What are you reading now?

[MartyG]

London Rules by Mick Herron because I don't want to wait for season 5 of Slow Horses.

[Finsbury Girl]

Next up for me is the next book in the John Milton series, The Man Who Never Was by Mark Dawson.
16th in the series and I'm not bored by them, in fact, he's bringing some older characters back and I'm even more invested.

LOL I saw this and my mind read it as The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry. Which any martial art loving sci fi nerd should read. It's ACE

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20878.The_Man_Who_Never_Missed

Finished The Way of Kings - wow great ending. Cannot wait to see what happens but I'm reading the Cosmere books in published order so I'll be back to the world of Mistborn next with The Alloy of Law.

[QualityChimp]

LOL I saw this and my mind read it as The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry. Which any martial art loving sci fi nerd should read. It's ACE

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20878.The_Man_Who_Never_Missed

Looks like there's no audiobook, sadly.
Will check out the book next time I get chance to sit and read.

[Golgo]

Finished The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip. Rather typical of her relationship-heavy take on high-fantasy, which is predominantly centred on weird female protagonists (combinations of capable, wistful, earthy and comic), the most exquisitely poetic writing and well-observed dialogue, amazing magic too bizarre to explain so she rarely bothers, and - seemingly - not a great deal of anything actually happening on the surface. The descriptions of the sea in this are breathtaking. It was almost a fairytale and I loved it. It's the third of her books I've read, the others being Ombria in Shadow and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, which are almost grimdark in comparison.

[Anpanman]

Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry aka Chandler in Friends writes about his addictions in this memoir which pulls no punches, what a read, I've cried for him and also laughed at some of the things he's put down in words. I didn't realise that he was a comedic actor rather than an actor simply playing a comedy role in Friends.

Following on from the book I've watched a few interviews with him that have been put online, one in particular he writes about, an interview on Newsnight with Paxman where he puts Peter Hitchens in his place.
Well worth a tenner or so of your money in my opinion.

[Anpanman]

Cross - James Patterson
The Alex Cross series does get panned a bit but I like them, reading them in order this is number twelve.
Cross is a detective/phycologist so he doesn't get bicycle thieves or shoplifters, in this one he's on the trail of a serial rapist murderer whilst trying to sort out his personal life (as usual).
Patterson gives some nice twists and keeps us up to date with old foes.
As usual it's entertaining over the top thrills and spills.

The Cleaner - Mark Dawson
Set a week after Sleepers and labelled as one for Jack Reacher fans (hello!) the story really isn't what you might first expect and at first I was a little disappointed ...but a after a few chapters it was a page turner and a half.
Nice story and an ending which leaves you waiting for the next episode. Not a Jack Reacher though.
The next episode being Saint Death which is on my reading pile.

Dipped into my Mythology book for a few pages which I've talked about earlier - excellent by the way, before starting my current read. Another Alex Cross - Double Cross.

[QualityChimp]

Did Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz, which is book 1 of an 8 book series.
Basically, he was recruited as an orphan to join a government project to train young people in spycraft and he's one of the top graduates.
After the project is dissolved, he starts working altruistically, helping people who need him.
To survive, he has a set of rules to live by, but what happens when he has to start breaking them...?

Decent enough for me to investigate book 2 at some point.

I then moved onto "I'm Starting To Worry About This Black Box of DOOM" by Jason Pargin, who also write the excellent "Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits" and under his pseudonym David Wong, "John Dies At The End". It's about a guy who's happiest doomscrolling on his phone, but has to be an Uber driver to make some money. "One day he pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:
He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war."

I'm 3/4 of the way through and really enjoying it so far.
I still don't know what's in the box...

Other news:
One thing that might be worth noting is that if you have an Audible Music Unlimited plan, you're now eligible for one audiobook each month.
Well worth checking out if you want to squeeze in some reading if you're too busy to read! I listen to books on my daily commute.

[wakka]

I love the sound of that black box of doom novel, I'm gonna pick that up!

[Anpanman]

Yep let us know if the ending is worth it Chimpy, I'll look to buy a copy as well.

Reminds me of a Reacher (Past Tense).

[QualityChimp]

Black Box of DOOM was good fun. Thematically, I'd say the book was about the journey, not the destination, so the ending was decent enough, but it was the events to get there that was fun part.

It was nothing like Reacher, if that's what you're expecting.
However, straight after that, I listened to my first Audible book included with my Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, Nobody's Hero by M.W. Craven, which is a bit more Reachery.

Second book in the Ben Koenig series, he's an ex-special forces guy, mooching around like Reacher, but shrapnel damage in his brain means that he doesn't sense fear, so is pretty gung-ho.

I think the biggest selling point for me is that he's a great detective, working things out with logic and deduction, rather than massive plot leaps or info handed to him on a plate.

The first book is more about him being on his own to solve a crime, but this one sees him brought in by Government to help with a case where he's been linked to it. It starts small and starts growing.

If you like Reacher or John Milton, deffo check this out as I thought it was great and a different continuation of the character's story.

It's not a comedy, but I genuinely lolled at times, even on the train, which was awkward. Koenig is a smartass and has some great lines.
One chapter started like this:
"Koenig was in a terrible place. He was sat in the "Trafford Centre"."

Torn on my next book - "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" (timey-wimey murder mystery) or "Dragons of Autumn Twilight", the world out next D&D campaign will follow.

[Anpanman]

Brill that thanks Chimpy, I've just ordered Black Box and Fearless and pre-ordered Nobody's Hero.

[QualityChimp]

Brill! I look forward to your thoughts!
Based on your other posts, I think you'll enjoy them.
I particularly enjoyed "Fearless".
Black Box was good, but my fave Jason Pargin book is still "Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits".

wakka you read Year of the Locust yet? Can't wait for your review!

[wakka]

Nah still haven't read it dude. I will pick it up. I need something easy to read rn.

[Anpanman]

Double Cross - James Patterson
Another nice romp in the series though it does seem Patterson is trying to write every instalment to sell as a Hollywood screenplay. The titular character is becoming quite famous in the world he has created along with his main foes escaping from supermax prisons and the like, it's almost becoming like a superhero series but with mere mortals.
Still, I do like them and the books have a lot of short chapters which is another trademark of Patterson's work.

Before I start one of the recommended ones I'm currently reading The 007 Diaries by a bloke called Roger Moore.

[Finsbury Girl]

I'm slowly working my way through Brandon Sanderson. Up to Words of Radiance - the second book in the Stormlight Archives. It is terrific so far.

I must admit these are a lot better than the last 3 books he did for Robert Jordan - though as I've said previously, he had improved a lot by the last book, but I feel he never quite got the characters, particularly Matt. Anyway he is a great writer, all of the books so far have been very enjoyable.