Books Read 2015

geezer · Post by **geezer** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:32 pm

Unusual Fishes by Sarah Vowell -

A nonfiction history of how what is now Hawaii came to be an American state, although the book specifically concentrates on the missionary era up to the final removal of the Hawaiian monarchy. Really helps one understand why us folks of European descent are still, and always will be, considered outsiders/interlopers.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:46 pm

Jaddison wrote:American Sniper- Chris Kyle. Not anywhere close to a good book about war, the GWOT or really anything else. Guy revels in killing- not sure if that is macho facade or not. Has no trouble saying his priorities are God, country, family yet directly violating the central tenets of his religion continuously- he never acknowledges any disconnect. The portrays a Chris Kyle that this book describes. It is not an awful book but there are others that I feel are much better.

Unbroken- learned a lot from this book. Also learned Angelina Jolie didn't make a very good movie if she was trying to do anything other than make Louie Zampirini into a super hero. His story is so much more. Learned we lost more aviators in non-combat accidents than we did in combat. I never really knew we granted amnesty to scores of Japanese war criminals, just as we did by commuting the sentences of thousands of German war criminals, within a couple years after the end of the war. His overcoming PTSD, alcohol and the obsession of killing is prime tormentor is an amazing story. Highly recommended

I've got Unbroken on my shelf. Maybe I'll make it next on my reading list.

I'm going to skip American Sniper, both the book and movie.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 2:49 pm

I read American Sniper in 2013. I neglected to post a review for it. It's best viewed as the autobiography that it is. I do not disagree with Jaddison's take on it.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:07 am

Shit Just Doesn't Happen II by Bob Mayer

This is the second book of a series by former Green Beret and current novelist Bob Mayer. The theme of the series are disastrous events pigeonholed into his "rule of 7" -- a series of cascading episodes including at least one human failure that led ultimately to disaster. This volume includes the space shuttle Challenger explosion, the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, the sinking of the steam ship Sultana, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the failure of the St. Francis Dam in Los Angeles, the deposing of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II, and the survival ordeal of the plane crash that resulted in a rugby team eating their dead in the Andes mountains.

Mayer's "rule of 7" comes off as a contrivance -- these disparate events just happen to fit his model, but sometimes he stretches and other times perhaps he omits another notable event or two. However, it works well enough for illustrative purposes, the point being these singular catastrophes are a culmination of lesser events, many that don't seem important at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, though; and I think Mayer's ultimate goal of teaching something about disaster preparedness is somewhat buried by the epic outcomes of his chosen events.

As I mentioned, this is the second book of the series. I did not read the first, but it appears a full quarter of this book was literally cut-and-pasted into this manuscript. He includes a lengthy excerpt from another book, a survival guide he had published -- complete with references to other chapters in that other book. After the last of the illustrative examples (the plane crash incident), the rest is obviously lifted from his other book. At one point the text reads "in this first book of the series," and subsequent references go to events covered in his first book, such as the Titanic or the Donner party incident. He also tells us "why we should listen to him" and spends a chapter dictating his resume -- something better suited to the dust jacket or, even better, to his website. I've never seen such self-aggrandizing in the middle of a text before.

Finally, I rather disagree with his conclusions. Mayer apparently pimps himself out as a disaster preparedness consultant. I've been involved in a fair amount of that myself. Mayer advocates having a plan for specific events, then sleeping soundly. Having participated in disaster exercises, I can assure you the best laid plans will be derailed the moment something unexpected arises. It is far better to have a fluid plan that can adjust, focus on thinking on ones feet, and practice not only fixed procedures but the entire incident management process. It's one thing to make sure your data is being backed up nightly, it's another to be assured you can restore this data and restore systems to full functionality within an acceptable time frame.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:52 pm

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

A sequel to A Time to Kill in the sense that it features the same attorney, Jake Brigance. Set in a small Mississippi town, Sycamore Row has the feel of Faulkner all lawyered up.

