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Gamer's Corner => General Discussion => Topic started by: markc on September 29, 2011, 12:56:13 PM

Title: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on September 29, 2011, 12:56:13 PM
In the past there has been a "What are you Reading Thread?" and I thought I would start it again to get some ideas since the holidays are approaching.


 I have finished George RR Martins latest work and loved it, I have also read the first two books of the Iron Elves series (think Sharps Rifles with Elves, Dwarves, Magic and such) (was ok) and I am just about finished with Dan Abnetts Third Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus "The Lost" (great series IMHO and love the Omnibus editions as they are economical here in the States).


So what are you Reading?
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on September 29, 2011, 02:20:54 PM
I'm re-reading my hardbound copy of "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" by Douglas Adams.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe
Mostly Harmless

I gotta admit, it'd make a serious Christmas present. Hell, it'd make a serious blunt instrument.

 ;D
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Thom @ ICE on September 29, 2011, 02:37:19 PM
I've recently unearthed some old titles that I liked when I was in High School and found in a box of old stuff.  Occasionally I read a few chapters in one of them just to lose myself for a bit.
Hobgoblin - John Coyne
God Stalk - P.C. Hodgell
Dream Park - Larry Niven and Steven Barnes

Then I've got the continuous re-listen to the unabridged version of Starship Troopers while I'm driving, and some non-fantasy/sci-fi stuff like The Forgotten 500 by Gregory Freeman, and a bunch of educational books related to business topics.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on September 29, 2011, 02:52:52 PM
Quote
Dream Park - Larry Niven and Steven Barnes

YMMV, but personally I consider the sequels to be good as well.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on September 29, 2011, 02:59:41 PM
I can even give you a tease, with no spoiler alert needed because the final book ends with a quote. I won't make any promises as to accuracy of translation or attribution, but this is the final few lines of The California Voodoo Game, 3rd in the Dream Park series:

There are Paths that should not be taken.
There are Armies that should not be confronted.
There are Fortresses that should not be attacked.
There are Battles which should not be joined.

The Art of War, Sun Tzu

 ;)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on September 29, 2011, 04:06:29 PM
Just finished the first 3 Three Investigators books (young reader books from the 60's and 70's) and the Lensman series (E.E. "Doc" Smith). Now I have Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (I have already read the Old Man's War trilogy).
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: arakish on September 29, 2011, 10:57:15 PM
I am rereading books I read way back in the late 60s and early 70s.

Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.

rmfr
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on September 30, 2011, 07:48:14 AM
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I will be reading Michael de Larrabeiti's Borrible series: (1) The Borribles, (2) The Borribles Go For Broke, & (3) The Borribles: Across The Dark Metropolis.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on September 30, 2011, 10:11:06 AM
Next on my list is the Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mocking bird on November 27, 2011, 06:17:54 PM
I have finished George RR Martins latest work and loved it,

Not to give away any spoilers but I was pretty disappointed, mainly x years for this?  IMO after the next one comes out circa 2016 there needs to be some major re-editing of the last books to make more sense of them.  Too many side-plots that seem like page filler and after thoughts, but I digress...

Just finished Return of the Crimson Guard and a WH 40k sci fi fluff book Iron Hands.
Currently reading Nemesis by Asimov & Perfumed Scorpion by Idreas Shah.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on November 28, 2011, 09:54:20 AM
"Dark Banquet- Blood and the curious lives of blood-feeding creatures", Bill Schutt.
An interesting book on how extremely difficult it is to live on blood. I never wanted to know so much about bedbugs..
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on November 28, 2011, 10:22:07 AM
I just started on David Feintuch's; Seafort Saga I found in a box of old books I was going through.
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on November 28, 2011, 10:33:05 AM
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, Footfall.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on November 28, 2011, 12:17:52 PM
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, Footfall.

Was that with the elephant-like aliens? I remember the cover art, at least.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on November 28, 2011, 02:36:44 PM
Yep, that's the one with the snouts. The Fithp.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: intothatdarkness on November 28, 2011, 03:42:31 PM
Dug up some Warhammer 40k stuff for light reading (gotta love Ciaphas Cain), next to a cultural history of the Apaches.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ob1knorrb on November 28, 2011, 09:45:19 PM
Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on November 28, 2011, 09:58:56 PM
I am rereading books I read way back in the late 60s and early 70s.

Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.

rmfr

If you do the math on the number of correspondences Lovecraft maintained, it's like.. 20 letters a day! I really enjoyed his stuff and actually got the Mrs. to dive in as well. :o
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Marc R on November 29, 2011, 12:03:35 PM
I've been on a David kick lately, Drake and Webber.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: TerryTee on December 02, 2011, 07:26:56 AM
Dune series.
Man, I get so much more 'reading' done after I started using audio books on a regular basis.
 
