Inkdaub Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafon. This is now one of the best books I have ever read. I am now reading the Lies of Locke Lamora and enjoying it so far even though I'm only at the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Boston Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafon. This is now one of the best books I have ever read. I agree, Shadow of the Wind was a great read. This August I'm plowing through a few books. I just finished Ilium and Olympus by Dan Simmons. Moments of greatness interspersed with achingly long stretches of mediocrity. The Deus Ex Machina meter went through the roof with that series. I’ve just picked up three books I’m working on The Dominion of War by Fred Anderson, and Our Post Human Future by Francis Fukyama. After I finish those two I’m all about Judge Sewall’s Apology: The Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience. I’ve also got Barry Lyndon on order. Its really hard to find any Thackery that isn’t Vanity Fair in American bookstores or suburban libraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafon. This is now one of the best books I have ever read. Interesting. What makes it such a standout story then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobodymN Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Two very strong Star Wars books in a row - Karen Traviss delivers with Bloodlines and on the promise of Allston's Betrayal. I hope Denning doesn't drop the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Im reading Anansi Boys at the moment and I think it is very interesting. Btw, is Legend of Drizzt series worth reading? The Icewind Dale Trilogy is good fun, particularly The Crystal Shard (which I've always thought would make a good movie). The Dark Elf Trilogy is entertaining as well, with a bit more depth to Drizzt than the earlier work. The Legacy Trilogy is where Salvatore stopped giving a damn, although in all fairness this was because TSR were trying to screw him at the time (he wanted to kill off Drizzt; they threatened to give the character to another writer). The Legacy is okay, Starless Night was interesting but Siege of Darkness was a bit lame given its potential for showing the full-on war between Mithril Hall and Menzoberranzan and just totally ballsing it up. Passage to Dawn is a crime against humanity. I tried reading the later books, but I was as bored reading them as Salvatore obviously was in writing them. Currently reading Flashman and the Redskins, with Look to Windward as the next book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowbeat Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Figures- I have nothing to read, then in the space of three days I get three books to read. The Trench, which, while not terribly written, has a snail's pace and is basically a rehash of Meg. It's sitting, left behind, in my bookbag. It. Stephen King really was top of his game with this one. I'm not in the truly creepy part yet, but I'm coming up on it. The constant viewpoint-switching and flashbacks are kinda throwing me, though. And finally, I received The Lies of Locke Lamora. I'm going to finish It first, then wash down the scary with a extra dosage of fantasy goodness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Hard-boiled Wonderland and End of the World - Huruki Murakami 7/10 This was such a cool concept, I really feel uncomfortable beating up on it. But something about the prose just ruined it for me. The meanderings into pop-culture and ogling fat women and sex, and the gratuitious mobsters and info-dumps didn't help. I think I would have liked this a lot better if it had been written by someone other than Murakami. On the upside, highly recommended to fans of Neal Stephenson, another acclaimed author I cannot stand. Bakkar's Prince of Nothing: The Warrior-Prophet and The Thousandfold Thought This series is really hard to put a number grade on. I read the first book back in January and was waiting for my library to order the rest. That is, I didn't like it well enough to want to buy it myself. But I'm glad I had a chance to finish it. The good: I loved the character of Kelhus and if anything compels me to read the next set of books, it is wanting to see more of this brilliantly amoral creature. Akka and Esmenet and Cnauir are highly sympathetic characters, especially Akka. I also liked the darkness of the world, and the viciuosness of the Holy War - no romantic sense of "our" guys being the "good" guys, nuh uh, not at all. The different religions the Inthiri (sp) and the Fanim were also interestingly and subversively portayed, though a little too obviously derivative of medieval Catholicism and Islam, respectively. I also liked the philosophical interludes and the chapter epigraphs - I actually wanted more philosophy. The bad: The world and the different factions and the war were totally overwritten. I just couldn't get into all the names and the wars just bored me to tears and I kept skimming ahead to read more of Kelhus and the more human story. Yeah, I just couldn't get excited with the world. But probably because I'm not usually a fan of epic high fantasy. I also didn't like the portrayal of the female characters - I don't care that they are all whores (that's realistic of the world) - but the fact that both Serwe and Esmenet were stupid whores who thought with their vaginas, now, that kind of character portrayal just irks the feminist in me. Edit: The Prose. Oh, the prose. By the 3rd time around I was throwing the book against the wall everytime I had to read "death came swirling down". A tolerable metaphor, but only the first time around, not every freaking time a random soldier dies. Well, time to read through the Bakkar threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcf Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Finally done with travelling for work and was able to get a bit of reading done. I finished The Name of the Rose by Eco on the plane (reviewed it on the blog) and then started and finished His Majesty's Dragon by Novik rather quickly (review will be on the blog later today). When I got home, my copy of The Crooked Letter by Sean Williams arrived, so that's what I'm currently reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonius Pius Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 The Icewind Dale Trilogy is good fun, particularly The Crystal Shard (which I've always thought would make a good movie). I agree. The story is fast-paced, not too much worrying about the plotline, simple good guys vs bad guys who all fight a lot. There is some character development, but it is kept to minimum. A fun read if you just want to read a light story with a lot of fighting in it. I've started Gates of the Moon by Erikson. I'm some 250 pages through (arrived at book 3, where the author takes up the story of Whiskeyjack again). The story is rather high-paced. Not terriblt so, but Erikson does move at some speed. Descriptions are kept down to a bare minimum, and he doesn't delve into characters the way GRRM does. I am slightly overawed by the immense cast of characters. Hard work keeping all those unknowns apart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Ent Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 but the fact that both Serwe and Esmenet were stupid whores who thought with their vaginas, now, that kind of character portrayal just irks the feminist in me. Huh? Esmi is consistently displayed as extremely intelligent, Akka's equal, and the equal of all the other men of learning that have frequented her over the years. She devours Ajencis. Of all the women in the holy war, Kellhus picks her for his breeding project. Serwë is completely different. She is really deliciously stupid. (And, ironically, the first one to see Kelly for what he is.