June 2009 Reads

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Robert Buettner's 'Orphan's Triumph', the last installment of mankind's battle against alien slugs (those pesky alien slugs...) as seen through the eyes of Jason Wander. It's a very entertaining read but was let down by choppy pacing and a sense that things were contrived to have Jason in the right place at the right time... My full review is over Here. Next up is 'The Best of Michael Moorcock'.

[pat5150]

Just finished Brian Ruckley's Fall of Thanes. Dark, bloody, unforgiving, with what could likely be the largest body count of major characters in the history of the genre, this book is a great conclusion to one of the very best fantasy series of the new millennium.

Check the blog for the full review. :)

Patrick

[BookWyrm]

I just finished part one of Little, Big (Edgewood). Interesting so far. I'm hooked, but barely. I like how Crowley underplays the whole "magic" scheme, but I really wish the plot was a little more coherent. I feel a bit like everything is wandering from one beautiful scene to another. This doesn't worry me however, because it does feel like Crowley is setting the book up for a plot-to-come. It's interesting how he plays into the idea of big things inside smaller ones. I wonder what this will mean?

I read on!

[seastarr]

I'm on an uncharacteristic political/social kick these days with my reading. Almost done with Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and up next is Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

[delete this account pls]

I'm halfway through the Risen Empire by Scott Westerfield. I said I was looking for some fast paced space opera action, big spaceships blowing shit up, and Relic recommended this. Fits the bill perfectly, very entertaining so far.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I just finished Tyrant by Christian Cameron. I enjoyed this alot. Battles, political intrigue, Greek cavalry and set in a unique place in history (Black Sea area during the time of Alexander the Great). Fans of Stephen Pressfield's Gates of Fire should like this alot. Like Pressfield he does a good job in demonstrating the chaos of battles and yet showing the individual courage and heroics as well. The downside is the cliffhanger ending and there are parts that are choppy and rough. This book is actually a first of 5 books.

Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker is next.

[Isis]

Just finished The Last Argument of Kings...

Mixed feelings.

Definitely it is not worth re-reading, otherwise it would be like Logen, pissing into the wind. Real life is depressing enough, why make it worse?

I didn't expect a happy ending, but everything, absolutely everything to be bad? While you have to be realistic is a good motto, the ending is not realistic because life is shit and people do not change is overplayed.

You don't like the realism and that's a matter of taste. Something does not become unrealistic solely because you didn't enjoy it.

I persevered with The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and I came to like it after all. Not that I'll ever feel the need to read it again, but it was a nice little tale. The Unbearable Lightness of Being on the other hand goes straight onto the re-read pile. What a beautiful and thought-provoking book it is. :)

[K_P]

I'm halfway through the Risen Empire by Scott Westerfield. I said I was looking for some fast paced space opera action, big spaceships blowing shit up, and Relic recommended this. Fits the bill perfectly, very entertaining so far.

Just finished this and the sequel (Killing of Worlds) earlier in the week - enjoyed it very much

[Astra]

You don't like the realism and that's a matter of taste. Something does not become unrealistic solely because you didn't enjoy it.

Just because you believe that hammering home a point:

'Our minds never change!'

'You never change'

'Nothing has changed. I still need vengeance.'

'A man can change,' whispered Logen...yet he stood alone...

is realistic, doesn't make it one, does it?

[murphy]

Reading Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance, 4th book in the Cassandra Palmer series. I think this author has been reading the Dresden files because the books get funnier and funnier.

[Joanna vander Poele]

Read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was wonderfully engaging and I was surprised at how much I liked and the rate at which I finished it. Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar were quite creepy little villains, although I must say that:

SPOILER: LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER

Islington was quite insipid as the antagonist, though I did admire his connection to Atlantis.

Overall it was a lovely novel and reminded me that I need to read more Gaiman. I was a bit confused by the landscape of London Below, with all the descriptions of the Earl's Court and Serpentine's abode being in a train station, yet I kept imagining London Below to be more of a dark cavernous sort of place.

A wallbanger, though:

SPOILER: on the Black Friars

Could Gaiman not have thought of something better for the reason the Friars didn't tell Richard and co. about Islington and the key, simply other than "It was not our purpose"? Disappointing.

Also, is it ever resolved how Richard ever managed to see Door in the first place, when those from London Above cannot see those from London Below?

At this moment, also reading Master & Commander, first of the Aubrey-Maturin books. I am rather amused by the cover of rugged Captain Aubrey, whilst the book gleefully describes him as fat and hideously ugly. I am less amused with seeing the book for 20% off a week after I bought it.

I know there are 20 (21 with the Final Voyage) books in this series, but it was very slow-going. Perhaps my main problem is that I just really don't care about ships, and O'Brien does. I do enjoy Jack and Stephen's interactions, hopelessly sappy that they are (yes, that kind of free brotherly affection was in vogue at the time, I suppose, though I cannot help but put my immature fangirl goggles on and titter). I wonder if it is particularly important to read all the books in order, or whether there is a book in the series more exciting than this one at present.

