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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 16, 2023 16:10:28 GMT -5
With a new year comes a new thread for reading. What are you reading in 2023?
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 16, 2023 16:14:16 GMT -5
I am deciding between the following three books.
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber Continuing the Elric series by Michael Moorcock (I read the first one last year or maybe the year before)
If you have any suggestions on those three, I wouldn't mind hearing them...
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Post by JMiskimen on Jan 16, 2023 18:57:08 GMT -5
Leiber is a fun read. It's almost as if he was refereeing two very cool players/characters before D&D was a thing.
JM.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 16, 2023 19:14:44 GMT -5
Leiber is a fun read. It's almost as if he was refereeing two very cool players/characters before D&D was a thing. JM. That sounds pretty great!
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Post by El Borak on Jan 16, 2023 23:13:53 GMT -5
I am deciding between the following three books. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber Continuing the Elric series by Michael Moorcock (I read the first one last year or maybe the year before) If you have any suggestions on those three, I wouldn't mind hearing them... Leiber, Moorcock and then Tolkien in that order.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 17, 2023 18:35:47 GMT -5
Okay, JMiskimen and El Borak I'm intrigued by your answers. I'm starting with Leiber. How many fantasy novels begin with information about snowball fights? This is fun already.
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Jan 31, 2023 18:21:41 GMT -5
I am re-reading The Wanderer. (It is a science fiction novel by American writer Fritz Leiber, published as a paperback original by Ballantine Books in 1964) The Wanderer (Leiber novel)There are somethings that I want to take some notes on and share. For instance, it assumes the time the story is set that luxury ocean liners will be nuclear powered.(and they should be)
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Jan 31, 2023 19:02:08 GMT -5
I am re-reading The Wanderer. (It is a science fiction novel by American writer Fritz Leiber, published as a paperback original by Ballantine Books in 1964) The Wanderer (Leiber novel)There are somethings that I want to take some notes on and share. For instance, it assumes the time the story is set that luxury ocean liners will be nuclear powered.(and they should be) That sounds fascinating and I will put that on my to read list.
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Post by Morose on Feb 15, 2023 23:11:41 GMT -5
Currently reading Tarzan and the Silver Globe by Barton Werper Tarzan And The Snake People by Barton Werper
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 8, 2023 11:43:43 GMT -5
I haven't completed reading one book in 2023 as of yet!
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Mar 8, 2023 13:41:57 GMT -5
I haven't completed reading one book in 2023 as of yet! I know the feeling.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Mar 27, 2023 10:59:13 GMT -5
I just picked up Swan Song by Robert McCammon this weekend. It's similar to The Stand and I'm only 34 pages in to the 919 pages of this book but it has definitely grabbed my interest.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Apr 9, 2023 9:56:17 GMT -5
I just picked up Swan Song by Robert McCammon this weekend. It's similar to The Stand and I'm only 34 pages in to the 919 pages of this book but it has definitely grabbed my interest. 197 pages in and this book has still got my attention.
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Post by simrion on Apr 10, 2023 5:16:36 GMT -5
The Wizard Hunters - Martha Wells Howard Zinn - A Peoples History Debunking Howard Zinn - Mary Grabar (I like exploring both sides of the political aisle to make my own informed decisions) Various others I'm very much in the middle of, not enough hours in the day!
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Post by oldskolgmr on Apr 10, 2023 7:07:15 GMT -5
I was able to finish the second book of two Elric/Eternal champion collections I had by Moorcock. I was not able to finish the first (earlier writing focusing solely on Elric). I liked many of the stories that were very non-traditional Elric stories. I read M. Moorcock's first Hawkmoon books, which I liked a lot. I have only found other Hawkmoon books set much later in the series, but I'm going to have to read them out of order. I re-read Creature's of Light and Darkness by R. Zelazny. I loved it as always. I started to re-read Walkaway by C. Doctorow, I'm half-way through. I decided to break for a bit. It's a thoughtful, fanciful, book. I just started to re-read S. Brust's Path's of the Dead, part of a trilogy. I like it. My friend is going to loan me a trilogy I have yet to finish called The Three Body Problem, By Cixin Liu. The first Chinese sci-fi I've ever read.
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Post by hengest on Apr 22, 2023 10:16:47 GMT -5
The Wizard Hunters - Martha Wells Howard Zinn - A Peoples History Debunking Howard Zinn - Mary Grabar (I like exploring both sides of the political aisle to make my own informed decisions) Various others I'm very much in the middle of, not enough hours in the day! Let us know about the Grabar book, please, I'm curious about it.
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Post by simrion on Apr 22, 2023 17:01:31 GMT -5
The Wizard Hunters - Martha Wells Howard Zinn - A Peoples History Debunking Howard Zinn - Mary Grabar (I like exploring both sides of the political aisle to make my own informed decisions) Various others I'm very much in the middle of, not enough hours in the day! Let us know about the Grabar book, please, I'm curious about it. Will do, I'm reading it concurrently with Zinn's "history" chapter by chapter or as Mary's book addresses the sections of Zinn's book.
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on May 2, 2023 18:49:27 GMT -5
I am going back and re-reading the two Hiero Desteen books by Sterling E. Lanier. Hiero's Journey 1973 and the sequel The Unforsaken Hiero 1983
I was thinking when I complete them, I might do a discussion thread and post a few quotes. Once the thread runs its course then I might do a blog post about them.