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Sun Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I also didn't like the portrayal of the female characters - I don't care that they are all whores (that's realistic of the world) - but the fact that both Serwe and Esmenet were stupid whores who thought with their vaginas, now, that kind of character portrayal just irks the feminist in me. That irked me as well, because they are the only (compelling) female characters, though Serwe annoyed me more than Esmenet. It would have been interesting to have others, unfortunately, the king's mother (I have forgotten her name) is not such a compelling character. Lately, I finished Steven Brust's Jhereg. It was an okay read, imo, entertaining, but not so special as I had thought. Since I heard so much praise about it, I was a bit underwhelmed. The good things: The portrayal of a married couple as main character is a refreshing new thing in Fantasy. I also liked that there was no infodumbing. As the reader I was just drawn into the story, and the life of the characters, as if I just took a look in their lives. The bad things: After lately reading, The Lies of Locke Lamora, the protagonists seemed to similar to me, and I didn't find it this funny, except for the chapter titles. The Jhereg was not funny or sarcastic, imo. Sometimes, the story dragged a bit and some plot points felt repetitive. Some flaws might be caused by the translation, though. Now, I am reading Andreas Eschbach, Die Haarteppichknüpfer (The Carpet Makers ?), and I like it. The premise is interesting and the narrative is inventive, by changing the POV in every character and shifting the focus to another person. Huh? Esmi is consistently displayed as extremely intelligent, Akka's equal, and the equal of all the other men of learning that have frequented her over the years. She devours Ajencis. Of all the women in the holy war, Kellhus picks her for his breeding project. Perhaps, it is just annoying to see that they fall for him so quickly. (But the reason might be that I consider him a very unsettling manipulator, and I don't like people falling for him so easily. I admit, though, that I'm very biased against his character.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Huh? Esmi is consistently displayed as extremely intelligent, Akka's equal, and the equal of all the other men of learning that have frequented her over the years. She devours Ajencis. Of all the women in the holy war, Kellhus picks her for his breeding project. Serwë is completely different. She is really deliciously stupid. (And, ironically, the first one to see Kelly for what he is.) Arguably, Esmenet is no more stupid than Akka in terms of being completely manipulated by Kelhus. I did sympathize and empathize with her at times, but at other times I wanted to smack her for how easily used she was and led on by good sex. I remember feeling this way starting in the first book when she was hanging with Sarcellus the skin-changer. Maybe I'm biased because I did so like Akka and when pretty pissed off when Esmi dropped him for the antiJesus. She did get much better toward the end. But the more I think about it, the series was actually pretty good... just a personal preference against high fantasy D&D battle schlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Ent Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I did sympathize and empathize with her at times, but at other times I wanted to smack her for how easily used she was and led on by good sex. ... as opposed to which male character, excepting Kellhus? Being seduced by good sex is no sign of stupidity, see Tyrion. (Or Akka, to stay in the universe.) No reason to suspect Bakker of treating his female characters differently. What makes Bakker so gratifying (and I am quoting some other boarder here) is that he has a whore-with-a-heart-of-gold-and-brains who is, actually, a whore. And a crazy bad-ass barbarian who is, actually, crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 ... as opposed to which male character, excepting Kellhus? Being seduced by good sex is no sign of stupidity, see Tyrion. (Or Akka, to stay in the universe.) No reason to suspect Bakker of treating his female characters differently. Point taken. I liked Cnaiur too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelinil Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Currently reading The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Hi guys! I just finished Paul Kearney's THIS FORSAKEN EARTH, sequel to THE MARK OF RAN. Some of the emerging storylines show a lot of promise. And yet, the war which constitutes the bulk of This Forsaken Earth felt like some sort of interlude. Good book, but not as good as its predecessor. For the full review, check the blog. . . Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krafus Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Two very strong Star Wars books in a row - Karen Traviss delivers with Bloodlines and on the promise of Allston's Betrayal. I hope Denning doesn't drop the ball. You've finished Bloodlines? But I thought it was only supposed to be available starting August 29th. Unless you're some sort of industry insider? Anyway, if you have read it, I have to ask, does Karen Traviss ease up at least a little on the Mandalorian-worshipping? It got a little annoying in Triple Zero (or at least, Kal Skirata's Mando perfection did). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Strife Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Been rereading A Feast for Crows. Trying to catch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Finished reread of Inversions by the inestimable Iain M Banks - wasn't that impressed first time round but it works well on a reread. Also finished reading the Dread Empire's Fall trilogy by Walter Jon Williams, very basic sci-fi but entertaining enough if you're just after some space-war action. Now reading Jeffrey Ford's The Empire of Ice Cream, enjoying it so far. All reviews on the blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeye Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'm reading the second book of dread empire's fall, the sundering, just finished the first book, the praxis. It's by walter jon williams and really good space empire/decadence, realistic space battles. GRRM gave it a thumbs up too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.