Reading in June 2012

[Awesomov]

Well, last month I started Gateway by Frederik Pohl, which I'm enjoying, but I can't seem to get myself interested in it enough to finish it. I have no idea why, because I'm not even bored with it despite Pohl's rambling.

But I also started reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin a few days ago, which is boring so far. Not that some of it isn't interesting, but I'm feeling like it's padding out a bit.

And, of course, every now and then I read various shorts, especially whenever I get bored with a particular novel. In fact, I read four, which is unusual for me, since I tend to read one or two and move back to whatever I'm reading at the time. Anyway, I read "Piecework" by David Brin, "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson, "How Beautiful With Banners" by James Blish, and "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak.

I'll be honest, though, I've no clue if I'll finish either of those novels by the end of the month. As Isaac Asimov said, "I am not a speed reader; I am a speed understander." Which is a fancy way of saying, "I'm a slow reader."

 

[chitman13]

I started on Stark's Command by Jack Campbell yesterday as my audio book to keep me occupied while driving. Due to the events at the end of Stark's War this one starts with a different take on the situation. I'm enjoying it and looking forward to see where it goes, but it's much more like the Lost Fleet books this time around with Stark taking overall command of the forces ont he moon. He also just let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. I kinda missed that absence in the first book...

 

[cleasaal]

June so far

Hi, I'm new here!

Anyway, so far this month I've finished Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars (I liked Red and Green better, in Blue I felt that the science was a little too distant for him to be able to maintain successfully the hard SF approach that had characterized the first two volumes), read Theodore Sturgeon's Godbody, Clifford D. Simak's Time Is the Simplest Thing, and I'm currently reading A Heritage of Stars. There were a few short stories too, but those are the big ones.

 

[Westy]

Based on the words above from a few posters, got myself The Devil's Nebula too (if you want an e, Kobo which sells it as drm-free epub for 6$ accepts coupons of up to 50% off - current codes are easy to find with Google - so you can get it for 3$ there) and while my experience with Eric Brown is mixed (liked some of his books, did not like others), this one starts well and I expect I will enjoy it; however I opened Caliban's war and that is a book not to put down once you get into it seriously...

That's a good deal - I got the paperback of The Devil's Nebula for AUD$5.99 from BD which is also pretty cheap.

Started Caliban's War tonight and am hooked already after a couple of chapters...it's good to be back with Holden, Amos and the crew!

 

[Ropie]

Hi, I'm new here!

Anyway, so far this month I've finished Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars ..Theodore Sturgeon's Godbody, Clifford D. Simak's Time Is the Simplest Thing, and I'm currently reading A Heritage of Stars. There were a few short stories too, but those are the big ones.

Hi and welcome That's about 2 months' reading for me and you've fitted it in to a few weeks. I just read and really enjoyed Sturgeon's More Than Human but I'd not heard of Godbody. Any good?

Just over 100 pages into KSR's 2312 and enjoying it more and more. I really don't have a problem with his writing style as others have - for me he is much more measured and confident in his approach than a lot of his contemporaries but maybe that's it. IMO the dry prose suits the grand theme much better than, say, Iain M Banks' off hand style does. I don't like it when less skilled writers try and layer too much emotion into their writing as it stands out a mile for me.

 

[livens]

After a delightful vacation in Discworld I'm jumping back into the Culture and reading Iain M Banks' Look to Windward. He's a hell of a writer.

Yes he is.

Currently working my way through Surface Detail, got hooked from the start!

I love getting lost in the world he is creating and all of the side plots he is starting up. I cant wait to see how he brings them all together.

Ive got $20 something cash in my wallet waiting for Brin's Existence to hit my local Barnes and Noble next Tuesday, Ill be in there Monday too just in case.

 

[suciul]

I finished Caliban's War by James Corey; in short, I liked it and as it is in large parts a repeat of Leviathan wakes with a different side plot and 3 new pov's, I guess people's reaction will mirror the reaction to the first book.

While I liked the new pov's - for various reasons, not least having a better gender balance the lack of which was a reasonably legitimate criticism of the first book, so now two of the three new pov's are female, both with great power in their own ways as one is a tough Martian marine and the other an ethnic Indian politician that is one of movers and shakers on Earth - the action lacked the freshness and the sense of wonder from Leviathan wakes and the book was a more standard action-adventure-space thriller without the sfnal mysteries of the debut.

