diabloblanco18 Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Gave up on the Da Vinci Code. Why bother when there are good books out there, after all. Instead, I picked up Jacqueline Carey's Banewreaker, and finished it in two days. While it literally reeks of Tolkien, it's nonetheless a very, very good read. As was most definitely not the case in Kushiel's Dart, she doesn't overdose on sex scenes, or unfailingly describe all of the characters as stunningly beautiful, or even verge on creating a Mary Sue out of her protagonist. The angst gets a bit purply at times, but it's more fitting when the novel and the entirety of the mythology she's created (or adapted, one might argue) for it is a tragedy. And watching the story unfold from the eyes of the "Dark Lord's" servants is soooooo much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 The Thousandfold Thought The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach Did you like it? I'm Eschbach fanboy myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Only a chapter in so far (trying to juggle 3 books and no time) but I'm quite intrigued. I'll post more as I progress thru the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bran's Muffin Posted April 11, 2006 Author Share Posted April 11, 2006 I just started reading "His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novik. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabloblanco18 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Just finished Godslayer (sequel to Banewreaker) after several hours of marathon reading. I have not cried into my pillow like that since, well, ever. Not for a book, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Solstice Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I dug out "Termination Node" by Gresh and Weinberg. Reading about the high-tech of 1998 ("...cranking with more than 400 MBs of memory") makes you feel nostalgic - but the story is thrilling so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tb0ne Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Just about finished Dark Tower (the last book, by Stephen King) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zollo Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I just read Knife of Dreams by Jordan and Shaman's Crossing by Hobb. The former was, to an extent, ok, which surprised me after the last 2-3 books, the latter was....bland. Just started Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter Solstice Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 The Thousandfold Thought Did you like it? I'm Eschbach fanboy myself. Nothing to blush for - I like Eschbach, too. Sometime ago, I read "Der letzte seiner Art" by Eschbach which was really an intriguing inside into the darker sides of the life of an engineered super soldier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobodymN Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Finsihing up Greg Keyes' Blood Knight, but I'm awfully busy this month :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yana Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I just started with George Martin: "Armageddon Rag". Still on chapter one, so far so good. I heard it's a very good book.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luzifer's right hand Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Nothing to blush for - I like Eschbach, too. Sometime ago, I read "Der letzte seiner Art" by Eschbach which was really an intriguing inside into the darker sides of the life of an engineered super soldier. That's an awesome book. Best super solider book I ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Diablo You're one of the first people I hear positively recount their experience reading the Carey duology. I've heard so many reviews of people who hated it, I thought it worked for no one, but I guess you're an excpetion. I did read a smaple chapter of the first book myself, which I admit I thought was awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabloblanco18 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Really? I can see where it would get onsome people's nerves, of course. It's very, very derivative of Tolkien's mythology, and the characters do tend to wax purple on the angst at times. But I found it to be far, far superior to her Kushiel books, which were entertaining, but ultimately nothing special. This duology of hers had its own problems, to be sure, but it had none of the issues that plagued her last trilogy. What happened in the sample chapter you read, anyway? EDIT: Ah, of course. Having read through most of the reviews of the first book on Amazon, it's quite obvious why this wasn't received so well. People apparently went in expecting tons of erotic sex and beautiful prose and characters, and blah. It got old quickly in Kushiel; I didn't need more. All the people who whine about how it's nothing more than a Tolkien clone must have been reading the version told from the good guys perspective. Silly me, I was rooting for the bad guys and pitying the delusional good guys the whole time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauvka Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Gardens of the Moon Heard too much about it not to try it out I'm on page 150, an I'm still not to sure what's going on, but I like complex worlds, so that doesn't bother me too much. I am still waiting for the moment when the connection between the plot lines appears, and things click. Favorite line so far:(This might be a spoiler..) . "My shadow?" Paran asked. "What does that mean, precisely?" "Much sorrow, alas," the apparition said. "Someone close to you shall walk through Death's Gates...in your place." "No. Take me instead, I beg you." "Be quiet!" snapped the apparition. "Pathos makes me ill." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Hi guys! Well, it's finally done. After toiling through three volumes of dubious quality, I have now read the Conclave of Shadows series. I found the first two volumes to be of mediocre quality. Thankfully, Exile's Return is a little better. But not much. In the end, what it comes down to is that Raymond E. Feist never had enough material to write a trilogy. All those storylines should have comprised a single volume acting as a prequel to Flight of the Nighthawks. As a series, however, it ranks as one of the worst written by a "big name" author that I've read in quite some time. As such -- a veritable milking of the author's popularity -- I feel that Feist is no better than Terry Goodkind for taking advantage of his fans in such a manner. My only consolation is that Flight of the Nighthawks is considered a very good yarn, proof that Feist can still spin a good tale. The ending of Exile's Return let us catch a glimpse of events to come. It also marks the return of old favorite characters such as Pug, Tomas, Nakor and a few others. But it's too little too late. The damage has been done -- irrevocably so. For the full review, you can always check the blog. . . Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somac Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Just finished Shadowmarch, by Tad Williams, but now I'm re-reading Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. I was just in the mood. Next on my list is Flight of the Nighthawks, by Feist, since it just came out today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VerySmallMonster Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I just finished rereading Bad Magic by Stephan Zielinski. It's a hilarious read, about a group of mages fighting the undead and other such nastiness. San Diego seems to be a center of evil. Zielinski's style reminds me a bit of Douglas Adams, a similar sort of randomness. I'm currently reading George Lakoff's book Don't Imagine an Elephant, but not making much progress due to school. If school permits, I also have House of Chains and Shaman's Crossing sitting on my shelf looking like they want to be read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Just finished The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco. Definitely more impressive for the amount of information in there than for the story. It was the background information which kept me going and the pace only quickened in the last fifty pages, before that I found myself wading through non-descript secondary characters who are never given the chance to breathe in a nothing plot. Who could actually remember most of the victims or why they were killed? I know that I won't in a month's time. Having said that it is worth reading as an insight into how Monastic life affects men who start off with good intentions, at least that is how I saw them. I couldn't help having the feeling that nothing much has changed for monks today having read yet another story of abuse at an Abbey near me this week. That kind of lifestyle just messes with your head I guess but that is another discussion. I am also willing to admit that reams of content went right over my head. There is surely much more to this book than I was able to pick up. The biblical symbolism, the Latin, much of the philosophical debates, it all just flew by and kept on going. Given how often this appears on favourite books lists I am thinking that it must be loved by the very clever and the very pretentious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vestrit Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Just started Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Man, I love that book. The opening line is one of the greatest ever: 'Years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aurelanis Buendus thought back to that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.' It also has one of the greatest last lines ever, but you can get to that by yourself Ser Barry - kudos for finishing Name of the Rose. I tried reading it last year just because it's one of those books that's always on people's favourite book list. I lasted about two chapters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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