Reading List 2009: # 39 - 44
Sep. 14th, 2009 03:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupAm at 10,400 words now; going to bed. (But not before reporting on recent reading! I'm at that stage of "brain's not quite working, but not sleepy anymore" that demands a hot shower before I can crash.)
I've managed six books in the last six weeks, mostly when occupied somewhere I didn't have a computer in reach, including the line to get into the KANE concert: two military space opera, one "fairy tale compilation", one near-future dystopia, one Star Trek book, and one fantasy novel.
39. Kris Longknife: Mutineer by Mike Shepherd. Paperback, 389pp. 1st of the Kris Longknife series. I went back to read this one after my dad loaned me (and I enjoyed reading) the sixth; I'm still entertained by the central character and her adventures. There's nothing truly exceptional about the plot or setting or anything, but the people came across as real and the world detailed enough to suck me in; I'll definitely be collecting the rest.
40. Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. Hardback, 111pp. Yes, I finally read it. No, I didn't love it. If it hadn't been for the longfic I'm writing and the possible nuggets of background information that might have been (and, in fact, are) buried within the Tales, I doubt I'd ever have read it. I like JKR's characters; but the longer I've had to digest the series, the less impressed I am with her worldbuilding and her need to let The Message rather than the characters and their setting drive the plot. Maybe if I hadn't read so many actual fairy tales as a kid, I'd have been more impressed with these, their actually fairly standard morals, and the just in case you hadn't grasped The Message "commentary" by Dumbledore.
41. The Spartacus File by Lawrence Watt-Evans and Carl Parlagreco. Paperback, 179pp. Picked this up on a whim at Powell's due to the Watt-Evans name. He's hit or miss, but when he's good, he's a fast, fun read. This... wasn't? It read more like a "wouldn't it be interesting if...." dystopian near-future spec that the secondary author came up with and got help backfilling with a plot, but never quite had the follow-through to nurture into a full novel.
42. Star Trek Academy: Collision Course by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Paperback, 401pp. I am... not sure how to summarize this book. Brilliant, angsty, teenage Kirk for the win; I could almost 'hear' the voice of reboot!Kirk during much of his side of the story. Rebellious teenage Spock wasn't terribly far off his Reboot self, either (which is kind of interesting, considering this is supposed to be TOS background). Virtually everyone else, though? Especially JTK's father and brother, the Disapproving Overbearing Not!Officer Dad and Failure Who Needs His Little Brother To Take Care Of Him? And as for how JTK and Spock ended up joining 'Fleet-- I mean, c'mon. *sigh* Anyway. Some excellent world-details in here, especially the DGS, and some good writing-- but also some not.
43. In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake. Hardback, 378pp. 7th of the RCN series. Better than the last one, in my not so humble opinion. I felt like cheering at some of the character moments in this one, and crying at others; my chief complaint about the last one was that personal development seemed to have been frozen in favor of plot action over the course of the series, and that aspect has finally come unstuck. The action was as satisfying as usual, too; with Daniel and Adele stretching their political muscles as much as their military ones this time out.
44. Ill Met in the Arena by Dave Duncan. Hardback, 285pp. Duncan's got a gift for really distinct fantasy worldbuilding. I'd read the Dodec books recently, which started out better than they finished but kept me reading in fascination the whole time, as well as the first King's Blades book, which I cautiously liked; so I thought I'd give this one a shot, too. Interesting, and unique. The story's told in first person present, which was a little disorienting at first, but works for the story; it covers a quest for justice (and love) (and family) in an original setting; and it ends happily. A keeper.
Next up: Um. Back to Trek? Probably the Pike Captain's Table one, or maybe finally the next Diane Duane. My original reason for putting them in the to-read stack is kind of redundant now since it's neither applicable or timely to the current BB fic after all, but since I don't intend to quit writing in that universe anytime soon....
I've managed six books in the last six weeks, mostly when occupied somewhere I didn't have a computer in reach, including the line to get into the KANE concert: two military space opera, one "fairy tale compilation", one near-future dystopia, one Star Trek book, and one fantasy novel.
39. Kris Longknife: Mutineer by Mike Shepherd. Paperback, 389pp. 1st of the Kris Longknife series. I went back to read this one after my dad loaned me (and I enjoyed reading) the sixth; I'm still entertained by the central character and her adventures. There's nothing truly exceptional about the plot or setting or anything, but the people came across as real and the world detailed enough to suck me in; I'll definitely be collecting the rest.
40. Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. Hardback, 111pp. Yes, I finally read it. No, I didn't love it. If it hadn't been for the longfic I'm writing and the possible nuggets of background information that might have been (and, in fact, are) buried within the Tales, I doubt I'd ever have read it. I like JKR's characters; but the longer I've had to digest the series, the less impressed I am with her worldbuilding and her need to let The Message rather than the characters and their setting drive the plot. Maybe if I hadn't read so many actual fairy tales as a kid, I'd have been more impressed with these, their actually fairly standard morals, and the just in case you hadn't grasped The Message "commentary" by Dumbledore.
41. The Spartacus File by Lawrence Watt-Evans and Carl Parlagreco. Paperback, 179pp. Picked this up on a whim at Powell's due to the Watt-Evans name. He's hit or miss, but when he's good, he's a fast, fun read. This... wasn't? It read more like a "wouldn't it be interesting if...." dystopian near-future spec that the secondary author came up with and got help backfilling with a plot, but never quite had the follow-through to nurture into a full novel.
42. Star Trek Academy: Collision Course by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Paperback, 401pp. I am... not sure how to summarize this book. Brilliant, angsty, teenage Kirk for the win; I could almost 'hear' the voice of reboot!Kirk during much of his side of the story. Rebellious teenage Spock wasn't terribly far off his Reboot self, either (which is kind of interesting, considering this is supposed to be TOS background). Virtually everyone else, though? Especially JTK's father and brother, the Disapproving Overbearing Not!Officer Dad and Failure Who Needs His Little Brother To Take Care Of Him? And as for how JTK and Spock ended up joining 'Fleet-- I mean, c'mon. *sigh* Anyway. Some excellent world-details in here, especially the DGS, and some good writing-- but also some not.
43. In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake. Hardback, 378pp. 7th of the RCN series. Better than the last one, in my not so humble opinion. I felt like cheering at some of the character moments in this one, and crying at others; my chief complaint about the last one was that personal development seemed to have been frozen in favor of plot action over the course of the series, and that aspect has finally come unstuck. The action was as satisfying as usual, too; with Daniel and Adele stretching their political muscles as much as their military ones this time out.
44. Ill Met in the Arena by Dave Duncan. Hardback, 285pp. Duncan's got a gift for really distinct fantasy worldbuilding. I'd read the Dodec books recently, which started out better than they finished but kept me reading in fascination the whole time, as well as the first King's Blades book, which I cautiously liked; so I thought I'd give this one a shot, too. Interesting, and unique. The story's told in first person present, which was a little disorienting at first, but works for the story; it covers a quest for justice (and love) (and family) in an original setting; and it ends happily. A keeper.
Next up: Um. Back to Trek? Probably the Pike Captain's Table one, or maybe finally the next Diane Duane. My original reason for putting them in the to-read stack is kind of redundant now since it's neither applicable or timely to the current BB fic after all, but since I don't intend to quit writing in that universe anytime soon....
