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

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's on my list to buy, but I now feel less urgency.

Judging by its Goodreads reviews, I'm in the minority, it seems. So ... "grain of salt" and all that.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I finally got around to finishing Aaronovitch's The Hanging Tree, the sixth in his Rivers of London series. Didn't really enjoy this one at all. There's always been a ton of acronyms and architecture lessons in these books but in this case, there was nothing else of any substance. Very disappointing. Especially considering the publication delays.

Certainly not my favourite, but they'll have to get a lot worse for me not to jump on new ones when they come out. I quite enjoy the architectural references, though. That being said, it was a very long wait for this one and I think he must have been struggling a bit to get _something_ out. Hopefully the next will go better.

[astrangerhere]

Just finished the lovely full-cast recording of American Gods (10th anniversary text).

Next is Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. I haven't read it since college (and did not like it), but I think a few decades and a new world might have softened me up for it a bit.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Just finished the lovely full-cast recording of American Gods (10th anniversary text).

Next is Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. I haven't read it since college (and did not like it), but I think a few decades and a new world might have softened me up for it a bit.

Well, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. I really tried to read it, but just could not slog through. It's well written, but just a bit too appropriate these days.

I'm currently taking a detour from my re-read of the Dana Stabenow books to finish the Farseer Trilogy that I started a while back. I'm reading Assassin's Quest, by Robin Hobb. Right now it's rating somewhere slightly above 3 stars, but not by much. Certainly not a story or series I'll ever re-read.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd;3510043Now I plan to read [I

Night Has a Thousand Eyes [/I]by Cornell Woolrich.

Finished Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Cornell Woolrich. This was everything a good mystery should be. After establishing the characters, the book starts counting down the hours and then the minutes to the prophesied hour, building the emotional and psychological tension. The author throws us a couple of well thought out red herrings along the way, to make us think we know how it's going to end.

Next up, Everything Hurts by Bill Scheft.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And a good issue it was. I'll come back to this later to give reviews of each story.

I thought it was a bit short. The weird magazine format from Amazon caused me to miss a story. The short novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Runabout! Now reading that...

[kansaskyle]

I finished End of Watch (#3 in the Bill Hodges trilogy), which I rated as four stars. I thought it was an acceptable conclusion to the trilogy. I found it a bit darker and "super natural" than the first two books.

I started Red Mars, which is my first time to read anything by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Now, I'm reading Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. A library book.

This book started out so well and then went kaput. Many words but little action until the last 60 pages. I know this was truly written for a YA but there didn't seem to be enough to keep a teenager interested and turn pages. Young adults are easily distracted. World was unique and with several unanswered questions to encourage reading the next in series. There seemed to be a lot of back and forth with the romantic subplot. While the ending was exciting with a surprise or two, the long build-up doesn't leave me with a that-was-a-good-book feeling. Unsatisfying. Rated D+ [2 stars].

Next I'll complete the Rhiannsu series with The Empty Chair by Diane Duane.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Certainly not my favourite, but they'll have to get a lot worse for me not to jump on new ones when they come out. I quite enjoy the architectural references, though. That being said, it was a very long wait for this one and I think he must have been struggling a bit to get _something_ out. Hopefully the next will go better.

Oh, I've enjoyed the others enough that I'm not going to jump ship just yet.

[DiapDealer]

Just beginning J.P. Smythe's Long Dark Dusk—second in his Australia Trilogy. Billed as "YA", but I certainly didn't get much of a YA vibe from the first installment—Way Down Dark (other than the protagonist being young, of course).

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Next is Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. I haven't read it since college (and did not like it), but I think a few decades and a new world might have softened me up for it a bit.

Didn't realize I had not transferred this to my (12 year old) ipod yet, so I had a quick listen of the BBC Radio Production of The Importance of Being Earnest. One of the stars was Dame Judi Dench and it was absolutely delightful. Starting Atwood on my lunchtime walk today.

Still reading Mary Beard's SPQR on the Kobo in the evenings.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Next up, Everything Hurts by Bill Scheft.

Abandoned Everything Hurts. Not my cup of tea.

Started reading Missing: A Private Novel by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox. A stock crime novel to go through if you do not have anything particular pre-decided to read at the moment.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Next is Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. I haven't read it since college (and did not like it), but I think a few decades and a new world might have softened me up for it a bit.

No, oddly, I still did not enjoy it. I am sure the new television show is beautifully shot and well-acted, but I still just did not like the read. I should like it, or at least what it stands for, but the prose just did nothing for me.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I thought it was a bit short. The weird magazine format from Amazon caused me to miss a story. The short novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Runabout! Now reading that...

I finished the Asimov's, and I'll do a proper review this evening.

[LATER]
There's one novella, which is really novel sized. The Runabout by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Part of her diving series, and while I enjoyed it, I'd rather have novels as separate books, and keep the magazines for shorter works.
There are two Novelettes. Come As You Are by Dale Bailey is a future drug scene exploration, and was OK, but not really to my taste. Night Fever by Will Ludwigsen is an alternate history of Charles Manson. Alternate history is only fun if you're know the big of history they doing an alternate for. Otherwise they're just rather dull fiction. I gave up half way. Definitely not for me.
The short stories were "On The Ship" by Leah Cypress, a long term interstellar voyage story which was OK, "Good Show" by William Preston, a rather fun look at a film reviewer and some ?aliens?, "The Escape of the Adastra: Asha's Story" by James Gunn, a generation-ship story which I found hard to suspend disbelief on, "Tired of the Same Old Quests?", and amusing fantasy about role-playing games, "The Best Man" by Jay O'Connell, an odd dystopia, "Triceratops" by Ian McHugh, a odd story that features other human species brought back from extinction, but doesn't go anywhere, "Persephone of the Crows" by Karen Jay Fowler, reverse changlings, but I didn't really like it.

You know - having done this review, I'm going to have to downgrade this issue from 4 to 3 star.
[/LATER]

Then I read Crown in Darkness by Paul Doherty. Another excellent historical mystery.

I would have given it 5/5, but I fear I know Edinburgh a little bit better than the author - there's no way one would go towards Arthur's Seat when travelling from Holyrood Abbey to the Castle! But otherwise, it seemed pretty accurate.

Now back to Shadow Magic by Patricia C. Wrede.

[MickeyC]

Just finished Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr and it was excellent. Plot twists I never saw coming.