• Home
    • Recent
    • Calendar
    • Register
    • Login
    Iron Heart Forum
    Iron Heart Forum

    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    Books

    Hobbies and Pastimes
    146
    930
    241.6k
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • thomasnunnallyT
      thomasnunnally
      Joined:

      @Chris:

      First 3 are great, pacing slows down dramatically in the next 2.  They almost feel like they're a combination placeholder/tidying up of loose ends.

      I have to admit, I've become a bit disenchanted with the series over the last decade or so.

      I would tend to agree with this.  First three are great to read, but in retrospect, I almost wish I hadn't bothered with the last two.  The thing is, I liked the storyline of 4 and I wish he had just continued those stories instead of having two books that generally didn't move the story that far forward.  I did not like reading 5.  But, I think I may have liked it more if I read it the way Chris suggested with 4&5 at the same time.  Unfortunately, I read 4 right when it came out, so I did not have that option.

      Out with the new! In with the old!

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • ChrisC
        Chris
        Raw and Unwashed
        Joined:

        I did the same and really didn't enjoy 4, but with a six year gap to publication of 5, I had forgotten a lot of the details in the various storylines. I decided to reread it as a refresher and did as I suggested above.  I found it much more enjoyable the second time around.

        Game of Thrones was published in 1995, and at the rate he's going, Martin probably won't finish the series until 2025 or so.  It's got to be tough to work on the same thing that long and still get excited about it.  I suspect that if the series hadn't turned into such a massive phenomenon, Martin just would have moved on to something else and maybe never finished it at all.

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Morose_PenguinM
          Morose_Penguin
          Raw and Unwashed
          Joined:

          Harry Harrison has died. The world of SF is less without him.

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • madmondayM
            madmonday
            Raw and Unwashed
            Joined:

            currently reading sincerity by R.Jay Magill Jr. & just looking at the pictures in Lost New York by Marcia Reiss

            head high, middle finger higher

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Morose_PenguinM
              Morose_Penguin
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              Currently reading:

              A book written by the author of the short story "Fire in the hole" which the tv series "Justified" was based on. It's basically a few of the tv episodes written as short stories.
              Where it gets really weird is that Raylan Givens also features in two other Elmore Leonard novels that were written about 15-20 years ago. But like all good heroes, Raylan doesn't age.

              And a few years ago Elmore Leonard wrote a couple of books featuring a Carl Webster a US Marshal in the 1930's. But at the moment I can't remember if they were related.

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Sugar MountainS
                Sugar Mountain
                Joined:

                My current reading:

                Don Delillo at his best. So, so good.

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • derivative666D
                  derivative666
                  Joined:

                  ^great author

                  "honorable mention to the bearded giant aka derivative666 for being a stand up dude & not changing with the seasons since i've been around these parts" Monday

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Sugar MountainS
                    Sugar Mountain
                    Joined:

                    @derivative666:

                    ^great author

                    Indeed. Libra blew me away. Utterly brilliant book with the most impressive sense of tension and atmosphere I've read in a long time. I didn't know a great deal about the Kennedy assassination prior to this, but Delillo's portrayal of Lee Oswald is compelling.

                    Now getting into:

                    I really enjoyed Ford's The Sportswriter and this one is proving to be great as well.

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • hecticH
                      hectic
                      Joined:

                      Just finished Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan - go read it!

                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • GilesG
                        Giles
                        IHUK Crew
                        Joined:

                        Just got "Time Out, Country Walks, Vol 1 - 52 Walks Near London".  The walk that Sugar Mountain did at the weekend is in it, so needed it.  Thanks SM….

                        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • hecticH
                          hectic
                          Joined:

                          You may like this too Giles: http://www.amazon.com/City-Fishing-Jerry-Dennis/dp/0811703576

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • GilesG
                            Giles
                            IHUK Crew
                            Joined:

                            Thank you.  Ordered….

                            "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Sugar MountainS
                              Sugar Mountain
                              Joined:

                              @Giles:

                              Just got "Time Out, Country Walks, Vol 1 - 52 Walks Near London".  The walk that Sugar Mountain did at the weekend is in it, so needed it.  Thanks SM….

                              Great stuff! The directions can be overly detailed and sometimes tricky to follow but most of the routes I've done are wonderful so it's well worth it.

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • GilesG
                                Giles
                                IHUK Crew
                                Joined:

                                I'll get myself and OS map and ignore the book once we start walking…How long did it take you, just wondering if I need to delay this until we have longer days again.....

                                "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Sugar MountainS
                                  Sugar Mountain
                                  Joined:

                                  The 14.3 miler took me and my brother about 5 and a half hours to do with a short pub break included. Once you're on the South Downs Way, you can motor along at a decent clip should you wish (we walk fairly quickly by most peoples' standards I think).

                                  We only started walking at 13.15 so an earlier start would give plenty of time in daylight.

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • ?
                                    Guest
                                    Joined:

                                    One of the books I consider to be absolutely essential to my library.  A smorgasbord of useful, fascinating information

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • SeulS
                                      Seul
                                      Joined:

                                      Spring literature…

                                      1 "The Throwback"
                                      Sharpe, Tom; Paperback; £0.01

                                      1 "Vintage Stuff"
                                      Sharpe, Tom; Paperback; £0.01

                                      1 "The Midden"
                                      Sharpe, Tom; Hardcover; £0.01

                                      1 "The Wire Re-up: The Guardian guide to the greatest TV show ever made"
                                      Steve Busfield; Paperback; £0.01

                                      1 "Blott On The Landscape"
                                      Sharpe, Tom; Paperback; £0.01

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • S
                                        Snowy
                                        Joined:

                                        Good bump! I'm reading through the Rift Wars saga at the moment. Have completed the 1st 3, and am now onto the Tsurani side of the story.

                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • ChrisC
                                          Chris
                                          Raw and Unwashed
                                          Joined:

                                          Are those the Daughter/Mistress/Servant of the Empire ones?

                                          Man, I loved all of those Riftwar books when I was a kid.

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • tatmantallT
                                            tatmantall
                                            Joined:

                                            Nice… Hadn't noticed this thread before. Currently studying Shakespeare and just finished reading _Much Ado About Nothing_and also picked up Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design today after a discussion regarding wave particle duality that blew my mind. 🙂

                                            "I know to you it may sound strange, but I wish it would rain…"- The Temptations

                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright Iron Heart 2025.