What BOOK(s) are you reading?

Isn't the C. S. Forester Horatio Hornblower series the same sort of thing? Manly man in the age of fighting sail? Girdle up the stun'sl and all that?

There's a Walter Jon Williams version of the same sort of thing, except it's American privateers.

Hornblower is kinda like O'Brian lite, which is in no way a disservice to Forster, that guy writes very well. But all the naval stuff is much more accessible and the "non ship stuff" is less complex.

There are some other authors doing this stuff, the names escape me ATM. David Weber's Honor Harrington series is basically Hornblower in space, down to designing tech to emphasize the line of battle tactics.

I'm rereading Dune and really enjoying it. I had forgotten how much political intrigue is in the book. And of course, the world-building is amazing (both the literal world of Arrakis and the figurative world of the whole universe).

I'm very sad that Villeneuve's film got delayed. I read somewhere that he had planned to divide the book into two movies, which makes a lot of sense. Now, due to the pandemic, I fear that the second one will never get made.

Although I'm not planning to rewatch Lynch's Dune when I'm done, I do want to revisit the SciFi TV movie. I remember liking that a lot, despite the desperately low budget.

I still haven't decided if I'll continue reading Children of Dune.

I have the same fear. Even if part 1 is an absolute blockbuster, reassembling that cast is gonna be tough.

Just got back from a week in the woods with no internet. Amazing what I can accomplish without constant distractions:

Sharp Ends, Joe Abercrombie. A collection of short stories set in and around the events in his trilogy The First Law. Compelling and morally ambiguous characters, punchy writing, dark and funny. Like most sword-and-sorcery, short stories are where it's at. First Law Is one of the few fantasy series of the last few decades that I've liked enough to reread, but I kind of lost track of Abercrombie after his YA trilogy, which felt a little bland to me. This makes me want to revisit it.

A Little Hatred, also by Abercrombie. Set about 30 years after First Law; the setting is moving into an industrial revolution with all the societal upheaval that entails. Weavers are now out of work because of water-powered looms, factories are finding it's cheaper to buy child labor from orphanages instead of hiring people. Strikes, luddites, riots, etc. It's the first in a new trilogy; the 2nd book is out but not the third. I anticipate returning to this, and immediately ordered #2 when I got back to civilization.

You Are Not So Smart, David McRaney. Nonfiction, pop psychology I guess. A short catalogue of the many different ways your brain lies to you. There is not much in there that surprised me, but then I've been suspicious of my stupid lying brain for years. A pretty breezy read.

Mongrels, Stephen Graham Jones. Ostensibly a horror novel. A coming of age story about a nomadic family of werewolves. Well-written and mostly melancholy. The family is trapped by modernity and is being slowly suffocated by it. I'll check out other stuff by the author.

Hard Magic, Larry Correia. A recommendation from Jason10mm. Pulp 30s noir, but people start getting superpowers. The plot and the ideas are wildly fun, almost everything else about it is workmanlike. There is some very cringy political commentary; I guess Correia was part of the "sad puppies," but whatever. It was just enough on the "fun" side that I ordered the second book in the trilogy, so thanks for the recommendation!

The War On Normal People, Andrew Yang. This was Yang's 2018 book, written in support of his 2020 presidential run. He makes a compelling case for the disruption that automation is going to cause, and a compelling case that UBI is the only feasible response. His timeline is overly doomy, although I don't think this hurts his case: Whether they happen in 2025 or 2035, self-driving trucks seem inevitable, and by themselves they will decimate not just the transport industry, but also the peripheral support jobs of truck stops, diners, etc. Expert systems are already replacing many customer support jobs (e.g. the inevitable "how may I help you?" chat windows, but slowly moving into automated voice chat as well). He has a grab bag of other ideas that are kind of whatever, e.g. "if a company gets bailed out by the government, then the CEO goes to jail for one month for every $100 million in the bailout." I don't dispute that moral hazard is a big issue with government protecting companies from the consequences of their bad decisions, but this seems dubious legally, and at any rate impossible to pass. Yang presents no solutions for fixing our completely dysfunctional legislative branch, so the rest of his ideas are kind of like your detailed plans for what you'll do after you win the lottery. Strangely, I found his case for UBI to be a little disjointed compared to my headcanon of his arguments for UBI. Maybe he refined his case after writing the book.

Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell. An autobiographical telling of Orwell's time being basically destitute in the aforementioned cities. Details the many indignities, small and large, of poverty; as well as the many characters one meets on the edges of society. In Paris, Orwell worked as a dishwasher in a series of restaurants -- very long hours for very little pay. The cycle of buying necessities and then quickly being forced to pawn them for rent. Roommates, lice, bad food. Desperation repeatedly leads to being cheated, because you can't afford to pass up an opportunity, no matter how dubious. In London, Orwell is a transient -- a tramp -- and wanders from one charity house to the next, enduring Salvation Army hymns, dodging police, and so on. Everything being equal, being a tramp in London sounds a lot better than being a wage slave in Paris. A good read; Orwell's sense of humor and stoicism prevent it from being your typical misery porn tourism.

I am listening to Downbelow Station, just released by Graphic Audio with a full cast. Two hours in and it’s very good so far. I read this years back and enjoyed it.

I have been re-reading William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, and just finished book two: Count Zero. It pains me to admit it, but Gibson sometimes blatantly recycles character concepts from his older works. The security specialist and the ridiculously wealthy guy from Count Zero both strongly resemble similar characters from Gibson's more recent works.

I also recently read Jade City, by Fonda Lee. Gang warfare plus chi powers in an alternate reality version of Hong Kong. Some good character work and some interesting ideas, with a decent pace and some serious action. But somehow I don't feel great enthusiasm for the next book in the trilogy, knowing that the third book has not yet been published. I blame George R.R. Martin.

I periodically pick up one of Fleming's James Bond novels, reading them (slowly) in sequence. The sixth one is Dr. No, and it's easily the worst I've read to date. (Sort of) apart from the pro-colonialist and highly racialized language and descriptions--which, at least to my fuzzy recollection, are much more egregious here than in earlier novels (even Live and Let Die, which, again, I could be wrong in my recollection, was less offensive to this modern reader than the movie)--the plot just sucks, and it's hard to imagine, in the abstract and from decades distance, how this could've launched a multi-decade film franchise. (The movie, as most of them have done, took great liberties with the book.) Even at 139 pages (per my Kindle app), it's too long. There may have been a short story in there, but not one I would much have cared for.

Yeah, I did a Fleming reread a while back and they can be ROUGH. We are definitely spoiled by tv, personal access to travel, and a plethora of more skilled writers doing the same thing as Fleming. I give him props for being an early leader of this genre but like a lot of that type of stuff, the pop culture gestalt far exceeds the primary source.

Gonna give that Mongrels rec a try. That sounds right up my alley.

jason10mm wrote: Gonna give that Mongrels rec a try. That sounds right up my alley.

PM me your mailing address and I’ll send you my copy.

dysjunct wrote:

jason10mm wrote: Gonna give that Mongrels rec a try. That sounds right up my alley.

PM me your mailing address and I’ll send you my copy.

You read this....on dead trees? HERETIC, BURN THE UNCLEAN!!!

Thanks for the offer, but I kindled it already. That author looks like he has a lot of good stuff, including a book called "The Last Final Girl", I wonder if it is the basis of "The Final Girls" movie. My wife might like him as well, ain't too many NA writers out there.

Shellhead wrote: It pains me to admit it, but Gibson sometimes blatantly recycles character concepts from his older works.

Definitely. I have often caught myself thinking how and if a timeline of all his stories would work if they actually were the same people. A Gibson Cinematic Universe with the same actors might do the trick

Ok, so what are the winning titles in the Alliance-Union universe? Merchanter’s Luck? Others? Listening to Downbelow Station has me fired up for this stuff again.

Sagrilarus wrote: I am listening to Downbelow Station, just released by Graphic Audio with a full cast. Two hours in and it’s very good so far. I read this years back and enjoyed it.

Don't know if any of you have any interest at all in this, but if you do Graphic Audio has a 55% Off Everything sale for the next five days, this will cost you $9 plus local tax. Plays on your phone in a custom app or you can get mp3s or even disks. I really enjoyed it.

dysjunct wrote: Just got back from a week in the woods with no internet. Amazing what I can accomplish without constant distractions:

A Little Hatred, also by Abercrombie. Set about 30 years after First Law; the setting is moving into an industrial revolution with all the societal upheaval that entails. Weavers are now out of work because of water-powered looms, factories are finding it's cheaper to buy child labor from orphanages instead of hiring people. Strikes, luddites, riots, etc. It's the first in a new trilogy; the 2nd book is out but not the third. I anticipate returning to this, and immediately ordered #2 when I got back to civilization.

I BURNED through this book, had no idea the second was out. Going to track it down.