I guess you only read the first book? The further you get into the series, the more Matt Dinniman's horror background comes out.
Third Perpetual Book Thread
- Thread starter MonaLisaOverdrive
- Start date
Yep, only the first so far. There's definitely a sense of dark topics coming - the subplots with the
old folks home and the two people who killed their own daughter
tipped that off just a wee bit... Not to mention the whole thing with the plummeting number of surviving humans, and the general evilness of the whole system in the first place...
The stuff in the first spoiler is cleared up pretty quickly, although it does help enforce the second spoiler. The second one is part of the background of the ongoing plot, but the horror is much more visceral and psychological than that. Or it at least starts leaning that way as time goes on. Matt has also said that none of his series so far have had a happy ending, although he said that before Operation Bounce House, which I understand is a bit of a departure for him (but I haven't read it so maybe not?)
Another reason I that I didn't think you'd read further is no mention of Samantha. She's not at all Battle Royale, although maybe a bit of Hunger Games.
New.Used, new, or both?
There are several local-to-me used book sellers, but only one that sells new books. And that one? Is the size of a postage stamp, comparatively. There are some large independent shops up in Santa Barbara or over in LA, but it's a long drive to those.![:\](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/civis/data/assets/smilies/slash-1x.png "Slash :\")
I won't say that I'm lucky to have two bookshops in my local shopping strip, because when I moved in, there were three.
Operation Bounce House does not have a true happy ending.
The people on the planet end up cutting themselves off while unleashing a rouge Illegal AI on to the Earth network. It is left open if that AI will end up killing all humans but there was already a war against AIs (the AI in the book was on the generational ship so wasn't part of it)
I finished 7 Seconds to Die: A Military Analysis of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the Future of Warfighting by John Antal. It was interesting; it argued that drones were indispensable for Azerbaijan's success in the conflict but that the victory ultimately relied on more conventional forces to seize decisive territory. I'm not as sure about his overview of futuristic technologies in development to deal with the seeming reality that being spotted by omnipresent drone surveillance means you will be attacked relentlessly until killed but it was interesting to read that he thought the demise of the tank was greatly exaggerated.
Not entirely sure what I am reading next; I'm eyeing the fourth SWAT werewolf book but might try to do some other nonfiction reading first. I'd really like to find a good book going over what SWAT academy is like but haven't found anything that sounds promising - so much of the recommendations are on physical fitness.
Not entirely sure what I am reading next; I'm eyeing the fourth SWAT werewolf book but might try to do some other nonfiction reading first. I'd really like to find a good book going over what SWAT academy is like but haven't found anything that sounds promising - so much of the recommendations are on physical fitness.
Just finished This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
What a delightful read. Time travel and the multiverse, played with in prose in such a dynamic and almost whimsical way. Shockingly so, given there’s a war on and the results are so very often bloody and brutal and beyond ending.
The mechanisms of time travel, of crossing between universes and possible futures and roots of differing pasts? Not important. The story is important.
That was a LOT of fun.
This is how we win, Red.
This is how we win.
Up next is The Afghanistan Papers, by Craig Whitlock (bookshop.org)
It’s a book I’ve wanted to read for a fear years - it’s been on my shelf, waiting.
I was going to read The God of Endings, but I haven’t read any non-fiction in a hot minute. Felt it’s time.
What a delightful read. Time travel and the multiverse, played with in prose in such a dynamic and almost whimsical way. Shockingly so, given there’s a war on and the results are so very often bloody and brutal and beyond ending.
The mechanisms of time travel, of crossing between universes and possible futures and roots of differing pasts? Not important. The story is important.
That was a LOT of fun.
This is how we win, Red.
This is how we win.
Up next is The Afghanistan Papers, by Craig Whitlock (bookshop.org)
It’s a book I’ve wanted to read for a fear years - it’s been on my shelf, waiting.
I was going to read The God of Endings, but I haven’t read any non-fiction in a hot minute. Felt it’s time.
Five chapters in. This is really good.
I mean, it's bloody terrible. But the writing and information is very good.
