[Feb 2015] What Are You Reading

Deuce Traveler · Feb 6, 2015

Normally [MENTION=29314]Delricho[/MENTION] would start this up, but I thought I'd do him a favor as we are six days in.

I just finished "The Great Game" by Peter Hopkirk and it was a pretty stunning read about Russia and England competing in Asia, leading to the British Empire expanding past its initial holdings of India and Russia taking the Caucuses. An amazing book with small parties of spies operating in tribal lands.

Kramodlog · Feb 6, 2015

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. It won all the awards, Hugo, Nebula, A.C. Clark, BSFA, Locus, your mom, so I guess it is gonna be good.

Zaukrie · Feb 6, 2015

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn. Fascinating to read given decades of hindsight regarding Sadam Hussein. Plus, just fast paced.

Mallus · Feb 6, 2015

goldomark said:
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. It won all the awards, Hugo, Nebula, A.C. Clark, BSFA, Locus, your mom, so I guess it is gonna be good.

Everyone loved it, except me, apparently. I'll probably give it another go, but I found Leckie's prose style just... dull.

I'm currently halfway through Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse, which is considered one of the best Japanese SF novels. So far it's pretty amazing, and the translation is exceptional.

The book is SF on the grandest --and goony-est-- scale; it begins with the formation of the Solar System, jumps to a brief interlude starring one of the first amphibians (who's being uplifted by technologically advanced aliens) and then, in order, introduces Plato (looking for the secrets of Atlantis, which, of course, had nuclear power), Siddhartha-on-the-cusp-of-becoming-the-Buddha (who travels 160,000,000,000 light-years through space), and Jesus Christ (and Pilate) as characters.

It reminds of a blend of Olaf Stapleton, Doris Lessing's "Canopus in Argos" cycle, with, god help me, a dash of E.E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensmen" (actually, what I've read so far could be summed up as -- "What if Triplanetary were written by a talented author?").

Nellisir · Feb 6, 2015

Just finished Les Liaisons dangereuses. Fascinating book, kinda makes you hate people.

Reading Rose, by Martin Cruz Smith.

delericho · Feb 6, 2015

Deuce Traveler said:
Normally delericho would start this up, but I thought I'd do him a favor as we are six days in.

Thanks. It's been an... interesting few days.

Anyway, from the other thread:

I'm about a quarter of the way "Gone With the Wind", and enjoying it a lot more than I expected.

Still, I'm taking a short break from it. I'm currently reading "Rise of Tiamat", and will then tackle "The Divinity Drive" (the latest Pathfinder AP, and the last volume in the Iron Gods path). I'm also hoping to read "The Secret History" and "The Long War" this month, but we'll see how far I get.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the second (fifth) Shakespearean Star Wars, "The Empire Striketh Back".

TarionzCousin · Feb 6, 2015

Nellisir said:
Just finished Les Liaisons dangereuses. Fascinating book, kinda makes you hate people.

The author was an interesting person. From Wikipedia: "He was a military officer and an amateur writer with a cynical outlook on human relations. However, he aspired to 'write a work which departed from the ordinary, which made a noise, and which would remain on earth after his death'." He succeeded. Les Liaisons Dangereuses was a huge hit in his time and was still being taught in schools in the Twentieth Century.

Mallus said:
I'm currently halfway through Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights by Ryu Mitsuse, which is considered one of the best Japanese SF novels. So far it's pretty amazing, and the translation is exceptional.

Sold! I just ordered a copy. Thanks.

delericho · Feb 6, 2015

TarionzCousin said:
Les Liaisons Dangereuses was a huge hit in his time and was still being taught in schools in the Twentieth Century.

Not to mention constantly being made into films.

Nellisir · Feb 6, 2015

TarionzCousin said:
The author was an interesting person. From Wikipedia: "He was a military officer and an amateur writer with a cynical outlook on human relations. However, he aspired to 'write a work which departed from the ordinary, which made a noise, and which would remain on earth after his death'." He succeeded. Les Liaisons Dangereuses was a huge hit in his time and was still being taught in schools in the Twentieth Century.

Yeah, it's...I'm not quite sure what to think of it. You read a few lines and think "yeah, that's it exactly!" and then you turn the page and the lines get turned around and against themselves and you're sort of mentally backpedaling thinking "no, not like that!". I'm not sure it's a book I want to read again, but it was worth reading.

It's definitely a cynical look at humanity, but at the same time it's a very closed and narrow look. It doesn't say "we are all horrid" as much as it says "look how horrid we can be". So there's cynicism but not hopelessness.

Richards · Feb 7, 2015

From a Buick 8 by Stephen King, about an odd-looking device that was apparently built to look like a typical car from Earth, but is apparently some sort of alien conduit device of some sort. I'm about halfway in, and it's been an interesting read.

Johnathan

[Feb 2015] What Are You Reading

Deuce Traveler

Adventurer

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

Zaukrie

New Publisher

Mallus

Legend

Nellisir

Hero

delericho

Legend

TarionzCousin

Second Most Angelic Devil Ever

delericho

Legend

Nellisir

Hero

Richards

Legend

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