What Fiction are you reading this week, September 26, 2021?
The time machine.
Reading The Ophiuchi Hotline by John Varley. Pronounced off-e-YOO-ki, a constellation that just missed fame by being a few degrees away from the zodiac. Invaders took over planet Earth so humans have dispersed to other planets in our solar system. Seemingly helpful messages are being transmitted from somewhere in deep space, but then it all gets weird. I'm only 30 pages in so just getting to know what life is like in the 25th century.
Had to get on a waiting list for more Murderbot stories so now I'm listening to Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. A student at Oxford University, in the year 2048, is about to be sent back in time to 1348, back to when they took a plague seriously.
What books are you finding time for this week?
= new reply since forum marked as read
I didn't much care for it but it put me in mind of Raymond Chandler so I went to Amazon and blew 99 cents on the complete works. Money well spent. I'd forgotten most of the plots. Chandler was both cynical and sentimental and he had a rather jaundiced view of women. They're often deadlier than the male. The drug pushing Dr. is a recurring trope Chandler felt pretty strongly about. This is LA in the 40's and 50's and shares the sensibilities of the time. The language reflects that. Highly recommended for fans of noir.
I'm currently reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. An artist attempts to deface a painting in the National Gallery in DC. He's committed to an institution but refuses to speak. His Dr. explores his obsession through the stories of 3 women; his wife, his lover and a woman who lived in Paris in the 1870s. I'm about 2/3 of the way through and I still haven't made up my mind as to whether I actually like the book.
Cheers, Hermetic
Stay safe
some more than others. Loved the Doomsday Book especially, plus Passage and Bellweather. 
Just started a new Elizabeth Bear book - Machine - about a far future human civilization that has joined a galactic government. An ancient human generation ship has been discovered heading out of the galaxy at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light. There’s no response to attempts to contact possible survivors, so a rescue mission has been sent to see if anyone can be saved and to preserve a unique human artifact/history. The woman in charge of the mission finds that things are very strange on board.
So it’s a mystery in space with aliens, advanced technology, fully conscious AIs, methane breathers and an odd, powerful android who is apparently in charge of the frozen colonists and won’t or can’t let anyone try to save them because "the Machine" won’t allow it. Interesting, so far.
I just reread the Murderbot series, just because. Am impatiently waiting for the next installment, too, that’s not due for many, many months. 
Also started a new fantasy/romance series by T. Kingfisher (pen name for well-known children’s fantasy author Ursula Vernon). Light, easy, humorous, enjoyable reading. First book was Paladin’s Grace about a fantasy world where multiple gods have different organizations of people to carry out their edicts. The Rat is all about charity, law, medicine and sneaky diplomacy. The Saint of Steel was about fighting evil (of which there is plenty, including goblins, haunts, demon possessions, etc.) with berserker paladins, but the Saint died and left a bunch of severely broken and depressed paladins who go bonkers every once in a while. Each book is about one of the middle aged paladins finding a middle-aged partner while solving a problem crime. I’m on the second book, Paladin’s Strength, about one of the paladins being sent to solve a mystery/crime involving magic beheadings and reanimations and running into a nun whose whole sisterhood was kidnapped to be put into fighting pits…because they’re also werebears! Just got to the aftermath of the surprise of Clara going all bear when they’re attacked by brigands. 
