September's Studious Search For Sonorous Snippets

[elvet]

Just started Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kaye. This is my first exposure to his work so I have no real opinion yet. The first chapter moves well and draws the reader in, but I'm not compelled to sit there and read it as with some authors I've picked up. It may become "entrancing" at some point but hasn't thus far.

Please don't judge him based on this book alone. It was my least favorite of his, and somewhat of a sequel to Fionavar Tapestry (so you'll miss a lot of back story).

 

[sabolich]

Please don't judge him based on this book alone. It was my least favorite of his, and somewhat of a sequel to Fionavar Tapestry (so you'll miss a lot of back story).

Ah. This is what I get for buying discounted books at Borders' going out of business sale. You always end up with stuff out of order, even though they are supposedly stand-alones. I was not aware that many of his books were related in this fashion. I also have The Last Light of the Sun in the pile of to-be-reads.

 

[Lord Soth]

Ah. This is what I get for buying discounted books at Borders' going out of business sale. You always end up with stuff out of order, even though they are supposedly stand-alones. I was not aware that many of his books were related in this fashion. I also have The Last Light of the Sun in the pile of to-be-reads.

Try Lions of Al Rassan (good) or Under Heaven (excellent) - both are (I believe) stand alone books. I am slowly working my way through GGK's works, with a bit of research it seems a few are less well received than others but so far I have loved what I have read.

 

[Diggler]

You've got a space (setting), technological and societal issues, all wrapped up and covered with telekinetic powers, cyber-enhancements, synesthesia, altered realities, powerful corporations, teleportation, and mutant beings, all used to spin one of the most entertaining and fascinating pulp-tales that's ever been spun.

Sounds like a lot of PKD's writing. Especially the altered realities

 

[GOLLUM]

Ah. This is what I get for buying discounted books at Borders' going out of business sale. You always end up with stuff out of order, even though they are supposedly stand-alones. I was not aware that many of his books were related in this fashion. I also have The Last Light of the Sun in the pile of to-be-reads.

To Lord Soth's Lions of Al Rassan and Under Heaven add Tigana (arguably his greatest work), Finoavar Tapestry and Sarantine Mosaic. All better than Ysabel despite this book winning the World Fantasy Award, which generally goes to works of a very high standard.

 

[Connavar]

Sounds like a lot of PKD's writing. Especially the altered realities

He did feel to me like an early version of PKD but not as much character melodrama as PKD likes. Both does have those early cyberpunk like elements.

Frankly i have not read a Bester novel other than TSMD. I have been afraid book nr.2 would never match the awesome The Stars My Destination.

The only author so far who has made Edmon Dantes revenge story his own and not a rehash imo.

 

[D_Davis]

The Demolished Man is almost as good, and some of Bester's short stories are, believe it or not, even better than Stars.

 

[Connavar]

The Demolished Man is almost as good, and some of Bester's short stories are, believe it or not, even better than Stars.

I have gone past TSMD hype now few years later so Demolished Man sounds good on its own. I have heard good things about his short stories. Hope they are in print.

He has just become as a writer a sacrifice to my broad taste in lit. There are 1 or 2 SF authors i have read 20 books of and others i have not read as much i liked. Im too much hm lets read something, someone i havent read before too much.

I would like to read like 5 SF classic books in a row but i can only dream about my books in that field right now...

 

[Marvin]

Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson

Had me in stitches within a couple of pages and promises to keep it up throughout - much to the annoyance of anyone in the vicinity. Tough - I'm enjoying myself!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

And I'm done with The Lies of Locke Lamora! Woohoo! Took me ages to get through; I think I've been on it for over a month now. Not really the book's fault, though; I just haven't been finding a lot of time to read lately. Anyway, it's a good book. Not brilliant (the characters seem somewhat one-dimensional, and the end was rather predictable) but I liked it. One interesting thing I noticed was that compared with most Fantasy novels I've read, which tend to be quite heavy on the description and prose, Lynch's style is a lot heavier on dialogue. I actually found it refreshing.

