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

[kansaskyle]

I finished Nora Webster, which was the MR Literary Club selection for January 2017. It was a three-star read for me.

Now, I'm on to Stranger in a Strange Land.

[Ravensknight]

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1)
Adrian Tchaikovsky
5 Stars


Another great book. The whole Magic and Technology in opposition to each other is deftly done and I really like the whole host of characters.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, Private Delhi by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi. The latest book released in Private series.

During this week long vacation I could finish three books while relaxing in hotels with no internet access.

Private Delhi by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi, A very fast pace thriller with a good story. James Patterson and his co-authors have never disappointed me in their 'Private' series.

Secondly, No Place to Hide Edward Snowden - the NSA and the Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald.

And the third, Life of Pi, a Canadian fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001.

Next I am planning to read The Atlantis Plague by A.G. Riddle.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So now I'm on to The Clan Wars Books 1&2 by Peter Morwood. Another freebie! Perhaps this one will catch my interest.

It did indeed. An excellent fantasy of warriors and magic, with a rather poor wrapping device of a story teller from some centuries after the main story. Most enjoyable, and a reasonable conclusion to the story after the two books in this omnibus. But I suspect there's more. I shall probably get them if there is.

Next up: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu. A very recent purchase that looked interesting. I hope it wasn't a mistake.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Probably why I've stopped getting freebies pretty much completely. So, instead, I just spent way more than my usual limit for a book because the eARC for The Gathering Edge, the latest Liaden Universe book from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller just went up on the Baen site. I know what I'm doing today!

Devoured in approximately 24 hours. A worthy addition to the Liaden Universe. This is an "all Theo, all the time" book, happening concurrently with the events in Alliance of Equals. So the story doesn't really move forward, but we fill in what's been happening with key characters who were "off screen" for the previous book.

This was a 5 star read for me, and I'm now actively jonesing for the next in the series, Neogenesis, which we know has been turned in to Madam the Editor, but is still months away from even eARC status.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by drjd

During this week long vacation I could finish three books while relaxing in hotels with no internet access.

Private Delhi by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi, A very fast pace thriller with a good story. James Patterson and his co-authors have never disappointed me in their 'Private' series.

Secondly, No Place to Hide Edward Snowden - the NSA and the Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald.

And the third, Life of Pi, a Canadian fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001.

Next I am planning to read The Atlantis Plague by A.G. Riddle.

Hotels with no internet? Color me amazed.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Most enjoyable, and a reasonable conclusion to the story after the two books in this omnibus. But I suspect there's more. I shall probably get them if there is.

That was a prequel mini-series to Peter Morwood's Alban Saga, which is gradually being reprinted by Venture Press (they seem to be up to one book so far on their author page for him, out of the quartet listed over at ISFDB).

As for me, currently juggling between a batch of books due at the library Real Soon Now (which, sadly, is basically how I get the impetus to actually read things these days), and switching between two Arctic-exploration themed titles that have to be returned this weekend.

The fiction title is Swedish novelist Jan Wallentin's Strindberg's Star, which is one of those hidden historical clues leading to adventure conspiracy thriller books, which is actually vaguely based on a real-life doomed North Pole expedition involving balloons (Wikipedia).

And the thematically accompanying non-fiction book, which the library perhaps ironically plastered with a cheerful “Summer Reading” sticker, James Raffan's Circling the Midnight Sun: Culture and Change in the Invisible Arctic, about more modern-day Arctic travel, doesn't actually go to the North Pole, but has a nice spread of visited countries (extensive sections on Canada, which was an added draw for me, alongside the usual Nordic countries and Russia, etc.).

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Hotels with no internet? Color me amazed.

Been there, survived those. One of the conventions I usually attend every year has been held at a hotel where the wifi is spotty at best and downright nonexistent in one of the main gathering places. Another has plenty of wifi access in the rooms, but not in the convention space - which, considering where one spends much of the weekend, is a serious downside.

But then, the South has a reputation for being a bit backwards...

[CRussel]

Why I have a 5GB Data plan. And Roam Like Home for when I'm in the US. Even the best hotel WiFi can get overloaded if there are enough geeks in town for a conference.

[JSWolf]

I'm about 1/2 done with Star Trek: TOS: The Face of the Unknown by Christopher L. Bennett.

Investigating a series of violent raids by a mysterious predatory species, Captain James T. Kirk discovers that these events share a startling connection with the First Federation, a friendly but secretive civilization contacted early in the USS Enterprise’s five-year mission. Traveling to the First Federation in search of answers, the Enterprise suddenly comes under attack from these strange marauders. Seeking refuge, the starship finds its way to the true home of the First Federation, an astonishing collection of worlds hidden from the galaxy beyond. The inhabitants of this isolated realm are wary of outsiders, and some accuse Kirk and his crew for bringing the wrath of their ancient enemy down upon them. When an attempt to stave off disaster goes tragically wrong, Kirk is held fully accountable, and Commander Spock learns there are even deeper forces that threaten this civilization. If Kirk and Spock cannot convince the First Federation's leaders to overcome their fears, the resulting catastrophe could doom them all!

The events of this story take place in mid-2269, some time after the rescue mission to Camus II (“Turnabout Intruder”).

[Dngrsone]

Finished Serafina and the Twisted Staff, now looking for something a little more meaty.

[HaemishM]

I'm about 80% of the way through Neal Stephenson's latest, Seveneves. It follows a pattern I've seen in his books lately. He seems to love explaining HOW things work, and spends probably 3/4 of the book explaining how various things work. He often goes on long tangents of either those kinds of explanations or of history on how this thing became what it is. And a lot like Anathem, it feels like most of the book isn't telling a story, but setting up the story he really wants to tell, somewhere in the last 100 pages of the book. It almost feels like this book could be (and should be) two novels with the last 250-300 pages being a sequel to the first part of the book. A lot of it is good but it's kind of a mess as a whole. I really hope he sticks the landing on his ending, as endings are usually the weakest parts of his work.

[Dngrsone]

Well, not quite meaty, but I did read mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic by Michael Whithey, which is very definitive but a bit weak on the mastering part: perhaps if I memorized all the fallacies, I could be able to spot them more readily in the wild, but I'm definitely going to have to take a debate course or three to be able to dispense any flawless rhetoric...

Next up, I am reading the ninth Foreigner book, Deliverer by C. J. Cherryh.

[kansaskyle]

I finished Stranger in a Strange Land, and gave it a 3-star rating. Whereas I really enjoyed The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, this one was a bit too much for me on the religion/philosophy/way-of-life topic if you "grok" me.

I'm on to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

[Cinisajoy]

Finished Kiss the Girls yesterday.