March 2010 Reading

[Astra]

Finished Crown of Shadows by Celia S. Friedman Coldfire Trilogy, Book 3.

No more than an average fantasy with a few irritating things, such as too much of religion, description and explanation of every emotion some protagonists felt, as if the readers are stupid and cannot decide for themselves what a particular type of a smile of a particular character in a particular situation might mean. It is like: Dave smiled wryly. Then she would launch into explanation what it means. When it happens in the beginning when you get to know characters it might be OK but doing it all over trilogy? Too much.

The ending is good, but that's really it. I would not recommend it as a good fantasy to my friends.

Started Under the Dome by Stephen King.

[Strong_Belwas]

I just finished Steven Erikson The Bonehunters. I liked it a lot. I thought that the Y'Gatan burning and the battle in Malaz City at the end were absolultely great.

While reading the book, i also realized that I don't care at all about all the hanging threads that are never resolved, the multiple Deus Ex Machina, the crazy timing of the series... I'll finish that series no matter what. Sure, Erikson has flaws in his writing (or editing) but I don't care. To me, the Malazan story, even when i have no idea where it is going, is really engrossing and i can't wait to get my hands of the last books if the series.

I started Best served cold yesterday and am about one quarter of the way through. It's pretty good for now. I like the facts that there are some links between that book and the First law trilogy. It's like getting surrounded by old friends :)

[TheEvilKing]

If you like this, you definitely want to take a shot at Between the Assassinations (no pun intended) by the same author and kind of a followup to White Tiger.

Oh yes, I have been eyeing that one up at pretty much every book store I go to.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

Just finished Daniel Abrahams A Shadow in Summer. Intelligent and interesting and am looking forward to the sequel.

Also a third of the way through Desmond Seward's The War Of The Roses. Accesible to those with only a laymans knowledge of the conflict and not a dry listing of events.

[Bellis]

Rainy weekend, stayed in and read Smoke and Mirrors, a short story collection from the 90s by Neil Gaiman, and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. You'd think nazi germany lit would get old after a while, but the latter is executed well enough to still be interesting.

[gyrehead]

The first book I mentioned in this thread, Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra is a fairly gritty story based in Mumbai. It does seem as though writing about 'real' India seems to be in vogue.

Which reminds me, there was a non-fiction book lying about in my parents place when I visited called Maximum City (based in Mumbai too). I think I might pick it up soon, money and time permitting.

It's been awhile since I read Sacred Games. While, for it's size, it was a fast read, I think White Tiger captured plot and the essence of the locale and culture much more effectively and in about a fifth the length. Also Chandra's had some really predictable plot elements that ending up undermining the whole story for me.

[Quarterman]

In my copy of The Essential Dracula, editor Leonard Wolf dropped the name Raymond Rudorff for The Dracula Archives. I had begun Rudorff's The House of the Brandersons in anticipation in reading Archives. However, I found The House of the Brandersons utterly dull beyond belief after trudging a 100 pages in. Flipped through the library copy of Archives and learned it had the switching POVs by letter of Stoker's brilliant book. I decided this was a dull unnecessary read too.

I am currently over a 100 pages into Stephen King's The Stand (uncut and definitive version).

[Peadar]

I finished White Tiger and still think it's a great book. Yes, I liked the ending too. It wasn't pat or too neat for my taste.

I also read Zlata's Diary -- an 11 year old girl's diary from Sarajevo during the war there.

Next up will probably be Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

[Cuchulain]

Finished Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, a post-apocalyptic tale written entirely in a fictional future English called Riddleyspeak. The original language works very well and really shows the writer's talent. Thematically, the book works well too, addressing religion and science in interesting ways. In short, it's a great novel which I highly recommend if you're looking for something original.

Next up will be a reread of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.

[Larry.]

Finished reading Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Liked it quite a bit. Wrote a 1600 word essay/review of it, but link only, to spare some a bit of scrolling. About to start José Saramago's latest novel, Cain. That will be the second of seven books/reviews in seven days that I'm attempting to do.

[BookWyrm]

I just finished The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander. Boy, this series just gets better! It looks like Taran Wanderer is very different in tone from the last ones, so I'm not sure if my interest will allow a days rest.

I wasn't too impressed by the first book in this series. I thought the series was going to be a bit boring but WOW did I miss the mark. I was approaching it all wrong and I know I'll have to reread it to see if I appreciate Alexander's work more. I think what confused me was that this series, like The Lord of the Rings, is meant to be approached as one large story, in other words, if you want to get past the superficialities, the important character developments happen as the series progresses as a whole, not novel by novel, which perhaps takes The Chronicles of Prydain away from the simplicity of the fable and magnetizes it to a more realistic tone. One truly sympathizes with Taran's struggles.

Anyway, it's obviously the antithesis of the Knights of the Round Table. Glory and personal honor are shown in an almost adverse fashion with humility instead taking the seat of honor. Time and again the main character Taran is forced to pass on opportunities at world-renown and glory, to make sure that the events in the story drive to a more happy ending.

