangerhere · 09-23-2020, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I'm currently reading Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation , edited and translated by Ken Liu. I picked this up a while back after I had completed Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. So far the stories have not disappointed.

Finishing this up today. Will probably squeeze in the next Alan Hunter Gently novel before moving on to something more seasonal or of more substance.

Fbone · 09-23-2020, 07:01 PM

I decided to read, with free Prime Reading, a Dean Koontz short story, In the Heart of the Fire (Nameless #1). It didn't have much suspense bit this story was interesting and kept my attention. A few surprises for sure and the ending was good. Rated C [3 stars].

bizzybody · 09-23-2020, 11:26 PM

Close to done with "Breach of Peace" (Book 1 of the Breach of Faith series) by Daniel Gibbs and Gary T. Stevens.

Contains a well armed cargo ship (The ISV Shadow Wolf, a Holden-Nagata Mark VII) with a motley crew assembled from a wide range of planets and backgrounds, including one non-human. The captain is ex military, formerly a religious man. Yeah, seems quite like Firefly, but in an interstellar milieu, with several alien species.

The League of Sol, headquartered on Earth and Mars, is flat out Communist, ever expanding to bring the "benefits" of "Society" to the galaxy. Gulags and reeducation camps? Check. "Justice" for "Traitors to Society" meted out by torture followed by slow hanging? That too.

They're at war with the Terran Coalition, an organization of systems that Do Not Want to be taken over by the League. Upcoming in Book 1 is supposed to be a declaration of peace between the League and Coalition. (As if that is really going to work.)

Some Fascist organizations in the Coalition (particularly on the planet of Lusitania) seem to be a bit *too friendly* towards the League, or are behaving pretty much just like how the League operates.

Then there are the independent worlds, some of which are owned and ruled in stereotypical 19th Century "company town" fashion, with particular attention given to the world of Hestia. The Hestians had a socialist revolution but got sold out by some of their own. Now some of the rebels who fled have been enticed back with an offer of amnesty - but are cozying up to the League, believing the lies of the League infiltrators.

Meanwhile, the League has been pirating independent trading ships, using new non-destructive disabling technology. The ships get taken and the crews sent to the camps. What are they doing with the ships? From the latest captured ship, one woman jumps out an airlock in a spacesuit rather than be caught by the League. She'd rather suffocate in space than be in the League's clutches again, for very good reason. She did something that *really hurt* the League several years before.

She becomes the center of several different groups attention, the League wants her, so do the Lusitanian Fascists, the secret organization she retired from offers rescue, the Trade and Culture Minister of Lusitania also wants to pick her brains, and the independents have convinced themselves her story of the League pirating ships is a lie and *she* is one of the pirates. Even some pirates are out to get her, assuming she killed a friend of theirs. (It was the hit man the League hired to capture her.)

pdurrant · 09-24-2020, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson. Part of a Delphi Classics Complete Works I picked up back in August 2015.

It's hard to beleive that this (1885) is by the author who wrote Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886).

The poor characterisation, the overblown language, and the whole style of the thing stinks. I'm surprised I finished it. 1/5

Next up: A recent freebie, The White Magic Five and Dime by Steve Hockensmith and Lisa Falco.

Uncle Robin · 09-24-2020, 02:18 AM

Because the first of the Whisky Business series was promising I decided to try the third book, Deadly Dram, in case the rather dire second was an aberration. Sadly, it was not. Why are so many authors so lazy about getting the basics right when they set a book in a country not their own? After specifying that a certain character was knighted for services to industry, when he's killed, the UK native lead character says, quote: "By “this sort of death” he means a peer of the realm" - REALLY?

After "check" for "cheque" (again said by the UK born-and-raised lead character, and other distractions in book 2, this latest laziness is the last straw. In the age of Google, there's no excuse for such an elementary howler in setting a story "somewhere else"

SeaBookGuy · 09-24-2020, 01:09 PM

Partway through Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends by Dan Mathews, middle-aged gay man becomes caretaker to his hard-of-hearing zany mother. He does a good job at giving details of her rough life; she's earned the right to behave unconventionally often. Balances out the serious caretaking aspect well.

Uncle Robin · 09-24-2020, 09:24 PM

Back to my David Crystal collection with Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation - definitely my favourite popsci linguist.

astrangerhere · 09-25-2020, 06:42 AM

Started listening to the full cast narration version of Dracula yesterday. Simon Vance is Jonathan Harker, Tim Curry is Van Helsing and Alan Cumming is Dr. Seward.

I've read Dracula a few times before, including in my university class "roots of mondern mystery and horror," but its a nice seasonal listen with excellent performances.

ReadingManiac · 09-25-2020, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

The Curious Charms of Arthur Popper by Phaedra Patrick. I picked this one and her Library of Lost and Found up cheap, and am glad I did. Because I raced through Library feeling no connection with any of the characters. Curious Charms was her debut and at 10% done it is sufficiently more engaging to suggest there's truth in the old saw "everyone has one book in them".

I rather enjoyed that book. Not my usual fare but interesting all through.

Currently reading Where the Crawdads Sing, another outside my usual preferences but enjoyable.

Uncle Robin · 09-25-2020, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

I rather enjoyed that book. Not my usual fare but interesting all through.

Yes Curious Charms wasn't bad. It was her debut, hence my comment about everyone having ONE book in them

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09-21-2020, 02:41 AM	#29191
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	The Curious Charms of Arthur Popper WAS a more engaging read for me, happily, but confirmed that the genre is not really my thing. Now reading Dead Men Don't Chew Gum, bought on a 2-for-1 Kobo deal on the strength of the title. Not awful so far, at the halfway mark.

