What are you reading now?

[Catseye3]

Thanks, George. Thanks, Jolly.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Catseye3 said in What are you reading now?:

Aqua or Other SciFi Fans:

Found this long-ago bookmarked title: Fuzzy Nation: an extraordinary retelling of the SF classic Little Fuzzy. ZaraCorp holds the right to extract unlimited resources from the verdant planet Zarathustra—as long as the planet is certifiably free of native sentients. So when an outback prospector discovers a species of small, appealing bipeds who might well turn out to be intelligent, language-using beings, it's a race to stop the corporation from "eliminating the problem," which is to say, eliminating the Fuzzies—wide-eyed and ridiculously cute small, and furry—who are as much people as we are.

It's written by John Scalzi. George, am I correct that you're a fan of his?

Anyway, do y'all know this book? Is it a thing? Is it good?

It's a good modernization of a classic, yeah.

[Catseye3]

Another Q for the SciFi folk. Do y'all know of the writer Greig Beck? His book Primordia? Any good?

[George K]

@Catseye3 said in What are you reading now?:

Another Q for the SciFi folk. Do y'all know of the writer Greig Beck? His book Primordia? Any good?

No idea. Never heard of him.

[Aqua Letifer]

@Catseye3 said in What are you reading now?:

Another Q for the SciFi folk. Do y'all know of the writer Greig Beck? His book Primordia? Any good?

hahah get the hell out of here! He visited my school during my Master's! Nice guy and an absolute nerd. Ironically I haven't read any of his stuff, though.

[Catseye3]

Fat lot of good y'all are.

Here's the Amazon blurb: "Ben Cartwright, former soldier, home to mourn the loss of his father stumbles upon cryptic letters from the past between the author, Arthur Conan Doyle and his great, great grandfather who vanished while exploring the Amazon jungle in 1908.

Amazingly, these letters lead Ben to believe that his ancestor’s expedition was the basis for Doyle’s fantastical tale of a lost world inhabited by long extinct creatures. As Ben digs some more he finds clues to the whereabouts of a lost notebook that might contain a map to a place that is home to creatures that would rewrite everything known about history, biology and evolution.

But other parties now know about the notebook, and will do anything to obtain it. For Ben and his friends, it becomes a race against time and against ruthless rivals.

In the remotest corners of Venezuela, along winding river trails known only to lost tribes, and through near impenetrable jungle, Ben and his novice team find a forbidden place more terrifying and dangerous than anything they could ever have imagined."

Is naming the protagonist after the Ponderosa Daddy a nerdy thing to do?

[Catseye3]

Here's a sentence right after the beginning from the "Look Inside": "The thing that followed him pushed trees from its path, and its carnivore breath was like a steam train huffing and hissing as it bore down on him."

Eh.

[George K]

I caved...

This is the audio version with multiple actors portraying the characters. I've only gotten to the "Arrival at Arrakis" part, but so far it's a very good adaptation.

[Horace]

Is that the one with the background atmospheric sound? It's pretty good but they ran out of money in the production and eventually all the characters are voiced by the main narrator.

[George K]

@Horace said in What are you reading now?:

Is that the one with the background atmospheric sound? It's pretty good but they ran out of money in the production and eventually all the characters are voiced by the main narrator.

Yep that's it. Shame about that, however. Nevertheless I'll enjoy.

[Horace]

The Baron's voice is awesome, I missed it when it stopped.

[jon-nyc]

@Horace said in What are you reading now?:

Is that the one with the background atmospheric sound? It's pretty good but they ran out of money in the production and eventually all the characters are voiced by the main narrator.

Really? Or is that some inside joke I’m missing?

[Horace]

yarly, it goes from a theatrically produced ensemble narration to a standard single voice narration. I imagine that was not the plan starting out, but who knows.

[George K]

I see that there are 6 (!) books out there - does this "loss of the actors" occur in the first book?

[Horace]

Yes, first book.

[Catseye3]

This book is being offered for $1.99 -- marked down from $18.99!!!!!

It is American Heritage History of the Confident Years: 1866-1914 by Francis Russell: "Here . . . is the vivid story of the confident years - those days of America's exuberant growth in population, industry, and world prestige - from the end of the Civil War to the outbreak of World War I." It seems an inspired choice for these gloomy anxiety-ridden times.

I bought it, of course. A $19 book for a buck-99? Are you kidding me?

Go to https://www.amazon.com/American-Heritage-History-Confident-Years-ebook/dp/B01DK8FY7C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=American+Heritage+History+of+the+Confident+Years%3A+1866-1914&qid=1595601920&s=books&sr=1-2

I recommend you read at least the opening paragraph in the "Look Inside".

I have a feeling that this book will have a salutary effect on my sore heart.

[taiwan_girl]

@Catseye3 thanks for the recommendation. Looks like an iterating book

[jon-nyc]

@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

Looks like an iterating book

You can say that again. And again. And again...

[taiwan_girl]

@jon-nyc

We will have to have @Catseye3 let us know if it was also interesting!!!!

[taiwan_girl]

Really good book. There was a series on Netflix called "Heavy Water" or something like that. The series was about the situation, the attempts to stop the Nazi people from making heavy water at a power plant in Norway.

Very good book. I recommend.