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

[Fbone]

After reading a few stories in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible Mysteries edited by Mike Ashley, I set this aside abandoned. They weren't close to being perfect or impossible. Also, the ebook file was messed up; page numbers jumped around.

Next I started Swordhunt by Diane Duane. The third in the Rhiannsu series.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Fbone

After reading a few stories in The Mammoth Book of Perfect Crimes and Impossible Mysteries edited by Mike Ashley, I set this aside abandoned. They weren't close to being perfect or impossible.

Sorry to hear that. It's a book that I very much enjoyed.

[HarryT]

Just finished "The Grand Tour", by Jody Lynn Nye. This is the third (and so far the final) book in the "Dreamland" series, which I bought from Baen around 2001 or 2002. Baen description:

Where does your mind go when you fall asleep?

To the Dreamland, where seven Sleepers dream the ever-changing landscape drawn by the trillions of sleeping minds from the Waking World. Where form follows function, so a hovel today may be a castle or a cave tomorrow. Where the people battle nightmares with only the strength of their will and sanity.

Chuck Meadows is a Visitor from the Waking World, on an astral vision quest around the Dreamland. He has come on this arduous and dangerous journey to the Dreamland in hope of discovering the reason for the deep misery of his soul. With the aid of his spirit guide, Keir, the other members of the group, and the Dreamlanders he will meet along the way, he has to solve the puzzle before it literally tears him apart.

But not all Dreamlanders are eager to assist Chuck on his quest. There is an element lurking throughout the land that resents the Visitors and all they stand for. They hate the intrusion by Waking minds into their realm. They are furious that Visitors wield almost limitless influence while they have nothing. They intend to send a message back to the Waking world to leave them alone forever. The leader of the conspiracy is waiting only for the right moment to strike. He has a secret weapon that no one, Dreamlanders or Waking Worlders, can withstand. Chuck and his companions are unaware of the doom that awaits them—but they have unseen allies as well as enemies. Chuck must learn the truth about them and about himself before it is too late.

Excellent fantasy. Highly recommended, but I would suggest reading the series in order, even though each book is completely standalone. The previous two books in the series are "Waking in Dreamland" and "School of Light".

[LovesMacs]

I've been busy reading, among other things. In the past month, I've finished:

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - something I've seen on film a few times years ago but never read. I enjoyed the story but also found parts of it offensive.

The Martian by Andy Weir. Rather outside what I normally read but very very good. I devoured this in two days.

43*: When Gore Beat Bush by Jeff Greenfield. An alternative history with Al Gore as the 43rd President of the United States of America. I thought this was quite plausibly imagined.

Beethoven: The Universal Composer by Edmund Morris. A decent biography of the composer though I would have liked more discussion of his music.

Now I face the dilemma of not knowing what to read next.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Next up: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thanks HarryT!

This deviated a bit from what made Sherlock Holmes so great and I didn't care for it much. It was OK but that's it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they really want to complete the canon.

I read Aye, and Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delany a Nebula award winning short story from 1967. I am not sure why this was given an award. Meh.

Next up (probably): Discworld #8, Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. I am looking forward to meeting Sam Vimes for the "first" time.

Bummer, that isn't available yet, so instead I will be reading Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter which my library decided to advertise as "just returned" when I logged in. Should be ... interesting.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Bummer, that isn't available yet, so instead I will be reading Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter which my library decided to advertise as "just returned" when I logged in. Should be ... interesting.

I read it for a bit of fun, but found myself a lot better informed about the life and times of Lincoln, ironically.

[Care]

I am almost finished Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. Some of the dialogue bothers me a bit at times, but I am still enjoying it.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Lightspeed Magazine #63.

Only average. Saved by the (ebook only) novella.

Next up: Grantville Gazette #61

[Rev. Bob]

I'm about a quarter of the way through Mike Shepherd's Vicky Peterwald: Target, first* in a spinoff series from his Kris Longknife books (which, in turn, are descended from his Jump Universe books... but I digress). The title character basically starts off as the closest thing to a stereotypical "space princess" I've seen in quite some time - sexy, a bit bratty, and horny, used to getting her way by using her body and bed, and rich daughter of an interstellar empire's ruler. Even she observes at a couple of points that she's not much good for anything beyond the bedroom. It's kind of like seeing a more canny Paris Hilton get drafted.

By the time the novel starts, she's been rushed through basic Navy training and forced into battle alongside her nemesis (shown in the Kris Longknife books from said nemesis's point of view), and now it's time for her to stop relying on her body and put her mind to work. It turns out that her ride home has been compromised; at least two factions are trying to stop her, and she has to find out who they are if she wants to survive.

So far, it's a good read, but the novella I mention in the footnote is very necessary as an "origin story" setup. It ties together some of Vicky's earlier appearances in Kris's books, filling in the gaps so her sudden character development makes sense. You get a few snippets of recap in this novel, but not enough.

* Unless you count the almost-novel-length introductory novella, Kris Longknife's Assassin. I do, so I think of Target as Book Two despite the "first in a new series" label. Read KLA first.

[HarryT]

Just finished "Death of a Ghost", by Margery Allingham, the 6th book in the "Campion" series, and originally published in 1934.

At the former home of John Lafcadio, the great painter dead some 18 years, the annual ceremony to unveil a painting he left behind to keep his memory alive is interrupted by a murder. Suspicion falls on a family member, but with no proof the police are baffled. When murder once again visits "Little Venice", Albert Campion must exercise all his powers to bring the killer to justice...

An excellent book; for me, by far the best of the series thus far. Highly recommended.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Schismatrix Plus, then Honor Among Enemies, the sixth Weber novel in his Honorverse. Now reading number seven, In Enemy Hands; then I'll head off to something different again.

[MickeyC]

Just reread Einstein's Cosmos by Michio Kaku and it was as good as ever. In fact, reading it a second time, I got new insight into relativity I had not seen before.

[Gazella]

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson.

[mewmartigan]

Just finished up Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

For those that have read it:

Spoiler:

I admit I didn't figure out what the title of the book meant until it was first used. I also actually enjoyed the time jump. It was neat to see how the various races advanced and the technology they used.
I do think it was a bit far fetched that the seven distinct races were so different...I would have to assume there would have been a lot of blending near the beginning when they were still trying to repopulate.

Not sure what to read next......hmmmm.

[CRussel]

I've been going through a "re-read" patch. Primarily, I think, because I got burned out with several "meh" books that I'd had high hopes for. (And at least one series that started out great, but got seriously boring.) So I've been re-reading some old favourites. First, a complete re-read of Stieg Larson's Millennium Trilogy. What a pleasure that was! Then I read the new one, NOT by Stieg Larson, The Girl in the Spider's Web. Not bad, but not quite as good as the Stieg Larson books. Now I've started re-reading the Phryne Fisher series from Kerry Greenwood, starting with Cocaine Blues. Enjoying it the second time just as much as the first. These are seriously fun books.