As usual I am years behind everyone else on here.
Dune, page 1. A litany against fear
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Can anyone tell me the title and author of this raven thing? I’m always on the lookout for good reads for my godaughter
link to author’s page on Amazon
Dawn of the Dreamsmith (The Raven’s Tale Book 1)
Shadows of the Dreamspire (The Raven’s Tale Book 2)
Raven’s Edge (The Raven’s Tale Book 4)
Book 4 is a standalone prequel. I think @ZinedineBiscan is still working on book 3.
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Matthew Reilly’s The 2 Lost Mountains is out on kindle in UK Jan 21st and I can’t wait.
It has been out in Aus for a few months, but UK release is still another 4 weeks and I think this will be torture
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So, i’ve persevered with this, slowly, and I’m finally getting into it. As the horror is based on native American lore and the beliefs of the people, I think the author felt he had to spend a fair amount of time defining the character and explaining how he thinks about things. Especially the part about being an apostate who left eh reservation and trying to leave behind his native way of thinking about things. The story is finally getting into the Stephen king type feel and I’m hoping the effort put into the first half of the book pays off. It was boring as shit to get through though.
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Thanks, that’s very helpful
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As mentioned earlier, Annie Jacobsen’s new book: First Platoon: A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance is out. Got the e-book from the library last week. Here is an excerpt posted by Wired:
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Started “Rage” by Bob Woodward last night.
A few months ago, I finished reading Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, by Donnie Eichar
In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident—unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes—have led to decades of speculation over what really happened. This gripping work of literary nonfiction delves into the mystery through unprecedented access to the hikers’ own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and the author’s retracing of the hikers’ fateful journey in the Russian winter. A fascinating portrait of the young hikers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers narrative, the investigators’ efforts, and the author’s investigations, here for the first time is the real story of what happened that night on Dead Mountain
I was not too satisfied with the investigation outcome, but probably was one of the best natural phenomenon theory out there (unless you bought into Alien abduction and other conspiracy theories).
New insights have been published and today I came across an article on Wired.
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The Wired article doesn’t say anything about the injuries (eyes, tongue) and the radiations.
Absolutely brilliant book
Studied it at University.
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So it goes…
I first read Ice station in a Sydney hostel in 2001, couldn’t put it down.Scarecrow should have had a movie franchise by now.
At this point I have the wife, kids, brothers, sister and in laws all waiting for this next Jack West adventure.
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Yeah, Ice Station is what got me onto him.
Then I found out about Contest and the story behind that and been hooked on his books ever since.
The book actually explained the radiation, missing eyes and tongue to some of the victims well enough. Spoiler below.
Summary
Tongue: “Damage to Lyuda’s tongue can be blamed on the natural decomposition process. One theory suggests that small animals got to her tongue, but because her body had been lying in melted snow, it is more likely that over several weeks, the microfauna in the water decomposed the fleshiest parts of her body.”
Eyes: “There are broken cedar branches lying beneath him. The other lies on his back, his face turned upward. His mouth and eyes have been gotten at by an animal, probably a bird”
Radiation: “The slight positive result in the hikers’ clothing could easily be explained by environmental contaminants—for example, radiation from nuclear tests conducted that winter on the islands of Novaya Zemlya, 850 miles to the north of the hikers’ location, could have found its way to the northern Urals through the atmosphere and water cycle.”
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I think i must have read Ice station about 5 times and i do have every intention of going back over his collection from the beginning at some point.I love the series from Jack West .The kids(teens) loved the great zoo of china and have recently told me it is to be made into a movie.
I have a suspicion with most of the books having been confirmed to be in the 1 universe he may be waiting for the film rights to revert back to him and making a TV series
Have been rereading all the David Gemmell books I own. If you haven’t read him I recommend his Troy trilogy or perhaps his Rigante series.
If you have read his stuff I’m more than open to other authors in a similar vein 
Currently reading:
- Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America by Sarah Kendzior
Some of the books I’ve read recently:
Non-Fiction
- Japan’s Gestapo: Murder, Mayhem and Torture in Wartime Asia by Mark Felton (very disturbing book to read, similar to the Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang)
- Guarding Hitler: The Secret World of the Führer by Mark Felton
- Extraterrestrial by Avi Loeb (Avi Loeb’s extraterrestrial and controversial theory on ‘Oumuamua travelling through our inner solar system in 2017)
- Classic Krakauer - Essays on Wilderness and Risk by Jon Krakauer
- How to Be a Footballer by Peter Crouch
- I, Robot - How to Be a Footballer 2 by Peter Crouch
Fiction:
- Victory’s Price (Star Wars) - An Alphabet Squadron Novel (Book #3 of Alphabet Squadron trilogy) by Alexander Freed
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Mark Felton has some interesting and insightful videos on YT about Japan in WWII. Well worth a look.
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