January 2010 Reads

[Seak]

I recently finished The Forever War, which I liked quite a bit, I just didn't think it lived up to the hype. I know, that's a lame way to go, but I didn't think it was the blow me away, best military sci-fi ever.

Full Review Here

[mashiara]

I finished China Mieville's The Scar and I thought it was a brilliant, amazing book. I actually thought it was even better than Perdido Street Station and darker, if that's possible, more thought-provoking. I just loved how complex and masterful the plot was, full of intrigue and twists and revelations that kept changing my expectations. I loved the world he created and all the creatures in it, I think his powers of description are amazing and his imagination without end. Most of all, I was thrilled by his characterization. He seemed to be exploring human nature, to seek the motivation behind people's actions. I fucking loved this book. It wasn't a book you can read without paying attention, so many details and nuances would escape me if I was doing this distracted, but it was an excellent read. So, is Iron Council as good?

I also read Το πάθος χιλιάδες φορές by Zyranna Zateli. I can't even remember the last time I read a book by a Greek author but she's totally worth it, I think she's one of the best ones out there today and I wish her books would get translated. I would say her work falls under the magical realism category. This book was the second in a series of sorts, the first one came out 8 years ago. I was baffled at first to see in the opening chapters 7 of the people who died in the last book -and it took me a while to realize they were dead still. It was all explained masterfully later. Her book (all 765 pages of it) is very rich in detail, rich in characterization, rich in allegories and miracles, steeped in mysticism. It is also an amazing record of traditions and left-over pagan customs and beliefs and a gret description of everyday life and family dynamics in the Greek countryside in the early 20th century. It's a shame that it's probably going to take her another 8 years to write the next installment but if it's a book as good as this one, then it will be totally worth the wait.

So far the year is going very well. Next up is Like Water for Chocolate (Como aqua para chocolate) by Laura Esquivel.

I started Sleepless by Charlie Huston. If the first few chapters are any indication, this is going to be an outstanding book - depressing as hell - but outstanding.

That's one of the books I'm really interested in, I'm looking forward to your review.

[kcf]

That's one of the books I'm really interested in, I'm looking forward to your review.

As I said, I'm not yet far into it, but it's very good so far. If it holds up - this will be like The Road was a few years ago. It will get big press, be a best seller and gain lots of mainstream appeal (which of course means it ceases to be genre).

[Bellis]

So, is Iron Council as good?

IC is divisive. It is less tightly plotted, but the quality of the prose is as high or higher than the first two Bas-Lag novels. If I wanted to be unkind, I'd say that Mieville is trying to write a more "literary" novel, with all the sacrifices of pure linear plotting that entails. It's also more overtly political, (but only in the way that Martin's politics show more in AFFC than ASOS) which turns off many fans who hadn't bothered reading the author's bio (or done a close reading of his other books).

Yes. Yes. You should read it, but expect it to be a bit different.

His non-Bas Lag books (King Rat, Un Lun Dun, The City and The City) are very very different, principally in prose style.

[Vethnar]

I finished Richard Scott Bakker's The Darkness that Comes Before a couple of days ago. So many boarders seem to love or hate this book that I was somewhat surprised to find it to be OK, but nothing special. The world and the history are interesting, but I can't bring myself to care very much about the story or characters. While reading, I was more motivated by finding out more about the history of the world than by the story itself.

I'm now waiting for the second and third volumes to arrive in the mail.

[Original Ned's Bones]

Over the last couple of weeks I read:

City of Thieves by David Benioff. Takes place during the siege of Leningrad in WWII. A Russian teenager gets caught after cerfew looting a German paratrooper's body so he gets arrested and thrown in a cell with another Russian teen soldier who was arrested for desertion. The penalty for both is death, and instead of sending them to a firing squad, the general sends them on a mission to procure a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding. With the city starving and under siege, the only place to find them is across German lines. The book was a great mixture of the bitter and the sweet, capturing the landscape of a city under siege, full of freezing, starving people. Somehow through these harsh conditions and the danger of their quest, there is much humor, with great dialogue between the two protagonists. This turned out to be one of my favorite reads.

