April 2011 - Reading Thread

[Ealdorman Halasahr]

I've finished reading ...

... Blue and Gold by K. J. Parker - great

... The Executioness by Tobias S. Buckell - flawed, to say the least

I'm currently reading ...

... (A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen – part three) Memories of Ice, Steven Erikson

... The Ten Thousand, Paul Kearney

... The Boat, Nam Le

... The Sworn Sword (in Legends II), George R. R. Martin

[Cuchulain]

Finished The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick. Really enjoyed it, but I don't think it's his masterpiece. TMitHC works great as a novel of ideas, but the actual plot is somewhat disjointed.

I also read Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. I have mixed feelings about this novel. I liked parts of it, but I didn't really like the setting. Also, the protagonist's humour started to grate after a while.

Lastly, I also finished Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors. This collection is somewhat of a mixed bag; some stories are great, most are average, and some are weak. Generally, the collection is fun to read, but I don't think Gaiman's short fiction is up to par with his novels.

[Procrastimancer]

Lastly, I also finished Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors. This collection is somewhat of a mixed bag; some stories are great, most are average, and some are weak. Generally, the collection is fun to read, but I don't think Gaiman's short fiction is up to par with his novels.

Have you read Fragile Things, his other collection? Fragile Things is the book that finally made me a fan of Gaiman's work and was really the first collection that really kept me reading given my disinclination toward short fiction. I do agree with you about Smoke and Mirrors, I thought it was a wholly underwhelming collection with a few good stories and a lot of meh. Had I read it first, before having read Fragile Things, I don't think I would have read anymore of Gaiman's short fiction.

[Mjolnir]

Murphy, on 08 April 2011

It's much more understandable if you've read Downbelow Station first. That explains much of Rimrunners.

I figured this might be the case. Definitely looking forward to reading Downbelow Station sometime -- when I can find my own copy, my library's shaky on Cherryh -- but I almost enjoyed having to scramble to get even a basic working knowledge of the Merchanters and Union and the Fleet etc; it made me feel more immersed, as helpless as the characters with even less information than they had, if that makes any sense.

Ambyr, 08 April 2011

This was my reaction even after finishing--awesome worldbuilding paired up with a paint-by-numbers plot. I do mean to check out the sequels at some point, just to see if the author manages to find a story worthy of her world. And I'd be all over a RP campaign that used her magic system.

I know! It's frustrating -- the parts that are good are so damn awesome! But the plot's just not on the same level. I'll still finish it I'm sure, and as you say maybe try the sequels to see if they combine the awesome world and magic with a more convincing plot and cast, but I've felt no real urge to go back to it yet, which is bad. Plot and dialogue just feels too mechanical.

Finished:

The World Inside, by Robert Silverberg: mosaic novel comprised of several short stories set inside a vertical enclosed worldcity housing 800000+ people who never leave among whom sex is very open and not taboo, overpopulation as problematic utopia as opposed to world-ending disaster. Imo many sections swipe at thought-provoking and hit the mark, and some of the examinations of how these cultures have been constructed are really interesting -- particularly when we get to see the world outside the Urbmon, and watch culture clash happen. But, and the but is a big one, I was almost never able to see the future society Silverberg imagines here as anything other than a hell. There are sections, large ones, when I can't believe this isn't intentional -- some parts of the book are clearly pointing up the evils of this imagined system, and that's done really well and it's cool. But even when I got the impression the whole apparatus was supposed to come off more favourably it still creeped me the fuck out, partially I think because of the deep-seated inequalities between men and women in this supposedly sexually open society. Interesting but flawed book, for me.

Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch: second Peter Grant paranormal London Metro police investigation urban fantasy. I love these; it's like being injected with distilled smart but shamelessly escapist fun.

The Devil's Alphabet, by Daryl Gregory: excellent novel about inexplicable genetic mutations in a small town in the southern States. Gregory does simmering interpersonal conflict very well while throwing in plenty of plot mysteries as to the how/why of the genetic hijinx as well. A sad book, with undertones of the prejudice physical difference prompts so often and the extreme responses that can make it worse, but hopeful too, at least a little. Had some issues connecting emotionally to the main character, though this is probably largely intentional -- no such problems with the rest of the cast. Wish it'd been longer.

Late Eclipses, by Seanan McGuire: the fourth October Daye faerie urban fantasy. Still with the slight awkwardness to the writing and the thing where several of the main characters have very similar-sounding ways of speaking in dialogue, but this one's hugely absorbing and emotional if you're hooked on the series as I am. Shit goes down. Read 200 pages of this without stopping yesterday, which doesn't happen much these days. These books have plenty of problems, but I love the main cast so much, and the combination of earnestness and humour's so appealing, and McGuire's faerie works so well for me some of the time, that whenever I start reading a new one I just relax completely into it.

