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

[HarryT]

Finished "Paladins", by Joel Rosenberg, which I bought from Baen in 2004:

In the seventeenth century, in an alternate universe where Mordred defeated King Arthur - now known as "Arthur the Tyrant" - and founded the Pendragon dynasty, much of Europe, Asia, and the New World are part of an Empire ruled from England. The Order of Crown, Shield, and Dragon, originally founded as Mordred's personal bodyguard, has become a legion of special agents for the Crown: special emissaries in time of peace, and invincible warriors in more violent times. They carry special weapons: swords, each of which contains the soul of someone of great power. White swords are inhabited by the souls of saints - and red swords by those who were anything but saints. Even in the hands of a knight of the Order, even wielded in the cause of righteousness, a red sword is terribly dangerous to its owner and all around him. In more evil hands, a red sword is the most dangerous and powerful weapon known to mankind. Now, three knights of the Order have just tracked down a previously unknown red sword which was found on a Grecian shore, and which shows all signs of having been recently forged. Worse, the mind encased in the sword remembers that it was only one of many which were cached in the hold of a mysterious sailing ship, origin unknown. . . .

Absolutely excellent. Highly recommended.

[Dngrsone]

Finished listening to Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Now onto Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Now on to Sylvie and Bruno, as that seems to be the apparent winner of the book club vote this month.

I've started this also and I'm enjoying it even more than I hoped. It's funny and scarily pertinent; change "greenish-yellow" to "orange" and "thin" to "fat" and you could almost be reading this morning's paper.

[orlok]

I'm about half way through The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz, a worthy follow-up to The Silent Corner. It's a thriller series involving mind control and the fate of nations. Worth a read.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Now on to Sylvie and Bruno, as that seems to be the apparent winner of the book club vote this month.

I finished the first volume of Sylvie and Bruno on Wednesday. Due to a mix-up yesterday, I ended up in a coffee shop for 5 hours and read almost all of Frederik Backman's new novel Beartown. From the very first page, it was a beautifully written trainwreck that I could not look away from. All the descriptors sell this as a hockey book. That is not entirely true. It is a book about "hockey culture" and all the very good and very bad things that can mean.

Whether or not the novel makes my top ten will depend on what he does in the last 50 pages. But I highly recommend it to lifelong hockey fans either way. (Even though the book isn't really about hockey).

[Fbone]

I decided to read Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon purchased back in 2012!

Fabulous read even though this book was different from the author's previous two in the series. More action adventure. Since the villain is introduced in the beginning there is very little actual "problem solving" needed for Corbett to do. While I would have enjoyed more detecting and investigating, this installment still was a great read. The ending has a big reveal that keeps us in suspense. Rated B+ [4 stars].

Next, a more recent purchase, Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks his second in the Night Angel series.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Poirot & Me by David Suchet.

An interesting memoir. Could have done with a little more editing and proof reading. Fun to read about from the actor's point of view.

Next I read Analog SFF for November/December 2017.

One Novella: "Native Seeds" by Catherine Wells. A good post-apocalypse look at the interactions between two groups of survivors.

Three Novelettes: "Hybrid, Blue, by Firelight" by Bill Johnson. Interesting time travel concepts, but I'd prefer to have this story as a novel rather than a series of novelettes.
"Keepsakes" by Kenneth Schneyer. OK, but hasn't explored the technology idea enough.
"How Val Finally Escaped From The Basement" by Scott Edelman. Splendid first contact story.

