Reading in December 2012

[Hobbit]

This is where you talk to us about your monthly SF Reads: whether good or bad, we want to discuss with you what you thought.

As this is the last 'Reading...' Thread for 2012, on behalf of SFFWorld I'd like to wish you all the compliments of the season. Here's hoping you get lots to read: please pass on your likes and dislikes.

Ho-ho Hobbit.

[suciul]

A few days ago I finished books 3 (reread) and book 4 (first read) of Sentients of Orion by Marianne de Pierres; the last book Transformation Space was fast and furious solving most of the thread lines though the ending is pretty abrupt in a way; this said, the series has a great ending in the main Sole thread though I wish a little more detail about what happens next would have been provided; there was lots of action, drama and even a few surprises

The series is best read as one big volume especially the core books 2-4, with book 1 as an introduction that sets up things

Overall excellent fast space opera, hopefully the upcoming US release will raise its profile

[DDCOrange]

I finished two books in the last week. The first Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey was the perfect book to follow-up Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy. Corey's novel got the hook in me early and never let go. Though I've heard mixed reviews for Caliban's War I'm still eager to find out what happens next.
The other book I just finished was March Upcountry by John Ringo and David Weber. That one took me awhile to warm up to but once they got down on the planet things started to get more interesting. Not bad as far as military Sci-Fi goes. I'll probably get the next book in that series as well.

[suciul]

I finished two books in the last week. The first Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey was the perfect book to follow-up Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy. Corey's novel got the hook in me early and never let go. Though I've heard mixed reviews for Caliban's War I'm still eager to find out what happens next.
The other book I just finished was March Upcountry by John Ringo and David Weber. That one took me awhile to warm up to but once they got down on the planet things started to get more interesting. Not bad as far as military Sci-Fi goes. I'll probably get the next book in that series as well.

I wouldn't say that Caliban's war is bad, just that it is more of the almost the same with very little advancement of the storyline compared to what I expected from the ending of LW; the last sentence of Caliban's War (which is awesome true) should have been its first imho...

March to the Sea is one of the best ever mil-sf I've read; barbarians, city states, sense of wonder, large scale war at the Marduk tech level , larger than life characters (not only the company and Roger but the Mardukans too); March to the Stars is quite good too though it has less new stuff than March to the Sea, though the ending just pure emotion...

Then comes We Few which is again one of the best sf I've read, though it is partly mil-sf, partly space opera; the ending is also terrific and while it ends what came to that point well, there are a lot of open threads remaining (you won't learn them until the Stars book though) and the great news is that John Ringo has started The Rage of the Seraphs which is book 5 (should be out late 13, early 14 as the demand to continue Prince Roger's series has been overwhelming from fans, so much so that JR threatened to ban anyone from his site/group when asking about that for quite a few years now); there are some awesome snippets on JR's facebook (read We Few first though) and I cannot wait for that book...

the books are pretty much all Ringo, with DW providing the outline, geo-political setting etc, but the writing is Ringo and it has his terrific sense of military action at grunt level

[Hellions]

A couple of weeks ago, I finished Helix by Eric Brown which depicts the trials of a dying Earth's "last chance" colonists who crash on a strange alien interstellar body composed of multiple worlds. I really enjoyed this one, the author showing a real talent to instill the thrill of discovery as our heroes set foot in new territories. The characters, human and aliens alike, speak with their own voice and lend a solid foundation to the story. On the (small) downside, there were some inconsistencies, a few cringeworthy moments and most of all the aliens were far, far too human. Nothing serious however, this was a fun book and Mister Brown is now on my watch list. The sequel, Helix Wars, was released last September, has anyone had a chance to read it yet?

[Westsiyeed]

A couple of weeks ago, I finished Helix by Eric Brown which depicts the trials of a dying Earth's "last chance" colonists who crash on a strange alien interstellar body composed of multiple worlds. I really enjoyed this one, the author showing a real talent to instill the thrill of discovery as our heroes set foot in new territories. The characters, human and aliens alike, speak with their own voice and lend a solid foundation to the story. On the (small) downside, there were some inconsistencies, a few cringeworthy moments and most of all the aliens were far, far too human. Nothing serious however, this was a fun book and Mister Brown is now on my watch list. The sequel, Helix Wars, was released last September, has anyone had a chance to read it yet?

I haven't but it is on my to-read list as, like you, I enjoyed Helix.

He can be a bit hit and miss but if you want to read more from the author I'd recommend The Kings of Eternity (standalone) and Necropath (the first in a trilogy) - I'd rate these up there with his best.