I was curious at first, thinking that a modern take on a Angua von Überwald (Discworld Anhk Morpork City Watch) situation would be interesting. Then I saw the cover. That’s a stereotypical “romance” novel right there. Then I saw they were Dallas PD, now I am morbidly curious and debating whether I should send this to a guy I know who’s on the DPD.
Too tired at the moment to give full reviews but here's a couple I've read recently and enjoyed:
Finder & Driving the Deep, Suzanne Palmer (The Finder Chronicles #1 and #2)
First Watch & Friendly Fire, Dale Lucas (The Fifth Ward #1 and #2)
Bang Bang Bodhisattva, Aubrey Wood
Doing a reread of Orconomics (Zachary Pike) now, going to try to get to the sequel once I'm done.
Finder & Driving the Deep, Suzanne Palmer (The Finder Chronicles #1 and #2)
First Watch & Friendly Fire, Dale Lucas (The Fifth Ward #1 and #2)
Bang Bang Bodhisattva, Aubrey Wood
Doing a reread of Orconomics (Zachary Pike) now, going to try to get to the sequel once I'm done.
I'll admit, I found it searching for any kind of supernatural SWAT team books looking to see what was out there intending for a less-romance take on the idea (I expected some since most urban fantasy seems to have a romance subplot). And I had the same reaction to the book cover (and the blurb).
Hope I didn't mislead, it is straight up romance between various women and alpha male werewolves SWAT team members (one couple per book). Which isn't to say there isn't any other plot or action, but the main plot is romance - how will the guy and girl get together, realize they are The One for each other, and get their relationship to work. Complete with lengthy, steamy sex scenes and a lot of trying to deal with being attracted to each other (that might not be to anyone's taste - it includes some stuff on being distracted by scent/pheromones that I'm borderline on enjoying). Also lots of PT and other outdoor stuff with a lack of shirts for the guys. Like I said, I'm finding it relaxing in a good dumb fun sort of way and hoping it doesn't get more realistic.
I quite liked the first 4 books you've listed there!
Thanks! Went out and bought Finder #3 today, don't know why I waited so long to read this series
Looks like Hyperion's trees have some scientific basis! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...ed-it-in-nature-for-the-first-time-180988275/
Treetops Emit Ultraviolet Sparkles During Thunderstorms. Researchers Just Filmed It in Nature for the First Time
The weather events probably cause the air around leaves to produce weak electrical discharges
Now:
All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. AKA, the source of the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt film Edge of Tomorrow.
Next:
The Cloak & Its Wizard, by R.Z. Nicolet. A story about a wizard and their sentient cloak; think the cloak from Doctor Strange. Told from the perspective of the cloak.
All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. AKA, the source of the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt film Edge of Tomorrow.
Next:
The Cloak & Its Wizard, by R.Z. Nicolet. A story about a wizard and their sentient cloak; think the cloak from Doctor Strange. Told from the perspective of the cloak.
So, that was pretty entertaining. A bit rough and tumble, and a lot of the details were different. Still fun. Ultimately, I like the changes they made for the film a little bit better than the novel.
I've read two more books in the werewolf SWAT series. I'm enjoying them but think I need a brief break from its style of romance as I find myself not as invested in the relationship after reading a few in a row. So, taking a break from that. I started reading The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman; I got interested in the idea of reading his work after seeing the first season of Dark Winds on Netflix (I decided not to watch the other seasons until I had tried reading the novels). I'm not very far in but think I like it, though it seems like I'll want some lighter fare afterwards. Or maybe during.
I'm almost finished with the book on nonlethal force options. And I'm slowly listening to an audiobook memoir of on one of the SWAT team members who responded to Columbine.
I'm almost finished with the book on nonlethal force options. And I'm slowly listening to an audiobook memoir of on one of the SWAT team members who responded to Columbine.
I agree with you on that. The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic were my first two of his, and they were rough books. They were just interesting enough that when I came across Guards! Guards! I figured I give him one more try...and was immediately hooked. He became one of my go-to authors after that (and as it happens I'm rereading Soul Music this week!) and his City Watch stories some of my all-time favourites.
Something put me off Terry Pratchett a long long time ago and I can't remember what it was. The thing is: I want to get hooked! Somebody recommend me how to get hooked?
