What Are You Reading?

Fian · 11-01-2022 4:50pm

I read the prince of nothing trilogy, mainly due to repeated recommendations on here. It did live up to the recommendations.

I've moved on to "Jade City", nice change of pace and I think I am going to enjoy it. Yakuza/Triad equivalents in Asian setting who derive powers from Jade, most people can't handle it and get driven to suicide but a particular island race can wear it after training from childhood. With a dash of political machinations between rival clans. As i say definitely enjoying it so far and optimistic that will continue.

Thargor · 12-01-2022 6:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118456248#Comment_118456248

You probably know this but you have 4 more books to go after Prince of Nothing.

I'm about to finish reading the whole thing again and tbh I think it's the only time I've ever enjoyed anything more on the second read than the first, really hope Bakkers not finished with the universe yet.

RMDrive · 12-01-2022 9:51am

About 20% into The Malice, book 2 of Peter Newman's 'Vagrant Trilogy'. It was recommended here a while back but I'm finding it a pure slog - not just the 2nd book, the whole thing. So should I twist or stick?

Trojan · 15-01-2022 2:05pm

The Alexander Southerland series by Douglas Lumsden, it's urban fantasy 20s/30s style detective who dunnit set in "Yerba City", remeniscent of the Dresden Files, maybe a bit grittier.

A Troll Walks into a Bar
A Witch Steps into My Office
A Hag Rises from the Abyss
A Night Owl Slips into a Diner (I haven't read this one yet)

I enjoyed it, easy going escapism, not perfect but more than good enough for me to keep reading the series.

Fian · 21-01-2022 4:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459280#Comment_118459280

Thanks, yes i am aware there is another set of novels, will definitely read them but tbh I want a change of pace first, hence now that jade city trilogy.

Heraclius · 21-01-2022 4:16pm

I just finished "The Priory of the Orange Tree" and I had mixed feelings about it. I liked how the different religions were developed but I felt it was anticlimactic and that most of the characters were poorly developed.

ixoy · 23-01-2022 10:58pm

"Underlord" by Will Wight, the sixth book in his Cradle series. More of the same progression fantasy that I'm still enjoying. Sure the characters keep levelling up but it's a quick read and fun.
'The House in the Cerulean Sea' by TJ Klune - Awww, what a sweet novel. It's just nice. Telling the story of a man who goes to assess an orphanage for wayward children with magical abilities, the plot isn't about setting to surprise you. It's just a heart warming tale. Aww again.

Dades · 25-01-2022 12:51pm

Reading Chaos Walking.

Not entirely sure how I ended up with it but enjoying it nonetheless.

megaten · 25-01-2022 6:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118512715#Comment_118512715

Priory of the Orange Tree'd best aspect is that it feels like a fantasy trilogy crammed into one book. (I mean this in a good way though its been years since I read it).

lordgoat · 27-01-2022 10:09pm

Perdido Street Station - about 30% through. Absolute dross so far.

Nekarsulm · 27-01-2022 10:16pm

Deep Shelter.

A fine suspense/police procedural/bent cop novel centered around underground London.

I would recommend it to anyone who reads James Craig etc.

RMDrive · 28-01-2022 12:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118542692#Comment_118542692

I'm about the same and I agree, it's not doing a lot for me so far. I'm on a bad run of books at the moment.

Xofpod · 28-01-2022 12:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118542692#Comment_118542692

Not a great book to be honest. I wouldn't write Mieville off completely though - The City & The City and Embassytown are very good reads if you're inclined to give him another go (and haven't read them already...)

KAGY · 28-01-2022 3:30pm

Just finished Hannu Rajaniemi's Fractal Prince. I had read the first one years ago and found I had to go back and read it again after a chapter or two into this one.

A good but sometimes complicated hard scfi, many characters having multiple clones, virtual realities inside virtual realities, and many references to earth cultures (Finnish and Arabian and more I probably missed). Rajaniemi doesn't explain a lot of terminologies, leaving the reader to work it out, which mightnt happen at the first instance.

still, it moves along and the story lines come together nicely.

Xofpod · 28-01-2022 6:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545907#Comment_118545907

I have this one in the pile a long time but have similar concerns that I'll have lost all track of a very dense plot and obtuse setting. Do you reckon a full re-read of the Quantum Thief is required, or would some online bluffers guide suffice? I did enjoy the first one so the follow-up is an itch I've been meaning to scratch for years....

KAGY · 29-01-2022 3:24pm

You could probably get away with a bluffers guide, to get a refresher of the main characters, but my memory is crap so a reread increased my enjoyment of it .

I'm on the 3rd one now, and this time around there are little reminders of previous events.

