Currently Reading

[Alan]

Book of the year?

Shards Of Earth - Adrian Tchaikovsky
The spheres from Destiny (probably) are going around destroying worlds, a huge armada manages to push them back into the void but now there is evidence they may be returning. DUN DUN DUUUUN. Its actually a good first part of a space opera thing. I really enjoy Tchaikovsky, hes quite prolific and has some out there ideas in his books that work and are believable. They dont always land but its surprising how often I get the initial concept, say "pfft" to myself and by the end its "no, tell me more!".

Later - Stephen King
King does The 6th Sense but he does it well. A quick easy enjoyable read which a very crap final page twist/exposition because King.

Bear Head - Adrian Tchaikovsky
Speaking of Tchaikovsky being prolific.... The follow up to Dogs Of War and though not as good as Dogs I did enjoy it quite a bit.

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Its like a not so great Dennis E Taylor book. Its enjoyable and an easy read but its just missing something, some spark but worth a ready anyway.


The fav not 2021 but read in 2021 was probably Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. Twisted, weird nightmare of a thing that it is!





As for the currently reading thing, I just finished The Blade Itself because Snowy generally wont shut up about it ¬_¬ I enjoyed it. I was quite surprised at how RR Martin the map and politics were but its still its own thing. Bayaz fresh from the bath towards the end gave me the giggles and some weird looks from my coworkers

[Snowy]

As for the currently reading thing, I just finished The Blade Itself because Snowy generally wont shut up about it ¬_¬

There are others I am similarly vocal about, but will keep them in reserve

Apart from one that is, which is my book of the year for 2021: Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff. Don't be put off, Twilight this ain't, rather a fantastic slice of grimdark fantasy that I absolutely loved and the first book I have read in a long while with illustrations.

[Mantis]

I read The Blade Itself last year too. It was very good, I liked the focus on the characters. Not got round to reading the sequels yet though.

[Snowy]

I think that the second in the standalone series, The Heroes, is the best he has written, the characters are just perfect. The last one, Red Country, is also very clever, making a fantasy tale feel like a western. And Best Served Cold is also very good. Yeah - read those too Dave.

[Sly Boots]

I think that the second in the standalone series, The Heroes, is the best he has written, the characters are just perfect. The last one, Red Country, is also very clever, making a fantasy tale feel like a western. And Best Served Cold is also very good. Yeah - read those too Dave.

I'm rereading the Heroes right now, having finished his first trilogy. I love basically everything he's written (even the Half a King series, which some people seem a bit cool on).

I love the battle scene chapters, where it moves from perspective to perspective, with it moving to a new viewpoint as each one dies.

[Hatredsheart]

I love basically everything he's written (even the Half a King series, which some people seem a bit cool on).

I enjoyed the Shattered Sea trilogy, even though it was regarded as YA.
The Age of Madness trilogy is also excellent. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

[Raid]

So I've started reading again, partially because I've always been somewhat embarrassed that it's never been a form of entertainment I gave any time to, but largely because it's been helping me with my insomnia problems I've had these last few months (more spending an hour before going to bed away from screens than being bored by it, even if I do read on a Kindle). It does mean I'm not getting through books very quickly, because it's sending me to sleep rather successfully!

I'm currently making my way through all of the classic sci-fi I've missed over the years, and I'm sure to have a painfully long reading list shortly. I'm currently reading Consider Phlebas which is already quite a bit different to what I was expecting, but I've got Neuromancer, Ringworld and Foundation on there, and I kinda want to re-read The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (my all time favourite book). I may end up alternating between sci-fi and fantasy, in which case I'll probably re-read The Blade Itself and the rest of that series.

Book of the year?

Well given that I only started reading again at the end of last year, I suppose my favourite book of the year would have to be Dune, because it was the only one I finished. I think three or four people told me to read it last year when I posted about watching both film versions, so I can finally compare them all. It was... strange. Firstly I can't help but imagine everyone talking with a Yorkshire accent because they constantly refer to Ornithopters as 'thopters, and I struggled to get my head around a lot of the Fremen terms. Did the paperback have any notes with translations? The Kindle version didn't, although it did have a sizeable amount of extra material after the story finished, but it was plonked at the end and it's a pain to navigate back and forth so I didn't touch it (it also meant that I was completely surprised by the ending because I thought there were another 50 pages left).

I think I can appreciate the Villeneuve adaptation a little more now, and I definitely liked the extra scenes he included that were only implied in the book. But I have to ask, where the hell did the 80s film come from? I was expecting a lot of the weirdness in set and prop design to come from the novel, but clearly it didn't (unless it's from flashbacks in a later book in the series, which I'm not really planning on reading at this point).

[Sly Boots]

I'm pretty sure the print version of Dune has a glossary, yes.

[Raid]

I meant in line with the text, rather than being hidden away at the back.

[Sly Boots]

I meant in line with the text, rather than being hidden away at the back.

In that case, no. Not in my copy, at least.

[ManBearSquid]

The Culture novels are fantastic.

[Alan]

Say one thing for the first law trilogy, say it was an entertaining read.

[Snowy]

Say one thing for the first law trilogy, say it was an entertaining read.

[Sly Boots]

Say one thing for the first law trilogy, say it was an entertaining read.

You have to be realistic.

[Alan]

Makes appreciate how good first law was by following it up with Artemis by Andy Weir. What a annoying bag of shite. 100 years in the future our main character is a Star Trek fan girl that’s a genius and is also super sexy and mildly promiscuous. Even though it’s100 years in the future she sure only makes contemporary references and is super forced sassy. Mixed in with this super shite character development is some decent grounded Martian style science and a fairly well thought out moon city. Is such a pity the rest is such trash. I mean…. a continuing thing is trying to get her to try out a washable reusable condom.

I’ve no said “oh fuck off” at a book so much since The Life and Loves of a She Devil.