It’s been a while since I provided an update on the books I’ve been reading (see books and books 2), so here’s an update on what I’ve read recently …
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
was a great follow-up / parallel to Oryx and Crake
- Dune by Frank Herbert
– hard to believe I’d never read Dune. I saw the film years ago, so it was good to finally read the novel behind it. There’s 5 more Dune novels, but frustratingly the second one is not available as a kindle ebook at the moment. Naturally, the third fourth and fifth are available. Which seems pretty stupid.
- Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories by Terry Bisson
– a really quirky and entertaining set of stories, light and enjoyable reading.
- Zones of Thought: A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
– working my way through the Hugo Award winners …
- In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster
– David recommended Paul Auster to me a few years back, for which I’m eternally grateful. I previously read (on dead trees) The New York Trilogy
, Leviathan
and The Book of Illusions
, so discovering that Auster had also ventured into post-apocalpytic storytelling was great news indeed. This was a fascinating, depressing, quirky book. I loved it.
- Exiles
and Renegades
by Dan Worth – the first two books in the “Progenitor Trilogy” by this self-published author. Delightfully long and chunky, well-paced storyline. Grit your teeth and ignore the occasional typos and lack of editorial culling. Incidentally, searching for more by this author led me to the excellent All Metaphor, Malachi blog, where the Exiles review hits the nail on the head.
- Coffin Dodgers by Gary Marshall – a happy discovery via All Metaphor, Malachi. Great shorter story.
In progress:
- Deja Vu: A Technothriller (The Saskia Brandt Series) by Ian Hocking
- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
In my queue to read:
- The Name Of The Wind: The Kingkiller Chonicle: Book 1
- Embassytown by China Mieville
- The Scar by China Mieville
- Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss
- The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
I’ll let you know how I get on with those …