Fifteen short stories.
"Laminated Moose Zombies And Other Road Maintenance Problems" by Dennis M. Flynn & Michael F. Flynn - A humorous look at the next pandemic.
"Downsized" by Bud Sparhawk Retirement on a space station. But that's not the story...
"New Teeth" by James Sallis - A strange one about alien possession.
"Luscinia" by Robert Reed - An odd look at how someone might deal with immese wealth
"Fermi’s Slime" by Tom Jolly - A very different but also good first contact story.
"Quirks" by Marie Vibbert - A look at the labour market and skills copying.
"Time Travel Is Only For The Poor" by S.L. Huang - A good story on what might happen if cryogenics ever worked.
"Papoose Lake" by Richard A. Lovett - an excellent story on the dangers of what might be possible in terms of changing people's minds.
"Hot Air" by Igor Teper - How to save the world. And what it cost. Excellent.
"Kindle No Flame" by Stephen R. Loftus-Mercer - OK, but too improbable for me.
"Two Hours At Frontier" by Sean Mcmullen - Splendid story about space exploration with stored minds.
"Reentry" by Brendan Dubois - Good story about possible problems of private enterprise (in space).
"Weaponized" by Jay O’Connell - A good story about trust in relationships.
"Housekeeping, 100 Xp" by Brenta Blevins - Splendid story about future employment, lifestyles, and family.
"And Then They Were Gone" by Ian Creasey - An interesting and odd story about uploading and mental health.

Probability Zero: "The Pilgrimage" by Edward M. Lerner. Fun, but not as far-fetched as some of the short stories in this issue!

All in all, an excellent issue.

And now I'm reading Starliner (2nd ed.) by David Drake.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And now I'm reading Starliner (2nd ed.) by David Drake.

I like David Drake's books, generally speaking, but this one didn't impress me at all. I'll be interested to hear your take on it.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I like David Drake's books, generally speaking, but this one didn't impress me at all. I'll be interested to hear your take on it.

Me too.
Apache

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Another quick read: "Killing Floor", by Lee Child; the first book in the "Jack Reacher" series.

The only "British-ism" I did notice is that, several times in the story, reference is made to a "mobile phone" (British), rather than a "cell phone" (American).

Just ran into a real “British-ism” in the Peter Robinson book, In the Dark Places that I’d never seen even having lived in Britain (just outside London) for four years. Anyway he used the term ‘shuftti’ as in “We need to have a quick shuftti before we leave the crime scene”. So I looked it up and apparently it means a quick ‘look around’. Had to stop reading to look it up. Anyway, did I get it right?

[HarryT]

Yes, absolutely right .

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

...Anyway he used the term ‘shuftti’ as in “We need to have a quick shuftti before we leave the crime scene”. So I looked it up and apparently it means a quick ‘look around’. Had to stop reading to look it up. Anyway, did I get it right?

It is in quite common use in Strine and NewZild as well among older people, especially men. Both Australia and NZ fought with the British forces in the WWII North African campaigns, that being the reputed route of the word out of Arabic into English.

[Dngrsone]

Finished Oddjobs 2: This time it's Personnel by Heide Goody and Iain Grant. Now reading The Goblin Reservation by Clifford D. Simak.

[HarryT]

Finished "The Engines of God", by Jack McDevitt. A new author for me, and one which, judging from this book, I'm very, VERY impressed by.

This is the first book in the "Academy" series set in the 23rd century, and tells the story of a group of archaeologists (who are employed by the eponymous "Academy") exploring archaeological sites on other planets on which civilisations have mysteriously collapsed. The overriding story is the search for the origin of an alien race called "the Monument Builders", who left strange artefacts thousands of years ago on, and in orbit around, many other planets, with indecipherable inscriptions, including a statue on Jupiter's moon Iapetus.

Absolutely excellent book. Very highly recommended, and I look forward to reading more by this author.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I Due to a mix-up yesterday, I ended up in a coffee shop for 5 hours and read almost all of Frederik Backman's new novel Beartown. From the very first page, it was a beautifully written trainwreck that I could not look away from. All the descriptors sell this as a hockey book. That is not entirely true. It is a book about "hockey culture" and all the very good and very bad things that can mean.

Whether or not the novel makes my top ten will depend on what he does in the last 50 pages. But I highly recommend it to lifelong hockey fans either way. (Even though the book isn't really about hockey).

Finished Beartown up Last night. Started The Nakano Thrift Shop (translated from the Japanese) in paperback and am listening to Sylvie and Bruno Concluded.