The PR Book Thread

[JoeyFantastic]

Just finished Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

Some of it was brilliant, some of it dull as fudge, but the brilliant bits kept me going to the end. It's billed as Russian modern classic but doesn't come close to most the classics in my opinion.

I really liked it. Beats the hell out of Anna Karenina anyhow.

I spent the first half loving it, then had to drag myself over the line by the end.

Strange, I thought it gathered pace in the second half as the various narratives developed. Been years since I read it though.

[Chilky]

Finished Neuromancer. Enjoyed it, especially the setting and feel of the place.

Change of tack to Good Omens now before back to more sci-fi.

Good Omens is hugely enjoyable - someone else has already mentioned Neverwhere which is also excellent.

SciFi good reads over the past while - Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon series, William Gibson's The Peripheral was thoroughly brilliant.

Fantasy - Joe Abercrombie's latest series of short stories was a great read as was Jim Butcher's The Cinder Spires. If you enjoy GoT then Steven Erikson's Malazan Empire series is well worth a look. Very dense & hugely complex, but I'd argue it easily matches GoT - and there's a lot more of them.

[Nolanator]

Have altered carbon ready to go on my Kindle after good Omens.
On holidays at the moment so will probably finish the Neuromancer and altered carbon series by the end.

GO is very enjoyable. The way it's written is very reminiscent of vintage Pratchett, something I've missed recently.

[slick]

Just finished Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

Some of it was brilliant, some of it dull as fudge, but the brilliant bits kept me going to the end. It's billed as Russian modern classic but doesn't come close to most the classics in my opinion.

I really liked it. Beats the hell out of Anna Karenina anyhow.

I spent the first half loving it, then had to drag myself over the line by the end.

Strange, I thought it gathered pace in the second half as the various narratives developed. Been years since I read it though.

It just always seemed to be the narratives I didn't want to develop. The one with Viktor the scientist was explosive at the end but it took an age to get there.

[JoeyFantastic]

Just finished Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

Some of it was brilliant, some of it dull as fudge, but the brilliant bits kept me going to the end. It's billed as Russian modern classic but doesn't come close to most the classics in my opinion.

I really liked it. Beats the hell out of Anna Karenina anyhow.

I spent the first half loving it, then had to drag myself over the line by the end.

Strange, I thought it gathered pace in the second half as the various narratives developed. Been years since I read it though.

It just always seemed to be the narratives I didn't want to develop. The one with Viktor the scientist was explosive at the end but it took an age to get there.

Ah, the house in Stalingrad is a good story too, iirc, and the tank commanders? I'm trying to remember the parts that really dragged but they're lost to me now.

[slick]

Ah, the house in Stalingrad is a good story too, iirc, and the tank commanders? I'm trying to remember the parts that really dragged but they're lost to me now.

Those are the exact two I wished had been developed more and for longer.

[JoeyFantastic]

Ah, the house in Stalingrad is a good story too, iirc, and the tank commanders? I'm trying to remember the parts that really dragged but they're lost to me now.

Those are the exact two I wished had been developed more and for longer.

The house is based on a real event in the battle of Stalingrad (of course, much of the book is based on real events etc). I guess Grossman couldn't finish some stories because they were probably based on real people and he wanted to show that life goes on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House

[flaggETERNAL]

Have altered carbon ready to go on my Kindle after good Omens.
On holidays at the moment so will probably finish the Neuromancer and altered carbon series by the end.

GO is very enjoyable. The way it's written is very reminiscent of vintage Pratchett, something I've missed recently.

Nice!

Just started rereading Nnedi Okarafor's Who Fears Death. Which has also been picked up by HBO for adaptation. George RR Martin as exec producer. This could be fantastic.

[Fangle]

Echo's book is reviewed in the Economist.

[Boobs not Moobs]

Added to GRs list.

[camroc1]

Echo's book is reviewed in the Economist.

The San/Bushman review ?

It's an interesting hypothesis that could with some tweaks be applied to the clan/clann system in Gaeldom, although clearly they were in a farming rather than hunter/gatherer situation.

I may be interested in purchasing the book.

