September 2008 Reads

[Werthead]

Not sure what to read next. I'm torn between Peter V. Brett's [i]The Painted Man[/i] and something solid to reread, perhaps some PFH. Or maybe it's time to say screw it and start off the [b]WoT[/b] reread I've been putting off for the last few years.

But then I've still got another ten books or so on the to-read pile, which I'd feel guilty for putting on hold for several months. Hmm.

[AprilFool]

Just finished Joe Abercrombies's [u]Last Arguement of Kings[/u], and I believe that much of the hype was true. The series kept getting better and better and I just loved how it was brought to a close. Perfect! I am eagerly looking forward to his next book.

Next up is either A Lee Martinez's [u]Too Many Curses[/u], or Sanderson's [u]Well of Ascension[/u].

[Larry.]

About to start reading George MacDonald's [i]Lilith[/i] (1895), which apparently had quite the influence on both C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

[sparky]

[quote name='Darling' post='1506520' date='Sep 5 2008, 02.53']I'm currently reading [i]The Fountainhead[/i]. I'm about 150 pages into it and, by this point, I expected to be enjoying it much more than I am. The concept is impressive and I'm intrigued by her philosophy, but it's been very repetitive so far. I'm in it for the long haul, so here's to hoping that the story picks up.[/quote]

Don't fall prey to Rand. Just put it down and walk away. Bankrupt 'philosophy', marginal writing, insipid plots. Sorry. I read most of her stuff at 20, and now at 41, wow, I want those hours back.

[Ned]

[quote name='Inigima' post='1501675' date='Sep 1 2008, 21.02']Currently reading Chabon - [i]The Yiddish Policeman's Union[/i].[/quote]
Shalom, everybody. First post and I’m also reading the Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon. This is the second Chabon I have read after The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Klay. There’s something very evocative about the way Chabon writes. I don’t usually like it when I’m overly aware of an author’s writing because it drags me out of the story, but, with Chabon, I want to savour every line of his pitch perfect descriptions and the book, so far, never feels overwritten.

[beniowa]

I finished [i][b]Zoe's Tale[/b][/i] by John Scalzi last night and thought it was pretty good. I don't generally go into parallel stories but it was sufficiently different to make it interesting. Scalzi did a good job at creating a distinct viewpoint in Zoe. Well written and hysterically funny as always. [b]8/10[/b].

Now reading [i][b]The Ten Thousand[/b][/i] by Paul Kearney.

[Datepalm]

In theory im reading Chasm City, Downbelow Station, Hitlers Pope, Crystal Rain and The Peshawar lancers. They all started fairly well, and for no reason I can discern all are stalled completly. In practice, i've been reading through a stack of old National Geographics. (Canadian Railways today, yesterday, the Volga. A lot of stuff actually kind of pales after reality - at least as presented by NG)

[mashiara]

I finished reading [i]Blindness [/i]by Jose Saramago a few days ago. I liked the story and the allegory was powerful and haunting. I have to admit I sometimes got tired of the way he wrote. That might be anathema to some but it's the teacher in me that objects to periods that are a page and a half long (at least twice that I made a point of noticing.. but enough of his sentences were overly long) and pages upon pages without paragraphs. Don't get me wrong, it was skillfully done and the language was beautiful and I'm not the one to criticize a Nobel winner, I'm just saying I found it jarring.

I needed something easy after that so I read [i]Cry Wolf[/i] by Patricia Briggs, first book in a new series she's started. Truly a brainless read and not as enjoyable as her Mercy Thompson books.

I'm now reading [i]Broken Angels[/i] by Richard Morgan. I'm 100 pages into it and I'm having a hard time losing myself in the story. I loved Altered Carbon, I'm not sure about this yet.

[Joanna vander Poele]

Read [i]The Lions of Al-Rassan.[/i] Such a lovely book; Guy Gavriel Kay has such an elegant, lyrical style, but at the same time I felt completely detached to everything. I read as an observer, and was [i]only[/i] an observer. I was entranced and yet utterly ambivalent, unable to care about what happened to anyone in the book beyond passing interest (even if I did think Ammar and Rodrigo were very interesting).

SPOILER: and on a lamer note...

I didn't really like Ammar getting with Jehane. Then again, I have some sort of raging irrational hatred for romance, so I doubt I will ever be appeased in that matter.

Also, I was more interested in HOW Ammar and Rodrigo were counterpoints of each other. The book was very deliberate in its comparisons of the two, yet I think they should have interacted a little more, especially by themselves. Too much telling here.

