Peadar Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I have just finished [url="http://www.amazon.com/Tender-Morsels-Margo-Lanagan/dp/0375848118/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239816959&sr=1-1"]Tender Morsels[/url] by Margo Lanagan. This is about the darkest thing I've read since Cormac McCarthy's [url="http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/B001GIVCZM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239817305&sr=1-2"]The Road[/url]. Brilliant and traumatising. Not for the sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 This weekend I finished [i][b]Turn Coat[/b][/i] by Jim Butcher (review). The 11th book in the Dresden Files is fast-paced and entertaining as always. It's also a fair bit darker then many of the previous books and features a fair amount of development for Harry. My only gripe was that the identity of the traitor seemed to be a bit of a copout. Recommended. Next up will be [i][b]In the Courts of the Sun[/b][/i] by Brian D'Amato, which I'll be reviewing for Bookspot Central. [quote name='AprilFool' post='1755931' date='Apr 15 2009, 11.42']Just finished two good books. The first was [u]The Crown Conspiracy [/u]by Michael Sullivan. It was a nice quick read, and promises some interesting sequals (which have all been written and should arrive every six months or so!).[/quote] I just finished that one last night and should get a review in a couple days. Not a great book, but it was a fun little read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester Joergensen Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Breezed through "The girl who played with fire", in two days. Will finish "The Jacoubian building" very soon, which I interrupted to read The girl who played with fire. Fell free to mock me mercilessly. Of course I know the jacoubian building is a vastly better book. But am so addicted to ridicously plotted crime novels. Will probably start on "the name of the wind". "watership down", or don Delillos "Libra" next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulain Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Finished Pratchett's [i]The Light Fantastic[/i] yesterday. Again, fun to read but not really funny. Will check out more Discworld novels in the future. I'm now about a hundred pages into Joe Haldeman's [i]The Forever War[/i] and it's been good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Ilya Popov' post='1740931' date='Apr 1 2009, 02.59']Am now, for the third time, trying to read Erikson's Deadhouse Gates. As a lifelong lover of epic fantasy, this novel has regularly turned me off, and I've been trying to read it since the year it was published. Really, it's all Felisin's fault. She's grating. Less now, but still. Damn woman! Tis about it. Undertaking the Great Wheel of Time Re-Read Soon, due to a Recent Announcement that reignited my interest in a series that I've not paid any attention to for the better part of half a decade.[/quote] I gave up on Erikson after 3/4 of Deadhouse Gates. Why torture yourself? Currently finishing up Last Argument of Kings. Overall liked the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyrehead Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [i]Naamah's Kiss[/i] by Jacqueline Carey. Even without the number of push backs in releases this year, this was easily one of my most anticipated reads of the year. And it did not disappoint in any way. Of course Carey did blow me away with the first in the Imriel trilogy and then took the story in a direction that, without detracting from the quality of her writing, was not quite the direction I felt the story should have gone, let alone merited. Now I'm really, really looking forward to seeing where this new series goes and it is so nice having something promised actually delivered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trinuviel Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='gyrehead' post='1756975' date='Apr 16 2009, 13.45'][i]Naamah's Kiss[/i] by Jacqueline Carey. Even without the number of push backs in releases this year, this was easily one of my most anticipated reads of the year. And it did not disappoint in any way. Of course Carey did blow me away with the first in the Imriel trilogy and then took the story in a direction that, without detracting from the quality of her writing, was not quite the direction I felt the story should have gone, let alone merited. Now I'm really, really looking forward to seeing where this new series goes and it is so nice having something promised actually delivered![/quote] You just significantly upped how much I anticipate this one! I was a tiny bit wary because she she really disappointed me with the last book in the Imriel trilogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna vander Poele Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Finished [i]Niccolo Rising [/i]by Dorothy Dunnett. A rather strange but enjoyable novel