09-21-2020, 03:48 PM	#29192
Emissarius Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 2112464 Join Date: Sep 2020 Device: Kindle Oasis 9th gen	Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Guaranteed to appeal to fans of Ender's Game, Forever War, and Starship Troopers.

09-21-2020, 09:29 PM	#29194
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Dead Men Don't Flip, the third in the Martin & Owen series by Nina Cordoba. The actually mysteries aren't bad but the will they/won't they relationship of the leads is getting very tedious, very fast, I don't see myself trying the fourth, if there is one. Plus, what "serious geek" chooses Bing over Google (a running theme of book 2)? Going with DuckDuckGo or Wolfram Alpha may have sold it better than BING

09-23-2020, 02:54 PM	#29195
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Currently reading Death Distilled, the second in the Whisky Business series by Melinda Mullet, and it's a bizarre experience. The first in the series was quite taut and credible, with enough of an edge set it apart from most cosies. This one is awful. It's soggy, and with the lead coming across as a different character altogether - a hardened war photographer fleeing from a murder scene just one example. The language has changed too. The author's American, but the first book could have been written in the UK. Not this one, wherein the use of "check" for "cheque" is the least egregious of the "things she wouldn't say if she was from the UK"

09-23-2020, 07:01 PM	#29197
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,296 Karma: 101697116 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	I decided to read, with free Prime Reading, a Dean Koontz short story, In the Heart of the Fire (Nameless #1). It didn't have much suspense bit this story was interesting and kept my attention. A few surprises for sure and the ending was good. Rated C [3 stars].

09-23-2020, 11:26 PM	#29198
bizzybody Addict Posts: 295 Karma: 7742186 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Idaho, USA Device: Various PalmOS PDAs, Android Phones, Sharper Image Literati	Close to done with "Breach of Peace" (Book 1 of the Breach of Faith series) by Daniel Gibbs and Gary T. Stevens. Contains a well armed cargo ship (The ISV Shadow Wolf, a Holden-Nagata Mark VII) with a motley crew assembled from a wide range of planets and backgrounds, including one non-human. The captain is ex military, formerly a religious man. Yeah, seems quite like Firefly, but in an interstellar milieu, with several alien species. The League of Sol, headquartered on Earth and Mars, is flat out Communist, ever expanding to bring the "benefits" of "Society" to the galaxy. Gulags and reeducation camps? Check. "Justice" for "Traitors to Society" meted out by torture followed by slow hanging? That too. They're at war with the Terran Coalition, an organization of systems that Do Not Want to be taken over by the League. Upcoming in Book 1 is supposed to be a declaration of peace between the League and Coalition. (As if that is really going to work.) Some Fascist organizations in the Coalition (particularly on the planet of Lusitania) seem to be a bit too friendly towards the League, or are behaving pretty much just like how the League operates. Then there are the independent worlds, some of which are owned and ruled in stereotypical 19th Century "company town" fashion, with particular attention given to the world of Hestia. The Hestians had a socialist revolution but got sold out by some of their own. Now some of the rebels who fled have been enticed back with an offer of amnesty - but are cozying up to the League, believing the lies of the League infiltrators. Meanwhile, the League has been pirating independent trading ships, using new non-destructive disabling technology. The ships get taken and the crews sent to the camps. What are they doing with the ships? From the latest captured ship, one woman jumps out an airlock in a spacesuit rather than be caught by the League. She'd rather suffocate in space than be in the League's clutches again, for very good reason. She did something that really hurt the League several years before. She becomes the center of several different groups attention, the League wants her, so do the Lusitanian Fascists, the secret organization she retired from offers rescue, the Trade and Culture Minister of Lusitania also wants to pick her brains, and the independents have convinced themselves her story of the League pirating ships is a lie and she is one of the pirates. Even some pirates are out to get her, assuming she killed a friend of theirs. (It was the hit man the League hired to capture her.)

09-24-2020, 02:18 AM	#29200
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Because the first of the Whisky Business series was promising I decided to try the third book, Deadly Dram, in case the rather dire second was an aberration. Sadly, it was not. Why are so many authors so lazy about getting the basics right when they set a book in a country not their own? After specifying that a certain character was knighted for services to industry, when he's killed, the UK native lead character says, quote: "By “this sort of death” he means a peer of the realm" - REALLY? After "check" for "cheque" (again said by the UK born-and-raised lead character, and other distractions in book 2, this latest laziness is the last straw. In the age of Google, there's no excuse for such an elementary howler in setting a story "somewhere else"

09-24-2020, 01:09 PM	#29201
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	Partway through Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends by Dan Mathews, middle-aged gay man becomes caretaker to his hard-of-hearing zany mother. He does a good job at giving details of her rough life; she's earned the right to behave unconventionally often. Balances out the serious caretaking aspect well.

09-24-2020, 09:24 PM	#29202
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Back to my David Crystal collection with Making a Point: The Pernickety Story of English Punctuation - definitely my favourite popsci linguist.

09-25-2020, 06:42 AM	#29203
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,755 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	Started listening to the full cast narration version of Dracula yesterday. Simon Vance is Jonathan Harker, Tim Curry is Van Helsing and Alan Cumming is Dr. Seward. I've read Dracula a few times before, including in my university class "roots of mondern mystery and horror," but its a nice seasonal listen with excellent performances.