What are you Reading? Magnanimous March 2019 edition

Ralif Redhammer · Mar 1, 2019

Well, that was a fast February. Finished reading King’s The Running Man. It was decent, filled with an overwhelming sense of rage and disgust. Some of the language is a bit rough, and I’m not sure if the racism and homophobia is supposed to part of the story, or just unfortunate casual usage for the time.

Next up is the first Liavek collection. Considering how much I loved Thieves World back then, I’m a bit surprised I didn’t come across this 80s shared world anthology series sooner.

Janx · Mar 1, 2019

Still reading The Sword of Shannara. The gang is in Paranor and its starting to heat up...

Richards · Mar 2, 2019

Ralif Redhammer said:
Next up is the first Liavek collection. Considering how much I loved Thieves World back then, I’m a bit surprised I didn’t come across this 80s shared world anthology series sooner.

Ooh, I don't remember which collection it's in, but Alan Moore's "A Hypothetical Lizard" is in one of those Liavek books. That was a great story, one I remember in detail today despite having read it literally decades ago.

Johnathan

Blue · Mar 2, 2019

Near the end of "This Is Not A Game" by Walter Jon Williams. I've read it before and it was acceptable WJW (which is still a pretty high bar), I'm enjoying it more this time around. It seems there are more Dagmar Shaw books - I don't remember the end from the first time if it was set up as a series or he just added other books on.

Ralif Redhammer · Mar 4, 2019

Nice, it looks like that's in book 3. So far, I'm digging the series, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually. But yeah, the authors list is just insane: Gene Wolfe, Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb, Charles, De Lint, Charles Saunders, Patricia Wrede, Jane Yolen, and more!

Richards said:
Ooh, I don't remember which collection it's in, but Alan Moore's "A Hypothetical Lizard" is in one of those Liavek books. That was a great story, one I remember in detail today despite having read it literally decades ago.

Johnathan

Blue · Mar 4, 2019

Blue said:
Near the end of "This Is Not A Game" by Walter Jon Williams. I've read it before and it was acceptable WJW (which is still a pretty high bar), I'm enjoying it more this time around. It seems there are more Dagmar Shaw books - I don't remember the end from the first time if it was set up as a series or he just added other books on.

Finished up "This is Not A Game" and onto the next in the series, "Deep State". More satisfying then I remember from the first time around.

Ralif Redhammer · Mar 5, 2019

Finished up Liavek. It was quick, sharp read. Looking forward to diving into the rest of the series.

But it put Thieves World on my mind and now I'm re-reading Janet Morris' Beyond Sanctuary. Haven't read this in ages; grim, god-haunted Tempus was my favorite of the Thieves World dramatis personae.

Blue · Mar 10, 2019

Ralif Redhammer said:
Finished up Liavek. It was quick, sharp read. Looking forward to diving into the rest of the series.

But it put Thieves World on my mind and now I'm re-reading Janet Morris' Beyond Sanctuary. Haven't read this in ages; grim, god-haunted Tempus was my favorite of the Thieves World dramatis personae.

Oh gods, Thieves World. Part of me remembers inconsistant writing, soem Mary Sue like characters, and a multitude of shared-world sins. But part of me remembers how I would be so excited when a new book came out and all the fun I had writing them.

Trying to remember the name of my favorite character, but I will freely admit that I liked Hanse Shadowspawn.

Sadly, in more of my clean-outs where I brought bags of books to friends and told them to take that series went away.

Blue · Mar 10, 2019

Just got back from a business trip for a workshop in beautiful Lisbon, Portugal. I'm in northern US and appreciated the difference from shoveling snow.

Now, not as much reading as I thought - it was long days in the workshop and then nights with colleagues I work with but rarely am on the same continent with. But still got some reading in.

Read "All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries" by Martha Wells, a short story in an ongoing series of them. Don't know if this was the first or what, but it was enjoyable. Read Diaspora by Greg Egan, which felt like a travelogue of nifty (often mathematical/physic) ideas with a framing story around them. It was quite interesting enough but not satisfying in the ways a more traditional novel would for me.

I also got about half way through Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee. This has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while. I had picked it up once and read a few pages and there was too much unexplained new concepts that it wasn't the light & fluffy reading I was looking for at the time. This time thoguh when I had more attention to give it I got further and things fell into place, including why they needed to hit the concepts in so fast at the beginning. Quite enjoying it so far, will see where it goes.

Still have Deep State halfway done - didn't want to lug an already half-read trade paperback on my trip.

Ralif Redhammer · Mar 11, 2019

Thieves World is a mixed bag, absolutely, but for me it’s foundational fantasy reading.

Hanse was my brother’s favorite character. He ended up with most of the books we had, rather than split up the set. This one, I still held onto, and have been idly picking them up again on my own.

Wait a minute...did you mean to say writing them?!

Blue said:
Oh gods, Thieves World. Part of me remembers inconsistant writing, soem Mary Sue like characters, and a multitude of shared-world sins. But part of me remembers how I would be so excited when a new book came out and all the fun I had writing them.

Trying to remember the name of my favorite character, but I will freely admit that I liked Hanse Shadowspawn.

Sadly, in more of my clean-outs where I brought bags of books to friends and told them to take that series went away.