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June Reading


kcf

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Reggie - Caught Stealing is rocking of course - as I said before, I had just bought it, got totally ripped at work and could not sleep that night, it was either listen to Huston or read Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I ended up listening to Caught Stealing until 3 A.M. and I have to say it was one of the most unique reads ever - a perfect 10! :thumbsup:

I am not one of those read straight thru kind of guys, but Charlie Huston surely made me that way as I finished it the next day! The sequel was awesome, but not as good, imho and some occasional drug use might prove offensive to some, although if your reading C. Huston your obviously not easily offended. :)

Is Caught Stealing fantasy?

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I finally received my copy of Reaper's Gale from Amazon.co.uk. Delivery was 10 days late, so I panicked a bit. Now, I'll jump right into Lether and surrounding countries.

BTW, I noticed that the book is dedicated to Glen Cook. Nice:-)

I also ordered Red Seas and Shadowmarch (to optimize shipping costs) from Amazon.com. So, I am counting days to August...

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No it is out of genre. It would probably fall into 'crime fiction' or 'action mystery.' Basically just some poor schmuck who gets caught between the Russian mafia and their money (until the mafia pisses him off).

That sounds cool, Holmes.

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Just finished On Chesil Beach -- the latest book by Ian McEwan -- I read it in three hours on a plane on the way from NY to Miami. As far as style it's beautifully written as usual. As far as content, it was a little disappointing to me -- two newlyweds (and virgins) in 1962 fail to consummate their marriage on their wedding night which leads to their lives being completely changed and all because of unspoken words, lack of understanding, experience and open communciation. Very sad and detailed, but unparalleled analysis of the age of innocence that was very soon to be lost.

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Shit. I just tried to buy some more of Ursula LeGuin's books, only to be told they're out of print. WTF??!! Is that what I get for going to Border's?

Yes. Check your library or better yet, used bookstores. They tend to carry Le Guin. Though essentially, Lathe of Heaven, Dispossessed, Left hand, and Always coming home are the only ones (besides the short stories of O and Earthsea) that are worth reading.

I read Candide by Voltaire, as well as 4 other novellas that were in the same collection. Considering I missed much of the satire by not living in the time or catching the period references, it was still quite enjoyable and accessible.

Also, Cracking India by Pakistani novelist Bapsi Sidhwa. The story follows a young parsee child's experiences in Lahore during the Partition (India and Pakistan). it was made into a movie about ten years ago by Deepa Mehta (Earth). I saw the movie - which was well-made but terribly disturbing and depressing. I picked up this book a couple weeks ago at a book fair. I wasn't looking forward to reading it, because I knew it would be depressing. You know, happy family and religiously diverse group of friends, and by the end, everyone dies or becomes miserable and/or evil. Your basic ethnic strife scenario.

It was kind of weird following this up with Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler's sequel to Parable of the Sower. In many ways, the disintegrating society, rise of religious and tribal mentalities, and distubing scenes of death and rape, is similar to Cracking India. In fact, because Cracking India is recent historical, while Parable is near future dystopia, Parable suffers imho from the comparison. An SF portrayal of the horrors of humanity by its nature just can't hit so hard as reading a story set around events that actually happened.

Ugh.

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Just finished Wizard's First Rule. Not as bad as expected considering what I've heard, but then it's only the first book in the SoT series. I would say it was rather mediocre. I won't be reading the next book.

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Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore: Halfway through and enjoying it so far. Kind of feels like Shaun of the Dead but with vampires instead of zombies.

The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld: Not far into this one but starts out with a fantastic nano-scale ship battle. Reads fast.

Paragaea by Chris Roberson: Looks like fun.

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Finished reading 'Unnatural History' (Jonathan Green) this morning. Great stuff in an alternate Gothic London, pulp fiction kind of way :thumbsup: It's got dinosaurs, dashing secret agents and mysterious beautiful women and while it won't tax your brain in the slightest it's great fun!

I've reviewed it Here and I've got two copies to give away as well :D

I'm now reading 'A Dirty Job' by Chrisopher Moore.

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Should I try Lord of Light as well then?

I think it is a brilliant book, especially for those who like Zelezny's writing style.

But beware, it is bit complicated at beginning, and kinda hard to get into...

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I have the Left Hand of Darkness I was going to put up on ebay, but it's kind of an old ugly book :P PM me if you want me to send it to you :)

Oh, and no, Changeling is the only Zelazny book I've read so far. Should I try Lord of Light as well then?

Thanks, Mandylicious :) I've got Left Hand of Darkness. (really enjoyed it, tho it took a while to catch the flavour.)

I'll try the library, Bellis. I read A Wizard of Earthsea and Tombs of Atuan, and want to read more about Tenar and Ged. Thanks for the suggestion.

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This has been a slow month. It has taken all of this time for me to plod through one book Swan Song. It was good but not great. Its a dark fantasy/horror about life after a nuclear holocaust. It is often compared to Stephen King's The Stand. The Stand was one of my favorites so I don't think Swan Song was better. The ending was better in Swan Song but overall not as good. My impression is that which ever novel you read first you will like better. Anyone familiar with either work?

On to Stephen Donaldson's The gap. The real story.

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