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kbz333
Kiichi Goto
Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 5548
Location: lost in my own mind
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 Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:55 pm Post subject: |
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Currently halfway through "Finale" by Becca Fitzpatrick.
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Jaden1
Lin Minmay
Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 274
Location: Adelaide
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| Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:30 am Post subject: |
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Just finished "World War Z" by Max Brooks. I thought it would be worth reading it before the movie comes out. I enjoyed it, but felt like there was a huge part of the story missing from the middle. It starts off describing how the zombies slowly spread across the world, but then jumps to after the war is 'mostly' over. There's nothing really about what happened between humanity being almost wiped out, and humanity starting to get back to pre-war life apart from vague reminiscing.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:35 am Post subject: |
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Currently reading Mecha Rogue, by Brett Patton. It's bk 2 in the Armor Wars series and only just came out.  I'm already nearly halfway thru it. 
It's flowing more smoothly than the first one.
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W0m6at
Washu Hakubi
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 391
Location: Seaton, SA
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| Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:09 am Post subject: |
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I finished Stand on Zanzibar. Despite being a bit tricky to get into initially, it's quite a good book, although it ended somewhat anticlimatically.
I've since read How to Survive a Robot Uprising, by Daniel H. Wilson, which was quite a let-down. I understand taht the attempt was at humour as well as being informative, but it really didn't give much information, and what it did give didn't feel like it was coming from an expert in the field.
I'm now reading A Game of Thrones. I'm still in the introductory chapters, but am already enjoying it (it helps that I've seen the first season of the TV show, which closely follows the book).
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:04 am Post subject: |
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Finished reading Mecha Rogue and that was definitely better than the first bk of the series. It flowed a lot better and it sets things up nicely for the 3rd bk.
There are sections that I will have to go back and reread.
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HimuraBattousai
Kagami Yagami
Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 8692
Location: Tsukuyomi Shrine
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| Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:53 am Post subject: |
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So. Cold Days.
It certainly raises the HSQ again. Jim Butcher has stated that he will end the series with an apocalyptic trilogy. I think that's basically the only way it can possibly end, given the ever-increasing amount of trouble Harry gets himself into.
Also, in a fit of nostalgia and renewed hope for the Star Wars franchise after hearing about the Disney buyout, I've started re-reading the Thrawn Trilogy.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2012 7:18 am Post subject: |
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Reading Death of the Scharnhorst by John Winton which is about Germanys most powerfull Battlecruiser in WW2 and how it was sunk.
It's interesting as it tells of Hitler deciding to scrap its big ships like Sharnhorst and Bismark, but the Admirals did everything they could to convince him otherwise.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 12:41 am Post subject: |
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Reading Softly Tread the Brave by Ivan Southall and that is really fascinating. This bk was used as reference for the early section of Navy Divers and now I'm getting to read it.
The bk deals with 3 Australians learning how to defuse mines that Hitler constantly drops on London and other parts of the UK during WW2. It has black and white photos of the mines, the people and also the power of what an exploded mine can do. One of the photos showing the mine crater has me glad that the mines are no longer dropped. Couldn't believe the devastation that the mine caused.
This is recomended reading if you're lucky enough to find a copy cheap.
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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I just had a look on Amazon UK for Softly Tread the Brave, it's about £30-50, I'll keep an eye open for it cheaper though 
I took a bread from my rereading of the Discworld series (half way through Pyramids now), to read Fire Season (David Weber and Jane Lindskol) the new YA book set when one of Honor Harrington's ancestors first discovered treecats.
I thoroughly enjoyed it as a fairly light, and fast read.
It's also got me in the mood for the new HH book (Shadow of Freedom) which is due soon.
And whilst I'm on the topic of books published by Baen, if anyone here buys the ebooks direct, it's worth noting that it would seem that due to their contract with Amazon* you can only get the book bundles in advance, so no more getting the bundle after release.
Slightly annoying for me as I tended to buy several bundles at a time (sometimes ordering older ones to get books that caught my eye), but it's business.
