[Delta Wing]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

All Systems red (Murderbot diaries #1) by Martha Wells
Rating: 4/5

Oh, I love a good sci-fi especially that keeps you on your toes and this one reads like one. Fitting that it is being made into a TV series by Apple TV+. And if they maintain the standards set by Foundation, this will be a feast to watch.

Can't wait to read #2. Highly recommended.

Wow, thanks for this. Picked up on play books after your recco and completely hooked.

For the last 20 odd years, I have been following the yearly anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois, who was simply the best editor in SF, post campbell era, from the 1970s to 2000s. The anthologies are confusingly called the 'Mammoth book of Year's best SF' in UK edition and 'The Year's Best New SF' in the US. In the busy life, these anthologies were most I could manage. Every single one of the 35 odd books is gold, since you get that year's best SF curated for you, and you don't need to waste time on something not first rate. An easy 9/10 for all these books. And there are two anthologies of hand picked content even from these books called best of the best; one has the stories and the other has novellas. Contains much of the greatest SF of the past few decades in the short form. Must read these two, 11 out of 10! Giving 11 because they have stories which one can revisit every now and then (i have already read them twice).

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

Absolutely. The 'tinker tailor..' trilogy with the epic ending in 'Smiley's People' is the best spy fiction of all time, and Smiley the best spy, for me at least.

It is hands down the best portrayal of what it really is in the trade. It could very well be that all his stories are portrayal of true incidents with fictional names. But who could confirm?

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

The 'tinker tailor soldier spy' movie was also good but way too hurried and assumed the viewer to fill in the details skipped.

Are you talking about this? Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979-1979). The movie, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
was good too. Yes, hurried. And hence the feel that it is being a remake, which it really is of the TV series from the bygone era. The only series that comes close to or equal to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , in essence is the French The Bureau (2015-2020)
IMHO.

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

And the dark, deceptive, bleak atmosphere of 'The spy who came in from the cold' is unlike anything else. It made a big impression on me as a college student, only a few years after the fall of the Berlin wall. Watched the Richard Burton movie on VCR and a CRT TV. Obsolete tech from a bygone era and powers that ceased to be.

It is indeed a masterpiece in itself. But in the spy genre, generally speaking, the Karla Triology (book and the TV series) dwarfs everything else produced.

Perhaps Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983-1983) is worthy of mention too, unrelated to John Le Carre, but from the same era of The Great Game. The gentleman was indeed a great, great spy. How England lost an enormous international deal and why, is so beautifully depicted in it. The men from the shadows suffer so much personally and have enormous effects on their nation's course, we only can read in books, which also is just the tip of the iceberg of the trade.

Other books by John Le Carre are masterpieces too, most got made into a movie or TV series. One can't ever get enough reading or watching stuff based on his work.

[Delta Wing]

Originally Posted by shatananda.k

[*]The Hobbit by JRR tolkien
Bought the entire series few months back. Just started with the first book. Loved the movies ![/list]

If you like the Hobbit, and loved the LoTR movies, then the LoTR books are a wonderland. Lazy reads to immerse in that world, and has the details the movies just cannot show. For example, the entire episode of Tom Bombadil, one of my fav characters, was dropped due to run time constraints. Read the first time in my 20s, skipping 50 pages at a time, bored thoroughly at the snail's pace. Read in the late 30s fully and slowly, and thoroughly enjoyed that time.

[Delta Wing]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

Are you talking about this?

I only watched the 2011 one, will watch the 1979 one sometime.

..The only series that comes close to or equal to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy , in essence is the French The Bureau (2015-2020)
IMHO.

I didn't know of this, will check it out, thanks.

Perhaps Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983-1983) is worthy of mention too, unrelated to John Le Carre, but from the same era of The Great Game.

Great, will watch this. Sam Neill is a fav actor, Jurassic Park to that fabulous Irish accent in Peaky Blinders.

I liked the first couple of seasons of 'The Americans'. A fast, modern depiction of the 70s or 80s cold war era. The series must be 10 years old now. Didn't follow up afterwards.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Delta Wing

I liked the first couple of seasons of 'The Americans'. A fast, modern depiction of the 70s or 80s cold war era. The series must be 10 years old now. Didn't follow up afterwards.

The Americans is in a league of its own. I have watched it whole, twice. The lead duo make the next to impossible feats seem as simple household tasks. Were such feats really possible or are just fairy tales? The climax of the series is almost perfect. I have to say, just 1 more season was possible. But it is what it is.
The Americans has great cinematic appeal and hence the more popularity, but that doesn't lessen its ingenuity.

I hope the discussion is not flagged for off topic. It is relatable to the books and genre.

[shatananda.k]

Started couple of books, both physical copies.

1. Mindhunter by John Douglas
2. The Shining by Stephen King

I wanted to know how folks buy your books: Amazon, Sapna, Crossword etc. Amazon quality is going down the drain. In-spite of checking seller reviews.

So started visiting 'Lock the Box'. Anyone heard about this ?
Next B'lore event is scheduled from July 05 to 14.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by shatananda.k

I wanted to know how folks buy your books

Blossom Book House on Church Street. They exchange used books at ~60% value. There are a couple of more bookstores on this street.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by shatananda.k

I wanted to know how folks buy your books:

So started visiting 'Lock the Box'. Anyone heard about this ?

Amazon and Crossword are my main sources. I have also taken a membership at the local library, which serves as another source for obtaining some good books. Sometimes, local bookshops also help me find the book I'm looking for.

Do you find all the good books in 'Lock the Box'? I had doubts about it's concept when it was launched, and hence, I stayed away from it.

[shatananda.k]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

Blossom Book House on Church Street.

