What are you reading right now?

**Yac** · 09-09-2014, 01:35 AM

I almost feel ashamed posting this here, so many serious and challenging books here and what do I come with ?

First of all, I don't know how well the Metro 2033 universe is known around the world, and to how many languages the books have been translated. I'm lucky to be Polish as we get our translations fairly quick. You might also know the world from the 2 Metro 2033 games that were released on both the PC and the consoles, post apocalyptic shooter/stealth games.
Anyway, to the book:
Dziedzictwo Przodków (The Legacy of the Ancestors) takes place in 2033, after a global nuclear war, around Kalliningrad - a now Russian, formerly German city near the Baltic coast. The region wasn't hit as hard as some, that's why there are 3 settlements in the area, all based around some old bunker system. Living underground is tough but people manage, one way or another. There are the usual toxicity/ratiation issues, there is a living space shortage, there is no shortage of military equipment though

Even if some is in very bad shape. At the same time, there are rumors of a secret underground Nazi city with tunnels and an underground railroad that spans the entire area.
This period of relative peace is broken with the arrival of an unidentified amphibious assault ship with a clearly hostile and somewhat familiar crew (yes, they are nazis).

The above might sound silly, and well.. it is

No more than most other post apocalyptic scenarios imo, and I've read quite a few. This book won't change your life or give you many philosophical questions, but it will entertain you. 450 or so pages of war, survival and exploration. Add to that a bag of myths and legends about the area (Germans really had extensive underground installations there, including a railway that was used by armored trains during the defense against the red army), almost no mentioning of current politics (and it's somewhat hairy here between Poland and Russia in case you don't know) and some interesting plot twists and here you go.

So far I read 7 Metro novels and the original ones were the weakest. The beauty of this world is that there are over 30 authors using it, you can find very different styles and plots here.

jackhammer · 09-29-2014, 07:32 PM

A product of it's time (1971) so it's not politically correct in parts but there is some fascinating dialogue.

Blarobbarg · 09-29-2014, 09:46 PM

Just finished On The Road. Goddamn that book rocked my socks. So ****ing good.

Now I'm onto Jack Kerouac's good friend, William S. Burroughs' famous landmark, Naked Lunch. can't say I'm surprised, but this **** is warped as hell. I'm gonna get through it, but it may take me awhile... because I'm not able to stomach it just any time of the day.

Also, I picked up a collected works of TS Elliot months ago, and I'm finally getting somewhere with it. Just finished his famous (and borderline incomprehensible) poem The Waste Land. Now I'm onto a bunch of essays on "the art of criticism" and poetry. It's good stuff, if a bit dry.

GuD · 09-29-2014, 10:07 PM

I remember reading the Wasteland in an English class and spending the whole time wondering how the guy had nothing better to do than write something so boringly vague.

**Frownland** · 09-29-2014, 10:33 PM

Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock 4 lyfe.

Blarobbarg · 09-29-2014, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhateverDude

I remember reading the Wasteland in an English class and spending the whole time wondering how the guy had nothing better to do than write something so boringly vague.

I legitimately loved certain parts of it. Snippets of the work hit me like a ton of bricks and left me wanting more. Unfortunately, "more" was usually dull as a box of bricks.

Mondo Bungle · 09-30-2014, 09:27 PM

I haven't read anything in a long time, gonna start this in a little bit.

The Batlord · 09-30-2014, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mondo Bungle

I haven't read anything in a long time, gonna start this in a little bit.

Like most Michael Crichton books, it's great until he's done explaining all the science ****, then you're just left with a cliched thriller. Most overrated author ever.

**Exo** · 10-01-2014, 06:27 PM

Decided to get back to reading by tackling these two books that are now films. One I've seen, and one I haven't.

Pet_Sounds · 10-05-2014, 12:03 PM

So I started The Catcher in the Rye Friday evening. One chapter left. I read too fast.

09-29-2014, 07:32 PM	#5122 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	A product of it's time (1971) so it's not politically correct in parts but there is some fascinating dialogue. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

09-29-2014, 09:46 PM	#5123 (permalink)
Blarobbarg Do good. Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 2,065	Just finished On The Road. Goddamn that book rocked my socks. So ***ing good. Now I'm onto Jack Kerouac's good friend, William S. Burroughs' famous landmark, Naked Lunch.* can't say I'm surprised, but this **** is warped as hell. I'm gonna get through it, but it may take me awhile... because I'm not able to stomach it just any time of the day. Also, I picked up a collected works of TS Elliot months ago, and I'm finally getting somewhere with it. Just finished his famous (and borderline incomprehensible) poem The Waste Land. Now I'm onto a bunch of essays on "the art of criticism" and poetry. It's good stuff, if a bit dry. __________________ https://rateyourmusic.com/~Blarobbarg ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆　^my RYM^　｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ (◠‿◠✿)

09-29-2014, 10:07 PM	#5124 (permalink)
GuD Dude... What? Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 1,322	I remember reading the Wasteland in an English class and spending the whole time wondering how the guy had nothing better to do than write something so boringly vague. __________________ I spit bullets in my feet Every time I speak So I write instead And still people want me dead ~msc

09-29-2014, 10:33 PM	#5125 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock 4 lyfe. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

10-05-2014, 12:03 PM	#5130 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,488	So I started The Catcher in the Rye Friday evening. One chapter left. I read too fast. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

09-09-2014, 01:35 AM	#5121 (permalink)
Yac Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: It's a secret too. Posts: 1,363	I almost feel ashamed posting this here, so many serious and challenging books here and what do I come with ? First of all, I don't know how well the Metro 2033 universe is known around the world, and to how many languages the books have been translated. I'm lucky to be Polish as we get our translations fairly quick. You might also know the world from the 2 Metro 2033 games that were released on both the PC and the consoles, post apocalyptic shooter/stealth games. Anyway, to the book: Dziedzictwo Przodków (The Legacy of the Ancestors) takes place in 2033, after a global nuclear war, around Kalliningrad - a now Russian, formerly German city near the Baltic coast. The region wasn't hit as hard as some, that's why there are 3 settlements in the area, all based around some old bunker system. Living underground is tough but people manage, one way or another. There are the usual toxicity/ratiation issues, there is a living space shortage, there is no shortage of military equipment though Even if some is in very bad shape. At the same time, there are rumors of a secret underground Nazi city with tunnels and an underground railroad that spans the entire area. This period of relative peace is broken with the arrival of an unidentified amphibious assault ship with a clearly hostile and somewhat familiar crew (yes, they are nazis). The above might sound silly, and well.. it is No more than most other post apocalyptic scenarios imo, and I've read quite a few. This book won't change your life or give you many philosophical questions, but it will entertain you. 450 or so pages of war, survival and exploration. Add to that a bag of myths and legends about the area (Germans really had extensive underground installations there, including a railway that was used by armored trains during the defense against the red army), almost no mentioning of current politics (and it's somewhat hairy here between Poland and Russia in case you don't know) and some interesting plot twists and here you go. So far I read 7 Metro novels and the original ones were the weakest. The beauty of this world is that there are over 30 authors using it, you can find very different styles and plots here.

10-01-2014, 06:27 PM	#5129 (permalink)
Exo All day jazz and biscuits Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 7,354	Decided to get back to reading by tackling these two books that are now films. One I've seen, and one I haven't.