Seth Hubbard hangs himself from a sycamore tree. Dying from lung cancer, he didn't have long to live anyway. As the body was being cut down, a package arrives at the office of celebrated attorney Jake Brigance. It contains a hand-written will specifically cuts out most of his family and gives the bulk of his estate to his housekeeper/caregiver, Letty Lang. When the scope of this estate is discovered, it would make Letty the richest black woman in the state. Set in the late '80's, this is sure to rub people the wrong way.

What follows is the long legal process leading up to trial. Jake, who had never met Seth, is charged with fighting to the bitter end by a letter accompanying the will. He has to prove that Seth was in sound mind when he wrote the will, and not, say, under the influence of his caregiver. Meanwhile, Seth's children have an earlier will that bequeath them everything. Their attorneys are trying to prove Seth was not in complete self-control when the will is written.

Already the talk of Ford County, the court proceedings unleash unlikely drama as the judge allows some unlikely events (such as unnamed witnesses to testify) that sway the jury this way and that. It'll make an entertaining movie if they choose to film this book as well. The outcome also wraps things up too nicely; in the real world, the legal fight would continue for years (the part I have a particular problem with is too much of a spoiler to list here). It is still a very well-written story and fans of Grisham's legal dramas ought to enjoy this one.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:41 pm

Black Powder War (Temeraire, Book 3)

Pick up some eggs in Turkey, head back in to the continent and try to get past Napoleon. Harder than it sounds.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:15 am

Finished "Sandman Slim" by Richard Kadrey

Sometimes, I buy a bundle of books, don't read them for months, picked one up by accident, and can't put it down. This one happened to be an ebook bundle, and it's a lot of fun. Basically, James "Jimmy" Stark is a magician... not the trick kind... real magic. And somehow, he was betrayed and went to Hell. And he just made his way back into LA... 11 years later. Now he has nothing except the bad cloths he wore, a few items he smuggled out of Hell... and a burning desire for revenge... Against the Circle... the group of magician that he thought was his friend... esp. when his girlfriend Alice... ended up dead. But little does he know that there are forces of Light and Dark behind him manipulating humans for eons. And some other forces may be in play. Stark, who had somehow acquired the name "Sandman Slim", will play an integral part in the upcoming struggle... and it's coming on New Year's Eve, only in a few days...

The novel deftly integrated the stories of Heaven and Hell, and the minions (angels and archangels, as well as hellions and Hell's generals, and a third force, into the fabric of the story about a lot of supernatural, but hidden behind the scenes. It almost reads like a bit of Shadowrun except no other races and and everything's hidden in the shadows, a bit like Vampire: The Masquerade. Sandman Slim himself is a complex character that no longer cared about the world after being ****ed by 11 years, don't give a **** about any side... except his own... and his friends. But he knows he will do the right thing.

I don't generally deal with religion in my books but this one is a lot of fun, weaving in bits and pieces of Heaven and Hell. If you like that sort of book, recommended.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 1:29 pm

Empire of Ivory: A Novel of Temeraire (Book 4)

Dragon tuberculosis. Off to Cape Town to look for a cure.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:01 pm

No Fortunate Son by Brad Taylor

Disaffected peoples of the world unite! In No Fortunate Son, a mercenary whose outfit was just fired by the US Government, finds himself re-employed through back channels to find the missing niece of his former commander. Meanwhile, there's another high profile kidnapping -- the vice-president's son. People-hunter extraordinaire Pike Logan is off to Europe to investigate the niece's last known whereabouts at one of the colleges of Oxford University.

The plot involves three groups of terrorists: Irish, who are pining for the days of the IRA and looking to bring attention to themselves, Serbians, who are out to avenge drone strikes, and the Somalis, who are employed stooges mostly in for the money and jihad. The lead bad guy is Irish, and he has to keep the hostages on the move until he can rake in vast sums of untraceable bitcoin as ransom.

