TSF Book Club

jegga

The Meadow by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott Clark
 
The story of kidnappings of trekkers in Kashmir in the mid 90s, they were used to make as much political capital as possible by the Kashmiris , Pakistanis and Indians as they possibly could . The group who kidnapped them had ties to Al Quada and were trying to bargain their release for the release of someone who went on to mastermind terrorist activities in a few countries. Neither the Indians or Pakastanis come out well, the Kashmiris don't either but you can sympathize at least with them considering what they have been through. If you've read Fire by Sebastian Junger you'll have an outline of the story already.
 
Fantasyland by Sam Walker
 
This was very very funny, the story of a sportswriter who spent over $40000 trying to win the worlds hardest fantasy baseball league-that also has no prize money. 
 
the legend of Beau Baxter by Ivan Dunn
 
The tale of the first american indian to play for the abs who was on the 1925 tour who shagged , boxed and occasionally played rugby while he toured and yet was written out of the record books. Well worth a read if you get a chance, very funny.

jegga

Just finished 11:22:63 by Stephan King, it's very long but probably I'd put it up with Christine, salems lot and it as my favourites of his although there's a shitload of his I've never read . Usually I get pissed off with them because he has awesome ideas and really crappy endings to his books, this one doesn't though.

Cactus Jack

The Forgotten Soldier was a fantastic book . So well written it made you believe it was real without actually knowing either way .

jegga

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Cactus Jack" data-cid="414441" data-time="1392245578">
The Forgotten Soldier was a fantastic book . So well written it made you believe it was real without actually knowing either way .</blockquote>
 
There were a couple of things that stuck with me for a long time afterwards, his mate getting his jaw blown off and the fact they kept fighting so hard for a cause that was so obviously lost- the cheaper uniforms , progressively crappier supplies etc as the allies beat them back. Must find another copy if it , it's been years since I read it.

NTA

Whoever recommended Conn Iggulden: you bastard. I'm losing valuable sleep as I rampage through the Caesar books.

Cactus Jack

Sorry mate , that was me . I am reading the Caesar books again at the moment . I will have to finish soon though as I have just bought his latest about The War Of The Roses

NTA

Think I've got four of five books from a friend and will probably buy the last one through Google. Is that good.

Also got another of his books about the Mongols, I think

mariner4life

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Paekakboyz" data-cid="403346" data-time="1384739359">
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Did you catch the Commonwealth Saga (2 books) before the Void series? The two Saga books are primo (better than the void ones imo). The Night's Dawn series is bad-ass. 
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finished this the other night. it was awesome! really wish i had read it before the "void" books. 
 
I am currently reading Sir Alex Ferguson's latest autobiography. unless you are a raving Man U fanboi, avoid. It's pretty shit. He's a bitter old fluffybunny. Book is hard to read. Lots of short sentences. Heaps of names. Sounds like he's drunk. And just talking. Apparently Sir Alex was always right. Everyone else was wrong. And they all apologised to him. he liked that. If a player stayed at Man U, he was awesome. If he left, he had a character flaw. Then he had lunch with John McVaney. Top man John. Likes wine. 
 
Book should have been called "Sir Alex: I did everything right. And yous are all idiots"

Paekakboyz

I'm reading Glen Cook's 'Instrumentalities of the Night' series. Just about finished the second book. Pretty bad-ass imo with some great dialogue. Complex in terms of the political and religious environment and number of characters but really enjoyable. Quite a cool twist at the end of book one that was a real surprise. Worth a go if you like his Black Company work.

NTA

Over the last week or so have read Stephen Lawhead's "King Raven" trilogy - the Welsh take on Robin Hood. I'm a big fan of this sort of historical fiction, and this one was pretty good without being great. There is always something in these books that I find historically interesting, even little facts about the interaction between church and state. And now I want to go buy a longbow, too

taniwharugby

I'm reading the trashy super action Matthew Reilly Six Sacred Stones; written like a screenplay (as are most of his books) for a Bruce Willis (well in his prime) movie.
 
I must get back the Iggulden Caesar books (haven't gripped me quite as much as the Mongol ones) think I am only up to book 3...

