What did you just read?

Gates of Fire.Pressfield. Wow. How did I miss this one for so long? Anyone who even slightly enjoys historical fiction (emphasis on military history) has to put this high on their list. What a fantastic book.

Been catching up on my reading now that I'm forced to take an hour lunch.

Just finished The Emerald Storm, book 4 of the Riyria Revelations. Which was bundled intoRise of Empirewhen the author signed with Orbit. The series is good fantasy and has some of the usual staples but in a sort of dystopian vein similar to The Witcher. Worth a read if you're into the genre.

Also did the first three books from our own Foul Mouth series. Good fun and great stories too.

I just finished The City by Stella Gemmell. I'd never heard of it, but it kept popping up in my Goodreads recommendations and it's not bad at all. The usual swords/gritty fantasy stuff that we all dig, but almost no magic. It looks like there's a second book planned, but the whole story finishes up in one book which is a nice change from what I usually read.

The City by Stella Gemmell - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

TJT_sl said:

Just read Ready Player One and I found it quite enjoyable. The entire absurdity of the scene in the "dungeon" just about had me in tears.

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Picked up Ready Player One after seeing this and reading the synopsis. The book took a while to get going for me. I wasn't heavily invested in to the book, but it did pick up towards the end. I liked the spectacle of all the genres and worlds colliding, but that is also what turned me off at some points. It just felt like name dropping.

I just read Alas, Babylon. Don't know why I hadn't read it before. One of my new favorite books.

Ubiquitrips_sl said:

Picked up Ready Player One after seeing this and reading the synopsis. The book took a while to get going for me. I wasn't heavily invested in to the book, but it did pick up towards the end. I liked the spectacle of all the genres and worlds colliding, but that is also what turned me off at some points. It just felt like name dropping.

Spoiler

The finale was pretty great. The stand off between the whole internet and the Sixers was fun to imagine.

After a while the book felt like it was on autpilot for character safety. Daito being killed was the only real curve ball. Even while Wade was in IOI in the real world he never really felt in danger.

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Pretty much exactly how i felt about that book.

After complaining about Hamilton's Void Trilogy, I finally sucked it up and got through the beginning and accumulated enough steam to power through the books.

The books got better, sort of, but I still recommend reading the first part of his Commonwealth saga and quitting @ the Void.

Now that I've read about space monkeys, data based post physical forms, and geaia fields, I think I'll try something more simple. Just picked up the Talisman, big DT fan and havn't read it yet.

Considering most of us read science fiction, AMod should merge this thread with the sci-fi thread.

Nooooooo! There are a few of us who read nonfic and while there aren't enough of us for any discussion, I still get ideas for what to read next.

It's a stupid suggestion. Gogo should dunk his head in pee.

That was the plan initially but where would I find so much pee at a moment's notice (got a big head also btw). The other option was to make a stupid suggestion on rerolled so I picked the easy way out.

Anyway, been reading James. A. Corey - The Expanse (half way through the first book) and I'm not impressed. Needs more aliens imo. Will continue reading for now.

I'm another more fantasy than scifi guy.

Ready for July's book releases...sigh.

Under the Empyrean Sky (The Heartland Trilogy, #1) by Chuck Wendig - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Probably one of the best books I've read in a while along with its sequel.

It will really make you want to find an apolitical, empirically-based, news source and it puts the "cold war 2" in an interesting/disheartening context:Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media: Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky: 9780375714498: Amazon.com: Books

Kept reading James. A. Corey - The Expanse, now on book 5 (if you include the short stories) and the aliens are here but it's still really dragged out. No choice but to finish it now I guess.

gogusrl_sl said:

Kept reading James. A. Corey - The Expanse, now on book 5 (if you include the short stories) and the aliens are here but it's still really dragged out. No choice but to finish it now I guess.

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I was going to start that after i finished the Bank's culture books. How many books if you dont include the short stories before you get to the goods? Will i be disapointed after Banks?

You'll always be disappointed after Banks ... unless you have more Banks (or Herbert).

Regarding the Expanse, I was sure there were only 3 big books. Guess there's 5 with 5 more planned. FUCK. I hate starting unfinished series, there's an endless supply of completed books.

Copy pasting Wikipedia because it's easier :

As of 2015,The Expanseconsists of five main novels and four shorter works (two prequel short stories, one prequel novella and one novella set betweenLeviathan WakesandCaliban's War). Five more novels are planned,[2]as well as three more novellas. The series is being adapted for television by theSyfyNetwork, also under the title ofThe Expanse.

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I'm still pissed that Banks is dead. Best of the modern generation at worldbuilding without any question.