What are we reading?

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Kindle deals

Warspite
THE GERMANS IN NORMANDY

[Martok]

Been on a bit of a Star Wars kick as of late.  It began with my (long overdue) rereading of the Thrawn trilogy, and I just finished rereading the Jedi Academy trilogy a day ago.  I enjoyed the latter well enough, but I understand now why Michael Stackpole wrote I, Jedi as a way to partially fix/retcon the trilogy into something more palatable. 

Have now started into Before the Storm, the first book in the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy.  Despite some weaknesses in the writing, the series remains a favorite of mine within the Expanded Universe. 

Hopefully, this time tomorrow I'll be reading Hell's Foundation Quiver.  The #8 book in David Weber's Safehold series.

Holy crap, how'd I miss that??  I was even just at Barnes & Noble last Monday, and I didn't see it there.  ??? 

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

THe Patrol: Seven Days in the Life of a Canadian Soldier in Afghanistan [Kindle Edition]

http://www.amazon.ca/Patrol-Seven-Canadian-Soldier-Afghanistan-ebook/dp/B005JSMN6W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1447212368&sr=1-1

[Staggerwing]

Hopefully, this time tomorrow I'll be reading Hell's Foundation Quiver.  The #8 book in David Weber's Safehold series.

Have the Charisians deployed collimated energy weapons yet? At the very least they must have learned to split the atom by now.  :))

[mirth]

I'm well along with On Basilisk Station now.

Just started Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles by Bernard Cornwell

[Toonces]

So I just finished a novel called The 13th Valley by John Del Vecchio:  http://www.amazon.com/13th-Valley-John-Del-Vecchio/dp/0982167040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447377239&sr=1-1&keywords=the+13th+valley

It is one of those books where I'm not entirely sure if I liked it or not, but I'm glad I read it.  It is a fictional story about a company of grunts that goes into an NVA area to root them out.  I've read some on Vietnam, but this book certainly gave me a deeper appreciation of what it must have been like to be an infantryman in the field.  It was pretty brutal.  I'm someone that feels kind of grossed out if I don't get to brush my teeth before 10am on the weekend, so the idea of living in the same clothes in a swamp for a week covered in mud, shit, leeches, and whatever else is pretty gnarly.

The reason the book isn't a full two thumbs up hearty endorsement is that Del Vecchio spends quite a bit of time going back in time and talking about the soldiers' relationships.  It's not that it isn't interesting, but I'm not a fan of books that do this.  I just read, though, that Del Vecchio has a degree in psychology and that makes sense as he spends a great deal of time exploring the psychological aspects of the characters.  What I mean is that there is a lot of behind the scenes introspection that fleshes out the action parts of the book.

I felt like the ending was fairly well set up- you just know something bad is going to happen- but I didn't like it regardless.  I would have preferred some happy happy at the end.

It's pretty long- it took me a while to get through- but I'm not someone that routinely finishes novels so I will give it a tentative recommendation.  I am posting a 5 star review at the bottom that pretty much echoes my own thoughts.  There is a lot going on in this book; I might need to read it again to pick up all of the things I missed the first time through.

I guess if you like Ralph Peters' books you might like this.  It kind of reminded me of his style, but darker, and more exposition.

From Amazon:

A work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation, The 13th Valley follows the strange and terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese Army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini's plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semipacifist to an all-out warmonger. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book.

5 Star Review that I more or less agree with:

This book rates with the finest novels and films that portray the Journey of the Hero as presented by the great mythologist Joseph Campbell. The symbolism, layering, Jungian archetypes, foreshadowing, and journey itself make this much more than just one of the best novels about the Vietnam War. I have been teaching this novel in my college English class now for seven years, most often to students who have never even heard of this war. They don't like the novel at first, don't understand the military acronyms, don't like looking them up in the glossary, have trouble with the gruesome depiction and language of war, and have little interest a time period that seems ancient to them. But watch the students change as they read two chapters a week and are assigned essays on the morality of war and on the symbolic meaning of the soldiers' journey to the tree at the center of the valley, where an unseen enemy awaits. The spider, the labyrinth of trails, the fog, the nightly dreams, the cave carved from elephant grass where the soldiers hide, the number 13 everywhere (what's that all about?), the philosophical discussions around the command post on the origins of war, and why....on and on it goes as the class is swept along and into the tale, building to an emotional climax that raises the hair on your skin, leaves you weeping...all the while following the steps of the journey: the call of the hero, the refusal of the call, the crossing of the threshold, the belly of the whale, the mentor, the refusal of the return, and so on. You can take every step with the soldiers of Alpha Company in the same way you can choose to see the deeper layerings in the Star Wars films--meanings that may or may not be there--it's your choice--the enlightenment of Buddha, the crucifixion of Christ, the heart of a woman's soul, and the indestructible massive tree that has existed from the beginning of time, long before the film Avatar ever was conceived. It is heartening to see the release of the new 30th anniversary edition of this novel. The author began exploring these deeper themes and layered meanings years before they became popular, and the story and message remain as true now as the day the novel was published. Disagree with his ideas and conclusions if you want--this is a challenge I pose to students each semester; nevertheless, the novel is more than just a classic of the Vietnam War. I cannot wait to begin anew each semester as Cherry, Egan, Brooks, El Paso, and Minh embark on their epic quest!

Edit-

And here is a 2 Star Review I also agree with.  Perhaps this is why I ultimately enjoyed the book; there is a lot going on beyond just the surface action parts.  There's meat.  Whether it's good meat, or bad meat, I'm still not sure.  I also found there to be some suspension of disbelief at the long discourses these guys got into.

