The B&B Book Review - The Bear and Badger

Bob

Read a couple of Stephen King's on my holiday.. used to be a huge fan but I felt he went a bit off the boil when he finished The Dark Tower.

Anyway read Mr Mercedes.. which was ok. Readable and weirdly prophetic plot concerning a loan guy trying to blow up a kids pop concert with a nail bomb.

Then read Doctor Sleep, The sequel to The Shining, and it's probably the best King in recent times by some margin.. I'd feared a lack of inspiration signalled by the sequel.. but it's very good, powerful and readable. Recommended.

dynamiteReady

Read the Book Thief recently. Critically acclaimed, and an interesting perspective on World War 2, because, for me at least, I know little about war time Germany from the civilian perspective.

It's barely a thing in the British media, obviously.

Interesting, but I didn't find it to be the incredibly moving work it was purported to be, despite having to get the dust out of my eyes a handful of times.

Facewon

Facewon wrote:

https://www.edge.org/responses/what-scientific-idea-is-ready-for-retirement

Cool, scroll down, and there's pretty much all of it....

Still cracking through this. On really thin paper, so it's a stealth early 600 pages.

Some really good stuff and organised very well.

Lord_Griff

River of pain thing is good.

tigersgogrrr

Just picked up Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. I've only read Prince of Thorns but that was excellent for the most part.

Lord_Griff

I finished the Divine Comedy yesterday.

Thought it was great, very evocative. Some of the cantos worked more than others, for me, will go back an analyse the structure to see if there is a reason.

It was the Everyman's Edition, which has a very nice notes section (exhaustive) at the end.

Bollockoff

Finished the last of the Foundation trilogy. More than the previous two books it shows the original collected short story roots more obviously and the second half of the book cuts off prematurely. The clandestine war of the two foundations trying to outwit each other felt like it needed an entire book rather than half a rushed short story. The second book is the best bits before Asimov apparently went full sell-out mode in the decades to come.

Properly started a new Lem, A Perfect Vacuum. A collection of literary reviews written by the man himself about books that don't exist and it's thus far amazing. Two highlights have been Sexplosion about a near future consumer culture that accidentally infected the world with a sexual lust eliminating hormone that made reproduction a job for conscripts and society has adapted gratuitous food and gastric pornography to fill the hole.

+ Gruppenfuhrer Louis XVI where a Nazi war criminal flees to Argentina and gets pressganged locals and a small Nazi cohort to recreate the namesake French King's territory from the 1700's which he rules over and shoots anyone not taking part in the fantasy that they are actually in France speaking French (they're speaking German) and at war with their neighbour, Spain (which is Argentina.)

Gremill

tigerswiftly wrote:

Just picked up Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. I've only read Prince of Thorns but that was excellent for the most part.

You need to remedy that and read the whole Thorns Triolgy, then the Prince of Fools trilogy (even better than Thorns).

I'm about 3/4 through The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin which is very good indeed.

Lord_Griff

Nicholas Gurewitch trying to get his mother fucking book finished.

http://melancholiadepot.bigcartel.com/behind-the-scenes

Book: http://melancholiadepot.bigcartel.com/product/the-book-pre-order

Nice art style.

Kickstarter info

tigersgogrrr

The Legend of Podkin One-Ear.

Lovely stuff. Good rabbits go on adventure to fight against evil rabbits who have been changed into monstrosities of iron and EVIL.

acemuzzy

I'm still on the Blade Itself, struggling to find much time to read. Past half way. Basically enjoying it. Some fun character combinations - Glokta and Bayaz just met...

acemuzzy

Probably gonna try some Prince of Thorns after. Coupled with some more Christie.

Gremill

acemuzzy wrote:

I'm still on the Blade Itself, struggling to find much time to read. Past half way. Basically enjoying it. Some fun character combinations - Glokta and Bayaz just met...

Glokta is brilliant, such a well written character.

Dinostar77

Alien: Out of Shadows
Audiodrama, which takes place between Alien and Aliens. Really liked this. Cleverly incorporates Ripley into the story line without screwing up existing timeline. Also introduces a new species not seen in the alien universe so far. Should have been a movie.

Lord_Griff

Liked both of them

Kernowgaz

Gremill wrote:

tigerswiftly wrote:

Just picked up Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. I've only read Prince of Thorns but that was excellent for the most part.

