DoctorSpooge_sl
shitlord
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What did you just read?
- Thread starter Fippy Darkpaw
- Start date
I am done with Brad Thor. He is basically a foaming at the mouth conservative using his books as political hit pieces that pander to his reader's fears that Benghazi was a grand conspiracy and things like that.
His latest might be my last.
His latest might be my last.
Armada spent more time making sure you got the references they talked about then he did in actually writing a story with a plot.
Boring but an easy evening read and done it was so short.
Boring but an easy evening read and done it was so short.
Read the new Lee Child - Jack Reacher book today. It comes out in September. Not bad, standard fluff for him.
Probably read the new Abercrombie tomorrow.
Probably read the new Abercrombie tomorrow.
sukik
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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I'm not good at finding time to read so I've resorted to loading my phone with stuff from Librevox and listening during exercise time, and while commuting. FinishedNotes from the Underground(Dostoyevsky) ,Tale of Two Cities(Dickens), andThe Time Machine(HG Wells) in the last couple months. All quality recordings. Some of the recordings are better than others but they have a large collection of out of copyright material. For example the Tale of Two Cities reading was as good as anything I've heard from Audible but Crime and Punishment was read by someone who was clearly English as a second language and not really up to the task. Although someone else is currently re-recording it. Worth a look if anyone doesn't want to spend a lot on audio books they may not like.
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I just finished Anathem the other night. It was pretty good once you got past the slog of figuring out all the new names for stuff. It was very gradual at introducing the story and what was going on, and I found the hard science aspects interesting and fairly easy to grasp as presented.
No idea what I'm going to start on next. Sanderson's next book is a ways off, as is Butcher's next Dresden book. I'm kinda getting burned out on scifi/fantasy stuff. It seems I've read almost all of the ones that are worth it.
No idea what I'm going to start on next. Sanderson's next book is a ways off, as is Butcher's next Dresden book. I'm kinda getting burned out on scifi/fantasy stuff. It seems I've read almost all of the ones that are worth it.
Szlia
Member
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Just readThe Windup Girl, a neo-noir thriller set in a dystopian future of global warming and terrible energetic woes as fossil fuel are going the way of the dodo and genetic plagues of multiple nature decimated people, crops and animals. The book follows a number of flawed characters in the hot pot that is its futuristic Bangkok, just when all the economico-political scheming is about to make the city explode.
The author creates a terrific and terrifying world that is truly original (even if it leaves some unanswered question marks) and the noir plot of double agents, femme fatale and questionable heroes turns bad into worse with ruthless efficiency.
The author creates a terrific and terrifying world that is truly original (even if it leaves some unanswered question marks) and the noir plot of double agents, femme fatale and questionable heroes turns bad into worse with ruthless efficiency.
Gask
Silver Baron of the Realm
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Your post was reminiscent of the reviews that you would find on the back of a novel or other advertisement which was fun whether it was intentional or not.
As for the book, I read it a few years ago and remember enjoying it for the most part.
Write reviews - that one read like pure advertising copy - you could have a potential career open as professional reviewer 8)
Szlia
Member
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Well... I guess the format of the thread pushes me toward this pretty artificial 'blurby' style, it's true that I turn it a bit into a writing exercise! And no, I have never been paid to write blurbs before. I have been paid to write reviews though, but not of books. I also sorta worked in advertising... I guess I could be a blurber then? That does not sound very glamorous a profession: What do you do? I blurb.
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The Dispossessed by Le Guinn: Pretty Great piece of sci-fi. Excellent job of building the world. Considering reading some of the other books in the universe. Not much more to say about that hasn't already been said better by others.
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I just finished Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades both by John Scalzi, pretty decent. Easy reading sci-fi. There are 4 main books and several short stories in the same universe. I'm taking time to read the new Lee Child (Make me) & The 2 Abercrombie shorts then finishing the series. Also, anyone find a link to the new Lee Child short "Small Wars"? Weird that it's not 'out there' but the book that isn't due 'till 9/8 is.
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Nice mix of sci-fi and a hardboiled detective story. Think Chandler meets PKD. If you enjoy those things you'll enjoy this book. Quick, fun read. I mean you can't go wrong with an awesome cover like that.
Cantatus
Lord Nagafen Raider
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Yeah, just finished this one myself. Story is sort of predictable since it's basically an extended version of the "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" episode of Futurama with a few additional (and unsurprising) twists thrown in (which he seems to even acknowledge since the main character's mix-tap is called "Raid the Arcade"). It also reads like the type of self-indulgent world a basement-dwelling nerd would imagine to show everyone how awesome he actually is:
He's one of the best Armada players in the world - so good people literally ask him for autographs! He stands up to the class bully! He can sweep a girl (who is basically a walking deus ex machina) off her feet in less than 5 minutes! He's the first one to shoot down the enemy! He gets to decide the fate of humanity!
That, and apparently he has a high pop culture quota he needs to meet in every chapter. It worked well in Ready Player One, but it was overdone in Armada to the point where it felt like Cline was just showing off how much he knows about science fiction movies since he references every single one from the past 40 years at some point. If this is going to be Cline's shtick, I foresee it wearing thin really fast. Referencing Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Contact, Close Encounters, ET, etc. is not a replacement for plot and character development.
Grimmlokk
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Cantatus
Lord Nagafen Raider
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I mean it worked well within the context of the story. RPO was about a game creator who is obsessed with the '80s and uses that knowledge to hide his fortune. The pop culture references serve a purpose and are intrinsic to moving the story forward. Cline attempts to do the same thing with Armada to justify his overuse of pop culture, but it is lazy and never fully explained:
Carl Sagan convinces the Earth Defense Alliance to hide clues about the impending alien invasion in pop culture to prepare humanity. Though it's never really explained why this is supposed to benefit humanity (aside from letting Cline double the length of his book) and one that starts to fall apart when he cites movies with friendly aliens like ET and Contact as evidence. It never really goes anywhere aside from being justification for The Last Starfighter being repeatedly mentioned.
In RPO, the pop culture references, while still be somewhat heavy-handed, felt like they contributed to the story. In Armada, they're just a crutch he's leaning on due to him trying to repeat RPO's success. I mean, he literally has two characters whose primary function in the book are to have pseudo-Clerks debates over things like whether Thor's hammer is better than Frodo's sword. You can't remove the pop culture references from RPO since they are a large part of the story. You can easily strip them out of Armada, and then you're left with an adolescent's delusions of grandeur.