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

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Reboots — Diabolical Streak by Mercedes Lackey & Cody Martin
The sequel to this month's Phoenix Pick freebie.

It was OK. I felt that not enough thought had been given to the subject, which was needed as it seemed to be moving from an essentially frivolous story in the first book into a kind of hard-boiled detective story.

Next up: LightSpeed Magazine for April 2014.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Looking for my next great read. After The Analyst and The Martian I want to keep the great reads going.

Was thinking Robin Hobb. I've heard good thing about her books but haven't read any. Where should I start? The Farseer trilogy?

The Farseer trilogy would be an great place to start. I love Robin Hobb's books, I hope that you enjoy them if you end up giving them a try.

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

The Farseer trilogy would be an great place to start. I love Robin Hobb's books, I hope that you enjoy them if you end up giving them a try.

I agree as I recently found Robin Hobb. Loved the Farseer Trilogy and I am most of the way through the last book in the Liveship Trilogy. Good stuff.

[MickeyC]

Just finished Stone Cold by C J Box and it was excellent; arguably one of his best.

Next up The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

[jandrew]

Finished 'A Dance with Dragons' this week and grabbed 'The Martian' for a change of pace -- it was a quick and enjoyable read. Next up: back to the silo saga with the Shift (omnibus).

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

They are fun books. I just grabbed the latest one from the Prime Lending Library and will read it sometime this month. I'm looking forward to it. Even though it's been years since I read a Burglars book, I know it will be fun.

Right now I'm reading #19 in the Phryne Fisher series from Kerry Greenwood. Unnatural Habits. I was in a bit of a funk before I started reading this, couldn't decide what to read. And then remembered I'd been saving this for just such a time. What a delight Phryne is!! Truly. I hope Amazon US gets its act together and makes #20 available soon. Otherwise, I think I'm going to have to take a little vacation to Australia for a few minutes to correct that little problem.

Finished it, and enjoyed it very much indeed. This book especially I felt was very different from the TV version of it. They really weren't able to get across the horrible conditions and treatment, and much of the subplot was lost as well. Not that the TV version wasn't good, but it just wasn't the same story really. IAC, Phryne never disappoints.

Next was The Case is Closed, by Patricia Wentworth. This is #2 in the Miss Silver series, and is PD in Canada. I do enjoy Miss Silver, and this was one I had missed. I think I'll be taking a run through them for a bit, since I can get many of them from Project Gutenberg Canada or the Faded Page site.

Now reading The Green Rider, by Kirsten Britain. I read this when it first came out, and liked it, and liked the later books in the series. But I'm finding I have less tolerance for some of the Deus ex Machina going on this time. I realize it's a fantasy, but still, it's a bit much...

[WT Sharpe]

Today I read "The Horror of the Heights," an Arthur Conan Doyle short story in his Tales of Terror and Mystery that I picked up in our Patricia Clark Memorial Library. It told the story of early aviators and the dangers they faced. I had no idea of the perils with which these brave pioneering "aeronauts" came in contact. As the diary of one of the less fortunate souls stated, "There are jungles of the upper air, and there are worse things than tigers which inhabit them. I believe in time they will map these jungles accurately out."

Some of the perils encountered were air-snakes, jellyfish-like creatures the size of the dome of St. Paul's, and last, but not least:

"...a more terrible experience was in store for me. Floating downwards from a great height there came a purplish patch of vapour, small as I saw it first, but rapidly enlarging as it approached me, until it appeared to be hundreds of square feet in size. Though fashioned of some transparent, jelly-like substance, it was none the less of much more definite outline and solid consistence than anything which I had seen before. There were more traces, too, of a physical organization, especially two vast, shadowy, circular plates upon either side, which may have been eyes, and a perfectly solid white projection between them which was as curved and cruel as the beak of a vulture. The whole aspect of this monster was formidable and threatening, and it kept changing its colour from a very light mauve to a dark, angry purple so thick that it cast a shadow as it drifted between my monoplane and the sun. On the upper curve of its huge body there were three great projections which I can only describe as enormous bubbles, and I was convinced as I looked at them that they were charged with some extremely light gas which served to buoy up the misshapen and semi-solid mass in the rarefied air. The creature moved swiftly along, keeping pace easily with the monoplane, and for twenty miles or more it formed my horrible escort, hovering over me like a bird of prey which is waiting to pounce."

I'm sure glad these creatures have evidently been driven to extinction. Had they not, surely there would be far fewer passengers on commercial flights these days.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Next will be something in the Star Wars universe.