You need to remedy that and read the whole Thorns Triolgy, then the Prince of Fools trilogy (even better than Thorns).

Yeah, they're stunning .

Bought Red Sister on release , but as I like to own the physical version of books i know I'll like I've not been able to read it . I mainly read using the Kindle app on my phone, where I can read it whenever and wherever.

I'm the same with cds, do most people read the paper or digital version ?

Kernowgaz

Gremill wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

I'm still on the Blade Itself, struggling to find much time to read. Past half way. Basically enjoying it. Some fun character combinations - Glokta and Bayaz just met...

Glokta is brilliant, such a well written character.

Now I've read Mark Lawrence , I think Prince Jalan is the young Glotka

Tempy

Sticking this in the Book Review thread because about three people read the manga thread.

I finished Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, and it's a genuine jaw-dropping, heartfelt masterpiece.

It's essentially the story "The World's Strongest Robot" from Tezuka's Astro Boy, where the seven most powerful robots in the world are targeted by an new, unknown assailant. Urasawa changes it though, in a kind of Alan Moore way (if Moore wasn't a cynical old wizard) and centres the plot not on Atom, but on Gesicht, a EUROPOL detective and one of the seven strongest robots. It works really well, because he's allowed to be a more complex character than perhaps Atom would be, though that's kind of dismissing how well the manga rounds out all of its characters.

Its only Eight Volumes long, which is relatively short, but each one is beautiful and full of heart, it had me buckling with tears more than a few times, and open mouthed at some of the imagery in others. It's very keenly aimed at the heartstrings, but I'd say it rarely veers into saccharine territory, instead grounding its emotions in more mature and realistic situations. There are a lot of musings on what robots can feel and what they can't, and there's also a lot of duality of characters and ideas going on. Although that's a very simple literary tool, it is still used to great effect. Rarely for a manga, it shows almost complete disinterest in its fights between robots, and 90% of the fighting is simply seen as a series of memory transmissions from the losing robot.

The only minor issue is it perhaps pushes on too long with its central mysteries, and the final volume is a bit breakneck paced in its resolution, but every arc ties up, and every resolution feels solid, convincing, and delicately handled. It's easy to bandy about the word masterpiece, but I had the hairs on the back of my neck prick up frequently, and could barely stop reading when I started. Urasawa's art has received some criticism for being too flat, but I find his relaxed, elegant and naturalistic style to be a perfect match for the story its telling, and it takes Tezuka's rounder and larger than life characters with their comical noses and form defining eyes and turns them into intricate renderings. It probably takes a bit of knowledge of Astro Boy to appreciate how devastatingly brilliant his illustrations of Doctor Tenma are, especially as he obfuscates his face for so long for the final pay-off, but fucking hell does it work. He's also incredibly evocative in his use of certain imagery, especially the "horns" that accompany each of the murders in the first half of the story. Also a bonus for people who aren't fans of anime or mange, it barely looks like what you'd consider "manga" given its restrained and mature style.

Honestly I'm still reeling. From an early story arc about a weapon of war who wants to learn piano, to the smart use of the Iraq War as a real world anchoring for its 39th Central Asian Conflict, to Gesicht's revelations about his past, to the ominous use of a Roosevelt Teddy Bear, and Atom finally getting the classic Astro Boy hair spikes, it's just full to the brim of page after page of gorgeous art, dense and twisted conspiracy, and genuine, unabashed heart. I strongly recommend you try and track it down in hard copy, or use one of the many, many illegal sites to read it, even if you think Manga isn't your bag. It's transcendent.

Nina

Hm, comixology.com doesn't seem to have it, and Google play only has a cd he made...

Might go for a hardback option then, could be a nice present for B his birthday next month. Sounds interesting and he liked Astro Boy.

Edit, quick look at Amazon and Barnes and Noble shows they only have the paperback. How many hours of Splatoon can I get if I give all 8 and he reads them in one go? That's actually the most important question here.

Tempy

Astro Boy himself doesn't turn up until perhaps... the second or third volume I think, but if he is a fan I'd say it's still worth it. It isn't explicitly about Astro/Atom, but there are a lot of early links that I imagine are rewarding to fans, but I think anybody could enjoy it. I basically read it on an illegal site, but as soon as I get a job I am going to be collecting it in physical form because I've fallen in love with Urasawa's art.