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Post by simrion on May 27, 2023 5:39:00 GMT -5
I am going back and re-reading the two Hiero Desteen books by Sterling E. Lanier. Hiero's Journey 1973 and the sequel The Unforsaken Hiero 1983 I was thinking when I complete them, I might do a discussion thread and post a few quotes. Once the thread runs its course then I might do a blog post about them. These would be applicable to the post-apocalyptic thread too, I would think.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Aug 26, 2023 18:21:34 GMT -5
Due to work demands, I have only read ONE book this year! I decided to take a chill day at home today and just kind of coast along. I finished reading SWAN SONGby Robert McCammon this morning. If you enjoyed Stephen King's The Stand then I think you would enjoy this as well. This novel is an epic apocalyptic tale of 919 pages with an engaging story and a large cast of characters.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Sept 3, 2023 18:16:37 GMT -5
It looks like I'm going to start Heretics of Dune next so I will be one step closer to completing the original six novels. I'm still undecided about moving onto the expanded Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I'll know when I get there, I guess. If any of you have an opinion on their Dune books, I would definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts.
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Post by oldskolgmr on Sept 4, 2023 14:43:36 GMT -5
Hey The Semi-Retired Gamer, I'm much more interested in what others have to say about the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson books than my own opinions. Maybe I need to rethink their writing.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Sept 4, 2023 17:34:10 GMT -5
Hey The Semi-Retired Gamer , I'm much more interested in what others have to say about the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson books than my own opinions. Maybe I need to rethink their writing. I can respect that, oldskolgmr! I know the DUNE facebook group seems to have a low opinion of their expanded DUNE books, but they always use such fine arguments similar to "they're just not good, bro,". The opinions on booktube seems to be pretty divided. Of course, some are more highly regarded than others among those that are fans. I've read none of Brian Herbert's other books, but I have read some Kevin J. Anderson books. He had a trilogy of Star Wars books back when what they now label as "Legends" was the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I remember reading them in my 20s and it was after having read the Thrawn trilogy twice over the years. I remember enjoying those Anderson works very much. I enjoyed them every bit as I did Zahn's works BUT that's not Dune, either. Who knows? I just remembered it was the Jedi Academy trilogy.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Sept 9, 2023 18:46:34 GMT -5
I decided to read Knight of the Demon Queen by Barbara Hambly. I'm halfway through the series and switching to fantasy breaks up the science fiction treadmill I was on with Foundation and Dune. I'm almost 40% complete on Knight of the Demon Queen and it's flowing along pretty good. Barbara Hambly is a straightforward and easy author to read.
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Post by simrion on Sept 10, 2023 6:23:01 GMT -5
I am deciding between the following three books. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber Continuing the Elric series by Michael Moorcock (I read the first one last year or maybe the year before) If you have any suggestions on those three, I wouldn't mind hearing them... All three are great in my humble opinion. The Silmarillion is quite the ambitious choice. I've attempted a few times and have yet to complete that particular quest. My reading list still grows on a daily/weekly basis depending on mood. I'm rereading The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook for the umpteenth time. I absolutely love Cook's writing style and characters. I wish he expanded his sci-fi offerings/universes as much as he has his fantasy/fantasy-noir offerings. Canon space would make an awesome sci-fi sandbox for an rpg.
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Sept 10, 2023 15:34:28 GMT -5
I am deciding between the following three books. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber Continuing the Elric series by Michael Moorcock (I read the first one last year or maybe the year before) If you have any suggestions on those three, I wouldn't mind hearing them... All three are great in my humble opinion. The Silmarillion is quite the ambitious choice. I've attempted a few times and have yet to complete that particular quest. My reading list still grows on a daily/weekly basis depending on mood. I'm rereading The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook for the umpteenth time. I absolutely love Cook's writing style and characters. I wish he expanded his sci-fi offerings/universes as much as he has his fantasy/fantasy-noir offerings. Canon space would make an awesome sci-fi sandbox for an rpg. I read the Silmarillion once a long time ago, it is definitely worth reading once. I would not read it twice unless I was trying to game in Middle Earth.
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dervish
Wanderer
New arrival, brought here by a wild search engine.
Posts: 33
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Post by dervish on Sept 14, 2023 4:16:28 GMT -5
I've been reading a number of different light novels. They're fun, amateurish, stories that are published a few pages at a time; great to fill in the 'give me a moment to figure out what I want to do next' moments - and a few of them are fun to read. For published fiction, my latest was by Seanan McGuire, "Backpacking Through Bedlam". My next will be something called "Deus X", by Norman Spinrad. (I read it years ago, but don't really remember the story)
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Sept 25, 2023 17:37:30 GMT -5
I've got a ton of books on my TBR list, but I've always been curious about the other Shannara books. I've read The Sword of Shannara. I enjoyed it but I recognized the similarities and parallels with LOTR. What about the other novels? Love or hate, I want to hear your opinion.
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Sept 25, 2023 22:53:54 GMT -5
I've got a ton of books on my TBR list, but I've always been curious about the other Shannara books. I've read The Sword of Shannara. I enjoyed it but I recognized the similarities and parallels with LOTR. What about the other novels? Love or hate, I want to hear your opinion. I tried to read Sword of Shannara at least a half dozen times and I just found it unreadable and could not get past the first 50 pages. I could not force myself to go any farther. First try was back in 1977 when it first came out. The last time I tried to read it was about 7 years ago.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Sept 26, 2023 7:02:31 GMT -5
I've got a ton of books on my TBR list, but I've always been curious about the other Shannara books. I've read The Sword of Shannara. I enjoyed it but I recognized the similarities and parallels with LOTR. What about the other novels? Love or hate, I want to hear your opinion. I tried to read Sword of Shannara at least a half dozen times and I just found it unreadable and could not get past the first 50 pages. I could not force myself to go any farther. First try was back in 1977 when it first came out. The last time I tried to read it was about 7 years ago. Don't sugarcoat! LOL
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