What are you Reading? Mentatiferous May 2019 edition

Ralif Redhammer · May 1, 2019

Finished up The Grey Bastards. I quite liked the brawling, bawdy tale.

Now I’m just about done with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Like the first book, there’s a depressive, cynical bent to it that I was too young to catch onto the first time I read the series.

Michael Silverbane · May 1, 2019

Carrying on with my reading of H Rider Haggards works, I am currently reading Nada the Lily. This is an account of the tale of the character Umslopogaas, who was introduced in Alan Quatermain. It also features a good deal of fictional history surrounding the rise of Shaka, king of Zululand.

This is a very unique story of that time period, in that it features an entirely African cast of characters (with the exception of a single European character to whom the story is being told).

Kramodlog · May 1, 2019

I just finished At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. It is a re-read. This time in English. I enjoyed the early ancient astronauts who created life on Earth trope. And they get to fight other aliens for control of Earth. I wonder how much influence he had on the trope after the short story was published. His prose was heavy and lifeless in this one.

Now I'm starting Glasshouse by Charles Stross. Supposed to be his hardest novel to read.

megamania · May 2, 2019

On the last pages of Rise and Fall of a Dragon-King. Begin the Tribe of One series after that. Most likely this weekend.

Richards · May 3, 2019

I finished Stephen King's Insomnia. Boy, that was a bit of a slog! The story was okay once it got going...but it took close to 300 pages before the real meat of the story started to kick in. I can't really recommend it.

Now I'm starting up The Pharaoh Key by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the fifth in the Gideon Crew series. I've enjoyed the other four books in this series and so far this one has held up to the rest. This time it's Gideon and one of his former co-workers going it by themselves after the company they worked for closed, and if the back cover blurb is to believed this one may be a real game-changer for the main character, who at the beginning of the novel is expected to live no longer than two months before his non-operable tumor kills him.

Johnathan

Ralif Redhammer · May 7, 2019

Finished reading Stephen Lawhead’s In the Hall of the Dragon King. It wasn’t very good, I’m afraid. It’s appears to be his first attempt at writing a fantasy novel, and it shows. Everything is just so ham-handed and blatantly telegraphed in advance.

Next up is Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s, a collection of essays on the subject.

Blue · May 7, 2019

I picked up cheap a several inch thick softcover that's six or so novels that are the complete Jill Kismet series by Lilith Stormcrow. Not sure who has the more pretentious name.

I'm fairly early in the book. Somewhat standard urban fantasy - quite powerful but emotionally scarred protagonist facing off something that scares everyone else. The prose is a bit florid, perhaps even shading towards purple prose, but it grows on you. Haven't read far enough to get a good idea of plots, twists, and much about other characters yet.

Nellisir · May 8, 2019

Finishing up the 4th book in Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers series. I've got 5 of them in a 2-book SFBC edition; there's apparently a 6th but I'm probably not motivated enough to go acquire it. Not a bad series, though.

I've been tearing through books recently (not a lot else to do, and I finally have enough income to not stress about it). In this month I've also read Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky; The Wrong Stars and The Dreaming Stars by Tim Pratt; and Embers of War and Fleet of Knives by Gareth L. Powell. Children of Time is undoubtedly the best; the others are pretty bog-standard high SF, if that's a thing (think Alastair Reynolds, but not as good).

Also working on the Corum series by Michael Moorcock; waiting for Book 4 to show up on my doorstep. (bookstore had 1-3 & 5-6).

vpuigdoller · May 8, 2019

I just started Los Hijos del Sol by Morgan Scott. Its a very kool read so far.

Ralif Redhammer · May 8, 2019

Tchaikovsky's thing for spiders means I generally shy away from his books. Spiderlight was enough of that.

I've only read the first Corum book. Really need to dive deeper into that series. It's hard to go wrong with The Eternal Champion.

Nellisir said:
I've been tearing through books recently (not a lot else to do, and I finally have enough income to not stress about it). In this month I've also read Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky; The Wrong Stars...

Also working on the Corum series by Michael Moorcock; waiting for Book 4 to show up on my doorstep. (bookstore had 1-3 & 5-6).