The Sword and Laser discussion

books?

I am currently reading The Traitor. I have really enjoyed the series so far!

I just finished Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. Much longer (30 hour audiobook) and different from the Harrison Ford movie, although you can see where all the movie beats came from. Ritter is less of a dick in the book. The book has more Panache, ha ha. (That's the coast guard boat in the beginning.) I don't know why the cover shows the Jack Ryan tv show. In a sense it's like scifi or fantasy, with a lot of worldbuilding and a large cast. There's some cool action at the end with a boat and a giant helicopter that would be good for a tv series adaption. Jack Ryan isn't in the book as much, and there's more Clark (Willem Dafoe) and Chavez (sneaky bastard). I'm curious about Ryan as president in a future book.

I'm reading George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Pairing Up: An Anthology.

Just started the much-anticipated (by me, at least) Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones.

Reading The Will of the Many by James Islington and listening to Ben Aaronovitch newest novella Winter's Gifts which setting is in the USA with an FBI agent that made an appearance in one of the novels, I forgot which. Then on to BOM.

Tamahome wrote: "I just finished Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. Much longer (30 hour audiobook) and different from the Harrison Ford movie, although you can see where all the movie beats cam..."
A friend who used to work for the Rand Institute told me that Clancy's first book was a novelization of a Pentagon computerized war game, so the world-building comment rings true.

Cy wrote: "A friend who used to work for the Rand Institute told me that Clancy's first book was a novelization of a Pentagon computerized war game, so the world-building comment rings true."

You’re thinking of Red Storm Rising. For The Hunt for Red October Clancy played and was partially inspired by the PnP board game Harpoon, which he combined with the real-life attempted defection of a Soviet sub and a theoretical propulsion system he’d read about. (Plus a whole lot of deep-dive (heh) nerdy research into Naval capabilities, his primary source being Janes.) The computerized strategy wargame the DoD used at the time was classified, so Clancy couldn’t have seen it.

Trike wrote: "...For The Hunt for Red October Clancy played and was partially inspired by the PnP board game Harpoon, which he combined with the real-life attempted defection of a Soviet sub and a theoretical propulsion system he’d read about...."

Now that is interesting. I'd always assumed it was something he dreamed up after eating too much pepperoni pizza and falling asleep during a late night showing of Ice Station Zebra.

Classic movie!

Also, I kicked (stopped reading) these books because they were somewhere between depressingly mediocre and insultingly awful


The Wolf's Hour by Robert R. McCammon
Rating: 1 star
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Rating: 1 star
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


The Witching Hour by Anne Rice


Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

Rice is a little long-winded and this 1000+ page beast is no exception, but at least we get right to the Talamasca in the first chapter so I'm hopeful that she's on the right track. Her Vampire series failed to capture my attention much after the first three installments.

As for the Hitchhiker's series, I am on record as not really loving them the way some people do but at least I'm not embarrassed to read one of them (unlike Scalzi's books which are just regrettably bad at times).

And I know the McCammon and Rice books are often classified as "horror" but the line between that and "dark fantasy" is pretty thin and there's an overlap in readership so I posted those for any who might be interested.

I get not loving Zoe's tale, but maybe skim it? There's an Old Man's War lore question casually answered at the end of it. An answer full of meaning for the people affected but casually revealed by the, well, revealer.

Just finished The Traitor! It was a fantastic conclusion to a fantastic series. this series has been one of my favorite in the last couple of years. I highly recommend it.

I've started the next book in Gail Carriger's Tinkered Starsong series, Demigod 12.

Oh, I didn't know Gail was doing space opera!

How are you liking it? I've really enjoyed her Parasol Protectorate and offshoots. I read Fifth Gender, liked it tho not as much as the steampunk stuff, Crudrat was okay, and Divinity 36 was meh for me. Love Gail's wit and charm but this series seems a different focus. I'm not really interested in Kpop which Gail has said is the jumping off point for these. Plenty of found family situations here but it's not enough.

It took me a little while to get into Divinity 36 but by the end I liked all the main characters and the world building. Also there's a mystery element about exactly what the Dyesi are all about that I find intriguing.

One of the focuses of the series is the dark side of fame so the books aren't as light hearted as her steampunk novels.

Tamahome wrote: "Oh, I didn't know Gail was doing space opera!"

More like space POPera, amirite?

Ha!

Picked up A Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo after a discussion with some Twitter mutuals. We were talking about the SFnal concept of using technology left over by ancestors that the current generation depends on but barely understands. Apparently the Big Bad of this series, the Posleen, do that.

Ringo is an author that on paper I should enjoy but have never particularly liked. Space opera, love it, space adventures, also good. Endless minutae of military life, no. Heinlein had the sense to stick to the adventure aspects in Starship Troopers and the philosophy, but not the dumbfuckery of bad generals and incompetent leadership.

