RedEyedGhost Posted October 15, 2018 Author Share Posted October 15, 2018 19 minutes ago, Darth Richard II said: Isn't Blood of Elves book 3? If by book 3 you mean book 1, then yes, you are correct. There were two short story collections published before it, but Blood of Elves is the book in the series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 Right, but I have always been told you need to read the short story collections first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 All done with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This was every bit as brilliant as I remembered, particularly the Spoiler time-travelling twist at the end of the book. I also enjoyed the progression to slightly darker themes than the previous instalments. Now reading Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. So far, so good with this one - the prose is really quite excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garett Hornwood Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Last Friday I finished The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party by Michael F. Holt, almost 1300 pages of text and notes about the 20-year lifespan of a political party that was crucial in understanding the antebellum period and the onset of the Civil War. This was Holt's academic magnum opus and it is extremely detailed not only telling the history of politics on the national level but state, county, and even cities. Took me over a month to read, but was worth it. This past weekend I read another children's book just as a breath of fresh air in opposition to the density of Holt. The Mallards and Their Neighbors by Neil Wayne Northey, a simple nature book for kids original published in the 1930s that you can just enjoy. Sunday I started The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler, first published Dirk Pitt novel though chronologically the second. I'll be finishing this book tomorrow, but the 45 year difference between now and then is really showing. I'm going to rate this lower than Pacific Vortex! for several reasons, but I'm not going to stop reading the series because I knew what I was getting into and frankly I'm more interested in the books in the middle of the series which I had listened to via audiobooks when I was in high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I finished Spinning Silver. It wasn't as good as Uprooted for me, and suffered from being a bit overly long, overly stuffed, and overly meandering, but it was still quite enjoyable. Next up I'll be starting Becky Chambers's Wayfarer series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drunkard Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Finished the Shadow Campaigns series and felt really let down by the events of the 5th book. Almost from the beginning of the series (mostly because of the foreword) I was expecting Janus to be the final antagonist. You spend most of the series watching Janus outsmart everyone in politics and war and then start to learn that his motivations aren't really to help Vordan, but to pursue some private matter concerning the magic at Elysium. In Guns of Empire I thought Janus was going to go full-Napoleon, declare himself Emperor and shelve Raesinia to achieve his own goals. Now his genius would be working against the protagonists which would be genuinely threatening in a way every other antagonist wasn't. The Beast of Judgement plot wasn't that interesting, and the Beast-Jane personality seemed a bit stupid. That said, I'm only let down because I loved nearly everything else about the series. Jane was my only other complaint (nearly ruined my interest in Winter). I started reading the Powder Mage books, the Guns of the Dawn and am looking for other musket-era fantasy as I really loved how this time period was used as a setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 11 hours ago, The Drunkard said: Finished the Shadow Campaigns series and felt really let down by the events of the 5th book. Hide contents Almost from the beginning of the series (mostly because of the foreword) I was expecting Janus to be the final antagonist. You spend most of the series watching Janus outsmart everyone in politics and war and then start to learn that his motivations aren't really to help Vordan, but to pursue some private matter concerning the magic at Elysium. In Guns of Empire I thought Janus was going to go full-Napoleon, declare himself Emperor and shelve Raesinia to achieve his own goals. Now his genius would be working against the protagonists which would be genuinely threatening in a way every other antagonist wasn't. The Beast of Judgement plot wasn't that interesting, and the Beast-Jane personality seemed a bit stupid. That said, I'm only let down because I loved nearly everything else about the series. Jane was my only other complaint (nearly ruined my interest in Winter). I started reading the Powder Mage books, the Guns of the Dawn and am looking for other musket-era fantasy as I really loved how this time period was used as a setting. I feel like there was a musket era fantasy thread at some point but maybe we need a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Finished off Justine, by the Marquis de Sade. Well. 300 pages of dull torture porn, interspersed with philosophical rants against God and Law. The ending is a deliberate piss-take of the eighteenth century moral novel, but I am unconvinced by the argument that de Sade was parodying Rousseau's philosophy. That gives him far too much credit. It's really a troll novel, mixed with misotheistic rants, from an author who was clearly getting off at points. I read a translation, but the prose is... unique too. De Sade describes scenes that'd freak out Ramsay Bolton, but does it in a ridiculously round-about way. No naughty language in this torture porn! I'm pleased I read it though - it's the book that got de Sade locked up by Napolean, and was the most infamous work published in de Sade's own lifetime. The more famous (and unfinished) 120 Days of Sodom was