June 2009 Reads

[Mexal]

I just finished The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, his follow up to Shadow of the Wind. I thought it was great. It was infinitely darker than SOTW which added a bit of contrast to his previous book. I also enjoyed that there are elements in the book that really can't be explained. Quite a different book yet it provided a back story to some of the characters in SOTW. I like what Zafon is doing with his 4 intertwining tales with the single constant.

Larry, I didn't read your review when it came out because I didn't want to be spoiled. Any chance you can link it now?

Next up is Best Served Cold. Then I can get back to The Magus by John Fowles.

[Peadar]

Just started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

[cosnik]

just finished the unbearable lightness of being

simply stunning

now unto oryx and crake

i need to pick up endgame next

[Ser Barry]

Second Lifes by Tim Guest

Tim Guest starts of on a very interesting note looking at the impact Second Life has had on the life of a group of people with Cerebal Palsey. Unfortunately from that point onwards he seems to have become rather more enamoured with spending his time in game rather than writing his book. Too much time is taken up with Tim Guest's personal issues and obsession and the book sometimes retreats to the quality of a blog. There is insight here and some commentary but if he had stuck to his original plan and lived up to the promise of the first chapters then this could have been so much more. Patchy.

[Larry.]

I just finished The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, his follow up to Shadow of the Wind. I thought it was great. It was infinitely darker than SOTW which added a bit of contrast to his previous book. I also enjoyed that there are elements in the book that really can't be explained. Quite a different book yet it provided a back story to some of the characters in SOTW. I like what Zafon is doing with his 4 intertwining tales with the single constant.

Larry, I didn't read your review when it came out because I didn't want to be spoiled. Any chance you can link it now?

Next up is Best Served Cold. Then I can get back to The Magus by John Fowles.

Sure thing.

I also bumped the thread in which I posted it in case you and others wanted to start talking about the book now that it's available in English translation.

[Werthead]

Taken a break from the Amtrak Wars to check out Fire, the follow-up to Kristin Cashore's Graceling (it's actually a prequel set 40-odd years earlier but you know what I mean). Interesting book. Definitely a bit darker and grimmer than Graceling with much more conflicted protagonists. The author has upped her game with this one.

[Procrastimancer]

I started The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce and was not at all fond of the narration. Only three chapters in and it did take me a bit to get into the flow of The Facts of Life, so it is not like I am going to give up on it. I did set it aside in favor of The Tooth Fairy though, which has done very well in drawing me in in the three chapters I have read.

Oddly enough, I found the prologue of The Limits of Enchantment to be very well done, but there seemed to be a big jump backwards between it and the first chapter in the area of quality. Maybe I'm just imagining it.

[BookWyrm]

Due to its massiveness I decided I needed a short break from Night's Dawn and picked up Yves Meynard's Book of Knights. It's excellent so far. Anybody read it? It's a quick read, though, and I expect to move on to The Naked God shortly.

I've tried to. When I saw a few comparisons to him and Jack Vance (whom I adore) I snatched the Book of Knights up. Gene Wolfe also gives the book praise, and dedicates his Wizard Knight Duology to it. Personally I think Wolfe's two books are far superior to Meynard's book. I really couldn't bring myself to really get into it, but since you've reminded me of it, I believe I'll try again (I got to the point where the maine character is brought onto that massive boat).

If you are really into Meynard and have any interest in meeting him, I know he'll be going to this years Readercon.

[RedEyedGhost]

I started The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce and was not at all fond of the narration. Only three chapters in and it did take me a bit to get into the flow of The Facts of Life, so it is not like I am going to give up on it. I did set it aside in favor of The Tooth Fairy though, which has done very well in drawing me in in the three chapters I have read.

Oddly enough, I found the prologue of The Limits of Enchantment to be very well done, but there seemed to be a big jump backwards between it and the first chapter in the area of quality. Maybe I'm just imagining it.

It will definitely pick back up, but for me it wasn't until over half way through the book. Once it does, it's very good, but getting through that first half can be quite a slog.

[Isis]

I started The Limits of Enchantment by Graham Joyce and was not at all fond of the narration. Only three chapters in and it did take me a bit to get into the flow of The Facts of Life, so it is not like I am going to give up on it. I did set it aside in favor of The Tooth Fairy though, which has done very well in drawing me in in the three chapters I have read.

Oddly enough, I found the prologue of The Limits of Enchantment to be very well done, but there seemed to be a big jump backwards between it and the first chapter in the area of quality. Maybe I'm just imagining it.

I found The Limits of Enchantment incredibly easy to read. I breezed through the whole thing in a few hours. The narration/voice is absolutely spot on for the era the story takes place in - it was totally convincing to me. In fact, this book is a classic example of an author getting the tone (of dialogue, humour, turn of phrase etc) pitch perfect.