NTA

The Jack West Jr books are a hoot. Like the Scarecrow series - pure popcorn

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-time="1400763985" data-cid="430086" data-author="NTA">Over the last week or so have read Stephen Lawhead's "King Raven" trilogy - the Welsh take on Robin Hood. I'm a big fan of this sort of historical fiction, and this one was pretty good without being great. There is always something in these books that I find historically interesting, even little facts about the interaction between church and state. And now I want to go buy a longbow, too</blockquote> Fuck Longbows are cool, I also wanted one after reading a few Bernard Cornwell books. Although since then I have read Conn Igguldens books about Genghis Kahn and the Mongols. The Mongols bows as much range than the English longbow and they were able to hit ridiculously small targets whilst riding full speed on Horseback. So Awesome

Kirwan

Just read one called The Martian. Any book that starts with "Well, I'm pretty much fucked" is OK by me. The story of an astronaut stranded on Mars with no enough supplies to survive. Funny and ingenious, and a good quick read.

Stockcar86

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Kirwan" data-cid="430471" data-time="1400919775">
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Just read one called The Martian. Any book that starts with "Well, I'm pretty much fucked" is OK by me. 
The story of an astronaut stranded on Mars with no enough supplies to survive. Funny and ingenious, and a good quick read.
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Agreed Kirwan - for a self published first novel by Andy Weir, this was pretty damn good. I hope the inevitable movie based off it turns out OK

NTA

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' data-author="SammyC" data-cid="430134" data-time="1400804133">Fuck Longbows are cool, I also wanted one after reading a few Bernard Cornwell books. 
 
Although since then I have read Conn Igguldens books about Genghis Kahn and the Mongols. The Mongols bows as much range than the English longbow and they were able to hit ridiculously small targets whilst riding full speed on Horseback. 
 
So Awesome</blockquote>
 
Yeah the Asians had recurve bows before the Europeans, so they could generate more power. The fact that the Mongols didn't have as much wood available meant they came up with some pretty clever shit too

nostrildamus

That is some distance!

jegga

Just read the girl with all the gifts, it's fairly terrifying and the author did a great job with characters . Nice twist at the end and the back story to the apocalypse was really well thought out. 
I'm guessing it's going to be a movie in a few years.

NTA

Struggled through a book by a bloke called David Weber called Off Armageddon Reef. The first book in the ongoing Safehold series, recommended to me by a bloke at work, to whom I have made my thoughts pretty clear.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold</a>
 
I'll let wiki fill you in further, but basically its a Scifi series where an alien race, seemingly bent on beating the shit out of any form of technology, has forced the remnant of humanity to flee to a distant planet, and revert to pre-industrial status in order to survive. Now we pick up the story 800 years later. Here is a list of the titles in the series:
 
Off Armageddon Reef
By Schism Rent Asunder
By Heresies Distressed
A Mighty Fortress
How Firm a Foundation
Midst Toil and Tribulation
Like a Mighty Army
Hell's Foundations Quiver
 
If you can't already tell, the author is a piston wristed gibbon.
 
There are some half-decent bits to this, but there is shitloads of inner monologue for characters that add jack shit to the storyline. Simply put, the guy uses a thousand words where a hundred will do, and each book could probably be cut into a third. And even for the parameters of that universe, I had to suspend my disbelief.
 
EDIT: Basically there would probably be enough material for a decent trilogy out of these 8 books, if the first book is anything to go by. And a good one really. But I don't need to hear 5 pages inside the mind of some Church official that couldn't have been said by "Let's call holy war on those fluffybunnys and be done with it!"

JC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="431991" data-time="1401699036">
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Just read the girl with all the gifts, it's fairly terrifying and the author did a great job with characters . Nice twist at the end and the back story to the apocalypse was really well thought out. 
I'm guessing it's going to be a movie in a few years.
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Yeah Jegga, very well done. The way the author tied the threat back to something that already exists in nature made it very worrying indeed.
 
I've just finished "The first fifteen lives of Harry August" by Claire North. Really, really good. The premise is there are some people among us who are effectively immortal, but keep reliving the same lifetime, so same start to every life, but they diverge from there. It has some real, "Jeez how is he going to get out of this" moments that are resolved with ingenuity, and makes you think. What would you be tempted to do if you were immortal?

The Silver Fern

TSF Book Club