TheEvilKing Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I think the final book is supposed to be third person with multiple POVs.Cool. Hopefully we get a vamp POV.I bought City of Dragons on sale at Amazon and uh. 3 stars is about right.I thought I was done with Hobb but I saw this one for cheap so picked it up. Also I was feeling guilty about abandoning the series after 11 books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonius Pius Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Currently reading The Tank Lords by David Drake. Not too far in just yet, but I like it. I gather it's a bit of a collection, with some short stories thrown in.I was looking for King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, but the local bookstores don't seem to have it. May have to order it from the interwebs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pig Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Currently reading Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones. Might read the Mistborn books next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I finished The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman on Friday, and I really enjoyed it - not quite as much as The Half-Made World but pretty close. When I first read the synopsis and found out that it was not going to be a direct sequel I was a bit disappointed, but I really couldn't have been happier with how Gilman handled this book. Harry Ransom is a fantastic character and getting a look into his wild life was more interesting than seeing Liv and Creedmore hunting down a magic weapon and then going about using it - I've read that story more than enough times (haven't we all). Gilman has secured a place among my favorite authors, and I can't wait to see what he thinks up next.I'm now reading Cold Days by Jim Butcher, so far I've read about 75 pages and I'm really glad this is a long one! (I think it's actually the longest Dresden book thus far.)Cool. Hopefully we get a vamp POV.Apparently we'll get the POV of a 20,000 year old Vamp.I'm pretty sure that info came from this interview, but it might have been in a print interview. It's weird, in print interviews Duncan comes across as a massive douche, but I really liked him in that audio interview. I really need to get around to reading Talulla Rising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 20% into The Rise of Ransom City and so far I am enjoying it much more than The Half-Made World, which always felt a bit stilted to me. I had to look up something that happened at the end of THMW, and I found the dialog on the few pages I re-read to be unconvincing, although I had still enjoyed the writing. Part of it was that 2/3 main characters in THMW were not exactly charismatic. In contrast, the narrative tone of Ransom City makes exploring the different towns much more intriguing.Thunderer is in the top 5 of my favorite SFF books. I also loved Gears of the City. Between the two of them, I would preorder anything Gilman writes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turinqui-Calima Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 In honor of Josh and Brent winning the Amazing Race yesterday I started I am not myself these days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell this morning. Enjoying it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of Godsgrace Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I have finished The Red Knight and I liked it a lot. I have some issues with the world-buliding (OK, I can buy Christianity existing on alternate Earth, but why there was an Aristotle? Or Saint George?), but the writing and characters are really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maia Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Technically November reads, most of them, but who is counting?Saw some new Ilona Andrews in the library and powered through Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays and Gunmetal Magic. I have to say that the series grew on me - partly because the heroine finally resolved her romantic tension and settled down with her beau, which let the adventure plots re-gain pre-eminence, no doubt.The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross. I have greatly enjoyed the previous installments of his "Capital Laundry" series, which depict a British civil servant defending the world from Chutluesque horrors using his computer programming expertise, while fending off budget audits and other bureaucratic stuff.However, this, I felt, was very much more of the same. Either a "middle" book in a loose series or he is running out of steam with the concept. Was still fun, but not as good as the previous 3 books.A Red Country by Joe Abercrombie - enjoyed it a lot, but it has quite a number of plot-holes, IMHO. I'd still rate BSC and probably The Heroes higher, but it was thoroughly enthralling and contained some great scenes. Liked it's riff on fantasy's usual romantization of mercenaries too, heh. Sets things up for the upcoming trilogy very nicely, too.The Cold Days by Jim Butcher - similar feelings as the above. As has become usual with Butcher, things get ratcheted up another notch, some new revelations, which, IMHO open some plot-holes concerning the events from the the previous volumes, particularly The Summer Knight, but overall a cracking read with some really unexpected twists, IMHO.The Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - love it. Amazingly written, an extremely interesting period, of course, - Henry VIII trying to divorce his first wife and marry Anna Boleyn and how it caused rise and fall of various historical figures and changed society.Makes me wonder if the protagonist Thomas Cromwell is related to Oliver Cromwell the Protector of the "roundhead" fame and whether (in)famous British game developer Peter Molyneux is a descendant of "those Molyneux" who were relatives of Cranmer. If so, the Old Worls is/was kinda small indeed, heh.The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller - it is a tough slog, currently. Now, I actually read and enjoyed quite a bit of 18th and 19th century literature (voluntarily), but man, this feels antiquitated. The fact that written German was codified much later than English or French orthography and grammar-wise, which I knew intellectually, but didn't fully appreciate, is really being brought home with this. Not having any sympathetic or interesting characters so far doesn't help either.But I am going to