|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 2, 2015 21:40:13 GMT -5
Black-Headed Pins By Constance and Gwenyth Little c. 1938 I picked this up at a used book shop in Boston that has a huge outdoor display that has tons of $1-$2 titles... most are what you'd expect, but they had a few gems, including this one. (it's not in great shape, but it is intact, that's all I care about). I grabbed it simply because it was a mystery and it looked old.. apparently the authors are a bit of a secret pleasure of hardcore mystery fans (at least the internet says so). This was their 2nd of 21 books, which are notable because they're not a series in any way. Reading it now, it seems very much a set piece... a family gathering in an old rickety house (involving, of course a few outsiders as guests, and lots of strange romantic entanglements) is subject to an accidental death that quickly turns to murder. The main character, a female servant that I'd call a lady's maid if this was set in England, is what I'd call 'spunky'. She butts into everything, flirts with the single men, and is only a little afraid of everything... not enough to stop her from getting into trouble. Apparently, such female leads are a trademark of the authors.. and they almost always get married in the end, but I digress. What I liked about this book is it doesn't take itself too seriously... the mistress of the house is cheap to the point of ridiculousness because she saves all her money and donates it to charities so she can have her name on stuff. The men and women seem like they trade partners every 10 pages, but most of it turns out to be teasing and misdirection. Behind all that is a very solid mystery that was just clever enough to be entertaining without being either obvious or ridiculous. I was also greatly impressed with the tone and writing style.. it's not dated at all. If you added in some electronics, it could easily take place today. I'll happy read another of their books if I come across them.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Sept 5, 2015 2:20:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I feel somewhat appalled at my ignorance of something so well known in a genre I pretend to follow, however casually. But that's much outweighed by the good feeling of discovering something "new" that's so good. Most of the stories I haven't even heard of before, though there are a few famous ones, besides the ones I read years ago in the Hall of Fame books, that I've always meant to get around to. High Cotton sounds like a good intro to Lansdale, unless I decide to go with the first Hap and Leonard book or one of his horror novels. Not a huge western fan but Paradise Sky seems like one I might want to make an exception, along with a few others I plan to try - e.g. Elmore Leonard, classics like Zane Grey and Louis Lamour, etc. If you're at all into short stories then I can't recommend enough The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard. The man was an absolute master of the western short story. And it contains the original short story for 3:10 to Yuma, along with the story that was the basis for the movie The Tall T. There isn't a bad story in the lot and some are just excellent. Thanks, added to my list. Which of his crime novels do you like, if you've read any? I tried one or two in the 80s and found them enjoyable but wasn't captured to the extent that I felt compelled to immediately seek out more, though I always meant to eventually. Looking at his wiki bibliography, Stick is one I know I read. I thought there was another one but none of the other titles listed there rings a bell, at a glance. Speaking of crime fiction, I'm now reading my first Maigret novel, and the first written by author Georges Simenon though apparently not the first published, Pietr le Letton. I think I've heard somewhere that this one isn't typical of the series or the character, as does sometimes happen with early entries in long-running series, but I'm finding it very enjoyable so far, nearly half-way through (short book of about 140 pages). Very straightforward and direct, more similar to the American hard-boiled school, I'd say, than the English drawing-room mystery. I'm reading it slowly in French with the help of the English translation when I don't understand some word or expression exactly. Also reading PG Wodehouse's Uncle Fred in the Springtime, and also about half-way through. Considered one of his classics and deservedly so. If you're already a Wodehouse fan no more need be said. If not, I can only urge you to give him a shot.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 7, 2015 13:07:31 GMT -5
Parasite by Mira Grant
I grabbed this one at the library after looking through the recent Hugo nominee list.. I'd never heard of her, so I thought I'd check it out...it was nominated last year for best novel.
I can't for the life of me figure out why. The premise is good... one of those 'science gone bad' sorta premises. Unfortunately, the big reveal that is the entire basis for the book (and the series) it quite obvious after about 20 pages.. to the reader. The characters in the book have no idea, and, if fact, try to deny it even when someone figures it out.
