Books Read 2011

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Isgrimnur
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

Dead Until Dark (First of The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, basis for True Blood)

Decent enough story, but nothing really compelling me to continue onward with it. I missed the opportunity to watch the first season on HBO On Demand last month. Anna Paquin notwithstanding, I don't see myself becoming invested in either series.

A Game of Thrones

The re-read has begun. I started behind the series, caught up, and then passed it. I enjoyed going through it. It's been probably 10 years since I've read any of them, as I read the third book, but didn't read the fourth at the time of release, as I kept expecting the "second half" of that story to be released any time. But we all know how that story progresses and there's enough discussion of both the series and the books to maintain any conversation about it here.

Current reading:

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin - 1933-1945 in the countries between the two empires. Feel good, family book of the year. :|

White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20 - The fight for an independent Polish country rising out of the end of WWI and fighting off the Russians.

A Clash of Kings
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King :binky: :binky: :binky:

The story in Dreamcatcher isn't bad, but even King's normally compelling characterizations could make me care about the mostly Maine rednecks featured in this alien invasion story. Part of the reason is I don't really ever want to mind-meld with a retarded person, and this was a common theme of the story. Another annoyance was the nature of the invading aliens -- basically spores that could take control of victims or impregnate them with something resembling a worm/weasel hybrid. No scientists were involved, but the military was.

The "sh*t weasels" as the were called were born in an tradition dating back to Alien, but the "pregnancy" was a litany of fart jokes. It was crude, and wholly uninteresting, at least to adult readers. Often I find something to like about a Stephen King book, but this time, there is very little to recommend.

Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today by David Clark :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

We are all familiar with the stories of the Black Death -- epidemics of plague that wreaked havoc upon medieval communities. Many of us also know how Smallpox devastated the native American population, paving the way for European colonization. What is less known is how disease was behind some of the more cataclysmic events in human history. The fall of the Roman Empire. The rise and fall of the world's religions (it is still happening today -- STDs such as AIDS are paving the way for sexually-repressive religions such as Islam). The germination of today;s pandemics, or would-be bouts of pestilence.

Ever since mankind started to congregate in cities, epidemics, whether viral, bacterial, or fungal, have been an unwelcome side-effect of high population density. Humans aren't the only victims -- our livestock and crops also are prone for the same reasons we are.

The pathology of these diseases is also fascinating in their own right. A deadly virus such as Ebola has a high mortality rate right now, but has trivial effect upon other animals that incubate the virus. A viral or bacterial contagion can sweep through an un-exposed community with a devastatingly high mortality rate. But as long as that rate is less than 100%, there will be survivors with an accidental resistance to the infection. In true Darwinian fashion, they will continue to breed, and by the time population is back to critical mass, there is a much higher percentage of resistance and the ensuing plague will be commensurately weaker. Lather, rinse, repeat, and after a time what was once a death sentence is now a sick day off of work.

Smallpox and syphilis plagues created a manpower shortage that lead to the industrial revolution in the west. The prosperity of those nations today can be traced back to this pivotal time in history. Overcrowded third world nations of today have been largely unsuccessful leveraging industry and technology mostly because a vast number of impoverished people can't support it economically. These same countries are also hotbeds of new, novel diseases, although many of the oldies, such as malaria, still rack up prodigious body counts.

Because microbiology is a relatively new science, Clark uses conjecture and vague references to make his case on the role of disease shaping the course of human events. But he does so in a very plausible manner. Wars, politics and religious upheaval make a little more sense now, although the idea that such things will inevitably continue can be rather disconcerting. On the plus side, we have made big strides these past 200 years when it comes to combating biological disasters. Our population explosion to 7 billion is testament to our success. But this doesn't mean we are immune to an upwards of 80% haircut...and in today's global environment, such a plague could hit everywhere at once. The stuff of scientific horror movies and novels? You bet. But the best science fiction is that based in science fact.

The Lazy Project Manager by Peter Taylor :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

I saw what you did there. By appealing to our natural slothfulness, Peter Taylor suckers us into a book that makes you think it will teach you how to effectively manage projects while indulging in the fat, dumb and stupid lifestyle. But in fact, Taylor tells us, not without considerable humor, how we can be more effective, astute project mangers. Any program that includes a segment where one "works his ass off" is probably not for the lazy; although Taylor does a great job advising when we should be doing the heavy lifting and when we should delegate to others.

Anyone familiar with Project Management terminology (PMI, etc.), will be familiar with the stages of a project that Taylor covers throughout this book. He is writing this for those familiar with such terms -- this book is not a primer for project management wannabes. In the end, he does a rather humerus job consolidating the bulk of the text to s short summary for the truly lazy. Essentially, it comes down to: work your ass off at the beginning of the project, getting your ducks all in a row; then coast through the project execution phase, doing as little hands-on work as possible. Then get busy again at the end, wrapping it up and completing the lessons-learned portion.

