210 replies to this topic

[JEORDHl]

Finally getting around to Harkaway's Angelmaker.

Fun so far.

[gordonah]

I completed The Hand of Justice by Susanna Gregory at the start of the month. I read a lot of historical fiction, and this was a good whodunnit. Second book in the Matthew Bartholemew series I've read, featuring a medieval English academic physician, and both have been good reads.
Also, completed The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. I occasionally read a classic on the basis of 'if so many people think they're great, then there must be something in it'.I thought it was ok. Not as terrible as some people seem to think it is, but certainly not going near the top of my list,
Finally, I recently started Flashman's Lady. This is the fourth of the Flashman novels for me, so I've a good idea what I'm getting in to (and looking forward to it).

[Cuchulain]

Finished City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer. The four main novellas are all very different, but really enjoyable in their own way. I didn't like all of the Appendix material, though. Some of it was just boring, while other parts felt unnecessary and pointless.

I also read Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness. This short, poetic novel makes use of the Egyptian pantheon much in the way Lord of Light utilizes elements from Hinduism and Buddhism. Really enjoyed it.

I'm now working my way through Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold.

[sparky]

Angelmaker too.  God, Harkaway is sooooo good.  Over the course of whopping 1.25 novels he's easily become one of my favorite writers.  Farce with a heart, and just an amazing 'Englishness'.

[SkynJay]

Pausing my ASOIAF reread after finishing ACOK.  Got A Discovery of Witches from the library.  Did not realize it was the start of a trilogy.  Still going to give it a shot, but I was hoping for a stand alone for some reason.

After that I may read the first book of Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars.  Anyone read the series?  Is it any good?  I loved her Crossroads Trilogy, but this one is much longer.

[Grack21]

I love Crown of Stars. but no one else does because they all suck.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief was a short and easy read.  Nothing too spectacular, and a bit thin on the plot, but I was entertained enough that I will probably read the sequel in the future.

A re-read of The Shadow Rising is next.  This installment historically has been my favorite in the Wheel of Time series and I'm curious to see if that is true now.

I've read the Crown of Stars and some aspects are awesome, but some storylines and characters really sag in the middle parts of the series.

Edited by Guinevere Seaworth, 30 March 2012 - 10:52 PM.

[Grack21]

Yeah, either book 4 or 5(I Read them as they came out so it's been a long time) of Crown of Stars kind of has a middle wheel of time books thing going on, but I remember the book after that picks up.

[Brady]

Grack21, on 30 March 2012 - 10:16 PM, said:

I love Crown of Stars. but no one else does because they all suck.

I really liked them, though I think the series was a wee bit too long. SkynJay, if you liked the Crossroads trilogy, you'll probably enjoy Crown of Stars. Like Grack I'm kinda surprised it doesn't get more play around here.

[Grack21]

Brady, on 30 March 2012 - 11:01 PM, said:

I really liked them, though I think the series was a wee bit too long. SkynJay, if you liked the Crossroads trilogy, you'll probably enjoy Crown of Stars. Like Grack I'm kinda surprised it doesn't get more play around here.

I always figured because it's written by own of those dastardy females that dares to vote and think fort themselves.

[Ormond]

Just finished The Virtu by Sarah Monette.

This is a sequel to Melusine and like that book goes back and forth between the first person narratives of Felix and Mildmay, two half-brothers. Felix is gay and a wizard. Mildmay is straight and a just-grown-up street kid.

Felix did grow and become a more likeable character by the end, and Monette seemed to do better at portraying him like a real gay man than she did in the first book. Mildmay is a more likeable character than Felix, but I confess I find his chapters tedious because of his constant use of the f-word. I'm not saying this is unrealistic; I have known some men in my life who talked the way Mildmay does. But reading a book where half of it is told in the voice of a character who has to put that word in most sentences does grate. It's no wonder other characters often think Mildmay is stupid when his vocabulary is so limited!