[Hobbit]

... if you want to read more from the author I'd recommend The Kings of Eternity (standalone) and Necropath (the first in a trilogy) - I'd rate these up there with his best.

Yeah, both Rob and I really rated Kings of Eternity last year in our Review of 2012. (And recommended by Chitman, too!)

To topic: Currently reading Redshirts by John Scalzi. Hmm. It's OK, so far, but it's not the best comedy I've ever read. Humour's always tricky, and whilst there's a lot I like, I have a feeling that it's not going to span the distance.

[Hellions]

I haven't but it is on my to-read list as, like you, I enjoyed Helix.

He can be a bit hit and miss but if you want to read more from the author I'd recommend The Kings of Eternity (standalone) and Necropath (the first in a trilogy) - I'd rate these up there with his best.

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I already have Necropath which on the surface seems to have quite a few similarities with Babylon 5. As a huge fan of the show, I just had to make it my first follow-up Eric Brown acquisition.

[DDCOrange]

I wouldn't say that Caliban's war is bad, just that it is more of the almost the same with very little advancement of the storyline compared to what I expected from the ending of LW; the last sentence of Caliban's War (which is awesome true) should have been its first imho...

March to the Sea is one of the best ever mil-sf I've read; barbarians, city states, sense of wonder, large scale war at the Marduk tech level , larger than life characters (not only the company and Roger but the Mardukans too); March to the Stars is quite good too though it has less new stuff than March to the Sea, though the ending just pure emotion...



Then comes We Few which is again one of the best sf I've read, though it is partly mil-sf, partly space opera; the ending is also terrific and while it ends what came to that point well, there are a lot of open threads remaining (you won't learn them until the Stars book though) and the great news is that John Ringo has started The Rage of the Seraphs which is book 5 (should be out late 13, early 14 as the demand to continue Prince Roger's series has been overwhelming from fans, so much so that JR threatened to ban anyone from his site/group when asking about that for quite a few years now); there are some awesome snippets on JR's facebook (read We Few first though) and I cannot wait for that book...

the books are pretty much all Ringo, with DW providing the outline, geo-political setting etc, but the writing is Ringo and it has his terrific sense of military action at grunt level

Thanks for the feedback suciul; I was wondering about who was doing the writing as I hadn't read Ringo before. I've already acquired March to the Sea and am now really looking forward to it! Maybe I'll try some standalone Ringo down the road when my TBR pile diminishes to a managable level.

[Westsiyeed]

Read Walter Tevis's Mockingbird - what an excellent read.

It's set in the future a few hundred years from now when humans no longer procreate and live drugged up all day, watching TV and encouraged to do nothing, with robots taking over day to day tasks. When a couple meet and start doing things against the norm, it triggers events that eventually lead to big changes.

One of the best parts of this novel was how realistic it was portrayed, especially compared to how things have changed in the current world compared to when it was written. Good stuff.

[Loerwyn]

I started Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, the new UK edition of it. About 90 pages into it and I think it's okay, though I have to admit I was a bit confused about some plot details and I'm really not sure what I think of the main character (Briar).

[Corwwyn]

Re-read Sydney j.Van Scyoc's Assignment Nor' Dyren. Decades since I read it. Very good read, except...it was more of a novella dressed as a novel. It became more interesting as it went along, but then all that story gave way to a rushed quick reveal and finish.

[DDCOrange]

I started Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, the new UK edition of it. About 90 pages into it and I think it's okay, though I have to admit I was a bit confused about some plot details and I'm really not sure what I think of the main character (Briar).

Stick with it Loerwyn, it gets a lot better!

[starman03]

Almost finished Asher's Cowl and have just finished Pohl and Kornbluth's The Space Merchants. I've enjoyed both of them. At the moment I'm just deciding which books are going to be on my Christmas list... Unfortunately, finances and common-sense mean I can't have all the ones I would like...

[MMerle]

Read Walter Tevis's Mockingbird - what an excellent read.

It's set in the future a few hundred years from now when humans no longer procreate and live drugged up all day, watching TV and encouraged to do nothing, with robots taking over day to day tasks. When a couple meet and start doing things against the norm, it triggers events that eventually lead to big changes.

One of the best parts of this novel was how realistic it was portrayed, especially compared to how things have changed in the current world compared to when it was written. Good stuff.

One of my favourite novels.

I've been reading Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. It's just a collection of stories (although many/most of them I hadn't read before) that came out a few years ago and which I'm only just getting around to reading. I'm enjoying it - I'm up to my eyeballs in reading for qualifying exams and classes, so these short stories are the perfect end-of-day (s!) escape.