Amph What book are you reading right now?

Legacy - Monster.
Expect a review soon!

 

Iron Fist -Aaron Allston

So far i think Allston has made very entertaining characters, i really love them. Best Star Wars yet i believe. But his plots are really lacking it seems. Wraith Squadron was super confusing in the middle when they were doing all this conveluted covert stuff, and it seems like this book will have more of that.

Honestly though the characters make the whole thing worth it

 

JEDI-SOLO, have you read any of Weber's Honor Harrington books? I'd recommend the first 6 or 7; after that they start to get bloated and repetitious, but the early ones are still favorites.

 

Seconded. The Honorverse is fun. Think Master and Commnader in outer space.

 

I agree that the first few books were good but I went off the series when she was captured for the umpteenth time. I did like the treecat though.

 

Nope just his Safehold series.

I'm continuing on my Malazan reread bk 5 now. Also pulled out Dresden 1 but I haven't opened it yet.

 

On to Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse by James Luceno

 

Suspiria de Profundis (1845) – Thomas De Quincey

Let us call them, therefore, Our Ladies of Sorrow. I know them thoroughly and have walked in all their kingdoms. Three sisters they are, of one mysterious household; and their paths are wide apart; but of their dominion there is no end.

In this book, De Quincey engages really powerfully with the griefs and traumas that, in his opinion, made him particularly susceptible to opium addiction and also made that addiction such a horrible trauma itself. The title means “Sighs from the Depths” and this is a deeply sad and incredibly beautiful treatise on grief and depression. De Quincey’s writing here is just at a real pinnacle and this is transporting and evocative without ever being over the top or melodramatic. There’s a late section in the book where he personifies the different kinds of sorrows in the figure of three women, all related, but all quite different. The writing over those pages is just some of the mostly finely crafted, deeply evocative, most beautiful writing I’ve ever encountered. De Quincey is justly famous for his Confessions of an English Opium Eater, but he has absolutely bested himself here, in my opinion. This is a haunting, powerful and compelling work. The emotions here are raw and powerful, but the writing is measured and gorgeous, not sloppy. This is unquestionably a masterpiece. And not much over a hundred pages. Though don’t speed through it; this is a book to be experienced deeply. 4 stars.

tl;dr – De Quincey explores grief, terror and sorrow in a deeply personal, yet also universal, way in this gripping, beautifully written, haunting masterpiece. 4 stars.

 

Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche
Critique of Judgement - Immanuel Kant
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

 

Started SW: Phasma earlier. I'm only a few chapters in but it's pretty good so far.

 

Just finished Star Trek Mirror Universe Rise Like Lions by David Mack

It concludes the mirror universe sage begun in Mirror Mirror and continued in DS9. I haven't read the preceding books but it wasn't too hard to follow. Basically Spock got something of great value from his mind meld with McCoy and instituted a long term plan to without spoiling the details make the mirror universe in Trek a better place than the nightmarish dystopia it was. There is lots of action, backstabbing, and sorrow. But the ending is what makes it worth it-in fact I'd say the ending wouldn't be deserved without it. Great read for anyone interested in Trek novels and the Mirror Universe in particular.

 

Now reading The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison

This is the book that shaped the landscape of contemporary science fiction and fantasy. When The Lord of the Rings first appeared, the critics inevitably compared it to this 1922 landmark work. Tolkien himself frankly acknowledged its influence, with warm praise for its imaginative appeal. The story of a remote planet's great war between two kingdoms, it ranks as the Iliad of heroic fantasy.
In the best traditions of Homeric epics, Norse sagas, and Arthurian myths, author E. R. Eddison weaves a compelling adventure, with a majestic, Shakespearean narrative style. His sweeping tale recounts battles between warriors and witches on fog-shrouded mountaintops and in the ocean's depths — along with romantic interludes, backroom intrigues, and episodes of direst treachery.

 

Currently reading Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1: Cosmic Avengers. It is a comic, it is good so far, the art is very nice as well, very skilful. It was free with an amazon prime membership so thought I would give it a go

 

I was reading the Liveship Traders trilogy by Robin Hobb but I found the second book to drag on a bit and then a certain scene near the end just put me off the series completely which is a shame because I loved the Farseer trilogy. I might try the Tawny Man series still though because I want to read more about Fits from Farseer.

Now reading Lost Stars Tarnished Knight by Jack Campbell. It's good so far and interesting seeing the point of view of the Syndics who were the antagonists in The Lost Fleet series.

 

NJO: Balance Point

 

Grievousdude, it's been years since I read Liveships. If you don't mind my asking, what put you off?

 

Spoiler

When someone attempts to rape Althea. I don't mind some darkness in stories but that was too much for me.

 

Fate of the Jedi: Omen

 

Ramage and the Guillotine by Dudley Pope. One of a series of adventures in the Hornblower mold. Our hero, Royal Navy Lt Ramage, is sent to France during the Terror to spy on Napoleon's invasion fleet. Not much seafaring in this one. All in all, it's not a bad book, but there's not much to distinguish it from all the other books inspired by Hornblower.

 

A Legacy of Spies, by John le Carre. Fantastic read; the old master at his best.

 

Burn What Will Burn by CB McKenzie

 

American Assassin by the late Vince Flynn.

 

That book is sitting on my desk right now. I'm not sure if I should take the time to re-read some of the older novels first and read it afterwards, or jump into it head first and re-read the rest later. Ah, dilemmas...

 

So far, I've had no issues not re-reading The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.

 

Navigators of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.