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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph What book are you reading right now?

Discussion in 'Community' started by droideka27, Aug 31, 2005.

  1. Frank T.

    Frank T. Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
  2. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Is that unabridged Moby Dick? It's not for everybody, but I loved it.

    Tenacious, next in Stockwin's Kydd series. Kydd follows Nelson across the Mediterranean to the Battle of Aboukir Bay, then opposes Napoleon at Acre. I was already familiar with the Aboukir Bay campaign, so there wasn't much suspense for me, but it was vividly described.
     
    WriterMan likes this.
  3. WriterMan

    WriterMan Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2012

    It is! It's very thought-provoking, which is the main reason I've been reading it.

    Now, my easy read is: The Stand by Stephen King. I'm a major King fan and I've heard people rave about this one, but I've never really delved in. Time to fix that.
     
    Saintheart likes this.
  4. EBSaints

    EBSaints Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 29, 2002
    Death Star
     
  5. Everton

    Everton Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Jul 18, 2003
    The Goldfinch.
     
  6. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cromwell. I've heard about the Sharpe series for years, and finally checked out the first one. Pretty good, if you're into Napoleonic musket battles. I'm hoping the characters get more complex in later novels.
     
  7. Saintheart

    Saintheart Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2000
    I think it's his best. Only It comes close in my view. The only regret I have from his Dark Tower series is that we didn't get to stay for long in the Standiverse despite King's hints that we might meet some significant people therein.
     
  8. WriterMan

    WriterMan Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2012
    It is my favorite of his thus far. The characters, story and themes are all so wonderful.

    I actually wrote a paper in my first college composition class about It. I compared It to Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, where I discussed the similar themes and ways that the authors used very controversial imagery to get across a heart-warming message.

    My prof. loves The Grapes of Wrath so I was thankfully successful.
     
  9. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Command, another of Stockwin's Kydd novels. As you may guess by the title, Kydd has moved up to captaincy of his own vessel, a little 16 gun brig. But all he worked for is quickly lost by the catastrophe of a declaration of peace with France.
     
  10. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    [​IMG]

    The Soul Weaver, Carol Berg, 3rd book. My only complaint is one I have with many books, it did not need 520 pages to tell a story that could be told in 400-450. That The Soul Weaver is only 469 gives me hope. Otherwise it is good stuff. I had to finally order book 4. The closest store that carrries it is over 2 hours away. No thanks.
     
  11. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Zazen per Rogue_Ten's recommendation. Alternative wistfully dystopian pseudo satire. I'm reasonably committed to that being a compliment.
     
  12. soitscometothis

    soitscometothis Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2003
    Has anybody read Altered Carbon or Snowcrash? And if so, what did you think of them?
     
  13. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    Snowcrash is one of the best books I have ever read. Very fast paced and quite fun to read.
     
  14. soitscometothis

    soitscometothis Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2003
    Thanks. I guess I'll be getting that shortly.
     
  15. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Sharpe's Trafalgar, by Bernard Cornwell. I'm not terribly fond of Sharpe, but the other characters are so entertaining and the historical research is so well integrated that it turned into a real page-turner.
     
  16. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    The Mysterious Island. My favorite of Verne's books as a kid, it features five individuals of various backgrounds who escape Richmond during the Civil War in a balloon, only to be caught in a storm and washed up on an uncharted Pacific island. Unlike Journey to the Centre of the Earth or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there isn't a central sci-fi hook; rather, like Around the World in 80 Days, it's just about celebrating the ability of scientifically informed man to conquer the natural world, as these five men, dubbing themselves colonists rather than castaways, proceed, with no initial resources other than two pocketwatches, to conquer the island and build a house, tools, a boat, a farm, a mill, industrial works. Verne gives them a hand by stocking the island unrealistically full of resources and letting a few key items turn up, as well as giving them some assistance from a mysterious presence that seems to be secretly lending them a hand, but that's just to facilitate getting them around a few speedbumps without making the island even more unrealistic. It's also mitigated by the ending, in which the island faces a natural catastrophe they're simply powerless to overcome. But the central message of the book, fascinatingly executed through this meticulous tale of scientific survival, is the awe-inspiring capability of man, armed with scientific knowledge, to overcome his environment, to build and prosper and provide for himself, to create the glory that is civilization. It's a theme that's very effectively hit throughout the book and makes for entertaining reading.

    The characters are solid, too. Captain Harding, an engineer, is the leader and all-capable genius of the group, but there isn't a single audience-identification narrator as is typical with Verne. Rather it's a real group narrative. The closes to an audience surrogate is the group's most vibrant character, Pencroft, a sailor whose outsize personality and everyman attitude make him stand out. His hilarious lack of interest in anything except an animal or plant's edibility, and obsession with finding tobacco, make him the comic relief, while his blend of skepticism and ebullient faith in Harding mean he usually gets to say what the audience is thinking, and is allowed to be a little complicated. Herbert, his surrogate son, provides the youthful enthusiasm and expertise in botany and zoology, while Gideon Spilett, an intrepid reporter (there is no other kind in fiction), brings broad experience of the world and steady nerves, and Harding's friend and servant Ned, a freed slave, provides an upbeat attitude, culinary skills, and hard work. There's also the later addition of Ayrton, a castaway from another of Verne's stories, who was marooned for his crimes and whose repentance and reintegration to their society acts out Verne's themes of civilization and society. And of course, there's the group's mysterious provider, revealed at the end of the book (with some hilarious violence to chronology) as Captain Nemo, who here has his backstory finally revealed. It's a bold move that the book doesn't actually need, but which works because the mystery element is well-integrated into the narrative and the payoff of Verne's most iconic character finally getting his past revealed and receiving a grand sendoff is significant. Overall, it's just a really fun, exciting adventure in survival and the sort of thought exercise of what a handful of men could build left to themselves, a tribute to the power of man and his knowledge.
     