Nina

Yeah, figured it wasn't a full Astro Boy story, but if I remember correctly it was mainly the simple art style he appreciated, and from what you wrote up there the story is worth it too.

Guess I'll have to contact family to see if more people want to chip in to get them all at once.

Bollockoff

Started Slade House to finish before a discussion meet next Wednesday. It is off to a surprisingly distressing start.

g.man

Tempy wrote:

Sticking this in the Book Review thread because about three people read the manga thread.

I finished Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, and it's a genuine jaw-dropping, heartfelt masterpiece.

It's essentially the story "The World's Strongest Robot" from Tezuka's Astro Boy, where the seven most powerful robots in the world are targeted by an new, unknown assailant. Urasawa changes it though, in a kind of Alan Moore way (if Moore wasn't a cynical old wizard) and centres the plot not on Atom, but on Gesicht, a EUROPOL detective and one of the seven strongest robots. It works really well, because he's allowed to be a more complex character than perhaps Atom would be, though that's kind of dismissing how well the manga rounds out all of its characters.

Its only Eight Volumes long, which is relatively short, but each one is beautiful and full of heart, it had me buckling with tears more than a few times, and open mouthed at some of the imagery in others. It's very keenly aimed at the heartstrings, but I'd say it rarely veers into saccharine territory, instead grounding its emotions in more mature and realistic situations. There are a lot of musings on what robots can feel and what they can't, and there's also a lot of duality of characters and ideas going on. Although that's a very simple literary tool, it is still used to great effect. Rarely for a manga, it shows almost complete disinterest in its fights between robots, and 90% of the fighting is simply seen as a series of memory transmissions from the losing robot.

The only minor issue is it perhaps pushes on too long with its central mysteries, and the final volume is a bit breakneck paced in its resolution, but every arc ties up, and every resolution feels solid, convincing, and delicately handled. It's easy to bandy about the word masterpiece, but I had the hairs on the back of my neck prick up frequently, and could barely stop reading when I started. Urasawa's art has received some criticism for being too flat, but I find his relaxed, elegant and naturalistic style to be a perfect match for the story its telling, and it takes Tezuka's rounder and larger than life characters with their comical noses and form defining eyes and turns them into intricate renderings. It probably takes a bit of knowledge of Astro Boy to appreciate how devastatingly brilliant his illustrations of Doctor Tenma are, especially as he obfuscates his face for so long for the final pay-off, but fucking hell does it work. He's also incredibly evocative in his use of certain imagery, especially the "horns" that accompany each of the murders in the first half of the story. Also a bonus for people who aren't fans of anime or mange, it barely looks like what you'd consider "manga" given its restrained and mature style.

Honestly I'm still reeling. From an early story arc about a weapon of war who wants to learn piano, to the smart use of the Iraq War as a real world anchoring for its 39th Central Asian Conflict, to Gesicht's revelations about his past, to the ominous use of a Roosevelt Teddy Bear, and Atom finally getting the classic Astro Boy hair spikes, it's just full to the brim of page after page of gorgeous art, dense and twisted conspiracy, and genuine, unabashed heart. I strongly recommend you try and track it down in hard copy, or use one of the many, many illegal sites to read it, even if you think Manga isn't your bag. It's transcendent.

Is there somewhere I can get this to stick on my iPad? Sounds like good holiday reading.

Skondo

Just finished The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey. The story was kind of intriguing although it's written how I imagine a 'young adult' novel would be written - fairly simply with the odd big word thrown in. Sadly the characters were all too obvious and the ending was predictable. Disappointing.

Can anyone recommend a novel where the ending really smacks you in the chops, or is at the very least satisfying?

Bollockoff

Kavalier & Clay?

Skondo

Great shout. Absolutely loved it. I'm just about to start The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

Lord_Griff

Reading Mievilles new book, New Paris. Seems a bit derivative.

Brooks

Apparently his October thing on the Revolution is quite the tits though.

tigersgogrrr

Lord_Griff wrote:

Reading Mievilles new book, New Paris. Seems a bit derivative.

I liked this a lot.

Gremill

Brooks wrote:

Apparently his October thing on the Revolution is quite the tits though.

Yeah, I'll be getting that - listening to him talk on Chapo about it piqued my interest.

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