Finished The Last Jedi by Reaves and Bohnhoff. Evidently this was part of a series but it works as a stand alone story in the Star Wars universe. This was my first SW title that occurs before Episode 4 and knowing what happens later in the timeline sadly eliminates some of the surprise. The first 200 pages were slow but it does pick up after that. The author did dwell on the flawed, tortured characters a lot (common in later novels) but not too much to be unpleasant. The story was very linear like a tv episode of Star Trek. The ending was as expected but satisfying. Rated C- [3 stars].

Next I'm going to imitate pdurrant and read my oldest purchased title in my TBR pile. This would be The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith bought April 2012 from Kobo.

[Apache]

I am currently reading The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrold, a funny novel told from the view point of a primitive alien meeting a technologically advanced human and thinking he is a magician.

This funny and insightful science fiction classic introduces Shoogar, the greatest wizard ever known in his village. His spells can strike terror in the hearts of even his most powerful enemies. But the enemy he faces now is like none he has ever seen before. The stranger has come from nowhere and is ignorant of even the most basic principles of magic. But the stranger has an incredibly powerful magic of his own. There is no room in Shoogar’s world for an intruder whose powers match his own, let alone one whose powers might exceed his. So before the blue sun can cross the face of the red sun once more, Shoogar will show this stranger just who is boss.

http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Sorcere...=UTF8&sr=&qid=
This is a reread from long ago.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Now reading The Green Rider, by Kirsten Britain. I read this when it first came out, and liked it, and liked the later books in the series. But I'm finding I have less tolerance for some of the Deus ex Machina going on this time. I realize it's a fantasy, but still, it's a bit much...

No more than 3 1/2 stars. Just too many inconsistencies and unbelievable things. The narrative itself is well done, and you want to keep reading. But it's like cotton candy. When you're done, it feels incomplete and insubstantial. I'll probably read the next one in the series, but no immediately.

[Hampshire Nanny]

Currently, I'm working my way through the Phryne Fisher novels which I've been able to borrow from the library through the Freading service. So far, I'm up to #11: Away With the Fairies and Freading has all books in this series except #20. I'm also reading Sins and Shadows by Lyn Bennett, a paranormal or urban fiction novel in DTB format which I've offered to send to a book friend when I finish it.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Today I read "The Horror of the Heights," an Arthur Conan Doyle short story in his Tales of Terror and Mystery that I picked up in our Patricia Clark Memorial Library. It told the story of early aviators and the dangers they faced. I had no idea of the perils with which these brave pioneering "aeronauts" came in contact. ... I'm sure glad these creatures have evidently been driven to extinction. Had they not, surely there would be far fewer passengers on commercial flights these days.

I find a lot of these in steampunk novels!

Originally Posted by Apache

I am currently reading The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrold, a funny novel told from the view point of a primitive alien meeting a technologically advanced human and thinking he is a magician.
http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Sorcere...=UTF8&sr=&qid=
This is a reread from long ago.

This is one of the best SF books I have ever read. I can't tell you how many copies I've purchased, and now I'm glad to have a eBook version so I can keep it "forever". If you're a fan of puns, you'll really like this book.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

Currently, I'm working my way through the Phryne Fisher novels which I've been able to borrow from the library through the Freading service. So far, I'm up to #11: Away With the Fairies and Freading has all books in this series except #20. I'm also reading Sins and Shadows by Lyn Bennett, a paranormal or urban fiction novel in DTB format which I've offered to send to a book friend when I finish it.

I find a lot of these in steampunk novels!

This is one of the best SF books I have ever read. I can't tell you how many copies I've purchased, and now I'm glad to have a eBook version so I can keep it "forever". If you're a fan of puns, you'll really like this book.

I heartily agree.
Apache

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: LightSpeed Magazine for April 2014.

Which was good, and my 60th book of the year. I'm glad I got the subscription and back issues.

And now for a Baen book purchased from Kobo with a coupon: Hard Magic by Larry Correira. I really liked his Monster Hunter series, with its mix of magic and the everyday. This also looks like a good read.

[HarryT]

I finished Andy Weir's "The Martian" last night. Thoroughly enjoyed it - hard SF at its best. Thanks to everyone who recommended it here - I probably wouldn't have come across it otherwise.

Back to Christie now, with "Evil Under the Sun".

[benham]

Just starting Murder For Greenhorns by Robert Kresge.