I am a 100 pages into [i]Mistborn: The Final Empire[/i] and am a little underwhelmed. I bought this book mostly because everyone said it had a KICKASS! magic system, and it's original at least.

I don't feel particularly compelled to read further, which is a shame because I enjoyed [i]Elantris.[/i] Also, am I the only one who thinks Kelsier is something of a tool?

SPOILER: regarding his thoughts on the skaa

There is one scene when Kelsier is breaking into Venture's Keep for the atium where he thinks that a skaa who "turns against his people for a bit of coin" (paraphrasing) deserves what he gets for all eternity. I'm assuming that, and a number of other comments that made me go WTF, that Kelsier is just simply overconsumed with a selfish and hateful rage for those who did him and his wife wrong, but I know it seriously made me reconsider my previous feelings toward him. God forbid someone try to make a living however they can, jackass.

The book did remind me of[i] The Lies of Locke Lamora[/i], though only with superficial similarities. I'll finish it, obviously, but I hope it gets more interesting or [i]The Well of Ascension[/i] is out.

[Calibandar]

Gyre

[quote]Busted Flush edited by George R. R. Martin
A bit uneven for me. But I've never been an avid Wildcards reader. I do think fans will enjoy it though. Overall, for a non-fan of the superhero milieu, I enjoyed the debut Devil's Cape and how it approached the matter much better.[/quote]

I agree with this. I think [i]Devil's Cape [/i]is one of the better new releases this year and I preferred it over [i]Inside Straight[/i]. I've yet to read David Schwartz's "[i]Superpowers[/i]" which I hear is quite different, but a good read.

[swedeheadchris]

I've just finished reading [url="http://thebookswede.blogspot.com/2008/09/promise-of-wolves.html"]"Promise of the Wolves" by Dorothy Hearst [/url]which I thoroughly enjoyed. Some typical fantasy elements -- prophecies, etc -- are countered by talking wolves ;)

[Black Wizard]

I am currently halfway through [i]Under the Eagle [/i]by Simon Scarrow.

In my book cue is:

[i]The Eagle's Conquest[/i] - Simon Scarrow
[i]Before they are Hanged[/i] - Joe Abercrombie
[i]Wolf Sea[/i] - Robert Low
[i]Odin's Child[/i] - can't remember the author

[Kat]

I just finished [i]The Steel Remains[/i] and wanted to say, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was different from Morgan's science fiction works--probably less detailed, but it's got various worldbuilding things to figure out. I said this in the spoiler thread, but I think the book reminded me of what would happen if Bakker and Erikson's worldbuilding got together and had a baby, but the book wasn't written by either of them (no long philosophical tangents), and Morgan says it's only going to be 3 books long, so will doubtlessly be tied up faster than either of those authors can finish a series. I kind of swore, no new epic fantasy, but got tempted by this because I was such a fan of Morgan after [i]Black Man/Thirteen[/i], and it did not disappoint.

There is still no news on when this will be published in the US (I imagine publishers here are afraid of teh buttsecks!, which is incidentally described in much less detail than Morgan's usual sex scenes) but came out in the UK a month ago. I ordered it from The Book Depository for less than $20.

[pat5150]

Just finished Glen Cook's first Black Company omnibus, [i]Chronicles of the Black Company[/i], and I love it!

I now understand what Erikson meant when he said that Cook brought the story down to a human level by dispensing with the cliché fantasy archetypes. And it's obvious Cook was a huge influence behind SE's Bridgeburners.

Perhaps not as groundbreaking today as they were when they were initially published in 1984, the three volumes contained in this omnibus are nonetheless as entertaining as anything you are likely to read this year.

Check the blog for the full review. :)

Patrick

[Larry.]

Kat,

If memory serves, the US release of Morgan's book will be in March 2009.


As for my own reading, finished reading Jeff VanderMeer and Rose Secrest's 1999 anthology, [i]Leviathan: Volume Two[/i]. This was a collection of 5 novelettes/novellas and while good, it wasn't quite to the levels achieved by the 3rd and 4th volumes. I also started and finished George MacDonald's [i]Lilith[/i] today. It'd be interesting to see how many here would be turned off by the prose; that was one of its strengths for me. Story was a bit weak in places, however. More on it later, perhaps.

[Calibandar]

Kat,

The Steel Remains will be published in the US in January. It's up for pre-order on Amazon.com.