-Terry
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on December 02, 2011, 10:21:45 AM
Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I recently got my friend to read the first three books of the series. He was flabbergasted at the sociopathic (new word?!?) nature of JC. Needless to say, he will not be continuing on with the series. I read them as a kid and liked them, but I can see some of his points, but also had to remind him that it was written about 100 years ago, so societal ideals where a bit different.

Currently, I am reading the third book of the Monster Hunters International series, Monster Hunter Alpha. These are some serious gun-porn as the author is a bit of a gun nut. Though this last one not so much, as the main character is a werewolf and not quite the gun totting brick as the main character in the first 2 books.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on December 02, 2011, 01:00:11 PM
Dune series.
Man, I get so much more 'reading' done after I started using audio books on a regular basis.
 
-Terry


 I know quite a few people that love to listen to books all the time. On their commute, when cooking, during a break at work, etc. A few use the library for audio books and a few use net exchanges, but I can see a big impact on the use of the web for audio books coming if it has not already. 
 I also remember that Adobe Acrobat has a read function as well as many other readers but it lacks the drama aspect as some good reading do for me. BTW I love the English drama audio version of the Lord of The Rings and if you can rent it or find it at a good price it is well worth the time. Even if you know the story by heart.


MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ob1knorrb on December 03, 2011, 12:35:37 PM
Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I recently got my friend to read the first three books of the series. He was flabbergasted at the sociopathic (new word?!?) nature of JC. Needless to say, he will not be continuing on with the series. I read them as a kid and liked them, but I can see some of his points, but also had to remind him that it was written about 100 years ago, so societal ideals where a bit different.

Currently, I am reading the third book of the Monster Hunters International series, Monster Hunter Alpha. These are some serious gun-porn as the author is a bit of a gun nut. Though this last one not so much, as the main character is a werewolf and not quite the gun totting brick as the main character in the first 2 books.

Yes, you definitely have to keep in mind when the books were written.   I'm now on "Chessmen of Mars".  I have to admit, I can only read them in about 30 min chunks.   And the stories all kind of follow the same pattern.  Princess gets captured, Hero  (initially John Carter, but in some of the other books someone else) sets off to rescue princess, kills a bunch of people, makes a couple allies, gets close to saving the princess, but she gets recaptured, often by someone else.  Repeat, add in a new society that was thought to be just a story, hero usually destroys said society for some reason that makes sense to him, and rescues the princess.   

It will be interesting to see what sort of changes they make to the story for the new movie that's coming out.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on December 04, 2011, 05:41:48 AM
Yeah, I am looking forward to the movie, just hope its worth looking forward to.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: dutch206 on December 20, 2011, 03:53:05 PM
Right now, I'm reading this:

 Medieval Knights and PTSD (http://news.discovery.com/history/medieval-knights-ptsd-111220.html#mkcpgn=msn1)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: arakish on August 12, 2012, 10:33:12 PM
Just finishing up Stranger in a Strange Land and getting ready to read Watership Down.

Both are books I have not read since I was a child (high school or younger), which means 30+ years.  Stranger in a Strange Land is recent rerelease which includes over 60,000 words that were cut from the original version published back in 1961.

At a yard sale, I found a complete hardbound set of the first two Thomas Covenant series, all autographed by the author.  Will be rereading them since I have not read them in over 20 years.

rmfr
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ironmaul on August 13, 2012, 02:00:24 AM
I've just about finished reading ''A Feast for Crows'' by George R.R. Martin. Can't say I like this one very much it just seems to drag on and on and on. Considering the rest of the Game of Thrones books are quite a good, this one just stalls.
In between that I'm reading Adobe illustrator, Indesign and Photoshop Classroom in a Book...have I bored you all to tears yet?
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on August 13, 2012, 10:16:56 AM
Just finished a few of the Myth series books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythAdventures

Gets me thinking about what a Mage with limited spells but excellent Spell Mastery can do.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on August 13, 2012, 10:56:35 AM
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett. That and Thud! both put a lot of thought into dwarf cultures.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: pastaav on August 13, 2012, 01:14:51 PM
Endymion, that is Hyperion book number 3.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mocking bird on August 19, 2012, 11:03:33 PM
Third Civil War Book by Shelby Foote and the second Instrumentalities of the Night book by Glenn Cook.  After that really looking forward to the Crippled God.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on August 20, 2012, 10:25:11 AM
I just finished re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-redeading the Wheel of Time series in prep for the next book - which I hope will be out in 2 to 3 months. Currently reading Witch World by Andre Norton as I had never gotten around to it when I was younger.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on August 20, 2012, 11:59:46 AM
The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett. That and Thud! both put a lot of thought into dwarf cultures.

Just started watching some of his movies on Netflix. The Color of Magic is pretty cool. And of course, The Hogfather!
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ob1knorrb on August 20, 2012, 04:16:31 PM
I've just about finished reading ''A Feast for Crows'' by George R.R. Martin. Can't say I like this one very much it just seems to drag on and on and on. Considering the rest of the Game of Thrones books are quite a good, this one just stalls.
In between that I'm reading Adobe illustrator, Indesign and Photoshop Classroom in a Book...have I bored you all to tears yet?

