|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 14, 2022 18:22:05 GMT -5
I know there are several readers on these forums so I'm posting about the books I read in the year 2022. I didn't complete many books last year - I try to maintain one per month for the Goodreads challenge - and I utterly failed last year. I determined to make time to read and enjoy books again this year. Part of that effort is maintaining a list here to list them and jot down some notes about each one as I read them. If it encourages others to contribute, that's all the better. Maybe other readers will start their own reading thread? I have read the following books in 2022:
1. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
2. Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter
3. Foundation by Isaac Aasimov
4. Foundation & Empire by Isaac Aasimov
5. Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
6. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
7. Deciding in the next day or so...
|
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 14, 2022 18:34:36 GMT -5
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
[5 stars]
I began reading Dune Messiah after seeing the new DUNE movie. I read the original DUNE novel before seeing the new film, so I was a little late to the party. The original novel was amazing and so was the film. I'm really looking forward to seeing the sequel. This novel is set 12 years after the first novel. The first thing I noticed was that this novel was much slimmer than the first. I still thought it was an excellent follow up. I hear some people don't enjoy it as a sequel compared to the first book, but I did. Yes, it is different from DUNE. That's good. I don't want a carbon copy of the first book. DUNE MESSIAH was still a grand epic, but everything was on a more personal scale. Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn't? Focused might be the right word. The bigger scale is implied but not on full display like DUNE. If I can come up with better thoughts I will reply again.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 14, 2022 19:03:19 GMT -5
Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter
[3 - 3.5 stars]
Two things made me want to read this book. First, it is a sequel to the classic The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. I'm intrigued by the thought of another writer picking up a story and continuing on with it. I know it's been done before with The Second War of the Worlds and other novels. Second, this book has been described as the first steampunk novel. The visuals of cogs, gears, top hats, and steam-powered technology replacing real world developments grabs my attention. I decided to go ahead with this book so I could mix up my reading a bit. The momentum is easier to keep moving if I mix up genres. I will most likely read a fantasy novel next and then return to the Dune series. Enough with the background remarks and on to my thoughts upon completing this book.
Morlock Night was a really quick and easy read. The print is larger than the typical novel printed today so the page count of 322 may be deceptive. That's definitely not a knock against it. There is nothing wrong with having print large enough to be easily read or having a distinct lack of diarrhea of the word processor. The novel reads like it was written in a modern take on the classic science fiction adventure tales more concerned with moving the story forward rather than giving finely detailed scientific explanations for things. It is not hard sci-fi at all. The story is easy to follow but it also lacking.
I believe the biggest omission in Morlock Night is further details about the story. From reading we learn that the Morlocks have the Time Machine and have used it to not only invade but conquer the future Earth. We're only shown one glimpse of that future under Morlock rule. There are a few hints and suggestions scattered throughout but why not show the Morlocks going through time with the machine? Did they go straight to the future? Did they try several stops along the way like the traveler in the original novel? How fruitful were their efforts? I would have preferred a longer, more detailed book (or two) in that manner.
As to the claims about being the first steampunk novel? I wouldn't consider it as such. There is minimal meat on this bone. "Victorian Adventure" or another label might be much more accurate, but I wouldn't call it steampunk at all. I just really don't get that kind of vibe in the least.
It's not a bad book but it isn't great either. I found the premise more interesting than the story upon completion.
|
|
|
|
Post by El Borak on Jan 15, 2022 0:56:49 GMT -5
I suppose I should start some books, but I am kind of read out right now. But keep posting guys, you may entice me to grab a book.