[Ser Barry]

I found The Limits of Enchantment incredibly easy to read. I breezed through the whole thing in a few hours. The narration/voice is absolutely spot on for the era the story takes place in - it was totally convincing to me. In fact, this book is a classic example of an author getting the tone (of dialogue, humour, turn of phrase etc) pitch perfect.

Did Larry hack your account?

[Deornoth]

Finished reading 'Harry and the Pirates', a short collection of Necroscope stories by Brian Lumley. As this fills in some of the 'Lost Years' gaps, 'Harry and the Pirates' is probably more for long time fans but I still had fun reading it as a first time reader. My full review is over Here. I'm now well into Escober's 'Chaos'...

[poeticfantasy]

Read Enders game for the first time in ages.... Didn't remember anything, even the big twist, so i enjoyed it.

I think, though, that I need a break for the kinda sci-fi and fantasy I've been reading ( i couldn't get through Reality Dysfunction because I think i am burned out) and so I'm now reading Siddhartha. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a gorgeous, life altering read. I recommend it even more if one is currently down, or stressed out. Truely a great, underestimated novel. After that I think I'm going to read:

The death of Artemio Cruz- Fuentes

Oblivion- David Foster Wallace

The Stone Raft- Jose Saramago

Rabbit, Run- John Updike.

I will, of course, throw some more sf/f in between ( Best Served Cold here I come.)

[blackstormdragon]

I finally finished The Night Angel Trilogy, which I throughly enjoyed. Next is either Robin Hobb's The Liveship Traders or Mike Jefferies Loremasters of Elundium.

[murphy]

Now reading Charlie Huston's Already Dead and am enjoying it in spite of my skepticism. I'll reserve judgment on whether or not I like him better than Butcher.

[delete this account pls]

Finished Best Served Cold, started The Dreaming Void by Peter Hamilton.

[Procrastimancer]

I've finished The Tooth Fairy.

I have come to the conclusion that I hate Graham Joyce. It is two-fold the hate. On one hand, which would be that of the aspiring writer, I hate him because I know there is no way I will write something as good as this or any of the books of his I have read thus far. On the other hand, which would be that of the reader, I hate him because while I quite enjoy a good book, I never have the intention of reading the whole thing in a sitting. And that is exactly what Joyce does. No other author that I have come across has ever had the ability to draw me into a story so quickly and it is a rare few that force me to read the book until I am finally finished. Beyond the sheer imagination and the wonderful prose of Joyce, there is the ability to keep me guessing. At some point in most novels I will eventually figure out what will happen next. Shadow of the Wind was such a novel, though I liked it very much despite that. In the case of Joyce's novels though, I have no clue what will happen next, except for the small bits that he basically gives you*. His novels are quick reads, but not the sort that resort to mediocrity in order to achieve it. In fact, I will say that these are some of the finest books I have read.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept is cool, and the execution was masterful. It was scary, whimsical, disgusting, and touching. Highly recommended.

REG was very accurate when describing the book. The one thing I would have to disagree about would be the scary bit, but that is just for me. There were plenty of things that were rather unnerving and things that were outright creepy**. Other than that I can't help but agree with him about the book. I would really like to go on about just how good it was, but it seems a bit redundant and I have to be up in four hours for work since the damned book kept me up later than I like.

As for the bits with the asterisks, I feel the need to spoilerize them.

SPOILER: The Tooth Fairy

*While it was obvious what the outcome of the the scene with Terry, the garage, and the pipe bomb, I couldn't help but feel a severe sense of dread about the whole thing. You know it is going to happen, but you hold out some hope that it won't, only for it to... well, blow up in the end.

**I never quite realized just how creepy it was waking up as a kid in a dark room and seeing things that were made out of objects in your room. The scene where the Tooth Fairy puts in its first appearance was genuinely unnerving even for someone like me, who has never had a fear of the dark. While I wouldn't name this or anything else in the story as being scary, I can definitely see it as such for others.

EDIT: I'll be going back to The Limits of Enchantment tomorrow. Then it will be Requiem after that.

EDIT2: Oddly enough, I no longer fear burning out on Joyce's books. Instead I fear the day when I'll have none left to read.

[BookWyrm]

I've finished a reread on Gene Wolfe's Wizard Knight today. I remain impressed with him. It seems like he's constantly on a higher plane of intelligence than I am, but I enjoy that in his books.

I will return to the Silmarillion now. I'm on the Beren & Luthien chapter, and the book was so dense that I had to take a day or two off from it. Despite my eagerness to return to that, however, I couldn't help starting Jonathan Carroll's Land of Laughs, and I have finished a third of the book. I really love it when I read a new author. :)

[Larry.]

Read/viewed Max Ernst's excellent 1934 surrealistic collage/novel, Une Samaine de Bonté: A Surrealistic Novel in Collage just now. Since it is almost wordless, here are a few images that will convey much of the book's style and themes.

[Isis]

Did Larry hack your account?

I didn't say how many words/minute I can read at though.