I'm reading "A Feast for Crows" now as well and finding the same thing, I hope the next one picks up the pace a bit.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ironmaul on August 20, 2012, 09:23:42 PM
Glad I'm not the only one that thinks so. G. Martin certainly comes across to me to be a sexual deviate after ready his books.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on August 31, 2012, 09:26:01 PM
  I have just about finished David Chandlers Den of Thieves the first book of the Ancient Blades Trilogy. I have enjoyed it and am looking forward to the 2end and 3rd books.
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on September 01, 2012, 11:38:15 AM
So, I finally read Man-Kzin Wars (one), and guess what? There was no war in it! I mean, if you are going to title it "Wars" it should have some dang war in it!
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: rdanhenry on September 01, 2012, 09:17:52 PM
Various Rolemaster books, Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry & Ridley Pearson, Body Language by Julius Fast, The Earth-Book of Stormgate by Poul Anderson, and the most recent issue of Pet Health (what it sounds like, the vet sends them with any veterinary care reminders).

Actually, for me, that's a fairly short list of things to be in the middle of.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ob1knorrb on September 04, 2012, 04:04:52 PM
Just finished "The Sisters Brothers", a fairly short but amusing Western.  Now trying to decide between "Paul of Dune" or "A Dance with Dragons"
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on September 04, 2012, 06:50:40 PM
Kent Montana and the Really Ugly Thing From Mars.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on September 04, 2012, 11:26:07 PM
So, I finally read Man-Kzin Wars (one), and guess what? There was no war in it! I mean, if you are going to title it "Wars" it should have some dang war in it!

I had read somewhere that Niven didn't feel confident writing "war stories".
I liked the book. He even wrote some for the old Star Trek Cartoon; he introduced the Kzinti.
Although they may seem passe now, he was the first to do a workable cat people.  :)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: ironmaul on September 05, 2012, 05:23:05 AM
Just finished "The Sisters Brothers", a fairly short but amusing Western.  Now trying to decide between "Paul of Dune" or "A Dance with Dragons"
I'm two chapters in on ''A Dance with Dragons'' so far so good.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: frnchqrtr on September 05, 2012, 09:39:29 PM
The Tyranny of the Night, Glen Cook.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on September 05, 2012, 11:02:54 PM
Check out this book if anyone has time.
http://physicsofsuperheroes.com/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Physics-Superheroes-James-Kakalios/dp/1592401465
Better science teaching through comics.
This has me thinking that enlarge spells should have game modifiers.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mocking bird on September 24, 2012, 09:16:25 PM
The Tyranny of the Night, Glen Cook.

About half way through - love the series but a map would be great.  I get the feeling it would look a lot like Europe about the time of the second crusade...
 
Really need to get it done as next up will be The Crippled God to finish off that series.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on September 28, 2012, 11:19:01 AM
Just finished the Hobbit in prep for the movies. (Three.....sheesh.) Totally forgot how he wrote that like he was talking to you, not used to the narrative being so visible. Still a fun read though.

Gonna try and dig into Darkover Landfall, next.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on November 06, 2012, 12:47:37 AM
I am a third of the way through The End of Everything by Megan Abbott. No way skiffy, more literary fiction than otherwise. It involves the best friend of the 13-year old narrator disappearing.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on November 06, 2012, 11:13:24 AM
Halfway through Lev Grossman's
The Magicians.

Magic is real and more serious than Harry Potter. Interesting..
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 06, 2012, 01:06:47 PM
Gonna try and dig into Darkover Landfall, next.
Read it, dug it.

Now I am on to Lin Carter's The Warrior of World's End.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 06, 2012, 01:09:04 PM
Oooh. I also reread the Riftwar Saga by Feist. It was still fun, and had lots of cool ideas.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: chippermonks on November 06, 2012, 01:59:32 PM
Oooh. I also reread the Riftwar Saga by Feist. It was still fun, and had lots of cool ideas.
an excellent series :)