[Isis]

I'm about halfway through A Betrayal In Winter. I am enjoying it but I couldn't honestly say it's unputdownable. In fact, I took a break to read Dark Sister by Graham Joyce in a single sitting. There are similarities between this and The Limits of Enchantment but the latter is the better work, I think. Joyce does the everyday kind of family/relationship conflict very well - well enough that people who wouldn't normally read spec fic would enjoy it if they could 'tolerate' the supernatural elements.

[Peadar]

I'm about halfway through A Betrayal In Winter. I am enjoying it but I couldn't honestly say it's unputdownable. In fact, I took a break to read Dark Sister by Graham Joyce in a single sitting. There are similarities between this and The Limits of Enchantment but the latter is the better work, I think. Joyce does the everyday kind of family/relationship conflict very well - well enough that people who wouldn't normally read spec fic would enjoy it if they could 'tolerate' the supernatural elements.

I would agree with you about "Betrayal", except that the ending just blew me away and then collapsed a building down on top of me. I loved it and demand that you do the same.

E.T.A. Forgot to mention that I've just started The Weavers of Saramyr by Chris Wooding.

[Guest Raidne]

The Unbearable Lightness of Being on the other hand goes straight onto the re-read pile. What a beautiful and thought-provoking book it is. :)

Agreed. The film is also excellent - very true to the book, and perfectly cast.

[Isis]

I would agree with you about "Betrayal", except that the ending just blew me away and then collapsed a building down on top of me. I loved it and demand that you do the same.

I promise to love it. :) I'm possibly diluting it by reading other books at the same time - I have about 150 pages left and I'll give it my full attention. Promise. :)

[Peadar]

I promise to love it. :) I'm possibly diluting it by reading other books at the same time - I have about 150 pages left and I'll give it my full attention. Promise. :)

Humph.

[Iskaral Pust]

I've found some time for reading during business travel in the last couple of weeks and have run through:

Snow Crash and Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. I picked up both right after reading Anathem. Both are enjoyable but not as good as his later works (Cryptonomicon, The Baroque Cycle and Anathem). I posted a very brief review of each in the Anathem thread.

Barbarians At The Gate: The Fall Of RJR Nabisco (I forget the authors, two WSJ journalists at the time) - great book. A compelling narrative considering it is non-fiction. More deserving of the title Bonfire Of The Vanities than the actual book that bears that name. I would recommend it highly. Great insights into the ego-driven world of Wall St. and the peak/nadir (depending on your view) of the rapacious 80's. Shadows and echoes of this era are clearly visible in the shenanigans of recent years.

Animal Spirits by Akerloff and Shiller. Non-fiction book on macroeconomics explaining why cycles of fear and greed (that's the phrase I have used for what they are calling animal spirits) are a significant driver of booms and busts that are ignored by economicists because they cannot easily be quantified. As you might expect, the book is therefore anecdote driven rather than offering a quantitative framework to deliver specific solutions. Quite a short book and a fun read. Some familiarity with macroeconomics would help, but anyone reading the newspaper even sporadically over the past nine months would know enough to follow the discussion. Well worth a read.

Water For Elephants by Sarah Gruen. I guess I'd call it a romantic drama set in a Depression-era circus, with a side-order insight on senescence. Well written and convincingly portrays the era (although how can I tell if it is an accurate portrayal?). The narrator POV is very well written and adds to the story. There's also nice blend of literary parallels that I won't spoil. An enjoyable, quick read.

[IheartTesla]

I read a bunch of books the last few weeks. Some of them include The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (enjoyed it greatly), the first novel in Fault Lines by the same author (liked it, but wished he had been more critical of Thomas Edison. The second half of Fault Lines just got too tedious for me), and Tales of HP Lovecraft (to be honest, I just donr get Lovecraft, but I recognize his place in the pantheon. But he's not for me, although his short stories are very atmospheric.)

I think I will re-read Gates of Fire now, after finishing the re-read of Pride of Carthage. Sometimes you are just in the mood to read one particular sub-genre of fantasy writing.

[Werthead]

Having finished the month-long digression into The Amtrak Wars, I am now taking a break from series to read H.A.R.M., Brian Aldiss' latest novel. After that I'll leap into Alan Campbell's Deepgate Codex trilogy.

[Larry.]

Finished Andrzej Sapkowski's Narrenturm an hour ago. Very different from his Geralt stories in style (much less dialogue-heavy) and story matter (set in the 1420s during the Hussite Wars), but the prose was good in the Spanish translation and I really am curious to read the remaining two volumes.

Almost halfway through Ildefonso Falcones' La mano de Fátima. Reading time has been very scarce this week due to a combination of the heat and working overtime at work (but since I'm salary, no extra pay :(), but it's a pretty good historical novel so far.