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Post by killerbee on Jun 6, 2023 10:03:54 GMT
Just finished reading The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris.
Overall it was excellent.
Covering the rise (and death) of Caesar and the last years of the Roman Republic before it became the Roman Empire, this was as much a great history lesson as it is a character study of the titular character, political thriller and evocation of that time in Rome.
Harris’ writing really delivers that sense of the often brutal world of violence and political scheming as many different forces compete for power. I also really enjoyed his quotations from the real historical records of Cicero’s speeches and writings- not overused, but giving a genuine voice to the man and times.
Of course, it’s also hugely tempting to draw parallels with modern politics - the rise of populism and use of conflict as political theatre, and I’ve no doubt some of that is entirely deliberate on the part of the author. If we feel that some of today’s politicians are particularly unfit for power, the lessons from 2,000 years ago tell us we should hardly be surprised.
Perhaps ancient Roman politics is one to read only if you like that sort of thing, but if it does sound tempting, I can’t think of a better writer to take you there.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Jun 10, 2023 13:40:54 GMT
Nothing But The Truth - The Secret Barrister
If you've read their first book you know what to expect; an account of the UK justice system equally humorous and horrifying. This one specifically looks at SB's journey from Daily Mail reading, hang-em-and-flog-em type law student to a decent justice-for-all qualified barrister. It's a great read, and the only real criticism is that it's very, very similar to the first book.
8/10
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jun 30, 2023 3:48:50 GMT
I'm gonna stick this in here as well, just in case anyone is interested: Humble have another Warhammer/40k ebook bundle (they do them quite regularly) The $1 tier is pretty good this time though, 8 books including Drachenfels and several others by the same author (Kim Newman) I enjoyed Drachenfels and I understand it's one of the better Warhammer novels. www.humblebundle.com/books/chronicles-world-warhammer-black-library-books
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Post by Bill in the rain on Jul 10, 2023 6:53:22 GMT
Finally finished the audiobook of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
Maybe I read too much genre fiction, but this was rather an unusual read for me. It's not your average post-apocalyptic survival adventure.
I don't really know how to describe it. It's more like little vignettes and observations from different points in the lives of a bunch of characters, whose lives tend to be interconnected in more ways that you'd initially expect. Except that some vignettes are pre apocalyptic flu event, and some are after.
But it's all very understated, and there's very little 'action' in of the type you'd usually expect from a post apocalyptic novel. The characters are all portrayed as realistic people with foibles and flaws, and the writer likes describing minutiae from uncomfortable dinner parties to career choice stress to the unexpected effects of the end of electricity. Each chapter jumps around and it's pretty non-linear.
I enjoyed it, but also found it somewhat frustrating at times, because every time it looked like something was going to happen it'd spin off on another tangent about another character in another place or time. It all mostly wraps up, but not entirely how you'd expect.
It's like the novel equivalent of one of those stories told by Luis in Ant Man 2 when he's under the truth serum, and a simple question can lead to him digressing into a whole bunch of vaguely connected tangents. But much less hyper than that.
I'm intrigued to see how it works as a TV show, but also don't really feel the urge to go through the story again.
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Post by Rubicon on Jul 20, 2023 8:14:19 GMT
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
I didn't quite get on with the humour but there's a fun adventure there with some great characters that it didn't matter. This particular version had illustrations (by Chris Riddell) of the characters and various species mentioned for those that like a visual image. There was also a foreword about how the idea for the book came about and the series' various guises across TV and radio for those that like that sort of thing.
Something about fish/10
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Jul 25, 2023 10:48:30 GMT
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
Post apocalyptic adventure, mostly focusing on a single character Snowman / Jimmy, seemingly the only regular human survivor of a global catastrophe. He's surrounded by 'Crakers' a tribe of friendly but simple genetically modified humans that he serves as guardians for and hostile wildlife. The books narrative is divided between the present day as Snowman goes on a quest to fetch supplies, and the past as we learn about his life in the pre-disaster world and events that led up the fall.
For me this lacked the impact of The Handmaid's Tale. The pre-disaster world seems rather caricatured with scientists and corporations seemingly running amok creating whatever weird genetic hybrids they fancy and the main characters spending a lot of their time watching kiddy porn and snuff movies. The early parts of the book spend a lot of time outlining his current situation and precarious mental state and ruminating on his childhood and his parents, which I found a bit of a chore to get through. It's only when he decides to set off on his quest in the present, and the discussion of the past gets closer to the present day that it really piqued my interest.