I am trying to get through 10 billion days and 100 billion nights. a very interesting read.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 06, 2012, 02:29:47 PM
After I am done with A Warrior at World's End, I will be digging into the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (you know, it starts with The Dragonbone Chair) series by Tad Williams, another series I read a long time ago and want to reread. I hope it hasn't aged poorly.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on November 06, 2012, 05:51:12 PM
I have now started reading Beyond Viral: how to Attract Customers, Promote your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video, by Kevin H. Nalty
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 07, 2012, 05:53:19 AM
I have now started reading Beyond Viral: how to Attract Customers, Promote your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video, by Kevin H. Nalty
You people and your educational and career minded reading. Sheesh!  ;D
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: DangerMan on November 07, 2012, 10:54:20 AM
I'm actually reading the first book in the Wheel of Time, for the first time. I like it! .. and I thought I had seen the name of the main character before... ;)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 07, 2012, 11:14:09 AM
I'm actually reading the first book in the Wheel of Time, for the first time. I like it! .. and I thought I had seen the name of the main character before... ;)
Funny thing: my favorite character is Perrin; it just so happens that my actual name is Randall (I go by Rand, and of course, my favorite novels of all time is The Wheel of Time series).
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: chippermonks on November 07, 2012, 01:58:36 PM
I'm actually reading the first book in the Wheel of Time, for the first time. I like it! .. and I thought I had seen the name of the main character before... ;)
prepare for angst, and lots of sexual frustration. Good series, its just that those two things were kind of the defining trait for them :P
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: DangerMan on November 07, 2012, 02:02:47 PM
Im half way through the first book and my only concern is that I have way too little time for reading.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on November 07, 2012, 02:59:05 PM
I have now started reading Beyond Viral: how to Attract Customers, Promote your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video, by Kevin H. Nalty
You people and your educational and career minded reading. Sheesh!  ;D

True: one of the reasons I want to read it is to get ideas about promoting online poetry videos (since I am, by vocation, a poet).
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on November 07, 2012, 03:01:47 PM
prepare for angst, and lots of sexual frustration. Good series, its just that those two things were kind of the defining trait for them :P
Now, I know what you are talking about when you say, "angst" but I cannot for the life of me, get where the "sexual frustration" comes from. The Wheel of Time is not erotic fiction. In fact, one can say (and I wouldn't disagree) that the romance of the series is fairly simple - even taking in the Rand situation.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Fenrhyl Wulfson on November 07, 2012, 05:19:01 PM
Currently reading everything I can from Albert Jacquard. It’s like brain candy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Jacquard

I am far from done.

Last novel I read was actually The Witcher, a collection of short novels by Andrej Sapowski. Quite good.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on November 07, 2012, 08:26:41 PM
I've just bought $220 worth of books, so I have a fair bit of reading ahead of me :)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: DangerMan on November 08, 2012, 05:54:30 AM
prepare for angst, and lots of sexual frustration. Good series, its just that those two things were kind of the defining trait for them :P
Now, I know what you are talking about when you say, "angst" but I cannot for the life of me, get where the "sexual frustration" comes from. The Wheel of Time is not erotic fiction. In fact, one can say (and I wouldn't disagree) that the romance of the series is fairly simple - even taking in the Rand situation.

Please avoid spoilers in the following discussion!!!  ;D
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: chippermonks on November 08, 2012, 10:05:03 AM
prepare for angst, and lots of sexual frustration. Good series, its just that those two things were kind of the defining trait for them :P
Now, I know what you are talking about when you say, "angst" but I cannot for the life of me, get where the "sexual frustration" comes from. The Wheel of Time is not erotic fiction. In fact, one can say (and I wouldn't disagree) that the romance of the series is fairly simple - even taking in the Rand situation.

Please avoid spoilers in the following discussion!!!  ;D

Don't worry no spoilers :P

The frustration I mention is more of a awkwardness between two characters, which is only present due to the sheer fact that they are opposite genders. It is of course nothing erotic, it just seems at times to be a little superfluous :P
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: arakish on November 29, 2012, 09:40:23 AM
Went and bought the whole "Thomas Covenant" series and started re-reading from the beginning which I have not read since the books were first published.

rmfr
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: providence13 on November 29, 2012, 11:36:04 AM
A third of the way through  Lev Grossman's 2nd Magician book,
"The Magician King".
Nice look at a magic college (not like Hogwarts) and what happens to Hedge Wizards who couldn't pass the entrance exam.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on December 05, 2012, 03:29:06 PM
Lately I've been reading Cherie Priest.  Decent stuff.  Not the usual Fantasy or odd Sci-Fi that I normally read (it's Steampunk, so kinda between the two in some ways).

I've read Boneshaker and Dreadnought, working on Ganymede.  I just got a copy of Clementine (was somewhat hard to get my hands on quite a while) so I have not read it and I still need to pick up The Inexplicables.

Boneshaker, October 2009, Tor Books. ISBN 978-0-7653-1841-1.
Clementine, July 2010, Subterranean Press. ISBN 978-1-59606-308-2.
Dreadnought, September 2010, Tor Books. ISBN 978-0-7653-2578-5.
Ganymede, September 2011, Tor Books. ISBN 978-0-7653-2946-2.
The Inexplicables, November 2012, Tor Books. ISBN 9780765329479.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Old Man on January 20, 2013, 08:36:16 PM

Just finished Glen Cook's last book in the Dread Empire series - A Path to Coldness of Heart
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mocking bird on January 29, 2013, 06:57:35 PM
Finished up the second Intrumentalities book recently - getting interesting now but not as good as the first. 

Trying to pick up the Dread Empire books but getting them in order is a bit problematic.  Nook for XMas so that might make things easier.

Going through Erikson's Chained God - interesting but very confusing with the 20 different story lines going on - but the world setting is just cool.

