nickg Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Just got Blackout by Connie Willis. Sounds fairly interesting and I am looking forward to something a little different.Okay, maybe I'll give the next one a shot. Probably see if the library has it.Since you finished GotM I would definitely suggest giving Deadhouse Gates a shot. Library is probably a good idea though. Opinions are so split in the series, its hard to suggest someone buy them now. Personally, I enjoyed GotM but Deadhouse was so much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I would like a review when your done.So, I finished Embedded by Dan Abnett.I don't do reviews -- they do me. But I enjoyed this one a lot. The man can write an excellent gun-battle and he gets plenty of chances to prove it in the second half of the book.I tried the Gaunt's Ghosts stuff before and they just weren't for me. To my mind, this felt deeper and a lot more satisfying.Up next, another one from Angry Robot. Probably Guy Haley's Reality 36. The Guy has a great blog, I'm sure the fiction will be just as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehol Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 finished House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds, his writing is difficult to get into or i am not that smart. i felt like i got myself fumbled into some intense conversation and it took awhile to figure out what's going on but after i did, the book was fun.is the book part of a series? i don't know.next- gary gibson's Stealing Light.just started and i am not having any difficulty as of yet. i am trying to stay away from fantasy, read too many fantasy last year, hmn... science fiction is not far away from fantasy but i am trying. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Since you finished GotM I would definitely suggest giving Deadhouse Gates a shot. Library is probably a good idea though. Opinions are so split in the series, its hard to suggest someone buy them now. Personally, I enjoyed GotM but Deadhouse was so much better.I bought GotM because it was on sale for my Kindle for like 2.99, but I'm balking at the idea of spending 9.99 to get the next one. Looks like the library doesn't have it in Kindle, trying to debate if I'd rather just shell out the money or (gasp) actually make the trip to see if they have a physical copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I bought GotM because it was on sale for my Kindle for like 2.99, but I'm balking at the idea of spending 9.99 to get the next one. Looks like the library doesn't have it in Kindle, trying to debate if I'd rather just shell out the money or (gasp) actually make the trip to see if they have a physical copy.Why would you have to make a "trip" to see if they have a copy? Doesn't your local library have an online catalog that you could access to see if they own a copy? Then if they do and no one else has it out, you could probably call to reserve it to make sure it's there when you go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Why would you have to make a "trip" to see if they have a copy? Doesn't your local library have an online catalog that you could access to see if they own a copy? Then if they do and no one else has it out, you could probably call to reserve it to make sure it's there when you go for it.She might be referring the one on post/base. They don't publish their stock on line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Our public libraries don't have online catalogues. :dunno: Mind, i'm not sure our public libraries have heard of the internet. er, thread relevance...reading Death and Life of Great American Cities sort-of for class. (ie, so I can argue with the professor about it.) It's eminently sensible, and fifty years on a lot of it has patently still not taken root, but i'm still a little suspicious (so far anyway) of the slight apple pie quaintness of it. Hey, some of us like alienation. I think i'll read Christopher Priest's the Islanders for fiction - i've never read anything by Priest and this one seems like the sort of thing I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 I ment to look into this whith my son, but life went to quickly. What I wondered was if the signs were actually ASL or something else. Because god knows I would have loved to give the young one an early start on an amazing skill.It is indeed ASL, at least the version that this book is teaching. My understanding is that you could also do this with British Sign Language, which is different than ASL apparently. I agree it's an awesome skill for anyone to have but again, even if we do manage to teach the boys they'll eventually be confused because Greek Sign Language is similar but not the same to ASL. :/Our public libraries don't have online catalogues. :dunno: Mind, i'm not sure our public libraries have heard of the internet.Same here.I fail. I still haven't read more than 15 pages of Room. I want to read more, I really do, I just don't know where to find the time. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearbert Dondarrion Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I have just finished The folding knife by K.J. Parker. The best book I read This Year so far. Started The hammer by the same author and Deadhouse Gate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procrastimancer Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I am just under halfway through Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. I had every intention of speeding through the book like a madman, but instead I am taking it slow and savoring it. It is a bit different from The Gone-Away World, what with it featuring two point of view characters written in the third person, but it shares the fondness for the flashback. As with most books that have two main characters, switching between the two has proven an annoyance. I hate when a story I am really into gets interrupted and it always happens just when I am on the edge of my seat and hooked. Nothing to combat that though. The one concern I have about the book is how easily it dates itself. It is more grounded in our world (The Gone-Away World shares our world, but is much more vague/ambiguous) and contains various references to recent-ish world events and political issues because of it.Fairly good book. Perhaps not as good as The Gone-Away World, but I am not far enough in to make that sort of decision. After all, The Gone-Away World only gets really awesome as it moves towards the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Just started 'How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe' by Charles Yu. A very (and