Science Fiction Reading in December 2016

Decided, after much to-ing and fro-ing, to put down Guardians of the Phoenix by Eric Brown. It really wasn't doing it for me, so much so that I didn't actually like anything in the 20% that I had read.

So, moved on to Creation Machine by Andrew Bannister as I've heard good things and would like to read it quickly to see if it cracks my best-of list for the year.

I'm also on Rob Boffard's final Outer Earth novel, Impact, and this is a series I've enjoyed for its quick pacing and interesting story.

I'm lining up a few other books I want to try and read before year-end: Saint Odd, Chaosmage, Alien Morning, Sleeping Giants, Shadow of Victory, Sekret Machines. Not sure if I'll get to them all, but here's hoping...
 
chitman13 said:
Decided, after much to-ing and fro-ing, to put down Guardians of the Phoenix by Eric Brown. It really wasn't doing it for me, so much so that I didn't actually like anything in the 20% that I had read.
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Oh, that's a surprise.

chitman13 said:
So, moved on to Creation Machine by Andrew Bannister as I've heard good things and would like to read it quickly to see if it cracks my best-of list for the year.
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Hope you like it, Mark!
 
Wow..is there another Billy-Bob Stanek in the works here?

He was notorious for using sock-puppets and for some odd reason he often used female names when he did. Looks like PN Burrows is doing the same.

Kinda sad.
 
Yeah, just picking that one up. With my Admin head on, I'm giving Tanya the benefit of the doubt, though the evidence Contrarius gives is rather damning. It may be that this new member is just that, of course.

Whilst I am here being Admin-ingly, it's also perhaps worth a reminder that should Forumites suspect members of activities not in the spirit of SFFWorld, it works best if you let staff know (via message) and we can deal with it. This is better than taking matters into your hands, for such actions can lead to accusations of bullying - which we don't want.
Public message over - now lets move on.
 
Hobbit said:
Hope you like it, Mark!
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So far so good!

I finished the last in Rob Boffard's Outer Earth trilogy over the weekend, Impact, and it was quite enjoyable. I can see plenty of scope for further stories in this setting, and Boffard's fast-paced style lends well to these type of action-orientated novels.
 
I'm currently (re-)reading Ken MacLeod's first two Corporation Wars books: Dissidence and Insurgence.
 
Well.

I've read... I think five... books in a row now without reviewing them. Some of them were very entertaining, some less so. And as many of you know, my major love is fantasy. But the book that moves me to start catching up on my reviews? SF all the way.

Damn, this was an exciting book. I actually disliked several things about it -- it had several glaring logic/physics problems, it was incredibly tropey in spots, and some of the dialogue was downright clunky. But it was breathless and exciting and kept me listening all day today -- I intentionally did stuff that would allow me to keep listening instead of doing the work I was SUPPOSED to be doing.

So what was this paragon of don't-stop-now, turn-another-page, just-another-chapter writing?

A Choice of Treasons by JL Doty.

It's been on my TBR list for a while. I liked the sound of the blurb, and I'd seen some good reviews. And good Lord was it entertaining. Flaws out the wazoo -- the hero is your basic can-do-no-wrong, overcomes-all-obstacles, can't-be-killed, Gary-Stu, all-the-good-guys-love-him, lone-honorable-man-with-mysterious-past-and-fated-for-glory hero trope (oh, and the concept of the "lifer" who is doomed to being continually assigned to combat duty stolen straight from the classic Armor); the first villain was TSTL, the Big Bad Villain was gay (because of course he was), and most of the folks in power are either TSTL or entirely corrupt; torture and cold-blooded murder were justified by Our Hero For either the Greater Good or just plain vengeance; the laws of physics were blithely disregarded in several particulars, likewise the laws of logic... and you get the picture. Those sorts of details (and others) belong in books that I normally hate and jeer.

But guess what? I simply couldn't stop listening. The momentum, the incredible (in both senses of the word -- both intensely exciting and intensely unbelievable) action scenes, the nailbiting tension, the how-is-he-going-to-get-out-of-this-one twists and turns, the depiction of the hero (yeah, he's all the bad things I listed above, but I kinda love him too -- yes, he is that magnetic) -- made me forgive or at least deprioritize all the flaws I mentioned earlier.

I don't quite understand the publishing history of this book -- GR says it was first published in 2009, but all the reviews I see are 2014-2016, and IMHO this deserves many more reviews than it has gotten so far. If you want exciting reading, you can't go wrong here. I can't give this five stars because of all the flaws, but I give it a big "Hell Yeah!" for the action and a loud "Oo-Rah!" for the kickass Marines. Do NOT start reading this when you have other things to do. You have been warned.
 
