So what are you reading? Part VI

[CaptainSarine]

Finished Star Wars: Shadow Games, a nice little throw back to the Original Trilogy time and a welcome return for Shadow of the Empire's Dash Rendar.

Currently reading Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. So far an intriguing look at the early weather service and the turn of the century hurricane that destroyed 1900 Galveston, Texas.

 

[Sakrysta]

FINALLY finished Full Circle. I'm sorry to say I didn't like it very much, especially since I can't seem to come up with a good reason why. Too many story lines, maybe, I don't know. I had to force myself to finish, and this has me going into Unworthy with my enthusiasm diminished.

 

[PKS8304]

About halfway through David R George III's Mission Gamma book Twilight, I tricked my friends when I told them I was reading Twilight lol

Im having a hard time getting through this and I dont necessarily think its his writing because I liked his other book in the Typhon Pact set.

I guess to me it just feels like he is telling a story and then goes off on a tangent for like 12 pages then gets back to the story. I realize this is a setup book for the actually Mission Gamma so he has alot of transition and filler material to put into place but being that the book is 504 pages Im seeing alot of filler stuff.

Did anyone else have a hard time reading this book? Am I making any sense or just rambling?

 

[Christopher]

FINALLY finished Full Circle. I'm sorry to say I didn't like it very much, especially since I can't seem to come up with a good reason why. Too many story lines, maybe, I don't know. I had to force myself to finish, and this has me going into Unworthy with my enthusiasm diminished.

For what it's worth, Full Circle had to tie up a couple of years' worth of lingering continuity issues while simultaneously setting up a new direction (which could certainly explain your sense of it having too many storylines), whereas Unworthy and Children of the Storm are more tightly focused on that new direction.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Beyer's Voyager novels get better. Full Circle was good, Unworthy was great, Children of the Storm was superb. The Eternal Tide will be fantastic. Her books are pretty much universally adored on these boards.

 

[Fer]

PKS8304, I know what you mean. I loved the book, but I did find myself going "When are we leaving for the Gamma Quadrant, already?!?" After a while I let my expectations go and just enjoyed the character interaction. In hindsight, I look at this book as what the DS9 relaunch could use now-- something that builds up the DS9 family again.

Sakrysta, Allow me to echo Christopher and Brother Benny. Unworthy is the book that really moves things forward, especially for Chakotay. You may find you like it better.

As for me, I finished Indistinguishable from Magic a few days ago, and have moved on to the novelization of Attack of the Clones. I liked that it started out showing us a good bit of the back story with Shmi Skywalker, and the movie proper doesn't start until somewhere around page 35.

I'm not sure what's on deck after that, but I'm leaning towards The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Asher. I've never read anything by them before but I stumbled across it in the bookstore recently, and I really like the concept-- two kids in 1996 install AOL to try out the internet, and when they log on they find they're viewing their future Facebook pages from 2011. What do you do with the future knowledge? How much do you even want to know? (Plus I seem to have developed a time travel theme with the books I've been reading this year, so this might be a good one to close it out with.)

 

[PKS8304]

the whole "dont know what you've got til its gone" eh? Im in the process of playing catch up with the DS9 novels, 2012 will be the year for me to do that.
When Avatar 1 and 2 came out I read them, I also read the tie in novels to Sector 31 and Gateways but that was where I stopped. I see that since then ALOT of DS9 relaunch books have come out!
I may very well reach the end and look back at this book in a new light, but at the moment Im as you said, itching to get to the Gamma Quadrant lol.

Im having a similar problem with "Soul of the Fire" by Terry Goodkind. I read the first 4 books cover to cover in the Sword of Truth series after seeing Legend of the Seeker on TV (boo that it got canceled after 2 seasons!!!)
When I got to this book though, I dont know it just was really hard to get into

Oh well, Im sure things will take off in no time flat

 

[BrotherBenny]

I'm going to start reading The Fallen by Mark Terry. It's currently free for the Kindle and I've been wanting this book ever since it came out.

 

[C. Cole-Chakotay]

I'm reading Ark by Stephen Baxter. I just finished Flood by him and am looking to see how Ark compares.

 

[JD]

As for me, I finished Indistinguishable from Magic a few days ago, and have moved on to the novelization of Attack of the Clones. I liked that it started out showing us a good bit of the back story with Shmi Skywalker, and the movie proper doesn't start until somewhere around page 35.

