Little Pixie Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Oooh no, wouldn't want one running around inside the house. My previous cat, Lucky, brought a little frog into the house once. I managed to catch it (eventually) and took it back outside, and she went and brought it back in again I had to say to her 'you're a cat, not a dog. This isn't a game of fetch' Mind you, she used to bark as well What - really ?? Tigger - from two doors down - brought a bat into his home. He also managed to get a pigeon through his catflap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 When a friend of mine lived in a student house, she once had a mouse leap from her computer chair to her bed, while we were sitting on the bed. Scarred me for life Eeeeeek ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Steve, the author I've been reading a lot of books of, John Flanagan, said in the Q&A at the end of the book I just finished, that he really liked the books by Patrick O'Brian (he also mentioned several other books and authors). I thought of you, so I'd tell you since I know you're a big fan too (and I'm already making a post here anyway). Cool, I've also come across several authors who mention O'Brian amongst their influences What - really ?? Pretty much! She used to sit at the window watching the birds (or flies or moths or butterflies or etc etc) and make this weird little noise that was kind of like the start of a meow but then cut off like a bark Eeeeeek ! Surely that's what the mouse said? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Pretty much! She used to sit at the window watching the birds (or flies or moths or butterflies or etc etc) and make this weird little noise that was kind of like the start of a meow but then cut off like a bark Xiao-Xiao does that excited chatter noise, then looks over as if to say ` Mum, did you see that pigeon ? ` She gets very excited about butterflies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Ooh, that`s a really embarrassing cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Yep And yet somehow it's still not the worst one in the series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Yep And yet somehow it's still not the worst one in the series << has to take a looksie herself >> ....... Nooooo !!! You never said there were cats and rocking chairs in the series ! That`s an accident waiting to happen. Cover. Good grief, it actually gets worse. Cover2. I love the strapline ` Boy, can she write !`. Edited June 22, 2015 by Little Pixie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 These covers are pretty awful for this series!! They give the completely wrong idea of what type of story the books contain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Those new ones look a bit Dune-ish, rather than Little House on the Nebula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 Little House on the Nebula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Those covers are a lot better! They're still not brilliant by any means, but it's a great step in the right direction . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Definite improvment! I might not even be embarrassed to be seen with those copies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 Yeah, it might not be entirely necessary to hide behind the Kindle versions of some of them any more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 The price must have gone up.....it's £6.33 for Kindle now. I was going to buy it if it's only £0.99, even if it seems a bit silly. I think I replied to your other thread about a decent thriller....I'd highly recommend I Am Pilgrim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 The price must have gone up.....it's £6.33 for Kindle now. I was going to buy it if it's only £0.99, even if it seems a bit silly. 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 I think I replied to your other thread about a decent thriller....I'd highly recommend I Am Pilgrim. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Sandstorm (Sigma Force Book #1) by James Rollins 2004 - Orion ebook - 474 pages I was going to do my usual and post the blurb first, but when I read this one on goodreads it was too funny not to comment on beforehand. If ever a blurb perfectly summed up a book, this is it: "Sigma Force "brains and brawn" agents Painter Crowe and Coral Novak head to London, then lost city of Ubar. His last partner Cassandra claims her master, "The Minister", is US government, and opposes them. Blue ball lightning, usually harmless, wrecks Arab antiquities wing of the British Museum. Founder Lady Kara Kensington enlists best pal curator Safia al-Maaz and student Clay, Safia's ex Omaha Dunn and brother Danny, in Oman expedition. Black-clad women with special powers intervene as sandstorm descends and uranium decays to set off antimatter time bomb." :lol: I'm just imagining whoever it was writing that sighing, having read the book and been bored to tears and now facing the prospect of having to make it sound enticing - and failing miserably The good news is, I thought it was a lot better than that makes it sound. It's far from the greatest book I've ever read: the writing's pretty basic, the characters never really come alive, and it takes suspension of disbelief to Roland Emmerich 'Independence Day/Godzilla/2012' levels, but it's exciting and fast moving in an action movie kind of way, and attempts to build its story around actual history and some dodgy science. Apparently Rollins's books weren't published in the UK until after Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code had gone stratospheric and publishers decided to try and cash-in with anything that seemed vaguely similar. And this is only vaguely similar, thankfully. It starts in the British Museum rather than the Louvre, but after that it felt more akin to Indiana Jones - without the wisecracks, bullwhip or Fedora - as various parties good and bad converge on a lost city that holds the key to unimaginable power. It's full of problems, the aforementioned lack of real character being the main one. It was fine for the first two thirds but by the end I didn't really care about any of them - which is indicative of another problem: it's too long and overstays its welcome a little (not much, just a little). It's missing that vital spark of (intentional) humour that would've made the characters come alive for me. Also, by trying to explain the nature of the mystery with science I felt that it robbed the story of a sense of the supernatural or mystical (which were vital to the Indy films) and the passages where characters explained why things were happening tended to slow the pace and become very dry to read. I think it takes a specific skill to write