So my aim now is to finish The Illearth War (which I've been on since even before Locke Lamora). *sigh* It's not a bad series, really, but the pace is glacial.

I know it's not Fantasy, but I will also be reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown on my Nook alongside the above. (Don't judge me! It's good to have a change of pace from always reading Epic Fantasy (though perhaps Locke Lamora is Urban..?), and I've had the book for ages. Figured I might as well get it over with.)

 

[Perpetual Man]

Finished The Kingdom of Malinas by E J Tett

Am about to start The Temporal Void by Peter F Hamilton

 

[D_Davis]

Ice, the second part of the Ice Trilogy, becomes very dark and sinister. While the first part read more like an urban fantasy, utilizing an older Russian style, part two reads more like a modern crime thriller, complete with thugs, drug running, and sex trafficking. I think I like the first part a little more, but if I had read the second part first (as it was originally published) I think I would have liked it more.

I think this omnibus version should have been printed in the order that the parts were originally published (II, I, III). Starting with the second part would create more of a lasting impact because it's so strange and in your face. But reading the first part (originally published second, as a "prequel") first lessens the impact of the second part just a bit, because I know what is actually going on.

Still, at over 1/2 through, this is one of the very best books I've read all year. Highly recommended.

 

[antiloquax]

Reading David Lynch's book on meditation Catching the Big Fish. It's quite a short book so I am reading it as well as Swan Song.
I am starting a meditation group in the school where I work, Lynch does TM whereas I am more into "mindfulness" practices. Still, it's very interesting to read his thoughts on the subject.
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[Fried Egg]

Finished "The Day Watch" by Sergei Lukyanenko and now just time for something short before horror month begins: "Mission Gravity" by Hal Clement.

 

[Diggler]

He did feel to me like an early version of PKD but not as much character melodrama as PKD likes. Both does have those early cyberpunk like elements.

Frankly i have not read a Bester novel other than TSMD. I have been afraid book nr.2 would never match the awesome The Stars My Destination.

The only author so far who has made Edmon Dantes revenge story his own and not a rehash imo.

After reading what you thought of this it kindled my interest in reading a far out, classic SF story. I think I have this book in my collection? I'll have to look through them and see if I can dredge it up. Otherwise I'll just have to be content with one of my unread PKD novels.

 

[j d worthington]

Finished "The Day Watch" by Sergei Lukyanenko and now just time for something short before horror month begins: "Mission Gravity" by Hal Clement.

Short it may be... but it certainly leaves an impression....

 

[purple_kathryn]

So, not unsurprisingly, FlashForward the novel had very little in common with Flashforward the tv series. In fact the only things the same were that there was a flashforward and the name of one of the characters.

Quite interesting, seemed to be about what the author thought could happen when the LHC was turned on for the first time.

Now reading Invincible the last in the Legacy of the Force (star wars) series. Wondering if Darth Caedus will get his come uppance as he annoys me somewhat.

 

[Rangerton]

Just finished Heretic,third in the grail trylogy by Bernard Cornwell.

I'm now about to start The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

 

[antiloquax]

Been listening to the audiobook of "Flatland". It is really good. The difficulties the square has in understanding the 3rd dimension and his frustration with the king of Lineland are very funny. And the book does make you wonder about other dimensions that we are not able to perceive.

 

[No One]

Have finally finished The Amber Spyglass after a luxurious and enjoyable read. It's not the strongest of the trilogy, but it's still graced with many of Pullman's excellent imaginings. A superb series of books overall I thought.

So, after a fantasy trilogy and the beast that was A Dance with Dragons, I want a nice short book. The shortest of my as-yet-unread SF masterworks is Roadside Picnic, by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, so that's up next for me.

I might supplement it with Max Brook's Zombie Survival Guide though - it's about time I prepared for such eventualities.