Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?

I've moved on to the third part of And Quiet Flows the Don by Sholokhov, there are four parts altogether, 'Peace'. 'War', 'Revolution' and 'Civil War' strikes me as having good characterisation and providing an in-depth study of human nature.

Finished Active Memory, the third and final novel in the "Mirador" series by Dan Wells last night and it is easily the best, in my opinion. I've criticised the series for being a bit too tame, even for YA fare, while also praising it for the likeable characters and fairly engaging stories. All this still holds true for the final entry, but all the time spent with these characters, along with a story with higher stakes and plenty of reveals, combines to make this a very enjoyable culmination to the adventures of the Cherry Dogs (and friends). Four stars.

Next up is Michael Connelly's The Night Fire, which is another Bosch/Ballard crossover. I enjoyed their last outing together, so I'm looking forward to this as well.

I will also be cracking open a new short-story collection to read in-between novels and I've chosen Stephen King's Night Shift this time. There are some proper classics in that one, I think. I'll start on this after Bosch & Ballard have done their thing.

Gave up on And Quiet Flows the Don ,it had too much political intrigue and discussion of military procedure for my taste, so I've moved on to U.S.A (Trilogy) by John Dos Passos, and that's far more up my street ,as far as I'm concerned, all about trying to make it in America about 100 years ago and working your way up from the ground up, or just barely being able to survive when you're not one of the more "advantaged" people who lived in the society of the States of the time.

I have recently read Rasputin by Douglas Smith, fascinating. Will probably dig deeper into the Romanov's later in the year. Also read A little History of Religion by Richard Holloway and Heaven & Hell: A History of the Afterlife. No doubt I'll look deeper into these subjects as I find theology fascinating.

Next up some fiction. It's been some time since I read The Fourth Sacrifice so I'm going to go with The Killing Room by Peter May.

"Do you read Sutter Cane?"
The reclusive and eccentric author's long lost novel "In the Mouth of Madness" will release this fall.
From the publisher's press release:

This long-lost novel is Cane’s most anticipated work. Fans of his earlier books (The Hobbs End Horror, The Thing in the Basement, The Breathing Tunnel, and The Whisperer of the Dark) will recognize his trademark blend of psychological terror and cosmic dread. Sutter Cane has long been a name surrounded by mystery. His books have been called “dangerously immersive” and “deeply infectious.” Sales numbers are difficult to verify due to missing or damaged records. Still, many believe Cane has outsold every living author. Now, after years of rumors and speculation, In the Mouth of Madness is finally here.

In his most meta work to date, the novel follows John Trent, an insurance investigator hired to locate Cane himself after the author’s sudden disappearance. What begins as a missing person case quickly turns into something far more terrifying. Trent discovers that Cane’s stories may not just reflect reality, they may shape it.

Sutter Cane has not made any public appearances in years, and as Echo On Publications respects his privacy, he is not expected to participate in media interviews or events. As always, his work speaks for itself.

As a fan of John Carpenter in general and this movie in particular, I must say I was tickled by the way they're handling the announcement of this novelisation I'm typically not a fan of novelisations, but I may have to give this one a go when it releases.

More info here:
Sutter Cane novel In the Mouth of Madness reaches store shelv...

@MightyDemon82 That Rasputin book looks interesting, will absolutely check that one out.
I found The Killing Room to be a small step down from The Fourth Sacrifice. Would love to hear what you think when you're done with it.

Another Bosch/Ballard novel done, having finished Michael Connelly's The Night Fire. I'm really enjoying this format Connelly is using with the Renée Ballard/Harry Bosch tag team and that each novel includes several different cases of different magnitudes, so I hope he sticks with it for a while. This was a very good one and has an interesting antagonist I hope we'll met again down the line. Whichever way he goes, it is clear that I'll stick with Connelly until the end, whatever that may be. Five stars.

I've also cracked open Stephen King's Night Shift and finished Jerusalem's Lot, the first in the collection. A prequel to "Salem's Lot", this excellent novella evokes the best parts of Stoker and Lovecraft. Brilliant! Five stars.