Most project management texts are light on the actual management aspect; and therefore a lot of project managers tend to be work-a-holics (whether they want to or not). Peter Taylor reminds us it is okay to let others do the bulk of the work, and is often necessary to the success of the project to encourage this. His advise is more general management than project management, but it is a good combination and anyone following his suggestions might find they are a better all-around manager, and a pretty good project manager as well.
Last edited by Jeff V on Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Strikemasters by Bill Kellan

Strikemasters ranks among the worst books I've read. It is formulaic, presents military in impossible terms, is a blatant copy of already existing plots, and is basically a joke all around. I've read most technothrillers, from Harold Coyle to Tom Clancy to Dale Brown and plenty of people in between. Bill Kellan, in his "Strikemasters" attempts to emulate the style, but came up miles short.

Premise: US have a secret of secrets base, hidden even more than Area 51... called Area 153 (three times ore secret than Area 51, get it? 51x3? Ha-ha). Test pilot "Gunn" was sent on secret orders to join this group of misfits... flying three modified C-17's, which is so stealthed, it's even SOUND-stealthed (think Blue Thunder) and visually stealthed (smart-skin). One's the gunship, one's a dropship (paratroopers) and one's a tank landing ship. When Al Qaeda offshoot kidnapped 5 USAID workers in Pakistan and want to execute them on TV, Strikemasters are called in to deal with them... by the program's leader, because one of the hostages was his daughter.

Do you see the problem? I don't mind a bit of tech. I am a BIG fan of science fiction. However, putting super-stealth technology on a TRANSPORT PLANE? AND technology that just WORKS without ANY sort of explanation? It's impossible to sound-stealth a jet, even with active sound cancelling. You certain't can't quiet the rush of air. Smartskin is possible but a plane is impossible to keep absolutely clean, and any dirt will make the smartskin active camo useless. The premise of the leader of the program sending in the group as a private army is even MORE ridiculous. This guy is even more reckless than Rambo.

Let me describe a scene, and you tell me if it makes any sense. The tank-carrier plane intercepted a corp jet and through some sort of impossible eavesdropping tech, determined that UBG (ultimate bad guy) is onboard, but this jet doesn't have weapons. So what they did was... the stealth plane overtook the jet, still stealthed, then opened the rear ramp, so the tank use the main cannon to shoot the other plane out of the sky.

WTF?! Haven't this guy heard of wingtip vortex turbulence? You can't fly in front of the other plane without the other plane knowing it, even if you are positively CLOAKED! And haven't this guy heard of COAX machine gun? WTF?!

This guy reads like someone who wrote a technothriller without doing ANY research except what he *think* the military ought to operate like, then proceed to throw laws of physics out the window. There's a ton more impossible situations in the book that defies logic.

All being said, this is one of the most idiotic books I've read. Good thing I only paid a buck for it, and even then I felt it's sorta wasted.

Rating: Avoid it like the plague

http://crankyreviews.blogspot.com/2011/ ... itary.html" target="_blank
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

The First Law Series: Book 2

Before They are Hanged

by Joe Abercrombie




I was pleased that the second book in the series continued the excellent writing of the first. This book continues the adventures and ends with disappointment, death and mystery. And I am looking forward to the third book, which I will start today.

There are some great characters in these books, and while Abercrombie added sex to the second book (meh) he maintained his wonderful work in fleshing out the characters from the first book.

And I still have no idea how this will end.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by GreenGoo »

silverjon wrote:You needed to read The Hobbit when you were about ten.
I still love it and return to it every once in awhile. Maybe every 5 years? My oldest is 6 and when I'm sure he's mature enough to sit still and really listen, I'll read it to him. Of course he's not too far off being able to read it himself but...
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Re: Books Read 2011

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I prefer the Hobbit of the LOTR books.......
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by silverjon »

Amend to first read when you were younger? Now feel free to tell me you didn't until you were in your 30s or later.

I read and enjoy a lot of children's fiction, and some of it is deeply meaningful, but I adjust my expectations according to the primary target audience for anything new to me, and try to account for the nostalgia factor with my old friends.
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

I think I read the Hobbitt in my early 20's....and then read it to my kids as a bedtime story.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Holman »

I read the Hobbit to my boys when they were six and four. The six-year-old enjoyed it, and the four-year-old enjoyed the parts I really "performed" well.

I don't think the full story will stick with them from that reading. Scattered episodes will. But I think the main thing is that they saw how much I enjoyed reading them this book, especially. That's good in all kinds of ways.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

I'm going to make sure my kids (should there be any) are able to read it for themselves at that age (6 or so). If they can't, that means I'd probably have to consign them to a "special needs" school.

Of course, this means I can't wait until the public school system decides to teach them to read. Then again, my parents weren't active teachers, but by that age, I was pissing my mom off asking her to drive me to the library several times per week so I could bring home a stack of books.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by silverjon »

It's entirely possible for a child to enjoy being read to as interactive parental time, or for books beyond what they can read alone, and still be able to read, you grand curmudgeon you.
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

Jeff V wrote:I'm going to make sure my kids (should there be any) are able to read it for themselves at that age (6 or so). If they can't, that means I'd probably have to consign them to a "special needs" school.

