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

[HarryT]

Just finished "The Labours of Hercules", by Agatha Christie. This was her 46th book, and was originally published in 1947.

Poirot has decided (yet again) to retire, to devote himself to the cultivation of vegetable marrows. Following a visit from a classicist, Dr Burton, he decides to end his career by taking on 12 cases which mimic the legendary 12 labours of Hercules, his namesake.

A very good collection of short stories. Recommended.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. Having been a bit of a fan of the Bond movies, I jumped at a discount on all of Fleming's Bond novels. This was OK, but Bond is quite the misogynist. He doesn't have the suave sophistication of the Bond I remember from the movies. He's cold, callous and - just to reiterate - really seems to dislike women. Still - it's good to read the original.

I also bought all the Bond books on that sale, although I had read them all in high school. Bond's misogynism was an important part of my education. All my male relatives, especially my father, were my favorite people: kind, funny, adventurous, encouraging, trustworthy. They were especially fond of females and in the best possible ways (well, maybe not my brothers, but they like me now). My dad would make dark comments to me about the base nature of men which I could not understand since my experience was that men are wonderful creatures.

When I read my first Bond book at about the age of 15 I remember thinking, "oh, that's what Dad meant." James Bond probably spared me many moments of shock and disorientation.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished Dead Medium by Peter John and enjoyed it quite a bit. I really liked the character of May Elizabeth Trump, the cantankerous old woman who dies in the first chapter only to discover afterward that she possesses a unique gift: the ability to be heard by the living. I'm hoping there will be a sequel; I'd like to revisit these characters.

[bgalbrecht]

I'm reading the Hugo Award nominee / Campbell Award nominee novels. I've read Stross's Neptune's Brood, Corriea's GrimNoir series, Grant's Parasite of the Hugo Award nominees. I will probably by the Leckie soon, and start The Wheel of Time, but don't know if I'll be able to finish it. Of the three that I've read, I like Neptune's Brood the best. Neptune's Brood and Parasite both have protagonists that learn major things about themselves towards the end of the novel, but I think Stross did it better. Since Parasite is the first of trilogy, one might allow for the cliff-hanger, but I was more, meh, but I probably can't say more without spoilers.

For the Campbell finalists, I read and like both of Ramez Naam's Nexus novels (high tech nanotech computer interface/AI thrillers), and I'm reading Max Gladstone's second fantasy/mystery where the gods are real with a modern feel to it, and the first one is very good. I haven't read the other authors yet, but it's going to be hard to pick my favorite between these two.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished. But I think I'm definitely going to wait a bit before I start the last one in the series. I'd give this one no more than a 4 out of 5, and that's being generous.

Next up: ?? Maybe the next DCI Banks book? Sure, why not. #3, A Necessary End.

Got sidetracked by the Weber Safehold series, and did a combined listen/read of Off Armageddon Reef, which I enjoyed quite a bit. And I've moved on to By Schism Rent Asunder, the second in the series. As with the first, I'm doing a combined listen/read, going back and forth between modes, depending on what I'm otherwise doing. I'm not enjoying the second one quite as much (the level of religious stuff in it is a good deal higher, at least in the first half of the book), but still enjoying it enough to keep right on reading.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner. This was another of the early Mason books, having been originally copyrighted in 1935. Like most of the ebooks in this series, I'm finding a lot of typos. Nothing major, but others may find the typos mildly annoying. The scanner used on this book seems to have quite a bit of difficulty with recognizing the word "his" especially, as can be seen from these four examples:

• He dug down in bis pocket.
• I think bis cat is safe.
• Perry Mason paused in bis pacing back and forth across the office.
• …scratches on bis hands….

The word "Chevy" was spelled "Chevvy" throughout the book, making me wonder if this was a common spelling in 1935.

A couple of quotes with comments:

A screwdriver made its appearance.

I think Mr. Gardner was just having a bit of fun here. This phrase painted the strange word picture in my head of a screwdriver walking into a room and taking a bow.