I read most of that when it came out, and the only thing I really remember about the book is how much great stuff Salvatore added to the movie's story. I'm one of the few people out there who actually likes the movie, but I still liked what I read of the book even more. The other added scene that sticks out for me is another added scene

Spoiler: minor spoilers about another added scene

later in the story, with Jango and Boba Fett fishing off of one of the buildings on Kamino. I don't remember much about what specifically happened, but I do remember really liking the depth it added to the Fetts' relationship.

 

[Thrawn]

^ This is all true. However, the Revenge of the Sith novelization is still light years better. That's one of the better sci-fi books I've ever read, and certainly the best novelization I've ever seen.

 

[Fer]

^ This is all true. However, the Revenge of the Sith novelization is still light years better. That's one of the better sci-fi books I've ever read, and certainly the best novelization I've ever seen.

Looking forward to it! Although it will probably take me a while to get to it, as I'm going through all the original Clone Wars books first. (Not the ones based on the TV show, though; I'm saving those for another time, since I feel like the series follows a different timeline than the one that the books and comics originally set up.)

And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who enjoyed the prequels!

 

[JD]

I just finished up Spock's World and while it takes place in a unique version of Star Trek that doesn't necessarily line up with latter canon, I loved it. I thought the modern storyline was fairly interesting, not really the most action packed storyline, but still a interesting look at Vulcan, with great characterizations for the main and guest characters. The Vulcan history stuff on the other hand was awsome, I've always liked Vulcans and I thought Duane came up a great history for them. The only minor problem was that it didn't line up with what was later established, but I can't really hold this against Diane Duane, since she had no idea what was going to be established in the future. I think the biggest ones were the fact that the Vulcan/Romulan split was done fairly peacefully here, while later series implied that it was the end result of a pretty nasty war.The other big one is that they have the Vulcans just establishing a relationship with humans in the 2180s, years after the Federation had already been established.
My rating: 9/10 (it probably would have been a 10/10 if the modern stuff was a little more exciting)

 

[John Clark]

Finished Body Double by Tess Gerritsen. Next up is Warpath by David Mack

 

[JD]

I finished Prophecy and Change today. I tried to read the Garak story, "The Calling" but all of the references to Robinson's convention play were annoying me, so I jumped ahead to the 2 page closing story "Revisited part two". New up is Summer Knight, the fourth Dresden Files novel. I'd actually been reading these and a couple other books at the same time, but I've decided to finish the books one at a time, and then only read one or two books at a time instead of the four or five I'd been reading.

 

[Starbreaker]

The Skin Map by Stephen R Lawhead.

I'll talk more about The Chronoliths later, but I was really disappointed.

 

[PKS8304]

Not sure if this counts for on here, but Im re-reading my run on Marvel's Thunderbolts #1-75, "Best Intentions" crossover w/Avengers, New Thunderbolts 1-17 (switches to original numbering at 100) run ends at 109.

109 comics plus annuals, one shots, mini series...

All together aboutt he length of a novel lol

 

[Starbreaker]

Okay, I'm going into a massive spoiler heavy rant on The Chronoliths, so... if anyone is interested in reading the novel, turn away know. I'm about to ruin what little plot this novel has.

A mysterious structure appears in Thailand. A computer programmer and his family are living there, and our computer nerd Scott just happens to be near this giant obelisk when it lands. He and a buddy are arrested for getting to close to. The government is suspicious of them. Meanwhile, his daughter gets a serious ear infection and has to go to the hospital. His wife can't get in touch with him. SHE LEAVES THE COUNTRY AND DIVORCES HIM. What???? The mysterious artifacts are found to be coming from the future and are monuments of battles won by a faction or a man called Kuin. This never amounts to anything.

Poorly plotted, uninteresting and underdeveloped characters, unneccessary violence towards women, and an unsatisfying ending. An interesting premise is squandered. The first 30 pages are great, but Wilson quickly has no idea where he's going.

 

[Thrawn]

^ That may be true, I haven't read Chronoliths, but I've read Spin and Julian Comstock (two of his later novels) and LOVED them. Two of my all-time favorites. So it may be worth giving Wilson another shot.

 

[RandyS]

Last night I started Issac Asimov's The Martian Way.