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December 2008 reads

Vrana

By Vrana,
in Literature

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chitman13 Sellsword

chitman13

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I've read a fair few books this month, more than usual for some reason. After Altered Carbon and The Real Story I've manged to read an ARC of [url="http://walkerofworlds.blogspot.com/2008/12/seeds-of-earth-by-michael-cobley-orbit.html"]Seeds of Earth by Michael Cobley[/url] (great space opera in the style I love), Kethani by Eric Brown (one of the best things I 've read this year), Orphanage by Robert Buettner (enjoyable military sci-fi) and currently reading The Eyeless by Lance Parkin, a Doctor Who novel (I'm pleasantly surprised).
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Astra Council Member

Astra

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[quote name='kissoon' post='1625340' date='Dec 19 2008, 10.35']I thought I would make my first post about what I'm currently reading, so to get the ball rolling...

[b]The Book of the New Sun Vol. 2: Sword and Citadel - Gene Wolfe[/b]

Highly enjoying it so far, though not a "difficult" read, one that requires a lot from me. I can see myself being richly rewarded with re-reads, as it definitely is one of the most high-brow SFF works I've read.[/quote]

Hmm. One of the worst books I have read in 2008 :leaving:
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mashiara Council Member

mashiara

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I finished [i]Lunar Park [/i]by Bret Easton Ellis. It's been years since I read anything from him and at first I thought it was an autobiography kind of thing, then I realized what was happening. I really enjoyed the book but there was a voice in the back of my head the whole time telling me that I'd seen the same exact concept in a couple of Stephen King's books.

For some reason, the most vivid picture in my mind from this whole book is the image of the starving cat with the bloody paw and the bloody mouth....

Anyway, I'm 100 pages into Haruki Murakami's [i]The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle[/i] and I like what I'm seeing so far.
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kcf Council Member

kcf

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I finished [i]The Engine's Child [/i]by Holly Phillips ([url="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2008/12/engines-child-by-holly-phillips.html"]full review[/url]). It's a stylistic and skillfully executed, but it failed to really connect with me.

Now I'm reading [i]Escape from Hell![/i] by Hal Duncan.
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BookWyrm Council Member

BookWyrm

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[quote name='Dunhallym' post='1625335' date='Dec 19 2008, 04.53']Finished The Warrior Prophet, earlier than I thought I would. Damn book, I had to force myself to stop at 1 AM for a few nights, wondering how I would manage to get up in the morning. I blame it for now being sick! :P
With this introduction, I don't need to say I loved it.
I'm now starting the Thousandfold thought. I have vacations soon so it should be faster.[/quote]

I'm right behind you. I should finish the Warrior Prophet in a day or so. I'm having trouble sleeping too.....
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Werthead Council Member

Werthead

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[quote name='Dunhallym' post='1625335' date='Dec 19 2008, 09.53']I'm now starting the Thousandfold thought. I have vacations soon so it should be faster.[/quote]

It's also a lot shorter than [i]The Warrior-Prophet[/i]. Don't forget the enormous glossary takes up the last 150-odd pages ;)
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Bellis Council Member

Bellis

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I read Asimov's [b]Foundation[/b] novels (the first 3). It was really bizarre - it's like Isaac forgot that women existed or were necessary for a universal civilization, and just left them out of the first book and half. Then he added a couple strong females characters for the second half of the trilogy to over-compensate. Even not considering that, the last book and half is much more interesting than the beginning. But I couldn't help but compare it to the almost contemporaneous Dune series, and it compared unfavorably. Not the best SF series of all time, imho.

I picked up this book lying on the re-shelving stacks at the library, on a whim, looked easy to read and intriguing. Titled [b]The Mistress of Spices[/b] by Chitra Divakaruni. I wasn't quite expecting it to be a genre read, but it was, in fact. It's about an (East) Indian spice women of supernatural origins, sent to sell spice and wisdom to the denizens of Oakland California. The narrative seems constrained by the need to bring it back, structurally, to spices. The first person voice is interesting, but doesn't make the character any less mysterious. But some of the subplots and the love story are interesting and readable enough. It seems to drown a bit under its own numinosity. Been trying to decide whether this is magic realism or fantasy... has a bit of the same feel as Charles De Lint. I had the same problems with this story as I do with De Lint, and it should appeal to those his fans. Don't know yet whether I'll pick up more by her...
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Astra Council Member

Astra

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[quote name='RedEyedGhost' post='1625829' date='Dec 19 2008, 19.09']Wait, I thought you didn't even finish volume 1... how can you comment on volume 2?[/quote]
I have struggled through 1.5 volumes!!! :tantrum:
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RedEyedGhost Council Member

RedEyedGhost

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[quote name='Astra' post='1625983' date='Dec 19 2008, 14.19']I have struggled through 1.5 volumes!!! :tantrum:[/quote]

If you hated it so much why did you read three books? It's not like books two and three were different than book one :unsure:
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Myshkin Council Member

Myshkin

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[quote name='Joanna Nox' post='1626108' date='Dec 19 2008, 15.54']Just borrowed [i]Lolita.[/i] Very excited to start.[/quote]
One of the best books of the 20th century. The language is superb, and is made even more remarkable because it was written in English, which was Nabokov's second language. I hope you enjoy it.
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Astra Council Member

Astra

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[quote name='RedEyedGhost' post='1626055' date='Dec 19 2008, 22.55']If you hated it so much why did you read three books? It's not like books two and three were different than book one :unsure:[/quote]

No. I read only 1 and 1/2 of the first two books. I stopped in the middle of the second book.
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RedEyedGhost Council Member

RedEyedGhost

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[quote name='Astra' post='1626515' date='Dec 20 2008, 07.15']No. I read only 1 and 1/2 of the first two books. I stopped in the middle of the second book.[/quote]

So I was right :P Kissoon is commenting on Vol. 2 which contains books 3 and 4.
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duchess of malfi Council Member

duchess of malfi

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Have made it to the third Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson, [i]The Hero of Ages[/i]. So far I am really enjoying this trilogy. :) The magic system is completely unique (or at least I cannot recall ever running into anything like it before). :) I also like the ruined/dying world setting. :)


I think I will try [i]Thunderer[/i] next. I know a lot of people here really liked that one. :)
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RedEyedGhost Council Member

RedEyedGhost

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[quote name='Astra' post='1626688' date='Dec 20 2008, 12.28']:leaving: Oops[/quote]

Astra, I think it's admirable that you made it as far as you did. I'm a native English reader, and I wanted to give up on it at several points. If English were my second language, I doubt I would have made it two chapters.

[quote name='duchess of malfi' post='1626693' date='Dec 20 2008, 12.34']I think I will try [i]Thunderer[/i] next. I know a lot of people here really liked that one. :)[/quote]

If you're struggling on chapter 1, muscle through it because it gets much better. I still think chapter 1 should have been a prologue because it reads so differently from the rest of the book.
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