Joey Crows Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 5 hours ago, Starkess said: I finished The Bone Clocks. It was...okay? Hard to pin down. I felt like I was never really sure what the actual story was, and the last section really dragged down the whole thing. Mitchell can definitely write like hell, and there were sections I enjoyed a lot, but I'm just not convinced they fit together. This was my first Mitchell book and apparently this is his schtick so fine. I would probably check out another of his books, but maybe not for a long while. Next up for me is Shadow Magic by Patricia Wrede. I got the whole series in a bundle deal and am looking forward to it. Her Enchanted Forest series are everything I want in YA fantasy so hopefully this will also be a a good read. I thought The Bone Clocks was fantastic. The ending left me a little bit unsatisfied, but the story and the writing was wonderful. After reading that I read Cloud Atlas and had a very similar experience. The writing was so unique and brilliant, but the story wrapped up in a less than pleasing manner. So, my thoughts on David Mitchell are that he is a true genius with regards to his prose and the way he structures his novels, but he is a poor planner when it comes to creating a satisfying conclusion. That being said, every time I read his work, I'm blown away at the prose. He writes beautifully while changing the voice of his characters to feel authentic and profound. If only he could find conclusions that didn't make me feel let down, he'd be a writer I'd read for ever and ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm in the middle of Seveneves. I was a bit cautious about this book, as my friend, long time admirer of Neal Stephenson, told me she barely finished it and thought it was the weakest of his books by far. I still can't wrap my head around what she said, because the book is simply fascinating. So far it's easily in Stephenson's top three for me. I just can't stop reading it, but at the same time I don't want it to end. The guy is a genius. Nora, I would really recommend The Cloud Atlas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 15 hours ago, Joey Crows said: I thought The Bone Clocks was fantastic. The ending left me a little bit unsatisfied, but the story and the writing was wonderful. After reading that I read Cloud Atlas and had a very similar experience. The writing was so unique and brilliant, but the story wrapped up in a less than pleasing manner. So, my thoughts on David Mitchell are that he is a true genius with regards to his prose and the way he structures his novels, but he is a poor planner when it comes to creating a satisfying conclusion. I thought Cloud Atlas worked better as a whole than The Bone Clocks did, perhaps because it doesn't really make any attempt to say there's anything more than thematic links and the odd reference joining the different stories. The Bone Clocks was at its worst when it tried to tie everything together with an exposition-heavy section (it's still a good book despite that). If you haven't read Slade House, I'd suggest that as an example of Mitchell doing a better job of tying together different stories into a single overarching plotline. On the subject of Mitchell, I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Thousands Autumns of Jacob de Zoet now. I found the first section to be a bit slow moving, but when the plot moved on to POV characters who aren't Jacob it became very compelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I would say that two of Mitchell's other works, his debut Ghostwritten and his most famous Cloud Atlas, are in the same wheelhouse as The Bone Clocks. Thousand Autumns and Black Swan Green are both kind of different from that first group if you ask me. The one I've not read is Number 9 Dream. I loved Bone Clocks but sometimes wonder if I'm so impressed by Mitchell's technical skills that I overrate the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 23 hours ago, Starkess said: I finished The Bone Clocks. It was...okay? Hard to pin down. I felt like I was never really sure what the actual story was, and the last section really dragged down the whole thing. Mitchell can definitely write like hell, and there were sections I enjoyed a lot, but I'm just not convinced they fit together. This was my first Mitchell book and apparently this is his schtick so fine. I would probably check out another of his books, but maybe not for a long while. Next up for me is Shadow Magic by Patricia Wrede. I got the whole series in a bundle deal and am looking forward to it. Her Enchanted Forest series are everything I want in YA fantasy so hopefully this will also be a a good read. Love Patricia Wrede! The "(gerund verb + preposition) + Dragons" books were awesome. Have Cloud Atlas and the Bone Clocks in the tbr pile but they have a lot of paper in front of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Crows Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 2 hours ago, williamjm said: I thought Cloud Atlas worked better as a whole than The Bone Clocks did, perhaps because it doesn't really make any attempt to say there's anything more than thematic links and the odd reference joining the different stories. The Bone Clocks was at its worst when it tried to tie everything together with an exposition-heavy section (it's still a good book despite that). If you haven't read Slade House, I'd suggest that as an example of Mitchell doing a better job of tying together different stories into a single overarching plotline. On the subject of Mitchell, I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Thousands Autumns of Jacob de Zoet now. I found the first section to be a bit slow moving, but when the plot moved on to POV characters who aren't Jacob it became very compelling. I'll definitely check out Slade House! Thanks for the recommendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First of My Name Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I read The Gunslinger, the first book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The beginning was a bit of a slog, but once Jake entered the story it became much easier to read and was pretty enjoyable. It's clear that this novel isn't meant to stand on its own on at all, though. It feels more like a prologue to the rest of the series, but it definitely made me look forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 7 hours ago, First of My Name said: I read The Gunslinger, the first book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The beginning was a bit of a slog, but once Jake entered the story it became much easier to read and was pretty enjoyable. It's clear that this novel isn't meant to stand on its own on at all, though. It feels more like a prologue to the rest of the