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June Reading


kcf

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We packed up all of our books, so I went to the library to pick up Expiration Date by Tim Powers. I'm only about 50 pages in but enjoying it so far. It is very similar in style and theme to Last Call, which isn't too surprising as I believe they are supposed to be a loose trilogy (with Earthquake Weather).

There are times when I'm reading Powers that I am convinced that if I tried to write fiction, it would all come out as a third-rate ripoff of him.

Halfway through "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon.

I absolutely loved that book. I think I may need to figure out who the heck I lent it to so I can get it back and give it another read. Failing that, I'll just buy a new copy.

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Isabel Allende: Zorro

the original novel behind all the cartoons, and tv-sries and films, and shit.

Are looking forward to it. Are leaving just now to pick it up from the library

Allende's novel came out in 2005. The original Zorro appeared around 1919 in the pulp magazines, and was written by Johnston McCulley.

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I finished reading 'Armageddon's Children' this morning, reviewed it Here ;) I couldn't get past the first few pages of 'Sword of Shannara' so was suprised at how readable this one was :thumbsup:

I'm now reading 'The Year of Our War' by Steph Swainston

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I read Peace by Gene Wolfe, I believe his earliest novel or one of his earliest novels. The story of an old man dealing with his memories of his youth in middle america. The hypnotic style is unmistakable. It's good, it's special, though inferior to BotNS or his other later SF.

I'd been curious about Stephen King. I'd only read The Stand a long time ago, and seen a few of the movies. So I decided to check out Salem's Lot. It was alright, but I kind of lost interest once I realized that it was to be a fairly faithful update of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Didn't really feel like reading more King atm.

I also have a couple non-fiction science on the stack. I just read Thoman Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Although much of it directly contradicts how we think of Science with a capital S, it just rang incredibly true to me and my experiences doing science. The parts that I found questionable were more provocative than ridiculous. If I'm ever in a position to shape graduate education, I will make this book required reading for all scientists.

Next up, Pi in the Sky by John Barrow. It's about mathematics. It's in my SO's collection and looks interesting.

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I just finished morgan's broken angels and was a bit underwhelmed, which was very disappointing because I loved altered carbon.

up next is a collection of william boyd stories and then perhaps russell's the sparrow or maybe something of wolfe's, haven't decided yet.

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Allende's novel came out in 2005. The original Zorro appeared around 1919 in the pulp magazines, and was written by Johnston McCulley.

Damn should have checked. Someone told me it was the original.

Made a complety fool of myself. How can there be an original to a folk tale.

Well a have got used to the feling :wideeyed:

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Just finished David Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale. . . :sick:

Two thumbs WAY down for this book, unfortunately. :thumbsdown:

An odd blend of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Sword of Shannara, and various Forgotten Realms books from the late 80s, Bilsborough's The Wanderer's Tale is YA through and through. Pitched to the Paolini crowd, I sincerely believe that this debut has the potential to be a bestseller. But pitched to well-read fans and aficionados of the genre, this book falls short on basically every level.

To say that this novel is overwritten would be the understatement of the year. Cutting 25% to 30% of it would get rid of a good chunk of the bloated prose and speed up the pace which leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be at least one adverb per sentence -- I kid you not!

Overwritten, overlong, overhyped. . .

Check the blog for the full review.

Patrick

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Just finished reading 'The Year of Our War' by Steph Swainston. Why have I never read this before? It was great :thumbsup: , especially the bits in the 'Shift'. I've posted a review Here ;)

I'm now starting on 'Saturn Returns' by Sean Williams...

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I liked The Wizard of Earthsea but loathed Tombs of Atuan. All the running around in the dark and nothing happening. I got knocked on my ass by the first chapter of The Farthest Shore. I would nominate it the best opening chapter of any book regardless of genre that I've ever read. Unfortunately the rest of the book isn't in the same league as the first chapter.

See, I liked the dark tone of Tombs. The heroine being "buried," and Ged's taking responsibility for her, and her courage. For those who need to like their characters, you couldn't find two more admirable ones than Ged and Tenar. And I love the fact that LeGuin leaves so much unsaid. Her books are so economical, yet loaded with symbolism and deep meaning.

For a complete change of pace, I recently poured through "Maia" by Richard Adams, who also wrote, among others, "Watership Down." This is a story of a girl who's sold into slavery in the kingdom of Bekla. It's a big, bawdy story, (over 1,000 pages) as Maia, a 15-year-old beauty, lucks into a fortunate friendship with an extraordinary fellow victim that guides her through her initiation into her time as a sex slave to a monstrous, deviant and powerful head of a web of spies, who, as part of a quartet, rules Bekla - a place that reminds me of Martin's Ghiscar or Astapor. Maia's not Dany, but she somewhat resembles her in looks and courage.

You can tell Adams had a hard time letting go of his heroine, since about 3/4's of the way through the book, you feel he's made his point and told his story, but Maia is so enjoyable, you don't mind much. The middle portion of the book I found so engrossing that I could barely put it down - and remember, we're talking a BIG book.

Most of the battles happen "off screen," but the amorous adventures do not. The characters are engaging, both the evil and the good. While some could accuse a few of them of being a bit one-note, you can see where their motivations came from.

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Islam - A Short History by Karen Armstrong

1400 years of history condensed into 150 pages. Wove the patches of knowledge I had on the area together nicely but obviously limited in depth by it's size.

10 pages in to Red Seas Under Red Skies and I am grinning already. My nizzle is set to shizzle.

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Finished The Diamond Age. Not sure if I ruined the experience for myself by getting ten pages from the end and then putting it down for two weeks while I read other stuff? I was really enjoying it before but those final ten pages were just BLAH to me.

Finally got around to reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time. A beautiful book, I enjoyed every single page of it. :)

Currently about 150 pages into RSURS. I think I was having a dirty rotten scoundrel type dream when the alarm went off this morning. :pirate:

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Just finished Weis and Hickman's upcoming Dragons of the Highlord Skies.

As was the case with the War of Souls trilogy, The Lost Chronicles fail to recapture the magic of the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends. Even though it's a delight to get reacquainted with the Companions, at times it feels as though Weis and Hickman are simply going through the motions. Insofar as I can tell, it doesn't feel as if their hearts are into this project. . .

Let's not forget that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance novels have been translated into twenty languages and have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide. And yet, much like fellow bestselling authors Raymond E. Feist, David Eddings and Terry Brooks, their latest works are clearly uninspired compared to their past collaborations. Dragons of the Highlord Skies lacks the depth and the originality that allowed them to capture the hearts and imagination of a whole generation of fantasy readers.

I would compare this new Dragonlance trilogy with the Star Wars prequels. Although they'll find a way to satisfy most of the fans on one level or another just for the chance to revisit the War of the Lance, these novels are not of the same quality as the ones that came before.

Check out the blog for the full review. . .

Patrick

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