Hark Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'm reading.. *gulp* "The Face" by Dean Koontz. It's a little painful, but I'm waiting on a delivery from Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I used to really like Feist. I thought he jumped the shark on the Krondor series. I had a bit of hope with Talon of the Silver Hawk, as I felt it was much better than the Krondor books, but I hated King of Faxes... I have Exile's Return but havent read it yet. Picked it up in the discount bin. My be farther and farther down the list if its worse than KoF. Personally I thought "Exile's Return" was significantly better than the fairly average "King Of Foxes", and possibly Feist's best book since the middle of the Serpentwar. The plot is refreshingly different to the other books in the series, and Kaspar is an interesting character to read about. The last scene was pretty good as well. Unfortunately, the next book "Flight Of The Nighthawks" was a disappointment, comparatively, it wasn't bad but too little progress was made on the plotline introduced in "Exile's Return". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gildor Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Luuuuuuuuuuuuurvecraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi guys! Just finished reading Sarah Ash's CHILDREN OF THE SERPENT GATE. After reading the previous two volumes of The Tears of Artamon trilogy, I was curious to see how it would all end. Although the series suffers from a number of shortcomings, there were enough positive aspects to maintain my interest. Unfortunately, Children of the Serpent Gate is not the sort of climax I was eager for. Far from it, actually. . . The Tears of Artamon showed some promise. Yet it doesn't live up to that promise, at least not in every facet of the story. Still, it is good and interesting enough to please young fantasy fans, especially those readers relatively new to the genre. But not for well-read people. . . Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrist Simon Steele Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Just picked up Gardens of the Moon, I was expecting a thousand page magnum opus by descriptions round here but it is sadly the same size and look as an early Terry Brooks. Oh well. The prologue was...hmmmm...confounding. I really wanted Bakker but no one had the first book of his series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaroonedHopes Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I finally started A Feast for Crows. I'm about a fifth through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agulla Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. Being her first novel I have to say that this book is irregular. I found that the way the author portrays the characters could have been better, even though she does a good job with some of them (others are too cliché), some of the things that the protagonist does left me with a sense of "oh please". The same it could be said from conversations, writing good dialogues is something difficult. Now, what I did like in this novel, many things in fact: its freshness, the well paced and fast moving plot, its original ideas and some wicked concepts thrown into the tale. If I could summarize this novel in a few words I would say that Poison Study are the Amazing adventures of a food taster condemned girl in the Land of Fascist-Authoritarian government. Lords of Rainbow by Vera Nazarian. I've read very good reviews of this book and now I can say that they do justice to this excellent novel. Vera Nazarian excels in the portrayal of characters and places, she manages to tell I great story about great deeds and terrible things in less than 500 pages and I didn't feel that she needed more or less to tell that story. It's a novel with several point of view characters, some of them major characters but most of them secondary ones, unlike GRRM Vera Nazarian changes POV characters in the middle of a chapter and in some moments in the middle of a scene. At first this is disturbing and disorientating but one I got used to it, I enjoyed this subtle kaleidoscopic game. I can only recommend this tale. A great quest in black and white (and some colours, preferably monochromes). The Labyrinth by Catherynne M. Valente. I picked this book per Jay Tomio recommendation. English is not my first language and I was uncertain of my capacity to face the richness of Valente's poetic prose. On the other hand I love a challenge so I found myself with this book in my hands. My first reaction was "WTF!", frankly, I didn't understand anything. It was a confusing and frustrating read. Strangely enough I couldn't stop reading, I couldn't leave this book and begin another one (not that I didn't try, I actually read 20 pages or so of Naomi Novik's Temerarie but I was lured back to this Labyrinth). I always returned to this maze of well crafted words, this poetic journey of the mind. I read a few chapters and stopped and then returned to them, mesmerized by this no-tale of wanderings. The last half of the book I couldn't stop reading at all. I suppose that I'll try Yume No Hon. Book of Dreams. Gods help me, I'm becoming a Literati! