April 2015 Reads

[Serious Callers Only]

I read aproximately 300 persona games fanfics this month.

The fanfic crossovers are generally better because they force the writers to do something else than ape a setting, even if only ape 2 settings. Post canon can also be interesting, to see how they (writers) deal with their obvious trauma at having the main character die.

Also one of the best crossovers was with discworld.... as is only fair.

[HexMachina]

I finished the Wilful Princess novella. Brilliant stuff, as expected. Feeling kind of disappointed that I've finished it now though. Really should have been doing work instead of reading that though. Hmm...

[Iskaral Pust]

I finished Abercrombie's Half a King. Very good, but definitely YA compared to his other books.

I'm not sure what's next. I have a Culture rec from this thread and my Dad suggested another Colum McCann novel. I'll spend some time on Amazon this evening.

[Peadar]

Just starting The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu.

[Mexal]

I finished Abercrombie's Half a King. Very good, but definitely YA compared to his other books.

I'm not sure what's next. I have a Culture rec from this thread and my Dad suggested another Colum McCann novel. I'll spend some time on Amazon this evening.

Half the World? It's better.

[Spockydog]

Anyone reading/read Ken Liu's The Grace of Kings? A lot of people are saying it's right up there amongst the best works in the genre, but I'll believe it when I see it. Not sure when that might be though, seeing as the publisher appears to have decided to hold back the release of the ebook.

[HexMachina]

Spockydog, http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/127278-the-grace-of-kings/ a thread on it for you

[Spockydog]

Spockydog, http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/127278-the-grace-of-kings/ a thread on it for you

Beautiful, thank you. Search function wouldn't work for me....

[Garett Hornwood]

Finished The Once and Future King yesterday. I enjoyed T.H. White's prose, but unfortunately his narrative style (including tangents that had nothing to do to the plot) hurt the entire work as well as a few of the individual works when taken by themselves.

I've started reading Outlaws of the Atlantic by Marcus Rediker, a history of the "age of sail" from the view of the sailors (aka the bottom of the social ladder).

[homedawg]

I finished The Steel Remains today. My impressions can be summed up by the word "meh". It was an alright book, but I was never hooked. There was never a time I was reading and thinking 'just one more page!' I also had several issues with the book too. Two which jumped out at me:

The geography/setting: This is possibly more of a problem with me, but I just felt the world, and where everything was in relation to each other, was never really explained. In addition to this, I felt there was an awful lot of reference to events, places and people as though I should know who/what/where they are, but I wasn't really following it.

The characters: So, our three main characters are Ringil, Archeth and Egar. While they are all fairly well developed, I just felt that they were too similar to one another. I understand they are weary, damaged war veterans, and some of their similarities are a result of this, but I would have liked them to be a bit more distinguished from each other.

Other than that, I didn't have any huge issues with it, it just failed to grab my attention. Not sure I'll continue with the trilogy. Maybe if I have nothing else to read some time.

Up next, The Wilfull Princess and the Piebald Prince. I could have sworn I had read this already, but from what I've read so far I think I must have read a preview/sample and then never got round to buying it, because I only recall things from the very beginning, Oh well! Very enjoyable so far. Also, a question for anyone who uses Kobo, or possibly other ebook companies. I bought my version of this for £2, but there was also another for £9, but the descriptions were exactly the same. Wondering if anyone knows what the difference was (I though perhaps one might be illustrated, but the description made no mention of that)

I feel the exact same way with the Steel Remains. I'm reading it right now, and while it's OK, it's nothing great. If I hadn't invested time in reading the first 2 books, and bought the 3rd, i'd probably just put it aside. It's too bad because I feel there is a lot of untapped potential there, especially with the Kiriath. I also know exactly what you mean with having a problem with the setting, and not knowing the distances between each city/region. Luckily after the Steele Remains I got pointed out to a fan made world map that really helped with things.

[mashiara]

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton was a marvelous read. It was hard to put it down and when I got done I reread the first chapter, and it was so perfect in context, when initially it had just been confusing. I loved this.

Then I read Mad About the Boy by Helen Feilding, the third Bridget Jones book. Ugh. SO bad. I was a lot younger when I read and liked the first one, mainly because of my obsession with Mr Darcy and Colin Firth. But, this one? So badly written, it made my soul hurt.

