March's Marvellous Missals, Mammoth Manuals and Miniscule Monographs

[AE35Unit]

Oh dear, I'm halfway thru Teranesia and I'm losing the will to read! Its not that the book, being by Greg Egan is difficult (he has that reputation!) its just that,well,its rather dull! I'm waiting for something to happen but there's no sensawuna,no wow moments and I can see a flat ending coming. Also I have an Alastair Reynolds book from the library (The Prefect) staring at me! Continue or stop,hmmm

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I'm a little more than halfway through Before They Are Hanged, Book 2 of The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Really liking this series, so far. I have to say, though, I thought the first one (The Blade Itself) was a bit better. There are some parts in Hanged that make me feel like Abercrombie 'forgot' his characters' voice a little.

In the first one, each of the POVs had a very distinct tone in their narrative; it seems to me that in the second one, that distinctiveness is a little less so, and they're all starting to sound a little too similar. The biggest difference is in Ferro - who doesn't seem nearly as feral and wild as she was in Blade - and Logen, who's suddenly become a lot more talkative and 'open'. I know characters are supposed to grow, but there was very little growth actually shown in the books themselves; whatever change happened to them seemed to have taken place between the two books.

Assuming I won't find Book 3 of the series any time soon (which seems likely), I'll be moving on to something else once I'm done with this.

Here are the unread books currently in my possession and gathering dust on my shelf (not because I've had them for a long time. I'm just filthy):

- The Dragonbone Chair (Book 1 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) by Tad Williams
- War of the Flowers by Tad Williams (a stand-alone novel)
- The Scar by China Mieville (stand-alone)
- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (stand-alone)
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (although I would personally prefer hanging on to this till later, as I haven't been able to find books 2 & 3)
- Lord Foul's Bane (Book 1 of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever)
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

Any suggestions..?

 

[AE35Unit]

great introduction to his Warhammer 40K universe.

Ah no,you said a swear word!!! Yuk,yuk,spit it out!

 

[Mouse]

Here are the unread books currently in my possession and gathering dust on my shelf (not because I've had them for a long time. I'm just filthy):

- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Any suggestions..?

Yeah, leave it on your shelf! I started it a long time ago, could never get further than page twenty-something.

I'm currently reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and A Sword from Red Ice by J.V. Jones. Is it a sword from or a sword of? I never remember.

 

[Connavar]

I'm a little more than halfway through Before They Are Hanged, Book 2 of The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Really liking this series, so far. I have to say, though, I thought the first one (The Blade Itself) was a bit better. There are some parts in Hanged that make me feel like Abercrombie 'forgot' his characters' voice a little.

In the first one, each of the POVs had a very distinct tone in their narrative; it seems to me that in the second one, that distinctiveness is a little less so, and they're all starting to sound a little too similar. The biggest difference is in Ferro - who doesn't seem nearly as feral and wild as she was in Blade - and Logen, who's suddenly become a lot more talkative and 'open'. I know characters are supposed to grow, but there was very little growth actually shown in the books themselves; whatever change happened to them seemed to have taken place between the two books.

Assuming I won't find Book 3 of the series any time soon (which seems likely), I'll be moving on to something else once I'm done with this.

Here are the unread books currently in my possession and gathering dust on my shelf (not because I've had them for a long time. I'm just filthy):

- The Dragonbone Chair (Book 1 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) by Tad Williams
- War of the Flowers by Tad Williams (a stand-alone novel)
- The Scar by China Mieville (stand-alone)
- Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (stand-alone)
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (although I would personally prefer hanging on to this till later, as I haven't been able to find books 2 & 3)
- Lord Foul's Bane (Book 1 of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever)
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

Any suggestions..?

War of the Flowers is a very rare book specially in that company. Its a very very good stand alone fantasy . A quality story that starts and finishes in 1 book.

Better to read than books you dont have sequals too.

Heh i have saved First Law book 2, book 3. To read at once but not at the moment when i feel for reading other genres.

 

[CyBeR]

Started reading (ahem, 100 pages in), on Terry Pratchett's 'Witches abroad'. I must say I've laughed out loud at the 'Dracula' reference...he could've done a bit more with the scene, but it was awesome nonetheless.
I'm loving the book so far...unfortunately, I'll be on hiatus with Pratchett again after this one because the next book that I have in my bookcase is 'Soul music' and that's 3 books away from this one. I'll have to get my hands on the missing 3 as soon as possible.

Missa loves Terry Pratchett books .

 

[Talysia]

Planning to reread Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Quartet next.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Yeah, leave it on your shelf! I started it a long time ago, could never get further than page twenty-something.

Ouch! Seriously!? I thought everyone keeps talking about Lynch being up there with Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss as one of the best new fantasy writers of recent years...

 

[Connavar]

Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

Its started more fun in tone than you expect from a RAH.

 

[murphy]

I
I'm now on to Triumff (also by Dan Abnett). I'm led to believe that this is a very funny book.

It is a fun and funny book. It's one of the ones I'll keep in my collection to read again at a later date.

In the meantime, I'm reading Petrodor by Joel Shepherd, the second book in the series A Trial of Blood and Steel. I suppose you could call this an alternate history since it deals with another world, but with no magic. Full of battles and politics and ninja-like actions. Very enjoyable.

