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

[Uncle Robin]

Now on to Killer in the Band giving Ms Carr another try, this time to see if she continues her fixation with villains killing themselves at the dénouement. In the last book of her I just finished, she upped it from her standard one villain shooting themselves to two. Kind of ironic in mysteries where all the "good guys" are cops or prosecutors that she chooses to have the primary antagonist evade the judicial system. Let's see if that trend continues.

[Luffy]

My 3 star review of Death of a Glutton (Hamish Macbeth, #8), by M.C. Beaton:-

Spoiler:

This series, despite this dip in form, still holds the promise of riches to come. I do get the impression however, that just like Pyramid schemes weren't invented in Egypt, these accents of the Scottish characters sound dreadfully not on the nose.

The Glutton in question was not offensive enough, and only a madman/woman can take measures against her alive status. But this manageable book was a treat. Sweetened with honey, sweet nothings, and greed.

M.C. Beaton has good plotting capabilities. But any writer can do that. What sets her apart is the colour she brings to her main and minor characters. I'm sure from now on until the last 5 or so books, that she will 'deliver', God rest her soul.

[gmw]

The Many Selves of Katherine North by Emma Geen. A science-fiction tale in which people (children) hook their consciousness into artificial animal bodies to better study the environment. This is the author's first novel and I think it shows; the mixed time-lines and flashbacks mean it can get rather confusing, particularly at the start. Some parts are over-done and there are some details that jarred ... and yet, despite those complaints, I really enjoyed the book. As an exploration of our sense of self I think it worked well, and the conclusion was both apt and convincing. 4/5.

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. First book of the "Fionavar Tapestry". I just couldn't do it. At 1/3rd I decided enough was enough. The opening was probably adequate warning: a mage turns up and asks five college students to come with him to a magical world and they say "right-oh" (or words to that effect), and so it goes on. Everything is written on the assumption of a sense of wonder that is never earned. Things happen amid lots of information dumps, but there is little sense of story, nothing seems to be driving or motivating any of the actions. I didn't finish so will refrain from offering a score, maybe it gets better.

Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Science-fiction with genetically and cybernetically engineered animals used for warfare. Aside from some distractions*, I enjoyed this. The first half of this was excellent sci-fi, an interesting idea exposed in an entertaining story and told in a slightly quirky manner that suited it very well. But while the narrative style and interesting ideas continued in the second half, the story was slower, less well defined and much less compelling. Overall probably 3.5/5.

* Disclaimer: the content in this spoiler may disrupt your reading of this book. You have been warned.

Spoiler:

This book is not comical, quite the reverse, however it's opening line is: My name is Rex. I am a Good Dog.

And what immediately jumped into my head was Dug the dog (voiced by Bob Peterson) from the animated movie Up. And it stuck. Poor Rex had the voice of Dug for the rest of the book, which was quite inappropriate.

My brain, not content with just that, immediately associated lizard creature, Dragon, with Randall (voiced by Steve Buscemi) from the animated movie Monsters, Inc.. Dear Honey got the voice of Signourney Weaver (could have been from any of a number of movies), so things could have been worse. Bees didn't get anything very definite, but if pressed I'd say EVE (voiced by Elissa Knight) from WALL-E.

This doesn't normally happen to me. I don't know why my brain decided to make a thing of voice associations in this book. I can only put it down to that first line: I am a Good Dog.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by gmw

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. First book of the "Fionavar Tapestry". I just couldn't do it. At 1/3rd I decided enough was enough. The opening was probably adequate warning: a mage turns up and asks five college students to come with him to a magical world and they say "right-oh" (or words to that effect), and so it goes on. Everything is written on the assumption of a sense of wonder that is never earned. Things happen amid lots of information dumps, but there is little sense of story, nothing seems to be driving or motivating any of the actions. I didn't finish so will refrain from offering a score, maybe it gets better.

As a GGK fan, I can assure you--it does not.

I saw the Fionavar Tapestry as a bit of fun backstory for the rest of of his works (all tied in in either overt or obscure ways), but by itself?... yeah, not so much. They are to the GGK oeuvre as the Silmarillion is to LotR (forgetting for a moment that Tapestry wasn't actually a "prequel"). A comparison that is even more appropriate if you know that GGK helped Christopher Tolkien edit the Silmarillion.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

As a GGK fan, I can assure you--it does not.