What really saved the book was the introduction of the character Mehitabel, an actress turned governess with an interesting past. She doesn't get a viewpoint, but even just seeing her through Felix and MIldmay's eyes she quickly becomes the most admirable person in this story. I hope she has an even bigger part in the next book.

Now my reading plan has finally brought me back to R. Scott Bakker and I'm about to start The Warrior-Prophet. It's been so long since I read The Darkness That Comes Before that I'm very happy to see that W-P starts with a synopsis of the first book! I'm looking forward to seeing if I like the long philosophical passages others say this book contains.

Edited by Ormond, 31 March 2012 - 05:05 PM.

[Lord of the Night]

From my book journal, the novels and novellas that I have read over March and the start/finish dates of each one.


29th February - Started Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

4th March - Finished Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire

4th March - Started Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

6th March - Finished Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones

7th March - Started Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon by Keth R.A. DeCandido

7th March - Finished Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon

8th March - Started Vampire Hunter D: Dark Road Part 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi

10th March - Finished Vampire Hunter D: Dark Road Part 1

12th March - Started Void Stalker by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

13th March - Finished Void Stalker

14th March - Started Dead Winter by C.L Werner

17th March - Finished Dead Winter

18th March - Started Eye of Vengeance by Graham McNeill

18th March - Finished Eye of Vengeance

18th March - Started Architect of Fate by Various Authors
-18th March - Started Accursed Eternity by Sarah Cawkwell
-19th March - Finished Accursed Eternity
-19th March - Started Sanctus by Darius Hinks
-20th March - Finished Sanctus
-20th March - Started Endeavour of Will by Ben Counter
-21st March - Finished Endeavour of Will
-21st March - Started Fateweaver by John French
-22nd March - Finished Fateweaver

22nd March - Finished Architect of Fate

23rd March - Started The Emperor's Gift by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

25th March - Finished The Emperor's Gift

26th March - Starting Butcher's Nails by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

26th March - Finished Butcher's Nails

26th March - Started The Primarchs by Various Authors
-26th March - Started The Reflection Crack'd by Graham McNeill
-27th March - Finished The Reflection Crack'd
-27th March - Started Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme
-29th March - Finished Feat of Iron
-29th March - Started The Lion by Gav Thorpe
-31st March - Finished The Lion


LotN

[YellowDogJen]

I finally finished The White Luck Warrior. Talk about the "slog of slogs"! Man, I cannot believe how long it took me to read this book...weeks and weeks.

I think I'm not as smart as the rest of you, because I just. did. not. get. it. Also, I found myself just. not. caring. any. more. Which is a drag, as this is the fifth book, so I'm invested (financially) in the series, but I don't know if I'll continue.

I have no idea what to read next, but it's going to be quick and easy for sure. Geeze.

[Myshkin]

Finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.  Beautifully written, and profound in its exploration of existentialist themes.  Murakami is quickly becoming my favorite living author (sorry Salman).

Now onto A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

[Datepalm]

Finished the new Matthew Swift book, the Minority Council. Hm...it was ok. I liked it, I read through it quickly, and Kate Griffins particular affectations haven't quite worn out their welcome with me yet. It touches on a lot of the themes that I can always stand to read a bit more of - urbanism, isolation, foundations of human behaviour - and there was a nice thematic thread with adolescence and Frankenstein running through. But, the series seems to solidly episodic at this point, which isn't working for me so much. Griffin is clearly interested in the character development question, it's not like she's writing just a series of fast paced action books, she pokes and prods it a lot, but it always stays buried in a pile of lots of things blowing up in creative ways, and worse it's always back to square one at the end. Its the same character insights from book to book, with no progress. So, good as an installment, but i'm slightly frustrated with the series as a whole.