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHoundRules Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I finally started A Feast for Crows. I'm about a fifth through. Every time I finish a book, I pick this one up......look at it......then put it back down. I got it the day it was released, but have no interest at this time to read it. I am waiting for the announcement that ADWD is done. I think I will read it then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobodymN Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Currently reading Prodigy by Dave Kalstein, a thus far, stellar debut. The Labyrinth by Catherynne M. Valente. I picked this book per Jay Tomio recommendation. English is not my first language and I was uncertain of my capacity to face the richness of Valente's poetic prose. On the other hand I love a challenge tongue.gif so I found myself with this book in my hands. My first reaction was "WTF!", frankly, I didn't understand anything. It was a confusing and frustrating read. Strangely enough I couldn't stop reading, I couldn't leave this book and begin another one (not that I didn't try, I actually read 20 pages or so of Naomi Novik's Temerarie but I was lured back to this Labyrinth). I always returned to this maze of well crafted words, this poetic journey of the mind. I read a few chapters and stopped and then returned to them, mesmerized by this no-tale of wanderings. The last half of the book I couldn't stop reading at all. I suppose that I'll try Yume No Hon. Book of Dreams. Gods help me, I'm becoming a Literati! Well, I'm glad you ended up liking it in the end! Valente is one author who I have to admit (English is also not my first language), that I find simply dazzling even when 1/8 of the time I don't know what the hell is going on - or more aptly can't decide what of 5 different things is really going on She chose an apt name for her title with the journey she put sends the reader on. Yume Me Hon is simply the most beautifully written book I have read in some time, and certainly of 2005. I have been on the third paragraph of my review for 3 months, trying to put the book into words I just think Valente is a fabulous, and possibly the single most underated author currently, although I admittedly this type of work doesn't exactly lend itself to mass popularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauvka Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I finished Guns of Avalon, Amber book 2 Didn't like it quite as much as book 1. There was something magical about Corwin first encountaring the hospital director, then Flora, then Random. Taking things in stride, realizing that he was caught up in something important that he can't remember, and having his actions misinterpreted by others as carful scheming. I felt that the second book took a very different toneand that Corwin's character was somehow changed. Don't know what to make emotionally of the meeting between Corwin and Eric. GReat line: NOt anyone of you, good doctors, could deal with my family, anyway. NOt being too critical as I alsways tend to love beginnings of stories best. I am going to start Lions of Al-Rassan by Kay today, before returning to Amber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrim Fox Cauthon Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I just finished Bakker's The Warrior Prophet. I'm going to have to wait until Friday for TTT. So I will now be reading The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels for a different sort of change of pace. And after I read TTT, I will probably switch over to Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 Men Of Tomorrow Gerald Jones A history of how superhero comics got started from their origins in the Mob world of pulp mags to the present day focusing on the story of Jerry Siegel, the man who invented Superman. It is a fascinating read for anyone with even a cursory knowledge of comics. It involves shady deals, famous gangsters, betrayal, loyalty, poverty, riches, government investigations, prohibition and the rise of fandom in general including the early days of Sci-Fi fandom. While the book can be bitty in parts as the author takes on a hell of a wide scope it is a great story well told. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 1914 1918: The History of the First World War David Stevenson Focusing on the political, economic and social factors which lead up to the war, escalted it, concluded it and how it affected worldwide issues for decades to come. Comprehensive and dense you won't find much in the way of military analysis or battlefield reports but it will tell you why those battles happened and how the results affected all the combatants as nations. I certainly recommend it and am now of for a lie down as it gave me just a little bit of a headache. PS. Ever feel like you are keeping a thread alive all by yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yana Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 PS. Ever feel like you are keeping a thread alive all by yourself? Do you need some help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBannon42 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Finished The Warrior Prophet on Sunday. I loved it. Best book I've read all year...albiet the only one, it was still great. Much much easier to get into than TDTCB. This one grabbed me from the get go. Just started the Curse of Chalion bu Lois McMaster Bujold. I'm about 50 pages