I saw the Fionavar Tapestry as a bit of fun backstory for the rest of of his works (all tied in in either overt or obscure ways), but by itself?... yeah, not so much. They are to the GGK oeuvre as the Silmarillion is to LotR (forgetting for a moment that Tapestry wasn't actually a "prequel"). A comparison that is even more appropriate if you know that GGK helped Christopher Tolkien edit the Silmarillion.

Thanks. It is interesting to learn that you can be a GGK fan without having a great love for the first trilogy. That the rest of his books have links bank to this trilogy is less comforting, although if the links are as inconsequential as LotR's links to The Silmarillion then that should be okay.

I think it was reading an interview with GGK about his involvement with The Silmarillion that prompted me to pick up his first book. (It's been sitting on my reader for a few years now.) Not that I'm much of a fan of The Silmarillion*, just that I thought GGK's comments were insightful.


* In my youth I'd assembled a collection of most of Tolkien's works, so when The Silmarillion came out of course I grabbed it too. While I did find it interesting at the time, I would be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone but the most rabid LotR enthusiast. I can understand why J. R. R. Tolkien wrote these stories, but I can also understand why he had not published them.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by gmw

Thanks. It is interesting to learn that you can be a GGK fan without having a great love for the first trilogy. That the rest of his books have links bank to this trilogy is less comforting, although if the links are as inconsequential as LotR's links to The Silmarillion then that should be okay.

It's more the latter. Knowledge of the existence of the connections are entirely optional.

I started with The Lions of Al Rassan and Tigana and then read the rest in a fairly hodgepodge manner. There's new and old I could have done without. Tigana was my favorite while Fionavar, Ysabel, and A Brightness Long Ago didn't move me all that much.

I'm currently reading The Last Light of the Sun right now, in fact. And at the half-way mark, I'm guessing I won't be singing its praises. Perhaps I'm not really the GGK fan I thought I was.

[SeaBookGuy]

Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky

and

Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: The Haunted Monastery by Robert Van Gulik. The sixth of his Judge Dee mysteries. Books 2 to 5 don't seem to be available as ebooks.

Which was good. A few too many coincidences for my liking ideally, but fun all the same.

Next up: Escape to Challenge by Don McQuinn. First in a freebie trilogy I picked up pack in 2016. Let's see if they're keepers!

[Uncle Robin]

Just starting on Ben Bova's Powersat with his Mars to follow. After Theodore Gray's very enjoyable Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe which I gave 4.5/5 at TSG, I had a trifecta of disappointingly mehdiocre 2s and 3s. Hoping that Bova will turn that around.

[astrangerhere]

I'm starting my first ebook purchased this year - Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

[John F]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I'm starting my first ebook purchased this year - Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun.

I have this on hold at the library. There was an NPR interview with the author.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/17/97813...out-the-future

[Uncle Robin]

1/3 through Powersat and I can't shake the feeling that I've jumped back decades to when I was a 10-12 yr old reading my Mom's Wilbur Smith books. The feel of the story is so similar that I can't think of it as SF at all. It's not a bad book, the story is interesting, but I'm hoping for less Wilbur Smith, more Cordwainer Smith from the other Bova books on my TBR

[Luffy]

My 4 star review of Murder in Aspen Notch (An Aspen Notch Mystery #1), by Kathleen McKee:-

Spoiler:

A book about a retired couple looking to settle down for the duration of their twilight years was always going to be a bit faded, or bland. But in the end, the book won me over.

There are exciting things that do happen in the story. There is a murder, as mentioned in the title, and an explosion. That's it. It was enough. I thought this particular discovery - a new to me author - deserved 4 stars.

There are weaknesses in the plot armor. One of them is why did the culprit consider the MC a threat? The answers supplied doesn't pass muster. However, the way the book avoided a direct confrontation between the MC and the murderer made for a great resolution.

[PurpleStar]

I finished The Last Emperox by John Scalzi. Great trilogy!!! Cardenia was my favorite character. Will definitely be picking up more Scalzi books.

Next up, is Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly, which is a cozy mystery. Need some light reading for awhile.

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by John F

When I follow th elink, a message on the right says "The Kindle title is not currently available for purchase".

Are you in U.S. or somewhere else? That's the message I always get on Amazon U.S. because I'm in U.K. Shows $3.99 price to me but I can only order on U.K.