August 2016 Reads

[Jo498]

9 hours ago, Roose Boltons Pet Leech said:

I actually consider Royal Assassin the best of the three. Assassin's Apprentice has a great ending, but felt a bit slow, and Assassin's Quest is just bloated.

The ending of "Apprentice" made me buy the next one on kindle spontaneously (it was also so cheap that only a potentially battered used copy that would take weeks to arrive would have been cheaper) and I accepted the slow beginning because I cut it some slack for the first part of a series that might require a bit of introduction and exposition. I have still almost 20% to go in Royal Assassin but roughly in the middle of that book there is a chapter called something like "interludes" and this was my impression for the first 60% or more of that book.

It is not always easy to pin down what disappoints me as a reader and I might blame superficial features or start nitpicking things I would not care about if I was convinced by the whole. As I already said I quite dislike the wolf-bond, think the love story is soppy and the whole conceit of tough assassin but lonely teenager is quite implausible to me as is most of the world and setting. (I could nitpick all over the place, one point seems that the prowess of a lone wolf against armed men seems wildly exaggerated - there is a reason why wolves are pack animals...) It is not terribly bad, of course, but no way as good as I expected because of the frequently enthusiastic comments.

In any case I am surprised that I hardly ever encountered negative remarks on Hobb's books; they seemed almost universally liked so I did expect something more impressive.

[HexMachina]

The Obelisk Gate downloaded today so I'm setting aside The Race to read that instead.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Finished off Handling the Undead. An interesting concept, but I wonder if it would have been better suited to a novella, or even a short story, rather than a 360 page novel. As it was, it felt an overlong and excessively literal exploration of the premise.

Next up is The Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinisalo.

[SkynJay]

I grabbed my copy of Library of Mount Char off the shelf on a whim and it took all of two days to reread it.  I enjoyed it just as much the second time but didn't find anything new hidden in its pages.  It truly was a book that said what it wanted to say; no hidden subtext or layers of in clues to decipher.  Smarter than a blockbuster movie yet when over that was really what it was; something to read once unless you are like me and reread just about everything eventually.

REG was right; Borders of Infinity was one of my favorite things in Vorkosigan thus far.  Currently about half way through Memory in said series.

I also just passed the halfway point of John Adams which has been a slow read.  When discussing the major events it is a wonderful read but Adams isn't the most exciting person in history despite being present in so much of importance. 

[Corvinus85]

Halfway through Ancillary Justice. I'm thinking of giving it up. I'm not finding the plot very interesting.

I wish to start a re-read of some of Joe Abercrombie's books, Best Served Cold first, before I delve into Sharp Ends.

[HexMachina]

I have a curious non-spoilery question for those of you reading the Obelisk Gate. Is the first Interlude chapter supposed to be illegible? Or is is an error on my kindle? I know that seems a strange question but I didn't know if it was some quirky thing with an illegible historic document or something. I assume it's an error but thought I'd check. 

Here's a screenshot.

Its really very vexing, and if it is an error I'm not sure how to fix it  

[mgambino]

8 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I have a curious non-spoilery question for those of you reading the Obelisk Gate. Is the first Interlude chapter supposed to be illegible? Or is is an error on my kindle? I know that seems a strange question but I didn't know if it was some quirky thing with an illegible historic document or something. I assume it's an error but thought I'd check. 

Here's a screenshot.

Its really very vexing, and if it is an error I'm not sure how to fix it  

No, the interlude shouldn't look like that. I have the Kobo version and it's perfectly legible.

[RedEyedGhost]

I would think it was a foreign language edition,but Interlude and the header information is in English... Have you tried deleting it and redownloading it?

[HexMachina]

Yeah, luckily I have the kindle app on my phone and it was perfectly legible there too when I thought to check. Really odd.

[The Marquis de Leech]

My completed reads for August:

• Bitter Seeds, by Ian Tregillis
• The Coldest War, by Ian Tregillis
• Necessary Evil, by Ian Tregillis
• Stormrider, by David Gemmell
• Handling the Undead, by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• The Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinisalo

The Core of the Sun might be the best book I have read this year - a truly bizarre premise, but Sinisalo manages to make effective social commentary without making it excessively preachy. Plus the idea of magical chili fantasy is just awesome.

Next up is Banewreaker, by Jacqueline Carey.

[SeanF]

I'm reading Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy, and about to start Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[jobmartell]

Just started the three installment of The Bloodsounders Arc, Jeff Salyards. Liked the first 2 alot, great battle sequences. Also like the idea of having the story be told by a archivist. Finished Ancillary Justice, tough to get my bearings early on but everything starts to make sense. Unlike anything I've read, surprised it's never been done before? Reread of aSoS, recently enjoyed reading a new theory (to me) about the purple wedding. Also waiting to get into The Cursed Child once my wife finishes and because I too want to keep the secret. 

[Jo498]

I finished "Royal Assassin" yesterday. As I said, I find this uneven and while the last 25% or so were fairly exciting, I found the first 2/3 or so meandering and not very convincing. Lots of other flaws. The whole Molly-Fitz dynamic feels like from some 1990s romantic drama - no, you cannot go to the other coast for Law School, I want to open that pottery store! Molly is an utterly modern character whose behavior can only clash with the feudal society she happens to live in, apparently without ever learning its mores and values - maybe she's a time traveller?) It's not downright bad, but I am still puzzled at the almost universal praise for those books.

