The B&B Book Review - The Bear and Badger

Moot_Geeza

Mucho Mojo done and Two-Bear Mambo winding down. I reckon I can handle the rest without coming up for air.

Nina

So, the 71\2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has been released here last week.

About 12 chapters in and it's messing with my dreams quite a bit. Enjoying it though.

Stopharage

Don't expect that to change for the majority of the novel. It's flawed but a novel of that ambition and complexion is to be applauded, especially when it's still fairly accessible.

Nina

So far I was surprised by how easy it is to follow along, I can definitely see that it's a complex mess full of drama and expected I needed a lot of re reading paragraphs to understand it but that hasn't happened so far.

Limiting myself to just a few chapters a night though, partly because of the dreams, partly because that gives me time to mull over the things that happened for a day.

acemuzzy

Where's the extra half come from?!

Lord_Griff

I found nailing it in large chunks made it eminently more readable.

Nina

acemuzzy wrote:

Where's the extra half come from?!

America.

@Roujin said they had to change the title a bit as it's too similar to something else. Confused the hell out of me when ordering it, since some sites direct me to the EU version, others to the US.

acemuzzy

acemuzzy wrote:

currently on Children of Time (which is pretty good, but not for DJR)

Now finished. Very interesting read, sci-fi fans will enjoy. Recommended.

(Winner of the Arthur C Clarke award or something, if you don't want to take just my weird on it. )

Anyone else read?

Skade

acemuzzy wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

currently on Children of Time (which is pretty good, but not for DJR)

Now finished. Very interesting read, sci-fi fans will enjoy. Recommended.

(Winner of the Arthur C Clarke award or something, if you don't want to take just my weird on it. )

Anyone else read?

Yeah I enjoyed it very much, haven't read much sci fi incorporating so much ecology.

davyK

Skade wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

currently on Children of Time (which is pretty good, but not for DJR)

Now finished. Very interesting read, sci-fi fans will enjoy. Recommended. (Winner of the Arthur C Clarke award or something, if you don't want to take just my weird on it. ) Anyone else read?

Yeah I enjoyed it very much, haven't read much sci fi incorporating so much ecology.

Me too. Read it on holiday. Excellent.

Bob

Picked up the new Rebus novel in Hardback.. Was following the series religiously but I think I may have missed one or two paper backs.. anyway it was halfprice in Waterstones so I picked it up.

Always a satisfying read.

Nina

That's the Evelyn Hardcastle book finished. Really enjoyed it overall, interesting set of characters to follow.

About the last couple chapters:

Spoiler:

@Stoph you mentioned the Sexy Brutale on the previous page when talking about Evelyn, so that's recommended?

Next up will be a short story thing by Neil Gaiman, forgot about the title but for only a dollar it'll be worth a shot.

Lord_Griff

Finished the second book in the three body problem trilogy. The author is the lord high mighty emperor of mansplaining. Again some fairly novel concepts but not at all as clever as I think he think they are.

I finished something about the wind by Patrick Rothfuss, and I have to admit the whilst not usually my thing, this was a compelling page turner. I liked the characters the world and the drama. It brought to mind the world of Dishonoured, Fable and discworld. All the magical shit is not achieved easily and there is some real tension. The writing at times is very good.

tigersgogrrr

I liked Name of the Wind. Found it meandered pretty much throughout but the prose was a delight to read.

Raiziel

The Name of the Wind is high on my list, but I think the only reason I haven’t delved yet is the missing third book. Also very tempted to go the Audible route as Rupert Degas reads it. That guy could read the phone book and I’d be all over it.

Things I’ve read recently:

Hyperion: Really loved this. Uneven in that the author tries to tell some very different tales, and some gel, some don’t. But on the whole I thought it was excellent. Already on to Fall of Hyperion.

The Illearth War: Not nearly as good as I remember. Maybe I’ve just grown up a bit, but this Thomas Covenant epic...I won’t be recommending it so quickly in the future. Having said that, I’m going to plough on with The Power That Preserves next week

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger: This one was part of my research for my own project. Thesiger recounts his travels across the Arabian Peninsula during the 1940s, specifically, and most pertinent to me, his two treks across the Empty Quarter. A fascinating read, and a potent insight into a way of life that was already very much under threat at the time. Highly recommended.

