December's Diabolical Deviations (what are you currently reading?)

[j d worthington]

Well, despite having finished Doctor Grimshawe's Secret, I won't be moving on to the next Hawthorne right away, as I've had a couple or three other things come up which will occupy my time for at least a day or two. One was reading the ms. for W. H. Pugmire's forthcoming Some Unknown Gulf of Night, for which he has invited me to write an introduction (and yes, I was quite flabbergasted, not to mention pleased, at the request); the others are reading some tales written by Dale Nelson (who is known here as Extollager), written largely in the (M. R.) Jamesian manner, and moving into a period where I am looking at Lovecraft in the larger context of his contemporaries, by reading a ton of works by them, beginning with (at the moment) the very early verse and tales of Clark Ashton Smith -- so far, his juvenile verse (which is, save for one piece, far beyond what most juvenile poets -- he was still in his mid-teens at most at this point -- are capable of) and soon to move into his very early (written at age 14 or 15) oriental adventure novel, The Black Diamonds.... I'll also be tackling the earliest published story by the Rev. Henry S. Whitehead, "Not to the Swift", as well as some of the work of George Sterling, etc.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

Congratulations J.D., I hope you're going to do it!

These are the books I'm reading:
- Legend by David Gemmell
- Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings
- Seasons of Mist by Neil Gaiman
- The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson
- Hidden Empire by Kevin J Anderson

 

[ravenus]

One was reading the ms. for W. H. Pugmire's forthcoming Some Unknown Gulf of Night, for which he has invited me to write an introduction (and yes, I was quite flabbergasted, not to mention pleased, at the request)

Wow, This grows in interest all the time.

 

[Talysia]

I know I'm not reading them in the right order, but I'm currently reading Death Masks, by Jim Butcher.

 

[murphy]

Just finished reading N. K. Jemison's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and the second book of the trilogy, The Broken Kingdoms. I would recommend both of them. Very well done and I'm eagerly looking forward to the third book, due out this summer.

Now on to Ken Scholes Antiphon.

 

[j d worthington]

H.J. and Ravenus: Thank you kindly. Yes, I chose to do it; in fact, it is done and off to the publisher at this point....

Continuing on with the other items on my list: I have now read three out of the four stories sent me by Extollager (the legthiest will probably have to be put off until tomorrow, but no later than that, I hope); Smith's early poetry is proving quite interesting -- he was very heavily influenced by Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, apparently, but what he did with it has strong elements of his own, and some of it is really quite powerful. The imagery especially can often make you catch your breath at the sheer imaginative strength and original use of even seemingly trite metaphor at times. Whitehead's first tale was not a weird tale, but a blending of a sports story (racing... of the 1904-05 period), romance, and social life. Not normally my cup of tea but, save for the ending (which was mawkish as so much of the magazine work of that time was) it was really a rather good effort, and sustained interest. Stereotyped in many ways, but the writing gave it a bit more conviction than one would expect.

 

[Connavar]

It is indeed one of his better ones. If you like it, you should also enjoy the next two in the series.

To cleanse my palate from The Blood Of Elves, I'm now embarked on Probability Moon by Nancy Kress. Looks like a winner.

I knew it was one of his best books because it grabbed me from page 1 long before i started to understand the world,the supernatural weirdness. TP gets the cards,gambling world,the shady people in it much better than he was with spy world in Declare for example.

Many well done characters in the book specially the weird bad guys like Al Funo,Trumbill.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Just finished The Brotherhood or the Rose. It was a good. Plenty of action and very quick paced.

Next, The Anvil of Ice by Michael Scott Rohan. Found this trilogy in a thrift shop by me so will start book 1 tonight. Heard a lot of good things about this trilogy.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Finished The Lurker On The Threshold, which just kept getting worse and worse despite some effective imagery at the end of the second segment. I think ever flaw ever (wrongly) ascribed to Lovecraft by uppity mavens can be found in this compendium of Derleth's ineptitude.

Also finished Murphy, Samuel Beckett's first novel, which was disturbing, hilarious, mystifying and quite Joyce-esque at times.

 

[murphy]

Now reading Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. So far it's excellent and I'm loving it.

 

[j d worthington]

Finished The Lurker On The Threshold, which just kept getting worse and worse despite some effective imagery at the end of the second segment. I think ever flaw ever (wrongly) ascribed to Lovecraft by uppity mavens can be found in this compendium of Derleth's ineptitude.

Pretty much, yes. That third section, for instance, simply does not belong with the rest of the novel, and in fact, is diametrically opposed to it in nearly every way. (You should try looking up Bob Price's attempt at doing a more suitable ending for the novel. It isn't exactly going to set the world on fire, but it at least is much more consistent with what had gone before....)

 

[manephelien]

Re-read Harry Potter in the run-up to Christmas.

 

[GOLLUM]

Also finished Murphy, Samuel Beckett's first novel, which was disturbing, hilarious, mystifying and quite Joyce-esque at times.

Interesting. I have not read Beckett's early prose efforts but it is not surprising they are indicative of an influence by Joyce given he was mentored by him.

You should try to get a hold of later novels like The Unnameable and How It Is to see the further maturing of Beckett's "voice".

Certainly an important figure at the tail end of the modernist movement and a key figure of 20th Century Literature as you would already know.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Yes. I've read some of his novels, plays and poems over the years but I'm currently starting on what might be a fairly extended chronological reading of his work in the excellent Grove Centenary Edition (Samuel Beckett ) , a rather awesome set found second hand earlier this year.

 

[GOLLUM]

Yes. I've read some of his novels, plays and poems over the years but I'm currently starting on what might be a fairly extended chronological reading of his work in the excellent Grove Centenary Edition (Samuel Beckett ) , a rather awesome set found second hand earlier this year.

Wow. Almost his entire oeuvre in fact. That's quite something J.P. Very nice...

It would be interesting to read any notes you make on your impressions of this Chronological trek through the work of one of the more complex individuals I've personally come across in literature.

 

[fjeronimo]

It has been a while since I last posted, but I recently finished Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, which not surprisingly is a masterpiece. I'm still amazed how he manages to have more content and imagination in short stories that stand on 3-4 pages than other (most) authors have in 800 pages mammoths...

Following j. d. worthington's recommendation early this year, I'm currently reading Miracles of Life by J. G. Ballard.

 

[bluespider100]

Just done reading, VENUS' PRIME by ACC and A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE by Harry Turtledove. Now on to VITALS by Greg Bear. and HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS!

 

[HoopyFrood]

Been reading a lot of Fantasy lately and after sprinting through Lies..., it's now time for Something Completely Different. The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins.

 

[ratsy]

I finished The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S Redick. I really liked it. Kind of a YA feel but a good story that kept a good pace.

I am now reading Kevin J Anderson's Second book in the Terra series The Map of All Things. Surprisingly this is one of the better series I have read in a while. I like that I am only starting the 2nd book and it is 18 years past the start of the first. He is spanning a pivitol time in a different world and letting us see the whole story without cramming us full of useless story. Kudos to Anderson for Creating a great Nautical fantasy world.

 

[Star Girl]

Fatherland by Robert Harris.
I've been pestered to read this for the longest time now, and as much as I know I'll like it I always manage to find some other book to read instead. I've read about a quarter and I'm liking it already.