*I don't think they've explicitly said it in public, but the change has only come in since they started selling their ebooks on Amazon as well, and ties in with what Amazon were reportedly trying to do with other publishers (who didn't have the history of ebooks that Baen did) a couple of years back (Amazon didn't want the publishers selling their ebooks cheaper elsewhere). |
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Knight of L-sama
Masamune Shirow
Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 3912
Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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It's still cheaper to buy the individual titles from Baen's own webstore. By about USD$0.99
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Werewolfforhire wrote: | I just had a look on Amazon UK for Softly Tread the Brave, it's about £30-50, I'll keep an eye open for it cheaper though
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Considering the bk is up to $1000 on eBay, getting it for $33 including postage is a bargain for me.
The bk has been really enjoyable and has you feeling like you're there at times.
I might put up a quote from the bk once I stop doing this on the phone.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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Finished reading Softly Tread the Brave by Ivan Southall and it was absolutely amazing.
It is definitely a must read bk, if you have any interest in war history or just wanting to read something fascinating.
Someone should reprint this bk as it's way too good NOT to get one.
| Quote: | It was personal. The courage demanded of them was constant and calm. They could not tremble, because the very tremble might fire the mine. They could not hesitate, because the very hesitation might fire the mine. They could not fumble, because the very fumbling might fire the mine. They could not tremble or hesitate or fumble or take the wrong course or lean on another or admit a mistake or begin again.
Where could they find that courage? What was to be its source and sustainer? It contravened every basic instinct of self-preservation. It demanded without limit, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-discipline and self-sacrifice. It was a paradox. It threw them back, wholly, upon themselves. It compelled them to become the most introverted of men for the most extroverted of reasons |
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Nargun
Siegfried Kircheis
Joined: 30 Aug 2001
Posts: 4804
Location: \relax{}
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 1:37 am Post subject: |
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So I was reading some Diane Duane. A few volumes of her "Young Wizard" series.
Look, lady. I get that you're writing YA christian apologia. That's fine. Not my thing but not something I object to, particularly.
But, two things:
+ if you're going to write fiction so as to open the eyes of your readers to evil in all its various guises in the real world, it'd help if, you know, your depictions of the evil your characters encountered were a bit more nuanced than having every volume end with the kindly amusement-park operator ripping off his mask to reveal it was the devil all along like some sort of Backwards Scooby-Doo. Surely, you've read the Screwtape Letters. Or at least Narnia!
+ Raptor Moses is a pretty out-there idea, even by the grim standards of YA christian apologia. Introducing Raptor Moses in a spinoff book about cats, that's pushing it. Having housecats and raptors as secretly identical-twin-species sacredly linked across time: that, my friend, is retarded.
Actually, another thing: if your lead character manages to stumble into a reenactment of the last supper with her as J Carpenter from Nazereth, and then knowing that agrees to continue, she dies, woman. Don't have shark-judas decide that this time he'll be the one who'll be the sacrifice [take, eat! this is my flesh!] it takes your carefully-crafted theme about personal responsibility out back and shoots it, fillets it, and serves it deep-fried to japanese schoolchildren who probably won't be able to stomach it anyway.
Disappointing, disappointing books.
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Knight of L-sama
Masamune Shirow
Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 3912
Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:29 am Post subject: |
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Have you read "A Wizard Abroad" yet? Or "The Book of Night with Moon" and "To Visit the Queen"?
Because it becomes less Christian Apologia and more an "All Myths are True" and "Fantasy Kitchen Sink"
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:22 pm Post subject: |
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Nargun, it sounds like those books could do with a little more subtlety
I read the new Honor Harrington book (Shadow of Freedom)last week, it was pretty good although the series has been moving away from Honor to be more about the "secendary" characters for the last few books (it makes sense though given the story in general).
It's pretty good, but not one of the best of the series.
I've currently got "The God Stalker Chronicles" by P.C.Hodgell loaded on my ereader (I realised I got it in a Baen bundle ages ago but hadn't read it*), which started off a little slow and didn't really catch my attention for the first few dozen pages, but as it goes on I'm enjoying it more and more.
It's basically about a youngish girl/woman on a planet running from something, but she doesn't have any real memories of what happened with her over the past decade, and as it goes on she learns more about it.
It's actually fairly good and a little different to my normal fare of fantasy reading
*I've probably got a few others in the same situation, as I tend to buy the bundle even if there is only one book I want. |
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W0m6at
Washu Hakubi
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 391
Location: Seaton, SA
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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I just finished reading A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold. What a way to end a book! Not sure whether to have a breather before moving onto the next volume, or kick straight into it.
