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Post by robertlcollins on Sept 1, 2021 19:39:09 GMT
Oh, and before that I finished a lovely fantasy book called Autumn by Melissa Nash. It's also the start of a series, and features a young woman who after fleeing her village with her mother finds out that magic is real and is kept very secret. I found both the book and the author on TikTok. I plan to continue with this series as well.
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Post by robertlcollins on Sept 12, 2021 11:45:48 GMT
Saturday I finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. A girl finds a door that leads to another world. Ten years later she starts to learn what they mean about her past and and her future.
I enjoyed this novel. January isn’t much of a heroine at first, but you see her grow into one. The story has powerful things to say about race and class, but it’s also about the power of imagination and affection. Definitely worth reading if you didn't catch it when it came out a while back.
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Post by robertlcollins on Oct 2, 2021 13:29:06 GMT
Thursday I finished Kingmaker by Kaitlin Bellamy, the fourth novel in her Mapweaver series. The book begins with an effort to destroy and magical prison. From there Fox and his friends join a rebellion against a tyrant. I enjoyed this book, as there were more world building and character development. My only concern is that it ends on a tragic note. I'm hoping that the series ends on a more positive tone.
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Post by robertlcollins on Oct 12, 2021 11:49:13 GMT
Sunday I finished Ambush or Adore by Gail Carriger. It was a lovely slow-burn romance between two of the side-characters in the Parasol-verse. There were some of Gail's witty touches, but it was also very sweet.
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Post by robertlcollins on Oct 20, 2021 20:44:43 GMT
Yesterday I finished Changeling by Kiri Callaghan. Charlotte "Charlie" Carroll is a misfit teen who does have a mother who loves her. When her mother falls into a strange sleep and doesn't wake up, Charlie has to go into a world of dreams and nightmares to save her mother.
I really enjoyed this book. Charlie is a great character, and other intriguing characters pop into the story. There's humor and warmth, but the story also gave me some feels towards the end. You don't have to have read the first book to like this, but it helps.
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Post by robertlcollins on Nov 9, 2021 19:04:47 GMT
Yesterday I finished The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum. It’s near-future SF.
Ryann is a teen who looks rough, and sometimes is, but helps misfits like herself. A teacher asks her to help out a new student, Alexandria. They don’t get along until an accident forces them too. As it happens, Alex is the daughter of a woman sent into deep space, and desperately wants to hear her mother’s messages back to Earth.
This is a great little book about being broken and becoming better through friendship. It’s engaging, the cast is diverse, and it’s a good story.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Nov 13, 2021 7:20:30 GMT
Recently read Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein. I thought the ending was disappointing, but that seems to be par for the course for Heinlein.  |
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Post by robertlcollins on Nov 19, 2021 14:51:47 GMT
Yesterday I finished Searching for the Fleet by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the seventh novel in her Diving Universe series.
It follows on from the last two novels, with a couple characters finding out about a Fleet starbase that might not have been completely shut down. This is a mystery they want to solve. It’s an good mystery, but towards the end the action ramps way up. I liked this book and I’m digging this series.
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Post by robertlcollins on Nov 28, 2021 16:33:32 GMT
Yesterday I finished Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller. Alosa is the teenaged daughter of a Pirate King. While sailing with her crew she's captured by one of the Pirate Lords. But she's allowed herself to be taken so she can find a piece of a map leading to a fabulous treasure. This was a fun read. Alosa tries to use her wits to deal with her situation. The plot has good twists and turns. It's the first of a duology, and I'm interested in reading the second book.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Dec 3, 2021 7:56:13 GMT
Just finished The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.
It's my first time reading it.
Man, what a load of dreck. I can't believe so many people praise this book the way they do. I can believe that it's a favorite among psychos and narcissists and other assorted assholes. They undoubtedly see something of themselves in the despicable main character.
There's no story, and there's no character arc. Just a bunch of navel-gazing from a teenage spoiled brat from New York. Holden Caulfield fails out of his rich-kid prep school and then basically just wanders around from one place to the next, doing his best to piss off everyone he encounters. You know the old saying, "If you meet an asshole in the morning, you've met an asshole; if everyone you meet all day is an asshole, then you're the asshole"? Well, Holden thinks everyone in his life is annoying or phony or boring or insert-criticism-here, and when everyone you meet sucks in some way, then it's you who sucks.
If I didn't know better, I'd swear this book was the author's attempt at trolling the literary establishment in the same vein as Atlanta Nights or something. But the author's bio is very similar to Holden's--even down to being on the school fencing team--so I've concluded this is basically a case of a Grubby Apartment Story.
My advice: don't waste your time with this one. It just confirms my theory that if a book is highly praised by the literary establishment AND is commonly given to students as assigned reading, then it must be utter crap.
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Dec 3, 2021 23:34:17 GMT
Jeff Tanyard I've never read "The Catcher in the Rye" myself, but your assessment of the book doesn't surprise me from what I do know of it. I imagine lovers of Ayn Rand, and The Legend of the Seeker series would love it though. Thank you for your service in reading so we don't have to!
