October Reading Thread

[lokisnow]

I read the first chapter of wintersmith at the store and it was heartbreaking to have to put the poor book back on the shelf

must get a job

must get a job

must get a job.

if you're on the job warpath do you have to wear facepaint and put feathers in your hair?

[Slick Mongoose]

Just finished "Night of Knives" by Ian Cameron Esslemont. For anyone who doesn't know, Esslemont is the co-creator along with Steven Erikson of the world of Malazan, and this is his first novel.

The first half is dire. The plot doesn't move, the writing is terrible, and the book descends into a mass of over-description and over-explanation. It could have been written by a combination of Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan at his worst.

Then there's a couple of flashback sequences in the middle which are pretty damn good, and it's like someone flicked a switch in the author's head. The second half of the book rollocks along, it's pacy, full of action and pretty well written. A bit confusing at times, but i'm sure that's what the author was trying to convey.

I came away thinking how much fun it had been. I guess it's better to make the first half rubbish than the latter half, assuming the reader doesn't burn it before they get far enough to start enjoying it.

It's only recommended for hardcore Erikson fans.

ETA: Now starting "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester.

if you're on the job warpath do you have to wear facepaint and put feathers in your hair?

I did. For some reason, I haven't got a job yet.

[Kalabalik]

I only just started with A Feast for Crows - UK paperback just released, I can't afford hardcover (and neither can my local library it would seem). After finishing that I will probably spend the rest of the month attempting to reread the brick-thick but oh-so-wonderful Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.

[VerySmallMonster]

I'm currently rereading Clash of Kings, since it seems like it's been a while. I'm also working on In Search of Respect, by Philippe Bourgois. It's an amazing read, an ethnography of crack dealers in East Harlem. And for school, Intertwined Lives, a biography of Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, to of the best known anthropologists of the 20th century. The book is entertaining because it's taking these two great figures and so far it reads like a soap opera. I'm not certain that was intentional on the authors part. I love anthropology, we are all so bizarre.

If I get time between school work, I have some Tad Williams sitting on my shelf. I haven't read him before, but he gets talked about a lot, so I figured he would be a good author to look into, since I need a new series to get me through the long wait for aDwD.

[Datepalm]

Currently reading Olympos, which is pretty good, if a bit slow and very confusing, and Altered Carbon, which i'm finding a bit dull and annoying, to be honest. (To my surprise, as I was blown away by Market Forces).

I'm the middle of the third baroque cycle, but it's straight after reading the 1st and 2nd baroque cycle, with Snow Crash and Crytonomicon wedged in between, so at soime point I just turned a page, realized this is page 5000 or so of Stephenson this month, and then my brand sort of crashed, so i'm taking a break.

Next I think i'll either read City of Saints and Madmen, or re-read Hyperion or ASOIAF. .

[Calibandar]

Currently reading Olympos, which is pretty good, if a bit slow and very confusing

Is it on the level of Ilium?

[Alytha]

Olympos is actually a bit less confusing than Ilium

Although the anti-islamism is a bit qorrying, it's quite good, I think.

I'm reading the third book of the Watch-trilogy by Lukjanenko right now (Dawn Watch. Or Twilight Watch? in English)

Got Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel on stand-by.

Meaning to re-read the whole of Asoiaf, without the Dany chapters.

Have to get:

Dreamsongs (bloody expensive )

Fragile Things

That Eschbach book

Wintersmith

What's Tigana actually about? (In your own words, not an amazon review )

[Ser Barry]

I'm reading the third book of the Watch-trilogy by Lukjanenko right now (Dawn Watch. Or Twilight Watch? in English)

What are they like?

The Night Watch is staring at me from the shelf.

[Alytha]

I really like them, although they can be pretty confusing.

I like the ambivalence between the goodies and the baddies, who do pretty much the same things, although, as they say, for different reasons.

[The Red Wolf]

I am currently reading the Deadhouse gates, like GOTM it has it ups and downs. After that Im going to read The King's Gambit SPQR book 1

[Bellis]

Although the anti-islamism is a bit qorrying, it's quite good, I think.

Out of interest, would you ever say the same thing replacing "islamism" with "semitism"? actually, i guess i have when referring to 19th century Russian novels... but generally, any kind of bigotry is a deal-breaker for me in terms of enjoying something.

Speaking of which... I just read Consider Phlebas Iain M. Banks. Not that the novel itself is bigoted, in fact, it does a decent job of evenly laying out the Culture versus the Idirans. But the epigraph contained a wholly fictitious quote from the Quran seemingly promoting killing idolators. Didn't strike me as familiar so I looked up the purported sura/verse number and found that the actual verse says the exact opposite. PM me if you care for details. I'm hoping it was a careless mistake on Bank's part. Anyway, after that, the actual book was somewhat anti-climatic and actually kind of boring. Wanted to know more about the different philosophies. Maybe space opera is just not my thing.

I also recently read Grendel John Gardner. Cute, especially the author's sketches at the beginning of each chapter.