It's hard for me to express the WTFery of this book for me with spoiler snippets so spoiler protecting the rest. Spoilers are modest and revealed early on in the text. I want to note that many of my mutuals love this book and this series. I am not among them.

(view spoiler)[The setup is, Big Nasty Aliens are coming to invade Earth. They're warned by friendly aliens who are also fighting the Big Nasty but doing so poorly. Seems the galactic federation is made up of pacifists who stink at fighting. Their proposal is to arm the humans, but the human military also has to defend Federation planets under attack.

So far so acceptable. But who are these races? There's a big population of workers who pretty much live where they are born and just work. No other life. Then there's a race that controls media and banking, a smaller percentage of the population, with outsize influence. That group is manipulating the humans just as they have manipulated the Federation races in the past. So...Space Jews? Was Ringo watching Deep Space Nine and said "oh gosh no, the Ferengi aren't stereotypical enough, hold my beer!"

As for the Big Bad, the Posleen, they eat sentient beings. While invading planets they spend some time carving up the population they just killed. But hark! Those are not alone. The Posleen also eat their own young. So, Space Nazis. (EDIT: Almost forgot: Not just Space Nazis, CANNIBAL Space Nazis!) You know, I just can't get over the subtlety of characterization here. War profiteering Space Jews versus Cannibal Space Nazis with the humans in the middle. Yyyyeah.
(hide spoiler)]

Most of the book is about training for battle, dealing with dumbass leaders who screw up troops, and then comes the battle. With death. Lots and lots of death. The endless death scenes go on for well over 100 pages. It's death death death and death with a side of death. I feel like the Monty Python "Spam" skit except the Vikings are chanting "Death death death death, lovely death, wonderful death!"

There's a silly sop at the end for the main character that makes me want to hurl. And then the prospect of four more books in the series. I only got a page or so of what I showed up for, the "technology of the Ancestors." It's likely that theme is developed in the later books. I do not know that I can be bothered to find out.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Ringo is an author that on paper I should enjoy but have never particularly liked.

…

It's hard for me to express the WTFery of this book for me"

Ringo is an asshole.

I believe this is the book I reviewed on Usenet when it came out where my reaction was like yours, but I did compliment the section of the book that took place in a swamp or something featuring a small squad of soldiers. I said that this was like a really good short story hiding inside an otherwise meh novel.

Ringo responded by threatening to beat me up.

So yeah, asshole. I’ve never read another thing by him.

That is a hell of a story. First things first, yep, that's the book. I distinctly recall the small squad sequence and it is well done. Second up, if that exchange is available to read anywhere I'd love to check it out. I kinda think that being Usenet it's long gone, but if...?

I'm not sure otherwise how to evaluate the exchange. I'm sure it happened as you described, but maybe he was having a shitty day. There's a bit in the novel where the bumped-up Sergeant/Lieutenant asks for people with real fighting skills including martial arts or bar fights. Er. I dunno if people getting drunk and bashing people in bars constitutes good fighting skills. But that was part of the story and the character is a blatant self insert. Coulda just been a hotheaded moment.

I've caught authors at bad times...LA Con II I had a quick, negative exchange with George Martin. He was busy and I just let it go. Still loved Armageddon Rag and Fevre Dream. Niven has been brusque on occasion, but those were much more me than him. Many other times Niven has been the picture of grace. (Anne McCaffrey was always gracious, every encounter, and I miss her presence in the SFnal community greatly.)

Anyhoo, in my limited social-media interactions with Ringo I've seen him promote other authors, including two I follow. I'm always pleased to see the bigger fish help the smaller ones. So I tend to think well of Ringo, even as his books leave me lukewarm.

Fighting skills? Like military experience?
https://youtu.be/QYvCwpXG0DQ?t=12

John (Taloni) wrote: "That is a hell of a story. First things first, yep, that's the book. I distinctly recall the small squad sequence and it is well done. Second up, if that exchange is available to read anywhere I'd ..."

It was on Usenet, so it’s probably still out there somewhere.

I draw a pretty distinct line between having a bad day and threatening physical assault. Just goes to show how self-described alpha males are the real snowflakes.

Wild free associating here, have you seen the bit about "Alpha Werewolves?" The "Alpha" is all the rage in the shifter books, but it seems actual wolf Alphas are leaders of a family. Their job is to protect. When men say they're an "Alpha" it's usually a lot of bluster.

Finished the latest instalment of the St Mary's series, The Good, the Bad and the History which gives you exactly what you expect. Max rampages up and down the timeline causing havoc. While it doesn't finish the series it offers closure on many of the threads running through recent books. The ending links up with her newer Time Police series.

