June 2010 - What are you reading?

[Peadar]

I'm going to start Justin Cronin's The Passage within the next twenty minutes. :read:

[WickerMan]

I'm currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything. The only problem is I keep getting distracted and do other things instead...like play video games :P

[palin99999]

Finished:

The King of the Crags by Stephen Deas - 8.5/10

I don't understand why Deas is not more read on this forum. It used to be that Greg Keyes was considered GRRM-Lite around here, but I really think Deas should have that mantel now.

The first third of Crags is very reminiscent in style to The Adamantine Palace, but the last two thirds is where you can see Deas growth as a writer. Highly recomended.

Starting:

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

[Gatsby]

Taking a break from Darling Jim in favor of Clive Barker's Imajica.

[Ski the Swift]

Finished Markus Zusak's The Messenger, not nearly as good as The Book Thief but it had some interesting points raised and was an easy read. Read The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. I liked it, it was fast and had twists and turns that I couldn't see coming.

Now I'm onto Glen Cook's The Black Company: Tales of the South Chronicles.

[Starkess]

Just picked up the second Lynch book (of course the name escapes me, Red Skies...something). Will start that as soon as I finish the last 50-odd pages of The Gripping Hand.

[Garlan the Gallant]

A Magic of Twilight by S L Farrell. Good secondary characters, worthless main characters, reasonable plot.

I disagree wholeheartedly. I loved the books.

Just finished Last Argument of Kings. Holy shit.

I liked the prior two books, but I didn't consider them anything special, but LAoK was really... holy shit. Really made me reevaluate the prior books.

Abercrombie is my favorite author. He gets better with every book he writes IMO. However, as soon as I picked up The Blade Itself I, unlike you and many others, loved the series from the word go.

Mark Newton's City of Ruin, the follow-up to Nights of Villjamur. An excellent novel, showing significant development of writing skills over the first (already impressive) book in the series.

Your strong reviews sold me on this series. I loved the first book and am three chapters into the second. I'm kinda iffy on him introducing three new species within one chapter though.

Dystopian worlds...

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, a 2010 Hugo nominee. This novel was fluently written, but I spent much of it frustrated by the pacing issues. However, about two-thirds through, the plot kicked into gear and the story all of a sudden grabbed me emotionally. Unfortunately, it was merely a bait and switch, and the ending went in a different direction, what I thought was a cheaper direction. Unlike one of the other boarders, I didn't think this was the worst book I've read in two years by any stretch, but I did think there were a number of missed opportunities, in terms of character development and plotting. I wish I could have liked this book more than I did.

I am highly interested on what you thought of both. I have bought Boneshaker and am considering reading it after I read A City of Ruin by Mark Charon Newton.

Dropped Matthew Stover's God of War. It's a bit rubbish. Even if you love the game/Stover, don't bother.

Ouch. Oh well.

My copy of The Passage is due to arrive today (thank you Amazon Prime). I'll probably start reading that, since I haven't picked up the two remaining Helliconia volumes yet.

Mind explaining what the hell Amazon Prime is and if it is worth it (I do buy shitloads of stuff on Amazon) or if its just a gimmick? Many thanks.

Plan on reading the last 2 Hyperion books by Dan Simmons. After that, its on to A Magic of Dawn by S.L Farrel.

Personally, I think that A Magic of Twilight was the strongest of the series, but A Magic of Dawn isnt that far behind. Tis a good book, I am sure youll like it.

Finished Brian Ruckley's Fall of Thanes. Good, but not great. My major problem with it was that Ruckley too 470 pages to tell a story that could have been told, and told better, in 300. Pretty much just like the first two books in the series.

My thoughts exactly. It got to the point where I was reading the last book and checking off in my head if this or that paragraph or scene were necessary.

I'm going to start Justin Cronin's The Passage within the next twenty minutes. :read:

Let me know how you like it and if its worth not waiting and getting the hardcover or holding off till the paperback!

Just picked up the second Lynch book (of course the name escapes me, Red Skies...something). Will start that as soon as I finish the last 50-odd pages of The Gripping Hand.

Red Seas Under Red Skies. Not as good as the first IMO.