For non-fiction on last of the Shelby Foote Civil War books - Sherman just made it to Savannah on his March to the Sea.  For huge historical books they are actually easy reads - they just need more maps.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Old Man on March 18, 2013, 08:43:50 PM
Just finished Glen Cook's last book in the Dread Empire series - A Path to Coldness of Heart

Read the last Jordan book and found that pretty good. Tried the 2nd Turtledove Supervolcano book and punted it. Now trying the Quantum Thief (haven't read any Hard SF in a while) and its interesting stuff.

But best of all (and worst of all) the last Feist Magician book comes out in May or so.... (on the up side, Brust is writing a new Jhereg book ... and supposedly Cook has a new Black Company series in the works)

Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on March 19, 2013, 12:38:16 AM
I love some of Brust's stuff.  If you have not, you should read the Phoenix Guards.  The books that follow it are good too, but it's probably my favorite before all the Vlad books.  Went out of my way to find a 1st Ed Hardback of it and then go get it sighed by him.  To Reign in Hell wasn't bad either.  Interesting twist on the war in heaven.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on March 19, 2013, 07:41:38 AM
 I just finished Rowena Cory Daniells Outcast Chronicles (OC) and I am going back and reading her first work the Chronicles of King Rolens Kin. The OC are very interesting and have some good stuff in them but there are parts that some might not like. But all in all I think they are a good work (maybe great) of fantasy.
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Old Man on March 19, 2013, 07:50:40 PM
I love some of Brust's stuff.  If you have not, you should read the Phoenix Guards.  The books that follow it are good too, but it's probably my favorite before all the Vlad books.  Went out of my way to find a 1st Ed Hardback of it and then go get it sighed by him.  To Reign in Hell wasn't bad either.  Interesting twist on the war in heaven.

I second the recommendation of the Khaavren books. Lots of fun stuff therein.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: jdale on March 19, 2013, 08:45:22 PM
I also loved the Phoenix Guards and related books. Brust has a great ability to write with different voices. I would also recommend his other books like Brokedown Palace or Agyar, which are very different but still great. Brokedown Palace reads more like a fairy tale; Agyar is in a modern setting and the less said about the details the better (just read it).
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Turbs on May 28, 2013, 12:40:04 AM
MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN.

find it.
read it.

Then you Win!
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mocking bird on May 28, 2013, 09:14:38 PM
Finished Chained God - not sure if I liked the ending but I really couldn't come up with a better one I suppose.

Reading Ready Player One - should be required by anyone who remembers the 80's and actually enjoyed some of it.  Imagine if John Hughes wrote The Matrix.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on May 29, 2013, 12:55:41 AM
Just finished The Human Division by John Scalzi. Set in the Old Man's War universe (and if you have not read that book, or the trilogy it starts, you are really missing out: super fun, with some really great ideas), it is a series of short stories that sort of combine to tell a "big" story, though without a true finish, so I am hoping this means that we can expect more to come.

I want to run a game set in that universe, just not sure what I would use, probably HARP Scifi...
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Fenrhyl Wulfson on May 30, 2013, 06:36:13 AM
Right now, I am reading Homo Ludens and Les jeux et les hommes – le masque et le vertige, both major works about games, play and their definition, interaction with culture and their various types.

Definitely worth reading, even if you are not involved in the study of these fields.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Fenrhyl Wulfson on May 30, 2013, 07:08:10 AM
The French title has been translated in English : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man,_Play_and_Games
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: mistrornge on May 30, 2013, 11:48:55 AM
Went through Hugh Howey's Wool series very quickly.  Hard to put down.
If you have a chance and want to think a bit pick up Grant Morrison's Invisibles series.  The graphic novels are really good.
Picked up Rant and Damned by Chuck Palahniuk.  His books are usually dark but thought provoking.  Also got James Dickey's book Deliverance (yes there is a book).
Charles
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on June 29, 2013, 08:11:27 PM
I've been reading Dreads and Drolls by Arthur Machen, the expanded Tartarus Press edition. The various articles in it, since it is a collection of articles by Machen, have been giving me all sorts of ideas for adventures. For example, a player's longlost brother returns from foreign climes, rich as, but disappears before the player can catch up with him; has he been robbed and murdered for his money? :)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Colin-ICE on July 01, 2013, 06:32:29 AM
I've just been on holiday and read Nod by Adrian Barnes and The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. Both are realistic science fiction and funnily enough follow similar veins.

Nod is about what would happen if one day no one (except a select few) slept and continued not being able to sleep until they died. For me the etymological background of the book was fun and it did show some interesting ideas about what might happen and how relationships would be effected. For me though it was just a little too depressing. I'm more a Douglas Adams Sci-Fi guy than a swathes of people dying kind of guy.

The Dog Stars is set in a future where a virus has killed off most of the human race and one guys fight to survive in a world without any laws. It is slightly less depressing than Nod and I enjoyed the relatively realism of the way people would defend what little they had in those circumstances.