[Merrin]

Datepalm, on 31 March 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

Finished the new Matthew Swift book, the Minority Council. Hm...it was ok. I liked it, I read through it quickly, and Kate Griffins particular affectations haven't quite worn out their welcome with me yet. It touches on a lot of the themes that I can always stand to read a bit more of - urbanism, isolation, foundations of human behaviour - and there was a nice thematic thread with adolescence and Frankenstein running through. But, the series seems to solidly episodic at this point, which isn't working for me so much. Griffin is clearly interested in the character development question, it's not like she's writing just a series of fast paced action books, she pokes and prods it a lot, but it always stays buried in a pile of lots of things blowing up in creative ways, and worse it's always back to square one at the end. Its the same character insights from book to book, with no progress. So, good as an installment, but i'm slightly frustrated with the series as a whole.

I've had the first in this series in my TBR pile for a while now. Not sure why I haven't started, it just always seems to get lost in my new acquisitions. Sounds like it's a good book if you're not too invested in the series. If that makes sense...

I just finished Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. I loved this book. I have to admit to being an ebear fangirl and this novel did not disappoint. Pleased and content and eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Not sure what to read next but I'll find something.

[peterbound]

Lord of the Night, on 31 March 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

From my book journal, the novels and novellas that I have read over March and the start/finish dates of each one.


29th February - Started Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

4th March - Finished Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire

4th March - Started Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy

6th March - Finished Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones

7th March - Started Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon by Keth R.A. DeCandido

7th March - Finished Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon

8th March - Started Vampire Hunter D: Dark Road Part 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi

10th March - Finished Vampire Hunter D: Dark Road Part 1

12th March - Started Void Stalker by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

13th March - Finished Void Stalker

14th March - Started Dead Winter by C.L Werner

17th March - Finished Dead Winter

18th March - Started Eye of Vengeance by Graham McNeill

18th March - Finished Eye of Vengeance

18th March - Started Architect of Fate by Various Authors
-18th March - Started Accursed Eternity by Sarah Cawkwell
-19th March - Finished Accursed Eternity
-19th March - Started Sanctus by Darius Hinks
-20th March - Finished Sanctus
-20th March - Started Endeavour of Will by Ben Counter
-21st March - Finished Endeavour of Will
-21st March - Started Fateweaver by John French
-22nd March - Finished Fateweaver

22nd March - Finished Architect of Fate

23rd March - Started The Emperor's Gift by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

25th March - Finished The Emperor's Gift

26th March - Starting Butcher's Nails by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

26th March - Finished Butcher's Nails

26th March - Started The Primarchs by Various Authors
-26th March - Started The Reflection Crack'd by Graham McNeill
-27th March - Finished The Reflection Crack'd
-27th March - Started Feat of Iron by Nick Kyme
-29th March - Finished Feat of Iron
-29th March - Started The Lion by Gav Thorpe
-31st March - Finished The Lion


LotN

Goddamn man, do you only read cheesy tie in novels?

[Antonius Pius]

Just finished second omnibus of Paul Kearney's Monarchies of God, i.e. Century of the Soldier. It's more about Corfe than anything else, whereas Hawkwood plays a much smaller part. Loved it though. The politics and war seem realistic enough, and Kearney moves the storyline forward with commendable speed.

Thinking about picking up Marlantes' Matterhorn next. I'm a but intimidated by it though.

Lord of the Night, on 31 March 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

From my book journal, the novels and novellas that I have read over March and the start/finish dates of each one.

LotN

Holy crap, do you read so quickly because you want to, or is there a professional component at work?

[Grack21]

Reading Swordpoint in between schoolworks. Very very good.

IT baffles me that this has a positive blurb from Orson Scott Card on it though. I mean, its filled with man on man love portrayed as perfectly normal. WHich I have no problem with, but you'd think Card would.

[Triskele]

Just finished the final book in Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet.

It was an incredible finale to a series that I wasn't crazy about up to that point.

Actually, (and this is only after one reading) I would say it was one of the best books I've ever read and that it somehow salvaged the previous books in the series.*

*Do not let that comment dissuade you from trying the series out.  It seems that many of its fans like it very much from the start.

I've got the first book from this Rothfuss guy waiting at the library to try next.  Maybe kinda sorta have had my expectations raised to a dangrous level.

Edited by Triskele, 01 April 2012 - 01:47 AM.