The audiobook version uses two voices, a decidedly younger voice for chapters that are Pike Logan POV; and the narrator, who has a grizzled, old voice. In some chapters where Logan speaks but is not POV, the old narrator continues on, making one wonder if Logan is 30 or 60. That aside, the pace is good, lots of action, good local flavor in England, Ireland, France and Belgium. I've not read any of the other Pike Logan books (this is number 7) and while there are references to events in past novels, I didn't feel it was required knowledge to enjoy this thriller.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:37 am

Gray Mountain - John Grisham

The worst book I've read in a long time. No plot, useless characters, a main character who is an endless fence-sitter, no real "climax" to speak of at the end - the book just kind of fizzles out. Grisham is loooooong removed from his Time To Kill, The Client, The Firm, The Chamber days. His most recent books, IMO, have been aimlessly boring and forgettable.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:34 pm

Victory of Eagles: A Novel of Temeraire (Book 5)

Napoleon has crossed the Channel and invaded England.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:20 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:Victory of Eagles: A Novel of Temeraire (Book 5)

Napoleon has crossed the Channel and invaded England.

But did they cure Dragon TB? Did they?????

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:24 pm

Spoiler:

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:26 pm

J.D. wrote:Gray Mountain - John Grisham

The worst book I've read in a long time. No plot, useless characters, a main character who is an endless fence-sitter, no real "climax" to speak of at the end - the book just kind of fizzles out. Grisham is loooooong removed from his Time To Kill, The Client, The Firm, The Chamber days. His most recent books, IMO, have been aimlessly boring and forgettable.

Thats what happens when an author becomes a brand name. They start cranking out crap to fulfill quotas, usually with a secondary writer. Once that starts happening you end up with the occasional solid novel sandwiched between a whole lot of junk.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:33 am

Read one of those Indie Sci-fi novels called: Indigo Squad: Human Legion Book 2. Fortunately paid nothing for it: use the Amazon prime lending. But I can only do that once a month. Hmmm...

The novel had WAY too many characters. There's at least a dozen, and the one main character ain't in every scene, adding to the confusion. But basically, humans are essentially slaves to the "Jotun", huge Mantis/Lobster/Bear aliens who acts as all officers. Human marines are at best, NCOs, but mostly grunts, and usually drugged to a stupor to follow orders. On the "navy" side, there are some junior officers that are human, and they are often genetically tweaked by to Jotun for special functions. The Marines are kept "on ice" between missions (hibernation). (yet, that's a LOT of setup). Any way, one guy felt that he's different... somehow he can think clearly instead of the drugged stupor of the others, but he did not dare show it. When he stumbles upon a conspiracy of mutiny that reaches the highest levels of the ship, his only chance is to enlist the help of the "ship rats" (navy personnel), and not just any ship rats, but the freaks... the genetically modified. As the clock count down to H-hour, will this guy achieve the impossible, avert a mutiny?

With a dozen or more characters, they appear and disappear almost at whim, only to show up to advance the plot. There are multiple separate threads of the plot including a twin brother (who's obviously evil, like Nale vs. Elan), love interests (more than one), some sort of "destiny" or prophecy (never explained in this book), even more genetic mods (again, unexplained), and why was Jotun arranging this mutiny, or why was Jotun on their side... on their side? and so on and so forth. Too many angles unexplained without reading the first book and all that. It's just... not that good.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:39 am

Trying out House of Leaves now. Looks.....interesting and confusing. We'll see how this goes.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 12:59 pm

Finished The Providence of Fire by Brian Stavely

This is the sequel to The Emperor's Blades and is definitely a good book and followup. My only gripe is that all three main characters really make stupid decisions but this is how the author has decided to move the story forward and it's an overall good story.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 1:00 pm

Finished Willful Child by Steven Erikson

A good Star Trek parody. Enjoyed it more than Redshirts.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 1:33 pm

I read Days of Fire by Peter Baker.

I read this telling of the Bush presidency after seeing the author on a Frontline show on PBS. I went into it with certain ideas and the book did, for the most part verify those ideas.

