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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. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    Just finished Down to the Bonny Glen by Melissa Wiley and going to start on Heirs of the Force by KJA and R. Moesta tonight.
     
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  2. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    Just finished; Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow. One of those books that jogs at a steady pace, but never reaches a full sprint. There's potential here, and it's the first in a lengthy series (15 books and counting), but there's nothing here compelling enough for me to move forward with it. At least for now. - 6.5/10

    About to begin; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I try to sneak in a "classic" every once in a while, and some buckling swashes, plank walking and yo-ho-ho-ing sound pretty good here in the dog days of summer.
     
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  3. soitscometothis

    soitscometothis Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2003
    Funnily enough I was just thinking about reading that. I've just watched the final episode of Black Sails and it made me want to go read the book. I might have read a heavily edited children's version when I was 11, but I can't say for sure any more, my memory becoming more and more hazy about books I read as a kid..
     
  4. 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
    Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea (1988) – Frank E. Peretti

    This is the fourth book in Peretti’s Cooper Adventures series and after this one he took a seven year break, so this was probably originally intended to be the conclusion of the series and the ending is a bit different, I think, because of this. This book is different from the others. The others all were sort of good vs. evil fights and either included or else seemed to include supernatural elements with a horror tinge, curses, evil spirits, dark gods, etc. This one is more of a rollicking adventure. Jake Cooper’s daughter Lila is traveling on a government cargo flight, but when the plane is attacked by mercenaries after a secret weapons pod on board, things go south. Lila ends up locked inside the watertight weapons pod at the bottom of the sea. Everyone’s after this pod; Russian agents, money-hungry mercenaries, Philippine rebels, etc. But no one cares about Lila, so the Coopers had better find the pod first if they want to save her life. There’s even the added layer of the U.S. Government who would rather destroy the pod than see it fall into enemy hands. It’s an interesting plot layer to see the Coopers having to battle their own government and military in this book; most children’s books of this ilk would portray the government as completely heroic. So, no hidden tombs or spooky corpses, just machine gun battles, speedboat chases, deep sea divers clashing, etc. This one has a pretty strong moralizing streak to it as it finally deals with the death of Jay & Lila’s mother explicitly and it explores the anger Lila feels towards her father as she’s trapped in the pod in a kind of, for this kind of book, subtle call-back to Jonah and his soul-searching in the belly of the whale. Jake Cooper gets his own emotional journey as he realizes he’s been starting to blame God for his wife’s death. Anyway, this is all very tidily resolved, but the effort is appreciated. A romantic subplot between Jake and tough-as-nails reporter Megan Flaherty is less appreciated and leads to a cringe inducingly saccharine ending. A fairly good ending to the series; it’s mainly as good as it is because it’s so radically different from the previous books in the series. 2 ½ stars.

    tl;dr – fourth book in series changes tone drastically from horror-thriller to action-adventure to mixed effects; effort to deepen characters is appreciated. 2 ½ stars.
     
  5. JEDI-SOLO

    JEDI-SOLO Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2002
    Finished House of Chains reread last night. Only took 45 days to complete... started Midnight Tides right after. Hopefully it takes nowhere near as long.
     
  6. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004

    And Black Sails is a series I've been meaning to check out. I've only dabbled in the pirate genre. I've seen all but the most recent of the POTC flicks, and I read Michael Crichton's posthumously published Pirate Latitudes (Not very good, sadly), but I've always loved the stereotypical iconography and flavor of the genre. I figured if I'm gonna read a pirate novel, why not the genre's most famous?

    If you end up reading it, let us know what you think. I'm about 15 pages in and enjoying it.
     
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  7. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    You might want to consider trying the next couple of books. I'm up to date on Scarrow's series and quite a bit of it is pretty good.
     
  8. soitscometothis

    soitscometothis Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2003

    The first series of Black Sails is trashy - lots of nastiness and gratuitous nudity - so be warned. However it is watchable, with the last episode suddenly kicking things onto a whole new level. From then on it's a much better show and well worth your time.

    I've never had much interest in pirates, but The Crimson Pirate (1952) is lots of fun.