She was dead when the ambulance arrived. Her skull was fractured.

I know the feeling.

Overall, I give this one 4 stars out of 5. I thought I had this one figured out early, but was thrown once more.

[Rumpelteazer]

Last night I finished The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart, the second book in the Merlin Trilogy. I found it very hard to put down and read it in just two days. Hopefully this book has got me out of my reading slump.

I started reading A Time to Kill by John Grisham, despite it being a classic and it being on my TBR list for probably over a decade I never read it before.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Next up: Probably Assassin's Quest.

Assassin's Quest is was. A massive 700+ page book by Robin Hobb, the third in her Assassin/Farseer trilogy.

It didn't disappoint. Indeed, it kept me up past midnight last night finishing it.

I'm a tiny bit irritated by the slight misdirection in some of the chapter prefaces, but I enjoyed them and I'm glad I bought them.

Next up: The Mammoth Book of Mind-Blowing SF by Mike Ashley. Mr Ashley seems to be making a career of anthologies, and this one is starting off well, with a story by Arthur C Clarke followed by one by Stephen Baxter. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

[HarryT]

I've just finished "Destiny's Shield", the third book in the "Belisarius" alternate history/military SF series by Eric Flint and David Drake. I actually read it as the first half of the "Storm at Noontide" omnibus, which also contains "Fortune's Stroke", the fourth book in the series.

Excellent SF. I've read it before, but it more than merits a re-read.

[Stitchawl]

I've just started "Bloodline (Sigma Force - Book 8)" by James Rollins, and it's keeping my interest. Not the most intricate writing I've ever encountered, but plenty of action. Certainly a good enough read to consider continuing with the series in the future.


Stitchawl

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Last night I finished The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart, the second book in the Merlin Trilogy. I found it very hard to put down and read it in just two days. Hopefully this book has got me out of my reading slump.

I started reading A Time to Kill by John Grisham, despite it being a classic and it being on my TBR list for probably over a decade I never read it before.

Ah, the Mary Stewart Merlin books are some of my all-time favorites! I'd love to see a good miniseries made out of them. (Emphasis on the "good," of course).

I'm reading Hollow City, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

[ccowie]

I recently finished A Trick of the Light, the 8th inspector Gamache mystery. I liked the return to Three Pines and generally enjoyed the book. I had planned to take a break before getting into The Beautiful Mystery, but for some reason just couldn't help myself last night and read a couple Chapters.

I also finished Assassin's Apprentice. This was fun; lots of twists, lots of backstabbing, but not enough assassinations. I'll start the next one soon and hope for more.

I also just started Bruno Chief of Police and Testament of Youth for the book club. Liking both these books so far.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I've just started "Bloodline (Sigma Force - Book 1)" by James Rollins, and it's keeping my interest. Not the most intricate writing I've ever encountered, but plenty of action. Certainly a good enough read to consider continuing with the series in the future.

I thought Sandstorm was the first in the Sigma Force series. I read that back in January and have considered going to the second. According to Goodreads Bloodline is #8 in the series. Is this a prequel maybe?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Got sidetracked by the Weber Safehold series, and did a combined listen/read of Off Armageddon Reef, which I enjoyed quite a bit. And I've moved on to By Schism Rent Asunder, the second in the series. As with the first, I'm doing a combined listen/read, going back and forth between modes, depending on what I'm otherwise doing. I'm not enjoying the second one quite as much (the level of religious stuff in it is a good deal higher, at least in the first half of the book), but still enjoying it enough to keep right on reading.

I gave this 3 stars out of 5, but I did keep reading it. And I've now moved on to book #3, By Heresies Distressed.. I'm hoping this one is an improvement.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I gave this 3 stars out of 5, but I did keep reading it. And I've now moved on to book #3, By Heresies Distressed.. I'm hoping this one is an improvement.

Most are good, but a couple have large info dumps. The last one was really good.
Apache