What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

Finished up None of You Shall be Spared by Brian Evenson, which was an OK collection.

Never a good impression when the longest piece in a collection / anthology was the piece you liked the least, which was the case here.

Nothing in the collection I would call an out-and-out horror story.

For the most part the stories tended to be more of the weird tale variety.

The Pink Agave Motel by V. Castro - didn’t have enough interest in the short stories / vignettes at the beginning of the collection to tackle the novella / short novel that ended the collection. DNF.

Next up, started The Mad Butterfly’s Ball, edited by Preston Grassmann & Chris Kelso.

Five or six stories in & the tone tends to be more towards the whimsical fantasy end.

Hope things get a little darker with this one.

B

[brlesh]

Finished up Little Boy by James Cooper.

I really liked the first two parts of this coming of age story from Cooper; interesting characters, well paced plot line, very readable story.

But I had some major issues with the last part, which really tempered my overall enjoyment of the novel.

Next up was Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman, which also had a questionable ending, though I never really got into this short novel / novella by Chapman.

Next up, started The Pink Agave Motel & Other Stories by V. Castro.

It’s the first thing I’ve read from Castro.

A few stories in, and for the most part, the stories tend to be so short that it’s hard to get a feel for them, though there seems to be a vampire / succubus theme to most of them.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Earthling LE of Tyler Jones' "Night of the Long Knives". Would probably give it a B+. Enjoyed this one quite a bit but did ding it a little as I felt like the central mystery could have been explained a bit more and some of the character motivations seemed a little off and more to drive the story forward. Even so, the plot was quite enjoyable, and the characters felt very real. I also really liked the ending but do wish it had been a bit longer. Overall, this was another winner from by Jones and Earthling and I am glad to have added this to my collection.

Am now reading the Earthling LE of Brian Evenson’s “Altmann’s Tongue”, a first time read for me.

[brlesh]

Taking a break from the Evenson collection to start Little Boy by James Cooper.

I’ve really liked Cooper’s short fiction, but Little Boy is the first novel length work I’ve read from him.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Earthling LE of Ian Rogers "Family", a first time read and author for me. Really enjoyed this one. The book seemed to fly by once I could dedicate the time to reading it. The short chapters really worked well for me, and the authors voice compels you to keep on reading. While nothing too groundbreaking, the story itself was very enjoyable. Each character in the family felt very real and I found my favorite character shifting from person to person as the story progressed. While not everything is explained by the end, the author did nail the ending quite well IMO. Overall, I'm very glad to have read this story and added this book to my collection and will be marking Rogers down as a new (to me) author to read again in the future (which works well since I have his next book from Thunderstorm on pre-order!)

Am now reading the Earthling LE of Tyler Jones' "Night of the Long Knives". Am looking forward to this one very much!

[Martin]

Finished up The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi, which was a mixed bag for me.

The first half was a quick and entertaining read, as the story was allowed to just flow along.

I felt the second half bogged down, as the narrative felt forced into the science of the time travel.

IMO, a simpler story would have been more effective.

After The Third Rule, I started None of You Shall be Spared, a short story collection by Brian Evenson.

I found the first story to be too surreal for my tastes.

The next two stories were better.

In general, I’ve found Evenson to be more miss than hit in the past.

B

I finished THE THIRD RULE OF TIME TRAVEL today. I really enjoyed it but also agree with your perspective. The first half was fantastic, but time travel was a bit player. This is really a story about loss with time travel and corporate greed as subplots. The time travel elements in the second half feel a bit forced but overall, I really enjoyed the read.

[brlesh]

Finished up The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi, which was a mixed bag for me.

The first half was a quick and entertaining read, as the story was allowed to just flow along.

I felt the second half bogged down, as the narrative felt forced into the science of the time travel.

IMO, a simpler story would have been more effective.

After The Third Rule, I started None of You Shall be Spared, a short story collection by Brian Evenson.

I found the first story to be too surreal for my tastes.

The next two stories were better.

