I've been on the same chapter of Stephen Baxter's Manifold: Origin for like a week and a half. My students this year have been... a unique challenge, I'll say that much. Hoping to get a bunch of reading done over the holidays. Phew. At least I got a night in to read Poisoned Chalice!
Just finished Paths of disharmony and I'm still reeling from the ending of that book. I want to get through the Typhoon pact series so that I can start on The fall. So I'll be starting The struggle within next.
Took a break from Trek to read the political book Double Down about the 2012 Presidential elections. Same pair of guys that did Game Change a few years ago which got turned into an HBO movie. As I thought however, Fearful Symmetry couldn't hold my interest. To many Kiras running around. So I'm going to jump into the books that I've been itching to get to for awhile, the Terok Nor trilogy. This will be my last DS9 books before starting TNG wing of novels.
Well latest book has been completed, "Distant Early Warning" by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore. I wasn't that sure what to expect as I hadn't read any Vanguard or SCE books prior to it but it was an enjoyable experience. Review is up here for anyone who is interested in my deeper thoughts.
Read all three Hunger Games novels over the weekend. Hunger Games is outstanding. Catching Fire is really good, and then Mockingjay is just kind of mediocre. I think that the upcoming movies might actually eclipse the book (no Twilight pun intended). I know this was primarily aimed at teenage girls, but I thought I was going to explode if I had to read the word "kissing" one more time. I've been rotating through three books during my reading time in morning. Dune by Frank Herbert (reread) Burning Paradise by Robert Charles Wilson - already really entertaining right off the bat The Terror by Dan Simmons - finally picking up in the second act. way too much discussion of climbing equipment
Finally just finished reading "Chainmail" by Diane Carey (2001, Gateways #2) and previously read "Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy" by Susan Neiman (2002) and "I See Satan Fall Like Lightning" by Rene Girard (translated by James G. Williams, 1999, 2001). They worked well together. Also reading more Plato (moving to the most dubious works which are by imitators). "Chainmail" has a difficult start then gets plain silly then develops an interesting metaphor and also interesting approaches to technology. It could be like combining Piers Anthony's "Mode" Series with Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (well maybe). The rest of my Gateways volumes are now hardcopy books. Got 20 ST books read this year so far. At least four more to go in order to tread water.
Read the (sob!) final issue of FEARLESS DEFENDERS last night. A shame Marvel cancelled that. As a lifelong DEFENDERS fan, I was really enjoying it. Strange but true: Go prowling through the letter columns in eighties-era DEFENDER comics and you'll find several printed letters from a "Greg Cox" in Washington state.
Just posted my review of Deep Space Nine: Section 31: Abyss by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang. I recently finished Apocalypse for Beginners by Nicolas Dickner. I really enjoyed that one! Right now I'm reading Mission Gamma, Book 2: This Gray Spirit by Heather Jarman.
Didn't realize they were publishing Grimm novels. I'll be picking it up. And I see a second one is coming out in February. Thanks for the tip.
I'm waiting for Dayton Ward's Peaceable Kingdoms to arrive and have decided to re-read KRAD's TLE story, The Art of The Impossible, in the interim. Absoultely love this book! Been awhile since i've read it.
Finished Vanguard: Open Secrets, but I've decided to put that series aside for now so that I can catch up on The Fall. Just started The Crimson Shadow earlier tonight.
Just started reading From History's Shadow so can't really judge it, except to say it seems as good as a typical Dayton Ward book but I've decided the cover is my favorite Star Trek book cover for this year.
MWB's Burning Dreams. Good book that depicts Pike's life on Talos IV with Vina. A lot of flashback stuff too capturing their early lives. Can be slow at parts but is a nice read overall.
A few days ago I finished Royal Pains: Sick Rich by D.P. Lyle. The author pretty much nailed the characterizations in this and the previous book. The author is also a doctor, so I assume that the medical jargon makes sense, but since I'm not a doctor I can't be sure. Unlike the previous novel, this one doesn't seem to have much of a plot. It's mostly just Hank treating a variety of patients, with a few things vaguely resembling an A story and a B story, but they don't really play a large part until the last half. That said, I did kind of enjoy it if only because I got to spend a little time with the characters, but I think the first novel is better. I then read "The White Ship" by H.P. Lovecraft. I followed that up with the Star Trek: New Frontier comic, Turnaround. I'm now reading Star Trek: New Frontier: Treason by Peter David.