I have always felt a little sorry for Bush. His presidency was determined by 9-11, and his reaction to it. This book didn't really change my opinion of that except that he didn't seem to be able to change courses once it was evident the one he had chosen was wrong. The way we fought the Iraq war for 5 years was an example of this. As for Cheney, I never liked him and this book does nothing to change that. The book does alter my perception of Cheney always pulling the strings, as that seemed to pretty much change after the 2004 election, but by then it was to late.

The book seemed balanced to me. I am sure depending on your politics that would change.

paulbaxter · Post by **paulbaxter** » Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:51 pm

I recently finished Whipping Boy by Allen Kurzweil.

The author spent one year of his childhood in a boarding school in Switzerland, run by a bunch of crazy Englishmen, and more or less along the lines of what I've read about other English boarding schools, though with more of an emphasis on hiking and physical fitness. As the smallest boy in his class he was bullied, naturally. Kurzweil is apparently the sort of person who doesn't let things go easily, so he remained obsessed throughout his adult life with the kid who bullied him, a youngster from the Philippines with the unlikely name of Cesar Augustus (pronounced say-SAHR). With the advent of google, he finally decides to track his former bully down. He eventually succeeds in this endeavor, though not before discovering that his old classmate had been involved in (and arrested for) one of the most audacious financial swindle operations of all time. Think Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with all the fake aristocrats and wealthy victims, combined with a Nigerian email scam.

The details of how the financial scam worked, and how it was uncovered, are really the best parts of the book. Highly recommended just as a true crime book, though it also has a very personal angle as well.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:28 am

Finished "Legion" by Brandon Sanderson, a Novella, not a full novel. Cute premise. Stephen Leeds has hallucinations. He has these invisible characters around him, with different capabilities. Linguist, ex-SEAL, quantum physicist, handwriting expert, and more. And their hallucinations interact with each other, all in his mind, of course. But they all help him on things. And he was consulted to help find a man, who may have created a camera that takes pictures... in the past. Is it a hoax? Or is there something extraordinary going on?

Short, finished in a couple hours, first person narrative, good read.

For those of you who listen to podcasts, Brandon Sanderson is a part of "Writing Excuses" podcast team.

EDIT:

Also reading Second Paradigm by Peter J Wacks

Christopher Nost awoke in 2044 with no memory of what had happened. He was told that he had been shot in 2003, after just having been convicted of a murder, despite his in ability to form long term memory (anything more than 13 months). Yet he did not appear to have aged a day in the intervening 41 years. There are clearly forces at play... time assassins, history thieves, rogue travellers, and Time Corp are all over this huge paradox. Was Nost supposed to die or live? How can one man's fate be the most dire catastrophe of the human race... ever? Can Nost solve his own murder? As the book starts with the epilogue (it is a time travel book!) and bounces back and forth through the timelines, you're never sure what will happen next... or will it be erased by yet another paradox? Can you solve a paradox with another paradox? How will it end?

I'm only 25% through the book and so far, it's threatening to give me a nosebleed, as Geordie LaForge used to say. But it sure is an interesting yarn.

Jaddison · Post by **Jaddison** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:45 pm

Just finished an amazing book. Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown http://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Undaunte ... s=fearless
I cannot recommend this highly enough to justify the story and the man.
The word hero gets thrown around a lot but Adam Brown was a hero- not because he was a SEAL and on SEAL Team 6 (which is weird for me to write because for a loooooong time no one, and I mean no one could acknowledge it existed), but because he was a hero as a man. I won't reveal too much of the story but this guy overcame adversity after adversity and had to face a significant challenge to his soul and overcame it all. He had compassion for the Iraqi's and Afghans- one of his most important accomplishments was getting his church and friends to send him over 500 pairs of shoes for the children near him in Afghanistan- he saw them in bare feet or flips with winter approaching.
This guy is who I would point to as what every man should aspire to be in approach to life and work- wow I was just in awe of how he lived his life in all ways.
The book has a fairly strong religious/Christian element but it wasn't an issue for me.
Do yourself a favor and read or listen to this book (I listened to it and the reader did a good job)

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:00 pm

The Mythical Man-Month, Anniversary Edition: Essays On Software Engineering (2nd Edition)

More dated than Code Complete, and less of immediate use to me. It's much more of the high level design/project management aspects of it, which are important, but of less use to me presently.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 1:08 am

Finished Second Paradigm. OMG, what a mind****. ANd I meant that in a GOOD way.