|
|
|
|
Post by simrion on Jan 24, 2022 7:33:34 GMT -5
Just finished Jon Peterson's Game Wizards. Sad and poignant survey of the history of our favorite rpg.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Jan 24, 2022 14:47:27 GMT -5
Just finished Jon Peterson's Game Wizards. Sad and poignant survey of the history of our favorite rpg. I started that at the end of Dec and have not gotten back to it yet. |
|
|
|
Post by hengest on Jan 24, 2022 15:22:16 GMT -5
Just finished Jon Peterson's Game Wizards. Sad and poignant survey of the history of our favorite rpg. This looks a bit too painful for me to seek out, but I look forward to hearing about it on here. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 24, 2022 17:35:51 GMT -5
Just finished Jon Peterson's Game Wizards. Sad and poignant survey of the history of our favorite rpg. Definitely in my TBR pile. |
|
|
|
Post by simrion on Jan 24, 2022 18:51:18 GMT -5
Just finished Jon Peterson's Game Wizards. Sad and poignant survey of the history of our favorite rpg. I started that at the end of Dec and have not gotten back to it yet. Painfully nostalgic for me considering it was Junior/Senior high and a formative time for me. D&D was a wondrous reprieve from the daily grind of school cliques and such. Can't imagine what reading it is like for you considering you were closer to at least one, or more of the parties involved? |
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Jan 24, 2022 22:34:10 GMT -5
I started that at the end of Dec and have not gotten back to it yet. Painfully nostalgic for me considering it was Junior/Senior high and a formative time for me. D&D was a wondrous reprieve from the daily grind of school cliques and such. Can't imagine what reading it is like for you considering you were closer to at least one, or more of the parties involved? I am more like, they all had feet of clay, a lot of stupid happened, and that is life, in other news water is wet. There are things I wish had happened differently, but hey I wish Arneson and Gygax had both lived into their 90s and they would still be with us. At this point in my life, I don't read it for the soap opera stuff, I read it for some useful stuff that sneaks in here and there. Stuff that I like knowing about that can give me ideas, even though that is not the purpose of the book. I was in college when it all began (at least as a published product) so it is a lot different for me. I need to finish reading it so I can post about it and then blog about it. Only a short way into it I found things that IMO are just untrue. I need to finish it and come back and talk about why so of his conclusions/assumptions/interpretations are IMO flawed. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 30, 2022 11:03:19 GMT -5
Foundation by Isaac Aasimov
[4 stars]
I know I'm probably going to have people wondering why I would give a sci-fi classic like Foundation only 4 stars so I will try to explain. I enjoyed Foundation. I thought it was an easy read and the chapters were not overly long. Foundation seems to check many boxes for my impression of the game Traveller as well. So, why did I give it only a 4? Simply put, Foundation was really good, but I went in expecting something a little bit different. For instance, Foundation is actually 5 short stories in a novel length book. The story does not follow the path of one or a small set of characters from start to finish. Basically, you get a peek at the characters, but you don't follow a character arc from the beginning of the book until the end. I prefer following a cast of characters from beginning to end in a longer story. It feels like to me that Dune could have been written as a response to Foundation since it basically does the opposite of Foundation in those respects. Now, on to Foundation & Empire.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Jan 30, 2022 13:24:27 GMT -5
Foundation by Isaac Asimov [4 stars] I know I'm probably going to have people wondering why I would give a sci-fi classic like Foundation only 4 stars so I will try to explain. I enjoyed Foundation. I thought it was an easy read and the chapters were not overly long. Foundation seems to check many boxes for my impression of the game Traveller as well. So, why did I give it only a 4? Simply put, Foundation was really good, but I went in expecting something a little bit different. For instance, Foundation is actually 5 short stories in a novel length book. The story does not follow the path of one or a small set of characters from start to finish. Basically, you get a peek at the characters, but you don't follow a character arc from the beginning of the book until the end. I prefer following a cast of characters from beginning to end in a longer story. It feels like to me that Dune could have been written as a response to Foundation since it basically does the opposite of Foundation in those respects. Now, on to Foundation & Empire. I agree with this, I felt the book was unfinished and needed to be much longer when I read it so that could all be fleshed out. But Asimov is a different kind of writer and seldom delves into character. |
|
|
|
Post by hengest on Jan 30, 2022 13:29:40 GMT -5
As I remember the Foundation series, and I was a bit too immature for it when I read it, it was cool ideas that, to my taste, were stretched a little thin over too much space. And I agree with the comments above about Foundation itself...Asimov's collections of individual robot stories were more to my liking. The scope of Foundation is so grand even in its conception that I got a little lost sometimes. That may not be the fault of the author, however.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 30, 2022 13:42:17 GMT -5
Foundation by Isaac Asimov [4 stars] ****some words***. I agree with this, I felt the book was unfinished and needed to be much longer when I read it so that could all be fleshed out. But Asimov is a different kind of writer and seldom delves into character. Cool. I was concerned I would come off as "that guy" with his nose in the air and a beret on his head, sneering at the opinions of others. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 30, 2022 13:45:12 GMT -5
As I remember the Foundation series, and I was a bit too immature for it when I read it, it was cool ideas that, to my taste, were stretched a little thin over too much space. And I agree with the comments above about Foundation itself...Asimov's collections of individual robot stories were more to my liking. The scope of Foundation is so grand even in its conception that I got a little lost sometimes. That may not be the fault of the author, however. Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. |
