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What Are You Reading? |OT| One Thread to Rule Them All

astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,550
Finished Morning Star.

I have to say, while I really did enjoy this book the constant twists and set backs and oh so clever ways the heroes managed to overcome some of them became a bit exhausting lol, still the end was satisfying if a bit too telegraphed by the scene where Darrow gives Cassius the holo to view. It made no sense that he'd attack them the way he did after that scene so I knew it must be a ruse, especially as there was only like 15 pages left. I guess it's hard to mask that at the very end of a book though. .

Still, a fantastic trilogy with some great characters and fun lore. The descriptions of large scale space battles were some of my favourite parts. The assault on Roque's ship with the Helldiver pods was especially good. .

Looking at the next few books and how big they are, I think I'll take a break for a bit so I don't burn out. I read those so quickly I need a bit of time to digest them too.

Would definitely recommend this trilogy.
 
Megabreath

Megabreath

Member
Oct 25, 2018
2,674
astro said:
Finished Morning Star.

I have to say, while I really did enjoy this book the constant twists and set backs and oh so clever ways the heroes managed to overcome some of them became a bit exhausting lol, still the end was satisfying if a bit too telegraphed by the scene where Darrow gives Cassius the holo to view. It made no sense that he'd attack them the way he did after that scene so I knew it must be a ruse, especially as there was only like 15 pages left. I guess it's hard to mask that at the very end of a book though. .

Still, a fantastic trilogy with some great characters and fun lore. The descriptions of large scale space battles were some of my favourite parts. The assault on Roque's ship with the Helldiver pods was especially good. .

Looking at the next few books and how big they are, I think I'll take a break for a bit so I don't burn out. I read those so quickly I need a bit of time to digest them too.

Would definitely recommend this trilogy.
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I've got the box set of the 1st five books but not touched it yet. Gonna start after i finish Shogun, can't wait!
 
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Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,704
Probably one of of the few series where each book is better than the preceding ones.

Don't forget about the graphic novels!
www.piercebrown.com

Red Rising Comics — PIERCE BROWN

Red Rising: Sons of Ares is a six-issue comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment. A prequel to the Red Rising science fiction series by Pierce Brown, it was written by Brown and Rik Hoskin, with art by Eli Powell. The series explores the origins of the rebel group "Sons of Ares&quo
www.piercebrown.com www.piercebrown.com
 
Sean C.

Sean C.

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,841
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
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After reading Elaine Dundy's debut (and still most famous) novel, The Dud Avocado, I sought out her second novel (also available through NYRB Classics; her third and final novel, The Injured Party, does not seem to have been reissued in recent decades). There are some similarities to The Dud Avocado here, insofar as it follows the exploits of a chaotic young American woman living the expatriate life in Europe (France there; here, it's England). The Old Man and Me turns out to be a bit more aggressively pulpier, as our protagonist is soon revealed to have a somewhat surprising backstory and inconsistently-acted-on dark designs. It's a lot of fun, and Dundy's prose style is consistently excellent; a great use of first person narrative voice, and also demonstrating how it can be affected by a range of stimulants. The protagonist, Honey Flood (great unused Bond girl name), is a memorable anti-heroine of a sort that would surely have been especially unusual in the 1960s when this was written. It's a bit surprising to me that these books have mostly remained at cult status.
 
rahji

rahji

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,668
I am in the middle of Pax by Tom Holland and I really like the stories about the Roman Empire. I am fascinated by it. Thanks to this thread I got my eye on SPQR.
 
y0shizawa

y0shizawa

Member
May 3, 2021
538
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Finished this and really enjoyed it. Went straight into Book 2 and very quickly DNF'd it. Just couldn't click at all with the new direction and characters so decided to leave Aching God as a fun experience in and of itself.
 

DanDanderson

Member
May 7, 2024
45
Just finished the Remembrance of Earth's Past series. Still processing everything but my gosh, what excellent and truly creative works.

If anyone has any recommendations on a good sci-fi series, please share. I need something to help cure a severe case of book hangover.
 
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OP
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,704
DanDanderson said:
Just finished the Remembrance of Earth's Past series. Still processing everything but my gosh, what excellent and truly creative works.

If anyone has any recommendations on a good sci-fi series, please share. I need something to help cure a severe case of book hangover.
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The Expanse, Dune and Red Rising are my 3 current favs. Murderbot Diaries are fun too. Think they are making an AppleTV+ show out of it which means great production quality.
 
djinn

djinn

Member
Nov 16, 2017
15,957
Finished The Centre of the Circle by Jonathan Wylie.

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I only finished this book because The Apothecary Dairies vol 11 comes out tomorrow and I needed to get this out the way. It was...OK? Sort of?
 
Jonnykong

Jonnykong

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,026
Finished this tonight. For the genre of easy-read thriller, Tudor is one of my favourites. This reminded me a lot of True Blood, but a bit less camp.

It's about a teenage boy getting murdered in a remote town of Alaska. Was he killed by a human, or a vampire from the nearby colony?

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Dandy

Dandy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,591
I started Sabriel by Garth Nyx today. I'm about 25% into it, and really like it! The world and magic is really interesting.
 
BFIB

BFIB

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,973
DanDanderson said:
Just finished the Remembrance of Earth's Past series. Still processing everything but my gosh, what excellent and truly creative works.

