April '08 Reading Thread

[pat5150]

Just finished the GRRM-recommended [i]The Edge of Reason[/i] by Melinda Snodgrass.

I went into this one with no expectations whatsoever, and I was pleasantly surprised by the blend of supernatural thriller and speculative fiction.

Good pace, deft characterization, an all in all intelligent and accessible read. She uses many "old" elements of the eternal struggle between science and religion to create some fresh and interesting.

Check it out, for this one is a quality read. You'll find the full review on the blog. :)

Patrick

[Larry.]

I have four books lined up for this weekend:

1) Angela Carter, [i]The Bloody Chamber[/i] - really good, creepy stories from this talented, but now deceased, British author.

2) Carlos Ruiz Zafón, [i]La sombra del viento[/i] ([i]The Shadow of the Wind[/i]) - re-reading this one in advance of reviewing his second book with the Cemetario de los Libros Olivados, [i]El juego del Ángel[/i], in the next two weeks.

3) Italo Calvino, [i]The Nonexistent Knight/The Cloven Viscount[/i] - it's Calvino, it's bound to be interesting, no?

4) Finish the last section of short stories in Julio Cortázar's [i]Cuentos Completos II[/i]

[ThRiNiDiR]

read Master and Margarita by V.Bulgakov. He is an excellent stylist! ([url="http://sf-fantasy-books.blogspot.com/2008/04/mikhail-bulgakov-master-and-margarita.html"]review[/url])

[Maid of Tarth]

[quote name='Dylanfanatic' post='1330710' date='Apr 26 2008, 13.03']I have four books lined up for this weekend:

1) Angela Carter, [i]The Bloody Chamber[/i] - really good, creepy stories from this talented, but now deceased, British author.[/quote]Glad to hear it's good- recently put a library request for this one.

Currently reading:
[b]Dreamsongs Vol. I[/b] by GRRM
[b]At the Mountains of Madness and other tales of terror[/b] by H.P. Lovecraft
re-reading [b]A Game of Thrones[/b]

[beniowa]

[i][url="http://thedecklededge.blogspot.com/2008/04/separation.html"]The Separation[/url][/i] by Christopher Priest. Priest is excellent as always in this alternative history novel. Highly recommended.

Already started on [i]Sharp Teeth[/i] by Toby Barlow. At first I was afraid I'd have trouble reading in verse but it's been smooth so far.

[dalThor]

Finished reading [i]Lies of Locke Lamorra[/i]. What an incredible book! The best I've read in some time. Now...

...time for some help from some Brits. I was loaned the book [b][i]The Wimbledon Poisoner[/i][/b] by a colleague of mine and it came with a great recommendation. I'm halfway through and it's...OK. Is this better than I think it is?

[Maid of Tarth]

[quote name='beniowa' post='1330912' date='Apr 26 2008, 17.20'][i][url="http://thedecklededge.blogspot.com/2008/04/separation.html"]The Separation[/url][/i] by Christopher Priest. Priest is excellent as always in this alternative history novel. Highly recommended.[/quote]
Have you read "The Prestige"? I loved the film and was wondering whether the novel was worth a look.....

[beniowa]

[quote name='Maid of Tarth' post='1331052' date='Apr 27 2008, 02.05']Have you read "The Prestige"? I loved the film and was wondering whether the novel was worth a look.....[/quote]
Yes I've read the book and it's definitely worth it. Most of the book is written in the form of journals (they portrayed this somewhat in the movie) but there's a present day subplot which adds a bit more to the story. It's a fantastic book. :D

[Maid of Tarth]

[quote name='beniowa' post='1331126' date='Apr 27 2008, 04.58']Yes I've read the book and it's definitely worth it. Most of the book is written in the form of journals (they portrayed this somewhat in the movie) but there's a present day subplot which adds a bit more to the story. It's a fantastic book. :D[/quote]
Excellent, it's going on the list. :D

[Dumas]

Been picking at random books I own now that I'm back in the States.

Sun Tzu's Art of War; also about halfway through Machiavelli's rather longer work of the same title.

Flashman, Royal Flash, Flash for Freedom, and Flashman at the Charge
The library in town has quite a lot of Flashman for some reason. Not bad, but not sure I want to read more of them.

The Commissar Ciaphas Cain novels by Sandy Mitchell
Think Flashman but in the Warhammer 40K universe. Cain isn't [i]quite[/i] as cowardly as old Flash, a bit more discreet about the ladies, and his stories are a good bit bloodier, Balaklava notwithstanding.

[Gold Storm]

Just finished [i]The Blade Itself [/i] good book, could have used a map though, but still a great fun read enjoyed it a lot. Now rereading [i]Bury Among Kings[/i] by Elleston Trevor I read it back in high school and thought it was one of the best WWI books that I have ever read, now rereading to see how it stands up to time.

