Karsa Orlong

Exactly! Okay, bobs, I think I'm going to read Beowulf's Children, too

I was looking at those a few days ago but managed to stop myself

In memory of Yes bass guitarist, Chris Squire, who passed away on Saturday. Legend. R.I.P. Chris ETA: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33306933

Glad you enjoyed it in the end, bobbly I guess they class dystopian as a sub-genre science fiction

Aha! Late to the party but found it eventually Yes, it's brilliant, isn't it? I remember buying it because I thought it sounded like Aliens, then being so thrilled because it was like Aliens and yet different, too. So tense and exciting. A real thriller, full of the edge-of-seat stuff I love. Also, that twist in the middle, that was ace. Like you, I was wondering how they were going to fill the rest of the book Hmm, you've really got me tempted to take Beowulf's Children off the shelf now. Brilliant review

On the plus side, I really liked the two C J Box books that I read, and I'm enjoying the hell out of the James Rollins book, and I'm going to read at least two more of Vince Flynn's (cos they're sitting on my Kindle . . . ), so it's all good so far. I'm going to get several of the books recommended up-thread, too. Just waiting for the month to tick over in case any turn up in July's Kindle deals . . .

Well at least they can't lose on penalties to Germany in the semi-final . . .

I blame her coaches, they must've told her to do it in the first place

I seem to have started three or four more series in the past couple of weeks, so I wouldn't worry But yeah, Deaver's been on the radar for a good few years now, so I'll definitely be giving him a proper go

Did you? I remember you saying it sounded interesting when I re-read it last year but I completely missed your review of it But yeah, it's a fantastic book I haven't read Beowulf's Children yet, despite it sitting on the shelf for ages, so really looking forward to hearing what you think of it. Hopefully it'll be good! <<Heads off to look for bobbly's review>>

My top five are pretty much set in stone, the other five are more changeable Patrick O'Brian Alastair Reynolds Bernard Cornwell Vernor Vinge David Gemmell Joe Abercrombie Steven Erikson Guy Gavriel Kay Ray Bradbury H G Wells Honourable mentions for Richard Matheson and Hilary Mantel - I've only read two books by each but they've been among my favourite reads of the last few years, and for Lois McMaster Bujold.

With you there, Kay - I reviewed it a few weeks back and thought much the same - it's the weakest book of the three. It does pick up towards the end, though, so hang in there! I'm currently 324 pages into Sandstorm by James Rollins.

Congrats Laura

I stayed up to watch it. I was only going to watch the first half but then Canada scored just before half time and it all got rather tense

More Ray Donovan. Also the first episode of the new SyFy series, Dark Matter. Didn't really do a lot for me but I'll give it a couple more episodes to see if it picks up at all

Ooh, thanks Michelle! I think this is the first competition I've ever won

That was my thinking at the time I bought it One of the books, The Third Option, is still available in the June monthly deals Thanks, bobbly. I did download I Am Pilgrim and read the first 70 - 80 pages. It seems good but I got distracted by James Rollins. Not him personally - one of his books

Thanks Sari, I shall add that one to the wishlist I seem to have settled on James Rollins at the moment, recommended to me by someone on the Malazan forums

I didn't! Marvellous book, glad you enjoyed it I thought it was great, kind of like a fantasy version of Hustle I've yet to read the others in the series, but you'll find a couple of big fans of them around these parts

That's two recs for that one so I really must give it a go. Thanks, Ian Yeah, I noticed that I do seem to be starting off a lot of new series, so stand alone stories are always welcome Must admit I've only read the obvious one of his, and it kind of put me off reading any more Oh that's very kind of you Chrissy, thank you, I might take you up on that at some point, but only if I can send you a book in return I'll probably give Mayday a go. I'm highly tempted to read whilst I'm on the plane to Calgary just to see how much it freaks me out Not heard of him, off to have a look, ta