If anyone has any recommendations on a good sci-fi series, please share. I need something to help cure a severe case of book hangover.
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I just finished Forge of God and it was fantastic!
 
Spectromixer

Spectromixer

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
16,908
USA
Anyone read David Baldacci? I was gifted a copy of A Calamity of Soul. Not my typical genre but I'm willing to give it a shot.
 
shodgson8

shodgson8

Shinra Employee
Member
Aug 22, 2018
4,315
Finished a couple of things of the last few weeks.

Read Rory Stewart's book 'Politics on the Edge', it has some interesting elements and insights to the heart of the UK government but I struggled as I found his position on so many things indefensible along with having a tendency to quickly 'gloss over' all of his support around the most unpopular elements he actively helped push though. He obviously has quite a lofty opinion of himself too, I was expecting to like him more after reading the book which was not the case.

As I posted in the Cosmere thread I also read
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter which I found to be absolutely wonderful. I am fresh off it so probably have some recency bias however I think it is probably the best book Sanderson has written along with The Emperor's Soul. Super impressed with it.

I have the new Stephen King short story collection arriving tomorrow and am excited to dig into it. I pretty much only buy ebooks these days but this was cheaper in hardback so it will be a rare physical read.
 
shodgson8

shodgson8

Shinra Employee
Member
Aug 22, 2018
4,315
Just arrived! looking forward to giving it a read. Have become quite fond of reading short story compendium's between bigger reads.

xkagHSY_d.webp
 

MaNuu

Member
May 11, 2024
45
Reading The Catcher in the Rye. Halfway through the book and I'm not completely hooked. I plan on finishing it though.

Also I still don't see the connection between the title and the story.
 
Jintor

Jintor

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,717
BigPete7978 said:
I have been working through the Calvin & Hobbes collection that my wife bought me. It is PERFECT.
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fuck. i want one.

i need to go find out what classic comics i have and which ones i want to keep. I think i have a far side collection somewhere. Thankfully threw out all my Dilbert
 
Dandy

Dandy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,591
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I read Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. I love her World of the Five Rat series, and also liked What Moves the Dead, but her more twee stuff usually puts me off. That probably colored my initial start to the book -- it's going for a comedic tone for sure. All of the goblins are silly and have a defining characteristic that makes them different(big, smart, twins, leader, sneaky, thinks a teddy bear can speak to him, etc...). But there is a point where the whole story gets turned on it's head, and it's kinda horrific? Kingfisher will often infuse a bit of horror into her works, but this seemed to come out of nowhere. It actually changed the whole book for me, which was a good thing. 3/5 I'd say.

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Now I'm reading A Novice's Tale by Margaret Frazer. I was looking for books that had a Pentiment vibe(other than the Name of the Rose, which I will try to read again some day). Someone recommended the Brother Cadfael books, and while I was looking into them I discovered this series. It's about a convent in the 1400s and a nun who solves mysteries, I think? I'm not very far into it, but it's got a cozy vibe, which I'm enjoying.
 
AlgusUnderdunk

AlgusUnderdunk

Member
Dec 30, 2020
15,644
Just read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, a lovely little cozy mystery that I'm pleased to say I was able to work out the answer to ahead of time.

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Hassansan

Hassansan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,138
So book Era, a while back I read a comment on Off-Topic with a summery of a book, it was about Jesus who came back to life and then a lot of people (churches?) started hiding the fact that he came back to life in fear for him condemning far right religious movements.

Does anyone know which book is this? google failed me.
 
Jonnykong

Jonnykong

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,026
Hassansan said:
So book Era, a while back I read a comment on Off-Topic with a summery of a book, it was about Jesus who came back to life and then a lot of people (churches?) started hiding the fact that he came back to life in fear for him condemning far right religious movements.

Does anyone know which book is this? google failed me.
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This sounds like The Final Testament by James Frey?
 
Mobius and Pet Octopus

Mobius and Pet Octopus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,974
I started a full read of my favorite franchise in 2021, I think. The full mainline drizzt series, its roughly 40 books. And I just finished the latest book, for the first time, Lloth's Warrior. And I'm sad I don't have anymore to read and the next trilogy or set isn't announced yet...

I did pick the next 5 books I'm going to read but still...
 
BetterGraphics

BetterGraphics

Member
Dec 11, 2017
2,721
I just finished Between Two Fires. What a book.

No idea what to read next. I've not read any Sanderson other than the first few Mistborn chapters a year ago. Maybe it's Cosmere time?
 
guise

guise

Member
Jan 1, 2018
300
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★★★

Reads like a fictional documentary summarising global events over a generation.

The brief chapters are insightful and informative as they ping-pong between topics. They articulate the scale and interdependence of the social, economic, political, legal, environmental, and engineering challenges we're facing with the climate crisis. On the downside they're fragmented and lack continuity causing the narrative to suffer; I was never really compelled to keep reading. Took me like 2 months to finish it.

I can just about buy India getting rid of the caste system, but I'm really struggling with the whole "what if blockchain saved the world" through-line.
 
JaySosa

JaySosa

Member
Nov 10, 2023
300
Mars
Started with Candy House by Jennifer Eagan, pretty entertaining so far. Really liked Goon Squad, although I completely forgot what it was about, so I thought I'll give this one a shot.
 
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