series, but it definitely made me look forward to the rest. What?!? The best parts were clearly: when Roland eats a bunch of hamburgers, has sexual congress with the bartender, and then shoots up the whole town; also when he trips balls on mescaline to deal with the demon. But the entire series is downhill from the mescaline anyway so YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Finally got around to finishing The Queen of the Damned. Rice gets points for ambition, but the disjointed structure of this one was annoying, and her internal vampire mythology isn't as interesting as she thinks it is. Interview remains the best of the series so far, though given that all the reviews indicate that the first three are the best, I won't be in a rush to read any more volumes. Next up is The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay. After A Song for Arbonne, this is a chance for Kay to redeem himself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 4 hours ago, Roose Boltons Pet Leech said: Next up is The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay. After A Song for Arbonne, this is a chance for Kay to redeem himself... Redeem after what, exactly? Ysabel? Fionavar Tapestry? I don't think he has anything else to be (even mildly) ashamed of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 46 minutes ago, 3CityApache said: Redeem after what, exactly? Ysabel? Fionavar Tapestry? I don't think he has anything else to be (even mildly) ashamed of. I read A Song for Arbonne over Christmas, and hated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 If you really hated A Song for Arbonne, I'm afraid there's little chance you'll love anything else he wrote. Even if The Lions of Al-Rassan are much better. But of course to each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First of My Name Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 8 hours ago, larrytheimp said: What?!? The best parts were clearly: Hide contents when Roland eats a bunch of hamburgers, has sexual congress with the bartender, and then shoots up the whole town; also when he trips balls on mescaline to deal with the demon. But the entire series is downhill from the mescaline anyway so YMMV. The mescaline is after he meets Jake, so I count that as part of the good bits The other part you mention was pretty good too but I wasn't invested in the story at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I just finished Wise Phuul by Roose Bolton's Pet Leech, aka Daniel Stride. It's pretty well written Fantasy, with a slightly sardonic humor that I enjoy, some inventive world-building and a main POV that is plausibly flawed but experiences some personal growth. The setting is similar to WW1-era England with a Soviet-style govt and KGB, and a slave economy based on zombies. The tone and style are much closer to steampunk than high fantasy or grimdark. Told in a first person POV, the plot is a mix of political intrigue and personal odyssey. For a first novel, the author's voice and style are established pretty well and thankfully no signs of the usual growing pains: over elaboration in the prose or plot, excessive wish fulfillment characters, cloying sentimentality nor sophomoric "wouldn't it be cool if..." plots. A good reading experience; thumbs up. I posted a longer review in the thread for this book. Next up is another crime genre, even if they feel just as repetitive as Fantasy. This one is Iron Lake, a murder mystery set in a snow storm in Minnesota and some use of native American culture. Definitely a seasonally atmospheric choice. OK so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I'm reading Robert Harris's The Cicero Trilogy. Three ebooks for $8 -- not bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I just finished SPQR a fascinating book about why Rome was able to dominate the Mediterranean for so long. Looking at Roman willingness to incorporate many who were not "Roman" into Roman culture and to allow many to become "Roman". Also just finished The Heart of what was Lost by Tad Williams. It is a short bridge novel between the end of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and the start of his new series The Last King of Osten Ard that starts this summer. It, for the first time, gave us POVs from Norns/Sithi and a nice glimpse into their culture. I enjoyed it. I'm currently reading the Revenge of Geography by Robert Kaplan. It's a book from 2012. I've been reading his books for 20 years starting with Balkan Ghosts back in the early 1990's. He's insightful but this book is odd. He advocated for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and this book, to some extent, seems to serve as apologia/explanation for that advocacy. He goes into great detail discussing other Foreign Policy thinkers who advocate the Realist/Realpolitik model that he rejected in favor of the more idealistic "Neo-Conservative" model and explaining why he is now moving back toward the Realpolitik point of view. It's not entirely what I expected. I was looking for more of a discussion of why and how Geography plays a big role in Foreign Policy. I'm only about a quarter of the way through the book. We'll see how it plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andorion Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Reading On the Steel Breeze by Alastair Reynolds. Really liked the first book, now very interested to see how this works as a generation ship story. Also reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 I felt Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey was the weakest book in the entire Terre D'Ange series. It was just Moirin just travelling to fantasy versions of Mongolia, Russia and India. Now reading Naamah's Blessing. The fact that we are back in Terre D'Ange (France) already makes this a better novel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drunkard Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Read Caesar's The Conquest of Gaul and The Civil War, which were both interesting, especially what little there was about the tribes in Gaul given how little attention they seem to get elsewhere. The abrupt ending to the latter makes me wish he lived just long enough to write something about the final ending to the wars. Started reading Richard the Third by Paul Murray Kendall, and I can't get over how much this dude plagiarized ASOIAF. GRRM should sue. Next on the list is The Terror by Dan Simmons, which I'm keen for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
End of Disc One Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I'm only 100 pages into The Red Knight but I love some of the various storylines that are being set up. This has a lot of potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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