only rediscovered in the early twentieth century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Kafka Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I have read 'Salem's Lot, Nightflyers, and The Haunting of Hill House. All very good, with Hill House being my favourite. Shirley Jackson's writing is perfect. I am currently reading the first installment of N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy - The Fifth Season. I am enjoying it, despite finding it slightly 'odd'. Anyone else read this? I'm about 150 pages in. Next up this month are these: Beloved by Toni Morrison, Tell-tale Heart by Poe, and a few of Stephen Kings shorts in Bazaar, and some of Gaskell's shorts in Tales of Mystery and the Macabre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I'm reading the first of the Murderbot Diaries -- All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. Liking it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 3 hours ago, kafkascoat said: I have read 'Salem's Lot, Nightflyers, and The Haunting of Hill House. All very good, with Hill House being my favourite. Shirley Jackson's writing is perfect. I am currently reading the first installment of N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy - The Fifth Season. I am enjoying it, despite finding it slightly 'odd'. Anyone else read this? I'm about 150 pages in. Next up this month are these: Beloved by Toni Morrison, Tell-tale Heart by Poe, and a few of Stephen Kings shorts in Bazaar, and some of Gaskell's shorts in Tales of Mystery and the Macabre. Hehe, uh yes, a few people. There's a thread but it is spoiler filled, though I see wert started a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I finished Peter F. Hamilton's Salvation. I thought the plot was interesting and I liked the way it was built up from individual stories that initially seemed unconnected. I liked it, although it's perhaps not Hamilton's best, none of the characters really stands out. I'm now reading Chris Wooding's The Ember Blade. I really liked Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay and The Fade, so far this is entertaining although it feels like the plot hasn't really begun yet. 6 hours ago, kafkascoat said: I am currently reading the first installment of N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy - The Fifth Season. I am enjoying it, despite finding it slightly 'odd'. Anyone else read this? I'm about 150 pages in. The decision to write a third of the book in second-person perspective was certainly odd, but I think Jemisin made it work. I thought the whole trilogy was excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Kafka Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 16 hours ago, williamjm said: The decision to write a third of the book in second-person perspective was certainly odd, but I think Jemisin made it work. I thought the whole trilogy was excellent. Yep. More I read the more used to it I get. Certainly fresh and exciting to read, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wormwood Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Finished Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. What can I say? I loved every minute of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 I just finished The Core by Peter Brett, mainly because I really liked the first one even if the rest of the books haven't been great so I wanted to see how the series finished. Unfortunately it suffers from quite a few of the problems of the other books, mainly a shitload of pretty unnecessary sexual violence, a lot of meandering sidetracks and somewhat overpowered characters. Next up I think I'll read Record of a Spaceborn Few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 Finished First Grave On The Right by Darynda Jones, which is extremely similar to the Stephanie Plum series but in an urban fantasy setting and even more wisecracks in the first-person narration. I do enjoy humorous writing but the actual plot and characters were poorly designed. Much suspension of disbelief needed. And the urban fantasy aspect is jarring in its internal inconsistency. But if you like the tone, attitude and wisecracks of the Stephanie Plum series, then this is worth a read. Then finished Flower For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I expect this is well enough known to not need a synopsis from me. It is well written and thought-provoking, but also sophomoric in the points it tries to make. Similar to Holden Caulfield, it’s probably best read around age 15. Next up, as I continue to flit from style to style, is a Patrick O’Brian. This is why I resist reading them all at once — it’s so great to have another available to pick up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 13 hours ago, ljkeane said: I just finished The Core by Peter Brett, mainly because I really liked the first one even if the rest of the books haven't been great so I wanted to see how the series finished. Unfortunately it suffers from quite a few of the problems of the other books, mainly a shitload of pretty unnecessary sexual violence, a lot of meandering sidetracks and somewhat overpowered characters. Can you refresh my memory on that? The only one I remember in that book was the rehashing/reminder of what occurred in book one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I recently finished Foundryside. I was sorry to see it end. Clef is my favorite character this year. I just started Last Dragon Standing, Heartstrikers #5, by Rachel Aaron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 I have just started Tombland by CJ Sansom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 13 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said: Can you refresh my memory on that? The only one I remember in that book was the rehashing/reminder of what occurred in book one. Spoiler Hasik castrates hundreds of men. I didn’t see the point of the entire storyline to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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