What are you reading at the moment?

[witch]

I have been rereading HMS Ulysses by Alastair Maclean

You probably know him from books and films such as Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone

This book is completely different. Not a gung-ho adventure at all

It almost reads like non-fiction

 

It is the story, over just a few days, of the Royal Navy ship HMS Ulysses - a naval ship which escorts a convoy to Russia

 

It has the most brilliant description of cold I have ever read - I actually shiver when I read it. It is harrowing, and exciting and you just can't put it down.

I believe the author's brother was on the ships and that is where he got his information from.

 

Everybody raves about Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea" which is quite similar only over a longer period.

But Ulysses is much much better - you start to care about the people in it, and the survival of the ship. There is a lot of talk about port and starboard, angles and directions, but you can just let this wash over you and still not miss a thing. I do find myself trying to work out where the U boats are and which way the ships are going so I can really imagine what is going on.

 

It is SUCH a good book.

[sonofsanta]

Of relevance: if you sign up for the Tor mailing list (and, uh, pretend you're in the US/Canada), the five books in Seanan Macguire's Wayward Children series are being given away for free, one each day. Magical realism stuff, lots of award nominations etc., but most importantly: free, so nothing to lose by grabbing them.

 

More on topic: have just finished The Hollow Crown by Dan Jones, his book on the War of the Roses. First time I've properly gone through the history of the period in a joined up way, and mother of dragons GRRM wasn't kidding when he said he based Game of Thrones on the period. Robert Baratheon is almost completely lifted from Edward IV.

[LeMarchand]

30 Pieces of Silver by Carolyn McCray

 

Dan Brown meets SEAL Team as a team of marines try to save a hot DNA expert/archaeologist from an evil religious cult who are determined to keep an ages old secret.

 

Makes Dan Brown seem totally believable and down-to-earth. The twist at the end of the "Judas story" bit wasn't bad, but otherwise pretty poor.

[mikeprice]

30 Pieces of Silver by Carolyn McCray

 

Dan Brown meets SEAL Team as a team of marines try to save a hot DNA expert/archaeologist from an evil religious cult who are determined to keep an ages old secret.

 

Makes Dan Brown seem totally believable and down-to-earth. The twist at the end of the "Judas story" bit wasn't bad, but otherwise pretty poor.

 

$deity that is harsh

 

"Makes Dan Brown seem totally believable and down-to-earth" yea Gods - didn't even know that was possible

 

 

defo knocking that off my list of things to read after all of Wheel of time - which is booked for 2037 at the moment

[LeMarchand]

Kevin and the Biscuit Bandit by Philip Reeve

 

Biscuit loving flying pony Kevin is framed for biscuit thievery and must clear his name. Youngish kids book, but quite fun.

 

The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H Wilson and Michael Crichton

 

Sequel to Strain is much more science fictiony, and an entertaining enough read. I didn't get the feeling of learning new stuff that I used to get from MC's actual books (not that he was entirely scientifically accurate himself) but it kept me turning the pages. There's probably going to be a sequel.

[LeMarchand]

Serpentine by Philip Pullman

 

Short story set after HDM but before the new Lyra book. Alright, but very slight; basically just two or three conversations. Still, at £8/copy Pullman must be rubbing his hands together with glee. (I was given it)

[LeMarchand]

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde

 

In 19th Century Hertfordshire, a father struggling with depression finds new purpose in constructing beehives. In close to present day America a beekeeper experiences the beginnings of Colony Collapse Disorder. In a future China, a mother whose job is to hand pollinate fruit trees searches for her young son who has been taken by the government after he drops into a coma.

 

This comes loved by critics and book buyers, but it didn't to it for me. Far too many daddy issues and maybe the translator or editor did a bad job (author is Norwegian), but Hertfordshire seemed more like middle Europe.

[pete]

The Once and Future Witches by Alix Harrow.

 

About 1/3 of the way in and I'm enjoying it.

 

"In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

 

But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement."

[the_quick]

Just finished Terry Pratchett's Nation - was slow to start but fascinating bit later on, really good and uplifting story

 

Written loosely in a third-person perspective, the novel is set in an alternative history of our world, shortly after Charles Darwin has published On the Origin of Species. A recent pandemic has just killed the British king and his next 137 heirs. Except for the opening chapter, the novel's action entirely occurs in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean (the fictionalised South Pacific Ocean) on a particular island known by its indigenous inhabitants as "the Nation".

[sonofsanta]

The Unbroken by C. L. Clark. First in a new fantasy trilogy. Phenomenal. Hits the ground running and rarely lets up. The back cover copy:

 

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

 

Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

 

Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.

 

Set in a North-Africa analog, in a country that's been conquered by an imperial France-analog. A group of soldiers who were taken from Qazāl as children and raised by the Balladairan Empire return to Qazāl to help put down the rebellion there. But things are rarely so simple, are they? And it all gets messy very quickly. Wrestles with lots of questions about imperialism and self-determination and culture and loyalty, be that latter to lovers or comrades or nations--the one you were born to versus the one you were raised by.