Okay, thanks - I'm quite tempted by a couple of his books so might give one a try sooner or later This one's really appealing to me, but I don't think I want to read it before I go on holiday I actually tried that a few months back but it didn't prove very fruitful. Thanks, though! I do seem to be turning up some interesting ones by looking for a particular book on Amazon and then looking through the 'Customers who bought this also bought' links I also think I may have to return to Richard Morgan's stuff and try Market Forces, which I already have on my Kindle as part of a collection of his books. It seemed logical to me to start from the top of the thread, so I've taken bobbly's recommendation and started I Am Pilgrim ETA: Ohhh, I am so tempted by this

Yeah yeah, of course you do Punch it Bishop!

My favourites so far this year have been all ten of the Patrick O'Brians I've read since the turn of the year, every one of them wonderful - though, if I had to pick just one, it would be The Reverse of the Medal. Then there was Carter Beats the Devil, which was just a joy to read, and The City and the City by China Mieville. Clunkers? Deathstalker by Simon R Green. Dreadful. Appalling. Dire. Unforgiveable. Stinky. Never. Again.

American Assassin (Mitch Rapp Book #1) by Vince Flynn 2011 - Simon & Schuster ebook - 427 pages Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorist’s worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck. 99p on Amazon. That's why I bought this. Plus 4.5 star average from 150 reviews on Amazon, and 4.2 from 32,000 ratings on goodreads. Onto a winner, surely? Well . . . not really. American Assassin is, for me, a fairly by-the-numbers thriller. For anyone versed in the ways of Jacks Reacher and Bauer, there's nothing really new here. Doesn't mean it's bad, but it's not quite the white-knuckle thrill-fest I was hoping for. The most interesting thing about it is definitely its position as book number 1 in the series. At the time of Vince Flynn's sadly premature death from prostate cancer a couple of years ago, at the age of just 47, he had written thirteen books about Mitch Rapp, and this one plus its immediate successor, Kill Shot (also bought for 99p on Kindle!), were the 11th and 12th written - and both are prequels to the rest of the series. It left me wondering how difficult it was to go back and write about how this character's journey into counter-terrorism and assassination began, having written ten previous novels which must have included countless details relating to his as yet unwritten past. It must have been quite a challenge, I would imagine, given his fan base and the way they were probably picking through the continuity in minute detail. In short, this novel sees Mitch Rapp, 22 years old and grieving for his girlfriend who died in the Lockerbie bombing, approached by the CIA who are forming a new team of undercover operatives to work outside the usual command structure. Plausible deniability and all that. This involves him going off for six months of training in the middle of a forest in Virginia, where he is trained by a stereotypically hard-assed ex-field operative before heading out into the field to carry out his first assassination and bring extreme right-wing justice to the rest of the world. The book moves at a reasonable pace but there were a few issues that stopped it from becoming my 'next best thing'. For one, I found the writing a little clunky and the dialogue unconvincing, which I didn't expect considering it was the 11th book written in the series. For another, the enemies are laughable, jingoistic nonsense. Ivanov, the Russian secret service chief, is a vodka-swilling, prostitute-loving buffoon who we are given to believe is incredibly dangerous but actually comes across as completely incompetent. Worse, the terrorists, bar one, are all presented as a bit idiotic. The bar one is Sayyed, a Syrian to whom Flynn at least attempted to give a little depth, but only a little. Meanwhile, Rapp is perfect, makes no mistakes, immediately knows better than his superiors how to complete a mission, and naturally saves the day (there wouldn't be much point writing about him if he didn't do the latter . . . ). He's like a young Jack Reacher but without the edge, or the toothbrush. It was an easy read, though, and quite entertaining at times. Less of the dodgy political views and more convincing characters than these cardboard cut-outs are needed, though. Give me Travis Chase or Sam Dryden ahead of this lot any day. Or Joe Pickett, actually. At least they're fully realised people. My search for a really thrilling thriller continues