What Are You Reading - May '08

[mashiara]

I finished [i]Remember me [/i]by Pearce.. I have to say, she lost me along the way. It started out in an interesting fashion and then it became pretty meh. I just kept going because I don't give up on books, but I can't say I enjoyed the last 200 pages.

I'm going to start reading [i]Crusade[/i] by Robyn Young. I can't say I remember all the details from the first book of the trilogy but I'm sure it will come back to me. dalThor liked it a lot so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it too.

TTB:
[quote]Mashiara: you may or may not be aware of this, but George Takei's (Sulu from [i]Star Trek[i]) autobiography give a long, first-hand account of life in the Japanese internment camps during World War II. It's definitely worth reading if you have not already done so[/quote]

I'll keep that in mind but the odds of running into such a book in a library or a bookstore here are slim to none. I don't think I can justify ordering it online, not when I have a mile long list of books I want to buy already. But thanks for the recommendation.

[Larry.]

I started reading (although it'll take me months probably to finish it, since I'll be reading it a few pages at a time) Slavoj Žižek's [i]The Parallax View[/i]. I needed something 'meaty' and I'm certain this philosophical book shall provide much gristle for the noggin.

[alsy]

Gardens of the Moon by Stephen Erikson

[Deornoth]

The trains were slower than normal yesterday, and today, so I was able to finish Patricia Briggs' 'Moon Called', a tale of werewolves and shape shifting coyotes. To be honest, it's pretty much standard urban fantasy fare but an entertaining story (and some thoughts about what it really means to become a were-wolf) kept me interested and I'll certainly check out the sequel. My full review is over [url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]Here[/url].
I'm now reading 'Sly Mongoose' by Tobias Buckell.

[kcf]

I finished up [i]The Court of the Air [/i]by Stephen hunt a few days ago. It's an OK book that has a number of flaws, but I did enjoy it in the end ([url="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/05/court-of-air-by-stephen-hunt-what.html"]full review[/url]). I started [i]Neuropath [/i]by Scott Bakker - so far I am really liking it.

[swedeheadchris]

I've just posted the first half of my review of [url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/05/solaris-book-of-new-fantasy-part-first.html"][i][b]The Solaris Book of New Fantasy[/b][/i][/url], which I really enjoyed. Lots of different authors, lots of good stories in many fantasy genres. Pretty good stuff :)

~Chris

[Turinqui-Calima]

[quote name='LessThanLuke' post='1359566' date='May 18 2008, 06.30']Finally started Last Argument of Kings. Hardcover copy got delayed so I just ordered the paperback. So far so good.[/quote]

So what did you think of Dune?


I'm reading in Swedish atm.

[Ser Bruce the Hound KG]

Samual P Huntington " A Clash of Civilizations" quite a good book

[lessthanluke]

[quote name='Turinqui Calima' post='1362173' date='May 20 2008, 17.56']So what did you think of Dune?


I'm reading in Swedish atm.[/quote]

Shamefully I put it down to read Last Argument of Kings lol. I just picked it up again and just got the point where the hunter seeker trys to kill Paul in his room.

[db1869]

Before they are hanged.

The first book was okay. I am hoping that the series gets better because so far it is not living up to my high expectations from board comments.

[ThRiNiDiR]

[center][size=3][font="Century Gothic"]Ted Chiang - [color="#006400"][b]The Merchant and The Alchemist's Gate[/b][/color][/size][/font][/center]

This is my first contact with [b]Ted Chiang[/b]'s work, which is odd, since he won several Nebula awards and a Hugo (for short stories and novelettes only). [color="#006400"]The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate[/color] won a Nebula for best novelette this year and is a contender for a Hugo award in the same category. You can read this novelette for free (link is at the end of review) -- this review was originally written for [color="DarkGreen"]Realms of Speculative Fiction[/color]. ([url="http://sf-fantasy-books.blogspot.com/2008/05/ted-chiang-merchant-and-alchemists-gate.html"]full review[/url])

excerpt:
[quote]It is beyond question that Ted Chiang writes quality fiction and that TMatAG is another fine effort on his part, but did the novelette suit my peculiar tastes? In short and without exaggeration – yes, it was quite a savory dish.[/quote]

thrin

[Cuchulain]

I've just finished [i]Red Seas under Red Skies[/i] by Scott Lynch and have enjoyed it as much as i did [i]The Lies of Locke Lamora[/i] (if not more), which is saying a lot. I disagree about the ending being a letdown and eagerly await the next one in the series.
Since the exam period is very close, I'll probably be reading a lot of college literature in the coming weeks, though maybe I'll sneak some simple and straighforward books in to relax from studying.

[Eponine]

I FINALLY finished The Trouble with Physics by Lee Smolin, after over 6 months. It was strongest as an overview of modern and recent developments in theoretical physics, including string theory and its inherent problems (about 2/3 of the book) and weakest (IMO) when it started getting into the sociological reasons why string theory has been promoted aggressively as the only theory worth working on (about 1/3).

