@AgentCooper it's a grim read, I read blood meridian a while back. Unfortunately if you dig at even a surface level of the history of the Mexican/American/Apaches conflicts, its likely to undersell man's wanton violence and thirst for destruction. Even in the modern age, both American and Mexican states engaged with complete state sponsored genocide. Equally the Apache were brutal and depopulated whole waves of settlers with piecemeal raids. As a manifestation of how the brilliance of man can be used for evil, the judge is a character that will always stick with me. I can see why it would be too much though, I felt that way about the road. No country for old men however, despite being bleak, is a more enjoyable bit of fiction.
@FuriousMachine Thoroughly enjoyed The Fire Maker. Gripping right up to the final page. Loved the characters so will definitely check out the rest of the series and May's other books.
Next up though, Is The Last Witch of Scotland by Phillip Paris. I reserved it from the library a few months back, It was ready to collect this past Thursday so will start that later today!
@MightyDemon82 A very interesting take on vampires. They are slowly taking over the world. They come in different types. Being bitten can change you into a variety of vampire. A royal bloodline has formed with few most powerful family lines. Each family offers different powerful effects. Being bitten by them usually creates a powerful vampire, but not always. The randomness is interesting. The main character is part vampire, but is part of a sect that hunts them and smokes vampire blood like a drug to stave off the effects, while also making them more powerful like a vampire. Hope that helps. I was trying to be informative, but not giving away to much at the same time. It is worth checking out.
@MightyDemon82 Happy to hear it! As I mentioned earlier, I feel that May is very good at characters, location and setting and that holds true for all I've read by him so far (which, admittedly, is currently only the first two books of the China Thrillers and the Lewis trilogy). Just checked my reading list (which just grew again, owing to the fact that the Last Witch of Scotland sounded very interesting) and the third China book is still a bit away with my current schedule, but I may bump it up, as it's beginning to be a while since I read the previous.
@Elodin Glad to hear that it's good! I've had it on my reading list for a while now, hopefully I'll get to it sooner rather than later. So many books, so little time
I primarily read history and non-fiction these days, but I picked up some good ol’ Crime and Punishment this weekend. I love Dostoyevsky, and have read both The Brothers K and The Idiot multiples times… yet never Crime! Am enjoying the psychological swings and torment of Raskolnikov (not the suffering itself) and the progressive hope he finds in moving through these difficult thoughts of reconciling his sense of love and justice with the despair of his haunting past. Cannot recommend enough so far, about halfway
@MightyDemon82 marvellous! The Republic should be read at least once by every reader. I highly recommend the entire canon of Plato should you like it Symposium and Apology are also magnificent in their effect. Enjoy!
@MightyDemon82 Cool! I always worry that ancient texts like that gets too dense for me, so I typically avoid them, but I'm very curious to hear what your take is when you've finished it. Might give it a try down the line
@PixelDragon Is that the 1986 edition with stories selected by Michael Cox? I'm interested in this; looking at "Curious Warnings [...]" (Goodreads page) which collects all his ghost stories.
And so my time on the Discworld comes to an end, as I've finished the final Discworld novel, "The Shepherd's Crown" (Goodreads page) by the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett. Not my favourite in the series, but a strong denouement nonetheless. I gave it four stars in my Goodreads review. And while there will be no new Discworld novels, I'm sure I'll return and reread some of the classics, like "Light Fantastic", "Mort", "Reaper Man" and more.
Next on the list is "The High Crusade" by Poul Anderson (Goodreads page) , a sci-fi story from 1960 about an alien scout ship landing in England, interrupting the preparations of a few English knights who are gearing up to add their strength to the war against France in 1345.
@PixelDragon Right. Well, it's still a ways off on my list, so I have time to ponder which version I'll go for. I tend to want to go for "complete" sets, but there is a lot to be said for a carefully and well-curated selection Especially if one initially just wants to dip one's toe before diving in.
@PixelDragon I might go for both; the complete version for reading on Kindle and that lovely hardback for the bookshelf (when I get to a place where I have room for a bookshelf again, mind)
just got the new Star Wars Return of the Jedi From a Certain Point of View book earlier today by Fed Ex, so Ill be reading that book for the rest of this month
I Finished The Republic by Plato, Fascinating read. Also Read volume 1 of FullMetal Alchemist today and started Meantime by Frankie Boyle, 8 chapters in and brilliantly funny so far.
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