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Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge
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devilinlaw
Posted 2016-05-30 7:08 AM (#13662 - in reply to #12872)
Subject: Re: Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge		Quote Reply



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Location: Las Vegas, NV		Looks like I neglected to start a forum thread for this challenge so kudos to JohnBem for picking up my slack. Life changing events have kept me away from WWE (and pretty much reading in general) since the beginning of the year but things are settling down for me, at least somewhat. Thanks to all who are participating in the challenge and this forum!

I read "The Areonaut's Windlass" last year when it came out and cannot wait until the next installment. I also read "Neuromancer" last year for the first time and was slightly mixed on it; better than okay but not great. I will be moving forward in the series to "Count Zero." Haven't dug all that much into splatterpunk and would love some suggestions. What I have lined up at the moment is the second in the Neal Asher "Owner" series that I started a while back. And for steampunk, I picked a random book called "The Diabolical Miss Hyde" by Viola Carr which I'm starting today.

Edited by devilinlaw 2016-05-30 7:11 AM
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-05-31 8:04 PM (#13674 - in reply to #12872)
Subject: Re: Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge		Quote Reply



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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		No problem, devilinlaw, and hello and nice to meet you. Thanks for starting the challenge, it has been fun so far (although I'm a little bit stalled on my current title, Schismatrix, although I think that's a mood thing rather than anything wrong with the book). I hope your life-changing events are good things and not bad. The only two splatterpunk I read for this challenge were Johnny Gruesome, which I did not like, and the Splatterpunk anthology which, like most anthologies I've read, is a mixed bag. So I can't help you out with any really good suggestions, sorry. (I'm sure other challengers can.) The Diabolical Miss Hyde sounds interesting. I'd be curious to read your thoughts on it when you've finished.
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devilinlaw
Posted 2016-06-03 7:39 PM (#13711 - in reply to #12872)
Subject: Re: Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge		Quote Reply



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Location: Las Vegas, NV		Just finished "The Diabolical Miss Hyde" by Viola Carr and I have to say that it was only slightly above average. Part steampunk, part faerie story, part Silence of the Lambs, it never quite rang as very original to me. I know that may seem a little presumptive of me, calling a re-imagining of the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde unoriginal, but there were many threads to the story that just felt derivative rather than fresh. I will say that story did pick up towards the end and I may even check out the sequel, "The Devious Dr. Jekyll," at some point.

On another note, the synopsis of the book found on here WWE is not quite accurate. It's close, and probably even from the back of the book or the publisher, but it's not quite accurate. A few examples: the killer is dubbed the Chopper not the Slicer, the Royal Society doesn't sic Lafayette on her to prove she's a sorceress, and Eliza only uses the elixir twice, I think, in the course of the book. Most of the time, she's using her "remedy" to keep Lizzie from bubbling to the surface; with little effect, I might add.

Edited by devilinlaw 2016-06-03 7:40 PM
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-07-24 11:42 AM (#14071 - in reply to #13711)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		I've finally finished reading Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling. A truly brilliant book. Practically one big idea per page in this one. Post-terrestrial humanity moving inexorably toward various states of being post-human. It was a very hopeful book in that it supposed that humanity (whatever that ends up being) can outlive big catastrophes and still move onward into more realms of wonder. I posted a brief review of this one. Deep stuff. Good stuff. Deserves its classic status.

Edited by JohnBem 2016-07-24 11:44 AM
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-07-28 9:02 PM (#14091 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Book 9 of the PND reading challenge is under my belt: William Gibson's short-story collection Burning Chrome. This one was excellent. Whereas most anthologies are uneven, I liked every single story in this one. "The Gernsback Continuum" and "Red Star, Winter Orbit" are repeated in Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk anthology, which is my next read, but that's OK because they're excellent and I'll gladly read 'em again. The preface by Bruce Sterling is insightful. This is a very good book.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-08-05 6:07 PM (#14133 - in reply to #12872)
Subject: Re: Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge		Quote Reply



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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Nearing the finish line! Book 10 in the challenge is completed! Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk anthology was not everything I hoped it would be. Most of the stories were good but not great. The two Gibson stories are the strongest and my favorites. I think part of the reason that I didn't find this anthology to be as strong as I expected is that, inevitably, the 1980s are receding ever farther into the past and what was once the cutting edge is now part of the common day. A good read, a worthwhile read, just not everything that I was hoping for.
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devilinlaw
Posted 2016-08-08 2:54 AM (#14149 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Las Vegas, NV		I just finished Infected by Scott Sigler and was really pleasantly surprised. It's not high art but was a fun read (or listen, in my case, read by the author; most of my "reading" is done via audiobooks). Fast paced with some pretty interesting ideas, I'm curious to see where Sigler takes these ideas in the next two books of the trilogy.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-09-05 2:52 PM (#14272 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Just finished Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. It may not be great literature and I have a few quibbles with it (mentioned in my review) but the book does contain much useful and thought-provoking information. For that, it gets a pass and gets bumped up one full star from where I would normally rate it.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-09-17 4:23 PM (#14325 - in reply to #12872)
Subject: Re: Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge		Quote Reply



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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		It is a frabjous day indeed. I've just finished Arachne by Lisa Mason, which completes my first-ever WWE reading challenge. Punk's Not Dead, but this challenge is history. Join me in chortling in my joy. The icing on top of the cybercake is that Arachne was my favorite book out of the dozen that I read. It faltered a bit, but overall it is an excellent exemplar of the cyberpunk genre. I've posted a review.
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