For Discworld, I think "Wyrd Sisters" is a great start. You get an introduction to Discworld and a twisted version of MacBeth! Another good intro is "Guards! Guards!" a story about how the Ankh-Morpork guards actually become a mostly respectable institution.
Among the Discworld stuff, I liked Gaurds! Guards!, Small Gods, and Going Postal the best. I thought the Night Watch series got a little over wrought and the smaller single book (Small Gods) or miniseries (Moist von Lipwig) were stronger overall. Raising Steam was good only if you had attachments to the characters of the world. It definitely had the feeling of a farewell tour, which it probably was given Sir Pratchett’s condition.
Yet another vote for Guards Guards! It's the book that got me to like Terry Pratchett.
A word of warning, make sure to read the footnotes. If you are reading a digital copy, make sure the app handles footnotes well. My copies are on the Kobo app, which is very finicky with footnotes.
That said, Humble Bundle has 39 Terry Pratchett books for $16:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/...tsdiscworldharpercollinsencore2026_bookbundle
A word of warning, make sure to read the footnotes. If you are reading a digital copy, make sure the app handles footnotes well. My copies are on the Kobo app, which is very finicky with footnotes.
That said, Humble Bundle has 39 Terry Pratchett books for $16:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/...tsdiscworldharpercollinsencore2026_bookbundle
Thanks all! Guards! Guards! it's going to be then. Humble Bundle not available over here.
I finished The Blessing Way and liked it. A bit more involved reading with getting into the Navajo customs and beliefs. I'll add the next one to my list to read, but think I want a break from that, something about the writing and characters seems a bit bleak. Not sure what I'm reading next yet.
I've found one of my next reads: Cross the Lines by Simone Soltani. It is a contemporary romance novel involving F1 racing. I don't really know anything about F1, I was more into Nascar when I followed racing a decade or so ago. I read the front page threads and know the basics: cars go fast, they don't just turn left (I think?), fan's complain about how much better the sport was back before [insert whatever rule change] and love their team despite how uncompetitive the sport can seem. On to the book summary so far (very early still in the book):
Dev Anderson's had one hell of a bad year. First, he kissed Willow Williams, the little sister of his best friend Oakley. Distracted by that kiss and the worry of what Oakley will do if he ever finds out about it, Dev wrecked a perfectly fine race car. And then he got into a fight with his PR manager, causing her to quit by accusing him of having an antibiotic resistant STD on social media. The wannabe star driver needs to improve his public image and his driving to prove he should stay on the team. But he doesn't want to have his life sanitized beyond all recognition by a soulless corporate PR drone. Even if that is what it will take to save his career. He just wants to get through the party at Monaco, hopefully get laid to take his mind off his problems (fat chance) so he can focus on qualifying well since no one passes at Monaco. Unfortunately, not only will the agent and sponsors that he has been avoiding be at the event, Willow Williams and the protective Oakley will also be there, so he needs to keep it together, bury his feelings for Willow, and act casual.
Willow Williams knows about pain and hard work from the hours she puts in at the gym, strengthening her body to rehab from and mitigate the issues caused by the hypermobile joints she was born with. But those joints meant she had to bury her dreams of being an athlete, so she knows that wanting and working for something isn't always enough. And her life seems to be heading that way again; despite putting in the work of getting a double major, working as an intern, and applying for every opening she can find, she hasn't had any luck getting an interview for anything, let alone her dream job of being a PR manager for a major sports team. She jumps at her brother Oakley's invitation to spend a weekend networking with sports teams in Monaco, doubtful it would lead to anything more than getting to enjoy some good food, a nice F1 race, and distract her from her dreams burning to the ground just like her cooking attempts. But when she gets there and finds out that her brother's company is sponsoring Dev's team, she knows she needs to keep calm and bury the feelings she has always felt for Dev.
That's as far as I've gotten into it but someone at the party (probably Oakley) is going to propose what seems the logical answer for Dev and Willow's careers: Willow becomes Dev's PR manager. And then the two have to act professional and hide their burning love for the other.
