Los hombres comenzaron a morir.
"The men began to die."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Los hombres comenzaron a morir.
"The men began to die."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Litsy doesn't have an entry for this one and I won't add one. It's clearly a product of generative AI. Which is fine: I got it for free and that's a fair price. I'm only posting this blurb because it's one of my #ReadYourKindle picks this month. But while I'm here I'm genuinely curious: I assume one puts one's crappy AI thing on Amazon to Make Money Fast, but how does one make a profit by pricing the thing at $0? Does anyone know how this works?
(2020) It's the old noir trope about the guy who got out of the life, now forced back in to do one more job. It's an old song, but Cosby knows how to play it fresh all over again. It's sordid, it's violent, it's ruminative, it's so very noir, and it is good.
(1966) "At the Brink of Hell"
Last episode's events attract a Twonoser fleet to the secret base on Arctis. But when the Twonosers fail to defeat the Terrans, their Andromedan overlords, the "Masters of the Island", send a space whale to destroy the entire system. I'm not sure what Doc Savage is doing on the cover, but the image seems to reference a subplot in which a Terran agent is blown into an overlapping universe at a different "energy level"
The #BookSpin fates are kind this month: after a reading-slumpy April, they grant me two short, punchy genre works I'm almost guaranteed to finish.
I'll wait to post my card until after @CBee 's #ReadYourKindle picks come out this weekend
Thanks for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks
And here's my #ReadYourKindle list for May, selected (mostly) randomly from my large and growing unread list
Work blew up early in April, and isn't likely to settle down soon, so my April #BookSpinBingo card is embarrassingly bare and the forecast for May isn't much more promising. But dang me if I'll go Bingocardless for that flimsy reason.
#BookSpin #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
(2015) Another read for April's #ReadYourKindle challenge. This one has been in my Kindle since 2015, when I picked it up for free (and with a different cover FWIW). It's not bad. Considering the stuff you get free on Kindle it's even quite good: a manic sorta-cyberpunk story about drugs, androids, kink, drugs, body switching, crime, and drugs. I probably won't continue the series-- it's a ride, but I think it's not mine.
(1728) A sailor caught in a whirlwind is carried away to the world on the moon, which is inhabited by furries (well: "Brutes and half Brutes" that "walk'd upright and spoke"). The sailor learns the Moon language by eating a dictionary, then has several encounters that satirize 18th century society. It's an imitation of 1726's "Gulliver's Travels," and a mostly entertaining one, aside from some cringey misogyny of a type that isn't unusual for 1728
(2013) One of my April #ReadYourKindle reads. The Enterprise is on a diplomatic mission when it receives a distress signal. When they respond, Kirk and crew discover a bunch of starships suspended in "folded space" -- and of course they must investigate, immediately and personally and with risk-maximizing strategies. Because TOS, I guess. It's fine, but also nothing special.
To satisfy a violent Inclination which I always had to see foreign Countries, and being incapacitated by my Circumstances to travel barely for the improvement of my Mind, I thought it most advisable to turn Sailor; and in Pursuance to my Design, I bound my self to one James Anderson, Master of the Runner, a Vessel of about 75 Tun (tho' the Custom-House had it but 70) belonging to Dublin, in the year 1718.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
(2014) Seventh in the "Kate Daniels" urban fantasy series. This one brings together multiple threads and characters from the beginning of the series. I was a little impatient with the last one, but this one delivers the action, characters, and humor I like about the series.
(1966) "World Under Hot Radiation"
The Terrans establish a base beneath the surface of the ice planet Arctis. The system has only one other planet: Destroy, a radioactive hellscape leveled by some planet-wide nuclear apocalypse hundreds of years ago. It appears lifeless, but Perry has an uneasy feeling so after settling into Arctis he leads a recon team to Destroy -- where they meet an old adversary and patch a plot hole.
(1963) Joining the #ClassicLSFBC this month, and I'm glad I did. I remember trying to read Way Station in my early teens and running out of interest early. And though I still see why -- there's little of the peril and rapid pacing that defined a good read for me then -- man, was I wrong about this. It's thoughtful and humane and just lovely, a sort of proto-cozy sf, and I wonder what else I've missed from Simak.
