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Our reads September 2020
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-09-01 6:14 AM (#22409)
Subject: Our reads September 2020



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Location: UK		Here we go again.I want to finish off Altered Carbon,but most of my titles this month are comfort reads or rereads
My granddaughter will be induced into labour (twins!) on 11 th September,so most of the month is up in the air for now. Want to stick mostly to old favourites.Maybe a few more off the Locus best short stories of 20th centurylist if I find time

SF/F
Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon
Roger Zelazny - This Immortal
Lois McMaster Bujold - Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
John Scalzi - Lock In

other Genres
Gary Paulsen - Hatchet
Patricia Wentworth - The Chinese Shawl
Erik Larson - Devil in the White City
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spoltz
Posted 2020-09-01 8:04 AM (#22410 - in reply to #22409)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA		Congratulations Dusty! I wish her the best. My brother was born on Sept 11, back in 1965.

The Tolkien book I've been waiting for from the library since February was due back on Aug 31st, but won't accrue fines until Oct 1st. So, I started Witchmark by CL Polk which won the World Fantasy Award last year. I might begin Zelazny's Amber series this month. I have six of the stories in two volumes. I may also begin Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay which is a 600 page monster with a small font.
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Rhondak101
Posted 2020-09-01 10:13 AM (#22411 - in reply to #22409)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: SC, USA		Steve, I love The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I have read it at least 4 times (I have taught it twice.) I think you will find that it reads very fast.
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daxxh
Posted 2020-09-01 7:56 PM (#22412 - in reply to #22411)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: Great Lakes, USA		I am halfway through The Last Emperox. It is quite entertaining so far. I have Mirror Dance, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, The Perfect Wife and The Immaculate Void to read after that. I might throw something random on the top of the pile, though.

Every time I pick up Kavalier and Clay, I look at the tiny print and say not today. Perhaps I will not do that next time.

Congrats, Dusty!

Edited by daxxh 2020-09-01 7:58 PM
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dustydigger
Posted 2020-09-02 3:41 AM (#22413 - in reply to #22412)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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daxxh,every time I pick up Kavalier and Clay, I look at the tiny print and say not today.

I'm like that with Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I found a copy in the charity shop for a quid just before Xmas 2019. But those 970 pages of tiny print (and about maths and cryptography to boot!) is just too daunting.Its still sitting on the shelf staring at me reproachfully
And as for Anathem.....Aarrgghh.

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dustydigger
Posted 2020-09-15 9:47 AM (#22440 - in reply to #22409)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: UK		Enjoyed my reread of Zelazny's This Immortal. As usual I felt like rushing off and reading some more Zelazny,(Lord of Light for instance),but I have too much stuff lined up.
Another fun read was Randall Garrett (in his Mark Phillips persona) Brain Twister. Harmless,pleasant piece of fluff about a detective trying to locate a telepathic spy,cant imagine how it came to be a Hugo nominee for 1960!
That was an odd year for the Hugo.I think there was definitely some brain twisting going on. Winner was Starship Troopers,with the Sirens of Titan only a runnerup for the Vonnegut nuts,but other nominees were pure pulp The Pirates of Zan, and Gordon Dickson's Dorsai! What I like about these old reads is that they can be pure fun,even if the characters are cardboard,yet still have interesting themes and ideas,which often just seem to be tossed off negligently,no problem.One 200 page book could generate enough ideas for a 450 page book today And they were SHORT!
Oh,I really like short books...........
I am now 200 pages into a reread ofJim Butcher's Cold Days.Harry Dresden is yet again getting beat up.........
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daxxh
Posted 2020-09-19 9:06 PM (#22454 - in reply to #22440)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: Great Lakes, USA		Finished The Last Emperox. Ok ending to the trilogy. I laughed outloud in a couple of places. Scalzi was definitely making a statement. Also finished Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. Liked it too. I also read Silver, sequel to Edges. I loved it. I don't know how I missed Nagata's earlier works. I am going to catch up. I ordered Memory of which Silver is also a sequel. Hope it gets here soon. In the mean time, I have started Leviathan Wakes and Network Effect. Despite being a pretty hefty tome, Leviathan Wakes is a quick read. I am loving it. And, of course, the Murderbot is always fun.

Edited by daxxh 2020-09-19 9:07 PM
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spoltz
Posted 2020-09-21 12:49 AM (#22462 - in reply to #22454)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA		I finished the first five (not six) books of Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber and really loved them. I'm going to save the last five for next year, though, as I've read that they are much different in tone and style than the first.

I also read Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. i enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The prose wasn't quite as overbearing as I thought it was in Yiddish Policeman's Union. i really like like the story, and it reminded me of some of the Jewish-American lit I read back in the 70's by authors like Bernard Malamud and Philip Roth. That's the last book I'll be reading on the WWEnd LGBTQ Resource list. There are three books left I haven't read, but I've come to find out they are out of print and VERY hard to find. On Amazon, these books are available for a cost of hundreds of dollars. When I update the list later this year, I'll be taking those three books off the list.

I just finished The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull. It's a first contact story that takes place in the US Virgin Islands. It was really good. Next I'll be reading A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney who I actually met at Oregon's Sci Fi convention two years ago. I kinda went fan boy on him because I loved his Sea, Swallow Me collection of short stories. He was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award three times and is one of the few gay male African-American genre authors out there. These two books I'll be using for the Authors of Color reading challenge.

After Gidney, I'll be reading Timescape by Gregory Benford, which won the Nebula in '80 and is the next pick for my sci fi book club in exile.
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Administrator
Posted 2020-09-21 5:15 PM (#22464 - in reply to #22462)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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The Rage of Dragons I just finished The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter in audio book. I watched an interview with him and Brent Weeks recently and thought I'd give him a go. I'm trying to read more black authors and I liked what they were saying about his first book: fast paced with a ton of action.

This is a military fantasy so if you don't like fighting, and lots of it, this might not be for you but be careful of taking that too far as you could rob yourself of a great read. The characters are well realized and likeable and the women are the equal of the men in this "other" Africa setting. The magic system has enough complexity to make it feel right -- like it's based on real myths from a real culture -- without requiring too much exposition.

Winter said he cut out anything that he felt was slowing down the story so it is pretty sparsely told revenge story. He pretty much leaves it up to you to fill in the details yourself and here I was helped immensely by the excellent narration. I could listen to Prentice Onayemi all day -- which is what I did for several sessions as I ripped through the book. I really like how all the accents and mix of cultures in The Black Panther's Wakanda gave the movie so much texture and realism. This book feels much like that. In fact it would make an excellent movie. Book 2, The Fires of Vengeance, comes out in early November and I will be snatching that up quick.

Highly recommended.

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dustydigger
Posted 2020-09-27 10:31 AM (#22477 - in reply to #22464)
Subject: Re: Our reads September 2020



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Location: UK		Whew! Finally battled through the stark and brutal skilful mix of hardboiled detective and cyberpunk.Very tense and gripping but too much in your face nasty violence among predominantly unpleasant characters for my taste. I'll stick with my Philip Marlowe,thank you. I did recognize how excellent it was for a debut novel and it won the P K Dick award,but it wasnt my cup of tea at all.
I will be rereading C J Cherryh's Convergence,and Emergence ready for the next Foreigner novel,Resurgence,which just arrived through the pot.
Also getting together fun light reads for October.We are back in total lockdown in my area,and the weather is atrocious,so I need fun and exciting reads!
the library was to reopen begining of October,now its been put off to end of November....sigh........
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