Reading List: #22-26
Feb. 23rd, 2010 02:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupEight more days, five more books. *laughing* Two scifi, two fantasy, and one historical fiction.
22. The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. Paperback, 402pp. The first third of this was written in the 60's, the rest in the 70's, and it shows; the stories are supposed to be set many thousands of years in the future, but a lot of the "future" tech and scifi tropes used are very dated, and women are still generally portrayed as disadvantaged compared to men-- even the hero's kickass girl, who is characterized as kickass despite her femaleness. Aside from those points, though, it was a fun collection of actiony mayhem, and reminded me a lot of the TV show "Leverage" (in that the heroes are "former" thieves recruited to chase and stop evil masterminds).
23. Wolf Captured by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 709pp. 4th of the Firekeeper series. I'm glad I finally picked this one up; I didn't like the third one in the series, mostly because it felt like the storytelling came unfocused and most of the characters were imprisoned by the plot rather than moving it along, so I was hesitant. There was much more movement in this one, though, not only in terms of distance traveled and exploration of the setting but also in terms of personal growth, something I usually appreciate about this author's work in general. Despite the story's length I didn't feel like any of the detail was superfluous; I was swept along right to the end, and want to find the fifth one ASAP.
24. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Paperback, 279pp. 2nd of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I liked this one better than The Lightning Thief; the obstacles seemed less ridiculous and "pastede on yay" (the excuse for why they couldn't use phones or planes was a very obvious afterthought in Book 1), the kids were less oblivious (though they still had some facepalm moments), and the mythic setting was explored more fully. They're still ridiculously kickass for teenagers battling superpowered beings, but I definitely got caught up in it, and turned the last page with a smile.
25. The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian. Paperback, 329pp. 6th of the Aubrey-Maturin series. I love Jack and Stephen, I do, but there's a reason I waited two years between books five and six; their adventures can be rather wearing on the emotions! So much action and misfortune and spying and friendship and war and difficulties both romantic and financial-- very likeable human characters cast against a very authentic historical world. (I like this series about as much as I like the Sharpe series, and for many of the same reasons, they just get-- depressing sometimes).
26. Time Spike by Eric Flint and Marilyn Kosmatka. Paperback, 651pp. Part of the Ring of Fire. This is kind of a branch-off of the 1632 series; another chunk of modern America (this time, a maximum security prison rather than a rural Appalachian town) is cast back in time, picking up a number of other historical groups that peopled Southern Illinois along the way. Only-- they end up in the Dinosaur Age instead of medieval Germany. The interactions between the different historical populations were the best part of this; I enjoyed the worldbuilding, and many of the heroic characters were engaging. The antagonists, though-- Flint's not quite as far-right as Ringo, but he's a lot closer to Ringo than a lot of the other authors I read, and there are some definite "I C What U Did Thar" moments in the plotting, especially in the guards &/vs. prisoners bits. This is one of those I'll keep, but not recommend.
Next: Currently reading the first of Diane Duane's Young Wizard series, since it turns out I don't have any of her other Rihannsu books, which is what I'd wanted to read next. (I've put those on order).
~
22. The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. Paperback, 402pp. The first third of this was written in the 60's, the rest in the 70's, and it shows; the stories are supposed to be set many thousands of years in the future, but a lot of the "future" tech and scifi tropes used are very dated, and women are still generally portrayed as disadvantaged compared to men-- even the hero's kickass girl, who is characterized as kickass despite her femaleness. Aside from those points, though, it was a fun collection of actiony mayhem, and reminded me a lot of the TV show "Leverage" (in that the heroes are "former" thieves recruited to chase and stop evil masterminds).
23. Wolf Captured by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 709pp. 4th of the Firekeeper series. I'm glad I finally picked this one up; I didn't like the third one in the series, mostly because it felt like the storytelling came unfocused and most of the characters were imprisoned by the plot rather than moving it along, so I was hesitant. There was much more movement in this one, though, not only in terms of distance traveled and exploration of the setting but also in terms of personal growth, something I usually appreciate about this author's work in general. Despite the story's length I didn't feel like any of the detail was superfluous; I was swept along right to the end, and want to find the fifth one ASAP.
24. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. Paperback, 279pp. 2nd of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I liked this one better than The Lightning Thief; the obstacles seemed less ridiculous and "pastede on yay" (the excuse for why they couldn't use phones or planes was a very obvious afterthought in Book 1), the kids were less oblivious (though they still had some facepalm moments), and the mythic setting was explored more fully. They're still ridiculously kickass for teenagers battling superpowered beings, but I definitely got caught up in it, and turned the last page with a smile.
25. The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian. Paperback, 329pp. 6th of the Aubrey-Maturin series. I love Jack and Stephen, I do, but there's a reason I waited two years between books five and six; their adventures can be rather wearing on the emotions! So much action and misfortune and spying and friendship and war and difficulties both romantic and financial-- very likeable human characters cast against a very authentic historical world. (I like this series about as much as I like the Sharpe series, and for many of the same reasons, they just get-- depressing sometimes).
26. Time Spike by Eric Flint and Marilyn Kosmatka. Paperback, 651pp. Part of the Ring of Fire. This is kind of a branch-off of the 1632 series; another chunk of modern America (this time, a maximum security prison rather than a rural Appalachian town) is cast back in time, picking up a number of other historical groups that peopled Southern Illinois along the way. Only-- they end up in the Dinosaur Age instead of medieval Germany. The interactions between the different historical populations were the best part of this; I enjoyed the worldbuilding, and many of the heroic characters were engaging. The antagonists, though-- Flint's not quite as far-right as Ringo, but he's a lot closer to Ringo than a lot of the other authors I read, and there are some definite "I C What U Did Thar" moments in the plotting, especially in the guards &/vs. prisoners bits. This is one of those I'll keep, but not recommend.
Next: Currently reading the first of Diane Duane's Young Wizard series, since it turns out I don't have any of her other Rihannsu books, which is what I'd wanted to read next. (I've put those on order).
~
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Date: 2010-03-02 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 12:30 am (UTC)