So What Are you Reading?: Generations

[Pavonis]

Well, I happen to be in the middle of Forgotten History, and a biography of Cleopatra (I can't read just one book at a time).

I'm really enjoying Forgotten History. It's well-written, of course, with a good mix of familiar and (to me) unfamiliar characters. I like that all the viewpoint characters have understandable agendas, even if they're at odds sometimes. There's conflict and tension without a stereotypical, mustache-twirling villain. I can see how each character would take the stances they do, and how each reasonable stance would be at odds with other characters.

[Endgame]

"City of God" is often required reading for history majors. It is an interesting discussion of things Roman. However, it is about 1000 pages long. I read it this year and am happy I did. It is part of "Great Political Thinkers" by Ebenstein and that Watergate famous recently deceased guy Chuck Colson refered to Augustine in his book "Kingdoms in Conflict" such that worldly and heavenly agendas may sometimes come into conflict. Persevere and it is rewarding to read old classics.

I am currently reading a collection of environmental essays "Inventing the Future" by David Suzuki (1989) which help contextualize the first Rio Earth Summit a bit. Still trying to get into "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky and still with "Mutiny on the Enterprise" by Vardeman. Slow going. Did finish watching DVDs for Season 3 of DS9 from library.

Must go to Star Trek exhibition at PNE in Vancouver. It shall probably be traveling elsewhere fairly soon.

[Drago-Kazov]

i should ask this in the novelverse thread but this is much more used.

Is this what the Nalori look like?

[Patrick O'Brien]

Sho wrote:

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For the record, I deny all claims that I'm Sci. We've been seen online at the same time!

I should read more carefully

[Warp Coil]

I had intended to start reading Michael Martin's TTN: Fallen Gods but I pushed it back to read at a later date (and given the reviews, I really am in no hurry to read it). A friend recommended that I try The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne so I'm about half way through book one. It's not bad.

[Sci]

Patrick O'Brien wrote:

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I should read more carefully

Indeed, Sho is not my secret crime-fighting identity. But you should still read Twilight of the Elites.

[Romulus Prime]

Currently reading A Stitch In Time by Andrew J. Robinson. I'm a little over halfway through it, and I know it's now my favorite Trek story. Glad I ended up waiting to read it, as it's also (inadvertently) become my own self-help book as well. 12yrs ago when I first bought it, I wouldn't have been able to grasp the deeper meaning of everything Garak experiences, which (coincidentally) are mirroring my own right now...

[lurok]

Just been introduced to H.P. Lovecraft. Finished all short works; just Mountains to go. And Wyndham: finished The Chrysalids, now on the rather strange Plan For Chaos.

[Fer]

BritishSeaPower wrote:

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As much as I intended to move on from TrekLit for a bit, I ended up reading Star Trek: TNG/X-Men - Planet X. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it. While it's not the most amazing prose it is a lot of fun, though I haven't really gotten to a point where the E-E crew or X-Men have a mission! I do enjoy the little mutual attraction Storm and Xavier have for each other. It's cute, if a little unsubtle. But it's not something I knew I was interested in seeing until I read it!

I have that, but I've put off reading it because I've never read the two Star Trek/X-Men comic books. Does the novel acknowledge them, or is it a totally separate take?

[Christopher]

Fer wrote:

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I have that, but I've put off reading it because I've never read the two Star Trek/X-Men comic books. Does the novel acknowledge them, or is it a totally separate take?

Planet X is loosely a direct sequel to the TNG/X-Men crossover Second Contact, in that it features the same team of X-Men having a second encounter with the E-E crew, although for the X-Men it's immediately after the end of the comic while for the TNG cast it's a year or two later. Still, the specifics of the comic's story don't come into play; all you need to know is that these particular X-Men have met Picard and crew once before. Which is no worse than, say, "Coming of Age" establishing that Picard and Admiral Quinn knew each other before. You don't need to have seen their earlier meeting to follow this new story.