(1966) "Convoy into the Unknown"
The Terrans in the Andro-Beta star cluster regroup after events of the last few episodes. As Perry and the CREST were off adventuring, the crew of the Troja station scouted a potential base of operations. Next step is to move in without attracting notice -- but notice is attracted and space battles are fought. This one is exposition-heavy and serves mostly to recap the story thus far and set up future adventures.
I love this moment of the #BookSpinBingo month when a blackout seems possible. All I have to do is read about a book a day, and I've read a book in a day before .... Reality will settle in another week or so, but it's looking like a tremendously fun and enlightening month right now.
Excuse me but I have a day to read a book in.
Thanks @TheAromaofBooks !
Thanks @thearomaofbooks
My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for April are an unlikely pair: in the one hand a literary novella about desperate lives in wartime, translated from Dutch; on the other, urban fantasy featuring demigods and shapeshifters and vampires and who knows what all else.
Looking forward to both of course. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks
(1969) Twelfth in the "Three Investigators" series of juvenile mysteries. This one has the boys stumbling across a sinister plot to steal the lost treasure of a fictional Native American tribe. The mystery is mostly transparent, and several things haven't aged well -- most noticably the depiction of Native Americans. It's still the Three Investigators but not one of the better ones.
(1966) "The Three Star-Brothers"
The ship BAGALO arrives in the Andro-Beta star cluster, with supplies and reinforcements for the Terran outpost there. They are met by a Moby and, finding no signs of life, investigate. The Moby is dead and has not been colonized, but as they wander the vacant carcass, they hear telepathic voices: one wants to talk to them, but the other wants to eat them. It's okay, but some plot developments feel forced.
(1990-1992) This is an omnibus edition of Drake's three "Northworld" books, which retell myths from the Eddas relocated to a science-fiction multi-dimensional bubble universe. It's okay, pretty much what you expect from Drake: solid plotting, detailed battle scenes, and cool military tech. But it's also excessively male-gazey: women characters are typically described by their level of attractiveness, body weight, and bust size.
#ReadYourKindle
Here's my list for April #ReadYourKindle , mostly selected at random from my very large bought-but-unread list.
Thanks for hosting @CBee !
(1966) "In the Outlaw Camp"
Perry and some other Terrans escape captivity, and flee into wilderness, where they meet up with a band of outlaw Twonosers. Together, they plot how to help the rebels establish a new social order, and how to help the Terrans get back to their ship. This closes the Twonoser/Moby storyline with a rousing showdown, but also leaves a loose thread that deserves a future visit.
(1727) STG this is about a wayward gentleman who drugs and rapes his love interest, then abandons her while he spends a couple of years gambling and drinking and sleeping around. Later he hears that the woman's child is his spitting image, and he rethinks his life choices while being treated for syphilis, so he marries her and that's a happy ending.
I know you can't judge art of generations past by modern standards, except just watch me.
(1725) A Tory gentleman and a Whig lady exchange letters. They begin with political sparring and platonic friendship then end in love. The plot is unsurprising, but the period politics and anecdotes are very interesting, and the prose is a class in the 18th century art of saying a thing by saying its opposite. Fun and fascinating, but for me a critical edition was absolutely necessary to understand what was happening. I recommend Martha Bowden's.
(1724) Amoranda, young beautiful orphan heiress, is overly fond of gentlemen's attentions. Her wise and rich uncle appoints Formator, an elderly warden, to guide her into adulthood. With Formator's help, Amoranda dodges physical, sexual, and financial ruin before Formator reveals himself to be the best of all suitors in disguise. This is romantic and not at all creepy, which I offer as evidence that 18th-century amatory fiction is weird stuff.
(1977, original edition 1967)
First in Moorcock's series featuring Hawkmoon, a warrior in a post-apocalyptic pseudo-medieval Germany, fighting the evil empire of Granbretan. Loved this -- it's pulpy fantasy adventure that knows exactly what it's about. Looking forward to the next.
This was my #DoubleSpin read for March
(1997) The author contemplates ways that a religion grounded in science might be realized: what should be the areas of concern for such a religion? Its values? Its texts? Its myths? Its ceremonies? Some of her answers resonate with me, others don't, and sometimes her critics seem to have stronger points. Still, I'm giving it a Pick for making me think thoughts I hadn't thought before, and for a stroll down a path I find very intriguing.
