Books: Book(s) you are Currently Reading | Part II

[BigBadBruins7708]

Ready Player Two: 6.5/10

Overall was a good read and certainly a satisfactory follow up to Ready Player One.

No spoilers, but the plot and conflict makes sense given the first book and did feel like a natural progression. There is a new 'collect the pieces' quest but its a very nice twist on it that makes not feel like a rehash. Some awesome new planets are explored, which if it gets made into a movie too will work well on the screen.

The new characters work well, even if they aren't in main roles.

My one big issue with the book was pacing. Cline spent too much time, IMO, playing the "where are they now" game and telling the story of what happened between books. This leads to some of the quests feeling very rushed and a couple even being glossed over to the point of "we got this piece, moving on..."

If you liked the 1st book, you'll like this. It didn't leave me feeling disappointed or let down and as far as sequels go it does what you'd want one to do.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Thucydides]

This is my third book by Augustine, and while not as enlightening as his book “Confessions” or a masterpiece like “City of God” it’s still a thought provoking, rewarding book.

Augustine is my favourite thinker of all time (Cicero a close second), and I would recommend his books to anyone, at any time in their lives. My life and mind have been completely different , for the better , since discovering him.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Augustine is my favourite thinker of all time..

Also a big influence on the thinking of Martin Luther (one of my favorite religious & historical figures,.. but I'm a biased Lutheran).

 

[Hammettf2b]

Ready Player Two: 6.5/10

Overall was a good read and certainly a satisfactory follow up to Ready Player One.

No spoilers, but the plot and conflict makes sense given the first book and did feel like a natural progression. There is a new 'collect the pieces' quest but its a very nice twist on it that makes not feel like a rehash. Some awesome new planets are explored, which if it gets made into a movie too will work well on the screen.

The new characters work well, even if they aren't in main roles.

My one big issue with the book was pacing. Cline spent too much time, IMO, playing the "where are they now" game and telling the story of what happened between books. This leads to some of the quests feeling very rushed and a couple even being glossed over to the point of "we got this piece, moving on..."

If you liked the 1st book, you'll like this. It didn't leave me feeling disappointed or let down and as far as sequels go it does what you'd want one to do.

I'm about a chapter away from finishing the first one and was hesitant about giving part 2 a read as I felt it would no way live up to the first one. I'll give it a look though.

 

[Richard]

Star Wars Aftermath: 3 out of 10

I am just getting back into Star Wars books as popcorn reads this past year-in my younger days I read almost all of Bantoms Star Wars catalogue. Read Timothy Zahn's four new books which, save for one, were all quite good.

I'm not getting into the politics of this book-it's there, it's blatant but it really didn't impact my enjoyment.

The book has two huge flaws:

1) It is written in fragments! She goes there and does... he goes there and does... choppy sentences choppy narrative. It's extremely hard to care about any of the characters. In turn, this doesn't really feel like star wars. The atmosphere isn't captured.

2) The lame PC villains. God, ARE THEY TERRRIBLE. There is literally nothing interesting about any of them other than they all ascribe to the latest PC line of thinking.

Literally, you could not fashion a more boring set of villains if you tried.


There are plenty of other problems with this book -the main characters continuously die, ala Glen in the Walking Dead, and are mourned but VOILA they are back. None of the events and character motivations make much sense. A couple months of the Battle of Endor and the Empire is outnumbered and outgunned. No real talk of leadership, of breakaway warlords, nothing. Again, it's as shallow as the "FIRST ORDER" which I still (admittingly never having watched the last skywalker or whatever it is called) have no idea what it is...


As a postscript, I have started Aftermath Life Debt and it does seem to be better than the first book. It's written in a more traditional way.

Verdict: Don't start these books, I am only finishing them because I bought them all. They are PC, boring, and shallow. I'd compare them to some of the worst of the Bantom Star Wars Catalogue.

 

[Hammettf2b]

Just finished Ready Player One. 10/10 in my view. Had such a blast listening to this book. I don't have much of an in depth analysis of it other than I really liked it. Will Wheaton does a phenomenal job in narrating it with his enthusiasm and different voices he makes. Will definitely give the 2nd book a listen.

 

[Primary Assist]

The Stand by Stephen King (Revised 1990).

It's tough to rate this novel, but I'd go as high as 8.5 out of 10. It's not literature. But it is just so fascinating and one of the most impressive pieces of work I've read in the English language. Like all of King's best work, the scariest part isn't in the existential threat of the monster of the week (here, the superflu), but rather in having what we love taken away from us as we attempt to pick up the pieces and move on. This is a character study in depraved humanity and the dereliction of duty from our trusted institutions, while also showcasing the anti-fragility of the human spirit and our ability to persevere when all seems lost.