 

[AE35Unit]

Started reading (ahem, 100 pages in), on Terry Pratchett's 'Witches abroad'. I must say I've laughed out loud at the 'Dracula' reference...he could've done a bit more with the scene, but it was awesome nonetheless.
I'm loving the book so far...unfortunately, I'll be on hiatus with Pratchett again after this one because the next book that I have in my bookcase is 'Soul music' and that's 3 books away from this one. I'll have to get my hands on the missing 3 as soon as possible.

Missa loves Terry Pratchett books .

You're quite safe as you don't have to read them in any order. The great thing with Pratchett is you can pick any book up at random to read! Except maybe the first two which do follow each other.

 

[Mouse]

Ouch! Seriously!? I thought everyone keeps talking about Lynch being up there with Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss as one of the best new fantasy writers of recent years...

I know there's a few people here who like him, but I just couldn't get into it myself. I did try!

 

[murphy]

Ouch! Seriously!? I thought everyone keeps talking about Lynch being up there with Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss as one of the best new fantasy writers of recent years...

I know there's a few people here who like him, but I just couldn't get into it myself. I did try!

It might not be for everyone's taste, but I did enjoy it. Liked it better than Abercrombie.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Ouch! Seriously!? I thought everyone keeps talking about Lynch being up there with Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss as one of the best new fantasy writers of recent years...

The vast majority of everyone, I think. Nevertheless, some of us were disappointed.

But you can't let a few cranks like us put you off the book.

 

[CyBeR]

You're quite safe as you don't have to read them in any order. The great thing with Pratchett is you can pick any book up at random to read! Except maybe the first two which do follow each other.

I know. I've read all the Rincewind books so far before starting on this reading in order business. I find it far more interesting to watch the evolution of the Discworld as I go in order now rather than separate books...

The furthest book in that I've read is 'The last continent' and so far I found it to be the best, next to 'Hogfather'. Reading in order lets me see how Pratchett himself evolved as a writer.

 

[Hypnos164]

Any suggestions..?

Of the ones i've read:

Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

Is the start of an amazing, ambitious and truely epic series - good time to start it; the last book will be out by the time you get that far. Obviously not to everyone's taste but those who like Erikson's work tend to really love it.

The Scar by China Mieville (stand-alone)

Awesome - and pretty different to anything else on your list.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Fun, fast paced romp with a "heist" theme - I liked it - good choice if you are looking for something a bit less serious, self important and "multi-volume epic" in feel.

The Dragonbone Chair (Book 1 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) by Tad Williams

Ugh ... glaciers move faster than events in this - later books in the series were supposed to be better but I never took the risk of finding out.

 

[Hypnos164]

Also just finished Walter Jon Williams' collection Frankensteins and Foreign Devils;a great collection of stories showing Walter's amazing range and versatility.

Covering everything from fantasy to a sequel to Hardwired via super heroes (the first Wild Cards story ever), alternate histories of "Elvis" and Lord Byron, and Well's Martians interrupting the Boxer rebellion.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Of the ones i've read:

Gardens of the Moon (Book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson

Is the start of an amazing, ambitious and truely epic series - good time to start it; the last book will be out by the time you get that far. Obviously not to everyone's taste but those who like Erikson's work tend to really love it. [I'm actually thinking of holding back on it for a while. I have a fair few books still to be read, and I'm afraid if I get into Malazan, then the others will just be sitting there for the next year while I fill up on Erikson's dozen or so novels]

The Scar by China Mieville (stand-alone)

Awesome - and pretty different to anything else on your list. [Yeah, that's why I got it. Seemed quite different from the epic fantasy I normally read]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Fun, fast paced romp with a "heist" theme - I liked it - good choice if you are looking for something a bit less serious, self important and "multi-volume epic" in feel. [A heist fantasy? Like Ocean's Eleven or something? That's interesting. Strange, but interesting...]

The Dragonbone Chair (Book 1 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn) by Tad Williams

Ugh ... glaciers move faster than events in this - later books in the series were supposed to be better but I never took the risk of finding out. [Ouchie McOuchie! Some damning criticism that, although glaciers are probably moving faster now, what with global warming and all. (Technically, more melting than moving, but still...)]

Thanks for the suggestions; I always like receiving input from others about which novels they think are or are not worth reading. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean I will actually follow any suggestions; I just like to hear what people have to say.

Actually, I'm quite sure I will be reading Elantris next. I was already about 50 or so pages into it when I got my hands on Abercrombie, so might as well finish it.

 

[Diggler]

Finished New Writings in SF No. 27
The stories were:

"Bartholomew & Son (and the Fish-Girl)" Michael G Coney
"The Day They Cut Off the Power" Vera Johnson
"A Time of Mind" Keith Wells
"Within the Black Circle" Brian Aldiss
"Killing Off the Big Animals" Brian Aldiss
"What Are You Doing? Why Are You Doing It?" Brian Aldiss
"Long Time Ago, Not Forgotten" Bob Van Learhoven
"Zone" Peter Linnet
"Heatwave" David Langford
"Heal Thyself" John Rackham
"The Observer" Graham Charnock
"Cassius and the Mind-Jaunt" Colin Kapp

The real standouts were Brian Aldiss (which was actually a 3 part story) and "Cassius and the Mind-Jaunt" by Colin Kapp. The only one I didn't like was "The Observer" by Graham Charnock.

I'm now reading In the Winter Dark by Tim Winton

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Read and greatly liked Black Hornet by James Sallis.