It's understandable why the author felt he couldn't attack other scientists personally (especially as he seemed to truly believe that most of them were acting in good faith), but ironically, this meant that his assertions on the cliquish environment of the academic community went largely unproven. He openly admitted that he was biased, but it wasn't a very useful admission, since there's no way for most readers to know what that bias entails.

Apparently we did not go far enough in our respect for Science! Smolin told an anecdote about a physicist who suggested that they stand out of respect every time the universe was mentioned. A good idea for us all.

One of his more interesting assertions was that physicists deliberately keep out women and black people, and that every time he's seen someone get a job through affirmative action, they were already the most qualified candidate. He said it was easy to compare the number of esteemed women in theoretical math to the number of women in physics to see the discrepancy. There's no way I could evaluate this claim one way or the other since I'm not in physics, but as someone with a grad degree in math, I can definitely say that there aren't many women in the field but those who are (especially professors) seem to be respected without much thought to their gender. That's not to say they've never faced prejudice, but that's been my observation of my math graduate program.

[beniowa]

I finished [i]Sword of the Lictor[/i], the first half of [i]Sword and Citadel[/i]. I'll do a review after I've read [i]Citadel of the Autarch[/i].

[pat5150]

Just finished Ian Cameron Esslemont's [i]Return of the Crimson Guard[/i].

I was extremely eager to sink my teeth into this book! Regardless of what some people might say, [i]Night of Knives[/i] was more novella than novel, and as such it prevented us from fully evaluating Ian Cameron Esslemont's potential and talent and how it compared to Steven Erikson's.Weighing in at more than 250,000 words, [i]Return of the Crimson Guard[/i] would allow us to test the mettle of the co-creator of the Malazan universe. And although this novel suffers from a few shortcomings, let me tell you that Esslemont passed the test with flying colors!

Habitually, I endeavor to judge every book I read on its own merit. That proved to be impossible where [i]Return of the Crimson Guard[/i] is concerned. Indeed, since to all ends and purposes the novel is an integral part of Erikson's body of work (adding as much as it borrows to the what has already been established in past volumes), one can do nothing but judge it from the overall Malazan perspective. And as a thread in the ever-growing and far-reaching The Malazan Book of the Fallen tapestry, [i]Return of the Crimson Guard[/i] can stand tall and proud beside any of Steven Erikson's Malazan installment.

Check the blog for the full review. :)

Patrick

[Gormenghast]

You still don't have Toll the Hounds?

I wonder when we'll get the first review. One month before the book's out.

And I'll ask the nasty, silly question: bluntly, where would you put ROTCG among all other Malazan books? Still behind all Erikson's or you think it is better than some of those?

[Dark Wolf]

I've finished "Through a Glass, Darkly", a horror novel by Bill Hussey, that will be released on 17 July 2008. I posted by review of the book on my blog:
"In my horror reading experience I never read a debut novel of the genre, every time I read authors that had made a name for themselves. When I picked up „Through a Glass, Darkly” I didn’t know what to expect, but I found the debut of Bill Hussey an impressive one."

[Werthead]

[i][b]The Gone-Away World[/b][/i] by Nick Harkaway may be the ultimate triumph of style over substance. The prose style is appallingly purple and convoluted, the characters extremely ill-defined and whenever the story is in danger of getting interesting the author suddenly slams on the breaks and tells us a 20-page digression from the main character's childhood for no readily explainable reason. It's a bit like reading Sean Astin's book about working on [i]Lord of the Rings[/i] but three times as long.

I don't like giving up on books before I finish them, but I'm seriously tempted to jack this one in, especially as [i]Fall of Hyperion[/i] and the Zelazny collection turned up in the post this morning.

[Peadar]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1363632' date='May 21 2008, 12.34'][i][b]The Gone-Away World[/b][/i] by Nick Harkaway may be the ultimate triumph of style over substance. The prose style is appallingly purple and convoluted, the characters extremely ill-defined and whenever the story is in danger of getting interesting the author suddenly slams on the breaks and tells us a 20-page digression from the main character's childhood for no readily explainable reason. It's a bit like reading Sean Astin's book about working on [i]Lord of the Rings[/i] but three times as long.[/quote]

I give up on books all the time. No disgrace in that -- life is too short to waste on something that just isn't your cup of tea.

The Gone-Away World is one I absolutely adored myself and I think is chock-full of substance. However, a bit like what happens in "The First Law" trilogy, you don't realise how much is actually there until you get to the end. That said, if you're not having fun by now, I don't think you ever will. I *enjoyed* the playful language, but I can see how some people wouldn't. No shame in that. Move on.

And btw, the digressions are all leading somewhere really, really cool. :)

[Deornoth]

I started reading this last night and am not sure either :huh: The author's saying a lot but it just feels like he doesn't have a lot to say...