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Sailor Apollo
Koishi Herikawa
Joined: 17 Jun 2002
Posts: 677
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:15 am Post subject: |
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Most recently finished the first of the Canterwood Crest books. Not quite sure what I expected (maybe something along the lines of the Saddle Club?) but it was an entertaining read nonetheless.
Incidentally, I've read a couple of Saddle Club books and seen a couple of episodes of the show. Not stuff I'd immediately return to, but it does have a certain charm.
Also, I'd like to recommend the Airhead books by Meg Cabot. They're a fun, if quite weird (typical for Meg Cabot, who specializes in changeling fantasies), trilogy where a cynical teenage girl is forced to switch bodies with a supermodel after being crushed by a TV set. Of course, then she gets involved in bringing down a mega-corp's conspiracy to kill others and auction off their bodies to the highest bidder.
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:42 am Post subject: |
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I finished "The God Stalker Chronicles" which was pretty good, and I'll be keeping an eye out for other books by P.C.Hodgell
I'm currently reading two books, one "A few good men" by Sarah Hoyt, which is the third book in her series that started with Darkship Thieves (although somehow I've missed the second book), and I'm enjoying it at the moment
I'm also reading BBC VFX by Matt Irvine* and Mike Tucker, which as the title may suggest is about the BBC visual FX department and it's nearly 50 year history.
It starts off with a brief history of the unit, who was involved, how it got started, it's various locations and the sort of equipment and limitations they had at each stage, for example having to film around a major support pillar, or due to lack of space at one location it wasn't unknown for work to be done on the roof, and at another they had to pay attention to air traffic.
It also goes on to explain/describe some of the ways in which VFX are used that you'd not think of, and why they might use it in that way (for example why a VFX fireplace is more practical during shooting than a real fireplace), and why you always make multiples of anything an actor is going to use on set;)
Then it moves onto chapters concentrating either on a specific show (Blakes 7, Red Dwarf, Doctor Who), or types of show (Tomorrows World, Arena, Costume Drama etc), with information about who was involved, how key things where shot, the sort of techniques (why film was used rather than video and vice versa), the materials used, and why.
All with the odd anecdote about things that happened, and masses of pictures illustrating things.
It's actually a very enjoyable read if you're into either model making, or how film/tv FX are or were done
I'm reading it partly because I've got a mass of models to do, and I'm trying to pick up some ideas/techniques, partly because I'm generally interested in how TV and film are made, and partly because I'm procrastinating about the modelling:p
*Who lives reasonably near to me and is one of the organisers of a small model show that I go to where he usually has some of his props on display. Last summer they had a bunch of Daleks, I think from the Dalek builders club including the big round emperor one. They also had Marvin the Paranoid android, although I'm not sure if it was an original prop, or a replica (some of the replicas made by the visiting modellers were as good looking as the original props - although probably built over a much longer timeframe and treated better. |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:09 am Post subject: |
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Read the first 2 novels in the Imager Portfolio series byL.E Modessit Jr and been really loving the series. Read the 2 bks in less than a week and am currently reading the 3rd called Imager's Intrigue.
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The Tragic Man
Abriel Nei Debrusc Borl Paryun Lafiel
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 7109
Location: Tamworth, NSW
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| Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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I've just finished the second Mervyn Stone book, DVD Exras Incude Murder. Just as funny as the first. The third should be good too; I'll read that later.
I'll go back to Terry Pratchett's Dodger next.
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Nargun
Siegfried Kircheis
Joined: 30 Aug 2001
Posts: 4804
Location: \relax{}
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 12:06 am Post subject: |
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Things I learned from reading Ring[1]:
1: if you're an intersexed japanese psychic, you should probably commit suicide. As you are sterile you have no female worth, and this even to you, even though you're not a real woman. We suggest as a way of suicide mentally controlling a man to rape you to death, because dying a virgin is terrible.
2: If the man you've selected to rape you to death is infected by smallpox, it's possible that your childbearing urges -- which you are driven by, even though you're not a real woman -- might combine with the smallpox virus's fear of extinction and produce murderous psychic video children. This is a bad thing, so take care!
3: if you're a smallpox-infected doctor who suddenly rapes someone to death, don't worry! It's not your fault, you were just mentally controlled!