[Werthead]

Okay, I've taken leave of my senses and started rereading [i]The Eye of the World[/i]. Interesting to see if I go straight through all eleven books or manage to intersperse some other things in there.

[quote name='mashiara' post='1507583' date='Sep 6 2008, 05.56']I'm now reading [i]Broken Angels[/i] by Richard Morgan. I'm 100 pages into it and I'm having a hard time losing myself in the story. I loved Altered Carbon, I'm not sure about this yet.[/quote]

Yeah, it took me a good 150-200 pages to get into the book's headspace, but I ended up thinking it was better than AC. I got bored in AC with it basically just being about Kovacs and one or two other characters (who invariably died). The sentient killer hotel should have played a bigger role, as that was cool. I liked it in BA that there's more of a team vibe going on, and was quite shocked that a fairly substantial number of the secondary cast was still breathing at the end of the book. I'm hoping some of them come back in Woken Furies.

[mashiara]

[quote name='Werthead' post='1508086' date='Sep 7 2008, 04.08']Okay, I've taken leave of my senses and started rereading [i]The Eye of the World[/i]. Interesting to see if I go straight through all eleven books or manage to intersperse some other things in there.[/quote]

I did that last summer. I read all eleven of them in a row... and then Jordan died. :( I have to say, it was fun to return to the WoT world. Even reading the books that really sucked, I got a good chuckle out of thinking how many things I've said against them.

[quote]Yeah, it took me a good 150-200 pages to get into the book's headspace, but I ended up thinking it was better than AC. I got bored in AC with it basically just being about Kovacs and one or two other characters (who invariably died). The sentient killer hotel should have played a bigger role, as that was cool. I liked it in BA that there's more of a team vibe going on, and was quite shocked that a fairly substantial number of the secondary cast was still breathing at the end of the book. I'm hoping some of them come back in Woken Furies.[/quote]

I'm hoping you're right. I haven't read any more since I last posted, with school preparations and this extremely full weekend I just didn't feel like trying to read a page or two more. I'll get back to it Monday and after I'm done I'll move right on to Woken Furies.

[Gigei]

I feel like a literary idiot or something. I borrowed "Night of Knives" which everyone says sucks but I'm actually liking it (although I have only started it, 1/8th in).

Maybe reading "Twilight" drained my thinky-meats. *cries* That, and Tad Williams incredibly bloated Otherland series.

[start rant]Four enormous books for this crap story? What on earth was Williams on when he wrote this?

You know, generally when it's four humongous books, people expect an epic storyline with a lot of plot threads and characters. Otherland has ONE whole plot, with NO subplots worth talking about.

Please, the whole series could have fit in one book, why drag it on for soooo long? The same story in the first book is the end story in the last book. Nothing even changed, they are just spending the whole series stumbling around looking for answers.

The whole thing is way too cliched and dumb. I won't spoiler tag this because you can figure as much off the book descriptions: big, evil conspiracy creates a cyberworld to make themselves immortal. Oh yeah, its powered by children and brains.

Virtual environments that feel real? Uh, I think that was novel idea 30 years ago.

The structure is like this:

Emerge into a virtual world - oh look, it's the Land of Oz, except evil! Exit to another world - oh look, it's ancient Egypt with all the animal-headed gods, except its an evil version. Exit to another world - it's the chess world from "Through the Looking Glass" except without the charm and evil. Exit to another virtual world - wow it's "A Bugs Life" and "Antz", except it's evil....and so on.

Also, what is up with real people treating virtual characters as though they were real people? They are not AIs, they are just code, why are the people so dumb as to feel pity for them if they die? The virtual "people" don't have any feelings or intelligence. Tad Williams must be an old fart who was born way too long after computers was invented. It's like some guy who is horrified and breaks down crying when the Sims die (from the Sims computer game).

Anyone who grew up in the computer age/internet age would be way too desensitized to virtual violence to care about random code. They just respawn when they die.

[/end rant]

[Joanna vander Poele]

Gigei, I liked [i]Night of Knives[/i] too!

I am planning to get all of the WoT books, but alas [i]The Great Hunt [/i]is completely missing at my local Chapters and I don't like WoT enough that I'd get the later books before getting the earlier ones (despite me doing that twice already :rolleyes: it was a 3-for-$9.99, how could I say no? ;))

I would disagree on the virtual-people thing though, if the characters have spent enough time in a particular virtual world it is not unexpected that they might get attached to computer-graphic folks as if they were the real deal, especially if the virtuals are relatively sophisticated in their creation. I have not read Otherland, mind you.