Whatcha reading at the moment?

[Akamia]

Started on BattleTech: Mercenary’s Star, the second book in the Gray Death Saga in the BattleTech novel series after Decision at Thunder Rift.

The ending of Decision at Thunder Rift left me somewhat wanting, to be honest, but the rest of the book I enjoyed.

 

[WarK]

I finished Midnight Tides. I liked it. It was mostly disconnected from what happened (or will happen) in previous books.
One thing about Erikson writing is that things happen organically. In other books it sometimes feels like the author had this particular plot twist in the mind from the get go. For Erikson, it seems like it's chance. It feels more realistic.

Now I'm no sure what to read next. Authors' recommended reading order is the publication order. So I'd have to switch to Esslemont now and read his first book in his series.

@Collecemall did you read Esslemont's Malazan books? What's your take on the order of reading?

 

[Collecemall]

Delete: Made a jumbled mess. Sorry.

 

[Collecemall]

I finished Midnight Tides. I liked it. It was mostly disconnected from what happened (or will happen) in previous books.
One thing about Erikson writing is that things happen organically. In other books it sometimes feels like the author had this particular plot twist in the mind from the get go. For Erikson, it seems like it's chance. It feels more realistic.

Now I'm no sure what to read next. Authors' recommended reading order is the publication order. So I'd have to switch to Esslemont now and read his first book in his series.

@Collecemall did you read Esslemont's Malazan books? What's your take on the order of reading?

Midnight Tides is the last book that's really starting from scratch for SE. Although, you at least have some context from Trull setting up that he'd be telling his story at the end of HOC. From here on out you'll be starting to see the stories converge from what you've read so far for the most part rather than being thrown in new settings with completely new sets of characters. There's really no one "right" way to proceed if you are going to read everything. I've read them in just about every order you can imagine at this point and my preference would be to read the MBOTF 10 then read I.C. Esslemonts Novels of the Malazan Empire (6 of those) for your first time. There aren't really any pieces from one series that must be read to understand the other. But they do compliment each other and sometimes shed more light on events etc. I can't think of any spoilers that would just devastate your enjoyment if you mixed in ICE books in at the wrong point though. The following link would be the order that I think does the best job of keeping the story in order of events between the two authors https://hippogriff.wordpress.com/2018/08/02/status-update-8-2-2018. It's how I tend to read them now when I choose to read them. I hope this made at least some sense. It's late and I didn't want to risk forgetting to come back and reply. Glad you are enjoying the books. If I can answer any questions let me know.

 

[WarK]

Midnight Tides is the last book that's really starting from scratch for SE. Although, you at least have some context from Trull setting up that he'd be telling his story at the end of HOC. From here on out you'll be starting to see the stories converge from what you've read so far for the most part rather than being thrown in new settings with completely new sets of characters. There's really no one "right" way to proceed if you are going to read everything. I've read them in just about every order you can imagine at this point and my preference would be to read the MBOTF 10 then read I.C. Esslemonts Novels of the Malazan Empire (6 of those) for your first time. There aren't really any pieces from one series that must be read to understand the other. But they do compliment each other and sometimes shed more light on events etc. I can't think of any spoilers that would just devastate your enjoyment if you mixed in ICE books in at the wrong point though. The following link would be the order that I think does the best job of keeping the story in order of events between the two authors https://hippogriff.wordpress.com/2018/08/02/status-update-8-2-2018. It's how I tend to read them now when I choose to read them. I hope this made at least some sense. It's late and I didn't want to risk forgetting to come back and reply. Glad you are enjoying the books. If I can answer any questions let me know.

Ha, when you need a chart to know which book to read in a series, that tells you something about the series

I think I'll continue with Erikson for now.

 

[Deleted member 42253]

Reading the complete works of Terry Pratchett again thanks to Good Omens creating a feeling of nostalgia .
I can also really recommend The Expanse novel series by James S.A. Corey.

My all time favorite novel series are the Shadowrun books though .. a treat for anyone that is into cyberpunk and magic.

 

[*SD*]

Welcome to LoR!

 

[Deleted member 619]

Reading the complete works of Terry Pratchett again thanks to Good Omens creating a feeling of nostalgia .
I can also really recommend The Expanse novel series by James S.A. Corey.

My all time favorite novel series are the Shadowrun books though .. a treat for anyone that is into cyberpunk and magic.

Don't blame you. I eschewed fiction a couple of decades ago. The only exception was Pratchett.

One of the review quotes that appears on all his covers is one I never agreed with:

The best satirist since P.G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse wasn't even in Pratchett's league.

 

[Greg the Grouper]

Well, I should be reading Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants

 

[Akamia]

BattleTech: The Price of Duty, by Jason Schmetzer. A novella in the setting's new ilClan era.

Finished BattleTech: Mercenary's Star a few days ago, also. Gonna start on BattleTech: The Price of Glory next.

 

[Led Zeppelin]

I just finished re-reading Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny 1967. It must be one of the most beautiful Sci-Fi novels ever written. I think its ending is very beautiful and stirs great emotion.

"Look around you ... Death and Light are everywhere, always, and they begin, end, strive, attend, into and upon the Dream of the Nameless that is the world, burning words within Samsara, perhaps to create a thing of beauty.

