September Reading Thread

[Cel]

Within the last month I've read/re-read:

Omega, Jack McDevitt

The Nanny Diaries (not worth the time)

Can You Keep a Secret, Sophie Kinsella

Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb

Storm From, Jim Butcher

Dragonsblood, Todd McCaffrey

I'm working on Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. I think that's the title.

What a weird variety of books

[The Wolf Maid]

Will now be reading Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley. And if my luck holds, will be reading Red Seas Under Red Skies (FINALLY!)

[direwolf]

Finally reading The Golden Compass

[The Wedge]

I'm half way through The Armageddon Rag right now.

I love GRRM's writing and I love nostalgia about rock music and its part in the politcal/social scene of the late 60's and early 70's, but at times it reads like whiny Boomer lit with a tiny bit of Stephen King thrown in.

I have to keep reminding myself this one was written 25 years ago and is a product of its time.

[Isis]

The Knight & The Wizard by Gene Wolfe

This series features an intriguing juxtaposition of the modern and the twee. Well, more Lud-in-the-Mistesque than twee, I suppose. The second book took more effort to read than the first, but that might have been me rather than the writing itself. Nice enough story but it didn't really prompt any strong feelings in me...

Vellum by Hal Duncan

Got a bit bogged down halfway through but persevered and was glad I did. It did hurt my head at times but on the whole I enjoyed it. What I really love about this book is reading reviews that say: the author had a perfectly good fantasy story until he ruined it with silly tricks!

Generation Loss by Liz Hand

A Liz Hand novel without reincarnated deities? THIS CANNOT BE! But it is though. Will I ever get bored of reading about the hippies, freaks, artists and drop-outs that populate her world? I don't think so!

Other things being read in a snail-like fashion:

Human Traces

Fragile Things

Winter's Tale

The System of the World

[Ser Barry]

Over To You Mr Brown by Anthony Giddens

One of Labour's analyst's thoughts on a way forward for the party. I only bought it because I had met the bloke but at least, like most decent political essays, I strongly agreed and disagreed with some of his points. Interesting enough.

If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell

The autobiography of the Evil Dead star. Witty, insightful and memorable. Quality stuff.

[RedEyedGhost]

I finished Midnight Tides on Tuesday, and it was... ok. I think this may be the point that Erikson jumped the shark for me, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up on the series by any means (in fact right now I've started The Bonehunters). I think the reason I didn't like it was the same reason most people don't - it was just too different from the rest of the series up to this point. I was more lost for the first 4/5ths of this book than I was reading GotM (which is notorious for it's "throw you into the thick of it with no explanation approach").

SPOILER: why I was lost

SE showed us why the magic was soooo different in the prologue, but he didn't start piecing that shit together until the end of the book. In this book the Hold system is completely different than the Warrens, but when I first read MoI I was under the impression that the Warrens evolved from the Holds... Did the Jaghut/Mael sorcery stave off this evolution? What will happen to the Holds as this wears off? Why is the Beast Hold still active in the rest of the world (and are the others active as well)?

Other things that bothered me:

Feather Witch's "reading" of the Holds was obscenely obscure, and that annoyed me to no end.

Hull's storyline seemed pointless.

Trull's character felt very different from how he was portrayed in HoC.

I did really enjoy the Tehol/Bugg interactions. The Edur chapters really ran hot and cold for me though. Basically I felt it was overlong and the lack of familiar characters/magic made the book difficult to get into - I'm sure on rereading it that it is much more enjoyable. Although, I can't imagine rereading the series anytime soon... the books are just getting too massive (this was over 600 hardback pages and The Bonehunters clocks in at 890... WTF!)

6/10

Wednesday I needed a little break from Malaz so I read The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston. This was very enjoyable '80s crime novel that covers a group of teenagers and a burglary gone very, very wrong. I tore through this one at warp speed, because it is almost impossible to put down. It's not Huston's best work, however. My favorite thing about his other books is the amount of character development the lead character goes through. Unfortunately, The Shotgun Rule doesn't have a 'main' character, so there wasn't a lot of development. As always if you don't like extreme violence and lots of foul language (he really went all out on the '80s use of some slurs - unless those were references to cigarettes and bundles of wood that went over my head).

8.5/10

And now I've started on The Bonehunters. I'm nowhere near far enough in to form an opinion, yet. I have decided that I will be reading Reaper's Gale after I finish this. Maybe that will help SE's increasingly convoluted world make more sense...

[williamjm]

And now I've started on The Bonehunters. I'm nowhere near far enough in to form an opinion, yet. I have decided that I will be reading Reaper's Gale after I finish this. Maybe that will help SE's increasingly convoluted world make more sense...

With SE every answer just brings up more question.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Just finished Halting State by Charles Stross. Pretty entertaining, tbh, although he does that Stross thing of having a bunch of shit happen at the end. Still, he's paced it way better than some of his other books (where inexplicable shit happens for 500 pages, and then everything gets explained -- usually with some obscure jab at Nazis -- in one huge infodump Revelation Moment).

Also, Stross's voice (usually his biggest Albatross, because you feel that no matter which character is talking, it's Stross all the way down) is an asset, and used to good effect: the multi-POV story is told in the second-person.

The one thing I worry about for the large-scale enjoyment of this book on American shores: If you don't either spend a lot of time talking to Scotsmen (and therefore get the slang), or follow football, or spend time either playing WoW (or other forms of RPG online or no) or talking to people who do, a goodly chunk of the book will fly right over your heid.

