Altered Carbon, Richard K Morgan, SciFi Detective thriller, it’s alright, don’t know that I’d recommend it. Some cool ideas and interesting turns, but it’s still basically just an uber-violent detective novel. His descriptions are keeping me reading, I like how he phrases things, and the images I get from how he describes the surroundings.
Also, Eye of the Shit Storm, Rob Boffard (as Jackson Ford), SciFi/bordering on urban fantasy. I really enjoy it, and the others in the series I’ve read. Boffard is originally from South Africa, and obviously had some pretty significant culture shock when he moved to LA. That kind of wonder and slight bewilderment is a big part of the narrator’s voice, which I enjoy thinking about. But mostly this story is just so wild, and still also very earnest. I really like this! And the characters are all so different and so memorable. Teagan and Africa are so great, but so is Annie. And Reggie is a friggin badass.
I made the mistake of watching the TV show for Altered Carbon first, and I absolutely loved the show so much that I can't dissociate the TV show from the book. I had a really hard time reading the book because of that. I kept just wanting to watch the show again - and so I never finished it.
If you haven't seen the show on Netflix, I highly recommend it.
I go back and forth on which format I prefer. Sometimes the book is so much better than an adaptation that I’m glad I saw the adaptation first, because I can appreciate it more. That way I can get into both versions. If you read it first, the movie ends up being really disappointing. But sometimes I’m glad I read the original first, because it lets you appreciate the adaptation more.
I actually started the first episode a couple days ago, but I’m going to put it off until I’m done with the books. It was too jarringly different than the book, so I think this is one of those times where Knowing the story will help me appreciate the adaptation more, by understanding the grand scheme behind what major choices were made. We’ll see how it goes!
Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln child. Suspense. Enjoying it so far. It's the sequel to The Relic, and I'm liking this book a bit more than the first.
I have just finished the first three of Dennis E Taylor’s Bobiverse books over the last week and a half or so. It is a long time since I have read anything so rapidly: they are very compelling. However, since they form a natural trilogy, I have taken a break before Heaven’s River and gone to the second of Martha Wells Murderbot series Artificial Condition. I have only just started this one, but thoroughly enjoyed All Systems Red.
I am also reading The Inimitable Jeeves by P G Wodehouse. I do enjoy Wodehouse as a rule, but this one is extremely episodic - to the point where it feels that it should have been a collections of shorts - and is not one of his best. I picked this up since Joy in the Morning was not to hand at the time, which I have read decades ago, and was planning to re-read. JitM is one of his best.
With the bobiverse being so compelling, I have taken a break from Robert Brightwell’s Flashman’s Waterloo - one of his prequel series to George MacDonald Frasier’s Flashman series - although I certainly will be returning soon since it is as solidly researched and entertaining as the GMF originals.
And then I am continuing with my read-across-the-year of Finnegans Wake which is proving as fascinatingly incomprehensible as ever - although the latest chapter is perhaps less impenetrable than some - and its connection to Egyptian myth and the Book of the Dead are a little clearer here.
I felt the same way about the Bobiverse books, they read so easily and so quickly! Same with the Murderbot books, actually. I think Artificial Condition was my favorite so far. 'Art' was such a great addition to the story overall.
I just finished Dust, the third in the dystopian/sci-fi Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey. The first two books are great but the third feels a little rushed. I can feel the publisher breathing down his neck to get the book out as quickly as possible. But overall I enjoyed the trilogy and the grand narrative is even more prescient with everything happening in the world today. I’d recommend it for sure!
Foundation by Isaac Asimov for the sixth time. After watching the series. It’s science fiction. One of my favorite books. The concept of psycohistory is so interesting, civilization following certain paths.
I just finished the 4th and last available book in the Bobiverse series Heaven's River. This one is quite a bit different as it focuses more on diverging/drifting personality differences of the replicants. I'd still recommend it though, it feels like a natural progression from where the story began.
I also read through The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (translated). This one was very different than your typical sci-fi. Very political, conspiratorial, and at times very dry. In the end I very much enjoyed the story, but it felt like 2 disparate plot lines that didn't really coalesce. It was also the second book I've read in the last month that didn't resolve any of the main story conflict in the first book and requires reading the next book to get closure... Not a fan of that sort of ending.
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