Thargor · 01-02-2022 10:30pm

Ugh, Neal Stephenson with another dud, what was he thinking with Termination Shock, minor spoilers to follow. Its a great premise, billionaire builds giant gun and starts firing sulphur shells into the atmosphere to cool the planet and stop sea level rise. A good premise is all you can say about it though, the rest is just boring non-stop irrelevant character introductions and technical detail but the biggest crime of all is he resolves nothing and doesn't even show any of the consequences of the plan, I mean you read the whole brick of a book and it doesn't tell you if it works or not! The last 25% of it is just taken up by a stupid fight between some drone operators, its a total waste of time.

Ive moved onto the last book of the Expanse now, hopefully we'll finally get some answers, the last 2-3 books in the series were pure cash-ins that didnt advance the main story by much at all.

Gary kk · 02-02-2022 3:12pm

Finding no interest in finishing the expanse, have the book four chapters. And could be there for four years

Bits_n_Bobs · 03-02-2022 8:26pm

Gave up on Stephenson a good few years ago, seems to have increasingly prioritised intellectual grandstanding over writing a decent story.

Expanse ran out of steam at some stage in the third book, imho

lordgoat · 06-02-2022 8:34pm

not a new book but I see Rift War and Empire were optioned for TV. New production company, first 3 rift war and the 3 collabs with Wurts. Don't hold out a lot of hope for this.

shootermacg · 09-02-2022 12:36pm

God I thought this thread was gone, had a hard time finding it since the site move.

Read

The three body problem trilogy. https://www.goodreads.com/series/189931-remembrance-of-earth-s-past I can totally recommend it, great stuff.

Hyperion / Fall of Hyperion - First book was good, but not sure if I'll continue the series.

Gary kk · 09-02-2022 2:35pm

Hyperion those take a little effort

ixoy · 11-02-2022 12:54am

* "A Civil Campaign" by Lois McMaster-Bujold, another Vorkosigan book. So as ever this was well written but it also wasn't what I expected. Instead of the usual smart story and intrigue, I got a romantic comedy. Yes, it was amusing in parts but not really what I wanted. Characters are as good as ever, and it is fun to see Miles flustered, but hopefully it gets back to the mix of action and story that I like.

* 'The Bone Ships' by RJ Barker, the first book in the Tide Child trilogy. This was interesting - nearly entirely set on sea, it's in a fairly original world where the main boats are made form the bones of sea dragons. It's a grim dark world but Barker's prose has a certain poetry and I really got a feel for the love of the open ocean. The characters took a bit of time to grow on me but the world's definitely interesting enough that I've moved on to the second book.

shrapnel222 · 12-02-2022 11:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118604833#Comment_118604833

Hyperion/endymion is by far my favourite series of all time ainec! i've read them so many times.

I've read the first 2 of the 3 body problem and whilst i really enjoyed the concept and story line, it was one of the slowest reads for me ever, and never bothered to read the 3rd one unfortunately.

shootermacg · 12-02-2022 8:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619884#Comment_118619884

Yeah Hyperion was just OK, well written, but very indulgent and the science was pretty hairy at times. Then it just goes a bit bonkers in book two, not even sure if I read the third book or not, but I'd kind of had enough. The series should have stopped after book one IMO.

The 3 body problem has an 18 billion year timeline and I enjoyed it much more. I suppose, it depends on what you find interesting. Not really big into poets rambling on for hundreds of pages.

Trojan · 15-02-2022 2:48pm

Hyperion was not for me at all, I understand why it appeals to a lot of folks, but I prefer something a bit more... plot driven. I'm not even sure how to express it.

pixelburp · 15-02-2022 4:42pm

Hyperion and the Three Body Problem both feel like books I ought to be reading, if I were a serious sci-fi fellow. Just never felt the interest in the either, having a small reservoir of patience for those more introspective, "cerebral" styles. Unless I'm mistaking both and their respective tones.

keane2097 · 15-02-2022 5:18pm

Hyperion is class ye are mad

Trojan · 19-02-2022 3:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118635743#Comment_118635743

Different strokes for different folks. Hyperion was a 2/5 for me.

I'll see if I can explain that a bit more without spoilers... This is all very much prefaced with "IMO".

The individual stories are good, and I would enjoy them in a short story anthology. The container story world is just fabulous, I really enjoyed the scope and history. Even the storyteller characters are well done.

But, mix that all together in a Canterbury Tales frame, with a metric fucktonne of references to Keats and a deeply unsatisfying plot conclusion, that for me does not do it.

If you're a fan of classic literature, if you're one of the people who's actually read Ulysses rather than lying about it, then you'll love this. I'm sure there are other folks with a masochistic bent who also love to inflict books like this on themselves

But no, not for me :)

ednwireland · 19-02-2022 4:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118604833#Comment_118604833

just finished that trilogy. Great series.

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