What are you reading in March?

[RedEyedGhost]

Sounds like the sort of thing I might like!

I finished Dreams and Shadows last night, and overall I liked it, but I definitely didn't love it. It's divided into two parts, and the primary pov characters are an eight year old boy who meets a djinn and wishes to see all things supernatural on earth (after the djinn lets slip that fairies are real), a seven year old boy stolen by fairies as an infant, and the changeling that replaced him. It's a bit rough in the opening chapters as Cargill is introducing the world, but really picks up at about the 10% mark. While part one is quite reminiscent of Graham Joyce and Connolly's The Book of Lost Things, there is quite a shift in tone as we enter part two.

Part two picks up 14 years later, and goes from a fairy story style into a pretty standard urban fantasy style. I don't think there was a shift in prose between the two parts, but quite a few more passages negatively caught my attention than did in part one. And, in my opinion, the motivations of the angels, Shadow Bill, the wild hunt, and to an extent Coyote are not adequately explained. Maybe I just missed something, but it's not like it was just one characters motivations that I didn't fully understand so I don't think it was me. I did really like the tone of the epilogue, so it did end on a high note for me with an I am Legend vibe.

I'll give it a guarded recommendation, but mostly for the first part. It does seem set up for more books in this world, but at this point I'm undecided whether or not I'll read them.

My next read is Sasha by Joel Shepherd.

[wolverine]

Finally finished Best Served Cold by Abercrombie. Here is a snippet of my thoughts (and yes I did post them in another thread as well):

Hard for me to separate the First Law books as I read them so long ago, but I would rank my enjoyment of that series far above BSC. BSC was actually a chore for me to get through and I was almost skimming at the end. This seems weird for someone who loves Bakker, but the cynicism, depressive darkness, and having no one to root for was a real drag. At some point, when you don't care if EVERY character dies, you may have lost the reader.

I also thought there was a bit much deus ex and plot armor for the characters.

The book still had a lot of awesomeness, but ranks below The First Law books for me.

When searching I could only find the locked thread for BSC, does anyone know if there is an unlocked one? I am probably too late to the party for anyone to care to discuss anymore.

I think I will read the next book in the Saxon Series by Cornwell. Viking show on History has got me in the mood for more and it is on my massive pile...

[The Guy Who Sits]

Started "American Gods" the other night. I have a backlog of recommendations to get through and this seemed like a good place to start.

Abercrombie's First Law trilogy is up next, maybe.

I love American Gods. I´m reading The Eternal Night by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy).

[Beige Lunatics]

Working on the last bit of Kitchen Confidential by Tony Bourdain. It's making me a bit nostalgic about my days working as a line cook.

[NewsToTom]

I have almost finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

I have already read Notes from Underground and The Gambler. What do you recommend I read next? What do you think is his best work? Maybe I'll save it for the end.

Bros. K is clearly his master work in my book.

[polishgenius]

Read Corwnell's Azincourt. After all I'd heard about how good he is, especially his battle scenes, I wasn't especially impressed. Even the battles themselves- while they're well depicted in terms of what's going on and that, he doesn't write especially well and I often found my reading flow broken. Particularly by his scene transitions which were very clumsy.

And for the rest of it, his characters are mostly rubbish. Especially the main character and his primary antagonists.

Is his other work better?

On to Kay's A Song for Arbonne, I think.

[Myshkin]

I have almost finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

I have already read Notes from Underground and The Gambler. What do you recommend I read next? What do you think is his best work? Maybe I'll save it for the end.

The Idiot is his greatest novel, but everything he wrote is brilliant.

[Buckwheat]

Fevre Dream by GRRM is on stand still these days. I am struggling through the Tin Drum by Günther Grass, among other things (for my study). It is definitely not something I would keep reading if I did not need to, I find the narrator extremely obnoxious and some scenes overly disgusting. But I get that it is somehow important as a representation of the literature in that period or something, so I keep reading ...

[Eponine]

Finished the first book in Donaldson's Gap Cycle. I thought it was much much much better than Thomas Covenant or Mirror of her Dreams. But I thought both those were terrible.

Basically, the space opera setting was much more interesting to me than any of his fantasy worlds, the flatness of the characters wasn't as obnoxious since the story was tight, and the main female character didn't get all useless and stupid even when horrible things were happening to her. OTOH, Donaldson still has the tendency to completely overkill the psychological characterization.

I said I'd give the entire series a good faith effort, and I will. I'm not in "can't put it down" mode, but I'm not having to force myself to keep reading either.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Read N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I liked it, but I thought her first book in the Dreamblood Duology (The Killing Moon) was much better.

Now reading the second book in the series, The Broken Kingdoms and an Emperor's Edge novella, The Assassin's Curse.

[wolverine]

Read Corwnell's Azincourt. After all I'd heard about how good he is, especially his battle scenes, I wasn't especially impressed. Even the battles themselves- while they're well depicted in terms of what's going on and that, he doesn't write especially well and I often found my reading flow broken. Particularly by his scene transitions which were very clumsy.

Is his other work better?

On to Kay's A Song for Arbonne, I think.

The impression I got around here was that his Warlord Chronicles and his Saxon stuff was his best work, with Warlord being better than Saxon. From what I have read of his stuff, Warlord and Saxon are by far his best but I like Saxon better.

EDIT: Never read Azincourt and I weirdly can not assess quality of battle scenes.

[Bellis]

So I did end up going back to Wool by Hugh Howey, reading the entire 5 parts in a few short days. It's quite a compelling world, with some badass female characters, which is always a plus. (Actually the men, especially, Lukas, are a bit useless). The writing still feels to me in need of a good editor. True, it's much better than Justin Cronin, without actually being objectively good. Phasing and plotting can get a bit sloppy at time, and some of the character interactions don't quite ring true. But I'm finding the world itself interesting enough to continue with the story.

On to Shift.

[Baelor Swyft]

Finished Keeping You a Secret. About to start Flowers in the Attic and considering hitting Dare Truth or Promise.

[I do not sew]

Reading Hyperion at the mo. First Simmon's book and I'm pretty impressed. Halfway through the Poet's segment. Very Vonnegut.

[indignant mushroom]

Journey from the Land of No and Assassination of the Turquoise Palace by Roya Hakakian.

[Happy Ent]

But I get that it is somehow important as a representation of the literature in that period or something, […]

It is not.

Grass’ book was very different from the (much more objective, rational) German post-war literature.

[3CityApache]

I have almost finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.

I have already read Notes from Underground and The Gambler. What do you recommend I read next? What do you think is his best work? Maybe I'll save it for the end.

Any of the "big five" of his novels is simply great. IMHO in that order: The Idiot, Brothers Karamazov, Demons, Crime and Punishment, The Adolescent. But I agree everything he wrote is brilliant, including his early works, like Poor Folk or Humiliated and Insulted.

[Buckwheat]

It is not.

Grass’ book was very different from the (much more objective, rational) German post-war literature.

Oh, thanks. I am sure I will hear much more about it (the literature in general and the Tin Drum) from my teacher still.

Read The Visit (Der Besuch der alten Dame), a drama by Dürrenmatt yesterday. I loved that one.

[wolverine]

Started Sword Song from Cornwell's Saxon Tales and I had forgotten how awesome Uhtred is.

[russjass]

Re-Reading Katherine Kerr and plunging into a first time read of the Greg Mandel Trilogy