Darth Richard II Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 1 hour ago, Lyanna Stark said: More by the most excellent Leigh Bardugo here. About a third of the way through Siege and Storm. Somehow it feels both more and less YA than Shadow and Bone, the first in the series. The plot tilts more towards adult, but the dialogue feels more YA than before. Isn't she(he?) a former poster here? Or has my mind finally snapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Rutherford Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 15 hours ago, beniowa said: Made short work of The Tengu's Game of Go. This was the fourth and final book in Hearn's The Tale of Shikanoko. It finished things off nicely, though I was a little surprised at how quickly the climax and conclusion were resolved. I liked that all four books were released within six to eight weeks of each other and overall it was a pretty good feudal Japanese-flavored series. I understand this series is related to the author's previous Tales of the Otori so I'll probably check that out at some point.... The series had an odd rhythm to it. The first book is massive set up and books two three and four I felt almost required to be read as a whole novel. Even reading books two and three back to back, I found the similarities in characters' names a bit confusing at first. For me it lacked the narrative quality I felt the Tales of the Otori had, especially in the first three books. But I still enjoyed this series immensely. I suggest if you read Tales, go back and read the wrap at the end of The Tengu's Game of Go and you'll get a stronger perspective and some nice insight to how the two series tie together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyanna Stark Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 10 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Isn't she(he?) a former poster here? Or has my mind finally snapped. I think she might have? I met her at LonCon in 2014 and she is lovely, funny and gracious in person. Also know that she's fairly well known around the BwB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 14 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: Isn't she(he?) a former poster here? Or has my mind finally snapped. Yes. I think her handle was Hedgerow and I know for sure that her avatar was The Kurgan. 8 hours ago, C Rutherford said: The series had an odd rhythm to it. The first book is massive set up and books two three and four I felt almost required to be read as a whole novel. Even reading books two and three back to back, I found the similarities in characters' names a bit confusing at first. For me it lacked the narrative quality I felt the Tales of the Otori had, especially in the first three books. But I still enjoyed this series immensely. I suggest if you read Tales, go back and read the wrap at the end of The Tengu's Game of Go and you'll get a stronger perspective and some nice insight to how the two series tie together. Okay, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Rutherford Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Just finished Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric's Mission. Another wonderful entry in this series of novellas. I'm really happy that she is putting this out at this rate, If she keeps it up I'm fine without getting another full novel that has a huge multi-year gap between entries. Trying to decompress with all the election stress and worry by delving into Sharon Shinn's latest Unquiet Land. There is something pleasingly simplistic in her approach. But it is also a quick read and need something a bit different, engaging and somewhat light because tomorrow is going to be a long day and I want plenty of distractions. Have to check the stacks of "to reads". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castel Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Going through Bart Ehrman's How Jesus Became God on audiobook (despite my bitching the damn things are convenient) Then (or when I'm reading and not on the bus) it's almost certainly back to a reread of weird gnostic-plus-War of the Roses mix Son of the Morning, by Mark Alder. And after that...praying to Lucifer the sequel gets bumped up (It's really weird how one book sparked an interest in the other) It hit me that I...really don't read a lot of fantasy anymore, and I'd like to get back to it. I guess I'm more a "cultural" fantasy-reader at this point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 I decided to resume the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik now that the final book has been released this year. I stopped after book 5 (Victory of Eagles) in 2008. After reading Tongues of Serpents, I remembered why I temporarily quit the series. Not a fan of book 6. Hopefully the series picks up in the next book. Now reading Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. I'm glad to be back in the Expanse universe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted November 10, 2016 Share Posted November 10, 2016 Nemesis Games was great. I loved the characterization here. I liked that they spent time apart, and it is neat to see what makes them tick. Now reading Crucible of Gold, book #7 in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Hopefully this improves after the substandard books 5& 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garett Hornwood Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 I finished two books since last I posted, both on Tuesday. The first was my primary daily read, The Black Count by Tom Reiss an excellent biography of General Alex Dumas, father of Alexandre Dumas. The second was one of my secondary books, Prophets and Kings by Ellen White. Today I started The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, already I'm really enjoying it because of the first POV character and Collins' writing style with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 The Moonstone is great, one of the first great crime mysteries and very funny as well as all the POV are very nicely characterized and the old butler with the Robinson Crusoe obsession is one of the best (there is a nasty old spinster later on who is even better). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 I finished The Hanging Tree which I really enjoyed. It moved the 'main' story line on a fair bit which was nice. Hopefully the next book isn't delayed, I'd quite like it now actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Barger Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Just finished the facefakers game by Birch. A debut novel that I thought was fantastic. Highly recommended, especially for Scott Lynch fans (I see a lot of his influence in this book). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Finished off Let the Old Dreams Die. A pretty uneven collection - some good stories, some OK, and some dull and forgettable. I'm starting to wonder if Lindqvist is turning into a bit of a one hit wonder. Next up is Waking Nightmares, by Ramsey Campbell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichen Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 5 hours ago, Roose Boltons Pet Leech said: I'm starting to wonder if Lindqvist is turning into a bit of a one hit wonder. I think so. The vampire book was good but every novel since then has been way too long and not at all captivating. I remember "Människohamn" having quite nice archipelago mood and setting though. For better swedish horror I would recommend "Swedish cults" by Anders Fager but apparently it has not yet been translated into english. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 I've reread Sherlock (ALL of it! ) of late and just begun Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Heard it recommended but only just begun it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 2 hours ago, Lichen said: I remember "Människohamn" having quite nice archipelago mood and setting though. I've read the English translation ('Harbour'), and, yes, the setting and atmosphere are very rich. The plot is too weak to justify the length of the book though (500 pages), and I wonder if the thing might have worked better as a series of short stories with a common island setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Finally made it to the start of The Great Ordeal by R. Scott Bakker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I finished Ben Aaronovitch's The Hanging Tree, which was as entertaining as the earlier instalments in the series. It did take a while to really get going, it felt a bit similar to Broken Homes in terms of how the first half seemed to be a sequence of incidents mostly loosely related to a crime but it's not until the second half that the main focus of the plot really becomes apparent. Although I do like the supporting cast of the series and the glimpses of the magical world I think maybe Aaronovitch needs to focus on a smaller number of characters (as he did in Foxglove Summer) rather than having lots of small appearances. I also felt a couple of the action sequences seemed unnecessarily difficult to follow, there are times when Peter's narration maybe needs to focus a bit more on clarity and a bit less on being witty. Despite a few criticisms, I did enjoy reading it, particularly the second half. It was also nice to see it move the main plot of the series along... ... since we finally know the real identity of the Faceless Man. He's been so careful about preserving his identity that it did make sense that if he was finally unmasked it would be due to something he didn't expect. I am intrigued about what his ultimate plan is, although he may have indulged in a bit of gratuitous monologuing he wasn't enough of a Bond villain to actually explain what his plan was. Peter's theory that it might relate to Mr Punch in some way would be a good way to tie the whole of the series together (at the moment the first book's main plot is a little bit disconnected from the rest of the series). I also wonder if we'll see the Folly taking on another apprentice in the future. I can see why they're a bit wary of the idea after what happened to Lesley but they're obviously a bit short-handed at the moment. Maybe if they actually vet the new apprentice properly rather than just recruiting someone who is friends with Peter it might work out better. On 11/11/2016 at 9:28 AM, ljkeane said: I finished The Hanging Tree which I really enjoyed. It moved the 'main' story line on a fair bit which was nice. Hopefully the next book isn't delayed, I'd quite like it now actually. I wonder if the next story will continue to have a major focus on the main plot of the series or if it'll be another side story like Foxglove Summer? So far the Faceless Man has mostly been showing up in alternate books. Next up I'm going to read Becky Chambers' A Closed and Common Orbit. I really enjoyed The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (particularly once I'd managed to stop expecting it to turn into Firefly), so hopefully this will be equally good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Finally finished up the White Luck Warrior last night and started up The Great Ordeal this morning. Hopefully I get more time over the next month to speed through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garett Hornwood Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 On 11/11/2016 at 3:10 AM, Jo498 said: The Moonstone is great, one of the first great crime mysteries and very funny as well as all the POV are very nicely characterized and the old butler with the Robinson Crusoe obsession is one of the best (there is a nasty old spinster later on who is even better). Yeah, I finished the old spinster today and it was some great reading. The opening phase by the butler was really engaging and kept the story pacing until the time for the other narratives. I'm really looking forward to see how things wrap up in say 250 pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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