What book did you just read and how was it?

Forums › Off topic › What book did you just read and how was it?

1 | ... | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ... | 24

Networkn
32868 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15456

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853173 19-Jan-2022 08:42

I'm now on book 5 of the Orphan X Series. God they are fantastic, if not a little visceral a couple of times each book, but wow, I can barely stop reading them. I am sad I'm going to reach the end of them soon. I'm going to need a recommendation on something as good... @tld since you have been 2/2 so far perhaps you might be able to recommend something? :)

MikeAqua

8030 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3820

#2853180 19-Jan-2022 08:55

I'm, reading Go and Tell the Bees that I am Gone Diana Gabaldon's latest in her Outlander series.

Meh. A lot of talk, but little action, in this particular book. I think, like Jean M Auel, Gabaldon has tended towards more and more bloated and repetitive writing, as the series progresses.

I'm ambivalent about reading the next book, if there is one.

Mike

mdf

3566 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1519

Trusted

#2853198 19-Jan-2022 09:42

Eva888: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Non fiction crime, about the Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes who was seen as the female Steve Jobs and who patented a blood testing machine that would make blood testing faster. However, the technology didn’t work. Backed by big name investors and politicians (warning never be a sucker for a pretty face) the company was worth about $9 billion before its collapse.
The fraud trial is on now and you can follow it in NY Times or WSJ.

Fascinating story, very well written also available in the Libby App for free and as an audio book.
It has been given excellent reviews and it certainly kept me riveted enough to finish in less than two days.

Bought it as a Christmas gift for a few friends, one of whom really needed to learn about the pitfalls of doing business with smart good looking women :)

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Blood-Secrets-Silicon-Startup/dp/152473165X

I've just listed to Bad Blood the Final Chapter, a follow up podcast to this. Really fascinating listen.

mdf

3566 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1519

Trusted

#2853201 19-Jan-2022 09:46

Gurezaemon:

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, the same guy who wrote The Martian. The Martian is excellent, and Project Hail Mary is arguably even better. Lots of geeky stuff going on, and pretty funny. Definitely a page-turner. His other book Artemis is enjoyable, but IMHO not quite up to the standard of these two.

<snip>

Project Hail Mary was my holiday reading. Was awesome and couldn't put it down, though this was a pretty astute observation:

Didn't detract from my enjoyment though.

networkn

Networkn
32868 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15456

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853205 19-Jan-2022 09:49

Do you need to have read Martian to read Project Hail Mary?

blackjack17

1713 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 865

#2853208 19-Jan-2022 09:54

networkn:

Do you need to have read Martian to read Project Hail Mary?

Electric kiwi signup credit Sharesies credit

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

blackjack17

1713 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 865

#2853209 19-Jan-2022 09:58

Reading Never by Ken Follett.

Took a while to get into it but once hooked is pretty good (I'm now 80% in).

Leviathan Falls book 9 (and last in series) was pretty good. Sad to see the series end but ended on a high note (would love to have seen a new book as they left it open but authors have said there will be no more books in the series)

Electric kiwi signup credit Sharesies credit

TLD

908 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 263

#2853844 19-Jan-2022 23:44

networkn:

I'm now on book 5 of the Orphan X Series. God they are fantastic, if not a little visceral a couple of times each book, but wow, I can barely stop reading them. I am sad I'm going to reach the end of them soon. I'm going to need a recommendation on something as good... @tld since you have been 2/2 so far perhaps you might be able to recommend something? :)

There are a few series with a similar premise to the Orphan X books:

Mark Dawson's 'John Milton' series are very similar to Orphan X, and all excellent to read. There are lots of them so a proper treasure trove if you get into them.

The Grey Man books by Mark Greaney are more along the lines of Vince Flynn's books, in that Greaney's Court Gentry is ex CIA and chased by his old bosses and all the bad guys he has bought to task. I have a tiny dilemma regarding Mark in that he does the later Tom Clancy books, and I gave up reading Tom Clancy because I was finding his books too formulaic. I am probably cutting my nose off to spite my face, and I really enjoyed lots of the Jack Ryan books, but my subconscious has dug its heels in, and I can't bring myself to read him nowadays.