|
|
|
Post by hengest on Jan 30, 2022 13:48:56 GMT -5
As I remember the Foundation series, and I was a bit too immature for it when I read it, it was cool ideas that, to my taste, were stretched a little thin over too much space. And I agree with the comments above about Foundation itself...Asimov's collections of individual robot stories were more to my liking. The scope of Foundation is so grand even in its conception that I got a little lost sometimes. That may not be the fault of the author, however. Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. Interested to hear your further takes on Foundation (I really have no right to comment, as I was a kid). And also in the Robot stuff. What I remember best is I, Robot, which is a collection of short stories. Some of which, as I recall, were good, some really cool, and a few were even over the author's head—that is, Art. |
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Jan 30, 2022 13:50:27 GMT -5
As I remember the Foundation series, and I was a bit too immature for it when I read it, it was cool ideas that, to my taste, were stretched a little thin over too much space. And I agree with the comments above about Foundation itself...Asimov's collections of individual robot stories were more to my liking. The scope of Foundation is so grand even in its conception that I got a little lost sometimes. That may not be the fault of the author, however. Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. I thought all of his Robot books and short stores where the very best of his fiction. I would put it this way, he was more emotionally invested in his robot stories and it shows in the quality of the writing IMO. His mystery short stories - framed as stories told among a group of friends around a table, were also extremely good IMO. He also had other short stories that were really excellent. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 30, 2022 14:01:18 GMT -5
Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. I thought all of his Robot books and short stores where the very best of his fiction. I would put it this way, he was more emotionally invested in his robot stories and it shows in the quality of the writing IMO. His mystery short stories - framed as stories told among a group of friends around a table, were also extremely good IMO. He also had other short stories that were really excellent. That is very enticing. I dig short stories. Some of King's best horror is his short stories. I'm intrigued. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 30, 2022 14:03:28 GMT -5
Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. Interested to hear your further takes on Foundation (I really have no right to comment, as I was a kid). And also in the Robot stuff. What I remember best is I, Robot, which is a collection of short stories. Some of which, as I recall, were good, some really cool, and a few were even over the author's head—that is, Art. Cool. That will work. I remember watching the Will Smith movie, but everyone says the book is better, no surprise there. When I was younger, I was mainly a fantasy and horror type of reader. I read some science fiction, but I really need to catch up. |
|
|
|
Post by simrion on Feb 4, 2022 7:32:53 GMT -5
As I remember the Foundation series, and I was a bit too immature for it when I read it, it was cool ideas that, to my taste, were stretched a little thin over too much space. And I agree with the comments above about Foundation itself...Asimov's collections of individual robot stories were more to my liking. The scope of Foundation is so grand even in its conception that I got a little lost sometimes. That may not be the fault of the author, however. Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. I read the original Foundation Trilogy. I know it's a classic and all but I did not find it too memorable. I've tried to start the Lensman series by Smith but never seem to get beyond the first couple of chapters. I tend to lean towards the pulps these days or historical works. |
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 4, 2022 12:03:30 GMT -5
Sounds reasonable. I'm going to finish the original Foundation trilogy. I'm highly interested in the Robot series, and I will track them down this year. I read the original Foundation Trilogy. I know it's a classic and all but I did not find it too memorable. I've tried to start the Lensman series by Smith but never seem to get beyond the first couple of chapters. I tend to lean towards the pulps these days or historical works. The Lensman Series is pulp and it was serialized there first. I have read it about 6 or 7 times. I have also read whatever else by EE "Doc" Smith that I can get my hands on, would like to read all of it. I really loved his stuff. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 4, 2022 18:22:59 GMT -5
I read the original Foundation Trilogy. I know it's a classic and all but I did not find it too memorable. I've tried to start the Lensman series by Smith but never seem to get beyond the first couple of chapters. I tend to lean towards the pulps these days or historical works. The Lensman Series is pulp and it was serialized there first. I have read it about 6 or 7 times. I have also read whatever else by EE "Doc" Smith that I can get my hands on, would like to read all of it. I really loved his stuff. I found the Lensman series on thriftbooks. I have the first one on my wishlist since I've always been interested in trying it out. I also found the Horseclans series but daaaang they are up there! |
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 4, 2022 18:29:57 GMT -5
The Lensman Series is pulp and it was serialized there first. I have read it about 6 or 7 times. I have also read whatever else by EE "Doc" Smith that I can get my hands on, would like to read all of it. I really loved his stuff. I found the Lensman series on thriftbooks. I have the first one on my wishlist since I've always been interested in trying it out. I also found the Horseclans series but daaaang they are up there! I have worn my Lensman books out and I do have a complete set of the Horseclans series (I might be missing short story or two, but I think that is it). Both series are to my taste and I recommend them. Lensman are like the old Cowboy movies, good guys and bad guys are clearly defined. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 4, 2022 18:37:34 GMT -5