action scenes. Among the authors I've read, Lee Child, Patrick Lee, and Alastair Reynolds have all got it. Rollins is pretty good, too. There is a lot of action in this book and - as I was specifically looking for an edge-of-seat, white-knuckle thrill-fest - I thought for a long while that this was the book I was looking for. The weird thing is, in the end there was almost too much action, and the law of diminishing returns came into effect. Even though there were quiet periods in the story, and a decent plot (moreso than you'd find in a Matthew Reilly book, for example), I knew that those parts would sooner or later get interrupted by the next chase scene or ambush scene or kidnap scene. It's odd how finding what I was looking for turned out not to be quite what I was looking for Patrick Lee this ain't. He's got this corner of the market nailed at the moment, for me. Still, Sandstorm was a reasonably enjoyable book, daft as hell, and I'm reliably informed by those in the know over on the Malazan forums that there is much better to come in the series. The next book is called Map of Bones, and I shall definitely give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 "Painter Crowe"? You're sure it's not just Matthew Reilly writing under a pseudonym? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 You're sure it's not just Matthew Reilly writing under a pseudonym? Yeah, this book had an actual plot and stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 (edited) The Silence by Tim Lebbon 2015 - Titan ebook - 368 pages You're sitting at home watching a live broadcast on the Discovery Channel as a group of scientists head into a newly discovered cave network in Moldova. You get called away from the tv to have dinner. When you return you find that something has gone very wrong. At least one of the scientists is dead, the others are running in fear and are cut down before your eyes by a swarm of flying . . . monsters. It's like a horror film but it's real. You wake up the next morning and the news channels are awash with footage of cities in flames and people fleeing thousands of these creatures. Social networks come alive with tales of terror as the swarm spreads across Europe heading for the Channel, for England, for you. This is what happens to Ally in Tim Lebbon's The Silence. She is a fourteen year-old girl, profoundly deaf since a car accident several years beforehand which killed her paternal grand parents. She lives in Monmouthshire with her mother and father, Kelly and Huw, her ten year-old brother Jude, Kelly's mother Lynne, and the family dog, Otis. Lebbon tells the story in two different ways: in third person from the point of view of Huw and - brilliantly - in first person from Ally's perspective. At first, I found it quite odd, jumping from third person to first person and back again, but once I got into the rhythm and saw how well the author had worked this out, I loved it. Huw's sections allow him to show a father's determination to protect his family, whilst Ally's sections steadily ramp up the atmosphere in most alarming ways, as the family flee their home in a race against time, the clock ticking as the monsters - the so-called 'vesps' - draw closer, and especially when a lot of the conversations are passing her by. The Silence is, to all intents and purposes, an updating of classic science fiction and horror stories of the past, like The Day of the Triffids or The Body Snatchers, even throw in a bit of The Walking Dead or any other tale that sees a small group of people fighting to survive against all the odds. Yet Lebbon's brilliance is in making it all feel fresh. The characters are fantastic - all of them - and the use of 24-hour news channels and social media extracts at the start of and during the chapters is a masterstroke, illustrating what's happening elsewhere whilst fuelling the family's sense of urgency and fear. The sense of initial disbelief, falling into the rising sense of panic, then twisting into outright terror is quite superb. The pacing is also superb. Perfect, in fact. It starts with the incident in Moldova, introduces the family, gives you a chance to get to know them, all the while steadily ratcheting up the sense of an impending cataclysm and a race against time and then, from around the halfway point onwards, it becomes a breathless, terrifying exercise in tension and heart-stopping set pieces, made all the more real and intense by the way he had made you care about this small group of people. There are some truly heartbreaking moments in this book, too, as well as showing the kinds of horrors people will inflict upon each other out of sheer desperation as society breaks down. And he does all this without resorting to the tedious kind of shock and gore tactics I've encountered in other horror stories (that's not to say that there isn't any gore, but it's never gratuitous or explicit). Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere - this book's got it in spades. It took me a little over a day to read - maybe six hours in total. For me, for a 370 page book, that's very fast. I just couldn't get enough of it. When I had to put it down to do other things I couldn't wait to get back to it. It's the first book I've read by Tim Lebbon, despite having had him on my radar for some time. It's the kind of book that makes me want to read everything he's ever written (I've immediately bought The Hunt). It's my favourite read of the year barring Patrick O'Brian. It's the scariest book I've read in years. It's also one of the best. Somebody has to make a film of it. Has to. I can't recommend it highly enough. Memorable Quotes: He felt safe, because that's what dad's are for. This house was more than a home, it was a part of the family. It held their history like layers of paint. On Flickr there are photos showing burning mosques, churches and synagogues. There are reports of military skirmishes in the Middle East. Even when things are this bad, religion leads to violence. People blaming the government. Environmentalists saying it's because of centuries spent raping the planet. The French blaming the British, the British blaming Russia, Russia blaming everyone. A whole network of hatred across the web, and I wonder what sits in the middle, sensing the vibrations and waiting to pounce. Been coming for years. Mother Earth gonna eat us all back up. Nom-nom. - - @GaiaZombie, Twitter, Friday, 18 November 2016 Edited July 2, 2015 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 This sounds AWESOME. Added to wishlist! The creatures sound a bit like the Gollum-ish things from the film The Descent. You should really read World War Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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