Let's just say the entire book is based on concentric circles of closed time loops, i.e. causality violations, and apparently, in trying to "fix" the violations, they caused even worse paradoxes... class 9 paradoxes that can destroy the entire spacetime.

The book begins with a epilogue, and has two prologues... at the "end" of the book.

If I were Geordi LaForge (i.e. "Time travel gives me nose bleeds"), I'd be having a brain hemorrage now. I'll have to read that book over. I must have missed a lot of the hints here and there.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:06 pm

The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Daniel J. Levitin

When I last read Levitin, he was waxing scientific about our brains on music. That book was a little on the dense side but well done. This time he picks what seems like it would be a more challenging topic -- how we process information, and crafts a thoroughly readable, enjoyable treatment that could easily have been even denser.

Levitin tells us much about how memory works, what we are capable of achieving, and, just as importantly, what we cannot. He discusses at length the fallacy of multitasking: everyone thinks they do it, some even think they are good at it, but in reality, it is inefficient and wastes more time than it ever saves. In passing he also discusses a fundamental limitation of our attention span -- we can reasonably keep track of two, and not more than two, things at the same time. Two people talking at once we can manage, add a third, and it becomes jumbled noise.

Mental gymnastics are only part of what this book is about. Arranging information in conventional ways such as filing systems, both physical and digital. are covered. Techniques on remembering people and faces are covered. And probably my favorite part includes critical thinking: how to properly evaluate data and ask the right questions. One thing I found fascinating regarded treatment of prostate cancer. It is common among men, and often is aggressively treated by chemotherapy. Doctors point to a high rate of success, so they continue to prescribe this treatment to all who are afflicted. But after looking further into the numbers, Levitin discovered that only 5% of those treated have their life spans extended because of the treatment, while 25% experience negative effects from the treatment, including some (about 5%) who have their lives actually shortened by the treatment. When confronted with the data, oncologists appeared to be severely challenged by the simple math. That their patient is 95% more likely to be better off not getting the treatment is irrelevant to them. "But what if you are in the 5%?" they ask. Levitin contends that there is a lot of such deceptive practices, here and elsewhere. The media is a particularly egregious source. "Ebola cases in the US are up 300%", making it sound like an out of control epidemic rather than an increase from 1 patient to 3. Such percentages have their place among epidemiologists studying a disease, but alone they mean nothing but are often used to spread FUD.

The book wraps up with a critical slam against crowd-sourced information such as Wikipedia (he said the same thing I've been saying for years -- it's not a trustworthy source because anybody can edit and therefore the sources of the information cannot be trusted). Acceptable, peer-reviewed sources are available, he contends, if one takes the effort to find them. It's not just what you know, but having the confidence that what you know is true and correct.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:27 pm

1453 by Roger Crowley

This book is the story of the Ottoman Empire final siege and victory at Constantinople. Crowley is very good with the background and with the story of the battle. The collapse of the Byzantine's, the reluctance of the Western Christian's to help them (difference in church beliefs) and the desire of the Turks to finally succeed are all covered in the book. A good read if you have any interest in the subject matter.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:41 pm

Just finished Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. It's the story of two Canadian Aboriginal snipers serving in WW1. It's phenomenal. The writing is beautiful, almost poetry-like at times. It has easily become one of my favourite historical fiction reads and I look forward to reading his other novels.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:44 pm

The Confession by John Grisham

Now, most of know how execution-happy Texas is, but the circumstances defining the plot of this book are rather far-fetched, even if racist crazies get their way. The prosecutor is having an affair with the judge. There Is no physical evidence, only a confession obtained under duress (and the record of it is not remotely convincing at that as the interrogator is prompting him for certain "facts" that was said incorrectly. A phone call long after the murder by a classmate who has an axe to grind, bearing false testimony. The testimony of a "jailhouse snitch" who says what he is told to say in return for a lighter sentence. It's outrageous that anyone in modern times (and this is set in modern-day Texas) would be convicted by a jury (made partial by the judge/prosecutor relationship) would even be convicted in this circumstance, let alone given the death penalty. Even more outlandish is appeals all along the way did not stop this travesty.