On the whole I'd recommend The Dog Stars more than Nod but both are very good reads.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Thom @ ICE on July 01, 2013, 07:10:46 AM
Finally had some time to return to my Forgotten 500 (World War II).
I started this a while ago, but had to put it down for a while due to other commitments.  I'm looking forward to making my way through it as I'm enjoying it very much (and I've got a half dozen other books waiting....)
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: KacyCrawford on September 29, 2013, 04:48:53 AM
I have just finished "Inferno" by Dan Brown. He went completely mad. I have survived Robert Langdon´s jump from the helicopter with only a handkerchief over his head moderating the fall in Angels and Demons, but his solution to the over-population in the Inferno seems rather immoral to me. I hope the Church will be wise enough not to react.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: jdale on September 29, 2013, 11:42:31 AM
I just finished A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge. Some interesting aliens ways of thinking and an intriguing idea about different laws of reality in different zones of the galaxy. E.g. FTL communications/transit/computing is possible only in the Beyond and the Transcend, not in the Slowness. Devices (which includes minds) from a higher zone break down quickly in lower zones. You could do something similar with deities, and in fact they talk about things from the Transcend as "gods". It gives an SF way of explaining how transcended beings could aid those in lower realms, and even have avatars, but only under fairly tight restrictions.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: PhillipAEllis on September 29, 2013, 04:50:43 PM
I just finished Night Games by Anna Krien, an examination of rape, sex and football, particularly in Australia.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Colin-ICE on September 30, 2013, 02:12:27 AM
I have just (rather foolishly) started reading 'The Belgariad'. I will now have to read all the books in this cannon as I'm really enjoying this one.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: jdale on September 30, 2013, 11:04:38 AM
I have just (rather foolishly) started reading 'The Belgariad'. I will now have to read all the books in this cannon as I'm really enjoying this one.

That was a fun read. I also liked the idea of opposing prophecies as entities of their own. But if I remember correctly, the series that came afterwards was pretty much just a retread of the same things.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on October 01, 2013, 12:59:31 AM
But if I remember correctly, the series that came afterwards was pretty much just a retread of the same things.
Yep.

I like Eddings a lot, I just don't love the fact that his various series seem to be very similar to each other.  I really liked The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight and the Sapphire Rose.  The next three were ok and I tired of it after that.

I won't get into detail so as not to provide spoilers, but I very much liked the character Sparrowhawk.  A church knight that's going to strangle a villain with a piano wire in a back alley... it was... refreshing in a way.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on October 01, 2013, 02:04:47 AM
I have just (rather foolishly) started reading 'The Belgariad'. I will now have to read all the books in this cannon as I'm really enjoying this one.
I did this very same thing little over a year back. While I will not say I disliked them (unlike Tad Williams' series Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn, sheesh!), they have not aged well since the first time I read them - way back when they first came out.

I recently read The Lives of Tao by Westley Chu, and wait impatiently for the next one The Death's of Tao, due out this December. (I already got it pre-ordered.) It is a very interesting and fun read. Check it:

Quote
When out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it.

He wasn’t.

He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans. Now split into two opposing factions – the peace-loving, but under-represented Prophus, and the savage, powerful Genjix – the aliens have been in a state of civil war for centuries. Both sides are searching for a way off-planet, and the Genjix will sacrifice the entire human race, if that’s what it takes.

Meanwhile, Roen is having to train to be the ultimate secret agent. Like that’s going to end up well…
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on October 01, 2013, 03:41:52 AM
While I will not say I disliked them (unlike Tad Williams' series Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn, sheesh!), they have not aged well since the first time I read them - way back when they first came out.
I've experienced that with a couple series.  Loved them when I read them, but so many years later when I attempt to re-read them I'm left disappointed.  Simple age factors in depending on how far apart you read things, but sometimes it's just that the more well read (amount) you are the more you start to expect from authors.  I have a little bit of a hard time finding fantasy books/series that I really like anymore.

For a few years I've been trying to find a sci-fi series that has a large scale 'setting' with various books set in it that tie together anywhere from only loosely to very tightly.  I hate to say it, but almost along the lines of Star Wars, but not actually Star Wars.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: arakish on October 01, 2013, 09:44:24 AM
I just started rereading SRD's Mordant's Need series: The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through.  Haven't read them since they were first published in mid-80s.

I just remember loving the way mirrors worked there.

rmfr
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Zut on October 01, 2013, 09:47:21 AM
I have a little bit of a hard time finding fantasy books/series that I really like anymore.

Me too. The stories feel like the same: same plots, same characters, same issues. I watched Game of Thrones and I liked it for the most part, good political intrigue, but too violent sometimes.