maybe deliberately?) misleading title, because as far as I can tell, the novel itself is a somewhat imaginary, sometimes truthful autobiography trasferred to a fictional setting. Which is kind of a brilliant concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russjass Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Finished the Sacred Band by David Anthony Durham.....bit bland, Duece Ex Machina. Not a bad series though.Couldnt make Hyperion stick, got to the point where the guy with the baby was telling his story and just didnt care. Probably will go back to it.Re-read of Sara Douglass for kicks, something that doesnt require thought.Into Excession by Iain Banks, loving it so far, if a little slow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I read the first three Matthew Swift books over the last week and they were really very good if kind of depressing at various points. One of the more interesting and imaginative magic systems for urban fantasy and some pretty good plots as well. I'm looking forward to the next one coming out in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I read the first three Matthew Swift books over the last week and they were really very good if kind of depressing at various points. One of the more interesting and imaginative magic systems for urban fantasy and some pretty good plots as well. I'm looking forward to the next one coming out in March.Me too! Glad to see people reading it, it's one of my top underappreciated series. Its interesting re dperessingness, becuase it seems to me like a very energetic, optimistic, almost maudlin ("life is magic! magic is life!") story when rooted in the worldbuilding, but the actual plots and characters are really bleak and melancholy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Its interesting re dperessingness, becuase it seems to me like a very energetic, optimistic, almost maudlin ("life is magic! magic is life!") story when rooted in the worldbuilding, but the actual plots and characters are really bleak and melancholy.I think that describes it really well actually, the worldbuilding is very much about how interesting and vibrant urban environments are but on the other hand Swift's life is pretty bleak for the most part.I saw on the author's blog that she seems to very strongly suggest that people buy the paperback version rather than read it on the kindle because of some formatting issues which is a shame because I thought it would have been a good opportunity to get some use out of my newish kindle.ETA: Have you read Mike Carey's Felix Castor books? They're also very good and in a similar vein if you're a fan of the Matthew Swift books, definitely worth a read in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grack21 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Finally starting Death of Kings, barring any kind of giant school assignment, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think that describes it really well actually, the worldbuilding is very much about how interesting and vibrant urban environments are but on the other hand Swift's life is pretty bleak for the most part.I saw on the author's blog that she seems to very strongly suggest that people buy the paperback version rather than read it on the kindle because of some formatting issues which is a shame because I thought it would have been a good opportunity to get some use out of my newish kindle.ETA: Have you read Mike Carey's Felix Castor books? They're also very good and in a similar vein if you're a fan of the Matthew Swift books, definitely worth a read in my opinion.I personally have not read any Matthew Swift, but I loved the Felix Castor series. Was actually surprised because I haven't read too many of those types of books. Might have to check these out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornish prince Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 just finished use of weapons and boy did i not see the ending coming at all. it was a tad disjointed and very esoteric at times but, overall, i liked it. banks has some really cool ideas. also, having read two culture novels now, i'm becoming more and more intrigued by the culture.so, i'm now plugging away at wise man's fear (about 100 pages in) and will soon start lord of the rings and try to catch up with my son. it is his first journey to middle earth. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think that describes it really well actually, the worldbuilding is very much about how interesting and vibrant urban environments are but on the other hand Swift's life is pretty bleak for the most part.I saw on the author's blog that she seems to very strongly suggest that people buy the paperback version rather than read it on the kindle because of some formatting issues which is a shame because I thought it would have been a good opportunity to get some use out of my newish kindle.ETA: Have you read Mike Carey's Felix Castor books? They're also very good and in a similar vein if you're a fan of the Matthew Swift books, definitely worth a read in my opinion.I think it is coherent though, the mismatch between Matthew-the-character and his world. Theres something interesting in there about alienation and urbanity and losing yourself in the city as connection and as loneliness and so on. Not really sure what, as such, but it's fun to talk about :-). re kindle - thats...odd. Its not like its already out, surely they can fix it? or is it something that they can't do in the ebook format at all or something? Maybe i'll order this one then, it's a series I like enough to indulge in fetishizing as a physical object for a bit. (plus, my kindle broke just now. (so sad) Screen damage, apparently, though somehow the warranty's still sound and they're sending me a new one, though i'll believe it when I see it...) Felix Castor - I seem to be hearing about them all the time lately, will definitely try to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I finished The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant. I liked it despite the depressing topics of logging (especially western BC), native and European clashes,environmental destruction, and the story of one man making a radical statement about the above topics. This was an informative and well written book. Recommended for anyone who wants to get up and close to the Canadian logging industry. It was an eye-opener for me and I won't look at a forest the same way again.Up next is the continuation of Maria Snyder's Study series, Magic Study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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