What ya reading?

[Pentagathus]

Miles Cameron's The Red Knight is the first novel of a pretty biching series. Not on the short side though.
I think I've asked  here already, but can anyone recommend stuff that feels similar to the fellowship of the ring? Or any of Tolkein's fairy tale type stuff. Or Lud in the Mist if anyone's read it.

[comrade_general]

http://www.earlybirdbooks.com/10-fantasy-books-like-lord-of-the-rings/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/71204-lud-in-the-mist

[Pentagathus]

Thanks cowman, but it wasn't the epic fantasy type stuff I was interested in, it's hard to explain but something about the fellowship (more specifically the first half of it) feels good man.
But in terms of fairy tale type stuff the lud in the mist list is actually looking very interesting, much thanks for the Google fu.

[Koobazaur]

Just finished Connie Willis' Doomsday Book and loved it. While it does kind of meander and go back and forth or repeat itself a lot, it got me hooked. I think it may be the stream-of-consciousness, believable writing that kept me going. Maybe it's just what my own disorganized and ADD-y mind needed these days :p


The overall plot is pretty great as well with some unexpected turns. The end is a bit depressing but expectedly and fittingly so.


I know picked up Pratchett's Mort and Press Start to Play, both sound interesting.

[Koobazaur]

I've started on Illusionarium and it's pretty interesting. A steampunk-ish world where a special gas can be used to induce hallucinations with few being able to control and influence them. A deadly disease spreads through the kingdom, an illusioned doorway leads to a parallel dimension... I'll stop there, but despite being YA with a 16-yo protagonist, it manages to create an interesting scenario one after another and constantly comes up with intriguing twists. Also, bonus points for clever use of footnotes annotating protagonists thoughts.





Also picked up Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Only read like the first 5 pages but dig the "rough" and witty writing, casting The Deliverator as some sort of badass only to reveal it's really a glorified pizza delivery boy job, ha.

EDIT: link URL fixed

[Jubal]

Footnotes in fiction, if played well, are often a plus

I've mostly been rereading the Georgian epic "The Knight in Panther's Skin" (in English translation of course!) recently, and also starting to teach myself Georgian. I'd like to do more fiction reading as usual but not managing.

[Glaurung]

I've started on Illusionarium and it's pretty interesting.

It certainly sounds like it - I will keep a look out for it.

Meanwhile, I recently finished The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekin - a history of the last 45 years or so of the Ottoman Empire, and especially of that empire's place in the First World War. I have moved on to A History of the Arab Peoples, by Albert Hourani, covering the period from Mohammed up to about 1990; it's thorough and scholarly, but also seems a bit indigestible, alas. For some light relief, I re-read Terry Pratchett's The Dark Side of the Sun, a short novel of fantasy-like SF.

[Clockwork]

I've been reading a book I was sure I was going to hate. Recommended to me by my sister, Queen of the Tearling and Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.


Sort of teen fantasy (therefore thought I'd hate it) but done well and with adult, growing up and nuanced socio-political themes. Not too 'in-your-face'. Also has just the right amount of weird alt-reality-post-apocalypse subversion (yes, subversion of a subversive theme of itself) to keep you interested in more of that subplot. Can't explain that without spoilers though


But seriously, it's great would thoroughly recommend. If you've never trusted me before (with very, very good reason ) trust this.


Umm, the first page, just ignore it. It's awful, just...just awful. But the rest of it is great

[Koobazaur]

Meanwhile, I recently finished The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekin - a history of the last 45 years or so of the Ottoman Empire, and especially of that empire's place in the First World War.

Oh how is that? I've been thinking of picking up a "history of some big empire I know nothing about" book. I read (brief) history of Russia a while back and it was fascinating.

[Glaurung]

The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekin

Oh how is that?

Very good - I strongly recommend it. There's a whole lot of history there that I knew little or nothing about (e.g. the Ottoman-Russian front, the British occupation of Constantinople, the Turkish War of Independence), and it's told compellingly. Be warned, though: some of that history is pretty grim: the massacres of Armenians and Turks in eastern Turkey, for example, and some appallingly incompetent military campaigns, of which Gallipoli is the best known.

[Glaurung]

Another couple of history recommendations: Germania and Danubia by Simon Winder - histories of Germany and the Habsburg Empire respectively, from 1300 or 1400 to 1933 (Germany) and 1918 (Habsburgs). The style is quite light and conversational, and the history is leavened and illustrated with anecdotes from the author's journeys in the relevant places.

[Pentagathus]

I do be reading some pretty decent books by bloke called Ben aaronavich or something like that. Can't remember the first books name but the series is the PC Grant series and it's about a wizard copper and it's good armadillo.

[Jubal]

An intro to the coins of Trebizond at the moment...

[Glaurung]

Some Christmas-time reading:
- Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising: 1970s "young adult" fantasy, so a nostalgia trip for me. It's very seasonal - set in the days between the winter solstice and Twelfth Night. It was also my first introduction to some bits of English myth: Wayland Smith and Herne the Hunter, for example.
- Tom Holland's Rubicon: a narrative history of the last hundred years of the Roman Republic. Well worth reading.
- a translation of Procopius' Secret History. I've been OD'ing on Emperor Justinian for some time, via our own Roman Law project, amongst other things - the Secret History was written by a contemporary of Justinian, and presents a very different view of him and his reign than Justinian's own propaganda.

[Gmd]

Reading the desert spear by Peter V Brett which is a sequel to his book the painted man. Fantasy book set in a world harassed by demons at night, where people hide behind wards. Great book so far love the characters, told from various PoV like game of thrones. Got many other fantasy books this xmas so will update as i read through. The first book had a very traumatic chapter, i really wasn't expecting such a dark turn, very engaging