What are you currently reading?

[CameronJohnston]

I'm reading the Art of War anthology just now.  Wow, what a table of contents! As always, the stories will be variable in quality for each reader and some really work for me, others not so much.

[DrNefario]

Finished End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood. I enjoyed it. It's a thriller, starting in Tokyo in 2018 (written over a decade ago). Barely speculative fiction at all, depending on how you interpret the more fantastic elements, but a good read.

I've started Seven Forges by James A Moore, which I'm not sure about yet.

[ultamentkiller]

I've just finished Death Masks (Dresden Files #5), and have to say that this book pretty much got on my nerves. Our favorite chauvinist Dresden got fooled by a pretty face thrice in this novel. Thrice is just way too much for the learning curve, I think.

There's also a repetitive and no-brainer morality issue Dresden had with Michael, which I had to skim through or otherwise I'll end up throwing the novel across the room. So you could say this is quite a poor installment in the series. I hope the next book, Blood Rites, will have some improvements.

But but but... Denarians!

It's okay. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be blown away by Blood Rites either. It's good, but I don't think the series really picks up again until book 9, or at least Proven Guilty.

[S. K. Inkslinger]

I've just finished Death Masks (Dresden Files #5), and have to say that this book pretty much got on my nerves. Our favorite chauvinist Dresden got fooled by a pretty face thrice in this novel. Thrice is just way too much for the learning curve, I think.

There's also a repetitive and no-brainer morality issue Dresden had with Michael, which I had to skim through or otherwise I'll end up throwing the novel across the room. So you could say this is quite a poor installment in the series. I hope the next book, Blood Rites, will have some improvements.

But but but... Denarians!

It's okay. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be blown away by Blood Rites either. It's good, but I don't think the series really picks up again until book 9, or at least Proven Guilty.

The Denarians are actually one of my favorite parts of the books, so no worries there.  Although I admitted I was slightly put off when Nicodemus brought out a gun, I mean dude is immortal and he is going to resort to shooting Dresden? I also admit that I didn't really like Marcone as a character, his involvement always seemed to make things too mundane for an urban fantasy tale. My favorite Dresden so far is probably Summer Knight at the moment.

[xiagan]

Finished Pierce's Tempests and Slaughter, first book in her new series about Numair's childhood.
Quite good but not groundbreaking. If you know her series, you can find lots of Easter eggs and learn interesting things about the past of some characters. Hopefully we don't have to wait for the next as long as we waited for the first.

[tebakutis]

I got Myke Cole's The Armored Saint yesterday and blazed through it in an evening. Great storytelling as always, and if you liked his prior stuff, you'll like this. Hell, you might like this even if you didn't like his prior stuff. It's good grimdark but also takes time to make you really like the MC, which makes all the bad stuff that happens to her and those she cares about more poignant. Recommended!

[xiagan]

I got Myke Cole's The Armored Saint yesterday and blazed through it in an evening. Great storytelling as always, and if you liked his prior stuff, you'll like this. Hell, you might like this even if you didn't like his prior stuff. It's good grimdark but also takes time to make you really like the MC, which makes all the bad stuff that happens to her and those she cares about more poignant. Recommended!

Just read this morning about it, good to know!

[Elfy]

I got Myke Cole's The Armored Saint yesterday and blazed through it in an evening. Great storytelling as always, and if you liked his prior stuff, you'll like this. Hell, you might like this even if you didn't like his prior stuff. It's good grimdark but also takes time to make you really like the MC, which makes all the bad stuff that happens to her and those she cares about more poignant. Recommended!

I enjoyed reading that thumbnail spoiler free review @tebakutis. I do like Cole's work and I'm looking forward to this one.

[Nora]

Not all that taken with Boy On The Bridge.
Slow start.

Put it aside and read Both Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword over the last three days. Will pick up Ancillary Mercy tonight and be done by tomorrow most likely.

[Skip]

Just finished a re-read of "Murders in the Rue Morgue." A few things struck me.

One, the story starts with an extended preamble in which Poe talks in general terms about human psychology and behavior. Several pages of it, none of it necessary to the story. It would never make it past an editor today.

Two, this guy pre-invented Sherlock Holmes. It was so striking I had to do some research, and sure enough there a numerous essays on exactly this. I read this story when I was a kid so of course had no clue then, but it was un-missable. The tone, the method, even the presentation of the detection, was very much Holmes. If you, like me, have not read the story in a long time, try re-visiting it. But skim that long first section; it really is not needed.

Three, underneath the cleverness and the formality of the prose, there's some unblinking gruesomeness. There are a couple of points where I was brought up short. Deft work, for something from so long ago.

[JMack]

Finished the ‘Society of the sword’ trilogy by Duncan Hamilton on Audible.

I enjoyed it, but it’s a 3 Star, 3.5 at best. This is mainly due to one of my absolute peeves: there are almost no women, and most of what there are are whores and/or just be saved by the hero. Also, the prose is pretty standard; not much to love as a wordsmith.

But otherwise, there was much to enjoy. The world was interesting, the main character enjoyable, and the adventure fun. The final climactic duel delivered nicely. One thing very well-handled was the slow, and never complete, transformation of a street orphan into a great swordsman/knight. Sure, the trope of unexpected magic (or, in this case anti-magic) is over done, but it’s always enjoyable when something overdone is still done very well.

If you want an easy, fun read (and don’t mind your women two-dimensional and almost non-existent), this is nice choose.

[J.R. Darewood]

Has anyone read the  Culture series?

[Nora]

Has anyone read the  Culture series?

No and actually I do feel a bit bad, because along with Hyperion, Endymion or Illium, it's a sci-fi classic I've seen in shop shelves wherever I went to shop for books.
I guess it's because I've never read anything by him, and he has the rep of being this all around writer, like dan Simmons. I intend to remedy that one day soon, but the blurbs are also quite unappealing. I've been all over Dan Simmons recently, but I dropped Gene Wolf and Reynolds, so I'm a bit wary of "giants".

I've put the third Imperial Radch aside and started my first CJ Cherryh : foreigner

[JMack]

I've put the third Imperial Radch aside and started my first CJ Cherryh : foreigner

Not even close to my favorite Cherryh, but a good one. Hope you enjoy, because she’s a favorite writer with a lot of wonderful stuff.

[Nora]

I've put the third Imperial Radch aside and started my first CJ Cherryh : foreigner

Not even close to my favorite Cherryh, but a good one. Hope you enjoy, because she’s a favorite writer with a lot of wonderful stuff.

Do you prefer Cyteen, or Pride of Chanur? Or another?