So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[Joel_Kirk]

Daddy Todd wrote:

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Remember when they used to be able to tell a complete story in 160 pages? Those were the days! Today, SF & Fantasy writers can barely clear their throats in under 500 pages.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Just finished New Frontier: Into the Void, about to start New Frontier: The Two-Front War and Alien Spotlight, Volume 2.

[Endgame]

About MZB: Did she not write "The House Between the Worlds" or some such book where parapsychological research was taken seriously? I noticed that "A Choice of Catastrophes" by Michael Schuster & Steve Mollman also takes paranormal research (or theory) seriously too. The scenes of approximations for insanity were interesting too. I am now reading ancient ST-TOS (#10) with "Web of the Romulans" by M.S. Murdock (1983). The primitive conditions described in the first scene of the book contrasted with a decadent Star Empire. Nice hook. Perhaps I shall get the Romulan war books sometime to read more up-to-date descriptions.

[Killie]

Just finished reading Enterprise: Daedalus, anyone interested can read my review Here

[Endgame]

Hope my last reading description did not have unsettling spoilers. Perhaps I could edit it somewhat. As for CLB and Robert Louis Stevenson & "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" -- I became interested in reading 3 stories after seeing the movie "Van Helsing": Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr Jekyll and have finally completed them.

Other stories by Stevenson are "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped" the first of which is a book that was being read by a security / reception person at Star Fleet Headquarters - was it in "The Pandora Principle" (as well as elsewhere in the mythos).

The four stories of Stevenson that I recently read were "The Body Snatchers" (1881); "Markheim" (1884); "Olalla" (1885); and, "The Suicide Club" (which is three connected short stories). These are nice studies in good intentions gone wrong, conversing with the devil, romantic obsession and degenerative nobility, and incipient ideas about euthanasia.

[Greg Cox]

Endgame wrote:

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The four stories of Stevenson that I recently read were "The Body Snatchers" (1881); "Markheim" (1884); "Olalla" (1885); and, "The Suicide Club" (which is three connected short stories). These are nice studies in good intentions gone wrong, conversing with the devil, romantic obsession and degenerative nobility, and incipient ideas about euthanasia.

FYI, the 1940s movie version of "The Body Snatchers" starring Boris Karloff is really good. Possibly Karloff's best performance, next to "Frankenstein" of course.

[Fer]

Daddy Todd wrote:

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01/01/2012 Space: 1999: Rogue Planet by E. C. Tubb
01/03/2012 The Survivors by Marion Zimmer Bradley & Paul Edwin Zimmer
01/04/2011 The Eyes of the Overworld (audiobook) by Jack Vance
01/08/2012 Space: 1999: Alien Seed by E.C. Tubb
01/11/2012 Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories (audiobook) by Ian Fleming
01/12/2012 The Winds of Gath by E.C. Tubb
01/15/2012 The Heirs of Hammerfell by Marion Zimmer Bradley
01/18/2012 Derai by E.C. Tubb
01/24/2012 Carte Blanche (audiobook) by Jeffrey Deaver
01/26/2012 Space: 1999: Shepherd Moon edited by Mateo Latosa
01/28/2012 Passion Ploy (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 Nature Tale (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 Enemy of the Good (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 Another Day in Fibberty (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 The Meaning of Luff (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 The Farouche Assemblage (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/28/2012 The Eye of Vann (ss) By Matthew Hughes
01/30/2012 The Anubis Gates (audiobook) by Tim Powers

Wow. I realize there are some audio books, shorter books, and short stories, but I'm still impressed by being able to read that much in that short a time.

I finished Jack McDevitt's Deepsix last night; another great McDevitt book. A great blend of the excitement of discovery and action/adventure. I love how his Academy series seems to take the approach that there's been plenty of life in the universe, but the universe is so big and has been around for so long that each species tends to die out before the other rises, and we all just keep missing each other.

I finally reached the top of the waiting list at my library for Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, so I'll be starting that today and Rings of Time will have to stay on deck for one more book. Which messes with my reading pattern of Star Trek / Star Wars / something else, but hey, life is messy.

[Greg Cox]

Fer wrote:

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I finally reached the top of the waiting list at my library for Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, so I'll be starting that today and Rings of Time will have to stay on deck for one more book.

Bumped by the Dark Side! The Sith are truly insidious . . . .

[Snaploud]

I recently read the Hunger Games trilogy, March Upcountry, and March to the Sea. I'm currently reading March to the Stars.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Finished New Frontier: The Two-Front War earlier today, now reading New Frontier: End Game.

[Daddy Todd]

Endgame wrote:

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About MZB: Did she not write "The House Between the Worlds" or some such book where parapsychological research was taken seriously?

Yes, The House Between the Worlds was one of Marion's. I liked that one quite a bit.

Several more of her books -- The Touch of the Master, the Colin & Claire trilogy (Dark Satanic, The Inheritor & Witch Hill) and the closely-related Shadow's Gate tetralogy (Ghostlight, Witchlight, Gravelight & Heartlight) take place in universe(s) where parapsychology is an accepted academic discipline. They may very well all take place in the same universe.

[Daddy Todd]

Fer wrote:

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Wow. I realize there are some audio books, shorter books, and short stories, but I'm still impressed by being able to read that much in that short a time.

Well, I did spend much of the three-day weekend in January lying by the pool in Tucson reading my Nook (until it started raining on Sunday and I had to take it inside )

And audiobooks are the only way to make 3-4 gym workouts a week tolerable... My doctor better be satisfied with my weight next time I see him, the slave driver!

Also, the fact that I don't watch TV really opens up a LOT of time for reading.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Just finished New Frontier: End Game, about to start Stargate SG-1: Sunrise.

[JD]

Last night I finished reading "Embrace of Cold Architects" DRGIII's story in the third Myriad Universes collection Shattered Light. I remember that when this first came out it didn't get the best reaction by some of the people here, but I really liked the story. It focuses on Riker, and Data, two of my favorite TNG characters, and I thought it did some really interesting stuff. The basis of the story also comes mainly from The Offspring, with a some bits of Best of Both Worlds, Brothers, and a tiny bit of The Wounded. I really enjoyed what was done with a Lal, and how it's version of Brothers effected her. I know alot of people complained about the stories version of Riker, but I think given what he did in the beginning of the story it really wasn't that hard to buy. My Rating: 9/10 (I looked, but there is no poll in the review thread for the book, so I figured it wasn't worth reviving the thread for this post)

[Sho]

Ooh, that sounds pretty interesting - I too have penchants for Data and Riker, and following up on Lal is intriguing. Might fast-track that one .