4: if you're a journalist whose best friend confesses [on a semi-regular basis] that he raped a woman [different women], you should ignore it. It's extremely likely that it's just braggadocio masking a kind, gentle even innocent soul: it's extremely unlikely that both the innocence and the braggadocio are symptoms of a festering inability to deal with female sexuality, and so there's no chances of this canker exploding in orgiastic rage.
Besides, the murderous psychic video children will get him first.
5: if you're a journalist, the best time to visit your sister-in-law is a week after her daughter -- your niece -- died in mysterious circumstances: both she and your wife will be distraught and won't notice you doing important journalist things like turning over the girl's room looking for evidence.
6: if you're a journalist and owing to circumstances you need to arrange for someone else to die to save your wife and daughter, your absolute best choice is your parents-in-law, as your wife will certainly appreciate your murdering her parents to save her.
[1] That is, the book-of-the-film. Incidentally, earlier in the book I thought it obvious that I was supposed to consider Our Hero a worthless dipshit, but then I hit the suicide-by-rape section and decided I was being far too charitable to the author.]
Two thumbs down.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 12:19 am Post subject: |
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Had finished off Imager Intrigue by L.E. Moddesit jr and that was a fantastic read. Unfortunately, he hasn't released another bk dealing with Rhen.
Read The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier - Guardian and that was awesome. It's leading up to something pretty big, but I was moved with how things did go in the end of this book.
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 11:10 am Post subject: |
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Since my last post I've read among others), House of Steel the Honor Harrington prequel and companion to the series. Basically the history of Manticre, the run up to the start of the Haven war, and background on the ships and military of Manticore and Grayson.
I've also read the first three omnibuses of the John Grimes saga by A Bertram Chandler, which is a classic style sci-fi series following the career of John Grimes who starts out as a weapons specialist, and his adventures as he basically tries to do the right thing but has bad luck that is only slightly outmatched by his good luck.
It's quite enjoyable, but does feel a bit dated, as it show the time period in which it was written in some of the attitudes and plot devices etc. |
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u523
Kuu
Joined: 07 Oct 2008
Posts: 1330
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
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| Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Read a little more of Yukio Mishima's "After the Banquet".
Still have to read more of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. |
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Nargun
Siegfried Kircheis
Joined: 30 Aug 2001
Posts: 4804
Location: \relax{}
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| Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Werewolfforhire wrote: | | It's quite enjoyable, but does feel a bit dated, as it show the time period in which it was written in some of the attitudes and plot devices etc. |
They're not as old as you might think: seventies or late sixties, post-new-wave. Contemporaneous with Left Hand of Darkness.
Which actually shows, I think: largely character-driven stories rather than all high-concept "as you know, sophie" [or if it's all Big Dumb Objects focussing on the human reaction rather than the object]. Not much rape, either.
I kinda like them.
[Also, rumour ties him to the creation of the lovely angels at some sort of [presumably drunken] afterparty for a japanese SF con.]
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W0m6at
Washu Hakubi
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 391
Location: Seaton, SA
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| Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Lately I've been whittling away my commute by reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and quite enjoying it.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:00 am Post subject: |
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Read Under a Graveyard Sky by John Ringo and it's a fantastic piece of writing. It deals with a human created Zombie virus and the people who are not only fighting to survive, but also determined to win back their world.
The main charactes are the Smith family who are Aussies The father is SAS in the plot but different in the bk. The first half of the bk is based on land and the second half on the sea. The ending has a twist that has me doing some soul searching, but it sets things up for the 2nd bk.
Who is a better zombie killer?. A 13 yr old girl or a US Marine.
The second bk is due out in feb, and I'm really looking forward to it. John Ringo also has put in an unusual egg. He has placed music titles, bands, albums and lyrics in the bk with the listing at the end of the bk. It makes you want to reread it, just to find the references. He had lyrics for Let Loose the Mermaids by Nightwish from their Imaginarium album at the start of the bk.
Also read Blood Song, bk 1 of the Raven's Shadow by Anthony Ryan and that bk has me totally hooked. I'm ready to pull my hair out for the wait of bk 2 due out next year. It deals with the story of Vaelin Al Sorna and how he got to where he is at the start of the bk. However not everything he says gets told to the chronicler friend of the man he killed. The story is a first perspective, except for when he takes a break and the chronicler steps in with his perspective. It's excellently done and has it set up for what will be an awesome second bk. If it's not, then I'll be crying in utter despair.
