June 2008 Reads

[swedeheadchris]

I've just reviewed [url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/06/dragon-waiting.html"][b][i]The Dragon Waiting[/i][/b][/url] by John M. Ford. This is one is from the Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks series, and it actually won the World Fantasy Award back in 1984.

[i][url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/06/dragon-waiting.html"][b]The Dragon Waiting[/b][/url][/i] is an alternate history novel, set in a Europe, in the [b]Middle Ages[/b], where [b]Byzantium[/b] is still alive and kicking and [b]Christianity[/b] is a just another minor sect amongst many. A large portion is set in [b]Renaissance Italy[/b], before shifting to the court of King [b]Richard III[/b] in England, as our cast try to halt the relentless spread of the Byzantine Empire. With vampires. And a few wizards.

It's a crazy novel. The world-building is very, very good and will stay with me a long time, but I would probably have got more enjoyment if I had understood half of what was going on. There's an over-reliance on the historical knowledge of the reader, particularly with regard to the [b]War of the Roses[/b] and [b]Richard III[/b]. From what I can tell, though, Ford's re-imagining of Richard ([i]determined to prove a villain[/i] or kindly hero?) is quite different to that of [b]Shakespeare[/b]'s eponymous play, and I expect that were I more familiar with all the subtle changes that Ford has made throughout this book, I'd have loved it. "[i]Now is the winter of our discontent /Made glorious summer by this son of York.[/i]" But I thought he was dead? Oh, wait, that's a different Richard of York... Even with my limited understanding, the world-building is still my favourite part of this book.

[i]A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse![/i]
— Richard III, Act V, sc. iv

My [url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/06/dragon-waiting.html"]full review of [b][i]The Dragon Waiting[/i][/b]![/url]

~Chris

[Black Wizard]

I just started [i]The King's Bucanneer [/i]by Raymond E Feist. Just about 15 if his books to go after this one.

[OverHill]

Finished Titus Groan, the first part of the Gormenghast Trilogy. Very dense, so I will leave the trilogy (and my final verdict) on the shelf for a while.
Off to finish the Gap Series by Donaldson. This Day All Gods Die: The Gap into Ruin. This series is excellent, and improves with every book.

[Strong_Belwas]

[quote name='AutumnEvenings' post='1380919' date='Jun 3 2008, 01.28']I'm reading, and have been reading, and [i]will[/i] be reading [i]Quicksilver[/i] by Neal Stephenson. I do like it (and do plan on reading its equally huge sequels), but I feel like I've undertaken a serious task here. It's the length, but it's also...well, some parts of it are really slow-going for me.[/quote]

Keep going. I read the 3 books on and off for a year before i finished them. At the end, it was all worth it. Some part are slow going, and sometime you'll wonder where the hell it is all going, but the third book ties it all together pretty well.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Finished [i]The Golden Compass [/i]by Philip Pullman. It was alright. I was taken by surprise at how dark this novel this was given the YA lable since it has a number of characters die, morally ambiguous people, and a near torture scene. This must be the YA version of George R.R. Martin.
Onto [i]The Subtle Knife[/i].

[WhiteQueen]

I am reading Sovereign by C.J Sansom, yet another take on Catherine Howard's affair with Thomas Culpepper and Henry VIII cruelty, yada-yada-yada. It's a good summer read.

[AprilFool]

I just picked up Simon R Green's [u]Daemons Are Forever[/u], and I am looking forward to a light fun read.

I just finished Mike Mignola's [u]Hellboy[/u] (vol 1 - 7) and his [u]B.P.R.D[/u] (vol 1 - 8).

[Bellis]

[quote name='Dylanfanatic' post='1380920' date='Jun 3 2008, 00.29']This intrigues me, especially since I'm set to begin reading Naguib Mahfouz's [i]Voices from the Other World: Ancient Egyptian Tales[/i] tomorrow at work. I've been wanting to read some good Arabic fiction and this sounds promising.[/quote]

It's written in English, not translated. It will be prominently displayed at your local Borders/B&N. I think it'll be just your kind of thing though. :)

As for June, I'm reading D's [b]The Idiot[/b]. I like his easy animated style.

[WhiteQueen]

[quote name='Bellis' post='1381435' date='Jun 3 2008, 09.30']It's written in English, not translated. It will be prominently displayed at your local Borders/B&N. I think it'll be just your kind of thing though. :)

As for June, I'm reading D's [b]The Idiot[/b]. I like his easy animated style.[/quote]
The Idiot makes me cry still. And I love the fact that Marilyn Monroe wanted to be Grushen'ka. :(

[Ratatoskr]

Finished "Kitty and the Midnight Hour". Fun read. Not great literature, far from it. Some plotting problems. There's not really a main plot, just several subplots loosely tied together. It feels like several stand alone pieces of short fiction stringed together, and judging from the Acknowledgements, it might be just that.

I hear the next installment is considerably better. This one is little more than exposition.

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed KatMH considerably. It's a light, fast and entertaining read. If you want some mindless fun in between greater tasks, you might want to check this out.

Now, on to"On Stranger Tides" by Tim Powers. My first contact with this particular author. I keep hearing good things about him, and come on - zombie pirates? This cannot possibly go wrong.

[Cuchulain]

Finished [i]Trollslayer[/i], the First Gotrek & Felix novel, today. This is a fun light read, very good material for the exam period. Will be reading [i]Skavenslayer[/i] next.