 

It's a doorstopper and a page-turner both. Absolutely loved it.

Edited May 25, 2021 by sonofsanta

[jthompson]

Just finished Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.

 

He's the investigative journalist whose reporting brought down Theranos, the disgraced multi-billion dollar biotech startup run by Steve Jobs wannabe Elizabeth Holmes. The book is his account of the whole affair. Non-fiction but it's a jaw dropping page turner: written like a thriller with plenty of drama and cliffhangers at the end of every chapter.

 

It offers a satisfying mix of unbelievably villainous corporate shenanigans on the one hand, and some 'competency porn' on the other.

[LeMarchand]

The Ickabog by JK Rowling

 

Allegedly originally written for her kids and recently dusted off, this does feel like a book for young 'uns from the character names, but it's got a surprisingly political edge.

[mikeprice]

STILL reading Wheel of Time

 

apparently got about 126 hours left to go!!!

 

posting this because I have discovered that Amazon Prime has made a TV version and series 1 is complete - series 2 is in progress

 

They were touting as 'the New Game of Thrones" - but then everything with a sword in it is being touted that way

 

might be tempted to nab a new free trial of Amazon Prime when it comes out

although based on the casting and some of the plot summaries I may just end up shouting at the Telly!!!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I've been following the casting and the production news.

 

Everyone looks the part and the snips of set photos I've seen look amazing!

Amazon are throwing buckets of money at it, reportedly around $8-$10 million per episode for the first series so it should at least look amazing!

Edited June 21, 2021 by ICTDirect_Dave

[Teddster]

Currently listening to The Martian by Andy Weir. Really enjoyed the film so thought I'd give the book a try.

 

After an emergency evacuation of Mars one Crew member is left behind and has to try to survive whilst waiting for Earth to get back to him. The reader on Audible, Will Wheaton, has done a few other books on there that I enjoy like Ready Player One, so it's been nice to listen to on my way to and from work

[Andrew_C]

Just finished "Hail Mary"; Andy Weir's latest book. Distinct similarities, but different enough...

[sonofsanta]

Currently listening to the third book in the Lady Astronaut of Mars series, The Relentless Moon, and it's as compelling as the others. In précis: the series is set in an alternate space race, where a meteor smashes into the Atlantic just off the East Coast of the US in the 50s, which begins a global warming chain reaction that will leave the Earth uninhabitable in a matter of decades. As such the space race becomes about establishing a colony on the Moon and then Mars, so that humanity can survive.

 

Books 1 & 2 followed Elma York, the titular Lady Astronaut of Mars, as she fought to be an astronaut alongside the male pilots in the program and then headed off to Mars to start establishing the colony there; this book takes place concurrently with book 2 and follows another astronaut, Nicole Wargen, as she investigates sabotage in the space program and on the lunar colony by the Earth First group.

 

The books absolutely nail the 1960s Space Age aesthetic, so if you're someone who adores all the films about that era--Apollo 13, First Man, Hidden Figures--this is right up your street. If you're an audiobook listener, too, it's narrated by the author, who was a professional puppeteer in a former life, so it's fabulously performed.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I've managed to 'acquire' a copy of To Dream in the City of Sorrows, the 9th Babylon 5 book and the first full book that is considered canon in the same way epiosdes of the tv series were.

 

It follows the story of Jeffrey Sinclair after his reassignment from Commander of Babylon 5 to the Human ambassador to Minbar and his subsequent rise as leader of the Rangers.

Threads also follow Sinclair's partner, Catherine Sakai, who's storyline was left hanging in the series and a young Marcus Cole who has yet to join the Rangers.

 

Excellent stuff so far, lots of gaps filled in.

[davipton]

Just finished "The President is missing" by James Patterson and Bill Clinton.

 

Just started: "Thirteen" by Steve Cavanagh

[the_quick]

Finished yesterday "The Looming Tower" - book about how Al-qaeda managed to carry out terrorist attack in US - quite interesting

[paulkerton]

Finished yesterday "The Looming Tower" - book about how Al-qaeda managed to carry out terrorist attack in US - quite interesting

 

The TV adaptation is on Amazon Prime if anyone is interested

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.e2b0df6f-fb12-6ea1-9739-6cf20cec02c3?ref_=imdbref_tt_wbr_pvs_piv&tag=imdbtag_tt_wbr_pvs_piv-21&sa-no-redirect=1

[LeMarchand]

Kevin vs the Unicorns by Philip Reeve

 

Kiddies book that sees the roly poly flying pony enter a race against a bunch of snooty unicorns. Almost worth a read for a truly excruciating pun explaining the lack of biscuits (Kevin's fave food) at one location.

[elsiegee40]

I have a bit of a double-hander going on.

 

Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series on my Kindle (currently reading Lies Sleeping)

 

And in paperback I am reading through Judith Cutler’s Kate Power series (just finished Will Power)

[Andrew_C]

We like Rivers - but the novellas and "illustrated" books are a bit meh.

[MartinT]

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. A different flavour of SF for me, starts well.