June 2008 Reads

[kcf]

I finished [i]Neuropath [/i]a week or two ago - it's great but dangerously close to being over-hyped around here ([url="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/06/neuropath-by-scott-bakker-scott-bakker.html"]full review[/url]).

Now I'm reading [i]The Magic of Twilight [/i]by S.L. Farrell which is decent epic fantasy so far.

[i]Toll the Hounds [/i]should be en route soon, so that will hopefully be next.

[Deedles]

Currently reading "Captain's Fury" by Jim Butcher, which should be wrapped up this weekend.

Picked up "Acacia" by David Anthony Durham today. I wasn't hugely taken by "Hannibal: Pride of Carthage", so we'll see how this one goes.

[Rooster]

Read Christopher Priest's The Separation recently. It's a bit hard to compose my thoughts on it, but the gist of it was that I liked it, but at the same time thought it lacked something fundamental. I can't really put my finger on it though.

Also read Lamb by another Christopher, Moore hisself. The humour became a bit forced at the end, and the angel storyline didn't amount to what was hinted, but even so it was a fantastic book. The gift edition was very nice.

[IheartTesla]

I am re-reading (for the third time) John Toland's [i]The Rising Sun[/i], which deals with the rise and fall of the Japanese empire. It begins in 1936 with the failed revolt and ends with McArthur in Japan circa 1945. Very similar in style to Shirer's book about Nazi germany. While it is an informative read and details a lesser studied aspect of the 2nd World War, I cant help but think I would want to read multiple accounts of Japanese history over that time period before believing everything the book says.

[Dark Wolf]

I've finished my first June reading, a horror novel, "Ravenous" by Ray Garton. I posted my review of the book on [url="http://darkwolfsfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/2008/06/ravenous-by-ray-garton.html"]my blog[/url].

[Deornoth]

Just finished reading Brian Keene's 'Ghost Walk', the sequel to 'Dark Hollow'. While it doesn't hit the same heights as 'Dark Hollow', 'Ghost Walk' is still a really creepy read that will go down well with fans, of Keene, and anyone who's a fan of the genre. My full review is over [url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]Here[/url].
I'm now switching back and forth between KJ Parker's 'The Company' and Peter David's 'Tigerheart'...

[Humble Asskicker]

It's hard to get any reading down now that I'm taking 11 credits of summer school, but here are the books I've started. I doubt I'll finish them all before this month.

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

[url="http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000148/files/789_14547.html"]I Am a Cat[/url] by Natsume Souseki

Ookanagai Katamari by Edogawa Rampo. I would off the title translation, but to be honest, I don't really understand the title. According to the dictionary ookanagai is where, in an arrow shooting contest, a person scores 180 out of a possible 200 score, and the score is displayed on a signboard. Katamari means lump or pile. Go figure.

And I'm doing a marathon read of the oft-proclaimed Maestro of Lit, Shakespeare, because people keep saying his stuff is good so why not? I finished Taming of the Shrew and King John (which surprised me at its masturbatory awesomeness; seriously people, knock it off with the Hamlet shit and seek less explored pastures because King John is worth a shot).

As for non-fiction, I'm reading The History of Science I by George Sarton (fascinating book) and a book on cars, because I know nothing about them.

Actually, there's no way in hell I'll get all of that reading done by this month.

[ThRiNiDiR]

[size=3][b]The Bonehunters[/b][/size] took me almost a month too read. I guess that some of the earlier charm of the series that kept me reading late into the night is now gone; but after the rugged month of reading it paid off. My [url="http://sf-fantasy-books.blogspot.com/2008/06/steven-erikson-bonehunters-book-review.html"]review[/url].

excerpt from the review:
[font="Century Gothic"][color="#696969"][i][color="#FFFFFF"]---[/color]“Now, prepare to ride – I shall lead, but I shall not once wait for you should you lose the way.”
[color="#FFFFFF"]---[/color]“I thought you offered to guide me–“
[color="#FFFFFF"]---[/color]“Of lesser priority now,” she said, smirking. “Inverted in a most unholy fashion, you might say. No, what I seek now is to witness. Do you understand? To witness!” And with that the girl spun round and sped off.
[color="#FFFFFF"]---[/color]Swearing, the cutter drove heels into his mount’s flanks, hard on the girl’s tale.[color="#FFFFFF"]---[/color](pg.541)[/i]

The above excerpt seems something to reflect Erikson’s attitude/relationship towards the reader. (I've made an intentional lapsus linguae, which makes for a perfect pun)[/color][/font]

[oneeye]

I'm reading a shadow in summer by abraham now and rather enjoying it. oriental fantasy world and interesting characters.

[Peadar]

I've really enjoyed [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Armageddon-Rag-George-R-Martin/dp/0553383078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212703165&sr=1-1"]The Armageddon Rag[/url] and am now moving onto [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/BLINDSIGHT-Peter-Watts/dp/0765319640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212703201&sr=1-1"]Blindsight[/url] by Peter Watts.

[beniowa]

On Monday I finished [i][url="http://thedecklededge.blogspot.com/2008/06/martian-generals-daughter.html"]The Martian General's Daughter[/url][/i] by Theodore Judson, a quick, military scifi story on the dangers of absolute power.

Up next is [i]Lavinia[/i] by Ursula Le Guin.