    Rogue1-and-a-half likes this.
  17. V-2

    V-2 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 10, 2012
    I finished Vector Prime. What a stunningly bad book! I could bitch and moan at great length, but here's a condensed summary:
    • The children are closer to the dark side than Anakin Skywalker ever was, but it's fine that nobody notices...
    • ...Because so are the Jedi. On discovering a brand new species and culture the immediate and correct Jedi response is to kill it. Negotiations are for girls.
    • Also flying around the galaxy gleefully murdering people you claim to be pirates/smugglers is something that you can do with complete impunity, especially if you're a character who's guilty of genocide...
    • In which case, feel free to raise a personal army of mercenaries too.
    • Mara deserves our fullest respect and attention at all times, especially if her role in events is minimal.
    • Cobra La The Vong are the single greatest threat to the galaxy, which is evidenced by their constant string of military successes...
    • ...Which I assume must happen in a different book?
    • The Vong have agents with large amounts of economic and political power. Somehow.
    • Inefficiently reflecting an unknown and non-described "energy" towards a frozen planet with a steadily decreasing number of umbrella shaped spaceships causes the planet to get even colder and to stop spinning, somehow.
    • Then it starts spinning again and explodes. Somehow.
    • Because everyone knows when you bombard things with energy they get colder and then explode. That's just obvious.
    • Rock Hard SF.
    • Chewie dies because Han has to suddenly give a **** about abandoning Luke briefly, like he often does, because a moon falling on a wookie is the same as a planet inexplicably freezsploding near a Jedi in a starfighter.
    • Thank **** this **** is being undone by the sequels.
    Still a fun read though. Just the base under siege story on its own could have been a good short story, if reset in a non-Star Wars context perhaps, but about 1/3 of the way in the author seems to say **** it and just thrashes out 40s scifi tropes as fast as he can type (but maybe slightly slower than he can think). Then the book ends and everything is reset to normal, minus Chewie of course.
     
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  18. Rogue_Ten

    Rogue_Ten Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2002
    is there a history of northern ireland that isnt total ulster protestant *****?
     
  19. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Just finished Robert Edsel's Monument Men. Good book, if you're interested in any combination of World War II, art or history, you'll like this book.
     
  20. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld. Far future sci-fi/space opera about an empire ruled by a man who has used biological secrets to keep himself "alive" 1600 years, in conflict with a civilization of cyborgs. Interesting action sequences and suspenseful plot. And, annoyingly, a cliffhanger ending. I wish there had been some indication that it was the first of a series. I don't mind reading series, but I think the publisher should print a cover that lets the readers know what they're getting into.
     
  21. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience & Redemption - Laura Hillenbrand

    [​IMG]

    This book really gives one the initial impression of being incredibly cheesy. I mean, look at that subtitle. But it isn't. What it is, is a masterpiece. It's the story of Louis Zamperini, a man who lived a life that's nigh onto unbelievable - from acclaimed Olympic athelete to combat hardened battle veteran; from weeks stranded on a rubber raft in the ocean to years spent in the most brutal prison camps in the war; from his violent struggles with PTSD to his final salvation and redemption. It's a consistently gripping book. I read Seabiscuit when it came out, but I'd forgotten what an amazing storyteller and what a dedicated (not to say incredibly anal) researcher Hillenbrand is. The film version of this story will be coming out in December. Read the book first. Read it, in fact, now. Right now. This needs to be the next thing you do. I'm serious. You've read my thoughts; the NEXT THING you do is go buy it and read it. It's exciting, horrifying, terrifying, inspiring, deeply moving. It's a book that deserves to be called a masterpiece. Great book. Highly recommended. **** stars.
     
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  22. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    Well, now I'm considerably more interested in reading the copy my mother insisted I borrow from her. Thanks for the review.
     
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  23. Rogue1-and-a-half

    Rogue1-and-a-half Manager Emeritus who is writing his masterpiece star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2000
    I was skeptical too. But it's ******* amazing.
     
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  24. Rogue_Ten

    Rogue_Ten Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2002
    ill show you whats "unbroken"

    *gestures lewdly*
     
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  25. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    The Admiral's Daughter by Julian Stockwin. Thomas Kydd is skilled and lucky as a sailor, but ashore? He's a social disaster/tragedy waiting to happen. And it happens hard in this book. I suspect the fans of Jane Austen might enjoy Kydd's inept forays into high society and romantic entanglements. There's still plenty of good salty nautical action too.