Of course, this means I can't wait until the public school system decides to teach them to read. Then again, my parents weren't active teachers, but by that age, I was pissing my mom off asking her to drive me to the library several times per week so I could bring home a stack of books.
My oldest was reading chapter books at 7....so I was no longer reading to her by then as she preferred to read to herself. My youngest took forever, and we finally had her diagnosed as dyslexic. It is no wonder she never wanted to read.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Jeff V »

The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Zacks sympathetic portrayal of Captain Kidd highlights the corruption of early 18th century England, as well as the telling the tale of danger on the high seas. Kidd was commissioned as a privateer, sponsored by some highly-placed nobles in English society and carrying a commission by the king. Privateers, however, occupied a legal gray area. Unlike a military ship, there was no guaranteed pay -- the ship had to take a prize for the crew to get paid. Legal prizes were enemies of state, or pirate vessels. They also did not get prime military seaman to crew the ship -- often, ships were filled with dregs from prisons and other naturally inclined ne'er-do-wells.

Kidd maintained to the end he operated as an honorable privateer, serving his commission. However, He once faced a mutiny by his crew, anxious for a prize when none was forthcoming. In a fit of passion, Kidd clocked the gunnery officer with what became a fatal blow when the gunner encouraged the crew to take an allied Dutch vessel. This would be Kidd's undoing in the end.

The first half of the story details a captain determined to do right, but often facing a dilemma due to the nature of his work. Kidd takes an Arab vessel, which ought to pay off handsomely. Things just don't work out that way, however, and when docked in Puritanical Boston, he is arrested on unspecified charges.

The remainder of the book details Kidd's incarceration, as well as the fate of other rouges associated with Kidd at the time. In the end, Kidd's treasure was inaccessible, and the resulting poverty was the primary reason he could not afford legal council that likely could have exonerated him. As it turned out, perjuring "witnesses" commanded the attention of the jury, and things didn't work out so well for the erstwhile captain. The fact his treasure horde was never found grants Kidd a legacy that endures to this day.

Global Climate Change: The Book of Essential Knowledge by Ernest Zebrowski :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

As a life-long student of science, I appreciate literature that describes the current state-of-knowledge in concise, easy-to-grasp terms. The subtitle of "Global Climate Change" is "The Book of Essential Knowledge" and in this respect, the author is true to his word. Zebrowski not only describes what we know now, beyond any reasonable doubt, but he also acknowledges the motivations behind detractors and addresses their arguments as well.

Of course, when it comes to using scientific research to combat industry-driven motivation, it's rather like shooting fish in a barrel. The evidence for global climate change really is overwhelming -- the straws the opposition grasps at are just that: straws. The data we have for climate change is really all pretty recent, but we also have managed to accumulate some pretty good estimations of historical climate fluctuations. And what we know is that at present course, we will inflict irrevocable damage on the climate of t he planet: ice caps will melt; coastal communities will cease to exist, and our current "bread baskets" could be rendered into unproductive desert. Has such a thing happened before? Yes, but not under current climatic conditions. Just because Mother Nature screws with the status quo every few hundred thousand years doesn't mean we should throw our arms up and assume this very moment is one of those times. The data available does not indicate this is the case. By curtailing our polluting ways, we could still stave off disaster. But it takes active effort and cooperation; it takes politicians with the nerve and fortitude to stand up to industries that stand to lose and act for the good of both humanity and the planet.

In related events, the decedents of Kidd ultimately did well for themselves once property in New York and Manhattan was restored to his widow. His descendants include governors and senators and one signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Sometimes, bad things happen to not-so-bad people, and this book is testimony to one history's most illustrious examples.

Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

James Bond, the movie star, might be shelved for unforeseeable future, but he lives again in literature. No, Zombie Ian Fleming didn't crack out a posthumous volume. Veteran suspense writer Jeffery Deaver takes up the mantle with another tail featuring our favorite secret agent.

Bond movies are pretty formulaic, and Deavers' book follows suit. Smart, powerful villains, impossible situations, and goofy gadgets are all here. This James Bond seems based on the hardened, terse Daniel Craig version. A combat veteran of Afghanistan, we find out a little more about his past, particularly his parents. This is the sort of content you just won't get in a movie -- it doesn't really promote the action, but it does flesh out the character.

Also to the formula the book ends with an unexpected twist. Is a twist unexpected if you expect it to be there? Hmm. In any case, Deaver executes it in style, and the book had a satisfying, entertaining end.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

The author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sticks with his undead theme. Well-researched, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter takes our most illustrious of presidents and adds more than a bit of Buffy to his resume. Grahame is adept enough to include all that is well known about our 16th President, but fills in the gaps with tales of his private life as a dispatcher of undead.