In spite of a ludicrous premise, Grisham puts enough effort into the characters to save the book. The real killer identifies himself at the 11th hour to a priest in Kansas, who decides he needs to make an effort to save the wrongfully-convicted prisoner on the eve of his execution. The priest, the killer, the defense lawyer are all well-done characters. The governor in particular is such a despicable person that true hatred develops as the story goes on.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:23 pm

Jeff V wrote:The Confession by John Grisham

Now, most of know how execution-happy Texas is, but the circumstances defining the plot of this book are rather far-fetched, even if racist crazies get their way. The prosecutor is having an affair with the judge. There Is no physical evidence, only a confession obtained under duress (and the record of it is not remotely convincing at that as the interrogator is prompting him for certain "facts" that was said incorrectly. A phone call long after the murder by a classmate who has an axe to grind, bearing false testimony. The testimony of a "jailhouse snitch" who says what he is told to say in return for a lighter sentence. It's outrageous that anyone in modern times (and this is set in modern-day Texas) would be convicted by a jury (made partial by the judge/prosecutor relationship) would even be convicted in this circumstance, let alone given the death penalty. Even more outlandish is appeals all along the way did not stop this travesty.

In spite of a ludicrous premise, Grisham puts enough effort into the characters to save the book. The real killer identifies himself at the 11th hour to a priest in Kansas, who decides he needs to make an effort to save the wrongfully-convicted prisoner on the eve of his execution. The priest, the killer, the defense lawyer are all well-done characters. The governor in particular is such a despicable person that true hatred develops as the story goes on.

Did you find that the book had its climax in the middle and then kind of went nowhere and then just petered out at the end?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 3:25 pm

Absolutely. I was expecting

Spoiler:

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:04 pm

Anyone want to wave me off (or encourage) of reading the books that follow 'Wizard of Earthsea'? I wasn't blown away by it by any stretch, but if they get much better, I would definitely read just because I like the author's persona.

I guess it's geared more to juvenile (why am I reading that so much lately?!), but just checking stuff out that my daughter would like ('Holes' by Louis Sachar, for instance, though classified as 'J', is amazing, even for adults IMO).

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:50 am

Bromeliad Trilogy: Truckers, Diggers and Wings by Terry Pratchett
Masklin leads his tiny community of (tiny) nomes in search of a safe place to live. On the way they spend time with the nome community living in a department store - a veritable nome paradise! - only to find out that the store is to be closed and demolished. The department store nomes join with Masklin to find a new home.
This is a non-Discworld series by Terry Pratchett aimed at kids, but still a pretty good read.

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 1:38 am

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
Late last year I read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson - it was book 1 in the Reckoners series. Firefight is book 2 in the series.
In this series Sanderson explores the impact of people suddenly gaining super powers. Unlike the supers of the XMen and other comics, the world becomes a darker place as those with super powers (called "Epics") establish hierarchies and take control of cities where they do pretty much whatever they want. Normal humans live in fear of the Epics. Only one group of normal human, the Reckoners, fights back.

In Steelheart, David Charleston's father was murdered by Steelheart, the powerful Epic who took over Chicago (renamed Newcago) and David lives only for revenge. David has spent the last ten years collecting data about the Epics and dreams of joining the Reckoners. When they turn up in Newcago, they reluctantly accept him . But they feel it's safer to only go after lesser Epics and he must persuade them to target Steelheart.