persevere, because one of my ancestors was named after a personage from this play, because their family enjoyed it so much and were rabid fans of Schiller :dunno: . So far it seems to me that they must have been insane :shocked: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Sun Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Do audiobooks count, even though they are not read? As far as audiobooks are concerned, I listened to the last part of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle today, which marks the end of an endeavor I have started more than a year ago. I liked the travel very much for the temporal and scope and the portrayal of a social, political and mental transformation process, which is one of my favorite narrative themes. It also did help that I liked all the major POVs for what they brought to the story, even though sometimes it feels as if Neal Stephenson wanted to put all his favorite things in the story. However, I can also understand that these books might feel like a slog, because the pace is pretty slow, and many parts seem funnier or more interesting when the reader (or listener) is familiar with some of the places. My actual reading of the last and the present month, however, is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. I had started this as an audiobook as well, but I lost too much of the story this way. Last week, I have started with The Sword of the Lictor. While the actual story seems relatively straightforward, the narrative structure and the language are very fascinating. In this case, I'm glad that the books can be read in small portions, because I feel I would overlook many things if I read it too fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Sun Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller - it is a tough slog, currently. Now, I actually read and enjoyed quite a bit of 18th and 19th century literature (voluntarily), but man, this feels antiquitated. The fact that written German was codified much later than English or French orthography and grammar-wise, which I knew intellectually, but didn't fully appreciate, is really being brought home with this. Not having any sympathetic or interesting characters so far doesn't help either.But I am going to persevere, because one of my ancestors was named after a personage from this play, because their family enjoyed it so much and were rabid fans of Schiller :dunno: . So far it seems to me that they must have been insane :shocked: .That's very interesting. I could never really get into this play, also because of the characters. As a teenager, I preferred Don Carlos by far.ETA: I forgot to ask, what edition do you read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maia Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 That's very interesting. I could never really get into this play, also because of the characters. As a teenager, I preferred Don Carlos by far.ETA: I forgot to ask, what edition do you read?It is the free edition for Kindle, downloaded from Amazon.de. Hm... maybe old orthography is to induce people to buy the paid edition? OTOH, other free classics seem to have modern spellings. And of course, it would do nothing for the ponderousness of the text itself. I just looked at Goethe's Werther and it is so immensely readable by comparison! BTW, I also remember reading and enjoying Schiller as a kid, but in a Russian translation and not "The Robbers", obviously. "Maid of Orleans", I think and maybe "Wallenstein"? I am a bit afraid to check the German originals now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Didn't realize that Outlander was a romance novel...but I have to say, I'm actually quite enjoying it. Nice to break out of my comfort zone a little bit. And who doesn't love a bit of the brogue? I'm about 80% done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Makes me wonder if the protagonist Thomas Cromwell is related to Oliver Cromwell the Protector of the "roundhead" fame and whether (in)famous British game developer Peter Molyneux is a descendant of "those Molyneux" who were relatives of Cranmer. If so, the Old Worls is/was kinda small indeed, heh.Oliver Cromwell was descended from the nephew Richard Cromwell who pops up in Wolf Hall (and the sequel). He was Richard's great grandson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaesterHeisenberg Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Finishing The Hobbit this week and then possibly on to Empire in Black by Adrian Tchaikovsky.I know a lot of you here really enjoy these books I just am really wondering if this will be as good as advertised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdyphillip Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I decided to pick up a Pat Conroy book today, so I selected Beach Music as I haven't read that one as of yet. I am just a few pages in, but I am once again enamored with the quality of his story telling. I can actually hear the authors voice in his sing song southern accent as he sets descriptions. I really loved Lords of Discipline, Boo, Prince of Tides, and The Great Santini. This seems to be very much in the same vain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Put down All The Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't getting into it. Back on the shelf for a later date.Gonna try Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Lawrence Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I'm about to start Dan Polansky's 'The Straight Razor Cure' the first couple of paragraphs promised some very sharp writing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I'm still finishing Drood, but it's getting faster towards the end and it's definitely a good read at least. It's great how he works existing novels fragments into his own. Haven't decided yet if it's better than Terror though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjgambino Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I'm now halfway through Twenty Years After and I like it a lot. Probably more than The Three Musketeers. It feels like a more "mature" work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Finished Outlander. Not sure how I feel about the ending. Or really the book as a whole. It was enjoyable enough, but not exactly a masterpiece.Now I am reading Knocking on Heaven's Door, cause I like me some pop-sci from time to time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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