Karsa Orlong
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Posts posted by Karsa Orlong
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Yeah, it might not be entirely necessary to hide behind the Kindle versions of some of them any more
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A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson - Steve's review of The Shrinking Man got me in the mood for more Matheson and this was the only other book my library had by him. Maybe I was expecting too much after I am Legend and the Shrinking Man but I didn't think much of it. Not very scary or tense and no great or memorable characters. 7/10
Yeah, I haven't even considered reading that one because I didn't think the film was particularly great, either. I'm gravitating more towards his short stories now.
Redshirts by John Scalzi - I picked this up as it is on my Hugo award winners list as well as my first Scalzi book. It is certainly an original idea that was well executed. Unfortunately it should have ended 50 pages earlier, you'll have to read it to understand. I also feel I would have gotten more out of it if I were a Star Trek fan. 8/10
Is it one of those books that tries to be funny by spoofing Trek? That's kind of the idea I'd been given and it put me off getting it, especially after the Erikson Willful Child debacle
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If you`re thinking of Len Deighton, try his trilogies ( 9 books in all, the first in the series is Berlin Match ) - I think they`re the best spy thrillers I`ve read - believable hero and some jaw-dropping twists along the way - there`s one you really won`t see coming.....
There`s also Desmond Bagley - Running Blind - a 70`s thriller set in Iceland - a bit dated but a fun read.
Oh, and Adam Hall`s Quiller books - great fun.
Rats, I went and bought The Ipcress File cos it was going cheap and I liked the Harry Palmer films
Running Blind looks interesting - it's going on the wishlist. Re the Quiller books, the first one doesn't seem to be available on Kindle, which is a pain.
Thanks for the suggestions, Sarah
Baldacci is one of my favorites. I read every book he writes. I hope you get a chance to read Memory Man and most of all, I hope you enjoy it. It is a thriller and a mystery for sure.
I shall definitely get to it. It's quite expensive on Kindle at the mo, so shall keep an eye out for the price to drop
Has anyone here read any of Nelson DeMille's books?
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Unfortunately I finished the audiobook yesterday and so had a very clear idea of how the story ends. This proved to be a drawback. Alan was very upset as I spent the whole programme saying .. 'no .. that's not right' etc (very stupid of me as I know they've had to make changes to fit the story in etc.)
That's a problem for us readers with adaptations - just ask Game of Thrones fans
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Little House on the Nebula.
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Willow, Glory, Avatar . . .
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Try "Memory Man" by David Baldacci. I couldn't put the book down once I started it.
Sounds good - going on the wishlist!
I've not read any Baldacci - I think I only own one, Zero Day, which I got for 99p but then was a little put off by the reviews saying the main character was a Jack Reacher-a-like but not as good
Thanks Muggle
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How about I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes?. It's a brilliantly fast-paced spy thriller...quite a few people on here have read it and raved about it.
A Jeffrey Deaver stand alone novel that might suit would be perhaps his Praying For Sleep.
I'm immediately sold on both of those, having had a brief read of the samples. Thanks both!
For a twisty turny "What the blazes is happening?" type read, Sebastian Fitzek, either Therapy or Splinter may be worth looking at.
I will think on this a bit, it's a matter of matching the book titles with the stories I'm thinking of.
Ooh, I've read Splinter but forgot about Therapy. Thanks, Chrissy
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Ooh, it looks like they are starting to re-issue them, beginning in January next year with these two:
Still not outstanding but much, much better than before, and at least they actually bear some resemblance to the contents of the book.
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Yes, that's a real problem. I'm amazed they haven't been re-issued with new artwork. The two most recent books have had better covers, so hopefully they'll go back and re-issue the earlier ones at some point.
I had to laugh - as per this thread I started earlier on, I've been searching and searching for a tense, exciting thriller. I ran a search on Google just now with the words 'best action-packed books' and the first result was this:
http://io9.com/10-novels-that-are-more-action-packed-than-most-summer-509065906
Not very helpful seeing as I wasn't looking for science fiction, and I've read over half of those on that list anyway
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Over the past week or two I seem to have developed a craving for a real edge-of-your-seat kind of action/adventure/thriller, one where the main character is either on the run or living in fear for their life, with loads of suspense and white-knuckle moments. The only books I've read in the last couple of years that fit the bill were all by Patrick Lee (Runner and his Breach Trilogy), but his next book isn't out until October and I've been struggling to find others that I haven't already read. I've read several of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books and also Robert Ludlum's Bourne books, so don't want any more of those at the moment, and I'm not really looking for any Nordic Noir.
I'm quite liking C J Box's books, but they don't really fit the bill. I'm currently reading the first of Vince Flynn's books but his character, Mitch Rapp, feels like he's going to be a bit like Jack Reacher, too good at everything.
So far I'm looking at: Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Tim Weaver, Tom Harper, and - going back a bit - Alistair MacLean, Frederick Forsyth and Len Deighton, but I'm not sure if any of these fit the bill.
Does anyone have any other suggestions please?
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I wasn't happy about it, either - I though I'd be a Malfoy
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Crikey. He wrote some of my favourite film scores: The Wrath of Khan, Aliens, Apollo 13, The Rocketeer . . .
