[CAT] Scratching Post

I don't think that we have this thread going and it seems indispensable for such intellectuals as ourselves.

I just picked up "shake hands with the devil" by the commander of the UN force in Rwanda during the genocide, and "Pearl Harbor Betrayed", which I just picked up because I wanted to read about it, was on display.

Just finished "running with scissors", another story of how a kid survived REALLY lousy parents, it was a good read.

Running with Scissors covers the period of Burroughs' disturbed adolescent and teenage years, starting at age twelve. Burroughs is sent to live with his mother's psychiatrist, Dr. Finch, when his parents separate and his mother comes out as a lesbian. He lives in filthy conditions, where rules are practically non-existent and children of all ages basically do whatever they want. Burroughs tells Dr. Finch's adopted 33-year-old son, Neil Bookman, that he is gay. From the age of thirteen to fifteen, Burroughs has an intense and open sexual relationship with Bookman, which started when Bookman forced the young boy to perform oral sex on him. Neither his mentally unstable mother nor any member of the Finch family try to stop the relationship. Bookman is besotted with the young boy but later suddenly disappears and is never seen again.

Burroughs forms a strong sibling relationship with Dr. Finch's daughter, Natalie, who is one year older than he, and together they break away from the madness of the Finch household as they make their separate ways in life. As a young teen, Burroughs accepts his homosexuality.

The Watchmen - graphic novel. Good stuff.

I'm reading what Greenie just typed...He's HAWT!!

I've been reading a series of books called "Out of the Ashes". 30+ books! Its about the US after a nuclear apocalypse. The nation is plagued with roaming gangs who rape and kill without any law to stop em. The series follows a Vietnam veteran who puts together an army who go about putting the nation back together. He's a ruthless bastard who usually doesnt take shit from any outlaw, and uses army tactics to subdue and kill them. Many times a thug prisoner will beg for his life and piss his pants, and the hero will usually blow his head off with a tompers submachine gun. Good stuff!

Pretty mediocre on a reading level, but its fun because of the ultra violent theme and good action sequences. I got addicted and have read just about every one of them over the past 8 months.

I've been working my way through the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. About a dozen novels so far. Outwardly they're Manhattan based murder mysteries (and I hate mysteries) of the "Police Procedural" variety. But then there's Pendergast; a nearly albino southern gentleman from deepest darkest New Orleans, dresses like an undertaker but carries more forensic tools than Sherlock Holmes, socially adept but withdrawn, FBI but Lone Wolf, could kick James Bond's and Tim Pradoo Prew's asses at the same time. He's an enigma shrouded in mystery hidden by Katrina. He can talk the talk and walk the walk. He can make the hardest of Manhattan heavy-hitters cry. He can win the hearts of the shrewdest little-old-lady-landlords and make them weep. He is Pendergast, the bestest superagent that ever agented. Start with "Relic" if you plan to enjoy the whole series. For a quick fix of the best of Pendergast, check "Cabinet of Curiosities" and then "Brimstone".

Sounds cool.

I'm reading Pandora's Star, some scifi book at the moment. 2 parter (each part being well over 1000 pages). Half way through the 2nd book now. Pretty good but his scientific grounding isn't great and by God the guy can waffle! Those 2000+ pages could easily be edited down into 1 good sized book.

Basically the plot is that humans have wormhole tech and are rapidly expanding when they find a star surrounded by a solid Dyson sphere

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere

When they approach it the sphere (actually a forcefield) disappears. They quickly find out that the sphere was there not for energy purposes or to keep things out but to keep things in. Namely a seriously badass alien. The baddy are pretty cool actually. It's a single consciousness manipulating billions of drones. Kinda difficult to explain but it thinks differently and has no regard for other life. Everything else is competition. It also likes it's nukes. It's 1st attack on a human planet involved 800 wormholes, each one disgorging 1000 nukes. It made a mess.

It's the myriad of subplots and vast multitude of characters that make it so unwieldy though. I find myself skimming a lot of it just to get to the interesting stuff.

That'd be Peter F. Hamilton. I have his entire Naked God series, which runs about 3000 pages. He does handle all the myriads sub-plots and characters quite well, which is hard to do in stories of such size but he manages to make it all connect by the end.

He's not a hardcore writer like Asimov and the like - more high adventure ala early Niven or Frederik Pohl.

Oh they're all connected but I'm wondering if building such a complex universe is neccessary to the plot. I'm not sure it is. Still quite a good book but it could certainly be pared down a bit.

I'm reading They Dared to Speak Out. It's a book about AIPAC's control of the government. It's twenty something years old, but still relevant.

For the political novices, AIPAC is the American Israel Political Action Committee. They're the people who make sure you can't criticize Israel without being called an anti-Semite.

Lately, apart from classics like Victor Hugo, I haven't been interested by fiction books. Maybe I need to try Span's sci-fi thingy... I'm in a sci-fi mood.

Spandex wrote:Sounds cool.

I'm reading Pandora's Star, some scifi book at the moment. 2 parter (each part being well over 1000 pages).

I'm reading the exact same book. I'm about half-way through the first book and didn't realize that there was a second (I hope the library has it too). It's an enjoyable adventure so far, although I am a bit confused as to what some parts of the book have to do with the main story. From what Span said, I am starting to see the connections a bit. When I read fiction I try to suspend any disbelief regarding the possibility/impossibility of things. I figure it is a story, why worry about whether or not it is based in reality?

Shit man, sorry, hope I didn't spoil it any for you.

You're REALLY going to want to get the 2nd book before you finish the 1st. It doesn't so much as end on a cliffhanger as just fuckin end like a chapter would. 2nd one is called Judas Unchained.

The stories do start coming together before long BTW. Still complicated and lots of characters to keep track of but it's all interlinked. You just don't know it yet!

His best series, IMO, is the Confederation Universe books:

The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God. All three books are split into two paperbacks so there are six books total ~3000 pages.

Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are part of the Commonwealth Universe. There is an initial book which sets up the Commonwealth but is not a prequel to the other two: Misspent Youth.

Taking place 1500 years after Pandora/Judas is the Void Trilogy, of which only the first book (The Dreaming Void) has been published so far.

His first three books are the Greg Mandel series, which are SF mystery novels not set in the other universes he bas created. He has a standalone book, "Fallen Dragon" which I have read but did not enjoy as much as the Confederation series.

And yes, I have his website http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/

Ninja edit.

Unleashed, Unchained - its all the same isn't it?