Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Then I might have to poke into that.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Reading ChapterHouse: Dune.
It's been going pretty slow and I've sort of lost track of what's going on...

I never did finish this book. I think I got about two thirds of the way through and just ran out of steam. There’s an awful lot of opaque Bene Gesserit shenanigans.

I'm two thirds of the way through the book now and it seems like something is finally about to happen....

Let me know if it does.

I just read Totto-chan The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, based on a recommendation from a friend who loved it as a young girl.

It's a wonderful little book, autobiographical of the authors' experiences at a little school in Japan during World War 2.

Goes from laugh out loud funny in one chapter to heartbreaking in the next, and it's all a testament to the curiosity, uniqueness and goodness of children that is often lost within the framework of rigid education structures.

Is Chapterhouse: Dune the one with the Bashar Miles Teg? I don't recall, but I liked that guy.

 Easy E wrote:
Is Chapterhouse: Dune the one with the Bashar Miles Teg? I don't recall, but I liked that guy.

I think he’s an old man in Heretics and a young ghola in Chapterhouse, but I may be confusing him with someone else. Was he the super general with the super speed?

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
Is Chapterhouse: Dune the one with the Bashar Miles Teg? I don't recall, but I liked that guy.

I think he’s an old man in Heretics and a young ghola in Chapterhouse, but I may be confusing him with someone else. Was he the super general with the super speed?

Yes, yes and also yes.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Let me know if it does.

It didn't...but then 4/5ths of the way through stuff happens. Overall though my least liked Dune book I have read.

That’s what I feared. Thanks.

Is it true the book never tells you who Sid and Marty are or what they are doing?

I'm currently giving three body problem a second read, because I was frankly a bit overwhelmed the first time around, especially in regards to the characters and their interrelations. Loving it still so far, as it seems to have been constructed by a meticulous mind.

I've been reading my self-published book, The Angaran Chronicles: The Underside, on and off and while it's not bad. There are a frig-ton of missing words and, at times, sentences. I'm not terribly happy as I paid an editor a pretty penny to edit it (a very pretty penny as she was American, and that made me pay double in NZ monies). So I don't know If I'll have her edit the 2nd novel if/when I finally get around to writing it. Had some of the worst writer's block I've had in a long time with that book.

2000AD time again!

First up, Armoured Gideon. One of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic’s weirder strips, and a character I’m only aware of from a much modern repurposing.

I started reading the Merkabah Rider short stories. They’re about what I’d expect of an urban fantasy western about a Kabbalahist. However, I’ve been spending less and less time reading it to make more time for…


Art Deco LA Landmarks and Deco New York. We recent went on an architectural tour of downtown LA, and I fell in love with the turn-of-the-century through WW2 buildings, especially the Art Deco, Victorian, Beaux-Arts and Gothic Revival designs. Made me want to bust out the Dropzone Commander buildings and add some little gargoyles, chevrons and gingerbread.

Shogun. I am at chapter 20 now. After watching new tv show and rewatching the old one I wanted to know all the differences between them and the original source so the book had to be next.

Marc Aurels Meditations.

I’ve read the newest Ciaphas Cain book and the first Cain omnibus. All great stuff. Then I read the novel about navigators, Rites of Passage, and also quite enjoyed that. So, now I’m starting the third Vaults of Terra book hoping for a continued winning streak.


Also, planning for family vacations, we’ve been reading books about local myths and legends of California, Nevada and Alaska. There’s a lot of hairy bipeds out there, apparently.

Oh, I also finished Lost San Francisco, about the architectural marvels lost to fire, earthquake and time, and I’ve been consuming a book on the Victorian houses of San Francisco. There’s so much eye candy I have to spread it out a few pages at a time.

In the last year I've read all of the Lost Fleet series (Lost Fleet, Beyond the Frontier and Outlands) by Jack Campbell.

Hands down some of the best sci-fi I've read but also extremely well done military fiction.

The characters and the story are great.

I've heard of that one and heard some goo things. I want to read it one day.

Actually just dug out and read my (very) old teenage diaries. Ouch they were awful and if I could go back in time and meet my teenage self I'd give him a slap!
Apart from that I'm re-reading my David Gemmell collection. Much better reading.

Found some older production copies of the full clone commandos book series the ones that don't say legends on the covers, really love the first one and excited to read the rest of them

Reading Morningstar for Red Rising. Got to bit where Darrow sells out half the Solar System into slavery and hands over the Rims Sons of Ares operatives after having told them all to rise up in the first place. Then has a big speech about “breaking the chains”.

I love how people think this is morally grey and not just writing the character as an evil cretin. The Reds would just put him against a wall and shoot him. It’s a completely stupid thing to do, aside from it being evil. There’s just no consideration for the consequences of doing this stuff and the characters seem to have no morals at all. Like these are the actions of a villain and they’re being mischaracterised by author to shield his protagonist.