[etcetera]

Earlier in the week, I finished Irene Nemirovsky's [i]Suite Francaise[/i], which is just as amazing as it is claimed to be. She definitely would have been a literary heavy-weight if she had lived and this book, even in unfinished form, showed all the signs of being a masterpiece in rough form. When placed in its historical context, I think it may emerge as one of the more important books of the 20th century.

Just started Sarah Hall's feminist dystopia, [i]Daughters of the North [/i](American title).

[Budgie]

I finished House of Chains - Steven Erikson a couple of days ago i enjoyed it but damn these books are getting bigger and bigger. I am not sure i want to read Midnight Tides right away.

Also currently reading Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny, i am enjoying this so far only about 100 pages in.

On the to read pile i have got Winterbirth - Brian Ruckley & i should be receivng my copy of Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie.

[lessthanluke]

Just started The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Uhtred is still a boy atm :)

[swedeheadchris]

[quote name='budgie' post='1332076' date='Apr 28 2008, 16.25']I finished House of Chains - Steven Erikson a couple of days ago i enjoyed it but damn these books are getting bigger and bigger. I am not sure i want to read Midnight Tides right away.

Also currently reading Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny, i am enjoying this so far only about 100 pages in.

On the to read pile i have got Winterbirth - Brian Ruckley & i should be receivng my copy of Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie.[/quote]

You've got a nice reading list! I loved [i]Lord of Light[/i], and really need to check out some more Zelazny sometime.

I've just finished [b][i]The Night Watch[/i][/b] by [b]Sergei Lukyanenko[/b] -- it was turned into a successful film in 2004. I quite liked it in the beginning,but I often found the conclusions of the stories a little anti-climatic. Great build up of tension -- and then a powerful character turns up, reveals it's not what you think it is, oh no; it's all part of a clever plan, which no one (including the reader) knew anything about. (The powerful guy setting up the clever plans which nobody knows anything about until the last page, is always the same person).

[url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/04/night-watch.html"]Rest of the review HERE![/url]

~Chris

[Isis]

[i]Requiem[/i] - Graham Joyce: truly mediocre

[i]Jonathan Livingston Seagull[/i] - Richard Bach: how did I manage to get almost to the end of this (very short) book without noticing that it has the words 'celebrated inspirational fable' on the cover. Argh. Almost as bad as [i]The Alchemist[/i].

[Ser Barry]

[quote name='Isis' post='1332302' date='Apr 28 2008, 19.29']Almost as bad as [i]The Alchemist[/i].[/quote]

:lol:

But, but, that book was [i]life changing[/i]

[Bellis]

Isis, I liked [b]Requiem[/b] fine but I also didn't rush out to buy more of Joyce ;)

I trudged through [b]Middlemarch[/b], which according to many of the literati, is the blueprint for the modern novel, a perfect book in every sense. The character development was good, but inferior to say, Dosteovsky, and I didn't get as drawn into caring for the people or shipping couples as I did with Tolstoy. It was pretty dull, and predictable, actually. Technically sound, and influential, but not exciting to read. More on the Austen level of slow parlour drama, the actors ever-polite and emotionally-suppressed (unlike the Russians, who are much more excitable).

Some talk of Gore Vidal earlier this month led me to realize that I've never read anything by him. Yesterday, I flew through [b]Messiah[/b] and now I can't wait to pick up [b]Julian[/b] and [b]Creation[/b], his companion pieces on history, religion and philosophy. [b]Messiah[/b] was very good, following an exile from a new 20th century religious cult tracing the creation, inner conflict, mythmaking, and worldwide domination of that cult. It's quite obvious he's making a cynical and satirical point not just on modern-day movements and the power of the media, but also on the initial birth and subsequent historical revisionism of established religions like Christianity (the savior's initials are JC) and Islam. Friendly to religious movements Vidal is not. Also, the narrator, in a cute bit of dramatic irony, has Vidal's real name (Eugene Luther) and is working on a book on the emperor Julian when the novel begins :). Anyway, highly recommended, stands with the best of early social SF, even though it's not always categorized in the genre.

[kcf]

I finished up [i]Ragamuffin [/i]by Tobias Buckell almost two weeks ago and finally got [url="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/04/ragamuffin-by-tobias-buckell-tobias.html"]a review written[/url] - another enjoyable book from Buckell. I especially enjoy the more sublte themes blended in amongst all the explosions and ass-kicking.

I'm reading [i]The Court of the Air [/i]by Stephen Hunt right now. It's a rather original feeling fantasy (mostly in terms of world-building) that I'm enjoying, but the jury is still way out on a final verdict.

[Serious Callers Only]

I read the short story collection Gods and Pawns and the related novella Rude Mechanicals.

It was rather awesome.

They are set on her Company universe, and as usual, expand and expose more of the plot. Now there are things in the Company stories that i think silly (the UFO's that are not, the dystopian future that is vegetarian etc), but i cannot deny that she has a talent for historical dislocation, and some awesome characters (not Mendoza!).

Edit: Written by Kage Baker. DUH!