A great wow ending and of course I want more asap, while overall i would rate the book as a highly recommended one of me for 2012 but not quite a top 25

 

[cleasaal]

I just read and really enjoyed Sturgeon's More Than Human but I'd not heard of Godbody. Any good?

Hi,

Yes, Godbody is an interesting read, but it is also a little weird and it may rub some people the wrong way. If you haven't read it yet you may want to have a go at The Dreaming Jewels first. I haven't tackled KSR's 2312 yet, it's on my list. Over all I like his style, but after Blue Mars I was a little reluctant to take it on, so thanks for the rec. Right now I'm reading CDS's Our Children's Children... will probably follow with Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End.

 

[Chrysippus]

About to start Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. Haven't read a lot of sci-fi recently; mostly I've been reading fantasy. So I'm looking forward to this.

 

[DDCOrange]

Just finished Mariposa by Greg Bear a sequel to his earlier novel Quantico. Like the earlier novel the story follows three FBI agents in the near future though unlike Quantico the enemy is not terrorism but bankruptcy with the USA about to go into receivership due to massive debt and most of the government departments have been severely cut back including the FBI. In the meantime alot of the police and military functions have been farmed out to subcontractors the largest and most influential is a Blackwater-like outfit on super-steroids led by an utter madman who has added some creepy genetic-engineering experimentation to his super-corporation Black Ops.

The story is really engaging and it turned out to a quick read of a possible future America going completely down the road to oblivion. My only complaint was the ending which while interesting seemed very rushed with too many loose ends and thus not quite believable. All in all though I would give it a marginal thumbs up mainly due to the scary premise which may be all too possible in these troubled times.

 

[suciul]

While I just got a main 2012 novel - The Sacrifice Game - by Brian D'Amato, I was a little tired to start seriously so i read some 100 pages from The Devil's Nebula by Eric Brown which so far is a generic fast and fun action adventure sf in a space opera context and i am enjoying it as such. However if I get more energy I will definitely start the D'Amato novel as that is in a different class (at least as expectations go of course)

 

[Danogzilla]

About to finish Iain M Banks' Look to Windward. Very good novel. It was a bit wordy in places, but is culminating very nicely, and it's got a lot of Banks' humor ("So, can I eat this?").

And James S. A. Corey's Caliban's War just arrived! Great timing. I'll be starting that this evening.

 

[beniowa]

Recently read Redshirts. I've always enjoyed Scalzi, but I was rather disappointed by this one. I didn't find it witty, funny, or interesting at all.

Will be reading Kop Killer by Warren Hammond next.

 

[chitman13]

I finished Stark's Command by Jack Campbell yesterday. I enjoyed it just as much as the first book, but it was a complete change in that it didn't focus on the front line soldiers, but more at the running of the colony on the moon and the politics and everything else involved. It reminded me a lot of the Lost Fleet series, more so than the first book. I'll pick up the third soon, finish up the trilogy.

 

[Colonel Worf]

Recently read Redshirts. I've always enjoyed Scalzi, but I was rather disappointed by this one. I didn't find it witty, funny, or interesting at all.

I just finished it in a couple of days and really enjoyed it even though I thought it was way too short. Are you a fan of Star Trek at all? A lot of the jokes hinged on some prior knowledge of some dumb stuff they do on TV.

 

[Rob B]

Starting up The Honor of the Queen, book #2 in David Weber's Honor Harrington series.

 

[chitman13]

I've read almost all of Redshirts by John Scalzi (just the codas left). It was an enjoyable enough read, but... I just didn't enjoy like I thought I would. It's an obvious parody of a bad Star Trek episode, but it could have been so much more. I just couldn't stop thinking of various episodes as I was reading it, which I guess was kinda the point. Out of all of Scalzi's books I've read I can easily say this is my least favourite.

 

[beniowa]

I just finished it in a couple of days and really enjoyed it even though I thought it was way too short. Are you a fan of Star Trek at all? A lot of the jokes hinged on some prior knowledge of some dumb stuff they do on TV.

Oh yeah, I'm a big fan. I've seen all the movies and every episode of every show except for half of Voyager. And I understand that it's a parody, I think the execution just didn't work for me.

 

[MMerle]

I've just started Justina Robson's books of short stories: Heliotrope.

 

[chitman13]

Finished reading the codas in Redshirts by John Scalzi. They didn't add much, if anything. Felt like they were there as filler. The more I think about this book the less I like it. Hugely disappointing.