It all starts when young Abe witnesses his mother's early death. Later, he comes to find it was caused by a vampire, and Abe strives to learn all he could about the creatures who deprived him of his beloved mother. The result is a tortured life often compared with that of Job -- his resolve to do good is tested time and again by personal tragedy.

Grahme weaves fact and fantasy masterfully -- sure, the premise is absurd, but he never lets on for a moment that he thinks so. In the end, if the United States was suffering from a 19th Century vampire infestation, it would be quite plausible that our greatest President was intimately involved in their demise. And what better setup for a fantasy novel?

50/50 Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days by Dean Karnazes :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

In 2006, ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes realized a goal that had been simmering in his mind for a number of years: to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Originally conceived as an epic family excursion, the realities of pulling it off amidst other family member's obligations made it seem unlikely to ever bear out. When outdoor outfitter The North Face stepped up with a sponsorship offer, suddenly the unlikely was not only possible, but would have the resources needed to pull it off.

50/50 not only contains anecdotes from the more than 7 week journey, but also is loaded with tips useful for runners of all abilities. Most of us will never have Karnazes'
freakish ability to run all day, then do it again the next, and again the day after...etc. Dean was both inspiring and inspired by the people he encountered along the way -- countless individuals who planned to run for just a half and wound up keeping pace to go far beyond what they thought possible. Karnazes rents himself out as a motivational speaker, and while he questions the dubious effect one can have on another if the passion is not already there, he does have a flair for tapping into deep-seated ambition and bringing it to the surface where it can do some good.

Dean Karnases is my exact age, so I am definitely not over-the-hill when it comes to setting new athletic milestones. Running a full marathon has been kicking around the back of my brain, kept there by the simple fact I do not love running like Karnazes does. As far as challenges go, however, it is an attainable one: I've run many half-marathons and occasionally train beyond that distance. The next step I suppose to just sign up and do it. And next year, I think I will.

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

I'm a career IT guy, so I'm somewhat familiar with the sort of characters that engage in the pursuit of computer hacking. The name Kevin Mitnick was somewhat familiar, but before reading this book I probably couldn't have told you why. These days, we associate hacking with things such as identity and credit card theft, all very bad things. Mitnick, however, got his start before the days of ubiquitous internet access -- when computers were still the domain of large corporations and universities.

Mitnick's tale is utterly amazing -- more thrilling than any fictional novel on the same subject. First and foremost, it's a primer on social engineering. Mitnick wasn't just a technical genius -- he could think quickly on his feet and effortlessly convince others that he was who he claimed to be, usually an employee entitled to privileged information that he requested. Unlike highly publicized break-ins and thefts of today, Mitnick wasn't doing it to reap millions -- aside from cloning some cell phone numbers, he didn't profit at all from his activities. But the mere fact he could compromise the phone company as well as major software developers such as Novell and DEC, Mitnick made himself a target of FBI scrutiny in an era where displaying such technical wizardry evoked fear and loathing from those who had little understanding of technology or the implications of his actions.

Mitnick's refusal to play within the system brought him much heartache -- he spent years on the run as a wanted fugitive. However, in spite of bad things happening, he could not refrain from the thrill of hacking. He turned his talents against the FBI pursuit, obtaining emails and voice mails from snitches and compromised acquaintances. Time and again, he learns there is no honor among thieves -- others also engaging in hacking are less brethren than they are people willing to throw him under a bus to get their way.

I suppose Mitnick's tale has a happy ending. He spent a lot of time in prison -- much of it in solitary confinement because the government believed he could wreak untold havoc merely by touching a phone. Today, however, he is a coveted consultant in the business of "ethical hacking;" hired by companies to help expose their own security flaws. He also has written several best-selling books and received a rock star treatment on his book tours.

If Mitnick would have made through a proper education program (much of his knowledge was self-taught), he likely would have had less notoriety but could possibly have made a name for himself among the technical giants of the computer industry. His story was both amazing and unnecessary -- it's a shame he couldn't find his way sooner. However, his misfortune is our gain in terms of the thoroughly entertaining story that is the life of Kevin Mitnick.
Last edited by Jeff V on Tue Sep 13, 2011 11:01 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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1434, when a Chinese Treasure Fleet landed in Venice and Sparked the Renaissance by Gavin Menzies

1434 is sort of a sequel to 1421, where the author proposed the hypothesis that the Chinese "Treasure Fleet" have visited the America long before Cristobal Colon (a.k.a. Christopher Columbus) came along. In 1434, he goes a step beyond, proposing a hypothesis so outrageous and so contrary to existing history, you cannot help but to take notice, and dismiss the author as a crackpot or hail him as a genius.

In the book 1434, Gavin Menzies claimed that the Renaissance did not arose spontaneously from reemergence of classical knowledge (read: Greek and Roman) but instead, is the result of a Chinese expedition fleet that landed in Venice in 1434. Vast amount of knowledge was given to the Italians by the Chinese, and it is THAT knowledge that sparked the Renaissance.