Currently reading Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes and it deals with a 16 yr old autistic girl in a world where everything is controlled by the Company. The world has been largely wiped out by a vrius and she works for the company doing time travelling missions. However she finds that her brother is being down for a crime and to prevent it she must rebel against the company. That's basically the gist of the plot from the back of the bk.
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drae
Kenshin Himura
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 1083
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| Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| JESTER wrote: | Read Under a Graveyard Sky by John Ringo and it's a fantastic piece of writing. It deals with a human created Zombie virus and the people who are not only fighting to survive, but also determined to win back their world.
The main charactes are the Smith family who are Aussies The father is SAS in the plot but different in the bk. The first half of the bk is based on land and the second half on the sea. The ending has a twist that has me doing some soul searching, but it sets things up for the 2nd bk.
Who is a better zombie killer?. A 13 yr old girl or a US Marine. |
SOLD! *Goes off to place order* |
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:30 am Post subject: |
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Under a Graveyeard Sky is really good
I got it in one of the Baen bundles a month or so back and ended up reading it twice a few weeks apart.
I'm currently reading "Mission of Honor", with either "in space no one can hear you scream" (a collection of sci-fi horror tales), or "Treecat Wars" next.
On a related note I'm also probably going to be replacing my 505 in a week or two, the new Sony T3 seems to hit the requirements for a new one*, and the 505 is starting to show it's limits/age (I almost ordered a new Paperwhite, but apparently they don't do collections via calibre, and I hate the UI on the older versions**).
*Including being able to do "Collections" through software on the PC.
**It amazes me the 505 seems to have an easier to use UI than some much newer models. |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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Read Jack Campbells latest Lost Stars novel - Perilous Shield and I loved it. There was a couple of areas where I wanted to pull my hair out with Iceni and Drakon, but otherwise it was awesome.
Captain Bradamont, Kommodor Marphissa and Colonel Rogero are all given a lot of time in this bk. I do love when Marphissa and Bradamont first meet as I keep on rereading that part.
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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I read 'In Space no one can hear you scream' which was a nice mix of stories (and has pushed me towards some new or new old authors).
Some of them were new stories, or recent stories, some where quite old ones from the pulp sci-fi mags of the 50's.
I also read 'Tree cat wars', which whilst mainly being a YA book, is enjoyable and fleshes out the early days of the Star Kingdom/tree cat human interaction, it seems to be taking snippets that have been mentioned in the main HH series and expanding them to give you the full story and building up the tree cat side of things.
I'm currently trying to read the first of the Wheel of Time books, but not quite getting into it properly yet, I'm going to stick with it (I know in the past it's sometimes taken me until quite late in a book to get into it*). It's picking up and starting to get more interesting now, but for some reason it seemed a real slog for me to get started on - I think possibly because I've been busy and extremely tired for the last week or so.
Next up after I finish 'The eye of time' is probably going to be 'Trade Secret' by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller as that's due out in a couple of weeks, and I really enjoy the Liaden series.
On a side note, I haven't picked up a new ereader yet as the more I look at them the more undecided I get :p (every model I look at has one or two features I really like - things like the buttons** in the T3, or the higher res larger display in the Aura HD, but something I don't like as well be it older screen tech, no buttons etc).
And annoyingly most of them aren't available near me where I can try them out - I went from undecided to ordering my 505 after spending about 5 minutes in Waterstones (I think it was) trying out their display model.
*I gave up on Peter F Hamilton's 'Reality Dsyfunction' at least twice before managing to finish it, and the series is now one of my favourites.
**I'm probably an oddball in that I like having a physical page turn button, I don't like the idea of touching the screen every time I want to turn a page (it seems a surefire way to make the screen need cleaning on a very regular basis). |
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Knight of L-sama
Masamune Shirow
Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 3912
Location: Ipswich, QLD, Australia
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| Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Werewolfforhire wrote: | | **I'm probably an oddball in that I like having a physical page turn button, I don't like the idea of touching the screen every time I want to turn a page (it seems a surefire way to make the screen need cleaning on a very regular basis). |
I wouldn't say that's too odd. If only to keep the screen clean. |
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Knight of L-sama wrote: | [..]
I wouldn't say that's too odd. If only to keep the screen clean. |
Tell that to the ebook hardware manufacturers
I think only about two or three, mainly older models available here still have a page turn button (it looks like the total choice is either a non paperwhite kindle, or the Sony T2 or T3).
