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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 30, 2015 21:05:45 GMT -5
I've liked the Jack Reacher books I've read...a bit formulaic, perhaps, but fun reads. I read at least one Lucas Davenport one, but I don't really remember it... it was a while back. Whiskey River sounds interesting!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 30, 2015 22:31:48 GMT -5
Slayground is excellent because it's a change of pace. And because it's a change of pace, I don't think it's the best, but it really is a great book. My favorite is The Score. Followed by The Hunter and Slayground.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 2, 2015 14:55:11 GMT -5
I'm presently reading Burrough's Naked Lunch. I've really just started it but it's one of those writers I hear a lot about but have never delved into.
I went to the local library's book sale and picked up a few books. I didn't get a lot but I might go back tomorrow and see what's left as it's usually half off on the last day. The kids got more books than I did.
Justine by Marquis De Sade -- Castle Books 1964 Lucky Star & the Pirates of the Asteroids by Issac Asimov PB 1953 Double Star by Robert A Heinlein PB 1963 The Eyes of Asia by Rudyard Kipling -- Doubleday, Page & Co. 1919 HC
They're all new writers to me thought I've excerpts of De Sade's work. I also saw several books in old PB about a spy but I can't remember the authors name that wrote them. They seemed pulp style novels with cover art of sexy dames and daring shoot outs. I may just have to go back tomorrow and buy them if they are there still.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 2, 2015 15:45:09 GMT -5
I love library book sales! I don't often leave with less then 10-15 books, though... too tempting for me.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 3, 2015 22:19:02 GMT -5
The Doctor and The Kid By Mike Resnick
This is book 2 of the poorly titled 'Weird West Tales'. After the first book was an alternate version of the OK Corral story, here Resnick takes his newly built world forward, with Doc Holliday as the main character. Doc has moved to Leadville, CO to prepare to die in a Santarium there, when he drinks even more than usual and makes a dumb poker mistake that causes him to lose his entire bank roll.
With failing health and only $200 to his name, Doc decides to turn Bounty Hunter.. the biggest bounty he can find... Billy the Kid. While there, he finds a woman Hunter that's after the same bounty to avenge her husband. Oh, and a rival to Geronimo has cast a spell of protection of the kid (since he hates 'white eyes' and Billy kills them) so Doc has to cut a deal with the Apache to get him use his magic to counter it.
This one is much more 'fiction' than the first, though there's a fun scene at the end that sorta brings it back to the 'real' world a bit. As with the first book, if you're a Doc Holliday fan (as he's played in Tombstone by Val Kilmer), then you'll love this book. There's fun steam punk moments with Doc's buddy Thomas Edison, and crazy magic by Gernimo. There's nothing deep or symbolic her, just a fun western romp that's just historical enough to make it feel comfortable.
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Post by dupersuper on May 4, 2015 18:38:49 GMT -5
I love library book sales! I don't often leave with less then 10-15 books, though... too tempting for me. I got a nice size pile for 5 bucks Saturday. Add Free Comic Book Day and Avengers 2, and it was a nice weekend to be me.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2015 18:55:39 GMT -5
I love library book sales! I don't often leave with less then 10-15 books, though... too tempting for me. I got a nice size pile for 5 bucks Saturday. Add Free Comic Book Day and Avengers 2, and it was a nice weekend to be me. Our local library had a sale too, $5 a bag. The wife and I got 22 books between us. (Like we have room for more.) Plus FCBD at the library and 2 local stores. Plus when I went to the one store for D&D Sunday, they were letting us take as many as we wanted from what was left. So yeah, we did okay.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 4, 2015 19:24:21 GMT -5
Very high recommendation for Graeme Simsion's The Rosie project; it's very funny and at times hilarious! The main character is very endearing with his apparent incapacity to handle social cues; he's a bit like Mr. Spock, understanding that emotions exist and that he's expected to handle them this way or that, but not being able to actually feel them the way other people around him obviously do. That makes him a true innocent, devoid of any malice, but trying to fit in; someone we'd probably all like to hang out with.