I have exactly the same situation with Marc Cameron. His Jericho Quinn books are in the same vain as the other series I am mentioning and I love them, but I won't read his Tom Clancy collaborations. I am actually working my way though his Arliss Cutter books at the moment, and loving them.

Jack Carr's James Reece books are also very good. From memory, Reece is more soldier than spook but he might have evolved in the later titles.

Brad Thor' Scott Harvath. Navy Seal, CIA conspiracies. You don't don't know who is out to get you, so play safe and assume it is everyone!

Wow, I nearly forgot these. Nick Petrie's Peter Ash books. As close to Orphan X as any of the above. I am doing this from memory, so I might have some of the details wrong.

Scott Mariani's Ben Hope series. It's a while since I read one but they were definitely worth reading.

Ben Coes- Dewey Andreas. This series with him in charge of an oil rig and fighting terrorists, but he somehow became America's #1 'problem solver — with extreme prejudice' and I must have missed the book where that happened

The following are full action but a little different from the above books:

Barry Eisler's John Rain books. One of my absolute favourite authors. Excellent characters male and female and they are all seriously bad ass.

Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon books. Also one of my absolute favourites.

I could go on for a while yet, but that should keep you busy for a while.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

timmmay

20859 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853871 20-Jan-2022 06:14

I read about 120 books a year - modern books I read tend to be smaller and they do more in a series. Currently finishing the Backyard Starship book / series, it's an easy read and quite fun. I really like the Andy Weir books too.

JaseNZ

2576 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1489

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2853935 20-Jan-2022 10:00

Magician by Raymond E. Fiest , I read this book about 20 years ago , Loved it then and loved it now.

Part of the Rift war saga.

Would have to be the best book I have ever read , Have not read a lot in my years so I guess that does not mean much lol.

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding : Ice cream man , Ice cream man

networkn

Networkn
32868 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15456

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853939 20-Jan-2022 10:04

@tld thanks for that, sorry, when I made my original post you sent a bunch of stuff which is how I found Orphan X, I forgot and should have referred back to it.

I just really like how Gregg Hurwitz writes, it seems accessible but sophisticated but not contrived.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

TLD

908 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 263

#2853957 20-Jan-2022 10:40

If you like that style of wrting, you might try Mick Herron's Slough House books. Not 'quite' as in your face, OTT, action, but exciting enough for anyone, and extremely well written. Plus they are full of dry humour. He brings his characters to life, and even though his characters can seem more than a little 'out there', I can still relate them to people I used to work with.

For sophisticated, you can't go wrong with John le Carré. I've relied on audiobooks for quite a few years now, and until his most recent release Silverview, John narated his own audiobooks and had the perfect voice for them. Sadly, the reason Silverview was read by someone else (Toby Jones) is that John passed away. His books are all worth reading multiple times.

I feel like I should mention Gerald Seymour if we are talking about sophisticated writing. His books all follow the same rough premise — an ordinary person overcomes apparently insurmountable odds and does extraordinary things to win through.

Do you enjoy Science Fiction? I thought of Iain M Banks when I mentioned rereading books as I have read his Culture books at least four times. Iain died young from cancer in 2013 which was a freaking tragedy. Feck Cancer. A buddy of mine is in a terrible state after just his first round of chemo.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

networkn

Networkn
32868 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 15456

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853971 20-Jan-2022 11:11

In terms of Sci-Fi, not really, the stuff that I like that is a bit more out there, is the stuff that Dean Koontz wrote like Watchers, Lightning, and some of those slightly super natural themed ones.

jamesrt

1666 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 946

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2853974 20-Jan-2022 11:24

JaseNZ: Magician by Raymond E. Fiest , I read this book about 20 years ago , Loved it then and loved it now.

Original or Expanded? Thy're both very good; but the Expanded version does add a lot more detail. And pages!

(I've got personally signed edtions of Magician, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon...)

blackjack17

1713 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 865

#2853998 20-Jan-2022 12:14

Really enjoyed the word and the void series by Terry Brooks

Running with the Demon (1997)
A Knight of the Word (1998)
Angel Fire East (1999)

Part of the Shannara series but set in today's time (well the 90s)

Electric kiwi signup credit Sharesies credit

1 | ... | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ... | 24