July 2009

[Dunhallym]

Everyone that I've talked to who has read The Picture of Dorian Gray completely hated it. though, it is true they don't all have very similar tastes in books to mine.

Agree with other who have commented. I loved it, read it at least twice, once in French and once in English.

Over the past week(s), I've advanced my reading of JJ Marie's "Trotsky" that I started a while ago. It's a really interesting book, that requires slow and careful reading.

I've read Erikson's tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Fun and easy read, I really enjoyed those.

I've now started Eco's "Foucault's pendulum".

[Datepalm]

Finished the Painted Man. have the rest of the series, but I think i'll read something else. It wasn't bad, mostly due to pretty good charecterization just redeeming the rather pedestrian everything else.

[Myshkin]

Finished the Painted Man. have the rest of the series, but I think i'll read something else. It wasn't bad, mostly due to pretty good charecterization just redeeming the rather pedestrian everything else.

Peter Brett's The Painted Man?

[Mexal]

Peter Brett's The Painted Man?

My thoughts as well since the other books haven't been released yet.

I finished Scales of Gold by Dunnett and loved it. The ending pissed me off some though since the motivations of the character make no sense to me.

I'm now reading An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham. So far so good.

[Datepalm]

My thoughts as well since the other books haven't been released yet.

Ok that was odd. I was utterly certain I saw the next book at the store today. A check reveals that Painted Man and Warded Man are actually the same book. That is dissapointing.

ETA - which seems to not be out yet either. Don't know what I thought I saw then. Seemed like there were sequels. The lesson might be not to buy books when dehydrated. Weird. I had this convinced notion I could drop by the store and get the next book.

[beniowa]

I'm waiting on a few books to arrive, Angel's Game and Caught Stealing amongst them, but because I caught parts of the Alatriste film the other night (if you like the series but don't want to be spoiled, DON'T WATCH IT! The film spoils the as-yet unwritten books in the series. otherwise it was pretty good, and Viggo Mortensen was perfect as Alatriste) so I decided to reread Captain Alatriste while I'm waiting.

I hadn't even realized they had made a movie. How far ahead would you say it spoils the books? I've read all five that have been released in English.

[Mexal]

Ok that was odd. I was utterly certain I saw the next book at the store today. A check reveals that Painted Man and Warded Man are actually the same book. That is dissapointing.

ETA - which seems to not be out yet either. Don't know what I thought I saw then. Seemed like there were sequels. The lesson might be not to buy books when dehydrated. Weird. I had this convinced notion I could drop by the store and get the next book.

The next book is The Desert Spear and it looks really good from the sound of it. I liked The Painted Man because I cared about the characters and it was a quick read. It wasn't anything revolutionary but it was very enjoyable. I think the next one will be better.

[Jaxom 1974]

Currently I'm reading Ben Bova's Mars Life, his third Mard book in his Grand Tour series. Oddly enough, the second one is about the only Grand Tour book I haven't read yet...but it doesn't detract and Mars Life is as good as any of the other Tour books.

[Arlingzen Bill]

just finished Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.

I found some interesting parallels between Alas, Babylon and One Second After by William Forstchen.

Finished Hitler's War by Turtledove over the weekend. Now reading Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson.

[West]

Quoting my own post here.

Today I picked up The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson, and a pair by Gail Z. Martin, The Summoner and The Blood King. I was suckered in by Martin's cover art... I should know better. I have bought more books than I can count based on cool covers.

I also want to add that I went to B&N with the intent of picking up Abercombie. They only had 2 books by him which were the 2nd and 3rd in a series (#3 being the one everyone is talking about Best Served Cold.)

The nice man asked if I wanted him to order the first one, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I only bought books there when I wanted them immediately... Anything else I get from amazon.

[murphy]

Currently doing a reread of C. S. Friedman's Feast of Souls to refresh my memory for her Wings of Wrath. For some reason, I'm liking it better this time around. Perhaps my mood has improved.

[YellowDogJen]

Gosh, I've been reading so much lately (vacation), I don't even know what all to list. Thanks again to this forum for all the great recommendations.