Initially, the idea is so outrageous, most will dismiss the idea is simply preposterous. However, Gavin Menzies manages to pull enough threads together to illustrate how his alleged history *could* have happened, and account for vast amount of similarities between some Chinese drawings... and drawings by none other than Leonardo DaVinci and his predecessors, and a ton of other interesting clues.

Again, this book is not a serious historical account or study. Gavin Menzies never claims to be a historian. Instead, Mr. Menzies has a theory, and is seeking various evidence to prove his theory. Thus, this hypothesis cannot be "proven" this way. On the other hand, the available information that seem to support this alternative theory is interesting enough that you would want to read it to the end, and make up your own mind whether the evidence warrants further study of this theory.

http://crankyreviews.blogspot.com/2011/ ... -book.html" target="_blank

Confession: I read this book in 2009, and 1421 in 2006. My review of 1421 can still be found here. :)
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

A Clash of Kings

Blah blah blah, forgot a lot of stuff, remembered a few big details, not much else, on to book 3, blah blah blah... :)
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Jump Pay / The Lucky 13th (novel, scifi, war, by Rick Shelley)

Rick Shelley has quite a few books out, concentrating on three series: the Mercenary series, the Lucky 13th series, and Special Ops Squad series. This is a part of the "Lucky 13th" series.

The premise: 13th SAT (Spaceborne Assault Team), i.e. the Lucky 13th, was called upon to spearhead a huge invasion of the enemy arsenal planet "Tomkailo". The enemy is building up troops and equipment for an assault and a Pearl-Harbor-style pre-emptive strike will be needed to destroy most of the arsenal. The action flicks from airborne assault using newly deployed grav belts, to recon squads doing hit and fade on enemy positions, to assault howitzer crews pumping out shells on enemy positions, and aerial fighter "Wasps" dogfighting and performing close-support on the troops, and the commander trying to make sense of the chaos, the war jumps from perspective to perspective, almost too fast to keep up.

Indeed, that is the main problem I have with the series: the action just keep flicking so fast that you have a hard time keeping up. As a result, you don't really get attached to any of the characters. They feel like cliches: the hard sergeant, the dumb rookie, the contemplative lieutenant, the colonel who have to choose between duty and not spending his soldiers needlessly. The enemy have no faces, no motivation. They are simply the bad guy. The weapons described makes little sense even though they sound quite futuristic. What happened to grenades? (enemy have RPGs) Or tanks? (enemy has tanks!) Or light armor?

Or as someone else puts it, this is like Hammer's Slammers, except it makes much less sense.

Rating: borrow it from a library and see if you like the style. I don't.

EDIT: apparently Mr. Shelley died in 2001

http://crankyreviews.blogspot.com/2011/ ... i-war.html" target="_blank
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

The Last Argument of Kings

by Joe Abercrombie

This is book three of the First Law trilogy. It is a very good book ending a very good trilogy. The events in the book are follow the characters established in the first book. There is war and great battles and enough death for anyone, all told in Abercrombie's unique style.

Perhaps not the best trilogy ever....but easily in the top ten.

4.5 of 5
Highly Recomended
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by WYBaugh »

Hard Magic by Larry Correia :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

The book first caught my eye as another fantasy/detective noir type book based on it's description but it's far from that. It starts out with the main character working for Hoover and the FBI to nab killer 'actives' (those that have powers) and then progresses into a wheels within wheels story based in an alternate post WWI world. You have the secretive Grimnoir society fighting against the evil Imperium (Japanese).

The book is excellent and keeps a good action flow throughout. He does a good job of mixing actual events and people (Tunguska, Tesla, Pershing) into the book and making it absolutely believable in an action adventure sort of way. People who have powers are considered actives and usually maintain a specific power. You have 'heavies' that can alter gravity, 'travelers' that can teleport to other locations, 'mouths' who can bend their will up others, 'healers', 'cogs' (albert einstein), etc. The power system is very cool and makes for great battle scenes.

I'm doing a poor job of describing the book but if you enjoy a good, fast read then definitely check this out. Can't wait for the second to come out!
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by WYBaugh »

The River of Shadows by Robert V. S. Redick :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

I guess when you have two middle names you're destined to write fantasy...

This is the third book of the Chathrand Voyage and should have been the finale but he pulled a Martin on us and it's continuing. It's not up to the first two books but is a good read if not for being draggy in parts.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Bad Demographic »

The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler
Bryant & May On the Loose by Christopher Fowler
Bryant & May Off the Rails by Christopher Fowler

Once when I was at Barnes & Noble I found a book called “The Water Room” by Christopher Fowler. It was a spooky mystery featuring a pair of octogenarian London detectives. I wasn't sure how much I liked the book so I thought I'd try another. I picked up the first book in the series “Full Dark House” and ended up hooked.
In “The Victoria Vanishes” Bryant and May investigate the murders of middle-aged women in pubs. They think they know who the murderer is but there's no apparent motive. Then he starts leaving them clues.
In “Bryant & May On the Loose”, the Peculiar Crimes Unit (the unit Bryant & May lead) is shut down. All the members have gone their own (mostly jobless) way. Then a decapitated corpse is found in the freezer in a shut down shop, exactly the kind of case the PCU was established to investigate. John May manages to get Arthur Bryant to come out of his forced retirement and they get the band back together. They are allowed to investigate the murder when a second decapitated corpse is found, but are given very little funding, no offices and no access to other police information.
In “Bryant & May Off the Rails”, the PCU is allowed to continue to operate, but only if they can solve a number of murders that take place in the London Underground. The unit is still operating out of the shabby warehouse they used while investigating decapitated corpses (in “Bryant & May on the Loose”), but at least they have access to police records.