Lord_Griff

The empty quarter, i have always liked this descriptor.

Raiziel

Me too.

Dinostar77

Finally got round to reading (well listening on audible) to a stephen king book. i dont read/listen to fiction too often. "The Stand", 47hrs long. An interesting story.

Audible is great, leave it on when cooking, cleaning, driving the car, in the bathroom etc. Full voiced cast books are still the best, though they are harder to find, most likely due to the cost of hiring all the actors.

Anyway I'm starting Levanthian Wakes, the first book in series of the tv show "the expanse". I have books 1-7 on audible, so this may take some time.

Kernowgaz

I’m sure someone said Sea of Rust is good ? It’s 99p on Kindle at the mo

davyK

Started my 3rd assault on Churchill's opus (The Second World War).

A 6 volume behemoth. It starts being all politicy and whilst of interest grinds after a bit - determined to get past it this time.

It seems easier going this time though - maybe I'm ready for it.

Moot_Geeza

@Gremil

My Hap & Leonard journey is done, for now. Just finished Captain Outrageous, five in a row was enough for the time being. I'll probably return next year. Cracking stuff, enjoyed them all, cheers.

Aaroncupboard

Finished The Three Body Problem this afternoon. After a first half that was quite tough to really get into, it started to reveal its hand a bit more and I found it increasingly interesting and gripping. Really enjoyed it overall and looking forward to the next.

TheBoyRoberts

Couple of recommendations for you all:

The Themis Files - trilogy by Sylvan Neuvel. The format is reminiscent of World War Z however the story couldn't be farther removed from WWZ. To say that they are page tuners is an understatement and can't recommend enough.

The Girl Before - Anthony Capella. Murder mystery thriller. The author mixes two different timelines. Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep track of which timeline is being described, but its well worth sticking with it.

The Cabbin at the End of the World - Paul G. Tremblay. Horror/thriller/home invasion with a twist!

Just started Mythos by Stephen Fry - enjoying it so far and I have 0 knowledge of Greek mythology, so its a little bit of a history lesson too.

Bob

TheBoyRoberts wrote:

The Girl Before - Anthony Capella. Murder mystery thriller. The author mixes two different timelines. Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep track of which timeline is being described, but its well worth sticking with it.

It was ok... seemed a bit forumularic and kind of far fetched to me.

Stopharage

TheBoyRoberts wrote:

Couple of recommendations for you all:

The Themis Files - trilogy by Sylvan Neuvel. The format is reminiscent of World War Z however the story couldn't be farther removed from WWZ. To say that they are page tuners is an understatement and can't recommend enough.

Funnily enough I’m reading Sleeping Giants at the moment. Enjoying it so far; I’d describe it as ‘entry level sci-fi’. That’s not doing it a disservice, as it’s accessible in a way that the Three Body Problem isn’t.

Paul the sparky

Where do I start with Iain M. Banks then? Steam through the lot chronologically?

The Daddy

Yeah. They’re all pretty standalone. The culture stuff has the off call back reference here and there but most of them are set completely separately.

Bob

Paul the sparky wrote:

Where do I start with Iain M. Banks then? Steam through the lot chronologically?

The Player of Games is a good entry point.

I think it's actually the second book in the culture series but it's a bit more culture centric than the actual first book.

TheBoyRoberts

Stopharage wrote:

TheBoyRoberts wrote:

Couple of recommendations for you all: The Themis Files - trilogy by Sylvan Neuvel. The format is reminiscent of World War Z however the story couldn't be farther removed from WWZ. To say that they are page tuners is an understatement and can't recommend enough.

Funnily enough I’m reading Sleeping Giants at the moment. Enjoying it so far; I’d describe it as ‘entry level sci-fi’. That’s not doing it a disservice, as it’s accessible in a way that the Three Body Problem isn’t.

Nice!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the conclusion :-)

TheBoyRoberts

Bob wrote:

TheBoyRoberts wrote:

The Girl Before - Anthony Capella. Murder mystery thriller. The author mixes two different timelines. Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep track of which timeline is being described, but its well worth sticking with it.

It was ok... seemed a bit forumularic and kind of far fetched to me.

Certainly far fetched!

Can you recommend anything similar?

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