I am reading more and more non fiction books these days. I came upon a "old" book written in the '60 with extracts from famous French authors of the 18th century. One I found particularly interesting was the philosopher Pierre Bayle (not exactly 18th century, but he was a precursor for some ideas developed during the French Revolution).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bayle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bayle)

I like to know when (in history) some "modern" concepts come from.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on October 01, 2013, 01:34:21 PM
For a few years I've been trying to find a sci-fi series that has a large scale 'setting' with various books set in it that tie together anywhere from only loosely to very tightly.  I hate to say it, but almost along the lines of Star Wars, but not actually Star Wars.
I know several good sci-fi series, but they are not quite the way you describe, they are more "tight" in their stories. But, if you are OK with short stories, you could check out the various Bolo books. Each one of those books has around 3 stories in it, and they don't generally directly coincide with each other but there is a timeline of sorts; from the earlier books to the later ones the Bolos mark numbers and capabilities progress. (Bolos are totally awesome and I want one! A Mark-XXXVI or higher!)

The not so tight series I really like are:

Old Man's War (trilogy, with another book The Human Division about one of the secondary characters from the main series) by John Scalzi. Super fun and funny, Scalzi does a really great job of writing smart-alec characters. Also, I want to play an RPG in the setting after the third book.
The Heritage Trilogy, The Legacy Trilogy, & The Inheritance Trilogy (while each trilogy is its own series, they tie together into a single story) by Ian Douglas. I had a lot of fun reading this series (twice, so far) and I liked how the technology grew between the series and within the series. He also does the Star Carrier series and the Star Corpsman series both of which are still ongoing. You can find information about these books here: http://www.amazon.com/Ian-Douglas/e/B007KO51OY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 (http://www.amazon.com/Ian-Douglas/e/B007KO51OY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0)
The Helfort's War series (4 books) by Graham Sharp Paul, a fun and more gritty series than the other two I mentioned.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on October 03, 2013, 08:40:41 AM
 I also enjoyed the various books I read of Ian Douglas's and right now I am reading the Iron Druid 1st book. It is ok in a very cinematic way and I am looking forward to reading the rest.
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on October 03, 2013, 08:52:11 AM
I have a little bit of a hard time finding fantasy books/series that I really like anymore.

Me too. The stories feel like the same: same plots, same characters, same issues.

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett is what I'm currently in. The "same old, same old" doesn't seem nearly as common as usual with Pratchett, at least not to me... particularly the Sam Vimes story arc.

Which is not to say his stories never go with the same old plot line. And sometimes when they do, they're his best work. See MacBeth transformed into Wyrd Sisters, A Midsummer Night's Dream transformed into Lords and Ladies and The Phantom of the Opera transformed into Maskerade. But the stories tend strongly to be character driven rather than plot driven, so like Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, once you change something fundamental in the outlook and worldview of even one major character, that changes everything else.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Old Man on October 05, 2013, 07:58:43 PM

Just finished  The Expanse Trilogy by James S.A. Corey
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A271585011%2Cp_lbr_books_series_browse-bin%3AThe%20Expanse|Void%20Trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A271585011%2Cp_lbr_books_series_browse-bin%3AThe%20Expanse|Void%20Trilogy)

Good Space Opera mixed with politics, intrigue, super science and alien armageddon. I think the second was the best of the three.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on October 06, 2013, 01:21:12 PM
Something else I read recently: The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson (Copyright 2005). The strange thing about this book is that it reads like it was written back in the 60s or 70s - or perhaps earlier even - though that is just because the writer is so old. It is pretty-good, I would not say great, but if that is indicative of Jack Williamsons writing I will probably not be reading any more.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Bruce on October 31, 2013, 04:21:58 PM
I am currently reading (very slowly unfortunately) Robert Jordan's last book in the "Wheel of Time" series, "A Memory of Light". For the most part I have enjoyed his books though I think the pace is better with the last couple. Amazing and deeply intricate characters. When I said slowly I mean i was one to get a first printing and it is now October, whereas earlier books in the series I've read in like two days (with almost no sleep). I am also reading the Bible, of course I will always be reading that.
Do rulebooks count? If so I am also reading (in parts) the three in print HARP books and the RMU stuff I have.....
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Zut on June 02, 2014, 05:58:09 PM
Just finished to read "Game Design Theory" by Keith Burgun. He has a very interesting take about what IS a game (competition, puzzle, and ambiguous decision making). He talks mostly about video games, boardgames, and a little bit about P&P RPGs. as the author says himself, it is a book about establishing a theory of (video) game design and not about how to design a game.