I've really enjoyed this series but I've now read all the Bryant & May books. Now I'll have to wait until another comes out. (sad sigh) I've tried to keep my descriptions terse so as not to give away any of the plots – mysteries, you know. I hope some of you will try some of the books and enjoy them, too.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
I read this because 1) I really like the Miyazaki movie of this story and 2) I like Diana Wynne Jones' writing style. Wynne Jones's books are chiefly aimed at children and teens, but are still fun reads for the rest of us.

In “Howl's Moving Castle”, young Sophie is the oldest of the three Hatter children and therefore destined to failure should she seek her fortune outside the home (it's the duty of the oldest to stay home and run the family business). She unwittingly offends the Witch of the Waste who transforms her into an old lady. Sophie goes in search of the wizard Howl, hoping he can break the enchantment and ends up discovering she is much more than just a milliner.

There are a lot of differences between the book and the movie, but both are charming. The characters and plot of the book, of course, have much more depth than the movie.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Kasey Chang »

Just finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers is a perculiar book. The first few chapters seem to be saying something, that environment seem to account for far more than we suspect, but the unifying theme seem to be that there is no such thing as "nature vs. nurture", but rather, "success" is a combination of having the skills and mindset (which results from upbringing) to be able to take advantage of circumstances when they come by.

The book brings up a lot of surprises, and goes off on a couple angles that at first seem to be tangeants, but turned out to be completely related.

For example, just the year you're born in have a HUGE effect on whether you will be successful in sports throughout your life, apparently. Why? The "cut-off date" problem. If the kids born after Jan 1 is eligible to join this class, then kids born in January would enjoy several months of growth advantage over, say, those born in June, or worse, December, and that's enough of a difference to make sure they get training throughout their "career", and thus, excel above their colleagues born under the wrong star sign, so to speak. This is confirmed with people in hockey, baseball, and more, those with hard cut-off dates.

In another, the author goes into "social distances", on how far the perceived distance is between commander and subordinates. In the US the difference is quite small, but in Asia, such distance is huge. And this culture contributed, at least in part, to Korean Air's horrible safety record in the 1990's with multiple crashes and fatalities. The author goes into the language subtexts, the 6 levels of communication (from circumspect suggestion to forceful contradiction), and in the next chapter, even went into why Asians seem to be better in math (answer: because Asian languages are more precise in math concepts... We don't say eleven... we say ten-one).

And one of the more controversial subjects... Why smaller class sizes does NOT help poor children, despite what teacher's unions want you to believe. The real problem with poor children? It wasn't the school. It was the fact that they go to summer vacation, and they REGRESS in learning, while richer children go to library, camp, and so on, and thus, continue to enrich themselves. They come back to school in fall having GAINED skills in reading and math, unlike their poorer fellow students who actually regressed. And facts support this: Japan and China have school in the 220-240 days per year for children. US Children? About 180 days per year.

WHY we succeed? Our parents set us up to got the education we needed to succeed, and sometimes, it's the culture, not just one generation, but MANY generations before.

So in other words, it *does* take a village.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin

A truly enlightening book about the period between 1932 and 1945 that covers the institutionalized death that was enacted on the lands between Germany and the Soviet Union, covering the famines applied to the Ukrain, Stalin's purges, and, of course, the Holocaust.

The book is full of personal details of those who suffered and died at the hands of these two countries, and gives a much deeper insight into how the policies developed and evolved, how they ere applied, and the justifications in play at the time.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Scuzz »

America 1908 by John Rasenberger

This is one of those books where the author details the events that occurred during the year that had a lasting effect on America and the world. Rasenberger admits in the opening of the book that there was nothing magical about the year and that nothing happened in 1908 that couldn't have happened some other year.

He does spend time discussing, and telling the story of many interesting events...

The rise of the Wright Brothers as the pre-eminent experts on flight.

The final year of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency and the 1908 election.

The story of the automobile. The rise of Ford and the story of an auto race from New York to Paris.

The Race Riots of Springfield, Illinois, and the story of how northern white America was turning against the black race, and how this led to the NAACP.

Peary and Cook's race to the North Pole.

The birth of the Progressive Movement.

The National League pennant race between the Cubs and Giants.

Overall I enjoyed the book. Rasenberger's writing style isn't flashy or compelling, but enough of what he is writing about is to make you want to read the book.