The bare bones of this book is good -- great actually. A Vietnam War story from someone who has actually been there and knows what he is talking about. The material about the routines of the everyday soldier, the tactics and combat sequences - this is great stuff - intense and gripping. But a lot about the characters in the novel is entirely unbelievable.
Alpha company of the 'four o' deuce' seems to contain nearly every amateur philosopher in Vietnam and the book goes into L--O--N--G stretches of dialogue about war and the nature of human conflict. I just cannot see these words coming out of the mouths of ordinary soldiers, especially the grunts of Vietnam. The graduate school level arguments of the causes of human conflict are jarring when you come across them and seem to go on forever. These guys are in the bush, surrounded by enemies, and instead of talking about how they are going to get Charlie and get out alive they are conversing about their philosophy of human behavior?
A very large section near the end of the book is a verbatim rendering of the Lieutenant's graduate thesis on the basis of human conflict. I found it to be un-readable tripe. I guess this is the author's moral or message. He would be better served if his philosophizing wasn't so heavy handed. Open discussion of homosexual fantasies amongst soldiers in 1970? Not buying it. The character 'Cherry' going from FNG to cold blooded killer in 2 weeks? Not buying that either.
Before you buy this book rent the movie "The Thin Red Line". If you think ordinary soldiers think and talk in long philosophical introspective reflections on the meaning of life and you enjoyed that movie you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for intense battle sequences and gritty, realistic Vietnam action it is in here too. But is is surrounded and eventually submerged in so much unbelievable characterization by the end I felt like I was the one slogging thru the jungle.
Forewarned is forearmed.

[Pinetree]

If you want to read a good fictional story of a grunt in Vietnam, try FNG by Donald Bodey. The dialogue and action in it ring true. I've read this book multiple times over the years, even going so far to get another copy after my first one was lost. I rank it right up there with Chickenhawk

edit: it's actually out on kindle too:
http://www.amazon.com/F-N-G-Reflections-America-Don-Bodey-ebook/dp/B003L7803I/ref=la_B001HPP84A_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447406046&sr=1-1

[OJsDad]

Hopefully, this time tomorrow I'll be reading Hell's Foundation Quiver.  The #8 book in David Weber's Safehold series.

Holy crap, how'd I miss that??  I was even just at Barnes & Noble last Monday, and I didn't see it there.  ???

That knock on the door is the Inquisition coming to have a chat with you. 

Seriously, I think this is the weakest of the series so far.  It just didn't draw me in.  I don't know if it seemed like a lot of the same or because most of the biggest surprises seemed to be released with the snippets.  I started to reread Off Armageddon Reef and was more drawn in by it than by HFQ.  At this point, I'm truly hoping that the next book is the last one. 

[Toonces]

Thanks Pinetree.  I'll keep an eye out for that at the library.

I started Matterhorn, which was very favorably reviewed, but it's not drawing me in nearly as strongly as 13th Valley. 

[BanzaiCat]

I finished reading Antony Beevor's D-Day finally, about a week ago, after getting bits and pieces here and there. Fantastic book covering the Western campaign of World War II from D-Day preparations through the liberation of Paris. I also really like his Berlin book as well.

I decided to try to read Team Yankee again...I had tried many moons ago and it just didn't do it for me. The writing is pretty...well, I can't quite describe it other than 'simplistic.' Harold Coyle did a bit better over the years though not by much. He strikes me as being very similar to Harry Turtledove - having really great ideas but not being very good at pulling them off.  :(

[OJsDad]

I liked Team Yankee when I read it.  To compare Coyle to Turtledove is a complete insult to Coyle. 

[BanzaiCat]

I liked Team Yankee when I read it.  To compare Coyle to Turtledove is a complete insult to Coyle.

I wasn't comparing them except to say I had a hard time getting through their books...I'm drawn in by the subject matter, but the execution was never good. I think it's better to describe this as being disappointed rather than disgusted.

I did read a lot of Coyle though...his ideas were better than Turtledove's. Trial By Fire, Sword Point, Bright Star...Sword Point was probably my favorite out of all of them. And I'd read Harold Coyle before I ever even glance at a Turtledove book again.

I swore off Turtledove for good after slogging through his Invasion series. I kept expecting something big to happen but all I ended up reading was a mediocre alien-lizards-invade-Earth series.

Also, Turtledove's publishers are assholes. (First hand knowledge.)

[Gusington]

Ooh tell us more...

And I will read anything by Beevor. Great writer and historian. He can make his morning bathroom routine read like a battle AAR.

[Toonces]

I didn't care for Team Yankee either, BC.  Concur- the writing is pretty simplistic.  Compared to something meaty like Red Army it really reads like a junior varsity effort.

I wanted to like it.  I read it 3 times, but have always given up before the end.  I think I have about 50 pages left...maybe I'll just knock the book out over the holiday and be done with it. 

[BanzaiCat]

Funny thing about Team Yankee is, back in the late 80s or very early 90s, someone released a comic book series based on the novel. I bought the comics but even then thought it was kind of mediocre. The only thing I remember is them falling asleep and suddenly waking up going "OH SHI-" or something like that. Not very memorable.

IIRC Coyle was a Major in the Army when he wrote Team Yankee...so he knew his stuff from a procedural standpoint, but ultimately his characters weren't very engaging (except Bannon, and even then, he's kind of dull).

+1 on Red Army. I didn't like it at first, but read it again and really enjoyed it.