I found the Lensman series on thriftbooks. I have the first one on my wishlist since I've always been interested in trying it out. I also found the Horseclans series but daaaang they are up there! I have worn my Lensman books out and I do have a complete set of the Horseclans series (I might be missing short story or two, but I think that is it). I have a few books I've worn out myself.  I actually found quite a few of the Horseclans series at a very cool used bookstore in Clarksville, TN when I was in the Army. I had something like 1, 4-9, 13, and a few more. Even though I had the first novel I never got around to reading it for some reason. I do know that I intended to buy 2 and 3 before I read the first one. Somehow those Horseclans books came up missing. I still don't know what happened to them. It's a shame because they were all in pretty good shape and I believe they were 50 cents to a dollar each. Now they command much higher prices on the used market. |
|
|
|
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 4, 2022 18:45:13 GMT -5
I have worn my Lensman books out and I do have a complete set of the Horseclans series (I might be missing short story or two, but I think that is it). I have a few books I've worn out myself.  I actually found quite a few of the Horseclans series at a very cool used bookstore in Clarksville, TN when I was in the Army. I had something like 1, 4-9, 13, and a few more. Even though I had the first novel I never got around to reading it for some reason. I do know that I intended to buy 2 and 3 before I read the first one. Somehow those Horseclans books came up missing. I still don't know what happened to them. It's a shame because they were all in pretty good shape and I believe they were 50 cents to a dollar each. Now they command much higher prices on the used market. Yeah, you used to be able to get used books really cheaply and I bought thousands that way and traded them back for more. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 4, 2022 18:54:55 GMT -5
I have a few books I've worn out myself. I actually found quite a few of the Horseclans series at a very cool used bookstore in Clarksville, TN when I was in the Army. I had something like 1, 4-9, 13, and a few more. Even though I had the first novel I never got around to reading it for some reason. I do know that I intended to buy 2 and 3 before I read the first one. Somehow those Horseclans books came up missing. I still don't know what happened to them. It's a shame because they were all in pretty good shape and I believe they were 50 cents to a dollar each. Now they command much higher prices on the used market. Yeah, you used to be able to get used books really cheaply and I bought thousands that way and traded them back for more. I've done the same. Gardner's Books gives you a discount also if you keep receipts and present them when you come back. I think it's every $15 or $20 gets you like 5 or 10% off. I haven't used any receipts in so long that I have over $180 worth of them to use...lol. |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 31, 2022 10:08:28 GMT -5
Foundation & Empire by Isaac Asimov
[3.5 to 3.75 stars]
* I gave it 4 stars on goodreads because you can't give a decimal rating. The writing was fine. The story just didn't live up to the grand scale I had assumed before starting these books. *
I finished it last night. I'm not really sure about what to think. It seemed like a well written book, and I actually figured out who The Mule was before it was revealed in the book. This book was divided into two stories instead of the five in the first book, so it was more focused. I just remember hearing about Asimov writing all of these science fiction classics and I never got around to reading them until I was almost 50. I guess when I hear "epic" and "cornerstone of sci-fi" and "one of the classics of the genre" then I assume the book is going to be more in line with stuff like Lord of the Rings or Dune; much more meat on the bone so to say. I'll read the third book but only when I get around to it. I don't own it and I'm not going to even drive to the library a half of a mile away to get it right now. I won't know if I'm going to read any further books after the third at this point.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on May 22, 2022 17:31:39 GMT -5
Just a quick observation as I continue my reading. It seems that "most readers" think Dune Messiah takes a dip down and Children of Dune is a dip back up in story engagement. So far, I seem to enjoy Dune Messiah more. I've still got plenty of Children of Dune to read so that may change. I'm just making an observation. Notice I did not mention quality one time. The quality of Herberts' writing is top notch. There may be some profound thoughts connected to this observation, but it escapes me at the moment...
|
|
|
|
Post by mao on May 26, 2022 8:57:03 GMT -5
Just a quick observation as I continue my reading. It seems that "most readers" think Dune Messiah takes a dip down and Children of Dune is a dip back up in story engagement. So far, I seem to enjoy Dune Messiah more. I've still got plenty of Children of Dune to read so that may change. I'm just making an observation. Notice I did not mention quality one time. The quality of Herberts' writing is top notch. There may be some profound thoughts connected to this observation, but it escapes me at the moment... You gotta cut this out! You are making us look bad for not reading(19 yrs or so since I red a book w one exception). |
|
|
|
Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on May 26, 2022 12:00:34 GMT -5
Just a quick observation as I continue my reading. It seems that "most readers" think Dune Messiah takes a dip down and Children of Dune is a dip back up in story engagement. So far, I seem to enjoy Dune Messiah more. I've still got plenty of Children of Dune to read so that may change. I'm just making an observation. Notice I did not mention quality one time. The quality of Herberts' writing is top notch. There may be some profound thoughts connected to this observation, but it escapes me at the moment... You gotta cut this out! You are making us look bad for not reading(19 yrs or so since I red a book w one exception). I'll work on it! 🤣 |
|
