Smeech Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I just finished Blind Lake, by Robert Charles Wilson. I'm a HUGE fan of Spin, but I found Blind Lake disappointing -- the ending especially. Started Eifelheim -- it's pretty rough, honestly. Not really getting into it, but I'll withhold judgement for another 50 pages or so. Seems like a book that might take a hundred pages to compel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Mallister Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 In the middle of PERDIDO STREET STATION. I'm not a hundred percent sure what to think so far. The build up for the main conflict is a bit tedious and long, but the characters are identifiable and they kept me going. I have a big tbr stack, the PRINCE OF NOTHING, some of the later VLAD TALTOS....I really wish the rest of FIRST LAW would come out in America. Come to think of it I've been looking for THE INFERIOR as well and haven't been able to find it. Is it still not out over here too? After all the praise from the board the wait is killing me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Finished Dresden #3. Up next will be either the Book of Jhereg or Devices and Desires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarGalley Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Going to the library tomorrow to pick up either Empire Falls by Richard Russo or as a backup plan A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin I'm pretty excited about Empire Falls. I'm really in the mood for the kind of story that it is according to the premise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abattawolf Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just completed The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. A great novel of what would happen to the Earth if human beings were to suddenly depart the Earth. Interesting to read about what would remain long after we are gone (plastic) and how fast modern cities would be gone. Can be a little depressing to read about how poorly we are caring for the plant we live on, but the message is also strangely hopeful that life will go on if humans are not around. Next up is the new Stephen King book Duma Key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Over the past few days, I've finished the following books: Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys - it's Chabon, it's excellent. Simple as that. Oh, and it's about an aging writer type, but you could always watch the fine movie version as well. Eliseo Alberto, Caracol Beach (re-read) - Enjoyed this Alfaguara Prize-winning novel about a Cuban ex-soldier who goes a bit nutty and all hell breaks loose at this one locale. I believe there's an English translation available, so I highly recommend it for others here. Sergio RamÃÂrez, Margarita, está linda la mar (re-read) - This too won the Alfaguara Prize and it switches back and forth from the time of the outstanding Nicaraguan poet Rubén DarÃÂo (turn of the 20th century) and the assassination of the elder Somoza in the 1950s. Written by one of the former top guys in the Sandinista movement, if that might appeal to some here. Can't recall if it's available in English or not, though. Manuel Vicent, La novia de Matisse - On the surface, it's an artist/muse-type of novel, but the cultural elements that are bubbling underneath the narrative surface made this a very good read for me. Doris Lessing, The Grass is Singing - Library book rental, as I wanted to sample the latest Nobel Prize for Literature winner's writing. This story set in South Africa around the end of the colonial era was very nicely-done. I'd certainly read more of her works in the future. Jorge Luis Borges, La memoria de Shakespeare (re-read) - I love Borges' stories and this final batch from his last years is no exception. The title story, "Shakespeare's Memory" in English translation, is outstanding. And because I can, I'm currently switching back and forth between Laura Esquivel's Como agua para chocolate and Geoff Ryman's Air. The Esquivel is good, about 3/5 in and the Ryman is promising, although it's hard to tell 40 pages into a 390 page novel if it'll be merely good or very well-done. Count stands at 43. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalThor Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Doing a GRRM reread. Just finished aCoK and started aSoS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I have finished Fraser's "Flashman and the Mountain of Light" and have moved on to Ted Chiang's Stories of your life and others. I have such a great TBR at the moment. Every book on it looks like a corker. In addition, I have a few Stoker recommended books to get through. Lucky, lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deornoth Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I finished reading Philip Palmer's 'Debatable Space' last night. I love space opera and this tale of 'space pirates fighting an evil overlord' was certainly entertaining and had a lot going on that kept me interested. However, it did feel at times that there was too much going on and the story didn't really get a chance to take the centre stage that it needed. 'Debatable Space' does show a lot of promise though and I'll be interested to see what Palmer comes up with next. My full review is over Here. I'm now starting on Kay Kenyon's 'The Bright of the Sky'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Mallister Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Finished Dresden #3. Up next will be either the Book of Jhereg or Devices and Desires. With the BOOK OF JHEREG, make sure you have the other two anthologies on hand so you can read the books in the order the author suggests in the preface. I didn't and even thought each story is still extremely enjoyable, it would be nice for some chronological storyline, not jumping from year to year. I definitely recommend it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nous Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I just finished Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. Very enlightening. I recommend it to anyone interested in globalization or business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Finished reading Laura Esquivel's Como agua para chocolate and while I highly doubt it'll top the reading list of many here, I thought it was a good book. Re-read a childhood favorite, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, loving it even more than usual. Am currently about 1/3 into Geoff Ryman's Air, which is more interesting to me than was Ian McDonald's River of Gods, which is the book that came to mind when I started reading this last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace Set in Tokyo during August 1946 this book is wrapped around the skeleton of a murder investigation but the flesh of the story is that of the protagonist coming to terms with the aftermath of WWII. Detective Minami is unable to cope with his actions during the war, his country's surrender, the ensuing occupation and the web of deceit which has built up in the interim. All is not as it seems and his own past, his gang connections and facts which others want to keep concealed all rise to haunt him as he hunts a serial killer while discovering that he is in turn being hunted. The writing style is difficult. Unconcious thoughts intercede throughout the text, Minami is an unreliable narrator and facts are deliberately obfuscated. It takes a while to find the rhythym of the book and I found that my verdict hinged on how the story ended. It took me a while to gather my thoughts upon finishing and the end result is a Barry Silver Star For Quality. This is the first book in a planned trilogy and I am eager to find out where we are going next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 With the BOOK OF JHEREG, make sure you have the other two anthologies on hand so you can read the books in the order the author suggests in the preface. I didn't and even thought each story is still extremely enjoyable, it would be nice for some chronological storyline, not jumping from year to year. I definitely recommend it though Huh. They're not in chronological order? That's irritating. Thanks for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daemrion Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Just finished Hobb's Soldier Son Trilogy. Generally it was a good read, and interesting on the character side, though the whole resolution sort of just confused me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmgrey Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Huh. They're not in chronological order? That's irritating. Thanks for the heads up. They are in order of publication, which seems a perfectly valid order to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amras Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I've posted my review of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon" on my blog. The long and short of it is that I thought it was bloody fantastic and easily one of the very best SF books I've ever read. Everything from the characterization to the prose to the cyber-noir setting that infused it was so delicious that I devoured it whole (not for real though - it's a signed pb for Pete's sake!). Now I can't wait to see what you lucky bastards who get ARCs make of "The Steel Remains". I like SF, but Fantasy is what lies closest to my heart. Hopefully it's better than the Amazon blurb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrashalla Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Just finished George RR Martin, Daniel Abraham, and Gardner Duzois's Hunter's Run . It was decent enough...a nice detour from my typical Fantasy tendencies; but it also suffered from some serious lagging, and some just plain uninteresting elements. No clue where to go from here...either Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company or Cornwell's Lords of the North. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 The Intimate Adventure of a London Call Girl by Belle de Jour This could be a badly written, contradictory, boring excuse to fit in some stories straight from the cheapest top shelf publications. Unfortunately it also contains some scenes which I found strongly distasteful to read. Does anyone want to hear someone profess to enjoying being beaten up by their partner? Me neither. Horrible book in many, many ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Oh, apparently I didn't mention this. I lied and read Dresden #4. I'm reading the Book of Jhereg now, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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