Dev Anderson's had one hell of a bad year. First, he kissed Willow Williams, the little sister of his best friend Oakley. Distracted by that kiss and the worry of what Oakley will do if he ever finds out about it, Dev wrecked a perfectly fine race car. And then he got into a fight with his PR manager, causing her to quit by accusing him of having an antibiotic resistant STD on social media. The wannabe star driver needs to improve his public image and his driving to prove he should stay on the team. But he doesn't want to have his life sanitized beyond all recognition by a soulless corporate PR drone. Even if that is what it will take to save his career. He just wants to get through the party at Monaco, hopefully get laid to take his mind off his problems (fat chance) so he can focus on qualifying well since no one passes at Monaco. Unfortunately, not only will the agent and sponsors that he has been avoiding be at the event, Willow Williams and the protective Oakley will also be there, so he needs to keep it together, bury his feelings for Willow, and act casual.
Willow Williams knows about pain and hard work from the hours she puts in at the gym, strengthening her body to rehab from and mitigate the issues caused by the hypermobile joints she was born with. But those joints meant she had to bury her dreams of being an athlete, so she knows that wanting and working for something isn't always enough. And her life seems to be heading that way again; despite putting in the work of getting a double major, working as an intern, and applying for every opening she can find, she hasn't had any luck getting an interview for anything, let alone her dream job of being a PR manager for a major sports team. She jumps at her brother Oakley's invitation to spend a weekend networking with sports teams in Monaco, doubtful it would lead to anything more than getting to enjoy some good food, a nice F1 race, and distract her from her dreams burning to the ground just like her cooking attempts. But when she gets there and finds out that her brother's company is sponsoring Dev's team, she knows she needs to keep calm and bury the feelings she has always felt for Dev.
That's as far as I've gotten into it but someone at the party (probably Oakley) is going to propose what seems the logical answer for Dev and Willow's careers: Willow becomes Dev's PR manager. And then the two have to act professional and hide their burning love for the other.
Do you have AppleTV?
If you happen to subscribe, then you can start getting into F1 right quick. And then c’mon down to this year’s F1 thread. We’re not all nutters, I swear!
Also, you should come regale us of the romantic racing you read in the F1 books. Several of us have talked about reading them, but I don’t think anyone in the F1 thread actually has!
There are thousands upon thousands of pages.
But these are (mostly self) published! And since they’re fictional characters as opposed to fiction-versions of real people? Much less creepy.
I just finished The Cloak & Its Wizard, by RZ Nicollet (pen name). (Bookshop.org)
That was utterly delightful from end to end. Magical cloak is sentient, and the story is told from the first-person perspective of the cloak. Who chooses a wizard in the modern day.
The writing is good, the cloak is… well, mischievous., and the wizard is a great foil as a character. It’s a really fun story, and I’d recommend it to pretty much anybody who might be mildly interested.
That was utterly delightful from end to end. Magical cloak is sentient, and the story is told from the first-person perspective of the cloak. Who chooses a wizard in the modern day.
The writing is good, the cloak is… well, mischievous., and the wizard is a great foil as a character. It’s a really fun story, and I’d recommend it to pretty much anybody who might be mildly interested.
After finishing Crossing the Line, I'm flailing around trying to find the next book I can get into. I bounced off of Burning Daylight by Billy McIntire, a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet as a contemporary romance instead of a tragedy. I'll probably give this another try - I didn't get very far to five it a chance to hook me, but it seemed to be slow-paced on Juliet meeting Roman and giving background on Juliet, the rival Calloway and Montgomery families and the situation in fair Verona County, Connecticut.
I got further into Zero Car, the first book of the Ocean Slayers Racing series by Alex Knowles. I'm probably going to try to finish this one despite being even less hooked by the writing and plot delivery.
I'm not quite sure how to describe what is wrong with it: it feels like it doesn't have stakes even though the main character is at risk of being homeless again. And it feels like it just kind of relates things without there being tension or putting much detail into it. I think it being a LitRPG is definitely part of the disconnect I have. I've read LitRPG before, but they've all been isekai things like Sword Art Online or similar, where real people are stuck in an MMO game. This is supposed to be the real world, so it is a bit too weird to wrap my head around allocating stat points at level up.