[Scuba Steve]

After having stoppped reading it for a while, I am now restarting [url="http://www.amazon.com/Rode-Stonewall-Henry-Kyd-Douglas/dp/0807803375/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212729046&sr=8-2"]I Rode With Stonewall[/url] by Henry Kyd Douglas. It is his memoirs, written after the Civil War ended, about his experiences in the war. The book was written on the basis of his field logs, etc. that he wrote during the war, as a member of Stonewall Jackson's staff, and after Stonewall's death, all the way to the end of the war. It's really fascinating, as I love Civil War era US history, and it is written very well.

[Isis]

Bit of catching up to do...

[i]Passage[/i] - Connie Willis
I'd never read anything by Willis before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I almost gave up on it since the first 200-odd pages read more like a Mills & Boon novel than anything else. But once the plot kicked in I became totally sucked in. It's an exploration of near death experiences, what causes them, what they mean, and so on. Refreshingly different.

[i]Conrad's Fate[/i] - DWJ
I'm not sure if it's me or her, but I just haven't enjoyed the most recent DWJ books as much as I have the rest of her work. But I can't tell if the enchantment is missing because I'm older and more jaded, or because the author is older and more jaded. :unsure:

[i]The Court of the Air[/i] - Stephen Hunt
I really enjoyed this to begin with but I think the attempt to sustain a state of action/tension non-stop for about 300 pages was unsuccessful. And for me personally, there were too many characters, too many factions, and I kind of stopped caring that much as the book went on. Shame, because it had a promising beginning. Oh, yes, and -1 for the Homeresque ' the disreputable Stave' popping up over and over again. It doesn't have the same ring as 'the wine dark sea' or 'dawn's rosy fingers', does it?

[i]Neuropath[/i] - R Scott Bakker
Reads like an airport thriller. Somewhat repetitive exposition. Ill-advised, overly long author's afterword.

[i]The Iron Dragon's Daughter[/i] - Michael Swanwick
I was a bit slow to cotton on to where this was going until I was quite far into it. I liked it a lot. Again, refreshingly different.

Currently about 50 pages away from finishing [i]The Road[/i]. Already very excited about the upcoming film.

[Deornoth]

I've just finished reading 'Tigerheart', Peter David's re-telling of 'Peter Pan'. It's an entertaining read on the surface (loads of swashbuckling stuff about Red Indians and Pirates) but tries to say too much when there's not enough space to say it all in. Instead of making a few points, the book tries to make loads and the impact of each is lessened. Like I said, it's an entertaining read but also one that can become frustrating when you see what could have been… My full review is over [url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]Here[/url]
I'm now back onto KJ Parker's 'The Company'...

[gyrehead]

Just received Stephenson's [i]Anathem[/i]. Heavy sucker that will probably take most of the weekend. After that will be th ealso newly received [i]The Fire[/i], Katherine Neville's return to [i]The Eight[/i].

[Nous]

I've been learning divine programming wisdom from Steve McConnell's [i]Code Complete[/i]. Next on the platter when it comes to fiction is John Wright's [i]Orphans of Chaos[/i], courtesy of Tor's Watch the Skies.

[quote name='Cuchulain' post='1382261' date='Jun 3 2008, 18.43']Finished [i]Trollslayer[/i], the First Gotrek & Felix novel, today. This is a fun light read, very good material for the exam period. Will be reading [i]Skavenslayer[/i] next.[/quote]
For pure entertainment, these books are hard to beat. I've read them multiple times.

[Cuchulain]

[quote name='Nous' post='1386977' date='Jun 6 2008, 20.35']For pure entertainment, these books are hard to beat. I've read them multiple times.[/quote]

I enjoyed [i]Trollslayer[/i], despite people claiming that one to be the worst in the series. Anyway, I'm about a 100 pages into [i]Skavenslayer[/i] and it only gets better. You're right, read these for pure entertainment.

[Werthead]

Nearly finished [i]Fall of Hyperion[/i]. Apart from the totally incongruous Keats-love overload, very good, although the intensity of the first book is lost a little as we pull back to a widescreen overview of the action instead of the in-depth charactery study of the first. Still very good, especially the escalating crisis as the true scale of the Ousters' invasion plan is revealed (although the military action and the sense of pacing in general are both middling, not being as good as Hamilton or Reynolds; the characterisation and prose are much better of course).

Not sure what to read next. [i]Neuropath[/i] is the logical one (quite short, should be able to polish it off in a day, feeling more up to reading it) but [i]The Yiddish Policeman's Union[/i] looks a lot more interesting. I'm also feeling it's about time I tackled Brian Aldiss' [i]Supertoys Last All Summer Long and Other Stories of Future Time[/i], since I've had the thing for eight years without reading it.

[Jerec]

Currently about half way through [i]Knife of Dreams[/i]. People were right, the story does get back on track here. I've enjoyed this one on the same level as I enjoyed Books 2-4. The Elayne chapters have been the only boring bits so far, but even they are much more interesting than the Elayne chapters of the previous book.

Next up, I'm going to try and finish [i]Dune[/i], which I got half way through a few months ago, then stopped. After that? Not sure. I might try and track down a cheap copy of Neil Gaiman's [i]Stardust[/i]. I saw the movie and I enjoyed it a fair bit. I have so little time for reading, though, that I doubt I'd fit all this into one month. :P

[Arthmail]

Currently reading:
Leviathan, by Hobbes
The Republic of Plato, by...er...Plato
Mortgage Associate distance learning, by AMBA
The World Without Us, by...forget his name.


However, i just bought The Lies of Locke Lamora last night, by Scott Lynch. I can't seem to get into it at all. I'm about 42 pages in, and i'm like...meh...i don't care about these people at all. Or the story.

Will be moving on to Market Forces by the Richard and the Morgan soon, as i bought that one last night as well.