It was the first time I read about this subject (I read about world building, session prep, but not game design) and I am quite pleased to see this is a growing field of research (more than just the sociology of games).
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Malim on June 08, 2014, 01:44:30 PM
Sword of truth by terry goodkind.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: TerryTee on June 08, 2014, 04:25:49 PM
Ender's game series. Now on Xenocide.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on June 09, 2014, 01:03:28 AM
Sword of truth by terry goodkind.
Wizards First Rule is very close to my first rule of life: People are stupid.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: tbigness on June 09, 2014, 02:47:14 PM
That is close to my philosophy of "A person may be smart, but people in general are stupid."
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on June 09, 2014, 03:14:34 PM
  I know a lot of smart people who are dumb and vice versa (sp?). I know that sounds like a Yogi Berra quote but I think it is mine. Some a really smart in some areas and knowledge challenged in others, some have trouble burning water but are great a math or accounting, etc.
 But I also agree that a lot of people are too busy to be smart and ok some are just plain dumb also. :)
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Cory Magel on June 11, 2014, 12:07:05 AM
  I know a lot of smart people who are dumb and vice versa (sp?). I know that sounds like a Yogi Berra quote but I think it is mine. Some a really smart in some areas and knowledge challenged in others, some have trouble burning water but are great a math or accounting, etc.
 But I also agree that a lot of people are too busy to be smart and ok some are just plain dumb also. :)
MDC
I equate "Stupid" mostly as having little to no common sense.

You can be an uneducated smart person and still understand how to, say, merge with traffic for example.  I'm not going to look at you like an idiot if you can't tell me Pi, but if you ask me why I always hand sharp instruments to someone handle first I might be tempted to stab you.

I believe that's the "Wisdom" stat in the game that shall not be named.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: madvogon on July 17, 2014, 01:03:09 PM
Let us not forget Wizard's First Rule as applied to retail: Never underestimate the stupidity of the average customer.  Also remember the related axiom: Sooner or later, you're somebody else's customer.

As far as books: I am unfortunately limited to audiobooks as I am blind.  Currently, I am listening to several ongoing series which are a lot of fun. 

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Vampire Earth by E. E. Knight
Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill
both ongoing series  by Laurell K. Hamilton

In terms of standouts, Kevin J. Anderson's Terra Incognita and sequels and Robert Charles Wilson's Spin, Axis, and Vortex (although anything by Wilson is worth reading).

My most recent disappointment, and it pains me incredibly to say this, was Stephen R. Donaldson's The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.  The first two books left me wanting more, and the last two were utter disappointment.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: markc on July 17, 2014, 01:51:53 PM
If you check most books that can be opened by adobe acrobat reader can be read to you.
MDC
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: egdcltd on July 17, 2014, 02:25:19 PM
The Saga of Seven Suns. I read books one and two; decided to wait until I'd bought the rest of the series, bought five books cheaply on two occasions several years ago, decided to check how many I was missing the other day and discovered I had the entire series already.

madvogon, I'd recommend The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka and the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: madvogon on July 17, 2014, 05:03:42 PM
Here are more suggestions that your post reminded me of, although not available as Audiobooks yet.

Susan R. Matthews, An Exchange of Hostages, et al.  Warning, extremely uncomfortable subject matter; approach with care but amazing.

Christopher Golden, the Peter Octavian series.  First book is Of Saints and Shadows. 
(click to show/hide)

Nancy Collins, any of the Pretender books, especially Sunglasses After Dark, except A Dozen Black Roses. 

Ian Douglas (aka William Keith), the trilogy of trilogies starting with Semper Mars.

Any book by Michelle Sagara/West.

Seanan McGuire, Incryptid series.  If you are into filk, check out her CD Red Roses and Dead Things.

The wife recommends Barbara Hambly's series beginning with A Freeman of Colour.  The Vogon prefers the Darwath series.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: RandalThor on July 18, 2014, 02:22:12 AM
Ian Douglas (aka William Keith), the trilogy of trilogies starting with Semper Mars.
I really liked these, the time spanning was done well.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: madvogon on July 26, 2014, 02:41:24 PM
Just finished listening to the Chronoliths (of course any Robert Charles Wilson is worth reading, but too many people only know of Spin/Axis/Vortex these days).  Still looking for an audio edition of Bios.
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: GrumpyOldFart on August 21, 2014, 10:03:34 PM
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

By Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: Colin-ICE on August 22, 2014, 05:05:51 AM
I love that book. A classic!
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: madvogon on August 22, 2014, 11:55:25 AM
Re-reading Chloe Neill's entire Chicagoland Vampires series.

Waiting for the new Kim Harrison book next week!
Title: Re: Resurrection: What are you Reading?
Post by: pyrotech on August 22, 2014, 05:08:29 PM
It will be interesting how Kim Harrison will wrap up Rachel's story.  I just have to decide if I get it hardcover or just for the kindle.

In the mean time I'm waiting for my next paycheck to get the last 3 dresden files to read.  And waiting patiently for something new from Glen Cook, or a new Merchant Princes book from Charles Stross....... or maybe one day I'll see a new Chtorr book (unlikely) or the next GoT book.

Books in my queue:
Ghost Story
Cold Days
Skin Game (all my Jim Butcher)
The Rhesus Chart (Charles Stross)
The Witch with No Name (Kim Harrison)

Man looking at this list I need to find a new sci-fi and medival fantasy series to follow.  These are all modern fantasy novels.  Maybe I'll try Butcher's Steampunk series too.