It's a very good story of the hero we all have inside us and how the opportunity to do good is always there. Don't fool yourself into thinking the only good way to do something is one that will be recognized or give immediate satisfaction. Taran is not a hero in the common sense, he is the common man and woman in a heroic sense. He is the epitome of the inherent valor in all of us and he shows that the greatest struggle may be against the taboo that a hero is someone who goes down in history.

We can't all be Frodo. He's lucky to have had the chance to bear the Ring. His greatness was shown to the world and he was rewarded majestically. Taran, however, is a boy with the same struggles we all face, yet is forced to accept his faith in the moral right as his reward, as real people are so often forced to accept.

Doing good for goodness' sake is the greatest contribution any man can make to the world. Anyone willing to try it will know the truth in it and learn of the moral strength of Taran's character and the human touch in these books.

[Starkess]

Picked up Polaris by Jack McDevitt from the ship's library to give me something to read during my breaks at work (when I'm not on the board...ahem). It's okay so far, but I was annoyed to realize it was the second book in a series. At least it doesn't seem too dependent on the previous book, so hopefully I can enjoy it as a standalone.

[IheartTesla]

It's been awhile since I read Sacred Games. While, for it's size, it was a fast read, I think White Tiger captured plot and the essence of the locale and culture much more effectively and in about a fifth the length. Also Chandra's had some really predictable plot elements that ending up undermining the whole story for me.

Ah, thanks for that. I've been a bit remiss the past decade keeping with authors from the motherland, but there are quite a few contemporary writers I should give a look see. This one sounds like a good read.

[beniowa]

My time has been quite limited the last several days so it took me a little while longer to finish The Folding Knife by KJ Parker then I would have liked. It was my first novel by the author and it did not disappoint. The novel is a character-driven story set in a faux Roman/Venetian setting, featuring the rise and fall of the Vesani Republic's greatest politician, Basso Arcadius Severus. Basso is a consumate politician and businessman. He runs the Republic much like a bank or enterprise and has multiple reasons for everything he does. In many ways, the main character reminds me of the first Roman emperor Augustus. Basso is something of amoral bastard, but Parker has written him with such complexity, you can't help but identify with him. Because of the novel's focus on the main character, there isn't much of a plot. The book acts like snapshot of Basso's life so those expecting more won't find it. Personally, I liked The Folding Knife quite a bit and I'm definitely looking forward to trying Parker's other work.

Next up is The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas.

[Larry.]

Finished reading and reviewing José Saramago's October 2009 novel, Caín. Compared to his greater novels, this was a deeply-flawed novel, with shallow characterizations and with a story that was more of a screed than anything else.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

My time has been quite limited the last several days so it took me a little while longer to finish The Folding Knife by KJ Parker then I would have liked. It was my first novel by the author and it did not disappoint. The novel is a character-driven story set in a faux Roman/Venetian setting, featuring the rise and fall of the Vesani Republic's greatest politician, Basso Arcadius Severus. Basso is a consumate politician and businessman. He runs the Republic much like a bank or enterprise and has multiple reasons for everything he does. In many ways, the main character reminds me of the first Roman emperor Augustus. Basso is something of amoral bastard, but Parker has written him with such complexity, you can't help but identify with him. Because of the novel's focus on the main character, there isn't much of a plot. The book acts like snapshot of Basso's life so those expecting more won't find it. Personally, I liked The Folding Knife quite a bit and I'm definitely looking forward to trying Parker's other work.

Next up is The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas.

I'm a big Parker fan.Any idea of the (uk) release date?

[beniowa]

I'm a big Parker fan.Any idea of the (uk) release date?

June I think, though I could be wrong.

[Seak]

I just finished Steven Erikson The Bonehunters. I liked it a lot. I thought that the Y'Gatan burning and the battle in Malaz City at the end were absolultely great.

While reading the book, i also realized that I don't care at all about all the hanging threads that are never resolved, the multiple Deus Ex Machina, the crazy timing of the series... I'll finish that series no matter what. Sure, Erikson has flaws in his writing (or editing) but I don't care. To me, the Malazan story, even when i have no idea where it is going, is really engrossing and i can't wait to get my hands of the last books if the series.

Lots of people didn't like Bonehunters but it was one of my favorites of the series. It was also cool learning a bit more about Quick Ben.

Recently finished The Way of Shadows (review) and liked it a lot. Can't stand the covers, but what'cha gonna do?

Finishing that series and moving on to A Betrayal in Winter since it finally came in the mail. Starting off really well.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

June I think, though I could be wrong.

Cheers!

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Only 20 pages left to go into The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (couldn't quite finish it on the morning bus ride to work). I loved it! I had a hard time putting it down, even at the expense of watching my beloved Flames hockey team. Thanks for the great recommendation board! :thumbsup:

Adrian Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold is next.