The co-incidence level is past the breaking point of suspension of disbelief. The main character, who is sorta the start of everything, just happens to be the daughter of an important scientist.. and dates the son of one of the creators of the parasite of which the book is named. All of that would just make it a medicore book, rather than a bad one I didn't even really finish (I skipped about the last 150 pages to just read the last 2 chapters to make sure I was correct), but the fact that is pretends to be a scientific/medical thriller when, in fact, it's really just a basic zombie story with a slightly unique premise put it over the top on the bad scale.
I can't for the life of me see what this was nominated for anything.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 9, 2015 21:12:26 GMT -5
I finally got a chance to read The Martian by Andy Weir... turns out my wife wanted to read it, too (she's a big Matt Damon fan, so the upcoming movie as enticing), so that was enough excuse to break my (fairly weak) resolution to catch up on what I have before buying anything near full price.
This is a classic hard SF tale in the tradition of the masters... it's about going to, then surviving on Mars after a semi-disaster. There's lots of fun pseudo-science, which seems pretty logical to me... perhaps the real NASA wouldn't quite have thought of everything, or made their equipment quite so durable, but perhaps in this alternate near future people actual respect and value scientific exploration and discovery!
What sets this a bit apart is the most excellent characterization of the main character, who seems like the kinda of guy us nerdy sci-fi fans would love to hang out with. He was, perhaps, too mentally stable for what he had to handle, but, hey, he's the hero! I'd call this a must read for any hard SG fan... hopefully the movie does a good job, because it could be a classic.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 9, 2015 23:19:51 GMT -5
I finally got a chance to read The Martian by Andy Weir... turns out my wife wanted to read it, too (she's a big Matt Damon fan, so the upcoming movie as enticing), so that was enough excuse to break my (fairly weak) resolution to catch up on what I have before buying anything near full price. This is a classic hard SF tale in the tradition of the masters... it's about going to, then surviving on Mars after a semi-disaster. There's lots of fun pseudo-science, which seems pretty logical to me... perhaps the real NASA wouldn't quite have thought of everything, or made their equipment quite so durable, but perhaps in this alternate near future people actual respect and value scientific exploration and discovery! What sets this a bit apart is the most excellent characterization of the main character, who seems like the kinda of guy us nerdy sci-fi fans would love to hang out with. He was, perhaps, too mentally stable for what he had to handle, but, hey, he's the hero! I'd call this a must read for any hard SG fan... hopefully the movie does a good job, because it could be a classic. My understanding is that most of the science in the book is pretty spot-on. The book was originally published serially online, then in a Kindle edition, then as a book. Each time he got pointers from scientists to go along with his own research and polished the science. I'm not saying it's 100%, but it's very very good. And it is absolutely one of the best books I've read in a long long time.
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Sept 9, 2015 23:56:04 GMT -5
I've gone back and forth on whether or not I want to read The Martian. On the one hand I like science fiction in general, including hard SF, and would like to keep up more with the current SF scene. OTOH, we're so close to actually going to Mars - I mean, given NASA's funding situation it might not happen, but I'd say there's a good chance, i.e. better than 50/50, that a manned mission to Mars will be attempted in my lifetime - so close that it almost seems like reading a speculative book written in the 50s about a fictional first manned mission to the Moon, if you see what I mean.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 10, 2015 4:59:54 GMT -5
PErsonally, I love reading books from the 50s about going to the Moon... I think it's great fun ot see what they got right and what they got wrong.
