Ser Barry Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson This was reccied in the Vietnam thread. The book is shared between the POV of several people who are all affected in some way by the story's main character, a WWII Colonel who works for the CIA, and it follows them before, during and after the Vietnam war. While we never get the Colonel's POV he is the driving force behind the plot. The book meanders over several years and 3/4 of the way through I was set for the threads to be tied up and to have some of the many questions posed to that point answered. Unfortunately this isn't that kind of book. Instead of being offered a nicely finished conclusion some storylines just drop of the radar, some are left hanging (literally) and we are shifted to the POV of a here-to minor character for a large part of the ending. I don't need neat endings but I do require some justification for plotlines and for several none are given. This book is all about the journey, which is enjoyable, and let down by the destination, which left me unsatisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Shadowbridge by Gregory Frost. I truly loved The Orphan's Tales, but like kcf I had some problems with Shadowbridge. The stories were fascinating and the characterization was well done but the rest of the book was a little weak. I think it would have been better if Del Ray had published in one book instead of two. Next up is Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheaky Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I am reading the first book in Colleen Mc Culloughs Masters of Rome series titled "The First Man in Rome". Awsome book. But I want to reread ASOIAF, alas, I have 5 and a half more books to read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 REG I had assumed (for some reason) that it was a trilogy, but it's not, and the forth book, Sword Song, is available now. Does anybody know if there is a planned length to the series or is it more opened ended like the Sharpe books? I don't think there is a planned number of novels at this point, though I do personally hope that he will start wrapping it up in one or two more volumes. I think it does spoil the strength of a series if you just keep going on and on. I understand the desire to know a good thing when it hit syou and the books are doing well for him, so that is why he keeps pumping them out, but I prefer a narrative arc that ends as well as starts, rather than endless adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I just finished The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett and I must say, I'm incredibly impressed. The book started slow and the prose is much different than any other book I've read but good god was it an amazing read. Once it got to part 2, the book just picked up and wouldn't let go. I'd like to read book 2 next, but it seems that ordering it was a horrible idea. I might go out and buy it tomorrow morning despite the fact that I already ordered it just so I can start it. I'm very impatient. ETA: Update...book was at the library so I went and got it. Now I can start Queen's Play tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarGalley Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Just finished The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Good god this book moved me at the end. I don't think I've read a story about the (American) Civil War or had a real interest in it. The first 150 pages were a little slow but the maps kept me going (which I'll mention later). The characters were very interesting and fully fleshed out, and the last 200 pages really came alive. The POVs of the generals and officers on both sides of the conflict felt more real than any characters I've read about before except ASOIAF. General Lee, Gen. Longstreet, Col. Chamberlain and others were brilliantly written and who made me sympathize with one second and want to throttle with another. Shaara wrote the battle scenes wonderfully and the prose in general captured the battle nicely.. beautiful and ugly, sadness and despair and thrill all at the same time. If someone told me the entire story was pieced together with pages from a diary, I would have believed them. It was a wonderful combination of fact and fiction. I loved the way the author used maps. There are SO many of them and they are located within the prose itself, showing how the armies are arranged at the time of day you are reading about. The maps were detailed nicely without being overly complicated. They showed geography, where divisions were located, oriented and whose command they belonged to. I was fairly fascinated trying to figure out why some general was doing this formation against that hill etc. Very enjoyable and a great ending. Recommended. With any luck, on to the next novel Empire Falls by Richard Russo (which also won the Pulitzer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I don't think there is a planned number of novels at this point, though I do personally hope that he will start wrapping it up in one or two more volumes. I think it does spoil the strength of a series if you just keep going on and on. I understand the desire to know a good thing when it hit syou and the books are doing well for him, so that is why he keeps pumping them out, but I prefer a narrative arc that ends as well as starts, rather than endless adventures. I agree that he should start wrapping up the story now (six total books would be a good number). It would be much tighter if he has the ending in sight... The way he's moving Uhtred around, I could see him stretching it for 9 or more, with each book containing 2-3 major battles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleatingHeart Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Pretty knackered today. Stayed up all] night to finish The Inferior. Wow! Bloody wow! I absolutely lurrrved it. It never stops, ever. + I love Stopmouth and will marry him when he dumps that bitch. + All those Dante references really make me want to reread The Inferno (in English, my italian is now officially crappy). + how am I supposed to wait?[/endwow] I think I'll have a go at something a bit more quiet now. A Cavern of Black Ice is winking at me. I'll just have to sleep the rest of the day at work first!