^ I really liked it too (4 stars). I thought the middle part of the book where Ballin and his crew were trying to outwit the enemy was very reminiscent of The Hunt for Red October, just in spaceships rather than submarines (and very well done). But the number of times Ballin did nothing to corrupt leaders because of the marine's "code" got a bit repetitive though. So yeah great, but with flaws.
 
Hobbit said:
Yeah, just picking that one up. With my Admin head on, I'm giving Tanya the benefit of the doubt, though the evidence Contrarius gives is rather damning. It may be that this new member is just that, of course.
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The author has now posted openly to me on GR. He is now claiming that it was his daughter who made those posts, without his permission or knowledge.

To which I say -- yeah, right.
 
Contrarius said:
A Choice of Treasons by JL Doty.
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Adding to my post -- I have now reviewed what I wrote about Armor by Steakley earlier this year, and it's obvious to me that Doty also enjoyed that book. Lots of similarities, though the "lifer" idea is the only really obvious steal. If you enjoyed Armor, you'll probably like this one too.
 
I thought it was time I began my next installment in The Expanse Series by "James S. A. Corey" so I just purchased and downloaded a copy of Chibola Burn to my iPad. The initial chapters seem pretty gripping, which is something I was looking for in my next read. It's good to see it beginning with one of my favorite characters who has been sitting out during the last novel. I was wanting to read something upbeat to counter the midwinter bleakness, and this might just be it.
 
Contrarius said:
The author has now posted openly to me on GR.
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Aaaaaaand now my review of that book has mysteriously been flagged and removed by GR. Guess why.

That guy doesn't know me very well. I've now downloaded his book (it has now become available free through Kindle Unlimited), and I will be very happy to dissect the first few pages and put that up in a new review.

My first review, mentioning his sock puppetry, didn't have a star rating. Guess what I'll be rating it now?
 
I am currently reading Cibola Burn by James SA Corey, the forth book in the expanse series. So far im loving it. Its not super techy and reads very smooth. Plus its great to be back hanging out with holden and the roci crew and miller. Probably going to go straight into the 5th book when im finished.

I know this is my first post but i promise i am not Daniel Abraham, Ty Frank, or even James SA Corey for that matter. lol
 
Shimmy said:
I am currently reading Cibola Burn by James SA Corey, the forth book in the expanse series. So far im loving it.
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Welcome to the forum! I've only read the first two books of this series so far, but I'm looking forward to more of them. And Abraham and Frank post under their own names -- I don't remember seeing them on this particular forum, but Abraham has posted as himself in the past on at least one other forum that I frequent. :-)
 
Contrarius said:
My first review, mentioning his sock puppetry, didn't have a star rating. Guess what I'll be rating it now?
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Aww, just let it go? i mean, it's Christmas. Yes, he (or she) didn't act elegantly, but is there anything to be accomplished by this? As I said, I feel sorry for unknown authors who work a lot without much chance of reward and most of whom will get no exposure for their books, deservedly or not. :(
 
Shimmy said:
I know this is my first post but i promise i am not Daniel Abraham, Ty Frank, or even James SA Corey for that matter. lol
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:D Welcome to the forum! And do not worry, it's only when a new poster gushes about an unknown, self-published book that people get suspicious. Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank do not need to resort to that kind of "publicity" of dubious effectiveness.

I just read the first book in the series and I enjoyed it. I intend to read more of it.
 
Contrarius said:
I've let it go now. I feel quite cleansed and refreshed, in fact. My revised review can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1847015138?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

As I said before, I have all sorts of sympathy for honest authors. None at all for dishonest ones.
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I learned a new word today from your review, columellae. Not sure if I will managed to insert it into a sentence, an irritating habit but aren't most LOL. Of course I will have to find out how to pronounce it.
 
mylinar said:
I learned a new word today from your review, columellae. Not sure if I will managed to insert it into a sentence, an irritating habit but aren't most LOL. Of course I will have to find out how to pronounce it.
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It's pronounced pretty much like it's spelled. "colum" like a Greek column (or alternatively colyum); "ellae" like ellee or ellay, depending on how stuckup you want to sound.

Always happy to educate. ;)
 
I just finished Dune Messiah for the first time and I must say I was rather impressed, especially considering how much I loved the first novel in the series of books by Frank Herbert. The book took place twelve years after the events of Dune and I may have desired to know more about the immediate aftermath of
Paul Atreides becoming the Kwisatz Haderach and then emperor
but Herbert proved adept at weaving a tale that held my interest throughout. This book truly resonated with me on so many levels, from the various competing or even converging philosophies, Herbert's sometimes enchanting prose, to an ending that was amazingly well handled and promised further revelations in the next volume. Rating it I'd give it five stars. In fact the only slight I could level against it is to say that it's too short.

Now I'm on to Children of Dune.
 
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