Firefight picks up six months after Steelheart. David has become a Reckoner and has earned a reputation as an Epic killer. The Reckoners find themselves targeted by the high Epic Regalia who rules Babilar (formerly New York City) and they must travel there to battle her on her home ground.

It took me a while to get into Steelheart, but by the end I was well primed for Firefight which I enjoyed thoroughly. Now I must wait for book 3 Calamity - apparently only about 10% complete.

I really like Sanderson's writing, but he has several series that are incomplete. Argggghh!

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:02 am

Finished "Seas of Venus" by David Drake.

Read David Drake for years, mainly for Hammer's Slammers. I didn't read his Venus stuff as I didn't like it as much. Basically it's mercs on the sea... Seas of Venus after a "terraforming". However, the terraforming screwed up a bit and didn't build up enough ozone to block the UV. As a result, the lifeforms that do survive on the surface are zapped and mutated and advanced so quickly humans don't dare venture on the surface without heavy armament and occasional bombardment from bigger guns. And worse stuff lived in the seas. Most live in underground cities or underwater domes. Only the mercenary fleets venture to the surface... and fight on the surface... but in the sea, full "wet navies". So in other words, Hammers' Slammers on the ocean. Seas of Venus is basically two novelettes in a single volume. One is how a commander chose to go overland to capture an enemy dreadnaught, and lost half of his men before he got to the ship. Another is a survival tale where a torpedo boat commander was basically setup by his own commander (who accused him of leaving the commander's brother out to die) to be abandoned out there, and somehow lead his crew to salvation, if there's a way to go through the jungle.

David Drake had since moved to "Lt. Leary" series space adventures and have pretty much abandoned this universe, and it's free on Amazon / Baen' free lib. Not a bad read, grim as normal for Drake. But he knows his military stuff.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:41 pm

Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight's Cross

The story of an Austrian enlisted in the service of the Wehrmacht. It's a very unvarnished look at the war with graphic descriptions of wounds and atrocities committed during the war.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:09 pm

Just finished "To Honor You Call Us"

Rookie captain, in a 30-year war against the xenophobic Karg out to exterminate humanity, is ordered to take a destroyer with untested (and worst in the fleet) crew with new set of officers, to search out the enemy in a new quadrant full of neutrals, by partially raiding and exploring. With enemies from without (can a destroyer take down a battlecruiser?) and enemies from within (saboteurs? drug traffickers?) The stakes may be even greater than captain realized...

Good book, only $2 on sale. it's clear this is a mishmash of Wing Commander, Red Storm Rising (mainly the submarine bits), plus a bit of Honorverse (wormhole and disruptions), but altogether it's a good tale of space combat and leadership. Author is clearly a fan of submarine ops as much of space combat is conducted as if the ships were naval subs, complete with trailing, "Crazy Ivan", active pings, "stealth", arm tube 1 and 2, and so on. The masquerade bit has a bit of Kris Longknife series and a bit of Honorverse's first book feel to it.

Given 8 tentacles, I'd give this... a 6.5. Not exactly a "can't put down", but a good read (though the plot are slightly cliched)

I already bought book 2 as it's also for $2. Other books are not on sale yet though.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:42 pm

Lords of the Sea by John R. Hale

My first thought before I even started this book is, "why bother?" I already read Donald Kagan's phenomenal history of The Peloponnesian War, who is this guy and what can he possibly add? Well, it turns out Mr. Hale is not only a former student of Kagan, but he's the guy who twisted Kagan's arm to distill his 4-volume scholarly epic into the excellent book aimed at a broader audience. When that deal went down. Hale was contracted to write a sort of companion book that focused entirely on the Athenian Navy.