in and really liking it. An easy read, but still quality. Going to a reading by her tonight so I thought I should get started reading something she has written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Since I was last in here I have read Dune and Dune Messiah. Someone on my message-board told me that Messiah was originally going to be part of the first book, but the publishers told Herbert to drop it as it would be too much of a downer. I guess that Dune seems just fine in structure as it is. But the more I think about it, the more I think, well maybe it would have been alright to complete Paul's story by publishing it as one book. Except that it would have to have a separation that said' ...twelve years later'. That might be a downer in its own right. I am quite taken with the idea of starting and finishing Paul's 'arc' (don't anyone slap me for using that word) in one go. It would give the book even more parallels with LOTR in the 'victory is not possible without huge sacrifice' category. Guess I can't help comparing everything with LOTR. Dune definitely goes on my re-read pile - a fantastic, thought-provoking creation. Just don't expect to like the film after you've read the book. I've said it before and I'll say it again: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmCHA. Also read Havoc in its Third Year by Ronan Bennett. A historical fiction about a coroner who finds the ultra, ultra, ultra puritanical views on justice and order of the town governors to be somewhat at odds with his own. In his last active case, so to speak, he comes up against obstruction and oppostion from his so called peers. The whodunnit aspect of this investigation is really secondary to the horrendously overjealous version of justice meted out by those in power. This book is really rather miserable. But, it is well written and easy to read. If you enjoy historical fiction set in England (I think it was 17th C - took the book back to the library and can't recall for sure) then you'll probably like this one. Right now I am reading American Psycho. I have around 40 pages to go. Must watch the film again as soon as possible. And then must read Less Than Zero (AND watch that again). People had told me that the violence had been toned down in the film and I am sure they were right. How is it possible for it to seem even more gory and disturbing on the page? I usually don't have a problem with violence in fiction, but the nearer I get to the end of the book, the more I am skimming the gore-ridden bits. I am totally loving the book though. I think Chuck Palahniuk writes in a very similar stream of consciousness fashion to E-E. Anyway. I'm off to finish the book now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornchowder Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Salman Rushdie- The Satanic Verses Thought this was a great book. It is very easy to understand the controversy around this book however im still trying to figure out the point. I guess that ill have to do a re-read Margaret Atwood- Oryx and Crake Im told that you either love or hate Atwood, and im certianly in the love her category. Oryx and Crake is an extremely initeresting novel that is very difficult to accurately describe. Im currently in the middle of Tolstoy's War and Peace, then after that ill read Homer's Oddessy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davos Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Just finished Righteous Victims by Benny Morris on the Arab-Isreali conflict, it was a reasonably balanced and well-written look at this complex story. Not spectatular but not bad either and is worth the read for its evenhanded approach. Just started Anubis Gates by Tim Powers which has been recommended to me rather enthusiastically a number of times. I read Last Call not terribly long ago and was greatly impressed. Haven't gotten far enough in this book to form an opinion but if it is as good as the other work i'm looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Salman Rushdie- The Satanic Verses Thought this was a great book. It is very easy to understand the controversy around this book however im still trying to figure out the point. I guess that ill have to do a re-read Margaret Atwood- Oryx and Crake Im told that you either love or hate Atwood, and im certianly in the love her category. Oryx and Crake is an extremely initeresting novel that is very difficult to accurately describe. Im currently in the middle of Tolstoy's War and Peace, then after that ill read Homer's Oddessy Sometime I forget how much I like Atwood. I think that because I had to read The Handmaid's Tale for A Level English before I ever read her stuff for pleasure, it took me a while to really enjoy her stuff. I like O & C very much, as I did The Satanic Verses. The Odyssey is grand too, although I've probably read The Iliad more often and used it for reference much more. Ha! That's until someone makes a film of The Odyssey featuring Sean Bean! What's the hold up? Good book choices there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat5150 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I started Steven Erikson's GARDENS OF THE MOON yesterday, and it's pretty damn good so far! Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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