Count Brass, Lord Guardian of the Kamarg, rode out on a horned horse one morning to inspect his territories.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
(1966) "The White-Trunk Caste"
Last episode left Perry and crew captives of a community of Twonosers operating inside the carcase of a "Moby" space whale. We follow the Terrans as they are carried to their destination: a labor farm among the "white-trunks," lowest of the Twonosers' three castes. And as they plot an escape. The idea and setting are great, but the story picks an annoying viewpoint character with an unsatisfying redemption arc.
(2019) I've reached a point where animal stories are a comfort genre, and these filled that Rx. I expected a book of odd vet stories, but got a variety, including insights into the business of veterinary practice, pet medical care 101 (including tips on pilling your cat and reading dog poop), and yes odd vet stories. Speaking of which: on the left is a sad boy who chewed his dewclaw off (because dog) so is seeing a vet in the morning.
(1966) "Guard Command Andro-Beta"
Terrand proceed with their plan to establish a base of operations in the star cluster Andro-Beta. First they investigate a barren ice planet where they discover hypnotic crystals; then they investigate the carcass of a space whale - now called a "Moby" - only to find that the dead Moby has already been colonized by one-eyed double-trunked aliens they name "Twonosers", and the Twonosers don't want to share ...
(2009) Fourth in Penny's series featuring Quebec detective Armand Gamache. In this one, Gamache investigates murder at a forest resort where he & Mme Gamache celebrate their anniversary. Penny's mysteries strike me not so much as mysteries but as stories about being human that just happen to involve murder. This one is about families and how they feed and fail us. It made me squirm repeatedly.
This was my #BookSpin read for March
@TheAromaofBooks
(1992) This was the bestselling book in the U.S. in 1992. Back in 1992 I worked the service desk of a public library and set a goal to read everything on the Bestseller list. No fan of romance, I liked it better than expected: I liked its direct language, attention to detail, and its brevity. This time around I like it less -- its excessive sentimentalism makes my eyes roll -- but still think it's a pretty good example of the kind of thing it is
There are songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass, from the dust of a thousand country roads. This is one of them
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
(1875) Leah Mordecai is a young Jewish woman whose plans for the future are foiled by her hateful conniving stepmother, who sours Leah's relationship with her father and spoils her engagement to the handsome son of a rabbi. In desperation, Leah elopes with a Christian boy, and hardship follows. It's a strange, unsatisfying historical melodrama with a complete set of period prejudices and a poor sense of how stories work.
#ReadYourKindle
(1966) "Secret Satellite Troja"
Having secured the transmitter station in the System of the Lost, the Teams now push on toward the Andromeda Galaxy. For the next step they hollow out an asteroid to serve as battleship carrier and expedition headquarters, then drive it through the transmitter to Andro-Beta, a small star cluster at Andromeda's edge. Where they are promptly swallowed by a space whale.
I am delighted to report that I am not kidding
Here are my picks for March #ReadYourKindle .
I'm not sure which ones I'll get to, but will plug them all into my Bookspin Bingo card, and will read strategically.
Thanks @CBee !
(1976) It's a Van Vogt fix-up, so you go into it expecting a certain sort of bonkers. And with this one you get superbrains versus space vampires. So you figure yep, that's the kind of ride you were promised.
(2023) YA dystopia, set in a future world where everyone's physical needs are met by universal fabricator machines, and in exchange humans give up weapons technology, fertility, and literacy. When our heroine Lilith saves a librarian from execution, she sets out on a path that explodes her understanding of the world and takes her to its edge, with ponderings along the way about information, communication, and the responsibilities of institutions.
Here are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin picks for March, a couple of genre reads from authors who deliver consistently. Looking forward to both.
Thanks @TheAromaofBooks !
(2010) It's a juvenile historical and a strange one, based on the early life of Isabel Moctezuma: daughter to Moctezuma II, witness to the arrival of Hernán Cortés, and survivor of the Spanish Conquest. It's a story of conflict between cultures that on one side practice human sacrifice, ritual cannibalism, and child marriage; and on the other, genocide. Grim themes for juvenile lit, so it's remarkable that it's also full of beauty and heartbreak
(1966) "The Time-Trap"
Last episode, the Terrans faced a hostile reception in The System of the Lost. Reinforcements arrive, including Gucky, whom locals recognize as a war hero who helped defend against an attack on their planet a thousand years ago. But Gucky has never visited the system. Then Gucky's team stumble into a time-trap and land a thousand years into the past, and things begin to make sense. It's as fun as the cover suggests.