I mean I am all for getting more of Mortarions backstory but….

Not reading but listening to the Eisenhorn trilogy for the hundredth time. I just love it more and more each time. The weakest of the trilogy in my opinion would be Xenos. It's great, I love it, but it's more of a simple adventure/investigation story and lacks the character development of Malleus and Hereticus. Malleus is my favourite, but not by a long shot. The scene where Eisenhorn bares witness to the atrocity of Thracian Primaris is so well written I feel I'm there with him. That scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Thinking of listening to the Ravenor trilogy next, maybe?

I'm reading through Cradle because it's all the rage in a few spaces I write/read in.

They told me the first three books were a bit just okay, to which I disagree. Book 1 is fine if a bit dull. Book 2 is horribly dull. Book 3 is okay and seems like it's where the main plot of the whole series really just kicks into gear.

Guess I'll try book 4 next which is where everyone says it does pick up. I'll find out.

One of my hobbies is to collect old, community or locally made cookbooks. The spiral bound church ones, that sort of thing. I found an interesting book of recipes for tofu, made in the 70's, with some nice charcoal illustrations. Fun to read and the recipes are decent too.

About two thirds through Iron Gold in the Red Rising. I really think I am done with Darrow. I do not see how he comes back from this and I think the writer really misunderstands the distinction between morally gray and being scum.

There’s this major event that’s happened between books 3 and 4 called the Sack of Luna which is alluded to through the book but we haven’t quite got Darrows take or relevant context. But we just had a chat with Apollonius where we get Darrow actually give his opinion on this. Which is basically nobody was punished as we would lose Sephi and the Obsidians.

Right:

1) That confirms he’s a coward without any morals. Daenerys cut the hands off every thief when she took Mereen. Killing the Obsodians at that point is a far lesser crimes than the Obsidians massacring innocent civilians. Like it’s a massive event and it’s so unspeakable that it would demand being addressed.

2) I don’t like the author repeatedly ignores clashes like this where the Reds should come to blows with the other parts of the Rising. If the Obsidians kill millions of innocent Reds, then they would pressure Darrow to punish the Obsidians and should not be okay with him pardoning them. It not remotely believable that they would shrug at this and none of this is a secret. It’s at the point where Red and Obsidian units in the military should be attacking eachother.

3) Darrow claims he did this to stop people like Eo being killed. This is him will very deliberately and consciously ignoring that. It utterly destroys the characters integrity and I think he’s a wretch. If he does not see the problem of having millions of Eos be killed by Obsidians then either he’s an idiot or he’s a cretin.

4) All the Golds have to do is tell their slaves that the Obsidians massacred millions of Reds and they suddenly become benevolent protectors. It massively undermines the Rising and is dangerous propaganda to gift your enemy.

Like it came across as if the author wanted to do a “wars hell” and “revolutions are compromised” without considering the implications of what he was actually writing. Like it’s at the point where whenever Darrow tries to wax lyrical about doing the right thing I roll my eyes. Oh I have to knock out these prison guards rather than kill them; look at me being conscientious. Really?

Finished latest Death Korps of Krieg novel Siege of Vraks. Not bad not great. Still Dead Man Walking is IMO their best one.

Just finished the 4th Josh Reynolds detective novel set in Legend of the Five Rings - A most enjoyable character based novel which explores the world but avoids the obvious Clan stereotypes quite often

I just finished the book Eruption, by James Patterson and, you won't believe this, Michael Crichton. Yes, that Michael Crichton, who wrote Jurassic Park and died 15 or so years ago. The book was based mainly on his notes that he had made for the story, which mainly involves a large volcanic eruption on the big island of Hawaii. James Patterson worked with Crichton's widow as far as getting the story made and everything. It's a good read too, easily worthy of Crichton's legacy.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
I just finished the book Eruption, by James Patterson and, you won't believe this, Michael Crichton. Yes, that Michael Crichton, who wrote Jurassic Park and died 15 or so years ago. The book was based mainly on his notes that he had made for the story, which mainly involves a large volcanic eruption on the big island of Hawaii. James Patterson worked with Crichton's widow as far as getting the story made and everything. It's a good read too, easily worthy of Crichton's legacy.

That’s awesome. I’ll have to check that out.

I bought the Ahriman Omnibus. 4 novels and a few short stories. I definitely read the first novel, but had no clue it ran more than 2 novels, with a 5th on the way according to a recent WHC article which gave me the impetus to get back into the series.

Been working through the Imperial Guard novels series from Black Library to mop up the books I missed and reread some of the ones I have.

Mixed bunch so far. Might give an overall tier list once I've got through them all. It's turning into a bit of a slog though, bogged down in Desert Raiders currently.