nonetheless. Will pick up the sequel, obviously. One thing I didn't get... SPOILER: Nicholas' daddy...So is it actually Simon? The book says that he left Claes' mom at the de Fleuries, and then she had a stillborn. Then she got pregnant with Nicholas in a tryst with a servant? Or was Nicholas Simon's kid? Did Nicholas' mom only say she had a stillborn but it was Nicky? Oh, I don't even know... Reading [i]The Phoenix Guards[/i] by Steven Brust. Oh my god, I don't even know where to begin. It's just fantastic. Dumas' style is gloriously perfect, and I like Tazendra a lot. I do wonder about the ease of which the characters seem to openly [i]admire [/i]one another, even when they are of different Houses, case in point Khaavren and Illista... Also reading [i]Casino Royale[/i] by Ian Fleming. Sexism isn't bad, just eyeroll worthy. But oh god, if the entire book is about baccarat I don't know man, I may just re-watch the movie... Aussi, reading [i]The Night Watch[/i] by Sergei Lukyanenko (I got it!). Very cool. Love the use of Moscow as a setting, and not because I'm an idiot who doesn't realise the author's Russian. Finally, will soon start [i]Consider Pheblas[/i] by Iain M. Banks. This guy is quite prolific. But I'm excited nonetheless :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deornoth Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Finished reading Anthony Reynolds' 'Dark Disciple', a tale of the depredations of Chaos Space Marines in the Warhammer 40k universe. This is a book where you can tell how it's going to end but the fun is in getting there. Loads of heavy weaponry and alien scum bearing the brunt of it! My full review is over [url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]Here[/url]. I'm now well into my ARC of 'Nights of Villjamur' and things are getting to be very good now. I think this one will be worth looking out for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Joanna Nox' post='1757111' date='Apr 16 2009, 09.23']One thing I didn't get... SPOILER: Nicholas' daddy...So is it actually Simon? The book says that he left Claes' mom at the de Fleuries, and then she had a stillborn. Then she got pregnant with Nicholas in a tryst with a servant? Or was Nicholas Simon's kid? Did Nicholas' mom only say she had a stillborn but it was Nicky? Oh, I don't even know... [/quote] This is sort of like asking.. "so, who was Jon Snow's mother again? I didn't catch that" and you will pretty much have to read the entire series to find out ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teng Ai Hui Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Hellboy(v. 1): Seed of Destruction Hellboy(v. 2): Wake the Devil Neverwhere (graphic novel) Jurassic Park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 [quote name='Joanna Nox' post='1757111' date='Apr 16 2009, 07.23']Finished [i]Niccolo Rising [/i]by Dorothy Dunnett. A rather strange but enjoyable novel nonetheless. Will pick up the sequel, obviously. One thing I didn't get... SPOILER: Nicholas' daddy...So is it actually Simon? The book says that he left Claes' mom at the de Fleuries, and then she had a stillborn. Then she got pregnant with Nicholas in a tryst with a servant? Or was Nicholas Simon's kid? Did Nicholas' mom only say she had a stillborn but it was Nicky? Oh, I don't even know... [/quote] You must mean sequels in the plural. There are a total of 8 big books in this series. Now reading the Warded Man by Peter Brett. Thoroughly enjoying it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 Finished over the past two days: Dino Buzzati, [i]Poema a fumetti[/i] - retelling of the Orpheus/Eurydice myth, but in modern terms and using the comics form as the storytelling vehicle. Excellent. Ismail Kadare, [i]The Palace of Dreams[/i] - Part a reimagination of Hell and part an oblique critique on Albania's then-Communist regime. Very good, although reading the English translation of the French translation of the original Albanian led to some awkward reading moments. Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell, [i]Murder Mysteries[/i] - Graphic novel adaptation of the audioplay adaptation of Gaiman's excellent angelic murder mystery. Very good illustrations that capture so much of the story that I loved. Almost done with the second of Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius's novels, [i]A Cure for Cancer[/i]. Good, but still pulp fiction compared to Moorcock's later Pyat novels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deornoth Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Finished reading 'Nights of Villjamur', a book that wears it's influences a little too obviously but makes up for this with a plots and characters that are totally engaging. There's something for everyone and the wait for the sequel starts here as far as I'm concerned. My full review is over [url="http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com"]Here[/url]. I'm now starting on Robert