Reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Book 2 of The Passage trilogy. Around 180 or so pages in, and we are still in the past, the story is interesting, so reading about these characters, but I am still not sure if it will have any effect in the future / present, or it’s just for world building. I am now invested enough now to see where it goes though.
What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?
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Started reading the Revenger series after it was mentioned in a post a few days ago. Just finished the first book and started the second (Shadow Captain) last night.
Broke down and bought an actual e-reader (rather than reading them on my phone), so I’m holding off reading further until that arrives this afternoon. Edit: That was a lie, lol. I’m totally going to read another chapter on my lunch break since the e-reader won’t be here till later this afternoon / after work.
How are you liking the Revenger series? Alastair Reynolds have been mentioned many times but I have yet to read any of his works.
I’ve read it once a few years ago, but don’t remember a lot of the key points, so I’m doing a second read through. That’s usually a good sign since I don’t often go back and re-read a series.
Like most of his books, the hard sci-fi is there in excellent detail. There are two protagonists, sisters, and the reader’s viewpoint switches between them in each book. The action is a lot like a sea pirate story but in space (their ships use solar sails for propulsion, so the analogy actually works quite well).
The first book (Revenger) is excellent and concludes like a self-contained story, so you could just read that and be satisfied. There are some unanswered questions, but even Reynold’s standalone books leave some conclusions ambiguous. It is through the viewpoint of the younger sister.
The second, (Shadow Captain) is good, in and of itself, but definitely feels like it’s just treading water to set up and get you to the third book. I’m on the last chapter of it. It is from the viewpoint of the older sister. Definitely the weakest of the series, though it sets up a lot of elements that pay off in the last book.
The third (Bone Silence) is back on track and explores the mysteries that were set up in the first two books. I still have a lot of gaps from the first read through, but I definitely remember it being pretty good. Will be starting on that one probably this evening.
I find that I can read okay on phones, especially with a night-mode, but an e-Reader hits that sweet spot for an even nicer paper-ish screen and the intentionality of a book, while still having digital convenience. The intentionality may actually be the most important part for me: the Kindle means it’s reading time. I also keep mine on airplane mode 99% of the time, so the battery lasts forever and I can almost treat it like a paper book.
I love being able to throw 150 books into my backpack, pocket, or briefcase. Especially when it means that all of them have the same font, text size, and margins. I bought mine when libraries closed down with covid and it’s one of the best $100 purchases I’ve made
Yeah, I’ve read on my phone for years. It’s nice because it’s always with me, so if I’m ever stuck waiting, I can pick up where I left off. Holding a phone to read, though, does get uncomfortable on both the eyes and hands after a while (I often binge read lol), so figured it was time to get a proper e-reader.
Yep, that’s what I’m after :) I’ll probably do similar and leave the wifi off unless I’m syncing new books.