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deornoth Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Finished reading 'The Prodigal Troll' this morning (I've got the day off work!), very much like 'Tarzan' but with trolls instead of apes. It's slightly confusing at times (with a human seeing other humans through 'troll eyes') but is still an engaging read with a nice balance of world building and plot. I'm certainly up for reading the next one and my full review is over Here. I don't really know what I'm going to read next, could be 'The Wanderer's Tale' (just because I want to see if I think it's as crap as everyone else thinks) but it could just as easily be anything else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I love Stopmouth and will marry him when he dumps that bitch. At least give him a chance to get his breath back! Seriously, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I finished The Black Dahlia. I enjoyed it very much, I liked the decadent atmosphere and the all-too human cop with his violent outbursts and his deep passions. There's something about a well written detective/crime book that will always please me. I've started The Human Stain by Philip Roth, I'm only 30 pages into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgie Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I finished Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson, a vast improvement on the first book. All the story lines are interesting & gripping, i really enjoyed this book. Currently reading Before they are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie, so far so good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedeheadchris Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Finished Robert Redick's The Red Wolf Conspiracy I thought it was a good read, somewhat stereotypical fantasy in places, but overall still a cool read Review here! Have Robin Hobb's latest up next -- been hearing good and bad in large proportions on either camp, so we'll see! Then I've got a very cool book -- one I've been looking forward to for ages, coming up ... but more on that later ~Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophelia Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I just finished The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett and I must say, I'm incredibly impressed. The book started slow and the prose is much different than any other book I've read but good god was it an amazing read. Once it got to part 2, the book just picked up and wouldn't let go. I'd like to read book 2 next, but it seems that ordering it was a horrible idea. I might go out and buy it tomorrow morning despite the fact that I already ordered it just so I can start it. I'm very impatient. ETA: Update...book was at the library so I went and got it. Now I can start Queen's Play tonight. Yay - another Lymond-series fan. Agree these books are dense and hard to read (in a good way), but worth every word of it. I love them and I was grabbing them as fast as I could as well. There's actually a Dorothy Dunnett Companion you can buy to get all the references (I have it but haven't yet reread the books with it alongside). I'm disappointed I completely failed to get into her Niccolo series though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niphredil Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I just picked up The Once and Future King by T.H. White. It's too early to tell whether it's good overall, but it's been a nice read so far, although I think I need to brush up on Arthurian legend in order to appreciate it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymeria87 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I finally got my hands on Robin Hobb's Farseer series and am past the middle of book 2, Royal Assassin and loving it. Awesome series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Yay - another Lymond-series fan. Agree these books are dense and hard to read (in a good way), but worth every word of it. I love them and I was grabbing them as fast as I could as well. There's actually a Dorothy Dunnett Companion you can buy to get all the references (I have it but haven't yet reread the books with it alongside). I'm disappointed I completely failed to get into her Niccolo series though. I've read about the companion book but I couldn't be bothered. The french/spanish/latin didn't really bother me. I didn't feel like I needed it to understand what was going on. I just took it as a flair of the character. I started Queen's Play today so I'm pretty excited. I'll start the Niccolo series prob later in the year. I know Bellis said in the last thread that he/she found the Niccolo series better whereas someone else said they liked the Lymond series. Both, however, agreed that both series are worth reading so I'm pretty excited that I've now discovered her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabloblanco18 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I finished Soldiers Live yesterday, which concludes my time with the Black Company. I've come to realize that I don't do well with enormous series. After about the sixth book I start to lose interest, especially if the pace starts slowing down, and less happens in more words. They were good books, but it just gets hard to keep going when one story arc spans so many full-size novels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanna Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, which was total garbage, or shall we say rubbish. And The Sea Change by Patricia Bray which is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedeheadchris Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I've moved on to Already Dead... "After finishing Jennifer Rardin's Once Bitten, Twice Shy, my vampire fix was not yet sated. So I eagerly dug into Already Dead by Charlie Huston... What a difference between the two books -- Once Bitten, Twice Shy was like finding a baby polar bear on a mountain-slope, thinking, "wow, this is cool", enjoying the time spent with it, thinking "I need more polar bear" ... and then stumbling across its big daddy (Already Dead), who promptly kicks you in the face, chases you, and then tries to ravage you as you ski away screaming... Which is not to say I didn't enjoy it. (The bear analogy really fails here). Just that Charlie Huston's take on the vampire novel, is grittier, more direct, sharper and more original. But clearly, not as nice." That was perhaps the weirdest bit of any review I've ever written! It was a very good read. A few flaws, however... Review here! ~Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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