What Are You Reading

[Sunny]

I looked at the Lensmen books 20 years ago but I don't remember if I read them.

Speaking of Science Fiction, I don't read much of it nowadays. But the things that I still carry with me from that genre are (in no order):

1. The short story "I have no mouth but I must scream" by Harlan Ellison

I just read that one in a collection of Hugo winners. Not a favorite, but I won't soon forget it. I haven't read the others, but I'll look into them, especially Gene Wolfe.

 

[Dr Doran]

Finished my excellent McCrumb novel The Songcatcher and am now reading a horror story called The Ruins, just for fun before I go back to the heavy stuff.

karol

Is there a horror forum anywhere, either on the Lounge or elsewhere? I need a regular horror fix (my last was SAW) in literary or film form or else I start creaking and walking slow.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

A horror thread might be a good one to start, I think we've covered horror stories and films in some threads, but don't recall if there was one purely on horror.

Others might know.

karol

 

[Dr Doran]

A horror thread might be a good one to start, I think we've covered horror stories and films in some threads, but don't recall if there was one purely on horror.

Others might know.

karol

Check this out:
http://www.thedeadreport.com/

 

[DeeDub]

Utopia

by Lincoln Child

So far, it's a real page-turner. As soon as I post this reply and finish scanning the new posts, I'm getting back to it. (Notice my priorities: FL, followed by everything else.)

From the back cover: "It's like nothing anyone has ever seen before. Utopia is the brand-new frontier of theme parks, a fantastic collection of Worlds each so authentic it takes the average visitor's breath away. Teeming with cutting-edge holographic and robotic technology, it has captured the nation's imagination. But is has also attracted a group of ruthless criminals. After infiltrating the park and its computer systems, their leader—calling himself John Doe—sets the parameters: If their shocking demands are met, none of the visitors to the park that day will be harmed; if not, then all hell will reign down. Dr. Andrew Warne, the brilliant engineer who designed much of the park's robotics, suddenly finds himself in a role he never imagined—trying to save the lives of thousands of innocent people... one of whom just happens to be his daughter.

 

[carter]

In the Woods by Tana French. This is a debut novel. The author lives in Dublin, Ireland. Peter Robinson fans will certainly enjoy this novel.


Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, land the first big murder case of their police careers: a 12-year-old girl has been murdered in the woods adjacent to a Dublin suburb. Twenty years before, two children disappeared in the same woods, and Ryan was found clinging to a tree trunk, his sneakers filled with blood, unable to tell police anything about what happened to his friends. Ryan, although scarred by his experience, employs all his skills in the search for the killer and in hopes that the investigation will also reveal what happened to his childhood friends. In the Woods is a superior novel about cops, murder, memory, relationships, and modern Ireland. The characters of Ryan and Maddox, as well as a handful of others, are vividly developed in this intelligent and beautifully written first novel, and author French relentlessly builds the psychological pressure on Ryan as the investigation lurches onward under the glare of the tabloid media. Equally striking is the picture of contemporary Ireland, booming economically and fixated on the shabbiest aspects of American popular culture. An outstanding debut and a series to watch for procedural fans. Reviewed by Thomas Gaughan

 

[Harp]

Sruth Na Maoile, a collection of Gaelic poetry.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

I just finished my annual reading of Shogun and I've started on Seabiscuit.

Hah. Shogun was a very entertaining read. Reminded me of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.

Still on Shoot the Piano Player. It's like 100 pages and it's taking me like 100 days.

 

[Lancealot]

Just started on White Night by Jim Butcher. It's one of the Dresden Files novels.

 

[Dr Doran]

I just finished my annual reading of Shogun and I've started on Seabiscuit.

James Clavell? LOVED IT (when I read it many years ago). I think I was just barely hitting puberty; some of the scenes in that book, as well as certain passages in my Mom's copies of Jean M. Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequel (Valley of the Horses? cannot remember) were greatly informative. And formative.

George R. R. Martin? Didn't he write Armageddon Rag? Fabulous book.

In the Woods sounds great, Carter. I don't read enough police mysteries, but I like them when they are good.

Harp -- don't bloody tell us you can read Gaelic too. How many languages do you know? Geez.

 

[Lancealot]

Reminded me of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.

Now that is a great fantasy series. I can't wait for the next one to come out.

 

[Orgetorix]

A Theology for the Church, ed. by Daniel Akin. Assigned reading for a class.

 

[Martinis at 8]

The Ravens. It's about the secret war in Laos, emphasis on the Air Force FAC groups - Steve Canyon Program.

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Doran
Ursula K LeGuin, particularly the gender-bender Left Hand of Darkness but in fact all the Ekumen books and also the anthropological future report Always Coming Home. A superb user of the English language.

I totally (no homage to the Valley) agree. One of the finest writers of her generation and perhaps the best of anthropological SF.

I'd also recommend:
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay - age-old legends enter and affect present-day lives.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - an intriguing take on the Dracula legend.
Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. These were published separately but can be found in an ombinus now. The terraforming of Mars and the evolving society(ies) during that period. Robinson writes so well that I'll read anything he publishes. His latest global ecology series has been very entertaining.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Scorpion
Reminded me of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.

Originally posted by Lancealot
Now that is a great fantasy series. I can't wait for the next one to come out.

The next one in this series is long overdue. Anyone know what GRRM is up to?

 

[Lancealot]

The next one in this series is long overdue. Anyone know what GRRM is up to?

Have you read The Hedge Knight? Also I heard a rumor HBO is picking up the rights to do a series based off the books.

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Lancealot
Have you read The Hedge Knight? Also I heard a rumor HBO is picking up the rights to do a series based off the books.

I read the original short novel The Hedge Knight, A tale of the Seven Kingdoms in Legends a compilation of short novels edited by Robert Silverberg. This was published by Tor Fantasy in 1998.

In Legends II, published by Del Rey (2004), a division of Ballentine Books, also edited by Robt. Silverberg, there is a 2nd Hedge Knight tale. The title is The Sworn Sword.

Both of these short novels have been serialized by Marvel Comics. The cycle for the ist tale is complete. The cycle for the 2nd tale is mid-cycle at present. These are pretty good if the genere interests you. Marvel is doing some imprints now that are reminiscent of Classics Illustrated. These are worth taking a look at.

No idea regarding HBO. Interesting if one doesn't expect the intricacy of a novel to make it to the small screen. What works on the printed page doesn't always make it to the screen for a variety of reasons. Each medium must stand on it's own and if a close approximation of the novel makes it to the screen, that's all to the good.

 

[Lancealot]

Both of these short novels have been serialized by Marvel Comics. The cycle for the ist tale is complete. The cycle for the 2nd tale is mid-cycle at present. These are pretty good if the genere interests you. Marvel is doing some imprints now that are reminiscent of Classics Illustrated. These are worth taking a look at.

A buddy of mine has opened a comicbook store and I have had the cahnce to llok at them. They look very good. I'm waiting for the trade paperback to come out then I'll buy them.

 

[Samsa]

Just finished Treasure Island, which I somehow never read as a kid. Now I'm deciding what to read next...

 

[Harp]

Just finished Treasure Island, which I somehow never read as a kid. Now I'm deciding what to read next...

Kidnapped?

 

[Barry]

Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark.