This Old Neon Forum

Read the next Shannara book - "The Scions of Shannara" which has to be the weakest Shannara book ever. I enjoyed it despite that. More thoughts here: https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/ ... f-shannara

I'm super-close to finishing Mansfield Park. Am chipping away at two other books as well but am not close on either of those yet.

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Finished my 21st book of the year so far in "Mansfield Park" which was wonderful. Thoughts here:

https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/mansfield-park

Next up I'll keep working on my Tad Williams book, my Bruce Dickinson book, and maybe start "Light in August" for good measure!

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Knocked out Bruce Dickinson's autobiography in basically two days. Was a fun and light read. Thoughts here:

https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/ ... -button-do

Still reading my Tad Williams tome and also started "Light in August" which is enormous. I think I'll start something lighter to go with it but not sure what

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
22. What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson

I finished Michael Moorcock's Castle Brass, which was a little disorienting having not read the preceding series History of the Runestaff - but nonetheless it was clearly written to be accessible despite not having that context. It may accidentally have made things more interesting for me, since the references to the Runestaff were more mysterious than they would've been otherwise. Count Brass himself was a fun character - although the others didn't receive much in the way of development, I wasn't expecting much since it's a shorter book.

It was an interesting story, and I appreciated the less-than-happy ending. If I ever get to the rest of the series, I hope it's not undone.

I'll confess I came to Moorcock's works late, mostly because I kept hearing about them in Blind Guardian songs - but despite having read 4 or 5 of his books I have yet to read any of the ones the songs are about.

Anyway, I've since started Robert Weinberg's A Logical Magician. It's unsurprising that Weinberg is more fan than author. The core idea - minor gods and other supernatural entities living in the modern world - and "traditional" symbols of order such as cold iron are no longer effective in fighting the bad ones - is fun (to the point it's now its own subgenre though I have no idea how common it was in '94), and here it leads to some unexpected twists and turns. But A Logical Magician could be better written and some of the dependence on "modern" computers in 1994 results in a story that feels a bit dated. Some of it feels a bit like "remember this science fiction/fantasy book" - a bit like I've heard about Ready Player One, although I doubt it's as bad here. Actually, I think it's also much better about that than the first Bobiverse book I read last year.

Re-reading A Logical Magician always reminds me that I liked mythology and concepts like the "collective unconscious" well before I got into stuff like Persona that weaves them into a game narrative.

While Kiwi was watching the credits roll for FFXVI, I finished my re-read of William Faulkner's "Light in August." It really felt like a first read as little as I remembered about it...great book though. More thoughts here:

https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/light-in-august

Still working on Tad Williams in addition to "Slaughterhouse-Five" and Heinlein's "To Sail Beyond the Sunset." And my Bible. Always reading through that, too...

Am close to my goal for the year of 26 books!!!!

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
22. What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson
23. Light in August by William Faulkner

Just re-read "Slaughterhouse-Five." What an incredible book. Loved every moment of it. I think it is my favorite Vonnegut...

Thoughts here:
https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/ ... house-five

Still chipping away at Tad Williams and Robert Heinlein. And, zounds, I think I bit off more than I can chew in starting "The Decameron," but that's what I've done.

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
22. What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson
23. Light in August by William Faulkner
24. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I finished A Logical Magician (delayed slightly as one of my kids was frightened by the cover, which has a kind of electric demon getting sucked into a computer... I sometimes read in their room as they're going to sleep). It's about what I remembered, a bit of a fun romp with a few interesting ideas (some of which now seem old-fashioned; the idea of technology, or at least computers, as a symbol of order already seems kind of silly). While I'd like to re-read the sequel, I'm not in a rush.

I started reading Elizabeth Moon's Once a Hero - she's most known for this kind of space military-themed sci-fi, but I was recommended her fantasy series The Deed of Paksenarrion and really liked it years ago, so I'm trying out more of her stuff. It's been good so far - finally got to what feels like the core of the story.

Wow, it's been a couple of months since I last finished a book, but I knocked out Tad Williams' fantastic "The Witchwood Crown." It is book one of his latest trilogy and a sequel to a well-loved trilogy originally published years ago. Excellent stuff. More thoughts here:

https://www.wheredreamsescape.com/post/ ... wood-crown

Next up on my Kindle I'll probably read the sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front or maybe....maybe East of Eden. Still working on Decameron albeit infrequently.

1. Gentleman Junkie and Other Stories from the Hung-Up Generation by Harlan Ellison
2. Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein
3. Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
5. Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
6. Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
7. You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
8. The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings
9. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
10. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
11. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
12. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
13. Over the Edge by Harlan Ellison
14. The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
15. The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
16. Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
17. Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
18. No Doors, No Windows by Harlan Ellison
19. The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish
20. The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
22. What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson
23. Light in August by William Faulkner
24. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
25. The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams

Ha, I'm pretty sure I've read more than this this year, but I couldn't find a post, so I guess no one (including myself) will ever know.

At the recommendation of my friend who also put me on to the Machineries of Empire trilogy, I checked out the first book in the Murderbot series: All Systems Red. It's a cute little novella—one main plot, no B plot, one fleshed-out (lol) character and a handful of minor, secondary characters, but nice and tight and charming. Trying to find a local bookseller that doesn't finance the IDF tomorrow to pick up the sequel.

01. 2024-01-05 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966), Tom Stoppard (English), 126pp
02. 2024-11-01 All Systems Red (2017), Martha Wells (Texan), 149pp

2023 in summary

Continuing the series.

01. 2024-01-05 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966), Tom Stoppard (English), 126pp
02. 2024-11-01 All Systems Red (2017), Martha Wells (Texan), 149pp
03. 2024-11-08 Artificial Condition (2018), Martha Wells (Texan), 158pp

2023 in summary