What are you Reading? Jaunty January 2019 edition

Richards · Jan 11, 2019

I think you'll like Expendable. It's kind of an inverted Star Trek, with a Federation of alien races (The League of Peoples) overseen by mysterious beings so advanced beyond us they may as well be deities. They have a main rule that you cannot knowingly take the life of another sentient being - if you do so and you subsequently travel beyond your solar system, you just die. (They don't care what you do in your own solar system - that's for each species to figure out. Just don't go spreading your murderous ways to other systems.) Therefore, there's a Federation-like organization but no interstellar war.

The "Expendables" are basically the Star Trek redshirts - the guys who beam down to a planet and you pretty much know aren't going to come back alive. Technically, they're the Explorer Corps, but they're made up of the "non-perfect people" - those born with deformities, mainly, because the Admiralty has figured out people get bummed out when good-looking people get slain on an away mission, but they generally find it easier to deal with when the person killed was on the ugly side. The main character is a human woman whose main distinguishing feature is a port wine colored birthmark on one cheek - that's all it took to get her drummed into the Explorer Corps.

Anyway, it's a good book, with an interesting background (one designed to be unlike most such science fiction stories with groups of allied alien races) and a very likable main character.

Johnathan

dragoner · Jan 11, 2019

Got these for Xmas.

Samloyal23 · Jan 11, 2019

Currently reading "Fear", about the Trump administration, and "Deer Hunting With Jesus" about class warfare in America.

Ralif Redhammer · Jan 15, 2019

Finished Tolkien’s letters. There’s some interesting insight, to be sure. Both on the author and the world (though a lot of it, by now, has percolated into general lore).

It was interesting to read about an early draft of LOTR that had Frodo and Sam having to face “the last Ringwraith” as they escaped Mt. Doom. And of course, that Tolkien attempted a sequel, but ultimately decided that it would be both unnecessary and depressing.

Reading the early years, when he was still writing it, I was reminded of people that defend GRRM’s gaps by comparing it to Tolkien’s decade to write LOTR. Nevermind that Tolkien was writing during WWII, with air raids, shortages, and two sons fighting in the war. Not. The. Same.

Anyway, I digress. Now it’s onto The Armored Saint, a novella by Myke Cole.

Richards · Jan 18, 2019

I just started Hominids, the first book in the "Neanderthal Parallax" trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer. I'm only three chapters in but I'm already hooked: a Neanderthal physicist from a parallel world where Neanderthals survived and became the dominant race on Earth has accidentally crossed between universes and ended up on our Earth, much to the consternation of our scientists. Meanwhile, back on his home world, a friend is on trial for his apparent murder.

I'm only just now reading this despite having it and its sequel, Humans, for several years now, because I finally got a copy of the third book, Hybrids, and I didn't want to start a trilogy before having all three books on hand. But I've enjoyed most of Sawyer's work before, so I've been looking forward to giving this a go.

Johnathan

Jhaelen · Jan 21, 2019

Richards said:
I just started Hominids, the first book in the "Neanderthal Parallax" trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer. I'm only three chapters in but I'm already hooked: a Neanderthal physicist from a parallel world where Neanderthals survived and became the dominant race on Earth has accidentally crossed between universes and ended up on our Earth, much to the consternation of our scientists. Meanwhile, back on his home world, a friend is on trial for his apparent murder.

I'm only just now reading this despite having it and its sequel, Humans, for several years now, because I finally got a copy of the third book, Hybrids, and I didn't want to start a trilogy before having all three books on hand. But I've enjoyed most of Sawyer's work before, so I've been looking forward to giving this a go.

Johnathan

I read the first book and thought it was pretty good, but I actually didn't enjoy it enough to feel any desire to continue reading the second and third part.
I generally prefer to wait until all parts of a trilogy have been published before I start reading, but I don't usually get them all right away.

I took a break reading 'The Obsidian Gate' by N.K.Jemisin because I had to proof-read a friend's new novel soon to be published. I'm looking forward to pick it up again, though, because I've been watching the 'Winter of Moon' special on the Arte tv channel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. There was one particularly interesting documentation about the various effects that the moon has on our planet, its flora and fauna. I.e. it was quite relevant to the search for the missing moon in the novel

Richards · Jan 21, 2019

I enjoyed Hominids enough that I'm already finished with it and am moving on to the second book in the trilogy, Humans. I usually read for an hour or so in bed at night; with a three-day weekend, I've found myself reading for an hour or so in the morning as well. I won't have that advantage while reading this second book.

Jhaelen said:
I generally prefer to wait until all parts of a trilogy have been published before I start reading, but I don't usually get them all right away.

I'm with you there, but since there was a high likelihood that I'd want to read all three books (based on my enjoyment of his previous works) and since all three had already been published, I opted to ensure I could read them in immediate sequence - and thus had to wait until I found a copy of the third book. I did the same with another series of his, Wake, Watch, and Wonder. (On the other hand, I read books one and two of his "Quintaglio" trilogy two decades or more before I ever found a copy of the third book, and I probably would have enjoyed them better being able to read them in immediate sequence.)

For similar reasons, despite assurances from multiple sources that I would love both the books and the TV series, I haven't started "Game of Thrones." I don't want to get to the current end of either series and be left waiting for the next book or season to appear.

Johnathan

Umbran · Jan 21, 2019

I will be going on vacation soon, and have picked up Lois McMaster Bujold's Diplomatic Immunity for the trip.

I may also dig into Tad William's The Witchwood Crown, depending on my mood, and how much reading time I have.

Blue · Jan 21, 2019

Umbran said:
I will be going on vacation soon, and have picked up Lois McMaster Bujold's Diplomatic Immunity for the trip.

Miles is perhaps one of my top five protagonists of all time. Have you read the earlier books in the series?

Janx · Jan 23, 2019

First book of the Bannon & Clare series by Lilith St. Crow.

Prior to that, Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes.

Prior to that Murder Bot by Martha Wells

and Prior to that the first Honor Harrington novel.

Been busy.