As the wearers of the saffron robe still meditate upon the Way of Light,
and the girl who is named Murga visits the Temple daily, to place before her dark one in his shrine the only devotion he receives,
of flowers."

 

[Collecemall]

I just finished Vita Nostra by the Dyanchenkos and really enjoyed it. Currently pushing through Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It had been on my TBR for a while but it's extremely long and can be difficult to read due to the structure etc. There are single paragraphs that go on for several pages for example. I've read about a third of it and couldn't begin to tell you what it's about either but I can't put it down. It's highly absurd at times but the brand of humor hits the sweet spot for me. He touches on a large variety of subjects with detailed knowledge that borders on encyclopedic. It's definitely unlike anything else I've ever read. Which is a huge plus for me.

​

 

[Led Zeppelin]

Currently pushing through Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It had been on my TBR for a while but it's extremely long and can be difficult to read due to the structure etc. There are single paragraphs that go on for several pages for example. I've read about a third of it and couldn't begin to tell you what it's about either but I can't put it down. It's highly absurd at times but the brand of humor hits the sweet spot for me. He touches on a large variety of subjects with detailed knowledge that borders on encyclopedic. It's definitely unlike anything else I've ever read. Which is a huge plus for me.

Thats cool.

 

[WarK]

I'm half way through book 9 of Malazan Book of the Fallen: Dust of Dreams
I've enjoyed this series immensely, one more book left in the main series. Then I might pick up the sister series by Cameron Esslemont.

 

[Akamia]

I'm in the middle of Manhunt, by Gretchen Felker-Martin.

It's a zombie apocalypse horror novel – at least, I think it's a novel; I don't know what the word count is, but it fits into 272 pages for what that's worth – that's, ah... a bit politically loaded, to put it very mildly. It's also very gory, and is probably not going to be easy to stomach for most.

I'm enjoying it so far, myself. It's among the first stories to earn my respect within the horror genre.

 

[WarK]

I finished Malazan Book of the Fallen yesterday. What a series. So much things going on, I probably remember like 20% of all that happened in those books.
I'll probably take a break from Malazan for a book or three and then try some Malazan books from Esslemont or more from Erikson.

For now I'll read 4rd Skyward novel from Brandon Sanderson and after that it'll be Joe Abercrombie's three new First Law books.

 

[Akamia]

I’m on a 6-book streak with BattleTech fiction. Presently on Hunting Grounds, with the five preceding books in the streak being:

Redemption Rites
Mercenary’s Honor
Ideal War
Wolves on the Border
A Rock and a Hard Place

I think Hunting Grounds is where I’m going to break the streak. I want to read something that isn’t BattleTech for a while after I’m done with that one. lol

 

[We are Borg]

Just read well technically listened (Reading is to hard on my eyes for long periods so audiobooks are easier) to “A Brief History of Black Holes”

Right now, you are orbiting a black hole.

The Earth goes around the Sun, and the Sun goes around the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole – the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy.

In A Brief History of Black Holes University of Oxford astrophysicist, Dr Becky Smethurst charts the scientific breakthroughs that have uncovered the weird and wonderful world of black holes, from the collapse of massive stars to the iconic first photographs of a black hole in 2019.

A cosmic tale of discovery, you’ll learn: why black holes aren’t really ‘black’, that you never ever want to be ‘spaghettified’, how black holes are more like sofa cushions than hoovers, and why beyond the event horizon, the future is a direction in space rather than in time. Full of wit and learning, this captivating book explains why black holes contain the secrets to the most profound questions about our universe.

Written by and read by: Dr Becky Smethurst
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrBecky

 

[We are Borg]

The next book(s) (audio) will be H. P. Lovecraft the complete works its 83 hours long.

This is the completionist's edition of the work of H.P. Lovecraft! Literally every single weird-fiction story he wrote, revised, or collaborated on - to the best of our knowledge - is in this one enormous volume.

The stories are arranged chronologically and contextualized with a brief running biography of the life of this fascinating author. If you're new to Lovecraft, reading or listening to this book will make you enough of an expert on his life and work to hold your own in any conversation. If you only own one H.P. Lovecraft collection, it should probably be this one.

In addition to The Call of Cthulhu (of course), this edition includes:

• At the Mountains of Madness
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth
• The Mound (with Zealia Bishop)
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
• Pickman's Model
• The Horror in the Museum (with Hazel Heald)
• The Thing on the Doorstep
• The Whisperer in Darkness
• Two Black Bottles (with Wilfred Blanch Talman)
• The Dunwitch Horror
• The Colour out of Space
• The Night Ocean (with R.H. Barlow)
• The Dreams in the Witch-House
• Cool Air
• The Trap (with Henry S. Whitehead)
• The Rats in the Walls
• The Shunned House
• Under the Pyramids (with Harry Houdini)
• In the Vault
• The Silver Key
• The Horror at Martin's Beach (with Sonia Haft Green)
• The Music of Erich Zann
• Herbert West, Reanimator
• The Disinterment (with Duane W. Rimel)
• The Outsider
• The Other Gods
• And several dozen more.

 

[We are Borg]

@he_who_is_nobody its on audible first month is free so you can get this for free and keep it even if you cancel.