I'm hoping it has some good racing and magic system explanation eventually; the premise of the book is that there are sentient cars that bond with human racers. I'm not sure what that exactly means for what the racing will look like - at the moment, it sounds like the humans are basically magical batteries to power the cars, but it hasn't really been explained yet. So we'll see if I get through this or not.
I started reading Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas. It started a bit slow for me - there is some backstory and some early chapters of how horrible everything is. Also, the extreme depression of these settings might be getting a bit much but that seems to be popular in romantasy these days. But I'm into it now that I'm a quarter of the way through - I think I got into it about 1/5 of the way into it.
In the near future, everything went bad for humanity when immortal Titans emerged that could not be stopped by human military power (for clarity - the Titans look human and are human-sized). Humanity is forced to rely on the reemerged Greek gods and their half-human mutt progeny to protect the cities that survived. The gods themselves are split between the fearsome Chthonic deities, whose abilities are most useful in combat, and the Olympians. The main character has survived bad situations her whole life, from abusive foster parents, constant hunger, social ostracism, and being homeless in rural northern Montana. She just wanted to pass the Spartan Merit Test to get into one of the few remaining universities, take care of those she cares about, and solve the Riemann hypothesis. Instead, it turns out she has divine parentage and is forced into the Spartan War Academy, where the goal is to kill anyone too weak or stupid to be a god. On the bright side, she has not one but two divine tutors who are deeply invested in her survival. On the downside, her tutors are Achilles and Patro, two of the scariest Cthonic deities who have well earned their nicknames of War and Sex. And they think she was placed in their care because she is too weak to survive the school and be of any use to anyone. At least the invisible poisonous snake named Nyx that befriended her wants to help her survive.
I got further into Zero Car, the first book of the Ocean Slayers Racing series by Alex Knowles. I'm probably going to try to finish this one despite being even less hooked by the writing and plot delivery.
I'm not quite sure how to describe what is wrong with it: it feels like it doesn't have stakes even though the main character is at risk of being homeless again. And it feels like it just kind of relates things without there being tension or putting much detail into it. I think it being a LitRPG is definitely part of the disconnect I have. I've read LitRPG before, but they've all been isekai things like Sword Art Online or similar, where real people are stuck in an MMO game. This is supposed to be the real world, so it is a bit too weird to wrap my head around allocating stat points at level up.
I'm hoping it has some good racing and magic system explanation eventually; the premise of the book is that there are sentient cars that bond with human racers. I'm not sure what that exactly means for what the racing will look like - at the moment, it sounds like the humans are basically magical batteries to power the cars, but it hasn't really been explained yet. So we'll see if I get through this or not.
I started reading Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas. It started a bit slow for me - there is some backstory and some early chapters of how horrible everything is. Also, the extreme depression of these settings might be getting a bit much but that seems to be popular in romantasy these days. But I'm into it now that I'm a quarter of the way through - I think I got into it about 1/5 of the way into it.
In the near future, everything went bad for humanity when immortal Titans emerged that could not be stopped by human military power (for clarity - the Titans look human and are human-sized). Humanity is forced to rely on the reemerged Greek gods and their half-human mutt progeny to protect the cities that survived. The gods themselves are split between the fearsome Chthonic deities, whose abilities are most useful in combat, and the Olympians. The main character has survived bad situations her whole life, from abusive foster parents, constant hunger, social ostracism, and being homeless in rural northern Montana. She just wanted to pass the Spartan Merit Test to get into one of the few remaining universities, take care of those she cares about, and solve the Riemann hypothesis. Instead, it turns out she has divine parentage and is forced into the Spartan War Academy, where the goal is to kill anyone too weak or stupid to be a god. On the bright side, she has not one but two divine tutors who are deeply invested in her survival. On the downside, her tutors are Achilles and Patro, two of the scariest Cthonic deities who have well earned their nicknames of War and Sex. And they think she was placed in their care because she is too weak to survive the school and be of any use to anyone. At least the invisible poisonous snake named Nyx that befriended her wants to help her survive.
Were you able to download a copy of the book from the site? Didn't see a download link anywhere after I bought it.