King has a reputation for losing the plot in his "ramblings," but I don't find that to be the case at all in this meandering 1,300+ page epic. Cormac McCarthy could write this book in 200 pages (in fact he kinda did; it's called The Road), but it's the little, seemingly irrelevant details that stick out to me the most in this parable of the extremes of humanity. Frannie waxing poetically about her mother's parlor or Stu navel-gazing about the one summer after high school when the boys he grew up with suddenly looked almost like men, these are the details that I carry with me as I finish the text. That and Larry Underwood's journey through Hell as he crosses through the Lincoln Tunnel. There's even a detail where one minor character struggles at public speaking in his first appearance, but then acts like such a natural when giving a similar speech to an even bigger group of people. King focuses on the way the character bends his notebook in his hands the second time around, and I can't think of many other authors who would painstakingly include this detail.

If you want escapism from an all-too-real threat given what's going on today, then I really recommend reading the book while avoiding the TV shows. Can you believe that happy crappy?

Edit - The phrase "It's far from literature" has been removed. I will stick to my convictions that this is genre fiction and not literature, but it honestly gets pretty damn close. King manages to squeeze some real foreshadowing and impressive use of literary techniques in here, and his intentions of creating a modern America Lord of the Rings are really laid bare in the text.

 

[Neil Racki]

“Adjustment day” by chuck palahniuk, just finished it

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Richard]

I've looked at this one for awhile and finally purchased it......

 

[Richard]

Just finished this book-having read all of Sears' previous Civil War books I figured I would finally tackle this one, his first.

This book is very good in the beginning but by the end of McClellan's military career it gets a little thin-I think there are 80 pages or so dedicated to McClellan's presidential campaign and his post-civil war career.

The interesting thing is that each chapter serves as an outline to Sears' future books-To the Gates of Richmond and Landscape Turned Red.

Sears is probably the best civil war writer, in terms of his use of the language, still living. I don't agree with all of his theories and opinions and he is wrong on a couple timing issues in the Antietam campaign but, on the whole, this is an excellent book. His early analysis in McClellan's early life and character is very stellar and helps to illuminate and explain his motivations and thinking during his military campaigns.

8/10

 

[Thucydides]

I've looked at this one for awhile and finally purchased it......

Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think

 

[Richard]

Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think

I certainly will-I have a couple more books to get through so this one looks like a late spring/early summer reading.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Babe Ruth]

Cool cover art, good insights.. basically interpreting a concept created by Pope John Paul II called the Theology of the Body (which I hadn't heard of before starting this read.. ).

 

[kihei]

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, a book about Shakespeare's young son which picked up a lot of praise last year.

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Babe Ruth]

I've read a couple Serling biographies in the past (including one written by his daughter).. but this is probably gonna be the most comprehensive (hardcover, about 475 pgs).
My opinion, Serling was one of the best American writers of the 20th century.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Thucydides]

Got a couple on the go. Near the end of the Caesar one.

 

[Siamese Dream]

Book 5 of the Red Rising series. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and it has taken me a while to get this far (It's a 750 page book)

Man I have a real love/hate relationship with this series. I loved the first book, loved it, it's probably the only one of the bunch I would pick up again multiple times. It was short and light and a fairly easy read, think of how The Hobbit is compared to the LOTR. It's also a lot more grounded since the majority of the sci-fi elements don't get introduced until the following books.

The reason I probably struggle with the rest is I'm not really that into sci-fi and you get overwhelmed and bombarded with excessive spaceship and weapons stuff, and the books themselves get longer and longer. For this reason I always start to get bored and reading them becomes a bit of a chore. The only reason I still care is because you develop such a deep affection for the characters in the first two books.

However just when you're on the verge of giving up, the author will drop a huge bombshell out of NOWHERE. I remember being pretty bored before the climax of book 3 and then the final section being some of the best stuff I've ever read, thoroughly captivating. Something huge has just been revealed now in book 5, which sent chills through my whole body and my interest is piqued again and now I don't want to put it down.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

9/10

This was my introduction to Skalzi and his style. To say the least I immediately fell in love.

Skalzi's style of writing reminds me that of Stargate SG-1, serious when it needs to be but on the lighter side most of the time.

The setting and plot are well established, though lacking in particular parts until you learn more about each in the followup novels.

The characters are run of the mill. The main character is your typical fish out of water, while the secondary characters are either the same or some shade there of.

Overall a wonderful book with an interesting premise.

I'm on book 4 of the series now and have loved every minute of the series.

Spoiler

My favorite part of the novel is when Perry has a mental breakdown when the CDF is sent in to take a planet from the species of humanile aliens that are only a couple inches tall.

Reminded me alot of the comedic bit from Army of Darkness when Ash is killing minature versions of himself

 

[Thucydides]