[TheEvilKing]

Dropping The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt, not for anything negative about the novel but I'm just not feeling it right now.

Picking up The Folding Knife by KJ Parker instead.

[Isis]

Fans of Cloud Atlas might be interested in what the author has to say about where the ideas for each thread of the novel came from.

David Mitchell explains Cloud Atlas inspirations

I'm about 2/3 into Cryptonomicon and wondering why on earth I put off reading it for so long. How could I have forgotten how much I loved Stephenson?

[mashiara]

I'm about 2/3 into Cryptonomicon and wondering why on earth I put off reading it for so long. How could I have forgotten how much I loved Stephenson?

Cryptonomicon was the very first book I read in 2009 and I still remember how much I loved it. It was my first contact with Stephenson and I was determined to read more of his work. I finally managed to read Snow Crash this week and I thought it was a brilliant book. I'm glad I wasn't disappointed, I had seen so many people recommend it. It's one of the reasons I love this board, I have gotten some amazing book recommendations in the last couple of years.

I also read Blindsight by Peter Watts. I don't know how I feel about it. I found it interesting and challenging, but not necessarily in a good way. I love science and I normally don't have a problem comprehending texts that are based on various science principles but this book felt too loaded and too convoluted at times. Still, it seemed to me as there were a lot of original and interesting ideas. It is worth reading but it was a struggle at times.

Next up is Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan.

[Starkess]

Red Seas Under Red Skies. Not as good as the first IMO.

So I've heard. I have a compulsion about finishing series, though, so I'm going to give it a shot.

[Astra]

Last Friday, I finished The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.

Beautiful book

Started Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, but I have a hard time to get into it. The first chapter was very boring. On top of that I am still under the impression of The Gargoyle.

[AprilFool]

Just started a short story/fairy tale collection called These Children Who Come At You With Knives by Jim Knipfel. Based on the first four stories, these are modern, dark, humorous fairy tales that are alot of fun.

[beniowa]

This weekend I finished The Scar by China Mieville. Felt like it ran out of steam just a little toward the end, but on the whole I liked it a bit more than Perdido Street Station. Very strong book.

Next up is Ex-Kop by Warren Hammond.

[The Evil Hat]

I just started Crime and Punishment earlier today. Only two chapters in, but it seems quite good so far.

[alguien]

I've been going through Chicago Public Library graphic novels like an addict through a crack factory lately! I've recently read:

This past week, I've just finished:

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel edition)

Eternals by Neil Gaiman

Hellboy "Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola

Dark Victory, by Jeph Loeb

Joker by Brian Azzarello

Batman RIP by Grant Morrison

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 2010 by Alan Moore

I'm now reading George RR Martins' PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN. This book is an amazing collection of his short fiction! Illustrated edition, with a foreword by Roger Zelzany. Fantastic book. :thumbsup:

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Finishing up Bonds of Vengeance by David B.Coe. This felt like a middle book of the series and the pace slowed down due the author expanding the characters and scope of the plot. Still, I'm keen to see where the story goes. But first, I'll take a mini-break from epic fantasy by reading The World Above the Sky by Kent Stetson next before resuming the Winds of the Forelands series.

[Lightning Lord]

Now, I'm about half way through Gaiman's Anansi Boys.

Read that a few months ago, really enjoyed it. I liked American Gods a little more.

I'm on Neverwhere now. A pretty fast read, not sure it'll make it through the day. How I missed reading Gaiman until my mid-twenties is utter lunacy.

[Stone-Made-Soft]

I'm rereading Harry Potter (starting from Book III) after catching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on TV. They are still fun reads but I'll probably lose my renewed interest soon (I'm about to begin Book V).

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders' 'Swords & Dark Magic', a collection of new 'Sword & Sorcery' tales from new writers as well as writers established in the sub-genre. A fewof the tales didn't quite hit the mark but the majority did and the collection as a whole is thoroughly entertaining. What is perhaps the longest review I've ever written is over Here. I'm now having a go at Lynn Flewelling's 'The White Road' but I haven't read the rest of the series and this is proving to be a larger obstacle than normal...