    If I do get around to Treasure Island (and I do plan to, just got a few other things to read first) I'll let you know what I think of it.
     
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  9. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    It's one of those series that I'm sure to return to once I hit an inevitable "What am I gonna read next?" dry spell. I've already bought the 2nd book and even if it's 2-3 years from now there's nothing so complicated (so far) about the characters and the world that I can't jump right back in and find my bearings.

    I've watched Game of Thrones, so I'm pretty steeled against such things :p.

    Like the classic novel, I also try to sneak in a classic movie when I can, and this is one of those I'm long overdue to check out. Watching the trailer, I'm amazed by Burt Lancaster's physicality. As someone who (sadly) only knows him from later roles like Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams, I was gobsmacked.



    Awesome.
     
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  10. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    The Crimson Pirate is one of my all time favorite pirate movies. But in many ways it's more of a parody than a serious pirate movie, so don't expect it to take the material too seriously. It's not as wild as Yellowbeard, but far lighter than Captain Blood.
     
  11. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    Sarge Yeah, I sorta got that from the trailer and then I skimmed its Wiki and found this quote from Christopher Lee(!)...

    The script started life as serious, nay solemn, but Robert Siodmak, the director, with all the sure touch of real tension behind him in The Killers and The Spiral Staircase, took stock of the material in forty-eight hours and turned it into a comedy. It was like a Boy's Own Paper adventure, except that Eva Bartok was in it.

    In this day and age of dark and gritty, I'm always up for fun adventure. And it's gotta be more serious than the first pirate movie I ever watched...

     
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  12. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    Oct 4, 1998
    It's also one of the all time great pirate movie scores, too.
     
  13. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2004
    Young Jedi Knights 2: Shadow Academy
     
  14. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    Listening to City on the Edge of Forever. Its a full cast dramatic reading of the first draft of City on the Edge of Forever. The actual script read is very, very good, but Jesus is Harlan Ellison ever an ass.
     
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  15. vnu

    vnu Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 8, 2012
    Revan
    *I would’ve preferred a book spanning Revan’s whole life, including the Mandalorian Wars, his and Malak’s fall, the events of KotoR, and this book’s events. Maybe someday……….

    * For someone who will never play it, the book was too much tied into the Old Republic game. However looking at the 3 items to pull from – both KotoR games and TOR game – it struck a fair balance.

    *Scourge the anti-hero gets too much focus in the first half going on seemingly-pointless missions. I understand this is to set the character up, but I don’t think we need so much of that. As a result, the first half kind of drags. He ends up being one of the more interesting characters, though.

    *T3-M4 L L L L L

    *I liked reading the backstory to the Emperor and the Mandalorian Wars. Really helps flesh out the Sith Empire.

    *One thing I don’t understand – if I’m remembering KotoR II correctly – the Exile kills 3 Sith Lords in KotoR II. Here she gets defeated fairly easily…………………Revan’s mission itself is a failure too, and Scourge seems to be the ‘hero.’ Also about the Exile: one item I didn’t like in KotoR II is that the game begins, basically, with a Jedi Purge similar to the movies, and it doesn’t really explore it. That Purge seemed to be glossed over as much in this book as it did in the game.

    *Holy crap the Emperor is powerful. Probably the strongest Sith I’ve encountered. He has the powers of Darth Nihilius, Palpatine, Darth Bane etc. Wow. Makes me want to see how he’s finally defeated. Wow.


    *Not a comment about the book, but more of the era: I would’ve preferred the ‘canon’ of KotOR I be the Dark Side ending, where Revan becomes Darth Revan again. Between the events of KotoR I and KotoR II, he is defeated and Darths Traya, Sion, and Nihilius rise. How’d this book fit in? I guess the child of Bastila and Carth (when I played KotoR Carth and Bastila developed a romantic relationship) goes to investigate what turned Revan in the Unknown Regions, and not Revan.
     
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  16. 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
    [​IMG]

    Tilly (1988) – Frank E. Peretti

    If not me, who will mourn for Tilly? Who will care to remember her?