Next up is a brand new novel from an author new to me, Gothictown by Emily Carpenter. I can't remember exactly where I got the recommendation, but I am fairly certain it came from one of the author newsletters I subscribe to, most likely Joe Hill or Peter Clines. I've had it on pre-order and it dropped a little over a week ago, so I'm excited to get started on it

almost done with Wheel of Time Gathering Storm. have about the last 260ish pages left to read.

then earlier today i bought and downloaded the ebook version of the Star Wars novel Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire off of amazon and added it to my Kindle Fire to read this month.

last time i read anything or browsed the internet on my Kindle Fire was back in 2018 or 2019

I finished The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos, the first book in his U.S.A trilogy. It was quite good, but very much "of it's time" I'm now on to Nineteen Nineteen , the second book in the trilogy ,which seems much better so far. All about the struggles of life in America, survival etc. a 100 years or so, ago. The trilogy combines accounts of fictitious personages with details of the lives of real people, including the celebrities of the time, such as Thomas Edison and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Finished Emily Carpenter's Gothictown last night. It is not a novel of many surprises, - it clearly states its mission statement in the opening chapter of the book - but I still found it to be a very engrossing story and, while the broad strokes of what was going on was quite evident, there were still some details for the reader to suss out. I also liked that the story didn't rely on the characters making stupid decisions. Sure, the protagonist didn't always make the smartest decisions either, but they were believable and understandable, considering her situation. An enjoyable read, one that reminded me ever so slightly of "Wayward Pines" by Blake Crouch, in that the protagonist finds themselves in a quaint small town where something's not quite right. I should also mention that this novel had a thoroughly satisfying conclusion, in my opinion. Four stars.

I've also read Graveyard Shift, which was another good short story from Stephen King's Night Shift collection. I'd only seen the adaptation, but it is clear that this particular story works best in short form. Four stars.

Back to Michael Connelly's Bosch universe now, with Fair Warning, the third novel starring journalist Jack McEvoy. Not my favourite Connelly character, but the previous two entries were both four star reads for me, so I've no reason to expect I won't like this one too.

I'm about halfway through Nineteen Nineteen by Dos Passos. After I finish the U.S.A trilogy, i may focus on The Great Gatsby and then The Station Hill Blanchot Reader and then divert my attention to Newspapers, Magazines, Manga and the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack to maintain my literacy. As I feel I may be sufficiently "well-read" by then, depending on whether I have a change of heart or not, of course.

@FuriousMachine I thought that 'The Killing Room' was fine. I could see things coming a mile away, but overall a good read. Maybe not as good as the first couple of books.

I have also recently finished 'Strange Pictures' by Uketsu and 'Star Wars NJO: Darktide II Ruin'. Next up 'Monstrilio' by Gerardo Samano Cordova.

@MightyDemon82 Yeah, that jives with my experience with it as well. I also got a bit annoyed that it reset Margaret and Li's relationship again as it feels like a cheap way to add drama. Happily, this is the last time in the series this happens and the relationship only evolves naturally (but in interesting ways) from here.
The next two in the series are both solid four-star material for me and I gave the final top marks, so I'd say the best is yet to come

@FuriousMachine Yes. Something's Margaret did, irked me a bit but still enjoyed overall. Looking forward to the next ones.

Finished another Michael Connelly novel, Fair Warning, starring journalist Jack McEvoy. While McEvoy is my least favourite protagonist in the Harry Bosch universe, all the novels with him have been really good reads. This was no exception and it was fun to connect back with Rachel Walling as well. I loved the potential going forward provided by the ending here, so while I will prefer more Bosch/Ballard and Mickey Haller novels, another McEvoy adventure will not be unwelcome either.

Next up is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Excited about this one, think it will be a good one

I'm also suspending my Stephen King short story project for a little while, as I want to be able to get through Michael Connelly's "Desert Star" before the Maggie Q series "Ballard" drops this summer and there are a few novels to get through before that.
I could, of course, change the order of my reading list, but I prefer to avoid making too many changes to the top 5 - 10 on it as the books in those positions are typically ones who've been long on the list or are books I want to get through before an adaptation drops. I will definitely push it to the front if it becomes clear that I won't get to it in time, but for now I'll follow the list as it stands.