The 25th Hour by David Benioff. Picked this up, since I loved City of Thieves so much. Takes place in the present, about a guy who has to report to federal prison in 24 hours to serve his sentence for being a drug dealer. It follows his friends as they spend one last night out together. The book did a great job of capturing the little observations we tend to overlook in our daily lives, but would notice if we were going to go away for over 10 years. His friends had their own issues, and Benioff's writing allowed us to get to know their flaws, lost ambitions, and regrets in a short amount of time. The book was one big statement on the "quarter-life crisis". It was well written, but I didn't really feel too much for any of the characters. A decent read, but not nearly as good as City of Thieves.

Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weiss and Tracey Hickmann. Grabbed these off the basement shelf and decided to give them a read again for nostalgic sake. They are what they are. Not Martin, but certainly fun if you're not looking for gritty realism.

Looking for something else to read now. Contemplating a re-read of Ironfire by David Ball.

[Isis]

I finished China Mieville's The Scar and I thought it was a brilliant, amazing book. I actually thought it was even better than Perdido Street Station and darker, if that's possible, more thought-provoking. I just loved how complex and masterful the plot was, full of intrigue and twists and revelations that kept changing my expectations. I loved the world he created and all the creatures in it, I think his powers of description are amazing and his imagination without end. Most of all, I was thrilled by his characterization. He seemed to be exploring human nature, to seek the motivation behind people's actions.

I read it after PSS and liked it even more than that book too. I really must read it again soon... after I read the last couple of his books that I haven't got to yet. I'm about 100 pages into The City & The City and absolutely loving it. Even though I'm just reading a few pages at a time due to time constraints I'm enjoying every one of those pages and the story stays fresh in my mind despite all the other stuff occupying my thoughts at the moment.

I fucking loved this book.

I knew you would say that! :)

And as Bellis says, IC is a different kind of book, but I think that if you loved PSS and The Scar you'll enjoy it too. If you like short stories (I love them and I'm always pleased when authors whose work I admire publish short story collections as well as novels) you could give Looking for Jake a try.

[ljkeane]

I just finished Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin which was a decent vampire book although rather entertainingly amongst the list of other books Martin's published it includes A Dance With Dragons. Next I'll be reading Market Forces by Richard Morgan

I also recently read The Scar by Mieville, I agree with the general consensus that it's an excellent book. I haven't read Perdido Street Station yet, is having read The Scar (although it doesn't seem to give much away) going to be an issue?

[delete this account pls]

Mash, I loved Iron Council, it was my favourite Mieville so far, but it seems to be his most divisive book so far as well. Some of the imagery from that book is still burned into my brain.

I also recently read The Scar by Mieville, I agree with the general consensus that it's an excellent book. I haven't read Perdido Street Station yet, is having read The Scar (although it doesn't seem to give much away) going to be an issue?

No, it shouldn't be much of an issue. A vague spoiler at best. Each of the Bas Lag books stand on their own fairly well.

[mashiara]

As I said, I'm not yet far into it, but it's very good so far. If it holds up - this will be like The Road was a few years ago. It will get big press, be a best seller and gain lots of mainstream appeal (which of course means it ceases to be genre).

Cool! I'm definitely reading this one.

IC is divisive. It is less tightly plotted, but the quality of the prose is as high or higher than the first two Bas-Lag novels. If I wanted to be unkind, I'd say that Mieville is trying to write a more "literary" novel, with all the sacrifices of pure linear plotting that entails. It's also more overtly political, (but only in the way that Martin's politics show more in AFFC than ASOS) which turns off many fans who hadn't bothered reading the author's bio (or done a close reading of his other books).

Yes. Yes. You should read it, but expect it to be a bit different.

His non-Bas Lag books (King Rat, Un Lun Dun, The City and The City) are very very different, principally in prose style.