[RedEyedGhost]

With SE every answer just brings up more question.

And that's part of the problem with the series. I think by the time it's all finished he will have answered maybe a third of the questions he's created... :/

[Deornoth]

Just finished reading John Beachem's 'Storms of Vengeance'. Good worldbuilding and an interesting plot but I got bogged down in the minutiae of murder investigation where everyone was a suspect... Have a look at my review Here.

I've now got Chris Bunch's 'The Last Legion' and Simon Green's 'Deathstalker Honour' on the go...

[Peadar]

Just read Another War by Simon Morden. A wonderul piece of Cthuliana. Intriguing with a great payoff.

[Happy Ent]

I LOVED this book.

Why? I still haven't seen anybody try to explain what's good about it. I've challenged people in several threads now. (I'm not aggressive. I'm honestly curious.)

[Budgie]

Just finished Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic - overall not a bad book better then the previous two. I liked that all the loose ends got tied up at the end.

Also finished Jacqueline Carey's Banewreaker - another ok book, a good concept and idea but it did not grab me and keep me enthralled.

Will be starting on Godslayer and finishing of fevre Dream.

[Ser Barry]

I have given up on The Thousandfold Thought by RS Bakker. It is the thrid of the series but honestly, life is just too short to read a book in which every shared glance or conversation triggers four pages of revelations and roller-coaster emotions. I got forty pages in and Kellhus was wanked over for 10 of them, twenty of them consisted of inner revelations and broiling emotions and the other ten were recap. Give me a break and tell the bloody story already. A decent story obscured by two cent philosophy.

[Isis]

Oh, but you didn't even get to the bit with EPIC battles where you can't even tell who is on which side!1!!

The spice must flow though, don't forget.

[Bellis]

Finished two more Thursday Next books, wrapping up the first quartet of the series.

Well of Lost Plots was pretty weak, sinking under its own pile of puns and assorted nonsenses.

Something Rotten picked up again for a mostly strong finish. Hamlet was a scene stealer and the neanderthals were also a great touch. As strong or stronger than The Eyre Affair which got me into this series in the first place. However, I'm not terribly enthused anymore about reading the latest, First Among Sequels. Things seemed pretty well wrapped up right now, and the world isn't really well thought out enough to bear the pressure of so many books.

Also, finished I, Claudius, the classic historical fiction by Robert Graves. Although its as witty as everyone says, the style, as a history text, is a bit too ponderous. Just not a big fan of this style of storytelling. But, I did like it well enough to pick up Claudius the God, the sequel.

[pat5150]

I was eager to read the second volume of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Though a vast introduction, The Runes of the Earth, with its cliffhanger ending, left fans begging for more. Hence, I couldn't wait to return to the Land once more, and see where Fatal Revenant would take this tale.

The sequel begins right where The Runes of the Earth ended. But if you are hoping for a happy reunion between Linden and Thomas Covenant and her son Jeremiah, you are obviously not familiar with Stephen R. Donaldson's work. Revelations are made that will break Linden's heart, and she must find the strength within herself to persevere.

As was the case with the previous trilogies in the Covenant saga, Donaldson's narrative conjures up vivid and magical images. Vast in scope and vision, Fatal Revenant answers many questions that were raised by its predecessor.

I truly enjoyed the manner with which the author brought Fatal Revenant to a close, even though it is more or less anti-climatic and yet another cliffhanger. I expect some readers to find this off-putting, but I thought it was apropos to end it in such a fashion.

Given the author's career, I was expecting a bit more character growth in this second volume. And yet, other than where Stave is concerned, there is not much growth to speak of. Still, since Linden and her companions find themselves into dire straits at every turn, this might explain why. . .

One facet of this novel which could have been better is the pace. Donaldson's Covenant books have never been known for their fast-paced narrative, but various portions of Fatal Revenant are sluggish and break the overall rhythm of the story.

Nevertheless, fans of the Thomas Covenant saga should love this new installment.

Fatal Revenant is for aficionados who crave high fantasy tales with depth and substance.

Check out the blog for the full review!

Patrick

[kcf]

I just finished (and really enjoyed) The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock. I'm not sure what will be next yet, but I think Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman is most likely.

Moorcock demonstrates his mastery of language, sets the mood, and takes the reader on a trip through the multiverse, guided by the great metatemporal detective, Sir Seaton Begg. The Metatemporal Detective is one of the more enjoyable books that I’ve read in a while. (full review)

[Revie]

First post! *waves*

I finished The Name of the Wind, which I really enjoyed. I think it fits my personality a little bit better than the other two books I'm working through--Lynch's TLOLL and RSURS. I'm about half-way through RSURS and find that I'm cringing a bit at the one-liners which seem a little forced. Fun adventures, though. I can see why many of the GRRM fans gravitate towards his writing. I'm also enjoying Lynch's homages to Patrick O'Brian as I'm a huge Aubrey/Maturin fangirl.

I work at a library, and decided to send a note to our Materials Department taking them to task for their pitiful collection of Pratchett. This spurred them on a buying spree, and now they automatically put my name down on every new Pratchett purchase as it comes in. So I have Carpe Jugulum, Lords and Ladies and Making Money waiting on my bedside table as soon as I finish my Lynch reading.

I also brought home Catopia which I told everyone was for my kids to read, but my secret motivation was to pour over the beautiful cat illustrations by Anne Mortimer.

Nice place you have here!