December's here! And you're reading....?

[bobbo19]

Just finished reading Alastair Reynolds' Absolution Gap Great book. Just waiting for my copy of Matter Iain M Banks' new Culture Novel to read that!

 

[GOLLUM]

I don't see it happening, frankly. It's more like giving someone a hit of crack cocaine and hoping they'll come back to you for a nice nutritious meal.

You cynic you...

I'm an eternal optimist myself, so I admit whilst it may not be an intuitive or natural progression it is possible. I've seen transitions like that occur here with children who have gone on to read what most people would regard as great literature.

On a side not. I may be involved with at least one youngster in the New Year as I've been asked to generate an enthusiasm in reading on behalf of a colleague's son and to help improve his English literary skills. I actually look forward to such a challenge.

 

[elvet]

I just started Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, with the first book Quicksilver. I'm not usually that intrigued by historical fiction, but I do like his writing so despite the slow start, I'm starting to get pulled in.

 

[GOLLUM]

I just started Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, with the first book Quicksilver. I'm not usually that intrigued by historical fiction, but I do like his writing so despite the slow start, I'm starting to get pulled in.

Yeh! Can't recall if I recommended this to you or not but I really enjoyed this series. Fantastically detailed and interesting multi-themed historical fiction with plenty of twists, eccentric characters and large in scope. If you like this series you'll be wanting to read Neal' other works, I promise you. In interviews he's as fascinating as his subjects too.

OH...and did I mention he can write?...

 

[Connavar]

Too true! I've heard the Twilight series is absolutely dreadful, though if it generates an interest in reading, then it's worth it.

I've started up another PKD novel Dr Bloodmoney so far I'm enjoying it. Kind of confused as to exactly where they are. One minute everything's normal, then out of nowhere, it's saying the bombs had dropped and most of the population is dead?

Thats my newest PKD book, i read the first few pages. If i remember it correctly i think PKD start the story in the present day and then jumps to the near future,post apocalypse world in the same city,same people.

Dr. Bloodmoney is i think the doc blamed for the world going to pieces. The doctor you see in the first pages.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

... The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It's written like a chidren's book from a little boy's perspective, but it's very dark and even a little disturbing.

Ooh! Ooh! I love John Connolly's books! Have you read his Charlie Parker series? They're brilliant.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

That novel had a lot of very good points, although I remember being a little disappointed at the somewhat pat resolution. A very Gaimanesque novel, and surprisingly all Connolly's other books seem to be crime novels.

His Charlie Parker series is not classic crime fiction. There are strong supernatural themes that become more evident as the series progresses. Charlie Parker is in many ways a haunted man, including in the literal sense - he is occasionally visited by his murdered wife and daughter.

 

[Daisy-Boo]

I'm book-hopping...

Hypothermia by Arnuldur Indriadason
Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett
Gods Behaving Badly - Marie Phillips
Columbine - Dave Cullen (who also blogs on OpenSalon and is a really nice guy)

I have a stack of about 15 books that I haven't started on yet. Also, my order consisting of four Nightside books plus Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear should arrive on Monday.

 

[soulsinging]

Right now I`m reading "the book thief" and somehow I find it hard to connect to it.

i ended up abandoning that one. it was hard to do... it comes so highly praised by almost everyone, but i found it difficult to get engaged with too.

i just finished 'murder on the orient express' and am not on to 'brave new world'... i dont know how i've gone so long without reading this one!

 

[woodsman]

In that case you'll love Kate Elliot's excellent 7 volume fantasy EPIC Crown Of Stars. Plenty of action but also generous serves of vivid description.

Will definitely check it out.

Moved onto The Stone Of Fairwell - Tad Williams.

Loving this series so far.

 

[woodsman]

I don't see it happening, frankly. It's more like giving someone a hit of crack cocaine and hoping they'll come back to you for a nice nutritious meal.

Haha just noticed this, pure genius if I may say so.

Isn't that what The Munchies are for...

 

[murphy]

In that case you'll love Kate Elliot's excellent 7 volume fantasy EPIC Crown Of Stars. Plenty of action but also generous serves of vivid description.

In the same vein, try Michelle West's Sun Sword series.

 

[elvet]

Yeh! Can't recall if I recommended this to you or not but I really enjoyed this series. Fantastically detailed and interesting multi-themed historical fiction with plenty of twists, eccentric characters and large in scope. If you like this series you'll be wanting to read Neal' other works, I promise you. In interviews he's as fascinating as his subjects too.

OH...and did I mention he can write?...

Yup, you recall correctly.

Quote by Murphy:
Originally Posted by GOLLUM
In that case you'll love Kate Elliot's excellent 7 volume fantasy EPIC Crown Of Stars. Plenty of action but also generous serves of vivid description.

In the same vein, try Michelle West's Sun Sword series.

I'll second that.

 

[Connavar]

Solomon Kane(Baen) by Robert.E Howard

I have read only Rattle of Bones,Hills of the Dead before.

Solomon Kane himself is my new nr.1 REH character. He is so complex,fanatical,heroic,avenger and his stories are so bleak,haunting and wonderful read.

Maybe not as great setting as Hyborian Age but the rest are great.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

I'm reading:
- Fire Sea by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
- Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon
- Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
- Dirt Music by Tim Winton
- Nine Lives by William Dalrymple
- The Hidden Letter by Sean Williams

 

[Diggler]

Thats my newest PKD book, i read the first few pages. If i remember it correctly i think PKD start the story in the present day and then jumps to the near future,post apocalypse world in the same city,same people.

Dr. Bloodmoney is i think the doc blamed for the world going to pieces. The doctor you see in the first pages.

Yeah he's blamed for a nuclear accident in 1972, and has a complex over this. I'm assuming he will have something to do with WWIII that they mention, but I haven't gotten that far in.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The Beast With Five Fingers is a rather indiscriminate collection for a 'Mystery & Supernatural' imprint, with only a third of the tales qualifying as horror (several of which are psychological rather than supernatural) and only one real mystery tale. The remainder consists of droll little vignettes of human nature, quasi-moralistic slices of life and so forth. These are not without interest, but they are generally very slight.

Of the horror tales (or rather, the tales of unease - horror is generally too equivocal a term to use here) the title tale is something of an anomaly, being both the most famous and the most atypical tale by WF Harvey. It's an unsubtle sort of affair, in its key concept, and subtly chilling concepts are a keynote of Harvey's more effective tales. These include the superb The Dabblers, a tale which contains its own critique in the form of a cynical listener dismissing the narrator's tale, and then overcomes the critique with a chilling little coda. August Heat is another very effective and uncanny tale. These are both frequently anthologised stories, as is the title story. A few stories that barely offer more than the cliched ghost story of the Victorian/Edwardian era have been included, as have several variations on recurring themes, where everyone concerned would have been better served by only including only the very best example of the type.

There are nevertheless several good tales here, and one wishes the editor has seen fit instead to assemble a slimmer but more effective volume of about 12 to 15 short stories.

 

[Fried Egg]

Just finished "We can build you" by P. K. Dick and back to "Ancient Stories and other weird stories" by A. Blackwood for the last story in the collection: "Sand".

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Just finished The Aspern Papers by Henry James. Liked it a lot.

 

[LaMattie]

Child of Prophecy by Juliet Marillier.