"What are you reading?" thread.

PatrThom

PatrThom

Finished rereading Alan Dean Foster's Cyber Way, (last read it in the early 90's) which is a murder mystery set in a technologically advanced near future centered around ancient Navajo tradition. In it, Foster presages the Internet and other modern technology, and even tetrachromacy. Entirely worth a read if you think a book blending a buddy cop story with post-modern technology (though not the Cyberpunk kind) and ancient Native American tradition sounds interesting.

--Patrick
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

PatrThom said:
Finished rereading Alan Dean Foster's Cyber Way, (last read it in the early 90's) which is a murder mystery set in a technologically advanced near future centered around ancient Navajo tradition. In it, Foster presages the Internet and other modern technology, and even tetrachromacy. Entirely worth a read if you think a book blending a buddy cop story with post-modern technology (though not the Cyberpunk kind) and ancient Native American tradition sounds interesting.

--Patrick
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Dark Winds meets Blade runner?
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Oh, and to add, if you've ever heard of leftist YouTube being referred to as breadtube, or even leftist ideologies being referred to as "bread ideologies," this is the book they are referring to.
 
Dirona

Dirona

Dirona said:
I finished this first book just before New Years, but haven't had time to write up anything.

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
(complete review)

While I think the first half of the book is stronger than the back half, I think that is mainly due to the excellence in worldbuilding and there being less of a need for such in the later half. While in the first half we're introduced to the characters, the second half is where they (rather than the world) take center-stage.

Each of the characters remain distinct and interesting in their own right, and I still want to find out what happens to each of them (even the ones who I still want to kick). The situations that they find themselves in are interesting, varied, and feel at home in this world that Hobb has built.

Still a solid 8.5/10.
Fantastic, and would definitely recommend.

Thanks again to @ThatNickGuy for the Secret Santa present. I can't wait to start on the next in the series!
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I've finally started the second book of the trilogy - Mad Ship, by Robin Hobb.
(I'm by no means finished... but I had to share initial thoughts.)

Hobb remains a seriously kick-ass writer. It's been 10-11 months since I finished the first book, and it felt like coming back to an old friend. The characters and places were all instantly familiar and remembered (which is an impressive feat!). This book really jumps right into the action, which was a bit jarring as that wasn't what I was expecting. But! I still spent a couple of solid hours this afternoon just engrossed in reading, and had a blast.

Seriously, thank you again @ThatNickGuy for these wonderful gifts from last year's Secret Santa. This series is fast becoming a favourite - like top 5, possibly top 3, easily.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Dirona said:
I've finally started the second book of the trilogy - Mad Ship, by Robin Hobb.
(I'm by no means finished... but I had to share initial thoughts.)

Hobb remains a seriously kick-ass writer. It's been 10-11 months since I finished the first book, and it felt like coming back to an old friend. The characters and places were all instantly familiar and remembered (which is an impressive feat!). This book really jumps right into the action, which was a bit jarring as that wasn't what I was expecting. But! I still spent a couple of solid hours this afternoon just engrossed in reading, and had a blast.

Seriously, thank you again @ThatNickGuy for these wonderful gifts from last year's Secret Santa. This series is fast becoming a favourite - like top 5, possibly top 3, easily.
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I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It's been a LONG time since I last read them (like maybe 15+ years), so I don't remember many details. But I do remember that, of the three, Mad Ship was my favourite. I can't for the life of me remember why, but I'm curious to see if it'll be your favourite once you're done, too.
 
Dirona

Dirona

ThatNickGuy said:
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It's been a LONG time since I last read them (like maybe 15+ years), so I don't remember many details. But I do remember that, of the three, Mad Ship was my favourite. I can't for the life of me remember why, but I'm curious to see if it'll be your favourite once you're done, too.
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I stayed up late to finish Mad Ship last night. It's a fantastic book - far more fast-paced/cliff-hanger-laden than the first, and that's also the one complaint I might have about it.

That said:
The world is richly built without being overwrought. The characters are vivid and distinct without resorting to too many cliches. But I had a slightly harder time getting into the narrative itself this time, at least in comparison to the first book.

8/10
Damn good, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this gets wrapped up in the final volume of the trilogy (and I will be devastated when it's all over).
 
Thread Necromancer

Thread Necromancer

I'm rereading my favorite book. To reign in hell, author Stephen Brust. It's not an easy find, if you Google it Google appears to be pretty ignorant of it unless you're specific with author and such.
The first chapter can be hard to follow as it is written overly biblical type speach, but after that it tells a great story of a war in heaven, how Satan fell from grace, and how Satan was a victim but accepted the role or of love and obligation.

It's a fantastic book.


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Dave

Dave

Staff member
Haven’t read that for years but it is quite good. Gives “get thee behind me, Satan” new meaning.

In the book he was being protected from an attack.
 
Thread Necromancer

Thread Necromancer

Dave said:
Haven’t read that for years but it is quite good. Gives “get thee behind me, Satan” new meaning.

In the book he was being protected from an attack.
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@Dave I'm not sure I read it the same way but I'm interested in your perspective. To me it reads as Satan was slow, methodical, contemplative, and indecisive. In the meantime he was made into a scapegoat, a victim.

I'm very interested to hear view
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Thread Necromancer said:
@Dave I'm not sure I read it the same way but I'm interested in your perspective. To me it reads as Satan was slow, methodical, contemplative, and indecisive. In the meantime he was made into a scapegoat, a victim.

I'm very interested to hear view
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Truthfully I’d have to read it again before I’d make any sort of review. When I said it’s been a long time I mean it. I think it came out in the late 1980s and that’s when I read it.
 
Dirona

Dirona

"The Mercy of Gods" by James S.A. Corey

Damn, can these peeps write. I adored the Expanse series (both TV and books), and whipped through the books that I have at speed. This first entry into their new series was no exception - I finished it in less than a week.
There were definitely some spots where I wasn't too sure about whether I would keep reading (some horror-ish elements, which is not my jam), but the thing was so compellingly written I kept going anyways and was glad I did.
In hindsight, it feels a bit like a poli-sci textbook wrapped in sci-fi paper, but I honestly didn't care while reading it because I was so engrossed in the whole thing. Absolutely detestable characters, lampshaded starting premise, un-graceful world-building, but I couldn't put it down.
 
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