[Pat the Ex Mat]

Any David Gemmell fans on here? Just finished the Drenai and Rigante series' and started his Jon Shannow one which I'm not really getting in to. Worth sticking with?

I thought it was a pale imitation of Stephen Kings Dark tower series (in that I read SKs version first at least)

Of Gemmells books I prefer his fantasised history novel series best - the Lion of Macedon series and the Troy series (first two books anyway, the third for obvious reasons just wasn't as good)

Cheers, I'll maybe read them first, I got the feeling it would be similar. Finished the first one then read the next one he wrote, which is about the stones but not a Shannow book.

The stones is his 'thing' recurrent in every novel he wrote

Not the Drenai books.

I've read some of the Dark Tower books and they are gash.

[He Man Rugger Pints]

Finished this during the week, really enjoyed it. Probably only of real interest to Dubs/Irish but it's a very well put together biography of the city. Fascinating to read how the city evolved in different areas etc. Most importantly of all, it reaffirms a sense of superiority over the rest of the country.

[Hong Kong]

Most recently read : talking to the dead, harry Bingham- excellent
Blood money : Charlie Gallagher - very good read
Cold sacrifice: Leigh Russel - decent
Third rule : Andrew Barrett - a tad long but very interesting characters, and
Sports day : David John - crap

[lorcanoworms]

Just finished Helliconia.

[La heinous]

Anyone read Homo Deus? Picked up a copy after listening to the author on a podcast...

[C69]

Anyone read Homo Deus? Picked up a copy after listening to the author on a podcast...

Yes it's pretty good however it doesn't really clarify what intelligence is imho.
Which is pretty important given the subject matter

[Rocketz]

Arguably the best scifi book since Dune,



I had the honor of interviewing Iain Banks before he died... Just to meet a person who is so positive of the future of (marxist) humanity was amazing

[Rocketz]

Cannot recommend this enough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization

[danny_fitz]

My holiday book for next week.

[ZappaMan]

My holiday book for next week.

Spoiler alert...

Spoiler: show

It's tops

[danny_fitz]

My holiday book for next week.

Spoiler alert...

Spoiler: show

It's tops

Jolly good, I enjoyed his first book 'Sapiens' so seems logical to have a crack at this.

[Womack]

Reading ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Nazi sympathiser Henry Williamson at the moment, something I have been meaning to do for a while since reading ‘Waterlog’ by Roger Deakin, in which it is extolled as a near-mystical work of singular poetic luminosity and so on.

I can see that it is that, and certainly the evocation of the natural world is very impressive and detailed, and I am sort of enjoying it, but by ‘eck it’s hard work ploughing through endless descriptions of rills, guts, conduits, pools, weirs, banks, endless species of reeds, grasses, trees, insects, birds, mammals etc, probably two-thirds of which are unknown to me and therefore nigh-impossible to visualise.

I am quite surprised it is an enduring children’s classic, as I am fairly sure that as I child I would not have been able to force myself to keep reading through yet another passage describing every aspect of the latest stretch of water Tarka finds himself in, in a load of unfamiliar language. But perhaps I’m just hamstrung by my comparative ignorance of the natural world.

Edit: There is a line in it that made me think of this place:

"They were among birds what the Irish are among men, always ready in a merry and audacious life to go where there is trouble and not infrequently to be the cause of it" (talking about Jays).

Not that I agree with the sentiment, but I could imagine it causing a bit of minor outrage amongst the more sensitive members of The Swarm.

[Nolanator]

He clearly just couldn't handle the craic.

[Boobs not Moobs]

Reading Hobb's last Fitz and fool book 3. 800+ pages and it really drags at times.

Well that was disappointing. Really needed a good editing. 2.5/5

[lorcanoworms]

Reading ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Nazi sympathiser Henry Williamson at the moment, something I have been meaning to do for a while since reading ‘Waterlog’ by Roger Deakin, in which it is extolled as a near-mystical work of singular poetic luminosity and so on.

I can see that it is that, and certainly the evocation of the natural world is very impressive and detailed, and I am sort of enjoying it, but by ‘eck it’s hard work ploughing through endless descriptions of rills, guts, conduits, pools, weirs, banks, endless species of reeds, grasses, trees, insects, birds, mammals etc, probably two-thirds of which are unknown to me and therefore nigh-impossible to visualise.

