What Book Are You Reading?

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Still focusing on the 2016 Reading Challenge (though I'll be breaking before summer for some books that won't count). Finished Bonhoeffer's book and next will read Peter David's Star Trek: The Next Generation: Imzadi.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

I also have finished Batman & Robin Adventures: Two-Face Face-Off. It's a children's book written by Laurie S. Sutton, with illustrations by Luciano Vecchio.

The plot is that Two-Face escapes Arkham (largely because Batman sucks ass at fist fights) and proceeds to do his paint-by-numbers crimes. He tries to steal twin diamonds, twin coins, and even a biplane. Ultimately he is captured by...Robin, who forces him to parachute from said biplane by pulling the 'chute's release, allowing the laughably-inept Dark Knight to finally do his job.

As is wonderfully usual for DC's kids books line, there are writing prompts in the back so that the child-reader can think about the story in more ways than just "Batman goes POW!"

I don't think this book is as good as some of the others in the line I've read (I really think the best was Danger on Deck, with Cat Commander a close second), but this one gives Robin a chance to shine: he kicks Two-Face's ass (twice), and gets to drive the Batmobile in the end.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

Why are you reading that stuff?

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

What, the kids' books? Because some of them are fun little adventures and I'm a fan of the animated Batman series from some years back. Even if it isn't for adults, I get a laugh out of some of them and they really aren't bad. A bit schlocky in some cases, but not bad.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Monica Hughes' Invitation to the Game (1990)




(different cover, but the right one doesn't link properly)

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Finished The Beast Arises, Book 3: The Emperor Expects, by Gav Thorpe





This was a faster read for me, mostly because I couldn't sleep and read two-thirds of it in bed at a maniac's pace to tire myself out. Didn't work, but I got the novel done.

The plot is that with relentless ork attacks, the High Lords finally get around to amassing a huge naval force and moving to destroy an ork moon as a sign that humanity will not be snuffed out. Along the way, numerous political/espionage games are played, which reveal just how ruthless and dangerous certain factions really are and how some of them really need each other. This novel does have good action and insight, though it's focused almost wholly around mortals (ordinary humans) rather than a mix of mortals and Space Marines or heavily/exclusively upon the latter.

In the process of seeing the story unfold, both from the perspective of the Navy and two critical characters from before, we learn interesting and key details of the orks and how and why they are such a massive threat now. To use an analogy, the orks are like a boxer: their punch is thrown and when stopped, is pulled back for a second go. They also have leaps forward and then plateau, and these processes endlessly repeat. While none of this seems important, they are very important facts to the Imperium and its forces, as they largely consider the orks to be shoddy brutes of little threat for the most part, having been broken of a major leader a thousand years earlier.

The title is derived from a "speech" given by one of the High Lords to the Navy before a massive battle begins, and I can't say more without spoiling important character details. Another character is responsible for the next book being named The Final Wall, though again spoilers prevent me from saying extra.

Overall a good book, bringing a fresh perspective in the form of the Imperial Navy and High Lords' internal struggles reaching a fever pitch. Definitely worth picking up.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

I just read these two books:



I enjoyed them.

Some of the characters in them are, I'll admit, unrealistically restrained in the language they use, since these are targeted at younger readers, but I can't really complain, since I'm not really one to put the "fan" in "profanity" (or the "pro" for that matter ). The kids' non-salty language doesn't seem so jarring (as there DO exist kids that don't spout 4-letter words even under stress), but when hardened criminals opt for "freakin'" instead of something stronger, I find myself smiling in amusement.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Also part of the challenge, just started Joe Gores' 2009 prequel to The Maltese Falcon called Spade & Archer.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Since I really liked Rob Sanders's "Redemption Corps" in the Honour Imperialis anthology, I bought his Space Marines Battles novel Legion of the Damned.




Since I read up on the Legion's history on the wiki, I know the truth about them (it's a great article, and the theories about them are great even knowing the truth), but I wanted to get a gritty and impossible-odds novel. I read some middling reviews but so far I'm liking it. Frankly, I think Redemption Corps and Predator, Prey are Sanders's best work, but I'm not done this one yet and will probably be impressed by the end.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Big in Japan by Timothy Price



The first book I'm reading this year that isn't part of the 2016 Challenge because it's one of two I want to read before returning to G-Fest in July.

[KilowogsDisciple Green Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close KilowogsDisciple]

I also have finished Batman & Robin Adventures: Two-Face Face-Off. It's a children's book written by Laurie S. Sutton, with illustrations by Luciano Vecchio.

The plot is that Two-Face escapes Arkham (largely because Batman sucks ass at fist fights) and proceeds to do his paint-by-numbers crimes. He tries to steal twin diamonds, twin coins, and even a biplane. Ultimately he is captured by...Robin, who forces him to parachute from said biplane by pulling the 'chute's release, allowing the laughably-inept Dark Knight to finally do his job.

As is wonderfully usual for DC's kids books line, there are writing prompts in the back so that the child-reader can think about the story in more ways than just "Batman goes POW!"

I don't think this book is as good as some of the others in the line I've read (I really think the best was Danger on Deck, with Cat Commander a close second), but this one gives Robin a chance to shine: he kicks Two-Face's ass (twice), and gets to drive the Batmobile in the end.

Sounds like fun!

I'm reading "The Virtues of Captain America", cool book that touches on moral philosophy and its application in Cap comics. Very interesting, though I knew the basics of moral philosophy from my school days it was fun to get a tune up. It got really interesting when it went more into Cap specifically. A very good book, and it would probably work well even for folks whom aren't particularly knowledgeable about philosophy.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Holy crap! HOLY CRAP!

I just found out Steve Alten is releasing the next book in the MEG series titled Night Stalkers on 6/14. Sweet MEGALODON!

*does the happy dance for shark kind *

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Shit, I need to get that too. And hell, I haven't even touched my copy of Hell's Aquarium, which has been sitting on my shelf for literally years since its release.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Shit, I need to get that too. And hell, I haven't even touched my copy of Hell's Aquarium, which has been sitting on my shelf for literally years since its release.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

You don't realize how many books I have untouched, do you? It's literally in the upper double-digits, and a lot of those are thick-ass novels. Years to read something is a common thing for me.