Redick's 'The Red Wolf Conspiracy'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulain Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Finished Joe Haldeman's [i]The Forever War[/i] yesterday. Despite being written in the seventies, the novel still holds up well to this day (except for the dates: intergalactic travel and war in 1997). Haldeman does a fine job of illustrating the horrors of war, and his dystopian image of future earth is scary and vivid. The only thing which bothered me a bit was that he got too technical at times. Maybe I'm just not a big fan of hard SF. In the end, [i]The Forever War[/i] is an SF classic; If you're a fan of the genre, read it, or you're missing out. Today I've started Philip K. Dick's [i]Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?[/i]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchess of malfi Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I have been trying to read a book for a month now that Amazon sent me for free to review. It is called [i]Carpentaria[/i] and was written by Alexis Wright. The language use is some of the most beautiful I have run into in quite some time - I keep wanting to read it aloud, as the language has such cool cadences and rhythems - almost like scat singing here and there. Whenever I can bring myself to pick it up, I have a hard time putting it down because I get so enthralled in the language and prose. But I have to literally force myself to pick it up. The author is an Australian Aborigine, and she is writing about her people who live near a little Australian town in the middle of no where on the northern coast. The extreme racism and poverty in the story make me want to literally vomit. The book on the one hand is so beautiful - as when telling the myths of the author's people. But the contents of the story are just...very disturbing. I do not think I will be able to finish this one, and will probably donate it to my local library - God knows they need to build up their collection of magic realism anyway. ;) Those who have stronger stomachs than I do would probably love this book. :) As would people who like to read amazingly evocative language use. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 That sounds like an interesting novel, Duchess. Might try to track it down myself. Based on recent discussions, I picked up and read [b]Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader[/b] (alright, but a little too bourgeouis overall), [b]The Baron in the Trees[/b] (cute Calvino). I was also reminded by this thread to read [b]What is the What[/b] by Dave Eggers. I'm feeling somewhat ambivalent. I couldn't put this book down, and I can't really put my finger on what bothered me about it, or what was objectively less than excellent. Maybe it felt over-the-top, despite being a true story. Maybe I didn't like the concept of a biography written in first person. Maybe it subtly rubbed against my personal political beliefs, or I just didn't automatically like Valentine. But most likely,[i] I just have a stubborn allergy to anything this popular[/i], and there's absolutely nothing wrong with this book at all. I read [b]Half the Blood of Brooklyn[/b] and [b]Every Last Drop[/b], pretty much back to back in a couple sittings. I did not notice a drop in quality; on the contrary, I really like the over-arching plotline. I need the last book stat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna vander Poele Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 [quote name='murphy' post='1757764' date='Apr 16 2009, 17.17']You must mean sequels in the plural. There are a total of 8 big books in this series.[/quote] I am not reading seven books in a single series simultaneously... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 A few days ago I read [i][b]The Crown Conspiracy[/b][/i] by Michael J. Sullivan ([url="http://thedecklededge.blogspot.com/2009/04/review-crown-conspiracy.html"]review[/url]). It's the first book in a new series by a small press publisher. The story begins when two thieves are falsely accused of the murder of a king. When they are offered a chance for escape, it starts a tale of adventure and intrigue. In many ways, the novel takes all the conventional tropes of a traditional fantasy story, takes what it needs, and throws out the rest. What is left is a quick and entertaining read. It has a few flaws, but I would definitely recommend it. I'm about 80 pages into [i][b]In the Courts of the Sun[/b][/i] by Brian D'Amato and so far it's pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Still reading Fool Moon, but reading has been on the back-burner for the last few days due to beer, computer games and watching DVDs. Will try to finish it off over the weekend and move on to something else.I am not reading seven books in a single series simultaneously...Lightweight :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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