[Feb05] What are you reading?

[RangerWickett]

Just finished S.L. Viehl Stardoc, I thought it was a good book, and a great read.

You liked Stardoc? Odd. I usually tout that as why I don't impulse buy. One day back in high school I decided to buy a random book by pointing at the shelf. I got Stardoc, read it, and felt a little embarrassed. It read like a romance novel set in a banana republic during a crisis, with only a smattering of characters that stick around for very long, and a main character who seems disturbingly patterned after the author, which always creeps me out. It would be like if Drizzt were hanging out with a guy named Sal, who wanted to accompany the dark Elf on his journeys and heroically recount his biography.

Different strokes, I guess.

 

[Captain Tagon]

I just finished up the Eberron novel and really enjoyed it. Now I'm sorting through the newest Battletech book, the Warhammer 40k Inquisition War Omnibus, and The Hundred Orcs or whatever it's called once I can find it in my messy room. Unless I have like a weekend to just sit down and read I have to be reading several books at once or I just get bored.

I'm also reading the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book, finally.

And finally I'm working on reading the entire collected works of CS Lewis.

 

[S'mon]

Fiction - currently reading "The Amber Spyglass", the 3rd book of the His Dark Materials trilogy. A bit heavier going than the previous two, but still very good, I love Pullman's take on parrallel worlds and his outrageous use of '90s Physics theories in a fantasy trilogy (dark matter, quantum entanglement, et al). I like the eeevil Church though really it seems pretty mild by real-world historical standards. The take on angels ("weaker than flesh") is fresh and interesting too. A little preachy (free thought = good, religion = bad), it kinda reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia, just from the opposite perspective.

Nonfiction - just started Ron Siskund's "The Price of Loyalty", about Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil's 2 years in the Bush 2 White House. Any comments about this would doubtless breach ENW censorship restrictions.

 

[CCamfield]

Warfare in the Classical World by John Warry. As with all these books it is not something I am well versed in, but extremely interesting so far and the one I am currently reading.

I finished that one not that long ago myself! Pretty good but it made me realize I remember more than I thought... but it was a great refresher, and the battle diagrams and colour plates are pretty nice!

I just finished reading

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Hard to describe, an alternate history/science fiction novel aimed I guess particulalry at literature buffs. I'm not one of those, but still enjoyed it. Very funny at times.

And right now I'm reading

Njal's Saga (the newest Penguin edition). Icelandic saga centred around lots and lots of killing and bloodfeuds. Pretty neat.

 

[MonsterMash]

Add in my work related reading:

Ivor Horton's Beginning Java 2 and The Unified Modelling Language Reference Manual and HTML the Definitive Guide.

 

[EricNoah]

Just finished Ring by Stephen Baxter. Took me a long time -- I haven't been wanting to sit down and read for a couple of months now. I'm trying (and failing) to get into Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson. Oh, and still chipping away at the Conan the Cimmerian anthology. (I keep it in my car, and whenever I have a few minutes to kill or am eating lunch out, I read a few pages.)

 

[Banshee16]

Just finished Angels & Demons (Dan Brown) and have started up on "Post Captain" from Patrick O'Brien. After that, it's HMS Surprise.

Also reading "The Illustrated History of the Crusades" by Thomas Madden.

Also planning on starting Black Company shortly.

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

I just finished reading that, as well. I enjoyed it.

I just reread Fight Club and Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk. Great stuff. Currently, I am reading Lords of the Sky by Angus Wells. I vaguely remember enjoying it in high school and thought I'd check it out again. So far, so good.

As far as gaming books go, I've been on a steampunk kick, reading OGL Steampunk, Steam & Steel, and Sorcery & Steam. I've been kicking some setting ideas around in my head, but I'm not sure how I'm going to use/blend these to build it, yet. They've been good reading, though.

Starman

What's Steam & Steel like? I haven't found any reviews of it.

Banshee

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

The Necronomicon Files by Daniel Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III. An in depth history and guide to the various Necronomicon hoaxes that have been around since HPL first wrote about the book. Includes books published, religions based on it, and individuals connected with various versions of the book.

 

[GlassJaw]

What's Steam & Steel like? I haven't found any reviews of it.

Really? I could have sworn there were some in the review section? At least I remember hearing about it before I bought it. Anyway, it's good - buy it.

Just finished Angels & Demons (Dan Brown)

I read this after DaVinci Code (even though it takes place before). I liked DC better. A&D is great 3/4 of the way through and then the ending is nuts.

and still chipping away at the Conan the Cimmerian anthology

That's what I'm reading right now. Just awesome. I wish I read it years ago. I just bought the second book too. I would also like to read some of the Solomon Kane stuff too.

I read very little "new" fiction. There are just too many classics out there!