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That's three recommendations already. I'm very excited to read it now
I think it's one of those books that you probably get the most from if you're familiar with all the pop culture references from the 70s and 80s - which I was - but I'd imagine the story is still great fun if you're not. I wrote a review of it here if you're interested
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We're related!
And me!
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You never said there were cats and rocking chairs in the series ! That`s an accident waiting to happen. Cover.
That's a book about the series, not a book in the series Good grief, it actually gets worse. Cover2. I love the strapline ` Boy, can she write !`.
You would hope so, given how many books she's had published
On the plus side, at least it hasn't got George RR Martin's name anywhere on the cover -
Yep
And yet somehow it's still not the worst one in the series -
I'm currently 180 pages into American Assassin by the late Vince Flynn. It's pretty much exactly what I was expecting so far.
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Komarr (Vorkosigan Saga Book #13) by Lois McMaster Bujold
1998 - Baen ebook - 366 pages
Lord Miles Vorkosigan is sent to investigate a problem on the conquered planet of Komarr, where the name Vorkosigan is drenched in blood. The Komarrans surrounding Miles could be loyal subjects--or rebels ready for revenge.
Aaaaand just when I thought the cover art for this series couldn't get any worse . . .
To drag things down still further, this is the first novel that's included in the Miles in Love omnibus edition 
But, on the plus side, that omnibus edition is only available in an oversized paperback format - so I didn't buy it (managing to skirt around the issue of not wanting to walk around with a book entitled Miles in Love in my hand ). So I bought the novel individually, although I haven't been able to find a cover image of the edition I've got, which follows the usual white print on starfield background with the artwork above boxed off in the lower half, but hey ho 
Anyhoo, Komarr effectively marks a new beginning for the series. After the events of Memory, Miles is forging off in a new direction. The result of this is that he is the only recurring character to appear in this book, whilst the rest are all new. The most important of these new additions is Ekaterin Vorsoisson, and this is because - for the first time since, iirc, Ethan of Athos - she is a new POV character. Chapters alternate between her and Miles, so we get to see him from a completely fresh point of view. But Ekaterin is a brilliant character in her own right, trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage which has seen her retreat within herself.
This book is largely about her fight to regain herself, a story which runs in parallel to the main plot about a terrorist attack on Komarr's solar mirror array, crucial to the planet's terraforming efforts. It's an effective and involving mystery, which sees Miles sent from Barrayar to investigate in his new role as Imperial Auditor. Unfortunately for Miles, his father, Aral, is known as 'the Butcher of Komarr' for is role in the Solstice Massacre during the Barrayaran conquest of the planet before Miles was even born. Dealing with these problems forms Miles's side of the story, as well as the fact that he falls hopelessly for Ekaterin. Hands up who saw that one coming
That the novel is included in that omnibus is worrying. That Bujold carries it off with such style is anything but. This is a story about adults and their relationships, what makes them tick, what drives them to despair and back again. That Ekaterin is such an intelligent and, above all else, brave character shouldn't really come as a surprise given Bujold's penchant for deep character study. That she is a slightly convenient arrival given the changes in Miles's personal life is without doubt, but it doesn't really matter when the characterisation is this good. The science fiction aspect of the central mystery is tightly plotted and the terrorists' motivations drawn in believable shades of grey. I found the book hugely enjoyable, something of a surprise given the highs of the previous three books in the series - I was expecting something of a let-down, but this was nothing of the sort. It fills me with hope that the next book, A Civil Campaign, really won't be as bad as the cover suggests . . .
Incidentally, I have this down as book #13 in the series, whereas sites such as Amazon and goodreads have it down as #11. This is because I included three novellas separately within my numbering, whereas those sites include them as one book, the omnibus edition The Borders of Infinity.
Memorable Quotes:
“So the difference between a criminal and a hero is the order in which their vile crimes are committed. And justice comes with a sell-by date. In that case, you’d better hurry. You wouldn't want your heroism to spoil.”Eloquence consists of persuading people of things they desperately want to believe. Demagoguery, I suppose, is eloquence sliding to some least moral energy level.
Aim high. You may still miss the target but at least you won’t shoot your foot off.
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Finally got around to watching the season 2 two-parter finale of Agents of SHIELD, which was enjoyable. Also watched a few more episodes of Ray Donovan season 2, and been catching up with the latest season of Episodes
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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
Brilliant book
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqQ8SvB4jp8
First time they've ever played it live
So wish I'd gone to the Toronto gigs . . . 
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The Fire Emblem games are fantastic, but they're strategy RPGs rather than the typical J-RPGs like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, more like X-COM but with a full-on story mode. Character development is a huge part of the games, and the relationships between them have an impact on the combat (i.e. two characters side by side on the map will gain stat boosts if they are 'friends'). Also, it features perma-death, so if your favourite character dies in battle there's no getting them back. I've played four of the games and loved them all, but then I'm a turn-based strategy fan.
Ocarina of Time is superb. I've only played it on the Gamecube but I'd imagine it works well on 3DS as it uses a 3D view from behind the character, rather than top-down like A Link Between Worlds.
I'm really disappointed by what Nintendo are doing with the new 3DS Metroid Federation Force game. Metroid Prime is my all-time favourite game. I want more of that, not this rubbish. I don't know how they could possibly think fans of the series would like this. The problem is, if it doesn't sell, Nintendo will think it's because nobody wants more Metroid games, rather than because they've royally ****ed it up
Rest in Peace
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