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Dec 4, 2021 0:17:48 GMT
Jeff Tanyard I've never read "The Catcher in the Rye" myself, but your assessment of the book doesn't surprise me from what I do know of it. I imagine lovers of Ayn Rand, and The Legend of the Seeker series would love it though. Thank you for your service in reading so we don't have to!
I haven't read The Legend of the Seeker, so I can't comment about that.
I have read some of Rand's stuff, though, and it's nothing like The Catcher in the Rye. Ayn Rand's heroes are hard-working people who are highly valuable to society in general. They don't steal or extort; they always exchange value for value in consenting arrangements. They might be mercenary, cold-hearted weirdos--especially when it comes to sex--but they're admirable cold-hearted weirdos. Dagny Taggart keeps the trains running smoothly. Howard Roark is an architect who revolutionizes the building designs of his day. And so on and so forth.
By contrast, there's nothing valuable or admirable about Holden Caulfield. He's just a spoiled teenage shitweasel who bitches and moans about everything while producing nothing of value.
It's really no wonder that so many kids grow up to hate reading. The public schools make them read all the worst stuff.
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Post by robertlcollins on Dec 8, 2021 0:25:37 GMT
I finished Winter by Melissa Nash yesterday evening. It’s the second in her Guardians of Magic series. It continues from the first book with a search for magic-users. Matters get complex as the King demands the loyalty of the characters, as a neighbor is preparing for war. I liked the characters in this as much as the first. The plot moves at a faster pace in this book. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I want to find out what happens next.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Dec 20, 2021 10:41:47 GMT
Just finished Candide by Voltaire. It's my first time reading it. I read an English translation, of course, not the original French.
It's good. It's satire, so it's absurdist throughout, but it's witty enough and the snark/sarcasm is intelligent enough to appear clever rather than adolescent. (I find almost all modern sarcasm/snark to be insufferably childish and stupid, so this was a refreshing change of pace.) I even laughed out loud a few times.
It's a very easy read, too. It's novella-length, and the language is simple and clear. Much more readable than some later French works. (I'm looking at you, Les Miserables.)
Anyway, it was fun enough, and the "cultivate your garden" moral is a pretty good one, I think. Recommended.
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Post by robertlcollins on Dec 21, 2021 3:42:00 GMT
Saturday I finished Aurora Burning, the follow-up to Aurora Rising. The heroes are on the run, trying to find an ancient super-weapon to fight an alien infection. There’s also rising tensions between humans and another race.
The characters are snarky as before, but they also gain depth. The story has a lot of twists and turns, but towards the end I thought there were a few too many. I did like the book and I will read the third one.
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Post by robertlcollins on Dec 24, 2021 13:03:32 GMT
Last night I finished Daughter of the Siren Queen, the follow-up to Daughter of the Pirate King. Alosa is back leading the hunt for the treasure of the sirens. Secrets are revealed, battles are fought, and Alosa learns more about who she is.
This is a fast-paced book. Alosa continues to be a great character. The story is good, though it doesn’t shy away from some tough parts. I enjoyed this duology!
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Jan 1, 2022 17:23:01 GMT
I read New Spring, the wheel of time prequel, the other night. I literally stayed up all night reading it. It's really good if you're watching the wheel of time and if you're in love with Moiraine, like I am. It's the only book where she's the main character, and we get lots of baby Siuanraine which is delicious. I enjoyed it muchly. If Moiraine was a main character in the other 14 books I'd read them, too, since we have at least a year long hiatus until s2, but she's not and then gets shelved for 8 books, so I won't read them. I did start writing fanfic for her though. |
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Post by robertlcollins on Jan 6, 2022 21:55:50 GMT
Yesterday I finished The Renegat by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It’s 8th in her Diving Universe series.
It involves the Fleet sending a ship to investigate a long-abandoned Scrapheap, places where the Fleet puts old ships. It’s a story about making decisions, good & bad, and about the consequences of them. It wasn’t always easy to get through, but I was very satisfied at the end.
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Jan 18, 2022 6:33:19 GMT
Industrial Society and its Future, by Ted Kaczynski.
Yep... it's the Unabomber's manifesto. 
It's available at the Washington Post, of all places, for anyone who wants to check it out:
It was interesting, though dry and a bit tedious in places. Some of Ted's conclusions and predictions are right on the money. Others, not so much. Real hit-and-miss for me.
He was in America's version of the Chateau d'If-- ADX Florence--for many years but has recently been moved to a different prison due to health reasons.
Here's an interesting article about some college students who wrote to him and received a reply:
Here's a sample of his mathematical work:
A brilliant, troubled man. Such a waste of an excellent mind.  |
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Post by robertlcollins on Jan 23, 2022 14:47:06 GMT
Yesterday I finished The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick. It’s the first of a fantasy series.
A young woman, formerly from the streets of a city, returns hoping to cheat a noble family. However, the family’s lost wealth and influence. The woman has to navigate politics and cultural differences to survive.
This was a good novel, though a slow one because of long chapters. The two cultures in the city have different magic systems, and I found that unique. The second book is out and I plan to get it. 4 out of 5.
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