It doesn't really have an ending either, it just kind of stops on a cliff-hanger, but it's apparently part of a trilogy so maybe that shouldn't be a big surprise.
3/5
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jul 28, 2023 20:16:21 GMT
The Wood beyond the world (William Morris)
An early fantasy novel. Kinda boring actually, and the old English writing style doesn't do it any favors. The ending is also less than satisfying. Still, I guess it's notable because Morris was an inspiration for Tolkien, so you do get some proto-elements of high fantasy in there, together with a few weird things because genre conventions hadn't been established yet: for example, the Dwarf is described as a monstrous creature, and the protagonist is kinda just there while everybody else strings him along for their own purposes.
Not really in a hurry to read any other books by the same author though.
5/10
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askew
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Post by askew on Jul 28, 2023 20:23:58 GMT
William Morris the Arts and Crafts fellow?
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jul 28, 2023 20:28:23 GMT
William Morris the Arts and Crafts fellow? So it seems. Frankly I had no idea who he was until a couple weeks ago.
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Post by damagedinc on Jul 29, 2023 6:16:01 GMT
House of Leaves Man, where to begin with this one. One of the more interesting things about the haunting MyHouse.wad map is one of it's frequently cited inspirations, the Mark Z. Danielewski novel House of Leaves. I'd never read it myself, but I'd heard of it, a borderline unreadable book (the storyline jumps around at random, and the text can appear sideways, upside down, backwards, in another language, or not at all) with a compelling central tale of a huge, ever changing labyrinth appearing in someone's home. The notion that such such a strange piece of literature would be the driving force behind a goddamn Doom map of all things was fascinating to me and led me to my playing MyHouse, and then eventually to the book itself. The novel is mostly constructed of two main narratives, one being a diary of sorts of Johnny Truant, a young man who discovers a mysterious unfinished manuscript and tasks himself with completing it to the extreme detriment of his physical and mental health. The contents of the manuscript make up the second narrative, in which Will Navidson and his family discover a horrifying and impossibly huge labyrinth exists in their living room. Johnny's entries are inserted completely at random, with cutoffs frequently occurring midsentence. There's frequent mention of a short film portraying the events of the house on Ash Tree Lane within the manuscript, but Johnny has already told us that it is entirely fictional. However by his own admission, he himself may be an unreliable narrator. Honestly I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on this, but I really wanted to get some thoughts down while it's still fresh in my mind and without sounding like a total dumbass. All the stuff I mentioned combined with the aforementioned forays into near total gibberish make this a tough read. But once the Navidson plotline had it's hooks in, I found it very hard to tear myself away. The book is frightening, unfriendly, bewildering. It seemed almost hostile at times, almost resenting my presence and punishing efforts to continue while at the same time not letting me leave. It's a labyrinth. This made me want to pick it up lol. Why is it so expensive?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2023 11:43:37 GMT
Yeah, I guess the extremely unorthodox nature of HoL makes it an expensive book to produce and ensures the pricetag remains rather high (it absolutely needs to read in physical form). Amazon is your best bet.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jul 29, 2023 11:44:40 GMT
You'll understand the expense when you look at it. It's very... unique.
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Post by damagedinc on Jul 29, 2023 14:55:40 GMT
Yeah, I guess the extremely unorthodox nature of HoL makes it an expensive book to produce and ensures the pricetag remains rather high (it absolutely needs to read in physical form). Amazon is your best bet. Well now I'm even more intrigued
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Post by simple on Jul 29, 2023 17:50:35 GMT
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
I’ve seen it billed as an experimental novel but really its more like four short stories than one weird struggle. It gives snapshots into the history of Durham Cathedral and and the post-death legend of St Cuthbert rather than telling a single narrative. Each of the stories is written in a different style and they tell stories set hundreds of years apart.
I’m a fan of Myers and have read all his previous novels so might be biased but I really don’t think its as much hard work as the description of it makes it sound. I’d probably put it in the top half of a ranking of his fiction.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Aug 2, 2023 12:29:07 GMT
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Aug 2, 2023 13:47:19 GMT
I liked Otherland a lot as a teen, but I imagine it would feel a bit dated now with all the tech stuff. I remember loving Memory, Sorrow and Thorn too, but again that was a while ago. In short, I don't really know whether they're good or not. 😅
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Post by kilters on Aug 2, 2023 14:02:45 GMT
Starting to work through the Culture series by Iain M Banks
It's good stuff so far but some things annoy me. Consider Phlebas. Good introduction and fantastic world building. His work really does influence a lot of sci-fi. 6/10 Player of games. More excellent embellishing of the culture universe. Paced well and a character I actually liked in this one. 7/10.