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Post by Jasoomian on May 5, 2015 2:46:03 GMT -5
I don't remember if I ever finished Lt. Gullivar Jones, His Vacation. Gullivar appeared in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 2.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 6, 2015 10:56:58 GMT -5
Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It by David Ewalt. There's about half of a pretty decent book here. When the author is talking about the history and development of D&D it's quite interesting. When he's talking about his own campaign and his re-discovery of RPG's...not so much. But I learned more than I knew about the Gygax/Arneson split. And Gygax's ouster from the company. And I seethed in envy that he played in games DM'd by Ernie Gygax and Frank Mentzer. But I'm still waiting for a bio of Gary Gygax, who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of nerds. And I'd like to find a definitive history of the game he and Arneson created. Maybe the latter is out there and I just haven't found it yet.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 6, 2015 11:04:58 GMT -5
The Lone Ranger Rides by Fran Striker This was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. It's the origin story retold by creator Striker. This book was well after the fact of The Ranger's first appearances on radio and in print. It's pulpy and it's old fashioned. But Tonto is surprisingly well realized for the time period. And overall it's a decent read. The Time Machine Did It by John Swartzwelder. This was pretty disappointing. Swartzwelder wrote a lot of the very best episodes of The Simpsons. And this was supposed to be a belly laugher of a book. But it didn't really work for me. The plot, such as it was, wasn't coherent enough for the jokes to work for me. I'll try a couple more of his books. Some that are generally better reviewed...but this isn't making me very hopeful.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 7, 2015 18:25:03 GMT -5
I've never read any actual Lone Ranger stories, but I really should... I love me some westerns The D & D book looks neat. I tried to read the Secret History of Wonder Woman but I couldn't get through it... to much back story I just didn't care about. Anyway, I did read this one...back to the Old School Sci fi: Natives of Space by Hal Clement As you can see by the cover, this was a 60s printing.. the 3 novella within where among Clement's first works. Assumption Unjustified(1946): To vacationing aliens stop on Earth for a 'refresher'... the need to mix in some alien blood to their own system to live longer... the trick is they can be seen by Earth. Luckily, they have a handy, dandy guide book to tell them about Earth, but when a plane flies overhead, it's clear at least some of the info within is incorrect. It was pretty unique reading abou just a regular alien and his wife.. not a warrior or explorer, but a chemist that was really not very good at sneaking around and trying to get a blood sample. The end of the story was a bit predictable, but still fun. Techincal Error(1943) : 7 astronauts crash their ship, and have about 100 hours to live. They find a derelict alien ship, and race against the clock to either get it in space or signal for help. The ship's engineer is the focus as he tries to figure out the alien tech... but it written like a word problem or a riddle... as if the reader is meant to try to figure it out along with the characters. Not my favorite narrative device (sorta like on little kid shows where they pause to let the 4 year old do something or yell at the screen), but I didn't see the end coming. Impediment(1942) : Somewhat similar to the 1st story.. aliens (a ship full, this time) land on either to re-supply their arsenic so they will have a weapon. After hiding for a bit, they contact a local and try to communicate. It kinda reminded me of the TNG episode where the alien speaks in metaphor, as these aliens (moth-like ones that don't like our gravity) don't speak verbally. It turns out they're essentially pirates, and when the human (ironically named Kirk) figures it out, he decides not to help them. While it just a bit too similar to the first one to be in the same collection, it's a very good story, and the weapon their trying to refuel pretty unique (it's basically a space cannon... breaks through the hull, then lets loose poison gas.) Overall, I think unlike many early sci-fi writers, Clement's style here seems more suited to a bit longer stories.. both alien ones left me wanting more details...I'll definitely try to get a novel or two of his at some point.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 7, 2015 18:30:07 GMT -5
Hal Clement was among the hardest of the hard SF writers. I've never read any of his short fiction. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in astronomy. Mission of Gravity is his magnum opus. For all its faults it is one of the most impressive bits of planet-building ever done in SF.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 8, 2015 11:45:39 GMT -5
I've heard of that before... I'll have to see if I have it.. I'm still not quite 1/2 way through the 2 boxes of books I bought on e-bay a ways back.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 8, 2015 20:49:22 GMT -5
A Natural History of Dragons: Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan
Plot: In a Victorian era not quite our own, a young girl who loves dragons grows up to become a budding naturalist, despite the barriers to women doing intellectual work. She marries and goes with her husband on a research expedition... where stuff happens that can't really be listed here spoiler free.
This book has alot of potential...but just keeps just missing. The author does the Victorian voice really well, but instead of making the book set in a Victorian England where there are dragons, instead it's a analogue, so everyone is just a bit off. Things like the time of year, weather comparisons and the like would have been much clearer and more enjoyable to read if they were just the real thing instead of direct analogues.. it just added a layer of unnecessary complexity.
Then there the main action of the story, which built what could be a very interesting foundation... what if the industrial revolution ran out of Iron? What lengths would people go to for alternatives? It's barely an afterthought, instead the focus stays on what could have very easily been a Scooby Doo mystery.. complete with fake monsters, smugglers, and a false friend culprit.
I'm not sorry I read it, but the review of the other two books don't really inspire me to read them, as it sounds like they are just of the same, rather than building on a potentially interesting foundation.
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