Amph What book are you reading right now?

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

 

My Zeppelins by Dr Hugo Eckener. I doubt anyone ever knew more about flying zeppelins than Eckener did. He was taken under the wing of Count Zeppelin himself to be his protégé before WW1. During his days piloting airships around the world in the 20's and 30's, he became more famous than the pope. His book is beautifully written and packed with fascinating stories of his flights. The only disappointment to me was that it was a little light on technical details of his ships. But at the end of the book there's an additional chapter by Eckener's son, also an experienced zeppelin crewman with a doctorate in engineering, and he adds all the nuts and bolts that I wanted.

 

@Sarge Here ya go. The ultimate airship, designed in 1992. if you scroll down a bit you'll see a pdf link with much more info.

 

I'm about a quarter of the way through The Snowman so far I have to say that it makes more sense than the recent film adaptation did. Really enjoying it.

During work time I've also been listening to the audiobook of Labyrinth of Evil I read the book back when it came out and enjoyed it, I thought it tied nicely in to ROTS. But listening to it now and I realised how much I've forgotten of the book.

 

@AndyLGR Labyrinth of Evil is indeed solid work by dependable SW vet James Luceno, but I remember being miffed that it contradicts (or vice versa) the 2nd season of Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars. Don't ask for specifics. Those brain cells died ages ago .

Currently reading; Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. I tried a few other novels, but they failed to hook me, so I return to the safety of the Expanse series. Really enjoying this one so far, w/the Rocinante's crew splitting up abnd serving as the four POV characters giving it a really fresh feel.

 

The Force by Don Winslow. It's about 'bent' police detectives in current day NYC. Very good so far. If you liked the TV series The Shield you'd probably like this. It's the first of his books that I've read and it is a standalone. I might have to check out other books by him.

 

I hadn't seen that design before. It looks like it has more realistic engineering than most pie-in-the-sky visions of updated airships.

 

It was done by the Indiana Institute of technology to see what was possible with the technology of the time. The teacher in charge of the project was contacted by a lot of people wanting to know how when and where this was gonna happen and about funding and so forth. People looked at this as a population solution, cities in the sky. He told them it was just a design study without real plans to go forward. I found it in 2001 in a book and dug the web for info and managed to get the teacher's email which he apaprently thought was no longer active as he asked me how I got it. It was just in the IIT web listing. He sent me the pdf in that link which was not on the web at the time.

Finished Ironfoot which is a murder mystery in a fantasy setting, and quite smartly written.

Moving on to Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft.

The Books of Babel, Book I: Senlin Ascends

The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel of the Silk Age. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of unusual animals and mysterious machines.

While honeymooning in the Tower of Babel, Senlin loses his wife, Marya.

Thomas Senlin, the mild-mannered headmaster of a small village school, is drawn to the Tower by scientific curiosity and the grandiose promises of a guidebook. The luxurious Baths of the Tower seem an ideal destination for a honeymoon, but soon after arriving, Senlin loses Marya in the crowd.

Before he can find Marya, Senlin must first discover himself.

Senlin’s search for Marya carries him through madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find his wife, he will have to do more than just survive. This quiet man of letters must become a man of action.

 

Inspector of the Dead (2015) – David Morrell

This is the second novel in Morrell’s mystery-thriller series featuring infamous Victorian era writer Thomas De Quincey. This book, like the first in the series, has a bravura opening featuring a graphic murder during a church service that then spirals out into a multiple murder. Murders of high-ranking officials start stacking up and at each crime scene, the killer leaves a name; in each instance, it’s the name of someone who attempted to assassinate the Queen. Our killer, it seems, is going through the political halls of power with one particular target in view. Like the first book in the series, this one starts out supremely strong and then rather slowly coasts to a stop. Morrell has a way with violence that is shocking and visceral and he knows how to really kick a book off with a bang. But then, things get more far-fetched and the prose, when not describing violence, gets kind of awkward. The opening is great and there’s a great scene where a recurring character finds himself trapped in his own home as the killer attempts to break in that is nail-bitingly intense. The book is also set during a very interesting time, when scandals over the Crimean War have brutalized the British government to the point that it’s barely functional as so many people have been demoted or resigned and there are power-struggles for every position that’s been opened up. Didn’t know much about that and it was interesting to get some details there. Still, this one isn’t particularly bad, just not really worth your time. There’s only one left in the series, so I think I’ll go ahead and knock that one out, but, on the whole, this series has been basically average. 2 ½ stars.

tl;dr – interesting historic backdrop & a couple of tense sequences of violence and suspense aside, this book is mostly forgettable and workmanlike. 2 ½ stars.

 

I'm currently reading The Last Jedi and am having a great time. This book has so many excellent additional scenes, dialogue, and details that are not in the movie.

I'm only a third of the way through, but if this keeps up, it may become my favorite SW film novelization after RotS, possibly.

 

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

I've seen some good things about the book. My copy is waiting on Amazon UK to deliver it.

 

TLJ is well written and engaging. Best of all, it is chock full of subtle new details absent from the film. Like, in the first 50 pages, there are loads of extra scenes and details. And hints.

 

Sounds good. Once I get it it will be next on the reading list.

 

Molly's Game by Molly Bloom

 

just read Raising Hell , about the making of Ken Russell's The Devils . Good read , apparently the full version still hasn't been released , apparently WB are still embarassed by scenes of naked nuns having an orgy an messing about with crucifixes ( hey Linda Blair got away with it ) .
Mark Kermode tracked down the excised material a few years ago and the print was restored , but it sits on a shelf .

,

 

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

Finished the audiobook for Labyrinth of Evil, really enjoyed it and as I was listening to it the details of the plot were coming back to me. Even though I haven't read the book since it came out all those years ago. I loved the search through Coruscant to find where the trail of Sidious lead too and also the details of the attack on Coruscant to kidnap Palpatine. I also liked the fact that neither Grievous or Dooku seemed to know that Palpatine was Sidious.

 

Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin.

 

Outbound Flight

 

First book in the Tale of Earthsea series.

 

Ever see the Studio Ghibli movie?

 

No, I haven't.

 

Good; maintain that ignorance.

 

It wasn't necessarily among Studio Ghibli's finest; but it has its moments. I haven't read the novels so I wouldn't know what else to base it on.