February's Forays into Fiction

November, December and january I went a bit mad on reading. Now, there's nothing on my list. i'm quite lost actualy
 
Have been in Cyprus for a week with a computer that wouldn't post messages here! Couldn't get a cursor into any of the boxes - most distressing. :mad: Anyway, I did manage to read a fair bit. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon was just sheer brilliance - see the review in the review section. Predator's Gold by Philip Reeve was a rollicking sci fi adventure for YA. This was the sequel to Mortal Engines, it followed up nicely with a great new adventure and colourful new characters. It was most enjoyable - I read it in about 4 hours! :)

Now for The Amulet of Samarkand, which I have been meaning to read for ages. I hope it lives up to the hype.
 
Ok, done with the Five gold bands by Jack Vance
This is a very short novel by Jack Vance, and a minor one. Not epic as the Tsai or the Lord-demons cycle, but really sweet. The story is about Paddy, an Irish gentlemen & thief who from one mistake to another is led to steal ultra-propulsion secret to "aliens" while having all the galaxy hot on his trails. Don't expect hard prospective ideas (although the origin of the aliens are interesting) nor soap-opera drama. It's just a fun "chicken soup" type tale packed with action, humor and some terrible Irish clichés.
If you need a good laugh, this is the book to read.
 
I think i'll read the shanara series.
meh
i'm procrastinating. i've a tough scene to write and i'm putting it off.
sorry for the inconvienience
 
Five gold bands sounds good, Leto. I've always thought that Vance has a good comedic strain so this ought to be very entertaining.


Vance's To Live Forever is shaping up very nicely, and the Pears novel continues to be gripping.
 
I'm boring this month - still reading the Last Rune series. I'm about halfway through number five now. I still chuckle at the similarity to a certain tv show but it hasn't ruined my enjoyment of the story. For those of you who have finished the series, don't tell me, but I get the feeling there is going to be some sort of revelation about the Philosophers at some point...
 
Started Nobody true by James Herbert. The start is a bit confused but now the murder happpened it's getting more and more addictive. Reminds me somehow of Dirk gently's holistic agency.
 
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears just gets better and better. Ever since I read Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun last year, I've been fascinated with the idea of an unreliable narrator, of a 1st-person narrative as being a sort of puzzle or mystery littered with red herrings and clues for the reader to interpret. This book takes that a step further by presenting us with 4 unreliable narrators in sequence. Each one gives us his own take on a certain train of events, constantly re-interpreting and re-casting what we've been told by the previous narrator. It's absolutely fascinating to watch this process unfold - and ithelps that, in the process, the solution to an intriguing murder mystery will also be unravelled.


Jack Vance's To Live Forever has me utterly enthralled, as usual. Gavin Waylock is typical of Vance's less-than-heroic protagonists (like Cugel) - he is shrewd, scheming and utterly self-absorbed. But there's a fascination in watching his schemes play out, and the setting - a cleverly constructed dystopia based on free enterprise and immortality privileges - helps to keep me drawn in. I find Vance's use of news especially intersting in this book - Waylock takes time to keep up with the latest news in his city, and the various reports he reads help to give us a better picture of the way this fictional world works, while they also serve as pointers for Waylock's own course of action. Gripping stuff.
 
knivesout said:
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears just gets better and better. Ever since I read Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun last year, I've been fascinated with the idea of an unreliable narrator, of a 1st-person narrative as being a sort of puzzle or mystery littered with red herrings and clues for the reader to interpret. This book takes that a step further by presenting us with 4 unreliable narrators in sequence. Each one gives us his own take on a certain train of events, constantly re-interpreting and re-casting what we've been told by the previous narrator. It's absolutely fascinating to watch this process unfold - and ithelps that, in the process, the solution to an intriguing murder mystery will also be unravelled.
Click to expand...
I just couldn't get through this one. I found it completely dull and uninteresting and the atmosphere felt manufactured, not real to me. I actually posted something on it at another website long ago as I was so disappointed after hearing so many people say it was great. This is one of the few books that I almost felt like throwing accross the room. I even persevered longer than I normally do because it was so highly recommended. Just thinking about it makes me grimace. Sheesh. Now you're making me think I should give it another try since I respect your opinion much better than that of those others. JP, If I pick it up again and get the same response after reading half of a TOME, then I'll just make you send me a packet of tea in compensation :D
 
Have just read Absolution Gap and its a good read but I do have a "problem" with it but enough said for now..unless you want to know more...:)
 
yep, Spill it all. What's wrong if this, and who wrote it ?
 
dwndrgn said:
I just couldn't get through this one. I found it completely dull and uninteresting and the atmosphere felt manufactured, not real to me. I actually posted something on it at another website long ago as I was so disappointed after hearing so many people say it was great. This is one of the few books that I almost felt like throwing accross the room. I even persevered longer than I normally do because it was so highly recommended. Just thinking about it makes me grimace. Sheesh. Now you're making me think I should give it another try since I respect your opinion much better than that of those others. JP, If I pick it up again and get the same response after reading half of a TOME, then I'll just make you send me a packet of tea in compensation :D
Click to expand...

Well...sure. A packet of tea if you can't stand the book, no worries. :D Isn't it a bit tough sending foodstuffs in the mail to the US right now, though? I seem to remember that it was all very tight and paranoid a couple of years back when those anthrax runours happened.

Absolution Gap is by Alastair Reyonolds, and on my to-read list, but I'm OK with spoilers if you simply have to say something. :cool:
 
Just finished Nobody True by James Herbert. A brilliant polar (dark murder story with a film noirtaste) with a very great use of fantastic element. Full of cliffhanger and yet with the quietness and the politeness usually assiociated with UK (at least for a french girl ;).
 
No really? Even Lacedaemonian?


I finished Vance's To Live Forever yesterday. It ends with out villainous protagonist totaly reating apart the basis of his society - and then escaping to explore outer space! Such fun.

In addition to the Pears book, I am also re-reading Fritz Leiber's The Swords of Lankhmar as a lighter snack in between courses of Fingerpost.
 
No comment.

Now I'm wondering what to read. Chealsea Quinn Yarbro or GRRM ? Additionnaly to that I'll go for the Gerard Klein book, and then my yearly pligrimage into Dune.
 
Leto said:
Just finished Nobody True by James Herbert. A brilliant polar (dark murder story with a film noirtaste)
Click to expand...
Would you recommend it to someone who has read The Fog and thought it was generally very ho-hum with badly written stock characters and only a few interesting scenes?
 
ravenus said:
Would you recommend it to someone who has read The Fog and thought it was generally very ho-hum with badly written stock characters and only a few interesting scenes?
Click to expand...

Yep, IMO this one is much better written.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
GOLLUM February's Fastidious Foraging For Fabulous Fiction Book Discussion 67
GOLLUM February's Febrile Focus For Finding Fulfilling Fiction Book Discussion 215
GOLLUM February's Fabulous Feast Of Fully Formidable Fiction Book Discussion 197
GOLLUM February's Fortuitous Following Of Fabulous Fiction Book Discussion 189
Jayaprakash Satyamurthy February's Fantastic Folios and Fascinating Fables Book Discussion 325

Similar threads


Back
Top