[a very late edit to avoid a double post]
Tor.com have a new Laundry file Novella "Equiod" up, which is very good if you like your horror slightly bureaucratic, and British with a strong touch of the horsey (the Laundry files are great books). |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:16 am Post subject: |
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I've read a few books since my last post. I've read Sten by Chris Bunch and Alan Cole, Lords of the Scaffold by Geoffrey Abbott and The First Book of Lankchdar by Fritz Leiber which contains the first half of the adventures of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser.
The cover of the next Jack Campbell - Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier hardback due out in May. They've even got the plot up which is leaving me with tingles of anticipation.
Another 5-6 months of torture. 
WAAAAAAAA!!!
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Been rereading all the Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey. It's still a great read. Read Dragonflight, Dragons Dawn, All The Werys of Pern and Dolphins of Pern as well as parts of Chronicles of Pern - First Fall. Going to reread Dragon Quest, The White Dragon, Dragon Song and Dragon Singer - Harper of Pern next.
I still find it funny with all the mistakes on peoples names and situations in the series. She kills off a character to great fanfair only for that character to be alive in the next novel after the time period of said characters death.
It's a pity she has since passed away and I pitied her for having an editor that allowed soo many mistakes to be printed.
Maybe the editor should have comitted sepiku for all the mistakes. 
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When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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evil_kenshin
Motoko Kusanagi
Joined: 08 Jul 2002
Posts: 830
Location: melbourne
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| Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 5:49 am Post subject: |
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| while in general i haven't read a true book (non manga) in quiet awhile but I'm finding myself addicted to "the club dumas" , I saw the movie based on it the ninth gate last year , and the book is way better but i still enjoy both |
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Typhrus
Lin Minmay
Joined: 10 Jun 2011
Posts: 238
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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Reading the sequel series to Ender's Game that is all about one of his fellow battle school and what he did after the Formic war.
I don't care or like Card's views on homosexuality and his more religious conservative views, but thankfully in the book they don't tend to appear. Funnily enough, I think I enjoy the Shadow saga a bit more because it has to do with World Politics and what not, while remain suitably sci-fi in terms of biology (considering what Bean is without going into details.)
Worth a read if you want to ignore the author's world view outside of his books.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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Reading the bk below which is the sequal to Under a Graveyard Sky.
I'm halfway thru it and it's a bit funnier though still violent. The kick in the guts section from the last bk was hardly given a mention at present which is good due to the kick in the guts I felt. I'm hoping that there won't be any more of those, but since there was one, I wouldn't be suprised to see another.
It's got a nice pace to it and doesn't bog down. For a zombie end of the world type of series, this is really good. It's highly entertaining, but it does still hold the integrity, morality and practicallity of what is actually going on. Not all characters hold that, but there is enough humour that makes things slide along well.
Definitely recomended.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Finished reading To Sail A Darkling Sea and it was absolutely awesome. The kick in the guts I expected didn't happen, though it did bog down a bit for a couple of pages near the end.
I absolutely love the way how he mixes music into this series. Bands like Nightwish, Disturbed, Sabaton, Rolling Stones, Dragonforce etc all get mentioned in either name, song or lyrics or all 3. He didn't do a track listing at the end of the bk unfortunately, but it was bloody entertaining.
The 3rd bk is due out in August which makes it 6 months between the HB's.
Returned to reading the Peter Fitzsimons bk, MAWSON and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age: Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen. It's a biography of the expeditions to the South Pole at the start of the last century.
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When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:35 am Post subject: |
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Darkling Sea was very good, although as you say it bogged down a bit towards the end of the book.
I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
I've just finished "Dragons Eye", an anthology of stories about Dragons told from a different point of view to normal (and putting them into various historical and unusual situations).
I'm currently a couple of hundred pages into rereading Peter F Hamilton's awesome "Nights dawn trilogy" series, for the first time in about 3-4 years.
I suspect it could take me some time, given that in total it runs to about 3300 pages (not including the "Second chance at Eden" anthology, or any other related materials). |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:50 am Post subject: |
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Due out 05-08-14
Due out 01-07-14
Just something to drool over.
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When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:36 am Post subject: |
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Oooh, I didn't expect the next book to be out that fast , that's only 8 months after the first
/is more used to the schedule of the likes of Pratchett, Hamilton and Martin... |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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It's Faith on the cover of the 3rd bk. You can tell by the teddy bear on her back.