Overall enjoying them and have started the 3rd book. Main gripes are that the characters nearly all seem such moany, neurotic, unlikeable types for an ultra advanced civilization. Also the Aliens aren't really that Alien and serve as a proxy for present day humans so the Culture can lord it over them and morals be taught. Still, enjoyable books and the ships and tech are suitably awesome to keep me going.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Aug 2, 2023 14:19:31 GMT
I've read those two and think I largely agree. I own the rest of the Culture books but never got around to reading them.
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Aug 22, 2023 7:42:45 GMT
Androne - Dwain Worrell Militaristic sci-fi thriller. After Earth suffers a devastating attack by an unknown enemy, a drone operator is drafted to pilot new bipedal and defend humanity, but against what? I enjoyed this, there's a kind-of confused urgency that keeps things ticking along nicely. It requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief though as the plot doesn't hold up to much scrutiny and the people and military structures rather unconvincing. It would probably make a decent popcorn action movie.
3/5
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Post by simple on Sept 16, 2023 13:31:57 GMT
Flicking through John Romero’s autobiography in Waterstones there seems like disappointing few pictures of his gorgeous hair but if it reads as well as Masters of Doom did I’m sure I’ll pick it up once it comes out in paperback
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 16, 2023 14:26:40 GMT
So last thing I finished was This is Not America by Tomiwa OwoladeIt's a bit of a polemic but in a good way, it's snappy and easy to read. Importantly it's thought provoking, while being well researched to back up the points. Basic premise is that Black British Lives are different from American lives so just adopting the creeds of Black Lives Matter from the US with no nuance is kinda dumb. It's obviously from his point of view, hence polemic. But he both feels his Britishness and Nigerian heritage strongly. He probably straw-mans America somewhat; but the concept of Blackness where the black population of America are descended from slaves is often dominant. So they had their cultural heritage linking back to Africa fully wiped out so go in for Pan-Africanism or universal Blackness like it's a solitary thing doesn't make sense to him, or often Black Britons. As most the Black population in the UK now migrated directly from Africa, speak their original languages at home and know the culture of their grand-parents. It's not to say racism in the UK doesn't exist, just that it's different and solutions to it ought to reflect the facts on the ground in the UK, not some abstract concept imported from America. Anyway some of it seems way too optimistic, and it's clearly a polemic from his point of view but it's very engaging and thought provoking. Before that I read Free and Equal by Daniel ChandlerWhich the first half explaining John Rawls' philosophy is very engaging and interesting. The 2nd half on policy conclusions to make from that are all very reasonable, wealth taxes, proportional representation etc. It reads like it ought to be Labour/Lib Dem manifestos, but like reading a manifesto it's fucking boring.
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Post by damagedinc on Oct 4, 2023 10:30:44 GMT
Made it my mission to read more this year....
Frankenstien
Brilliant....enough said
Brave new world
Wasn't a fan
1984
Absolute classic. Loved it
Ovid - metamorphoses
Tough but well worth it.
Song of achilles
Wanted to love this but was a bit disapointed, feel like maybe I should read it again as I read it whilst in hospital in one day. Has some lovely writing but also felt a bit "on the nose" and not particularly deep. Might just read illiad
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Post by dfunked on Oct 4, 2023 11:28:47 GMT
The romance part of Song of Achilles felt a bit too YA for me. (well I'm assuming it turned into romance with all of the longing glances at perfectly toned bronzed flesh) It just didn't click with me and ended up getting abandoned.
Stephen King - Salem's Lot - 7/10 For some reason I never got around to this one, despite it being recommended reading for fans of the Dark Tower series. It's pretty good. Not top tier King imo, but pretty close to it.
Blake Crouch - Wayward Pines trilogy -7/10 Blake is fast turning into my go to author for a quick and dirty bit of entertainment. The literary equivalent of a popcorn film, they're rarely very complex, although he can dig into the science of it all sometimes. It's obviously pretty heavily influenced by Twin Peaks at first (he even admits as much), but soon develops into a fun yarn.
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Oct 14, 2023 10:03:35 GMT
The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro
In a post-Arthurian Britain populated by Britons and Saxons in an uneasy peace while mythical beasts roam the land, an elderly couple living in an isolated community decide to undertake a journey to find their long-lost son, though they can hardly remember him or where he now lives. What is the cause of the memory loss that afflicts the land and what will be the consequences should it be lifted?