In general, I’ve found Evenson to be more miss than hit in the past.

B

[dannyboy121070]

Ron and Martin- I'm about 7% of the way through the KING SORROW review copy (According to my Kindle, it is nearly 1000 pages!), and I'm really enjoying it so far. Aside from what appears to be a dragon on the cover and in the frontispiece, I really have no idea what it is supposed to be about, so...I'm still in the character introduction phase. Plot hasn't really developed much yet.

That said, I'm enjoying it very much so far, aside from Hill's penchant for using his Father's old trope of "Scummy locals becoming pawns of evil", as seen in IT, 'SALEM'S LOT, etc. (I assume they will become pawns of evil, otherwise why spend so much time on them?) There's also a nice little update on some characters from THE DEAD ZONE, which I got a kick out of.

[RonClinton]

Just finished McCammon's BLUE WORLD, which was a complete miss for me, and starting Clive Barker's THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN SPECIAL DEFINITIVE EDITION and Joe Hill's KING SORROW.

Will be very interested to hear your thoughts on the new Joe Hill book. Until I read the plot synopsis, I was really looking forward to it…after reading it, I’m not too sure what to think, especially after the disappointing read that was THE FIREMAN. That said, other than that last novel, his other fine work has built up an awful lot of goodwill with me.

[Martin]

Just finished McCammon's BLUE WORLD, which was a complete miss for me, and starting Clive Barker's THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN SPECIAL DEFINITIVE EDITION and Joe Hill's KING SORROW.

I am assuming you have an ARC of King Sorrow. I am on the lookout for one, Congratulations! Please post your thoughts after you read it!

[dannyboy121070]

Just finished McCammon's BLUE WORLD, which was a complete miss for me, and starting Clive Barker's THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN SPECIAL DEFINITIVE EDITION and Joe Hill's KING SORROW.

[RonClinton]

Giving Scott Carson another shot with LOST MAN'S LANE. I enjoy coming-of-age mysteries of this sort, and the first-person POV -- providing it's done well -- always helps those types of books come across as compelling and convincing. I've tried a couple others and didn't really click with any of them, but am hoping this one'll be the one to buck that unfortunate trend.

Took a little bit for me to get into it, but once I did, it’s really been enjoyable. Had a lot going on, so only 3/5 of the way in, but looking forward to getting back to it, which is a sure sign of a book that works.

[brlesh]

Finished up Wild Spaces by S. L. Coney, which did something that most books by new authors haven’t been able to do in recent times, namely left me wanting more.

This short novella was a wonderful story and I hope that Coney picks up the narrative again in the future.

After Wild Spaces, I finished up A Darker Shade of Noir, an anthology of dark genre stories written by women edited by Joyce Carol Oates.

Nothing really memorable in this anthology, though a couple of the stories towards the end weren’t bad.

Tonight starting The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi, a book I have high hopes for.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Centipede LE of Steven Spruill's "Hellstone", a first time read and author for me. While it had its moments where it felt a little dated, overall, I really enjoyed this story. It had elements of pretty much every genre in it, and the central mysteries were compelling. I also loved that Nessie actually appears and factored into the story rather than being used as a MacGuffin. As always, the production by Centipede was top-notch, and I also really enjoyed the afterward by the author which had tons of neat info. Overall, while maybe not a must have book, if you can snag a copy, I would do so. I am glad to have it in my collection.

Am now reading the Earthling LE of Ian Rogers "Family", a first time read and author for me.

[Martin]

As much as I share your affinity for Scalzi’s work, I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on this one. Correctly or not, it just felt too nonsensical and fluffy. From your review, sounds like my take was mostly correct. Think I’ll wait for the new installment in the OMW series that’s due out later this year (IIRC).

I actually finished it today and while I enjoyed it, I will stick with my earlier comment. Definitely nonsensical and fluffy, with several plot lines that would not have been missed or could have been shorter. Fun read but nothing special, he did nail the ending though. I have heard rumors of a new Old Man's Tale story but not a release date. I so want that to be out!