And Angela Carter's short story collection Burning Our Boats. Her writing can be pretty inspired at its best, but sometimes can get a bit too in-your-face feminist or freudian.

Alytha,

I forgot to answer your question:

What's Tigana actually about?

I dunno how far this gets from the Amazon review - Set in a land resembling pre-unification Italy, the remaining members of a suppressed city-state, so suppressed that even the name has been lost, struggle to reclaim their independence. Notable for lack of info-drops, it actually took me a couple read to understand the first few chapters. Several different POVs, including one sympathetic to the "enemy". Interesting characters and lots of love/duty type moral conflicts. Warning, contains a lot of sex, including incest and S&M (but that shouldn't bother anyone here, right??). My favorite GGK novel.

[Chaldanya]

Alytha, re: Night Watch books. Could GRRM do him for plagirism? In any case, be interested to hear your thoughts. There's nothing better than a tacky vampire novel.

This review really should have gone in September as I finished a while ago, but...

Finished Keeping it real by Justina Robson. A nice light read, nothing strenuous. Very obviously the first book in what will be a series akin to that of Laurell K. Hamilton. Can only hope that the main female character doesn't turn into a raging Mary-Sue (there are hints already, but I'll give it another book before consigning the series to the dustbin). Basically the premise is this: A quantum bomb went off in 2015 that basically uncovered different dimensions. There are elves, elementals, demons etc. etc. all moving thro' this dimension. An interesting world that could be something special or end up a train wreck. I guess a lot will hinge on the next book.

Am now half way thro' Wicked by Gregory Maguire. And it's turning out to be wonderful.

N

eta: grammar is your friend

[Alytha]

I think Terry Pratchett had a Nightwatch before GRRM had one .

The first one has some vampire stuff, but only in the first part, if I remember correctly. And if there's one thing to be said about it, it's anything but tacky.

Bellis, what are you insinuating? I do find anti-semitism as worrying as anti-islamism. In Ilium/Olympos, the difference is that anti-semitism is criticised by the author, but anti-islamism isn't.

The part with the Sword of Allah was unnecessary to the plot of the book, but that doesn't make it a totally bad book. I guess the ship had to belong to some group or other. But in these times, the choice was a bit unhappy.

[Bellis]

Bellis, what are you insinuating? I do find anti-semitism as worrying as anti-islamism. In Ilium/Olympos, the difference is that anti-semitism is criticised by the author, but anti-islamism isn't.

The part with the Sword of Allah was unnecessary to the plot of the book, but that doesn't make it a totally bad book. I guess the ship had to belong to some group or other. But in these times, the choice was a bit unhappy.

I was simply wondering if you (or me for that matter) would have been as likely to say, "but it's still a good book" if the evil villians were a bigoted Jewish portrayal. I found the entire "it's bigoted but good" line kind of funny, but I didn't mean it to suggest anything about you. I understand sometimes that from a literary view the book might still be good. Sorry if I made you feel attacked.

[Multaniette]

Finished The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Bloody freaking brilliant.

Reading The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. Very brilliant.

[Alytha]

Bellis, interesting question, actually. I don't think anybody dares to write openly anti-semitic literature nowadays. I've read Nazi propaganda from the 30's and 40's (in school. not for fun), but that doesn't have any literary redeeming features anyway.

And I certainly didn't say that I liked the book because of the anti-islamic chapters. I'm just saying that in this case, in my opinion, one chapter didn't destroy the whole book for me. Ok, it (and some other stuff he wrote on his HP) did destroy my good opinion of Dan Simmons and I guess I'll think twice before buying any new books by him.

I read Olympos about a year ago, so maybe my memories are a bit vague and I'll think different if I reread it.

[Bellis]

Bellis, interesting question, actually. I don't think anybody dares to write openly anti-semitic literature nowadays. I've read Nazi propaganda from the 30's and 40's (in school. not for fun), but that doesn't have any literary redeeming features anyway.

And I certainly didn't say that I liked the book because of the anti-islamic chapters. I'm just saying that in this case, in my opinion, one chapter didn't destroy the whole book for me. Ok, it (and some other stuff he wrote on his HP) did destroy my good opinion of Dan Simmons and I guess I'll think twice before buying any new books by him.

I read Olympos about a year ago, so maybe my memories are a bit vague and I'll think different if I reread it.

Yeah, I've heard about Simmon's recent stuff and I approached his work with a ceratin amount of trepidation. But I recently read Hyperion and actually liked it on the whole, didn't think it was bigoted at all, so i'll probably finish that series sometime, though I might not pick up the newer stuff.

[Alytha]

Whatever Simmons may spout nowadays, the Hyperion series is one of the best ones ever written.

[Chaldanya]

was thinking more of the conjunction of Others with Night Watch

N

[Alytha]

Hmm, yeah, but the Asoiaf Others would actually be in the Daywatch, whereas people like Bran or Beric Dondarrion would be others in the "Nightwatch" world...and would belong to the Nightwatch