The story of the Athenian navy starts with the Persian wars. Athens at the time had a middling hoplite army that was less effective than Sparta and no better than the rest of the Greek city states. The decision to focus entirely on maritime supremacy launched a veritable golden age that peaked even after a stunning defeat in the Peloponnesian War. It wasn't until Alexander the Great humbled all of Greece that Athenian power ceased to be a dominate factor in the Aegean. For nearly 200 years prior to this, however, Athens won stunning victories against horrific odds, celebrated (and then sometimes ostracized) many generals; and experienced ebbs and flows within their novel democracy that led to the demise of some generals and the great teacher/philosopher Socrates. This latter bit is important when considering the military history of Greece during this time -- knowing the outcome of the battles is not nearly enough, the context changed so rapidly that the same general (like Alcibiades) might find himself fighting on different sides during the course of his career.

This book is an excellent companion to Kagan's book, and although it is more Athenian-centric, it also has a broader scope, covering events before and after the Peloponnesian War. My only complaints are minor -- I think I would have liked a little more biography with some of the Spartan, Persian, Theban, and other adversaries...Hale drops a lot of names that are somewhat familiar to me but only because I've heard about them in passing in other such books. I did learn more about trireme battle strategy and many of the Athenian generals though, this book certainly was not a rehash of what I already know (and if that needs to be qualified, I started with Thucydides 35 years ago in an Ancient Greek History class and have been reading on this subject ever since).

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:28 am

I don't know why I'm not more active in this thread.

Anyway, I've been making my way through Nixonland.

Starting with the 1965 Watts riots and ending with his 1972 landslide victory, it tells two stories - one of the social, political, and racial divides in the 60's that almost led to another civil war, and the other how Nixon cynically used and took advantage of those divides as a means of getting to the White House and staying there.

Strangely enough, the Kindle edition is almost $16 because it's crammed with a bunch of useless stuff like newscasts and videos of the era. I was able to pick up a hard cover edition from some remainder website for $6 including shipping.

Although I must admit it's been a long time since I shlepped a 900-page tome around.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:14 pm

Finished "The Dead Run" by Adam Mansbach

I generally dont' read horror but I managed to get myself through Andrew Mayhem series mainly due to the humor, at least in the first two books, but the last two books are just too f***ing grim. This book has got that sort of a feel, grim as heck, WTF, OMG feel to it, without the humor. The short of it basically is some of of an old Aztec cult that relied on virgin sacrifices had survived till today, and the old devil is delivering a beating virgin heart to his son to usher in a new age... supposedly. His son is a cult leader who had bought off both the local cops and the biker gang with the lucrative drug trade but is in effect. In the way of this coming apocalypse is a sheriff out of his territory, a counselor, a reluctant courier who don't know of his own powers, a 16-yr old virgin and daughter of ex-cult member... and her boyfriend... and a Mexican police chief. There's a lot of Aztec'y terms, and the lore was drawn out pretty well, but the end felt too much like a bit of deu ex machina, with a setup for the sequel.

Finished Northworld Trilogy by David Drake

David Drake, after running out of his own materials (from Vietnam War), is now basically retelling / reinterpreting old classics as scifi, which I've always found as a bit offputting. (Now he's retelling US Founding Fathers as his "Citizens" series) Northworld is his attempt at retelling the Norse myths as scifi, about the Gods and the different planes and so on. I... don't get this series. It's way too grim. It's a little bit like "Armor", but with a little sex in between.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:51 pm

Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne

The old gods are returning to Boston. A young photographer, Becca, inherits a pendant from her grandmother, the origins of which are unclear. She does, however, have a particular ability to photograph that which cannot be ordinarily seen. Specializing in urban decay, she discovers this talent while visiting the ruins of abandon Arkham Asylum.

What follows is a Lovecraftian tale invoking horrific creatures engaged in terrible acts of violence. The Black Pharaoh is prophesized to return on what is known as the Red Equinox -- when the barrier between the demonic and common realms is at its weakest, allowing the old gods to be summoned to wreak havoc and destruction. Certain old artifacts make this happen -- and can fight it as well.

Involved in the tale is a clandestine government agency (SPECTRA) and a nod to one of Journalstone's other enduring legacies, the shifty employment agency Limbus. This book reads like a series of b-movie clichés; fortunately, I like b-movies so I enjoyed this book. YMMV.