I finished Nineteen Nineteen and am about to start The Big Money ,which are both by John Dos Passos, and are the second and third parts of his U.S.A trilogy, I found Nineteen Nineteen to be much better than the first part of the trilogy, with more pathos, drama and melancholy than The 42nd Parallel which gave me the sense of the author 'warming up' to the themes that were fully developed in the second part of the trilogy, like the middle, main or simply the second act of a play, as it were. Now for the denoument as Dos Passos' overarcing drama reaches it's (presumably) dark and powerful conclusion.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I've only just realised that I've shied away from the great American novelists (Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Steinbeck, McCarthy etc) and I think it may be due to having been burned by Kerouac in my late teens. My mind has associated them with dull-as-dishwater stories, which is wholly unfair and absurd, but hey, that's just the weird way the subconscious mind works sometimes, I guess.
Will endeavour to rectify, so I put this trilogy on my list, along with Gatsby and a couple of others.
One fine day I may even come to you asking about recommendations for the most approachable of the Russians as well. There are quite a few Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky titles I'm curious about, but that's for another day

Finished my first (voluntarily read) novel by a Nobel prize winner yesterday, Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun. So, there's no denying I was disappointed with this one, which is what often happens, I suppose, when expectations are so high. It was a fine novel and I did enjoy my time with it, but I had prepared myself for a story that would take me on a thrilling ride, intellectually and emotionally. Alas, any great insights into the human condition through the eyes of artificial life was wholly absent, as was any solid emotional investment in the proceedings. The whole thing was, dare I say it, a bit bland?
Still, it falls solidly on the "good" side of the scale, it was very well written and held my interest all the way through. How long it will stay with me remains to be seen, though. Three stars.

Now for a solid Connelly push, where I plan to get through three Bosch universe novels in preparation for Renée Ballard's TV series this summer. First up is the sixth Lincoln Lawyer novel, The Law of Innocence, then it's on to the two Ballard/Bosch novels that make up the source material for the final season of Bosch Legacy and the first season of Ballard

Finished the Hussite Trilogy (Sapkowski) I really enjoyed it, but still prefer the Witcher series. Sapkowski really makes groups of characters very likeable though. I could have, if the story didn't have to actually go anywhere, happily read the tales of Reynavan, Scharley, Samson, et al travelling across medieval Europe for a good 6 more books, tbh. Very much Geralt's Hanza vibes. And the inspirations for Kingdom Come: Deliverance are clear throughout in a pleasing way. I don't think the game exists without Sapkowskis book (even though it's partly a fantasy story) because of the history and setting being used so well as a backdrop it's like it made something click in Dan Vavras head to be like "okay, we can do this for a setting and make it work" Jesus Christ Be Praised.

Moved on to Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales which are now officially called 'The Last Kingdom Series' for ease, I guess. Already noticing differences between the show and book, but it makes neither worse. But the funniest change in tone is the depiction of the Shield Wall. I believe in the series it's kind of made out to be Disney's Shield Wall, where in the book it is very quickly established as somewhere you do not really ever want to ever be 😅 but maybe I'm just remembering the way it is kind of introduced by Uhtred in the show, like a gimmick that he can shout to turn the tide of a battle.

Wow! I finished Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer novel The Law of Innocence in just two days, which is very fast for me. Connelly is a great crime writer, but he is also very, very good at writing legal thrillers and this one is top-tier courtroom drama. Haller and his team never fails to entertain and most of my five-star reviews of Connelly has been for the Lincoln Lawyer novels. Add this one to the list. Five big stars.

I'm continuing my Ballard/Bosch push with Connelly's The Dark Hours. We're now into Covid/BLM/Defund The Police territory, timeline wise, so I'm curious to see how Connelly handles these things in his cop novels (if he handles them at all).