I'm about to start Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

Caliban's Hour-Tad Williams.

177 page emo rant by Caliban who recasts himself as an innocent wronged and abused as a child by Prospero, a scheming Dark Lord/colonialist-Aerial, a sadistic demon and Miranda who's basically a faithless hussey. It should've been awful (and maybe it is) as it's so over wrought but Williams is a good storyteller with a lovely writing style so maybe not. I dunno.

[Mark Antony]

Finished the Pale Horseman which I liked slightly less than The Last Kingdom. Will read Lords of the North and then probably take a break from Saxon Tales cause it is already getting a bit repetitive. Uthred definitely reminds me of Derfel from Warlord Chronicles, can't decide if I like him more or less. The battle scenes are great as expected.

[iiandyiiii]

Reading Joe Haldeman's "All My Sins Remembered" -- fun sci-fi spy thriller/mystery.

[Bjornbert]

Half the World? It's better.

Reading this now and I think it's the worst Abercrombie book(still very good). Maybe it's not for my taste since I dislike the characters and the travelogues

[RedEyedGhost]

Finished the Pale Horseman which I liked slightly less than The Last Kingdom. Will read Lords of the North and then probably take a break from Saxon Tales cause it is already getting a bit repetitive. Uthred definitely reminds me of Derfel from Warlord Chronicles, can't decide if I like him more or less. The battle scenes are great as expected.

Definitely take a break, they're good for about one every six months. I never thought Uthred was that similar to Derfel though, mostly because he's so much more of an asshole.

[Iskaral Pust]

Finished the Pale Horseman which I liked slightly less than The Last Kingdom. Will read Lords of the North and then probably take a break from Saxon Tales cause it is already getting a bit repetitive. Uthred definitely reminds me of Derfel from Warlord Chronicles, can't decide if I like him more or less. The battle scenes are great as expected.

I definitely agree. I lost any motivation to keep reading for quite a while.

[Mark Antony]

I definitely agree. I lost any motivation to keep reading for quite a while.

Yeah the plus is they are short light reads with really good pacing and action but the characters are pretty stock and most of the time kind of boring other than a few particular ones (I liked Ragnar the Elder quite a bit). The twists are for the most part really predictable as well but I don't mind that too much. Overall I think they're pretty enjoyable. I have heard Lords of the North is arguably the best so I've started that but yeah definitely gonna switch to something else after.

One thing that pisses me off is

how fucking ungrateful Alfred is to Uthred for constantly saving his life and kingdom, I know he puts it on Uthred being pagan but it still feels impractical

And yeah REG Uthred is much more flawed than Derfel like Defel

definitely wouldn't have teamed up with Svein like Uthred did while raiding in Pale Horseman

I guess I just find them similar cause they are both ridiculous warriors and the main characters :lol:

[Maester Llama]

The forum's eaten versions of this post twice over the last few days and I'm not industrious enough to retype, so very briefly:

I read Emily StJohn Mandel's Station Eleven, and I think it's excellent. Very moving and lyrical, but also intensely readable. I especially like: the way the book expresses the idea that our seemingly impersonal modern world is in fact deeply personal; the book's refusal to go all Walking Dead all the time during the post-apocalypse scenes while still keeping those tools of uncompromising brutality in its shed to be deployed at those few moments when they could be most effective; the movement back and forth across the defining line of the apocalypse and the great character scenes set pre-collapse; the mix of melancholy and hope, and all the longing images of the miraculous things that were once taken for granted and have been lost post-collapse, even as other things have clearly been maintained. The post-apocalypse plot is a bit short on actual incident, and the ideas driving the whole story's examination of the collapse aren't new, but I think the book turns both these things into features rather than bugs. I'm a big fan. Be interesting to see how I feel about it in a few months.

Have started Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion. I love it, except there's strong foreshadowing of a romance plot that's squicking me out to a significant degree for reasons of pronounced age difference.

[YellowDogJen]

I'm reading The Varkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold and loving it! Miles is one of the most engaging characters I've ever read. I'm currently reading The Borders of Infinity - it's an omnibus of three novellas with a framing story. Then I guess it's on to Ethan of Athos (which I has a sad, 'cause no Miles. But Bujold is solid, so I'll soldier on.)

Thanks again, board!