I am quite surprised it is an enduring children’s classic, as I am fairly sure that as I child I would not have been able to force myself to keep reading through yet another passage describing every aspect of the latest stretch of water Tarka finds himself in, in a load of unfamiliar language. But perhaps I’m just hamstrung by my comparative ignorance of the natural world.

Edit: There is a line in it that made me think of this place:

"They were among birds what the Irish are among men, always ready in a merry and audacious life to go where there is trouble and not infrequently to be the cause of it" (talking about Jays).

Not that I agree with the sentiment, but I could imagine it causing a bit of minor outrage amongst the more sensitive members of The Swarm.

If you had just left us alone we'd have stayed on our feckin island botherin nobody.

[Will Tell]

My holiday book for next week.

Spoiler alert...

Spoiler: show

It's tops

Jolly good, I enjoyed his first book 'Sapiens' so seems logical to have a crack at this.

Brilliant interview with him (podcast) on BBC/the Inquiry.
The 'interbrainnet' is coming (linking human brains through tech - literally 2-and more-heads are better than one)

I know one head of investment banking who believes that will be a reality in 20 years!

[flaggETERNAL]

Arguably the best scifi book since Dune,



I had the honor of interviewing Iain Banks before he died... Just to meet a person who is so positive of the future of (marxist) humanity was amazing

Wow. Very nice. Reading Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms as recommended in this thread. Fascinating look at some of the fast disappearing religions in the Middle East. Got all 52 books from Star Trek Deep Space Nine prepped next.

[flaggETERNAL]

Anyone else here a fan of Stephen Baxter? Don't think I;ve read anything from him that I didn't like. Read Evolution a few weeks ago. Brilliant book imo.

[Nolanator]

Anyone else here a fan of Stephen Baxter? Don't think I;ve read anything from him that I didn't like. Read Evolution a few weeks ago. Brilliant book imo.

Read the Long Earth and Long Mars (missed the Long War because I got the order of the books wrong when I downloaded them on my Kindle). They were grand. The first one was better but that's probably because of the novel idea and so on.

I only read them because Pratchett was involved but I wonder how much of an influence he actually had, given that the first one came out only 5 years ago.


Is Baxter's other stuff worth looking into?

Edit, this Reddit thread answer my question on Pterry's input to the series perfectly.

[flaggETERNAL]

Anyone else here a fan of Stephen Baxter? Don't think I;ve read anything from him that I didn't like. Read Evolution a few weeks ago. Brilliant book imo.

Read the Long Earth and Long Mars (missed the Long War because I got the order of the books wrong when I downloaded them on my Kindle). They were grand. The first one was better but that's probably because of the novel idea and so on.

I only read them because Pratchett was involved but I wonder how much of an influence he actually had, given that the first one came out only 5 years ago.


Is Baxter's other stuff worth looking into?

Edit, this Reddit thread answer my question on Pterry's input to the series perfectly.

Yes. Definitely worth a look. His Xeelee series is good. As is his Time's Tapestry IIRC is also good. And my favourite, his Northland series set in Doggerland. The biggest issue with Baxter is that he seems to have issues creating interesting characters but his ideas really are brilliant imo.

[Boobs not Moobs]

I created a PR goodreads club if anyone wants to recommend books or see what others recommend

https://www.goodreads.com/group/invite/ ... pastegroup

[Marlboro]

Finks by Joel Whitney is good.

Especially considering the current political/media climate.

[Red Chopper]

Reading ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Nazi sympathiser Henry Williamson at the moment, something I have been meaning to do for a while since reading ‘Waterlog’ by Roger Deakin, in which it is extolled as a near-mystical work of singular poetic luminosity and so on.

I can see that it is that, and certainly the evocation of the natural world is very impressive and detailed, and I am sort of enjoying it, but by ‘eck it’s hard work ploughing through endless descriptions of rills, guts, conduits, pools, weirs, banks, endless species of reeds, grasses, trees, insects, birds, mammals etc, probably two-thirds of which are unknown to me and therefore nigh-impossible to visualise.