3.5 of 5 *
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Chaosraven »

Each time an Anita Blake (l k hamilton) or Sookie Stackhouse (c harris) is released in paperback, I reread the series, so I am 3/4 thru the Blake series after catching up in Stackhouse. Hardcovers out in both right now.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Odin »

I just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy to my family and everyone enjoyed it very much. We're looking forward to the movie.

The next night, I began an infinitely more dense task - reading the Harry Potter series. More magic, much, much less kissing, and I get to read it in a British accent! :D

So far, so good. The kids all love the movies, and they're having fun noting the parts that were cut out. I told them going in that the books were far superior as they had oodles of scenes, characters, and details that simply couldn't fit into the films. Since I can only read them a couple of chapters a night, I expect we'll wrap up around the time my youngest goes off to college. :D
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by rshetts2 »

I sometimes worry about investing myself in a new book series. So while Ive thought about grabbing this book, I managed to put it off until this week.
I finally got The Lies of Locke Lamora. Damn, what a fun read. Im not quite finished with the first book and Ive already grabbed the second one. My only concern it that the third is not out and it seems like its been awhile since the second book.
Ive actually had a hard time putting Lies down, and have found myself reading later than I planned on because I just have to know whats coming next. If the second book is as good as the first, its really going to suck waiting on the third one.
Well do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?
Or that everybody's on the stage and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

A Storm of Swords - on to book 4. I'll get caught up eventually.

Th1rteen R3asons Why, young adult fiction that piqued my interest because it was featured here:

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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by silverjon »

Isgrimnur wrote:Th1rteen R3asons Why, young adult fiction that piqued my interest because it was featured here:
I read that. The narrative device actually worked, so it was quite good. In less skilled hands, it would have been too gimmicky.
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

I enjoyed it. I read most of it on my flight, and it didn't disappoint. The whole thing is under 300 pages, takes place in one night real time with the tapes taking you back to a bunch of different spots in the girl's timeline. And yeah, the method of storytelling really helped keep you engaged, just as the narrator was.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by lildrgn »

Just finished The Terror of Living by Urban Waite. Think Cormac McCarthy in the PacNW and you'll be pretty close. Great read.

Now reading Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Almost finished with Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Had to post early just because it is so good I have not been able to put it down. Typically I finish an average novel in about a week - this one has taken me two days.

The novel concerns a multi-billionaire founder of a virtual reality universe called OASIS who leaves behind an "easter egg" in the code that will enable the finder to inherit his vast fortune. A teenager named Wade Watts embarks on the quest to solve the puzzle before it is obtained by an evil corporation. What makes the novel so fun is that it is absolutely bursting at the seams with 80s pop culture references. You see, the founder of OASIS was a huge fan of the 1980s culture he grew up in, and has embedded his virtual world with recreations of that decade.

Anybody who is a fan of the 80s, video games and/or geek pop culture in general owes it to themselves to read this book!
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Pyperkub »

Pyperkub wrote:Finished:

Against All Things Ending (Book 3 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) - Stephen R. Donaldson

This is the best of this Chronicle so far. But, I was extremely disappointed to discover that it wasn't the final book in the Chronicle - I just figured this was a trilogy too.

Donaldson really tackles Despair in this book (and does it well, while maintaining a good fantasy storyline), and maybe that touched me somewhat as last year was a tough one. From the Amazon reviews, a lot of the readers disliked this aspect of the novel, but I found it good. It's also refreshing to read a book again where the author has a better vocabulary than me.

Little Fuzzy - H. Beam Piper

An old classic, looking at the question of how to define sapience in an alien race. Grabbed for free off of manybooks.net. It's just too bad they don't have the sequel(s?) that I remember reading when I was younger.

Deadly Sanctuary - Sylvia Nobel

This was a freebie for the Kindle, and was fun for the price. It was fun to have a protagonist who didn't carry a gun in a Mystery series, set in Arizona and who was a woman. However, the love triangle was drawn out a little too long, and the ending didn't work right for me. Not a bad read for something light.

Earth - David Brin

This is an old favorite. In the late 80's, Brin decided to do a near future novel along the lines of Orwell's 1984 (which was just 1948, the year he wrote it, transposed) and go about 50 years into the future. Brin is a Hard SF writer who extrapolated a number of trends and technologies from the 80's (and invented a few new ones) to look at what life might be like on Earth in 2038. This book has the Epic scope of Dune, but with the real world grounding, and it holds up, even 20 years later. I highly recommend it to any and all SF readers - it is well written with some solid science and some interesting ideas which resonate even now.

