A new monthly feature here at A Second Hand Conjecture, is going to be a roundup of what we’ve been reading during the past month. Feel free to discuss, or ask questions about any of the books.
Joshua:
Right now I’m re-reading Taliban by Pakistani reporter Ahmed Rashid. Though racist in parts (his description of all Uzbeks as “notorious thieves” in particular rankles), it is difficult to ignore that in 2000 substantive criticisms of the lack of U.S. strategic vision were actively aiding and abetting the rise of terrorism in the region were largely ignored. That being said, this is the most comprehensive history of the ways many seemingly unrelated threads—from the reckless funding of the mujahideen to the lack of attention paid to the civil war—culminated in the creation of the same men we continue to fight today.
Complete book reviews available here: http://www.conjecturer.com/weblog/?cat=21
ChrisB:
I just finished the graphic novel (grown up way of saying comic book) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore. It’s the third in a series, Vol 1 and Vol2.
It’s really a great read, especially if you have a familiarity for Victorian era fiction, and even more modern fiction. It follows Mina Murry from Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Allan Quatermain from King Solomon’s Mine and other British adventure books, as they make their way around a post WWII and Big brother England. It’s loaded with characters from popular fiction, such as James Bond, Emma Peel, Prospero, Orlando, Fanny Hill, Lemuel Gulliver, Bulldog Drummond, Professor Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes, and many many more as they are all weaved into a single universe over the course of the first two volumes and this the third of the series.
Keith:
Within the last year, completed the Legacy of the Alldenata series from John Ringo. Good set of books based on the premise of an alien civilization “enlisting” the help of humans in their battle against an unstoppable enemy. Like it most for it’s novel use of technology and the meddling in the back story. Basically in order to fill the ranks, old soldiers are rejuvenated.
# A Hymn before Battle (ISBN 0-671-31941-8)
# Gust Front (ISBN 0-671-31976-0)
# When the Devil Dances (ISBN 0-7434-3540-0)
# Hell’s Faire (ISBN 0-7434-3604-0)
# Watch on the Rhine (with Tom Kratman; ISBN 0-7434-9918-2) SS rejuvenated to save Germany.
# Cally’s War (ISBN 0-7434-8845-8)
Within the last couple of months:
# The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson; ISBN 0-7434-8827-X) Deals with the mistrust between allies in the above series.
By John Ringo
# Into the Looking Glass (ISBN 0-7434-9880-1) A portal between various universes (or parts of the same universe) and the mayhem that ensues.
And then I picked up a few Michael Z Williamson’s books:
# Freehold (ISBN:0-7434-7179-2) - Really like this book. A fugitive from Earths global government (think of leftist nanny statism gone to its extreme,) finds refuge on the Freehold of Grainne, a very libertarian society. Probably the best representation of how a libertarian society would run. The Earth and the Freehold get into a war, and Earth looses.
# The Weapon (ISBN:1416508945) - Expanding on the same theme, with the POV of a special forces soldier.
And somewhere I picked up a link for Whatever! and have read two books from John Scalzi:
# Old Man’s War (ISBN 0-765-30940-8) - Very well written, and captivating.
# Ghost Brigades (ISBN 0-7653-5406-8) - Continuation of the previous book. Also well written.
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