Still reading: Air by Geoff Ryman and The Wise Man's Fear. Really reluctant to forge ahead with WMF. Think it's because I don't want it to end.

[Eponine]

Finished Blindness by Jose Saramago and it was excellent.

I have the first part of The Book of the New Sun and I'm pretty sure I'm going to start on that next, despite it being multi-volume, simply because I do feel that it's a must-read in terms of board recs. I've read Brave New World, Canticle for Leibowitz and Cat's Cradle, so Childhood's End is next and I'll read it between Wolfe if I don't feel like reading all four parts at once.

[Datepalm]

Finished the Dragon's Path (Daniel Abraham) and The Cardinals Blades (Pierre Pevel) both of which were good but very clearly opening novels that didn't do a whole lot more than move all the players into place and mostly leave me wanting to get my hands on the next book.

Started Leviathan Wakes (SA Corey.) It's just sitting there in the ebook after Path and is impossible to resist. I'm finding it a bit odd, in the sense the SF worldbuilding feels a bit like Fantasy worldbuilding, if that makes any sense - theres lots of little social things that arise from the circumstances - food, body language, racism - that are fitted in very naturally, but so far at least theres a lack of any of that particularly SFnal weirdness or sense-of-wonder. Its like instead of characters from the Kingdom of Althalinalia and from the Nomadic Tribes of the Kalkaldesh Plains, theres people from Mars or from the Asteroids instead. Maybe that dosen't make any sense - I'm not actually complaining, it just feels a bit odd somehow.

Also reading Air, by Geoff Ryman. Good so far.

[Cuchulain]

Have you read Fragile Things, his other collection? Fragile Things is the book that finally made me a fan of Gaiman's work and was really the first collection that really kept me reading given my disinclination toward short fiction. I do agree with you about Smoke and Mirrors, I thought it was a wholly underwhelming collection with a few good stories and a lot of meh. Had I read it first, before having read Fragile Things, I don't think I would have read anymore of Gaiman's short fiction.

I haven't read Fragile Things yet, but I plan to. Reading Gaiman's introduction to Smoke and Mirrors made me realize that the stories in that collection are really some of his earliest stuff (most of those stories predate his novels by many years). The stories collected in Fragile Things are much more recent, which may explain why they're more mature and i.e. better.

[Eponine]

Just one piece of advice on this one: it's pretty much deliberately written to demand a re-read. There's a lot of WTF stuff the first time through that makes more sense upon reread/discussion/reflection.

This book is also a lot like Anathem in some ways as far as the setting.

Will I ruin the experience if I try to find out extra information through spoiler threads after I read it instead of doing a re-read? I'm unlikely to re-read anything for a while, as I'm hoping to avoid running out of steam on the list.

[BookWyrm]

Eponine, it also helps to have some sort of dictionary reference handy. He uses a lot of old latin words that (at least I would have) some may just assume are made up names, as is often done these days. There is a dictionary/New Sun Guide called Lexicon Urthus that specifically aims to clarify some of the obscure vocabulary Wolfe uses, if you're into that kind of thing.

[Grack21]

Eponine, it also helps to have some sort of dictionary reference handy. He uses a lot of old latin words that (at least I would have) some may just assume are made up names, as is often done these days. There is a dictionary/New Sun Guide called Lexicon Urthus that specifically aims to clarify some of the obscure vocabulary Wolfe uses, if you're into that kind of thing.

There a collection of essays about it too, called Solar Labyrinth, but I'll be dammed if I can remember the author right now.

[delete this account pls]

I got stuck in-between books, waiting on an order from the Book Depository, so I decided to reread Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. And I loved it just as much as I did the first time. Goddamn that's a good book. I know a lot of people found the third-person/present tense prose style confusing, but I thought it was brilliantly executed, and the characters are all so interesting. Thomas Cromwell is first and foremost, of course, but Cardinal Wolsely, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Uncle Norfolk, Thomas More, Katherine of Aragon, and all the rest are all made to feel like very real, very complicated people, which is something historical fiction often struggles with. I can't wait for the sequel.

[BookWyrm]

There a collection of essays about it too, called Solar Labyrinth, but I'll be dammed if I can remember the author right now.

Is it any good? Wolfe pimped the Lexicon out in an introduction, otherwise I'm not sure I would have went out of my way to get it.

[Eponine]

Eponine, it also helps to have some sort of dictionary reference handy. He uses a lot of old latin words that (at least I would have) some may just assume are made up names, as is often done these days. There is a dictionary/New Sun Guide called Lexicon Urthus that specifically aims to clarify some of the obscure vocabulary Wolfe uses, if you're into that kind of thing.