    Tilly is a book by Peretti that I hadn’t read before, in contrast to most of the other stuff I’ve been reading lately. It’s a significant story in his formation as an author; he first wrote the story in script format as a radio drama and only later adapted it into book format. The script was sent to now infamous conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family who loved the script’s pro-life message and produced it as a full-fledged hour-long audio drama; that was actually Peretti’s first “publication” and what led to him getting a book deal. The book is super short, only a hair over a hundred pages and with pretty generous spacing, if you know what I mean. It tells the story of a husband and wife who have an odd encounter with a woman in a cemetery and become intrigued by a tiny headstone that bears only the name Tilly. Anyway, the long and short of it is that this brings up memories for the woman of an abortion that she had some years before and she becomes plagued with guilt. For a pro-life book, this is a compassionate one; it’s all about assuaging the character’s guilt over the abortion. However, it is ultimately about her learning to forgive herself, rather than discovering that she doesn’t need forgiveness, so the message remains pretty clear. The mystery plotline of the husband trying to discover the truth behind the Tilly headstone is an interesting way to tell this story and adds a bit of an extra layer to this slim volume. It’s hastily and blandly written with none of Peretti’s usual verve. It has the benefit of Peretti’s quite genuine investment in the issues surrounding abortion, but it’s still a pretty slight story with little in the way of real emotional catharsis. The pro-life message will rub a lot of people the wrong way, but at least it’s not sermonizing or hectoring. 2 stars.

    tl;dr – a strong pro-life message, but more compassionate than you might expect; the story is blandly told & extremely slight to start off; readers of all political stripes will find little of interest. 2 stars.
     
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  17. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Saturn Run by Sandford and Ctein. That was a long slog for not much payoff. The hard science was good, but I think it overwhelmed the plot. Characters were decently drawn. Too bad I only liked one of them, and that one died for no good reason in the middle of the book.
     
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  18. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 28, 2004
    Rogue1-and-a-half that is a gorgeous cover

    I finished YJK 3 last night. I'm debating on if I start on 4 today or hit "Rebel Rising."
     
  19. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004

    I gave it a go a few months back, but just couldn't get into it and bailed early. It came highly recommended, and the online reviews are good. But if I had to give it a tagline it would be "In space, no one can hear you yawn.".


    Just finished; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Fun, jaunty yarn that at times seems full of tropes and clichés until you realize that it's likely responsible for creating most of them. - 7/10

    Currently reading; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. Going to finally attempt to read the Narnia saga, and decided to approach it chronologically instead of order of release. I doubt I'll read all 7 books in a row, but instead break it up into bite sized pieces, squeezing them in between larger novels.
     
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  20. PCCViking

    PCCViking Chosen One star 10

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    Jun 12, 2014
    Legacy of the Force: Invincible
     
  21. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    Oct 4, 1998
    Juke Skywalker, are you at all familiar with Narnia? Seen the movies? If not, I wouldn't start with Magician's Nephew; it was full of references to things the reader should already be aware of from the books published first.
     
  22. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004

    Yeah, but its regarded as the first book in the series, even though it was the second last to be published because its about the creation of Narnia.
     
  23. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    Oct 4, 1998


    Yes, I know, I've read them all. But I think Lion Witch & Wardrobe is a better intro to the series. MN works better when the reader already knows and understands what is being created, IMO.
     
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  24. Juke Skywalker

    Juke Skywalker Force Ghost star 5

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    Mar 27, 2004
    Sarge Chancellor_Ewok I have seen the three theatrically released Narnia movies (Absolutely love Lion/Witch/Wardrobe, like Caspian, Dawn Treader... if you can't say anything nice), so I have a grounding and didn't feel TMN would/could spoil anything. Actually, I didn't know TMN was a "prequel" until doing a little research. The general consensus seemed to be read them chronologically, and apparently that was C.S. Lewis' feeling as well. Of course I say this as someone who %100 believe the SW movies should be watched in order of release, so...
     
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  25. SWpants

    SWpants Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 28, 2004
    I went with the former. Since I'm hopefully moving soon I was as much as my Legends reread done as possible. Then I'll get to my TBR shelf.