While I eventually want to know how it ends, I am in no hurry for the 3rd volume and doubt that I'll bother with her other trilogies. Now on to Vance's "Dying Earth" which I expect to like better, hopefully I will not become disappointed again.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Decided to dive into The Tyrant's Law by Daniel Abraham instead of Clarissa Oakes.  I'm glad I did.  I am loving the characters in the Dagger and Coin series, especially Cithrin and Geder.  Geder is such an interesting villan.  So human and yet so realistically flawed. 

Now reading Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O'Brian while I wait for The Widow's House to come off on hold at the library.

[HexMachina]

4 hours ago, Jo498 said:

I finished "Royal Assassin" yesterday. As I said, I find this uneven and while the last 25% or so were fairly exciting, I found the first 2/3 or so meandering and not very convincing. Lots of other flaws. The whole Molly-Fitz dynamic feels like from some 1990s romantic drama - no, you cannot go to the other coast for Law School, I want to open that pottery store! Molly is an utterly modern character whose behavior can only clash with the feudal society she happens to live in, apparently without ever learning its mores and values - maybe she's a time traveller?) It's not downright bad, but I am still puzzled at the almost universal praise for those books.

While I eventually want to know how it ends, I am in no hurry for the 3rd volume and doubt that I'll bother with her other trilogies. Now on to Vance's "Dying Earth" which I expect to like better, hopefully I will not become disappointed again.

How is Molly an utterly modern character, in your opinion?

[Darth Richard II]

4 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

How is Molly an utterly modern character, in your opinion?

I am baffled by both, how you could think this, and why it matters. Farseer is not based on history.

[HexMachina]

Molly certainly does understand, largely, the mores and values of her society. Her one blindspot comes in her interactions with Fitz, which is totally understandable

Fitz' status as a bastard places him in a strange position, as he lives off the kindness of his grandfather, and can be cast out at any time (for example, displeasing Shrewd, giving up an assassin's life). He is rarely thrust into the public as nobility, so it comes as no surprise that he and Molly, infatuated as they are, think their relationship can work. Molly knows how to act around royalty, but she and many others underestimate how dangerous associating with Fitz is. She doesn't seem out of place in the novel at all

 

[Lyanna Stark]

Having issues with Kay's Sailing to Sarantium. It is very nicely written, lovely language, fascinating environments, yet constantly feels mildly disappointing. The POV swaps are not helping either, since it feels like it slows an already slow pace down to a crawl, and it doesn't really add anything of real value, apart from maybe something like "yes actually, that courier was a real arsehole", but is that really necessary to know? I don't know. Nearly 60% through and it feels like a struggle. At around the 30% mark of Lions of Al-Rassan I could not get enough of that novel, but I feel I ought to think the same about this one, but I really don't.

 

Also trying to finish Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt for my trashy commute reading, but it is so un-engaging I would rather just stare out into open space.

[Jo498]

o.k. first of all it is quite unrealistic that she has a private room or even an apartment where she can have a clandestine affair. As a lower rank servant she would at best sleep somewhere semiprivate close to Lady Patience or more likely in some servant's quarters with hardly any privacy. She is always nagging Fitz and frequently accuses him of putting his job/loyalty to the King before their love. This a concept quite foreign to such a society (regardless of historical verisimilitude the fealty/loyalty that is expected is clearly explained for the 6 duchies world). As late as the First World War! many girls would have been more ashamed of their fiancés not going to war "for love" than losing them on the battlefield. Molly puts late 20th century romantic love and a dream of a petit-bourgeois live in peace with a chandler's shop before duty/fealty to a king. And she even has first hand experience of the raider horrors and should know about the importance of defense. She is also far more cavalier about this affair than she would be if the danger/fear being exposed as the "bastard's whore" was taken as seriously as it is described. It is frequently talked about but does hardly inform her actions. Granted, the book is unclear about whether it would be normal/expected for someone in Fitz' position to have affairs with servants or minor attendants of the court ladies or if this would also be scandalous for him. But it is made clear that it would be rather scandalous for Molly if known.

EDIT: Maybe the main point is that I find the whole Fitz-Molly story trite. Kettriken is less realistic but I can accept her as an interesting fantasy character. Molly-Fitz seems like a mix between some Dickens novel and "Singles", something read or watched a thousand times put into a fantasy setting.

But as I said, these are quibbles, not the main points why I am not impressed by those books but these are difficult to explain. I think it is mostly pacing, i.e. exciting "finales" but very slow going for the rest of the book. Unexplained/implausible villains (Red ship raiders); implausible world. And as someone wrote, implausible oscillation of Regal between vain idiot and criminal mastermind, sometimes within a chapter or two. This could maybe (as the fatal underestimation of the powers of the coterie members) be explained as a misjudgement of Fitz, so he is a somewhat unreliable narrator (although not in the normal sense) because we only get information about Regal, Galen and the others through Fitz thinking or talking with Verity.

 

[polishgenius]

2 hours ago, Lyanna Stark said:

Having issues with Kay's Sailing to Sarantium. It is very nicely written, lovely language, fascinating environments, yet constantly feels mildly disappointing. The POV swaps are not helping either, since it feels like it slows an already slow pace down to a crawl, and it doesn't really add anything of real value, apart from maybe something like "yes actually, that courier was a real arsehole", but is that really necessary to know? I don't know. Nearly 60% through and it feels like a struggle. At around the 30% mark of Lions of Al-Rassan I could not get enough of that novel, but I feel I ought to think the same about this one, but I really don't.

 

I did find Sailing To Sarantium, and the sequel, very piecemeal compared to his other novels, but there are some great moments so it's worth persevering with.