Iron Council is definitely in my to-be-read list. I won't mind it if it's a tad different, and I like political novels.

I take it that you didn't like his non-Bas Lag books as much? I've heard great things about The City and The City.

I knew you would say that! :)

And as Bellis says, IC is a different kind of book, but I think that if you loved PSS and The Scar you'll enjoy it too. If you like short stories (I love them and I'm always pleased when authors whose work I admire publish short story collections as well as novels) you could give Looking for Jake a try.

As if I could say anything else. :) I'm not a huge fan of short stories but I'll keep this collection in mind. Sigh. So many books, so little money. I need to win the lottery or something.

Mash, I loved Iron Council, it was my favourite Mieville so far, but it seems to be his most divisive book so far as well. Some of the imagery from that book is still burned into my brain.

Three of the people whose opinions I value all telling me pretty much the same thing. That settles it, I need to read Iron Council soon.

[Bellis]

I take it that you didn't like his non-Bas Lag books as much? I've heard great things about The City and The City.

Mash, not at all - everything Mieville has written has been at least competent if not excellent, including his short stories and The City and The City. The Tain novella is particularly excellent - you can find it in the Looking for Jake story collection.

I would say that I prefer his Bas-Lag novels mainly because I love the worldbuilding of Bas-Lag and his prose style in those novels.

[mashiara]

Mash, not at all - everything Mieville has written has been at least competent if not excellent, including his short stories and The City and The City. The Tain novella is particularly excellent - you can find it in the Looking for Jake story collection.

I would say that I prefer his Bas-Lag novels mainly because I love the worldbuilding of Bas-Lag and his prose style in those novels.

Good to know, thanks :)

[Paxter]

Just finished Moore's V For Vendetta. As with Watchmen, I enjoyed the graphic novel a great deal more than the film adaptation.

I'm also about 500 pages into Mieville's The Scar. It took me longer to get into this than Perdido Street Station, but I'm really enjoying it now.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

I finished reading Walter Jon Williams' Implied Spaces just before New Year's and I thought it was pretty entertaining. It's set in a super high tech future with nanontech, immortality, pocket universes, super-human AIs and zombie plagues and basically chronicles a war fought over some pretty crazy metaphysical facts. It actually felt like Williams wrote this thing hoping that someone will turn it into a computer game, because all the different universes the main character visits and battles in really feel like they were taken out of different game genres (there's even a World of Warcraft reference in there).

I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't really care for the writing and there were a lot of lazy and clichéd plotting going on. Does anyone know how representative Implied Spaces is for the rest of Williams' oeuvre? If it isn't better than this then I don't think I'll be reading anything else.

I also finished Graham Joyce's Memoirs of a Master Forger (published as by William Heaney in the UK). I liked this one a bit more, despite the rather sappy ending. It's well written and the narrator is a complex and contradictory character and I also enjoyed the detailed depiction of London.

[Deornoth]

Finished reading 'Quest for Lost Heroes' (David Gemmell). While it was very entertaining it also had the same themes that Gemmell always seems to tackle and his 'tell it like it is' approach undermined some of the more fantastical elements of the plot. My full review is right Here. No idea what to read next...

[Starkess]

Just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora last night. It was pretty good, but I found it very slow at first, and it didn't pick up until about 400 pages in. Not that the beginning was bad, it was just kind of boring. The last 200 pages were sufficiently entertaining to keep me up a little later than usual and to grab the sequel if I see it. I thought the characterization was a bit weak, but I found the intrigue and plotting to be quite fun. It's something I'm terrible at, so maybe I'm just easily impressed, but he did a pretty good job of throwing in twists and turns.

Looking forward to starting Cyteen today. Still plugging away on my Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Anthology, which is awesomely nerdy but I love!

[VarysTheSpider]

Count me in as another one who recommends Iron Council. At times, it's poetry, if poetry was more awesome.

