I don't know what the heck to call this thread!

[Slam_Bradley]

Finished a re-read of Hammett's Red Harvest. It was only nominally a re-read as it had been over 20 years since I last read it.

It's a little hard to divorce this book from years of interpretation and baggage. It was the inspiration for Yojimbo and its progeny. Sam Spade certainly owes a lot to the Op, as does Philip Marlowe.

But boiled down we have the classic tale of one man cleaning up a town that doesn't want to be clean. Pitting faction against faction so only he comes out on top. At least until he has to go back to San Francisco and face The Old Man.

[Roquefort Raider]

Armand Marie Leroi's Mutants, published by Penguin books, which is a bit strange for a recent science book.

All right, maybe it's more a "science as literature" kind of book. It's a great overview of the history of teratology (the science of monsters!) and an excellent presentation of the basics of developmental biology meant for a lay public.

Leroi has won several prestigious awards for his science writing in Great Britain. Not only is his prose a joy to read, he's also very impressive by the breadth of his knowledge. The historical cases he brings up are fascinating.

[Imaginos666]

Currently reading an old adventure of The Shadow titled "The Red Blot." It's surprisingly good, especially considering this isn't a title that gets referenced a lot when people talk about the best Shadow yarns. It's got a good villain who is constantly 2-3 steps ahead of everyone, Lamont Cranston gets a bit of face time (which isn't always the case) and has enough gun fights and explosions for a Die Hard film. I've only got a few pages to go.

[Tobias March]

I really want to read Shutter Island.

[Karl O'Neill]

I really want to read Shutter Island.

Do you want my copy of it?

The twist is one of a kind.

I won't ruin it for you but it's a doozy.

[Imaginos666]

Shutter Island's good. I like Lehane's books, but SI is unlike anything else he's written.

[DeTroyes]

I'm a big Ariosto fan, BTW. Have you read him in French or English? (I know you read German as well, but don't remember you mentioning Italian). I want to read the earlier poem from which he carried on with Orlando Furioso, Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, which I only recently found out is available in an English translation.

Wow, this brings back memories.

<----- Was responsible for the Project Gutenberg e-text edition of Orlando Furioso. And a bunch of other classical, medieval, and renaissance texts, for that matter.

The best english translation of Orlando Innamorato I'm aware of was published by Oxford University Press. But sadly, it appears to now be out of print.

[Rabid Trekkie]

I'm going through several books at the moment. I'm almost finished with Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber, which I'm enjoying a lot more than Swords Against Deviltry. Also in the fantasy genre I'm still working through The Black Company by Glen Cook and The Knight by Gene Wolfe. I had tried Shadow of the Torturer by Wolfe before and didn't like it, but so far I'm really into The Knight. I also picked up A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas Sniegowski and started going through it. The introduction to the character of Remy Chandler and his world felt rushed but it seems to be smoothing out.

In Mystery I'll be starting The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald in the next day or so. I also started Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block which looks to be a fun ride.

And finally for my sci-fi fix I've got X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, DS9: Demons of Air and Darkness, and Poul Anderson's The Van Rijn Method. I was actually worried about starting The Van Rijn Method, the other novel of his I've tried I haven't been able to get through. Yet in just a couple of nights I'm about half way through the six hundred page book and looking forward to continuing the Technic Civilization series.

[Haydn C]

I'm going through several books at the moment. I'm almost finished with Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber, which I'm enjoying a lot more than Swords Against Deviltry. Also in the fantasy genre I'm still working through The Black Company by Glen Cook and The Knight by Gene Wolfe. I had tried Shadow of the Torturer by Wolfe before and didn't like it, but so far I'm really into The Knight. I also picked up A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas Sniegowski and started going through it. The introduction to the character of Remy Chandler and his world felt rushed but it seems to be smoothing out.

In Mystery I'll be starting The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald in the next day or so. I also started Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block which looks to be a fun ride.

And finally for my sci-fi fix I've got X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble, DS9: Demons of Air and Darkness, and Poul Anderson's The Van Rijn Method. I was actually worried about starting The Van Rijn Method, the other novel of his I've tried I haven't been able to get through. Yet in just a couple of nights I'm about half way through the six hundred page book and looking forward to continuing the Technic Civilization series.

I have just ordered the first Black Company collected edition, is it any good?

Currently reading The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas and it is excellent.

[Rabid Trekkie]

I have just ordered the first Black Company collected edition, is it any good?

Currently reading The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas and it is excellent.

So far so good. Cook's writing style took a bit for me to get into but once I did it reads easily.

[dupersuper]

Finished Super Heroes and Philosophy, about 2/3rds through yet another Star Trek book.

[sHayden]

reading The Scorpion's Sweet Venom by Bruna Sufasthina. Interesting, but sometimes the way it skips around can be confusing. I also hate that it was translated from Portuguese by a Brit. I just can't stand the word: arsehole.

[jdwrocks]

Horns by Joe Hill. Half way through. The beginning got me intrigued fully, the next part dampened it somewhat, but it's still a good read so far.

[SlightlyMad]

Currently about 150 pages into Catch 22 and still failing to see why it is supposedly "One of the Great Novels of the [20th] Century" (according to the cover).

[dupersuper]

Do you want my copy of it?

The twist is one of a kind.

I won't ruin it for you but it's a doozy.

Every one knows; Leonardo Decaprios ship hits an iceberg.