Finished Best Served Cold. Great, great, great. I lubs me some Joey A. Wow. I started Drood here while back, but haven't finished it...dunno. That's unusual for me. Dan Simmons is such a jerk, and finding that out took the bloom off that rose. Sigh.

Currently reading Red Seas Under Red Skies and I am loving it. Oh, Locke!

All of those reading Neil Gaiman - he is absolutely one of my favorites!

I am looking forward to Already Dead, The City and the City, Grave Peril, and the last two Prince of Nothing books (just finished Darkness that Comes Before) and really liked it. Whew!

[Datepalm]

The next book is The Desert Spear and it looks really good from the sound of it. I liked The Painted Man because I cared about the characters and it was a quick read. It wasn't anything revolutionary but it was very enjoyable. I think the next one will be better.

That makes sense - this book was mostly spent on everyones childhoods. I liked the characters a lot too, and he managed to give even minor characters he could have easily gone a much more simplistic route with quite a lot of layers. I just kept wishing there was more in the way of plot and for everybodys tragic backgrounds to be flashbacked or remembered or something. I am rather dissapointed to see Desert Spear won't be out for close to a year though.

[mashiara]

I finished An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham and I really loved it. I thought it was a brilliant book and one of the best I've read this year. I can't wait to read The Price of Spring -when it comes out on paperback.

I also read A simple plan by Scott Smith and Banishing Verona by Margot Livesay. The first was an interesting book about how the prospect of a lot of money changes a lot of people, nothing special but good enough to read at the beach. The second didn't do anything for me, it didn't even give me the feel-good vibe I was expecting from it.

I'm going to start reading Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey next.

[Mexal]

Quoting my own post here.

I also want to add that I went to B&N with the intent of picking up Abercombie. They only had 2 books by him which were the 2nd and 3rd in a series (#3 being the one everyone is talking about Best Served Cold.)

The nice man asked if I wanted him to order the first one, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I only bought books there when I wanted them immediately... Anything else I get from amazon.

Best Served Cold is not part of the trilogy. It is a stand alone revenge story told in another part of that same world. There are a few overlaps with characters but not enough so that you would be lost.

The three books in the First Law Trilogy are The Blade Itself, Before They Were Hanged and The Last Argument.

[Peadar]

I finished Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room! He was a childhood hero of mine, but I somehow missed out on this one until now.

Currently reading Milennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom by Tom Holland. 150 pages in and it's good so far.

[lessthanluke]

Just started the Bakker's The Judging Eye.

[Procrastimancer]

I have just finished reading Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. For the longest time I had the book on my shopping list, but I always skipped over it when I placed an order. Finally, after getting a gift card for my birthday, I decided to get it... and I could kick myself for waiting so long. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I do have more to comment on though:

- Zelazny's prose seems erratic in the novel, moving from an almost utilitarian quality to moments of absolute beauty and back again just often enough for me to notice it. In any other novel, written by any other author, about any other subject, I think I would be put off by this, but I think that Zelazny pulled it off well and it worked in Lord of Light's favor. The only thing that does irk me is the occasional use of page-spanning paragraphs, which managed to put me off the second Amber book.

- I really like that Zelazny did not linger on description overmuch. In the hands of another author the battles found in the book could have gone on forever and a day, but they were thankfully brief, giving us the details needed without forcing us to read through the movements of battle and every strike and parry.

Eh, hell, that's all I have to say. Good book, read it if you haven't. Now I have to decide what to read next...

[kcf]

I finished up Tides from the New Worlds by Tobias Buckell. It's a collection of his short stories that I enjoyed very much. But it's a limited edition and not widely available. (review)

I'm now reading The Affinity Bridge by George Mann.

[Werthead]

Now halfway through Alan Campbell's God of Clocks. More great ideas, but I get the impression that this is going to be one of those trilogies where the author expended so much energy on the ideas and the first book that the second and third feel a bit perfunctory in comparison. Still good, it just doesn't quite reach the heights that the first book seemed to promise.

Not sure what to read next. I may go straight into the Mistborn trilogy or break things up with Kim Stanley Robinson's Galileo's Dream first. Will probably go with the KSR as it's SF and a stand-alone, a nice way to break up two fantasy triloges in a row.