I’m taking a little break from sword & sorcery with Grub Line Rider by Louis L’Amour. “Black Rock Coffin Makers” sure didn’t waste any time getting right into the action!
What are you reading?
- Thread starter Bone2pick
- Start date
My wife just finished L’Amour’s The Quick and the Dead and promptly recommended it to me. I’m sure I’ll get to it shortly.
One of the books I’m currently reading is The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. It’s actually my first "dance" with Christie. Despite her story being a bit outside of my preferred genres, it’s proving to be a fun change of pace.
Just finished Joshua David Bellin's Daughter of Dust, the first volume in his post-apocalyptic series Book of the Huntress. I don't usually read YA, but I picked this up when I ran into Bellin, a fellow-member of a large writers' group I'm in, at a group book signing at a library in the area.
The story clips along well in terms of tension and structure. And it's good, I think, with character development. The FMC starts out as a petulant, impulsive kid who makes foolish decision after foolish decision, but by the end of the story, she's matured into a young adult who can face danger, make needful sacrifices for others, and can provide wise leadership for her group. Moreover, the premise of the immediate threat she and those around her face is unique and singularly creepy. (No spoilers from me!)
This threat, however, seems to be totally separate from the apocalyptic event--- unless the event brought the threat to light? What caused the apocalyptic event in the first place? International warfare? Domestic sabotage? Extra-terrestrials? This volume never says. Is there danger of more of the same happening in the near or mid-future? We're not told that, either.
The POV heroine and everyone else around her seem remarkably uninterested in these questions, or exactly where in the eastern United States they are, or how extensive the damage is, or whether any people besides themselves are left . . .
Maybe the author left that out because he figured his teenaged readers wouldn't care. But I do.
The story clips along well in terms of tension and structure. And it's good, I think, with character development. The FMC starts out as a petulant, impulsive kid who makes foolish decision after foolish decision, but by the end of the story, she's matured into a young adult who can face danger, make needful sacrifices for others, and can provide wise leadership for her group. Moreover, the premise of the immediate threat she and those around her face is unique and singularly creepy. (No spoilers from me!)
This threat, however, seems to be totally separate from the apocalyptic event--- unless the event brought the threat to light? What caused the apocalyptic event in the first place? International warfare? Domestic sabotage? Extra-terrestrials? This volume never says. Is there danger of more of the same happening in the near or mid-future? We're not told that, either.
The POV heroine and everyone else around her seem remarkably uninterested in these questions, or exactly where in the eastern United States they are, or how extensive the damage is, or whether any people besides themselves are left . . .
Maybe the author left that out because he figured his teenaged readers wouldn't care. But I do.
Last edited:
I'm seven and change books into The Dresden Files based on several recommendations from members here when I talk about my WIP. Distressing that he has so many similar ideas to mine, but then when I remember that the first book was written as a "you want tropes? I'll give you tropes!" kind of thing I feel better about myself. Also, now that I've read them I can avoid things that are too similar (no more VW Bug for my MC, for example) to avoid looking like fanfic.
Really? Oh, lucky you to have all those books to read, fresh and new. I have favorites that I've read many times.
Right now, I'm re-reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Christie is good. Kind of hit or miss. And a bit vanilla given the time period, but whatever.My wife just finished L’Amour’s The Quick and the Dead and promptly recommended it to me. I’m sure I’ll get to it shortly.
One of the books I’m currently reading is The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. It’s actually my first "dance" with Christie. Despite her story being a bit outside of my preferred genres, it’s proving to be a fun change of pace.
Definitely hit or miss, and reading books that are fifty to one hundred-plus years old may be an acquired taste.
Vanilla is only bland to an uncultivated palate.
Vanilla is only bland to an uncultivated palate.
I read Styles about 18 months ago for my first flirtation with Christie. I quite enjoyed it. The structure is what really stands out - it's narrative layering. No doubt she does it better elsewhere, but for a first effort it was a very fine one.My wife just finished L’Amour’s The Quick and the Dead and promptly recommended it to me. I’m sure I’ll get to it shortly.
One of the books I’m currently reading is The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. It’s actually my first "dance" with Christie. Despite her story being a bit outside of my preferred genres, it’s proving to be a fun change of pace.
As I'm staying in a new town this week, I went by the local bookstore, which thankfully has a pretty decent English selection. I picked up One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. This is a book and author I have no prior familiarity with, but I like to take gambles like this. I've overcurated my reading in the past, and it feels okay to let loose and pick up something at random. I'll be back to report on my experience reading this.