Read another Mile Vorkosigan book Mirror Dance which has a double serving of Miles as (view spoiler)[Mark (hide spoiler)] takes the lead in a few places. This one needs a trigger warning with some descriptions of torture. Some nice character development nestled between the action sequences. (view spoiler)[ It confirms that Miles is as mad as a hatter... (hide spoiler)]

Now reading this month's pick which is a slow starter and The Mimicking of Known Successes which is a Holmsian mystery set on Jupiter (and is very very good). The audio is top notch. It would make a good pick, nice and short, possibly with one of the original Holmes stories.

I finished the classic Science-Fiction/Horror novel


The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Spare Man. That was a surprise: an Agatha Christie style whodunnit... but in space. I enjoyed it well enough as a light, breezy read, without thinking too much about if the mystery made sense, or if the main character is a super-problematic Karen. Surprised that it was nominated for the Hugo best novel, though.

Next up, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, the last Hugo nomination for me to read this year.

I’ve been reading Moby-Dick or, the Whale very slowly, listening to chunks of the audiobook along with the Whale Weekly emails. Then this week I realised that the audiobook is only included with my Audible membership until the end of August, so I’m speeding my reading to try and finish it before the end of the month. So for me it’s less Whale Weekly, more Dick Daily 😜

Ben McEvoy did a Moby Dick readalong on his patreon. He made a 43 minute intro to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVd7I...

I started Cassiel's Servant. It's a retelling of Kushiel's Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, warrior-priest and protector of Phèdre.

Picked up Roger Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness, which I know I read when I was young but which went right over my head; let's see how things work out this time around.

Started reading Cold Iron by Miles Cameron. About 1/4th of the way in and it is good so far.

I finished listening to The Whispering Skull yesterday from the library. I really liked it and immediately put the next book in the series on hold.

Finished the Graphic Audio version of Age of War. Immediately borrowed the next, Age of Legend. Books 3 and 4 in Michael J. Sullivan’s Epic Fantasy series.

Currently reading The Blighted Stars by Megan O’Keefe, interesting Space stuff with AI and people printed on demand.

You can borrow graphicaudio?

Tamahome wrote: "You can borrow graphicaudio?"

Yes! Living in the future is amazing.

From Graphicaudio itself or a library?

Tamahome wrote: "From Graphicaudio itself or a library?"

Library. Both Hoopla and Libby have them.

Ohhh. Hmm Stormlight archive is dramatized on there...

I finished The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I'm impressed that Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes successfully in many different styles. However, I'm left with the slight notion that Dr. Moreau didn't necessarily need a modern update.

This concludes my read of the Hugo nominees for best novel!

* The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
* The Spare Man
* The Kaiju Preservation Society
* Nona the Ninth
* Legends & Lattes
* Nettle & Bone

I gave them all 4 stars except for Kaiju, with 3. I'm not sure what I would vote for; there is no standout, and they all have strengths and weaknesses.

Anyone else? What would you vote for?

I've only read Nettle & Bone, KPS and The Spare Man. Of those, I'd vote for Nettle & Bone. KPS was a blast, vintage Scalzi, a fun read and not, to me, Best Novel material. The Spare Man... was too long, with a few too many twists and a few things that I didn't like (no captain is going to let someone run around their ship with murders happening regardless of who it is). Fun, but again, not Best Novel stuff.

I haven't read Daughter of Doctor Moreau or Nona the Ninth. Of the four I have read, I'd vote for Nettle & Bone.

Tamahome wrote: "Ohhh. Hmm Stormlight archive is dramatized on there..."

I bet those will be good.

I’m thinking I’ll do The Warded Man (1 of 2) on GA once I get done with the Sullivan series.

Geoff wrote: "Anyone else? What would you vote for?"

I haven’t read Nona or Moreau, but the other Morena-Garcia book I read I thought was terrific. So I’d have to give that some consideration. Of the others, my choice would be Legends & Lattes, which I loved.

Finished Hell Bent, and all I want to say is, if you enjoyed Ninth House at all definitely proceed on to this one. Maybe a smidge less great through the first 80%, but the ending. Ah, god, the ENDING!

My library hold on A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking came in. I'm about 45% thru and I'm loving it so far.

I'm also listening to Foxglove Summer on Audible and liking it as well.

I've started Dragons of Fate: Dragonlance Destinies: Volume 2. The nostalgia pull is strong.

Just started She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.

Joseph wrote: "Just started She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan."

Ooh I enjoyed that! I’m eagerly awaiting my pre-order of the sequel, He Who Drowned the World

My Audible Pre-order of Esrahaddon came in. Love, Love, Love, being in MJS World again.