[JD]

BritishSeaPower wrote:

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Just finished Siegfried by Alex Alice. It's a really good distillation of Wagner, Volsungasaga and the Nibelungleid with some really interesting new additions. The art is beautiful, with some fantastic looking landscapes and interesting character designs on Odin, the Valkyries and a very Henson-ish Mime. I will say it is a bit short, and 1/3 of the book is bonus material, but I enjoyed it a lot as a fan of that particular myth cycle and Wagner. I am sorely tempted to order the original French versions, as the official Archia twitter account told me the next two volumes won't be out in the USA until 2013 and 2014! In the bonus material, it seems that the comic is telling a similar but slightly different story to an animated project Alex Alice is spearheading, but I can't seem to find out if that came to fruition. Reminds me a bit of a what Darren Arronofsky did with The Fountain. (Release a Graphic Novel as a "pitch piece" while the film is limbo or post-production.)

I've been dying to read that ever since I saw this on the Archaia website.

Warp Coil wrote:

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I had intended to start reading Michael Martin's TTN: Fallen Gods but I pushed it back to read at a later date (and given the reviews, I really am in no hurry to read it). A friend recommended that I try The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne so I'm about half way through book one. It's not bad.

Ooo, I've been wanting to read this one to. I've been getting into Urban Fantasy lately, and I've been very curious to read some that takes place in AZ.

[BritishSeaPower]

Christopher wrote:

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Storm and Picard, you mean. Getting your Patrick Stewarts mixed up there...

Oh, Indeed I did, Christopher! Though of course there have been some stories that do indeed hint at Storm and Prof. X having some feelings for each other. But yes, I really enjoyed the little scene of Picard and Storm together. There's even a fun little mention of "Lessons" which has always been a favorite episode of mine.

Christopher wrote:

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Planet X is loosely a direct sequel to the TNG/X-Men crossover Second Contact, in that it features the same team of X-Men having a second encounter with the E-E crew, although for the X-Men it's immediately after the end of the comic while for the TNG cast it's a year or two later. Still, the specifics of the comic's story don't come into play; all you need to know is that these particular X-Men have met Picard and crew once before. Which is no worse than, say, "Coming of Age" establishing that Picard and Admiral Quinn knew each other before. You don't need to have seen their earlier meeting to follow this new story.

Everything that Christopher says is true Fer. The TOS/X-Men crossover comic is indirectly mentioned in the TNG/X-Men comic but I haven't seen a reference to it in the novel, yet. There's a bit of backmatter in the TNG/X-Men comic that says the novel was written with a prologue comic series in mind, but that the comic only came to fruition just 2 months before it came out! Which was just a month ahead of the book. So it seems Marvel/Paramount knew they wanted to do one, but wanted the book done before writing it, and Michael Jan Friedman put some vague references to the comic in it, but nothing concrete. (In the comic they're given wrist devices that are called one thing in the comic and another thing in the novel!) So, as Chris says, I think you can just read Planet X with little to no problems. I will say that getting Second Contact was quite expensive for a 14 year old tie-in comic.

JD wrote:

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I've been dying to read that ever since I saw this on the Archaia website.

Whoa! That video really captures the feel of the book. I wish I had seen that before reading the bonus interviews in the back of Siegfried as they talk about the "pilot episode" quite a bit and I believe this it. But yeah, do give the book a read. I really loved it, and can't wait for more. I can only hope Alice gets the film going as that is beautiful.

[Cap'n Crunch]

I finished Starfleet Academy: The Assassination Game and started Stargate SG-1: Four Dragons.

[Fer]

BritishSeaPower wrote:

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Everything that Christopher says is true Fer. The TOS/X-Men crossover comic is indirectly mentioned in the TNG/X-Men comic but I haven't seen a reference to it in the novel, yet. There's a bit of backmatter in the TNG/X-Men comic that says the novel was written with a prologue comic series in mind, but that the comic only came to fruition just 2 months before it came out! Which was just a month ahead of the book. So it seems Marvel/Paramount knew they wanted to do one, but wanted the book done before writing it, and Michael Jan Friedman put some vague references to the comic in it, but nothing concrete. (In the comic they're given wrist devices that are called one thing in the comic and another thing in the novel!) So, as Chris says, I think you can just read Planet X with little to no problems. I will say that getting Second Contact was quite expensive for a 14 year old tie-in comic.

Thanks, BritishSeaPower and Christopher. I won't bother waiting to read the comics, then!

[Skywalker]

I've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately, so I've started reading Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It's the first time I've picked it up in years. I admit it's not the greatest book ever, but it was kind of my introduction to fantasy literature, so I have a lot of fond memories of it. It's fun to go back and revisit them.