Melinda Snodgrass - Science Fiction Author - Busted Flush - Edge of Reason - Star Trek tagged ...

Head Scratching

Melinda — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:13:06 +0100

I just finished reading a science fiction novel by one of the eminent writers in the field. I enjoyed the book (sort of), and I'll probably read more in the series because now I have a sense of what's at stake and what's going on, but it's maybe not the best structure model when I finally know what's going on and what's at stake around page 320 in a 423 page novel.

The author also made an interesting structural choice in the beginning of the book. While I applauded the deRead More...

Time to Read

Melinda — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:05:26 +0100

I spent the weekend at Leprecon. (Yes, it was in Phoenix, and I hated top give Arizona my money, but I didn't see any point in punishing the fans who were chairing and attending this convention. _They_ didn't pass the Draconian "papers please" bill.) But back on topic. I flew which meant I had over an hour at the airport, and an hour on the airplane so I got to read.

I had devoured the first two Stieg Larsson books while visiting the Cassutts in CA, and now I haRead More...

Living On Line

Melinda — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:32:00 +0100

On the recommendation of several friends I joined a site called Goodreads. It's a place where people share book recommendations, form groups, etc. etc. It's a lovely idea, but I feel really embarrassed because these people read _a lot_, and I've managed to post four reviews so far.

When I was a kid I read about a book a day (Dad taught me to read before I started school, and he taught me how to speed read). Anyway, I read a lot. Used to drive my mother crazy becRead More...

Fun and Good Books

Melinda — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:21:07 +0100

I've been reading a lot lately (which has been a lot of fun), and I wanted to mention a few more books that are well worth your time. I've already raved about the Larsson books now I want to talk about three books in our genre.

I had the good fortune to read BLACKOUT before the actual publication date, and it was lovely. A terrific evocation of those dark and terrifying days during the Blitz and the evacuation from Dunkirk. Connie Willis creates such great and real peRead More...

More Larsson

Melinda — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:52:42 +0100

Curse the Cassutt's! They are pushers of great books! So I blogged about The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo a few days ago. Now I can talk about The Girl Who Played with Fire, the sequel. I read it in, basically, a day. I sat up until 11:00 pm to finish it and this was the night before I had to make the drive back to N.M.

I thought this one ended a bit abruptly, but it was edge of your seat, frantic page turning all the way to the end. Not only does he Read More...

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:50:19 +0100

The Cassutt's managed to blow my day in terms of accomplishing anything productive. They shoved The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson into my hands and said "read this".

It started out slowly, interesting but slow, two separate stories that slowly merge, and then BOOM, this book just grabs you and won't let go. Actually even before the journalist and the girl start working together I was totally, hopelessly hooked.

I actually read a little over 300 pRead More...

The Chicago Wizard, His Creator and What It Says About Writing

Melinda — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:32:02 +0100

I’ve been reading the Harry Dresden books. I just completed the fourth book, and I’ve been musing about what makes them so enjoyable and so readable. Since I’m playing in this arena I wanted to read some of the real heavy hitters. I haven’t gotten around to Laura K. Hamilton because I want to try and live and play in my own world, and not risk absorbing ideas from other sources, but I will probably read the first book as I try to understand whatRead More...

The City & The City

Melinda — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:32:27 +0100

I just finished reading China Mieville’s novel The City &The City. This is the first Mieville book I’ve read since I finished The Scar and promptly threw the book across the room. I had slogged through 900 pages, and it was basically Wagner’s Ring Cycle. At the end I was precisely back to the same point as was at the beginning. Nothing had changed - neither the characters nor the situation. I also didn’t like the characters very much.

Surrogate Heinlein Fix

Melinda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:52:14 +0100

I'm reading John Scalzi's THE LAST COLONY and it's just wonderful. It reminds me of all the old Heinlein classics that I loved so much -- HAVE SPACESUIT, CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY, THE ROLLING STONES.

I've just come off reading a number of fantasy books. Okay, some of them were interesting, but diving back into this Scalzi book is like coming home and getting comfortable. Thank god that someone is still publishing science fiction and keeping the dream of the stars alive.

Limit the Cast

Melinda — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Because of the dearth of science fiction novels I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy recently, and it’s not my preferred reading material. I prefer straight up science fiction. So I tried Night’s Dawn series by Peter Hamilton. (It’s a trilogy in Britain, but published as six volumes in the U.S.)

I have taken to just putting aside books I don’t enjoy and not finishing them. The fact I finished all six books says there was a lot toRead More...

Reminder

Melinda — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

My good friend, Walter Jon Williams terrific new book, THIS IS NOT A GAME will be available at the end of this month.

Run, don't walk to buy it. It is really, really good.

Reading Recommendation

Melinda — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

I just finished the second volume in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy. This is a stunning series, and I have to say I think this gentleman is one of the best fantasist working today. This is a big trade paperback, and I read it in three days while still managing the rest of my life. What I didn’t do was write on my own work because I was so swept up in this story, but that’s another matter.

Anyway, Abercrombie pulls off an amazing feat. Read More...