A 6 month wait for volume 3. The plot for it is on the fantastic fiction website.
The USS Iwo Jima is an actual Amphibious Assualt Carrier that is still in service. That is also something to appreciate for the actual research he has done.
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When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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Werewolfforhire
Arumi Asahina
Joined: 04 Aug 2002
Posts: 1789
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:20 am Post subject: |
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I must admit whilst I'd guessed it was probably Faith on the cover, I didn't spot the teddy (nice attention to detail there by the artist, and good spot Jester).
Whilst I was updating my list of books read since I got my ereader* I remembered the name of another book I read recently, namely "How dark the world becomes" by Fred Chadwick (it was part of the February baen bundle), which was quite good with several unexpected twists in it, and I suspect I'll be adding Mr Chadwick to my list of authors whose name prompts a baen bundle buy (I think I bought half the bundles last year because one or more of the books in them was of interest).
On note related to both books, and anime, I received my copy of "Anime: A history" by Jonathan Clements from the Book Depository this morning, so after I finish "The Reality Dysfunction" I'll take a break from Hamilton and read that
This of course assumes that between my film backlog, anime backlog, World of Tanks (a game I seem to have a love hate relationship with), sorting my DVD collection**, looking after elderly parents and a sick dog I'll actually get any reading done 
*Originally started to let me see how much use it got compared to paper books (the answer to that seems to be "almost all the use").
**I've finally caved and I bought a load of boxes from Ikea, a couple of hundred plastic sleeves and I'm currently decasing a lot of my collection that are currently in normal cases. |
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Sailor Apollo
Koishi Herikawa
Joined: 17 Jun 2002
Posts: 677
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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| Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:48 am Post subject: |
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Just read Assignment: Earth, an adaptation of the Star Trek episode of that name (by a fan who wasn't happy with an official novelization which focused too little on Seven).
This one, true to its origins, reduces Kirk and Spock to mere side characters. As far as the premise goes, it's not that bad--and was at least intriguing enough to spawn a 5-issue comic book.
Also reading: Awoken by Serra Elinsen (Lindsay Ellis, Antonella Inaserra et al). Very funny parody that asks the question: what if you fell in love with Cthulhu?
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Now reading The Emperor's Blades by Brian Stavely.
It deals with the 3 children of the Emperor who gets murdered. The heir is in a remote monastary, the daughter in the capital dealing with court intrigue and the youngest son is about to become a full fledged member of the countries elite mercenary group. It's up to them to find out the truth on who murdered their father while trying to avoid being killed themselves.
Pretty easy to read at the moment as each of the characters is given a chapter or 2 at a time dedicated to each one.
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Nargun
Siegfried Kircheis
Joined: 30 Aug 2001
Posts: 4804
Location: \relax{}
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| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Hrm.
Steven Brust's "Brokedown Palace" is like Narnia, but with the christianity swapped out and replaced by marxism.
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:43 am Post subject: |
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Read that a long time back. I might still have it somewhere.
Been rereading the Bazil Broketail series by Christopher Rowley. I love that series as it deals with walking, talking sword weilding dragons. ^_^
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Motorcycling - You don't need an excuse to ride, but you need an excuse not to ride.
When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Thu May 01, 2014 2:15 am Post subject: |
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Just received word that Jack Campbell - The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier - Steadfast has come in.
I have to wait till next week as I'm currently on my holiday break and I don't want to go into the city.
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Motorcycling - You don't need an excuse to ride, but you need an excuse not to ride.
When travelling, set no limits. Just experience it, live the moment and enjoy the ride. |
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JESTER
Ruri Hoshino
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 11680
Location: Sydney Suzuki GSX1250FA Rider
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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Read Jack Campbells latest bk , The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier - Steadfast and it was like the others in the series, totally awesome. I felt he rushed a couple of things towards the end, but the end cliffhanger has me going OMFG!!!!.
Now I have to wait another 12 months <_> <_>
His next volume of The Lost Stars is out in October.
I've also pre-ordered John Ringo's - Islands of Rage and Hope and Anthony Ryan's - Tower Lord which are due out in July and August.
John Ringo's 4th bk of Darktide Rising is out in January and the cover is already out. 4 bks in 2 years. ^_^ O_O
It is also the final bk in the series. <_>
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