I have been to Blossoms once. Bookworm is the other store

Originally Posted by It's Magic

Do you find all the good books in 'Lock the Box'? I had doubts about it's concept when it was launched, and hence, I stayed away from it.

It is an interesting concept. It is difficult to get anything specific you want, due to volume of books available. The upside is you get to explore unknown authors and I love the Hardcovers available.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

All Systems red (Murderbot diaries #1) by Martha Wells
Rating: 4/5

Thank you for this recomendation. Murderbot's sense of humor is just what I needed and the fact that these are novellas, makes it low investment but very entertaining read. Definitely recommend the book/series to anyone who likes SciFi and is looking for a short, witty and interesting read.

[Rohitthebest]

The Red Pony - John Steinbeck.
My Rating: 5/5.

Can you believe I got this gem of a book at just 40/- while going through the books at one of the “Books by weight” sale in Pune. My sheer luck as John Steinbeck is one of my all time favourite writers. As I keep reading his books as and when I can - I just keep realising that it keeps getting better by the book (my adoration of the man). This was no exception as I got totally hooked to it from the very start as the story is told from the perspective of a kid under 12 years of age. As per him he will grow up once hitting 12 and will get cartridges from his dad for his hunting rifle that he has . Now, isn’t that an intriguing premise? The way he looks at the world around, his relations with the only three members around him in their farm house at some secluded place surrounded by terrific hills in Salinas Valley, California. His only companions are their stable keep and help for his dad who he admires big time, his dad and mom. Totally love the way Steinbeck keeps his stories simple and straightforward and makes his audience learn so much from his protagonist’s experience of life back then.

Only regret is that the book isn’t too big in size and finishes off too fast. Hardly 95 odd pages with four chapters which we can call short stories with the same kid in the lead.

Have you read the Red Pony? Or any other Steinbeck book that you loved. Do let me know and I would love to read it ASAP as right now I am reading his books in publication order by choice and by availability by force.

[Rohitthebest]

Originally Posted by shatananda.k

Started couple of books, both physical copies.

1. Mindhunter by John Douglas
2. The Shining by Stephen King

I wanted to know how folks buy your books: Amazon, Sapna, Crossword etc. Amazon quality is going down the drain. In-spite of checking seller reviews.

So started visiting 'Lock the Box'. Anyone heard about this ?
Next B'lore event is scheduled from July 05 to 14.

The Shining is a gem. I could't sleep for three nights straight after finishing the book. It is one of my all-time favourites by Stephen King. Do check the movie out, barring for ending, it is perfect.

Also, I buy a lot of books from Amazon and so far so good.
You can also try Bookchor and Bookthela too, I pick up a lot of classics at throw away prices from them.
And if you are anywhere near Bangalore do not miss the Blossoms book store. Last time I was there I picked up some 40 odd books at close to 3K and almost took last whole year to finish them. There is one more huge book store very near Blossoms - you can't miss it if you are there. Do visit but only when you have a few hours to spare. They buy and sell both.

[Rohitthebest]

Title: Dracula
My Rating: 4/5.
Version: From the Story by Bram Stoker retold by Mike Stocks.

Read the original Dracula back in school days as it was available in our ever growing school library. If I remember correctly my elder two brothers challenged me to finish it over the weekend so we could rent out the movie by Francis Ford Coppola with superb cast playing the characters. The further challenge was to lock the main gate of our house back then which was some 20 feet from our living room door of an independent house which had a huge garden across the road with a natural well in the centre and a scarily twisted Date tree at the circumference. All those memories came rushing back to me as soon as I saw this book in my Wishlist hence I ordered the easier “retold” version to save on the similar pain and scare this time around.
But I must say even this one was no easier read, it did give me chills as this one has some illustrations too with the story again done in pencil sketches and of course when it comes to blood sucking Dracula they have to be darker in theme. The way the story progresses and Count Dracula tries multiplying his likes across the continents chased by Prof Van Helsing on toes with two of his well wishers to save the world. In his quest to find and kill Dracula, one of their own who was stung by him slowly turns into a vampire is simply stunning. Story is a proper cat and mouse chase with amazing visuals thrown around, would love to watch the movie again now right after I finished the little book of 135 pages, original by Bram Stocker is some 450+ pages if I remember correctly.
A must read this is for those with faint hearts and original for those tough nuts to scare.
Have you read any of these? Do let me know how was your experience, if not, I suggest you do read them to check out your guts.

[Rohitthebest]

The Wind through the Keyhole - Stephen King.
Book: 4.5 of The Dark Tower.
My Ratings: 1/5.

Sheer waste of time an effort from Mr. King. He wrote the fantastic seven series “The Dark Tower” books and later on added another book in between calling it part 4.5. A sort of not needed flashback for the much loved protagonist which totally didn’t work for me. Of course I had to read it since he wrote it and those 333 pages were very hard to finish, although it does gives some insight in the teenage Roland’s life but even if it wasn’t there it wouldn’t have mattered as it just simply doesn’t add anything to his adventure of reaching the Dark Tower (and whatever he wants to do with it once he reaches with his team). I really wonder what and why Mr. King wanted to add up an in between book to his already much cherished seven part series dedicated to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
I am going to go ahead with Book 5 now at the earliest as really need the story to progress further. If you have read this in between book, do let me know your thoughts especially if it worked for you, and if it didn’t let me throw a Hi5 at you.

[shatananda.k]

I am reading John Le Carre Biography by Adam Sisman. In the initial chapters now. Pretty engaging

Originally Posted by Rohitthebest

The Shining is a gem.

Completely agreed. This is my first book from Stephen King. A whole world awaits now. Do you recommend anything specific to start ?