I already noticed that there are some Latin mistranslations, presumably purposeful, since the person describing them refers to them as dead languages. For example, she says that Felicibus brevis, miseris hora longa means Men wait long for happiness. Now that I look at it closely though, the Latin doesn't seem perfect either, as I think that longa would make more sense as longis, but I could be wrong.

ETA: apparently it's a saying found on a real life sun dial, and although I didn't look it up, brevis should be the nom neut pl? I wouldn't have guessed that, but whatever.

[BookWyrm]

I already noticed that there are some Latin mistranslations, presumably purposeful, since the person describing them refers to them as dead languages. For example, she says that Felicibus brevis, miseris hora longa means Men wait long for happiness. Now that I look at it closely though, the Latin doesn't seem perfect either, as I think that longa would make more sense as longis, but I could be wrong.

ETA: apparently it's a saying found on a real life sun dial, and although I didn't look it up, brevis should be the nom neut pl? I wouldn't have guessed that, but whatever.

I'm no expert in Latin so I'll tell you what the Lexicon entry says:

Felicibus brevis, miseris hora longa - a phrase from the Atrium of Time, which Valeria translates as "Men wait long for happiness" (I, chap. 4, 44).

Latin: "Happiness is brief, misery's hours long."

There's (sometimes/usually) a detachment between the literal Latin translation and what a character may think it translates into. I think it's safe to assume they're deliberate mistranslations, Wolfe seems to have all sorts of fun with these types of disconnections. I can't really say whether or not it should actually say lengis as I'm totally unfamiliar with Latin, but, like Triskele pointed out, it's best when reading Wolfe to assume the mistake belongs to (in this case) Valeria instead of Wolfe himself.

*Also: 1000 posts yeah!

[Eponine]

The Lexicon translation isn't right either.

Hora, longa and brevis are all nominative - yesterday I incorrectly assumed brevis to be first declension, which would make it modify felicibus, but it should be a predicate nominative of hora. Miseris and felicibus are dative. Therefore the translation should be [The hour is] brief for the happy, the hour is long for the miserable.

[Grack21]

Is it any good? Wolfe pimped the Lexicon out in an introduction, otherwise I'm not sure I would have went out of my way to get it.

It is, but it has spoilers for the long sun in it as well, which I don;t think is mentioned on the cover, so that kinda of annoyed me.

[beniowa]

One more thing on Book of the New Sun....this is a bit of a spoiler that a lot of people will catch upon reading, but I did not catch it on my first read and I wish that someone had pointed it out to me before I started.

You cannot entirely trust your narrator

Personally, I think that's something people should figure out for themselves or find out afterward. Though I can see why you or others might like to know beforehand.

[BookWyrm]

The Lexicon translation isn't right either.

Hora, longa and brevis are all nominative - yesterday I incorrectly assumed brevis to be first declension, which would make it modify felicibus, but it should be a predicate nominative of hora. Miseris and felicibus are dative. Therefore the translation should be [The hour is] brief for the happy, the hour is long for the miserable.

I wish I could explain that. Maybe you should send an email to Michael Andre-Drussi, who wrote the book, and tell him about the error. The introduction says there may be such errors and to tell him if so. I expect you'd get your name in an "Acknowledgements" section if an updated version is released. ;)

It is, but it has spoilers for the long sun in it as well, which I don;t think is mentioned on the cover, so that kinda of annoyed me.

Then I think I'll stay away from it until after reading those books a few times. It's nice to have essays and such in retrospect, but I don't want it to create any preconceptions.

[Seli]

I finished the folding knife by K.J. Parker, it was my first book by Parker that I read and I liked it. It works on many levels, the parallels with ancient society, modern finance, the personal interactions.

I also read spook country by William Gibson, which worked for me, SF style writing and no SF in sight.

Now, in addition to the books I was already reading I started in Edward Whittemore's Jericho Mosaic (in the Dutch translation), it is the final book of the Jerusalem Quartet and the only one I still had to read. It is good so far, but is has been too long since I read the previous books so I keep trying to remember who is re-appearing from the previous works.

[Grack21]

I wish I could explain that. Maybe you should send an email to Michael Andre-Drussi, who wrote the book, and tell him about the error. The introduction says there may be such errors and to tell him if so. I expect you'd get your name in an "Acknowledgements" section if an updated version is released. ;)

Then I think I'll stay away from it until after reading those books a few times. It's nice to have essays and such in retrospect, but I don't want it to create any preconceptions.

Its definitely better to read the bokos first yes. There is some neat stuff in the essays though.

Also Michael Andre-Drussi has a similar lexicon type book out for The Wizard Knight, which is pretty awesome. Picked up on some things I didn't get the first time.

And to not thread jack too much, I'm 150 pages into The Darkness That Comes Before. Yeah it's pretty terrific. :P I'd be done but I got sucked into a video game and my reading time has suffered lately.