[ThRiNiDiR]

[font="Century Gothic"][color="#A0522D"][i]@Madwand[/i][/color] (Zelazny homage ofc) read and enjoyed a short story by...[b]Zelazny[/b] (who else?) '[color="#006400"][b][size=4]The Great Slow Kings[/size][/b][/color]' ...you can read his debut review for Realms of Speculative Fiction [url="http://sf-fantasy-books.blogspot.com/2008/06/roger-zelazny-great-slow-kings.html"]here[/url].[/font]

[SmilingKnight]

On the reading docket:

Elephantmen: Wounded Animals
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Winkie
The Forever War

I'm going to a giant used book sale this Saturday so I'll probably be adding to that.

[Larry.]

Although I first read this back in March, I re-read/reviewed Tom Corwin's new book, [i][url="http://ofblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/tom-corwin-mr-fooster-traveling-on-whim.html"]Mr. Fooster: Traveling on a Whim[/url][/i]. One of the most enjoyable books I've read this year.

[blackwater]

Tad Williams: The Burning Man and The War of the Flowers

[Isis]

[quote name='AutumnEvenings' post='1380919' date='Jun 3 2008, 06.28']I'm reading, and have been reading, and [i]will[/i] be reading [i]Quicksilver[/i] by Neal Stephenson. I do like it (and do plan on reading its equally huge sequels), but I feel like I've undertaken a serious task here. It's the length, but it's also...well, some parts of it are really slow-going for me.[/quote]It isn't the length. The length of books in general does not put me off reading them or finishing them. With this series it's... something else. :) I started [i]The System of the World[/i] in January 2007 and I'm still only about 1/3 of the way through. Not sure how long it took me to get through the first two books in total. But it was a l-o-n-g time.

Good luck! :)

[Werthead]

Agreed. The only way I could read [i]Cryptonomicon[/i] in a decent space of time was deliberately taking it with me on holiday as the only book I had. It's an absolute work of genius, but it's ultra-dense and takes some commitment to read. However, the pace picks up slowly through the book and I flew through the second half.

[i]Quicksilver[/i]'s problem is that it's a lot more interminable, especially Daniel's story (which unfortunately makes up two-thirds of the novel). When he takes a back seat and Jack Shaftoe comes on the scene, things improve immeasurably. It still took me like two months to get through it though.

I started reading [i]The Confusion[/i] in January 2007. I tried the whole 'holiday trick' again and it didn't work as I was struck down by a serious illness and couldn't concentrate on it. After coming back I didn't feel like pushing on with the book, even though I was a third of the way through it. I'll probably take it on holiday with me again this year to see if I can force my way through it.

At the moment I'm reading [i]The Fall of Hyperion[/i] by Dan Simmons, after giving myself a major headache trying to read [i]Return of the Crimson Guard[/i] off my computer screen :( Damned electronic ARCs.

[Muttering Bill]

[quote name='AutumnEvenings' post='1380919' date='Jun 3 2008, 00.28']I'm reading, and have been reading, and [i]will[/i] be reading [i]Quicksilver[/i] by Neal Stephenson. I do like it (and do plan on reading its equally huge sequels), but I feel like I've undertaken a serious task here. It's the length, but it's also...well, some parts of it are really slow-going for me.[/quote]
I'm also reading [i]Quicksilver[/i], and I am having a lot less trouble with it than I expected to. I've been at it for a week and I'm already halfway through (page 450 hc); about average pace for me when a book manages to hold my interest.

In a completely opposing to opinion to Werthead: I really enjoyed the [i]Quicksilver [/i]section, and thought Daniel Waterhouse a great character. I have slowed down slightly in [i]King of the Vagabonds [/i]though. I just don't find Jack Shaftoe to be all that compelling a character. He has his moments certainly, I'm just not connecting with him very well. Eliza is mainly what's keeping my interest right now. I look forward to a return to Daniel's story-line.

I plan to have it finished by this time next week, then I'll take a short break to read Richard K. Morgan's [i]Thirteen [/i]before jumping in to [i]The Confusion[/i] (because, as much as I am enjoying it, I will get bored if I read to much of the same thing).

From what I've read so far though, I've already decided that once I've finished this trilogy, I'm going to pick up [i]Cryptonomicon [/i]- the story just never sounded very appealing to me before, but Stephenson is a great writer, and, from what I've seen, it's supposed to be better than [i]The Baroque Cycle[/i], so I have to give it a shot now.

[Inigima]

Finished Vonnegut's [i]Slaughterhouse-Five[/i] over the weekend, forgot to say.

[Isis]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1382983' date='Jun 4 2008, 11.22']I started reading [i]The Confusion[/i] in January 2007. I tried the whole 'holiday trick' again and it didn't work as I was struck down by a serious illness and couldn't concentrate on it. After coming back I didn't feel like pushing on with the book, even though I was a third of the way through it. I'll probably take it on holiday with me again this year to see if I can force my way through it.[/quote]This book was all I had to read on a flight from Calgary to London. I read the first ten pages and couldn't continue.

I'm bloody well finishing TSOTW in 2008 though. For a while I was forcing myself to read two pages of it a day as some sort of penance whilst reading other books in my normal fashion. I will overcome... eventually. It's not going to beat me.