Whats everyone reading?

[I, Cosh]

Making another run at Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem. I didn't enjoy it at all last time, and didn't actually finish it. In the intervening years everyone I know has raved about it, and in the lockdown era it's one of the few books in the house that I haven't finished (oh for the days of the teetering to-read pile!). So let's see.

I finished it but I found it a real slog. Actually, that's only half true. I enjoyed the Cultural Revolution storyline and the grumpy cop but I found the main plot almost as irritating as the Glass Bead Game.

Despite my predictions lockdown has not helped me get through my backlog of books but I'm currently enjoying The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I started this once before, a couple of years ago, and absolutley hated it, I was persuaded to give it another go by my partner's enthusiasm and I'm getting a lot more into it and out of it this time.

[Colin YNWA]

Despite my predictions lockdown has not helped me get through my backlog of books but I'm currently enjoying The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. I started this once before, a couple of years ago, and absolutley hated it, I was persuaded to give it another go by my partner's enthusiasm and I'm getting a lot more into it and out of it this time.

Oh I love that book - though my copy has long since disappeared.

There's a few collections of comics based on The Escapist - the comic character in the book that while hit and miss are worth checking out.

[TordelBack]

Agreed on both counts - the comics are okay, but the book really is excellent. Chabon the person annoys me, and his work for the screen is uneven,  but he's written some of my favourite books (this, Yiddish Policeman's Union, Gentlemen of the Road).

[I, Cosh]

Yeah, everyone on here and in real life raves about it. The first time I just got really sick of the extended digressions into the backstory of each new character but this time I'm enjoying it.

[Smith]

Armor of Contemp. Took me a few years,but Im getting back into Gaunts Ghosts.

[Barrington Boots]

I started reading GW's Horus Heresy series around the start of lockdown. I've just started book 30 and I'm questioning the wisdom of the endevour, as I'm feeling pretty ground down by the relentless grimdark of the whole thing (not to mention the often ponderous writing!)

However I just picked up 8 second hand Stainless Steel Rat books on eBay for a song, which should be a lovely change of pace.

[von Boom]

However I just picked up 8 second hand Stainless Steel Rat books on eBay for a song, which should be a lovely change of pace.

Oh, I'd jump straight into those!

[Smith]

I started reading GW's Horus Heresy series around the start of lockdown. I've just started book 30 and I'm questioning the wisdom of the endevour, as I'm feeling pretty ground down by the relentless grimdark of the whole thing (not to mention the often ponderous writing!)

However I just picked up 8 second hand Stainless Steel Rat books on eBay for a song, which should be a lovely change of pace.

Massive undertaking. I would suggest jumping around a bit and not doing the whole HH. Legion,Betrayer,Master of Mankind,First Heretic...hit the high points.

I also went waay back and tried to catch up with all the WH40k game changers. Lord of the Night and Rennies Gothic War duology still hold up remarkably well.

[Barrington Boots]

Massive undertaking. I would suggest jumping around a bit and not doing the whole HH. Legion,Betrayer,Master of Mankind,First Heretic...hit the high points.

I also went waay back and tried to catch up with all the WH40k game changers. Lord of the Night and Rennies Gothic War duology still hold up remarkably well.

Wise words, but I had already read all the high points, more or less! I cherrypicked them over the years. Reading the whole lot in order seemed a good idea at the time...
There's some right turkeys in there as well as a good story, but overall the series is a bit of a drag. I suppose it was never intended to be read in this way!
High points - definitely First Heretic, Betrayer, Legion. Prospero Burns / Thousand Sons, Know No Fear (first half of it at any rate....)

Outside of the HH I think the Night Lords trilogy is the absolute best. Not read the Rennie stuff.

Not sure how I've never read much the Stainless Steel Rat... one book in my early teens I think? Veyr much looking forward to them.

[Smith]

Ave Dominus Nox,indeed.
Check out Execution Hour and Shadowpoint if you can.
William Kings Space Wolf series is also a personal favourite. From the relatively newer stuff Carcharodons and Steve Parkers Deathwatch.

[Barrington Boots]

I've quickly looked up both Execution Hour and Shadowpoint and stuck them onto my 'to read' list - in the correct order of course - after Stainless Steel Rat...

I have a couple of the William King Spacewolf books and it's been a while since I read them but I have to say I found them pretty risible - I know they were written in the time when the lore wasn't so established / tightly controlled but I seem to recall a scene where some Space Marines disguise themselves as Orks by wearing their hats and then end up in an ork race? I'm not a huge fan of William King as a writer based on his Gotrek stuff which starts off nicely and goes downhill at a rat of incredible knots so it may be a personal thing.

I've only dipped very sporadically into the post-HH stuff as I find the quality in Black Library very variable indeed. Aside from the Night Lords stuff I quite enjoyed what I read of Ciaphas Cain despite it being a complete Flashman homage. Storm of Iron, of course. The Gaunts Ghosts stuff starts off nicely but again the decline soon sets in - Dan Abnett can really write a tense battle but imo there's a lack of individual voices amongst the cast that steadily increases as they start to get killed off. I also find he has a tendency to write the old 'character A, character B and <2 blokes you've never heard of before> break cover. Unknown bloke 1 was suddenly killed! Then unknown bloke 2 was killed as well!' trope a little too often. I think the first couple of omnibus's are all you need there.

The amount of BL fiction is vast though to it's really good to get a personal recommendation. Cheers!

[Smith]

Yeah,Gaunts Ghosts can get a bit repetative. A last stand happens once per book.

IIRC,it was dark and they were in a buggy so it could have worked. I did like Gotrek and Felix,but I read like the first 2-3 books wayback when...I assume it dipped in quality after a while?

I never really dived deeply into HH,mostly because we know how it all turns out. So I mostly stick with the "present day" stuff.

And if you want some really bizarre earliest stuff,try finding Space Marine by Ian Watson. That guy has some weird fetishes.

[Greg M.]

...a rat of incredible knots...

[Barrington Boots]

Yeah, the first few Gotrek & Felix books are good - I quite like the Warhemmer fiction from that period: Drachenfels, Beasts in Velvet and so on - where the writers were exploring the setting and coming up with cool ideas (lets not talk about Konrad though)
The more into the series you get the more you can see the death of WHFRP and the influence of WHFB: there almost seems to be a mandatory requirement to include a pitched battle per book, there's always reference to whatever new models GW were looking to push at the time, and the storytelling starts to take a backseat to showcasing stuff people could buy. A bit like White Dwarf really. It doesn't help that the concept is stretched to breaking point.. stuff repeats and becomes trite. If I have to read about Gotrek running his finger down the blade of his axe one more time...

I quite like the HH stuff because, in a really ham-fisted way, there's almost a Shakespearan quality to the Primarchs in that they're all totally awesome dudes but one terrible flaw brings about their downfall. There's a lot of 'what ifs' hinted at - what if Magnus had been a little less hubristic? What if the Emperor had been less of a bellend to Angron? and so on. I would say though of the 30 books I've done so far I'd guess 10 are essential, 10 have plot-but-are-a-bit-boring and the other 10 are basically rubbish. I feel I've come this far though so I should finish.

Ian Watson is a total nutter. I think I have read Space Marine!

[Barrington Boots]

...a rat of incredible knots...

Rat King hail!
I totally fail.