I HOPE you're right about going to Mars being close, but I fear the political will just isn't there.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 12, 2015 0:05:28 GMT -5
Thud! by Terry Pratchett This may have overtaken Small Gods as my favorite Discworld novel. The Watch novels have mostly all been very strong, but this one had it all. And it particularly helped that it was incredibly resonant in its themes right now. Excellent look at racism, xenophobia, ethnic strife and demagoguery.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 12, 2015 15:16:27 GMT -5
About Time (1986) Jack Finney
About a dozen short stories all concerning time travel by a master of that particular subject. I've read a few in the past in best of the year anthologies and the balance of the stories are just as good. These are mostly mid to late 1950s tales and they all have a sense of wistful nostalgia for the good old days. I'm reminded somewhat of Ray Bradbury. The best stories include I Love Galesberg In The Spring/ I'm Scared and Such Interesting Neighbors
Besides the classic time travel novel Time And Again (1970) and of course The Body Snatchers (1955-adapted as Invasion Of The Body Snatchers) he's written other tales translated to the big screen such as Good Neighbor Sam and Assault On A Queen.
Also like Bradbury, if you look for his works in the library you'd most likely find it in the classic or fiction section even though the bulk of his work was SF
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 12, 2015 18:23:26 GMT -5
What I liked most about the Martian was the humor, more than anything else I think that has to be the selling point. As a thriller it doesn't have much more to it than a good episode of MacGyver and nothing in it really trumps Robinson Crusoe or Cast Away as far as survival fiction goes but the humor felt fresh and fun. Definitely up there with A Sunburned Country and Walk in the Woods as far as the best books I've read this year.
|
|
|
Post by Ish Kabbible on Sept 18, 2015 14:52:39 GMT -5
Catcher In The Rye (1951) J.D.Salinger
Holden Caulfield and the 5 days between his expulsion from boarding school and return to meet his parents
Finally read this classic (was not part of school curricular when I was attending-too controversial). Always knew about this novel but after the Lennon assassination I didn't want to approach it. Always wondered why, if it was so popular, it wasn't adapted as a movie. Now after the reading I know why. It would be phony. I hate when things are phony. Is this the first novelistic of a classic ADHD victim? Seems like a classic case. A great, great book
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 18, 2015 15:14:45 GMT -5
Casting Off (Wool part 3) by Hugh Howey.The third Wool tale is novelette length and moves the story ahead significantly. Juliette is appointed sheriff...but suddenly all her support system is gone...and she is alone against forces she is ill equipped to handle or understand. This one makes a lot of progress. Not quite as strong as the original short story, but a significant improvement over the sophomore effort.
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 18, 2015 15:23:48 GMT -5
Thuglit 16 edited by Todd Robinson. Thuglit is an e-magazine dedicated to hard-boiled and noir short fiction that now runs to 19 issues, of which I've read five, I believe. All five have been well worth the relatively small amount of time needed. Not every story is a gem, but most are at least interesting, some are very good and it's an endeavor I definitely support. At $1.99 for each e-book (or you can read free with Amazon Prime) it's a small investment in continuing quality noir short fiction.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 18, 2015 20:17:27 GMT -5
I generally don't do e-books, but I do have Prime... good to know if I'm stuck without a book sometime.
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 19, 2015 8:48:27 GMT -5
Paradise Sky by Joe R. Lansdale. Joe Lansdale is the best genre writer extant. And I say genre writer for a reason. Because he's equally at home with horror, historical fiction, noir, fantasy, alt-history...and possibly others. This is very good historical fiction. But it crosses over into the penny dreadfuls that gave us Deadwood Dick and gave birth to the pulps and ultimately paperback originals. It's also a story about Nat Love who was a real life African-American cowboy who was nicknamed Deadwood Dick after winning the Fourth of July rodeo in Deadwood in 1876. Lansdale does a great job creating Nat Love as a complex man trying to live his life as a black man in post Civil War America. Not an easy life...though arguably a bit easier in the Old West. The best is...there are still a lot of tales to tell. I'm hoping that Lansdale finds time to tell them. I finished this last night... not sure I can add too much to what Slam said, but rather, I agree . I haven't read too much Lansdale, but boy is he a great writer. He really captures life, and has an absolutely amazing delivery of deadpan humor. He's also very, very good at keeping his characters in character, so that they really feel like they could be real people. Rather than a hero doing 'heroic' thing or the villain being 'evil'. I'd love to see more about Nat.. I hope the book does will enough to warrant a sequel.
|
|