I really enjoyed the other books of his that I've read but this one didn't quite live up to those for me. The themes of betrayal and conflict, both domestic and wider are interesting and relevant but the book is a bit too in thrall to them at the expense of an interesting narrative. Every encounter feels heavy with symbolism but sometimes leaves the reader (or at least a simple one like me) wondering what the point was. I found the characters way of speaking, especially the main couple irritating after a while.
A worthy and intellectual book but not necessarily an enjoyable one.
3/5
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Oct 22, 2023 11:12:32 GMT
Books of Blood 1
One of Clive Barker's first, I think? A collection of short horror stories. The writing style is always pretty good, though the single stories are varying in quality. In general, however, there was far more good than bad here. In particular, I liked "In the Hills, the Cities". Superbly descripted.
8/10
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Post by Nanocrystal on Nov 10, 2023 23:16:43 GMT
The Vorrh Trilogy by Brian Catling
Can't quite remember what put me onto these books, they might have been mentioned on this forum, or elsewhere. Anyway, they are the closest thing to "literary fiction" I've ever read, in the sense that they feature a poetic and sometimes experimental writing style that often seems more concerned with evoking feelings than describing a coherent plot. At one point the author describes a dog's dream and it is quite something.
The Vorrh is a fictional forest in colonial Africa that also happens to contain the garden of Eden. Set mostly in a nearby city but also featuring other locations including within the forest itself, the story follows various characters, some of them real historical figures of note, as they encounter bizarre, fantastic and often macabre events. The various story threads sometimes link or overlap and sometimes don't. By the end of the trilogy there is a vague sense of what everything was about but it leaves heaps of questions unanswered. The broad theme I took from the books was isolation and feeling outcast or not fitting in, which thinking about it now makes sense as the fall of man and humans being cast out from Eden is a major part of the overarching plot. Colonialism and slavery are also topics that play a prominent role.
Overall I mostly enjoyed all three books and it was definitely something a bit different for me and outside my comfort zone, as I usually stick with straightforward genre stuff. It has made me realize that I might actually enjoy some of the more arty and cerebral stuff out there.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Nov 11, 2023 4:47:27 GMT
Yeah, Vorrh is one of those things that I know I'll like, and borrowed it in anticipation of reading and enjoying it, but for whatever reason never got around to it. It's been on the "to read" pile for ages now, but maybe I'll move it up a few spots.
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n0mis
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Post by n0mis on Nov 25, 2023 14:50:28 GMT
Books I have read over the last few months:
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin Thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story and style of writing was so engrossing. All about two childhood friends who reunite years later, who are into gaming and designed games together. Took me so long to read this, not due to it being difficult but due to me either stopping to contemplate the prose or re-reading sections as it was so beautifully crafted.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang A writer, steals an unfinished novel from a friend and publishes it herself after completing it, which becomes a huge success and she a literary darling. This then spirals due to suspicions this is not her own work from fans digging into how it was written and her connection to her friends previous published work, the book cleverly broaches racism and cultural appropriation. Adored three quarters of this story but then the themes change and the story and plot shift tonally and was slightly disappointed with the conclusion. Real shame.
People Hacker by Jenny Radcliffe A professional hacker who uses psychology, and charm to gain access to buildings via social engineering. The book goes over her upbringing and how she became interested in this field and then breaks down how she (and her team) infiltrates supposedly highly secure buildings and gains access to sensitive information to report on their weaknesses. Quite an eye opener and shows how its the people involved who are the weak link in these places, either being kind, sloppy with their checking, too gullible etc
Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen by Peter Apps An in-depth investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire. Apps analyses and dissects how decades of neglect, cost-cutting, and lack of accountability in social housing and building regulations by the government enabled the disaster to occur. Haunting but very important read on the subject.
The Accidental Footballer by Pat Nevin Autobiography by former the ex-footballer, where he reflects on growing up in Glasgow and his professional footballer life. Always thought he was one of the nice guys of the sport and enjoy listening to his insights when commentating on games on the radio. Found this really enjoyable but would have liked more on his after-professional life.
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Post by damagedinc on Dec 11, 2023 23:37:10 GMT
Just finished house of leaves ....
Not sure on this one.. there were parts I was absolutly hooked on but I really did struggle with it at other points.
Tempted to re read at some point but skip the JT stuff.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Dec 12, 2023 6:39:58 GMT
It's one of those things that I re-read pretty regularly, inasmuch as House of Leaves is something that you can consume front to back.
But I agree that the Johnny Truant stuff is probably the weakest element. You could take most of his "layer" out and it wouldn't change the experience that much imo.
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