Some stuff I've been reading this month and over Christmas:

Star Trek Yoyager: Spirit Walk Book One: Old Wounds, by Christie Golden. So this is the third book in the relaunch series after Voyager makes it home to Earth. The positives first. We learn more about Chakotay's family and his people's history (that's what 'Old Wounds' refers to), and Golden at least makes a start exploring the more uncomfortable implications of granting holograms rights. In the bad column, there's far too much set-up. This pissed me off quite a lot, because she could have extended one scene in particular that would have at least of given us some pay-off, but instead decided to move them into book two. In the absense of much action, there's too much repetition of how characters you know inside-out feel about each other. It might be for the benefit of casual fans, but it felt more like pointless filler to me. To end on a positive note, the plot lines she spends so much time building up do have the potential to be very interesting, so will continue with an optimistic mind.

Fathers and Sons, by Ivan Turgenev. 19th century Russia is probably my favourite period for literature. Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogul, even one-hit wonders like Goncharov simultaneously show so much about the human condition and the great conflicts within Russian society during that period. For some reason though I've never got around to reading Turgenev. But armed with my new Kindle, I downloaded his complete works for less than the price of a caramel macchiato and went to town on Fathers and Sons.

The plot: a young graduate comes home from finishing his university degree, much to the delight of his father. With him he brings a friend, Bazarov, an aloof, arrogant, opinionated nihilist who has converted his friend while at university together. Bazarov is an interesting fellow, not as interesting as the nihilists in Dostoevsky's The Devils, IMO, but charismatic, compelling, and, tragically, contradictory. I don't think you need to know much about the historical conflict between the liberals and the nihilists to appreciate this, because the idea that different generations, fathers and sons, don't understand each other (I think it's perhaps more important that neither want to understand the other, but maybe that's just me...) is surelyt a universal one that is as true now as it was then. The dialogue is where the book really shines. It's gripping, I re-read some passages three or four times. Overall, a fairly short but very satisfying read.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, but I'm having fun with it. Maybe I should have read it when I was a kid, but what the hell. It's kind of weird to think that this book was written 150 years ago, but the bottom of the ocean is only becoming clear to us 40 years after we landed on the moon, I wonder how surprised Jules Verne would be about that. Good stuff anyway. I could quibble that unlikelihood of the characters finding Captain Nemo's submarine in the first place, but it's an adventure book, so I'll shut the fuck up and enjoy the ride instead.

[moirne]

I recently finished Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger which I really enjoyed. I think Niffenegger had a hard act to follow after the success of The Time Traveler's Wife and I think this book will not work for a lot of that reading audience due to the WTF ending and morbidly depressing tone that takes hold in the middle of the book...but it worked for me. What I like best about Niffenegger's novels is her use of real locations and how she weaves her stories into them. I've been to Highgate and the cemetery before but after reading HFS I want to go back and see all the places she wrote about and then come home and read the story again.

I pretty much liked HFS until the end. I got so mad, I was ranting about it for at least an hour to someone who hadn't even read it :lol: It's certainly a memorable book though, very strange, but in a mostly good way.

[Astra]

I just finished Black Sun Rising, Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Liked it. I would give it 8/10.

I almost started When True Night Falls, the second book of the trilogy but then thought better of it and started a thriller? me? thriller? the last one I read maybe some 20 years ago? Anyway, I started The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. A friend of mine says it is very good.

[AprilFool]

I got a Nook for Christmas so I have been on an ebook binge lately. I love how it works and love the shelf space I am saving.

Since Christmas I have read these ebooks:

Dan Brown The Lost Symbol (a big let down)

Robert Asprin Myth-Told Tales (the only one I did not already own - If you like the series or characters its nice to revisit them in these stories)

Steve Hockensmith Holmes on the Range (a western/mystery - it was entertaining in the moment, but a book that is quickly forgotton)

Joe R. Lansdale A Fine Dark Line (Still loving Lansdale - this is a nice coming of age/mystery story set in 50's East Texas)

Right now I am reading Scar Night by Alan Campell which has been really good. So far I love the setting and the story. I hope it lives up to the promise.