Herbie of High Heart Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Hyperion by Dan Simmons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint777 Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Finished two books: Blindsight by Peter Watts: This was a wild ride. Loved this one despite the fact the book got really technical without explaining anything. The ideas, characters, and plot kept moving at a steady clip to keep the novel from being bogged down in technobabble. I also loved the injection of horror elements into the story and the ending is magnificent. I'm looking forward to reading his earlier Rift trilogy now. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill: Solid first novel. The story loses steam a bit in the middle but ramps up with the Ouija Board scene and kicks ass all the way to the end. Some very poignant scenes and some pretty bloody sequences near the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins A reverse history of evolution which was every bit as accessible, fascinating and thought provoking as I was lead to believe. I won't swallow it whole, he is just a bit too genetically focused (see extended phenotypes for example), but a wonderful insight into the world of 'our' ancestors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Since Min pipped me with the Robson books, I decided to read The Last Wish by Andrzej Sarkowski instead. For an author I've never heard of (this is his first English translation) it's pretty good, somewhat similar in feel to Jack Vance's The Dying Earth, although he lacks Vance's wit. Somewhat oddly, it's the second book in a trilogy of short story collections (which together form a prelude to a five-novel sequence). Not sure why Gollancz didn't start with the first one. Anyway, it's good stuff. Quite short as well, so hope to have a more detailed review up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multaniette Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 I started one of the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell. So far it's extremely interesting to read the events depicted (Mysore, British India, Nizam of Hyderabad) from a western prespective in the wake of reading so much about them from a Muslim/Indian one. Actually, this is pretty much the only reason I picked this novel up. Also reading A Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel. Romantic, epic(ish) cross-over fantasy described by SFX to be in the vein of Robin Hobb - yup, it's about as good as its sounds. At least Zettel can write half-decently; seriously, I have read excellent reviews of Sarah Zettel's sci-fi works from people who I more or less agree with usually yet her fantasy out-put is bland and churlishly stereotypical in the extreme [the 'magic' sequences make me chortle in disgust]; is there some sort of malady which besets sci-fi authors when they try their hand at more mainstream fantasy writing? (David Zindell, Catherine Asaro) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maia Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Finished Shadowplay. Definitely better than Shadowmarch - I am actually looking forward to the third novel now. Ditto. My complaints: SPOILER: spoilerish spoilers - Vansen should be dead. I would be far more irritated if Shaso turns out to be alive. Of course, that synchronous stripping of protectors from plucky teenagers was quite cliché in itself. But it was clear that Vansen is an important character, who won't leave us so easily . I only hope that we don't get treated to him chasing after ever moving Briony for the next book or so, always arriving a couple of days too late... - the romantic pairings are BEYOND cheesy Well, there is a faint hope that they don't actually work out... - williams sure does love to have huge, old forests in the middle of his continents LOL! But really, in some parts of the world there were lots of huge forests until 200 years ago. Regadring Zettel's fantasy sequence I somehow managed to read the prequel first and I have to say that it improved my impression a lot, because things worked out in rather unexpected and gritty ways. Sadly, it usually only happens in the prequels nowadays, a few honorable exceptions aside, apparently so that pre-knowledge could soften the blow . At the very least it is nice that she tries to use some tropes from the slavic cultures, for once. I was unimpressed with the other 2 books in the sequence, which ultimately end in super-cheese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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