April's Anticipated Ascent of Aspiringly Artful Words

[Allegra]

Currently reading:

The Breathing Method (the last novella in Different Seasons) by Stephen King

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

 

[Hypnos164]

Finished Sins of the Fathers by Lawrence Block - really enjoyed it.

Reading Fifth Quarter by Tanya Huff now

 

[Fried Egg]

I still have Arthur Conan Doyle's "Aventures & Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" collection which I am slowly making my way through but am also reading Robert Silverberg's "Night Wings" and I've also started Jonathan Thomas' "Tempting Providence and Other Stories" which I'm very excited about.

 

[Rodders]

The Age of Zeus by James Lovegrove.

 

[j d worthington]

Just finished The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt. It had been a long time since I last read it, and a very long time since I first read it.

I didn't remember much beyond the first part, but remembered more and more as I read. Anyway, I liked it, and was glad to reread it.

It's a pity that this book isn't better known. Yes, it is flawed, and certainly less powerful than The Well of the Unicorn, but it is nonetheless a very good performance and a fantasy novel which remains thought-provoking.

I still have Arthur Conan Doyle's "Aventures & Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" collection which I am slowly making my way through but am also reading Robert Silverberg's "Night Wings" and I've also started Jonathan Thomas' "Tempting Providence and Other Stories" which I'm very excited about.

I'm very curious to hear your response to the last two. I've always liked the air of Night Wings, since I first read the short version of it in The Hugo Winners back in the 1970s; and Thomas' work is, I think, among those most worth keeping track of in the genre at present....

I am slowly making my way through Ellison's The Deadly Streets. Some of these are actually a bit better than I remember (as entertainments, at least, if not necessarily as art, though a few of them do achieve that status as well I think). Others are about on the level I recall; still entertaining, in an historical as well as literary sense. But it is interesting revisiting the very young Ellison (these were mostly written within the first few years of his career) and seeing how, even while he followed many of the accepted conventions of the crime and mystery magazines of the day, he was already pushing the boundaries a bit here and there, as well as seeing his own genuine moral and ethical concerns showing through....

 

[D_Davis]

The Last Picture Show is really something else. So sad and depressing, and yet also oddly hilarious. The fascination with sex surrounding all of characters is fascinating, and totally believable. I don't think I've ever read better depictions of teenage lust and anxiety. This is better than any of the bildungsroman, coming-of-age tales I ever had to read in school, and I'm wondering why this book wasn't taught in my high school and college lit courses. McMurtry is a genius writer.

 

[Diggler]

Interesting I didn't think that was one of his better books, although not his worst either, so I'm curious as to what you'd think of some of his others. Plan on reading any more?

I definitely will read another of his books. I'd be inclined to read Fight Club, seeing that it's in my collection somewhere.

I finished Kronk by Edmund Cooper. It yet again in-stills in me the belief that he is one of the great forgotten writers of the SF genre.

And am half way through Dead in the West by Joe R. Lansdale. Which is just brilliant, as per usual, from Lansdale.

 

[Lord Soth]

Well, continuing on my re-read of the Malazan series, I finished Deadhouse Gates. Reading this series reminds me how good a writer Erikson is, I loved this book and in some places nearly moved me to tears in some places. So much better the second time round also, for me he is the best fantasy writer I have ever read.

Saying that, I don't think I can read 3 of his tomes one after another so I am now reading Off Armageddon Reef by David Webber. Starts off well, although im not sure how the religious aspect will play out. I have a feeling I know how the book will end (in a similar way to Out of the Dark by the same author) but we shall see.

On a different note on audiobooks I am nearly finished through Rothfuss' second book, Wise Mans Fear. These are excellently read by Rupert Degas, and the storytelling is engaging as always... except on this re-'read' many parts of the main character are starting to jar and annoy me, and some of the plot lines simply do not make sense.

**Spoiler / Rant below**
Kvothe is getting more annoying my the minute - his continual references to how music is so amazing and how only musicians can appreciate this or that blah blah, and his smug sense of superiority about how the Edema Ruh are soo much better than everyone else at singing, storytelling, playing music, acting or (for all intents and purposes) wiping their bum when they go to the toilet is really really irritating me. Never mind the fact that he needs to grow a pair in regards to Denna (for Gods sake you pathetic cretin make a move or don't, just stop going on about it like a moon-eyed young girl). Oh, and how come if Kvothe is admittedly (at this point) useless with women does he convince the Maer and follow through on how to seduce the Lackless girl? Anyway, there is about a quarter of the story remaining so no doubt there will be a few more points...
**END Spoiler / Rant below**

and on that, surely it must be time for a May thread?

 

[Fried Egg]

I'm very curious to hear your response to the last two. I've always liked the air of Night Wings, since I first read the short version of it in The Hugo Winners back in the 1970s; and Thomas' work is, I think, among those most worth keeping track of in the genre at present....

I've posted my thoughts on "Nightwings" in the Silverberg thread. As for Jonathan Thomas' collection, I've only read two stories so far but both very interesting and original. Indeed he is one of those most worth keeping track of in the genre right now. A genre that is burgeoning with talent and really thriving in my opinion.

 

[GOLLUM]

A little late but as a heads up I'm just in the process of posting the May reading thread.

Please standby...

UPDATE: The May reading thread is now prepared for your delectation.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

Loved Boneshaker and liked Dreadnought, but started reading reviews of the other stories, and heard alot of complaints about how she started screwing up the timeline, how people meet, and so forth. Is any of this true?

My take on the first of the series, from my SFF blog: http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk/

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is Book 1 of the Clockwork Century series of four novels (to date). This "steampunk" alternative history story was highly praised when it emerged in 2009, winning the Locus Award for best SF novel. I've quite enjoyed most steampunk stories I've read so far, usually finding them light and amusing entertainment but this one was not what I expected. It is set in a rather different late-nineteenth century Seattle which had suffered a disaster some years previously when an automated tunnelling machine had run wild, collapsing the foundations of the central buldings and releasing a deadly gas which was contained only by constructing enormous walls around the centre of the city. The main characters are the widow and teenage son of the inventor of the machine who live grim and unhappy lives, still suffering the consequences of the inventor's act. The son decides to try to clear his father's name so determines to enter the closed city centre, looking for evidence.

That's as far as I got, somewhere past page 70. This is a very well-written book and I can understand the praise it received, but I just found it too slow and depressing. I became more and more reluctant to pick it up and continue reading, so decided to cut my losses and read something else instead.