Updated 8/21

Dream War - Stephen Propsapio
Run - Michaelbrent Collings
The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles 1) - Patrick Rothfuss
The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles 2) - Patrick Rothfuss
The Speed of Dark - Elizabeth Moon
The Fifth Witness - Michael Connelly
Instructions for a Broken Heart - Kim Culbertson
It - Stephen King
A Little Death in Dixie - Lisa Turner
Wolf Hunt - Jeff Strand
Darkness on the Edge of Town - J. Carson Black
Season of the Harvest - Michael R. Hicks
The Blade Itself (First Law trilogy) - Joe Abercrombie
Before they are Hanged (First Law trilogy 2) Joe Abercrombie
Last Argument of Kings (First Law trilogy 3) - Joe Abercrombie
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson and Donna Diamond
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
Bump, though I need to get some reviews in.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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YellowKing wrote:Almost finished with Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Had to post early just because it is so good I have not been able to put it down. Typically I finish an average novel in about a week - this one has taken me two days.

The novel concerns a multi-billionaire founder of a virtual reality universe called OASIS who leaves behind an "easter egg" in the code that will enable the finder to inherit his vast fortune. A teenager named Wade Watts embarks on the quest to solve the puzzle before it is obtained by an evil corporation. What makes the novel so fun is that it is absolutely bursting at the seams with 80s pop culture references. You see, the founder of OASIS was a huge fan of the 1980s culture he grew up in, and has embedded his virtual world with recreations of that decade.

Anybody who is a fan of the 80s, video games and/or geek pop culture in general owes it to themselves to read this book!

Wil Wheaton reads the audiobook. Just saying...
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Bad Demographic »

The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
A brilliant young man in Brooklyn is admitted to a super secret school for learning magic.
It's what Harry Potter and Narnia could have been had they been written as a single novel for grown ups. I've seen reviews that didn't like it for precisely that reason - but I really liked it. The sequel is on request at the library.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Another book where a brilliant young man attends a school for learning magic. Not much like Harry Potter at all - darker, more intriguing (why is this guy running an inn in a backwater town and hiding that he's a powerful magician?). There are points where I felt it dragged but mostly I enjoyed this. Book 2 is on request at the library. (but I sure hope book 3 is more than just his telling the story of his life).

A pile of books by Diana Wynne Jones!. As you might guess if you looked at my "books read" list, I've been on a Diana Wynne Jones binge lately. She wrote Howl's Moving Castle (I love the Miyazaki re-imagining of it!) and many other books. Most of the books I've read so far are in the Chrestomanci series (the job of the Chrestomanci is to keep people from misusing magic). Her stories, which all seem to involve magic, are wonderfully written and her characters are engaging. Even though her books were written for children and teens, I am really enjoying them. If you have children, these would be great books to read to them. If you are just reading for yourself, give these a try.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by silverjon »

Bad Demographic wrote:The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
The sequel is on request at the library.
Sequel, eh? (added to library list)

I am working my way through the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men). Incredible YA dystopian fiction, in which Ness touches on media saturation, sexism, colonialism, genocide, and who knows what else by the time I get through it. But presented as one boy's quest to make sense of the world he was born into, it all works so very well. Setting and characters are vividly written and utterly believable. Loss is never a fake-out. Brilliant. Wrenching. Highly recommended.

Edit #1: dictatorships, terrorism, conformity
Edit #2: war, leadership... choices....
Last edited by silverjon on Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by YellowKing »

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Another book where a brilliant young man attends a school for learning magic. Not much like Harry Potter at all - darker, more intriguing (why is this guy running an inn in a backwater town and hiding that he's a powerful magician?). There are points where I felt it dragged but mostly I enjoyed this. Book 2 is on request at the library. (but I sure hope book 3 is more than just his telling the story of his life).
For what it's worth I actually enjoyed Book 2 more than Book 1. It's also a reaaally slow burn but by about midway through you start to realize that the pace only serves to make the story that much richer and deep. I criticized Rothfuss early on, but I stuck with it and got really hooked.
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Re: Books Read 2011

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Thud by Terry Pratchett


This is the 7th in the Night Watch series. I began these books wanting to know all about Carrot and wanting to see where he would go, but Partchett took them into another direction and I have to say he was right. With Vimes as the main character the last three books have been among the best of the series.

Thud is an entertaining book about the problems with Trolls and Dwarves.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes Pratchett..and has read the first 6 books of the Night Watch series.

4 of 5
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Re: Books Read 2011

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"Do Unto Others..." by Michael Z. Williamson.

Another his his "Ripple Creek Security" series, this elite team of bodyguards are contracted to protect the richest private individuals in the world. Unfortunately, someone is trying to kill them (or at least appears to be). When an 'accident' killed the head man, and his brother took over, the team had to disappear quickly, and come up with a plan: help their principal, the daughter, reclaim her company... and in their way are angry miners, rival mercenaries, and a lot of innocent people. But they don't know Ripple Creek mercs... and one of them has a pocket nuke...

Fun read, gets a bit slow at times, as it turned into a bit more of an adventure novel by the end than an executive protection / fighting novel.
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Re: Books Read 2011

Post by Isgrimnur »

A Feast for Crows

A Dance with Dragons

I'm all caught up! This was my first read through of AFfC, so any pending "disappointment" was tempered by knowing that I had the next book in place. All in all, I'm still enjoying the stories and look forward to reading the finale in the nursing home. :)
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