I am quite surprised it is an enduring children’s classic, as I am fairly sure that as I child I would not have been able to force myself to keep reading through yet another passage describing every aspect of the latest stretch of water Tarka finds himself in, in a load of unfamiliar language. But perhaps I’m just hamstrung by my comparative ignorance of the natural world.

Edit: There is a line in it that made me think of this place:

"They were among birds what the Irish are among men, always ready in a merry and audacious life to go where there is trouble and not infrequently to be the cause of it" (talking about Jays).

Not that I agree with the sentiment, but I could imagine it causing a bit of minor outrage amongst the more sensitive members of The Swarm.

This, in a nutshell. Me, being a born and bred country boy, can easily relate to his descriptive prose, and also really appreciate some of his other books on post WW1 rural life as I'm old enough to have witnessed, as a child, the dying embers of lifestyles that had little changed for centuries. Books such as 'The Peregrine's Saga', 'Tales of Moorland and Estuary'' and 'Life in a Devon Village' are both authentic and beautifully descriptive in reflecting a way of life now consigned to history.

[Fangle]

Reading ‘Tarka the Otter’ by Nazi sympathiser Henry Williamson at the moment, something I have been meaning to do for a while since reading ‘Waterlog’ by Roger Deakin, in which it is extolled as a near-mystical work of singular poetic luminosity and so on.

I can see that it is that, and certainly the evocation of the natural world is very impressive and detailed, and I am sort of enjoying it, but by ‘eck it’s hard work ploughing through endless descriptions of rills, guts, conduits, pools, weirs, banks, endless species of reeds, grasses, trees, insects, birds, mammals etc, probably two-thirds of which are unknown to me and therefore nigh-impossible to visualise.

I am quite surprised it is an enduring children’s classic, as I am fairly sure that as I child I would not have been able to force myself to keep reading through yet another passage describing every aspect of the latest stretch of water Tarka finds himself in, in a load of unfamiliar language. But perhaps I’m just hamstrung by my comparative ignorance of the natural world.

Edit: There is a line in it that made me think of this place:

"They were among birds what the Irish are among men, always ready in a merry and audacious life to go where there is trouble and not infrequently to be the cause of it" (talking about Jays).

Not that I agree with the sentiment, but I could imagine it causing a bit of minor outrage amongst the more sensitive members of The Swarm.

This, in a nutshell. Me, being a born and bred country boy, can easily relate to his descriptive prose, and also really appreciate some of his other books on post WW1 rural life as I'm old enough to have witnessed, as a child, the dying embers of lifestyles that had little changed for centuries. Books such as 'The Peregrine's Saga', 'Tales of Moorland and Estuary'' and 'Life in a Devon Village' are both authentic and beautifully descriptive in reflecting a way of life now consigned to history.

My father spoke a lot about growing up on a farm outside Hereford after the Great War, so I will be getting hold of some of these.

[OptimisticJock]

What's everyone's opinion of the Dark Tower? I am struggling to get into it.

[Demilich]

What's everyone's opinion of the Dark Tower? I am struggling to get into it.

I struggled to get into it as well, but persevered. Don't make the same mistake. I think I got to book 5 before finally giving up completely. It's just not that good.

[OptimisticJock]

What's everyone's opinion of the Dark Tower? I am struggling to get into it.

I struggled to get into it as well, but persevered. Don't make the same mistake. I think I got to book 5 before finally giving up completely. It's just not that good.

Hahaha. Cheers, noted.

[Gordon Bennett]

What's everyone's opinion of the Dark Tower? I am struggling to get into it.

I struggled to get into it as well, but persevered. Don't make the same mistake. I think I got to book 5 before finally giving up completely. It's just not that good.

Indeed. It just gets progressively worse. Books 1-3 were pretty good IMO, but after that got pretty shit pretty quickly.

[Wilderbeast]

Reading Hobb's last Fitz and fool book 3. 800+ pages and it really drags at times.

Well that was disappointing. Really needed a good editing. 2.5/5

Horrifically disappointing. Amazing how far hobb has fallen since her first two trilogies. This was a self-indulgent mess.