December's Delirious Descent into Dittological Dissections of Documents

[dask]

Started THE STARS, LIKE DUST by Isaac Asimov. Zipping along with no apparent problems. This could be really good.

 

[HareBrain]

Le Guin doesn't seem to date, or so I think.

What do you reckon?

I read Earthsea recently, and I agree.

Finished a third read of Alan Garner's The Owl Service last night. It gets better on every read. The man's a genius. Looking forward to re-reading Red Shift soon, and hopefully making more sense of it than the first time.

 

[Grunkins]

I finished the first book of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, Gardens of the Moon, and really enjoyed it. Most everyone says the rest of the books are better. I'll be starting Deadhouse Gates tonight.

 

[GOLLUM]

I finished the first book of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, Gardens of the Moon, and really enjoyed it. Most everyone says the rest of the books are better. I'll be starting Deadhouse Gates tonight.

Yes,. Generally the series improves with each book. Most people I know, myself included, regard book 1 Gardens of the Moon to be the weakest book in the series. Book 3 Memories of Ice on the other hand is seen as possibly (still) to be the best book in the entire 10 book main story arc/series. It's in my top 5 fantasy novels of all time.

I'll be interested in reading your continuing thoughts on the series.

Cheers.

 

[AE35Unit]

Well I'm waiting till the 16th, Clarke's birthday, when I shall read somehing of his...

 

[dask]

Here's the Asimov I've started with what might be my favorite Paul Lehr cover:

That's the monitor I want for Christmas.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I have started What Mad Universe by Fredric Brown (1949)

All about the editor of a science fiction pulp magazine (called Surprising Stories here) who gets zapped into a parallel universe straight out of the imagination of an SF fan. Quite charming so far.

 

[J-Sun]

That's the monitor I want for Christmas.

No doubt. Asimov actually didn't like his own novel there because he did something in it at the suggestion of an editor but I like it and all the Empire novels.

I have started What Mad Universe by Fredric Brown (1949)

All about the editor of a science fiction pulp magazine (called Surprising Stories here) who gets zapped into a parallel universe straight out of the imagination of an SF fan. Quite charming so far.

Another good one - kinda great one, actually. It's sort of a comic novel with great drama. Kind of like Scorsese's After Hours is as a film.

Oh, and welcome to the Chrons.

 

[JoanDrake]

Lullabye is Hocking's second novel in the Wavesong series of which Wake was the first.

Again, the main setting seems this combination of a small midwest town with an Atlantic resort. Ocean City, MD, or Rehoboth DE, both of which I am rather familiar with, MAY have been something like this in the 50's, but the time is clearly the present. Little Towns like Capri (the name is well chosen given the theme,) may have or still do exist further south, I don't know, but there is nothing like them in the unique environment of Delmarva today. However, this is not a book about Delmarva, or the sea or anything like that. It's a "modern vampire" romance with aquatic overtones and girl stars.

There is less participation with the main character here in any case and more development of others. The setting where she is could be any beach anywhere in the world, and in fact we have no idea of where it is until very near the end of the book

A little more romance and less action characterize this one, but then the action moves things along more. The ending tantalizes more than concludes but then what can you expect from the second of 4

 

[Lord Soth]

Finally finished Hamilton's Great North Road which was, in a word -disappointing.

You could have stripped out half the book but even with that measure in place I would have found the ending to be such a let down. As it was it was overly long, boring in long stretches and a (nearly deus ex machina) ending which harks back to the worst of his Nights Dawn trilogy.

6/10 for me

Anyway, now on to Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay, I forget how beautifully he writes!

 

[Connavar]

I have started reading The Spiral Labryrinth by Matthew Hughes, book 2 in Henghis Hapthorn series. A witty,weird SFF mystery as usual.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Well, much to my surprise I've actually managed to finish a book in under two weeks! So Forest Mage by Robin Hobb, I found it to be a lot, lot better than some reviews would give it.

I'm about to start Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. This book actually brings me to the end of my too read pile, and I might even do it before the end of the year, which was the aim.

Unfortunately it was last year.

 

[Mouse]

Well, much to my surprise I've actually managed to finish a book in under two weeks! So Forest Mage by Robin Hobb, I found it to be a lot, lot better than some reviews would give it.

I actually really enjoyed her Soldier's Son books too, Perp. I know they get a lot of stick.

As for me, I'm still half reading Giovanni's Room. But mostly I'm still reading stuff for Chronners.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm rereading Hauntings by Vernon Lee.

 

[Kapelvig]

Finished Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. Very good, but quite depressing (not that I mind that really) but the ending just sort of trailed off. I gather there is a "sequel" of sorts, which would make sense, so I may read that at some point.

Sci-fi-wise I'm about the start The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose, an author I've not encountered before. In the non-sci-fi department, I may try yet again to get through Georges Perec's Life A User's Manual. Don't hold your breath though - I try it every Christmas and never get through it! It's not that it's a bad book (I find Perec fascinating), it's just one of those books that needs a lot of concentration in order to really appreciate and I want to do it justice.

 

[Juliana]

Just finished Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns. I really, really enjoyed it, one of the best books this I've read this year (and I read/discovered a LOT of great authors this year...).

 

[ratsy]

I just finished Dave Duncans "The Gilded Chain" it was my first Duncan book and i really enjoyed it. I dont seem to read to many stand alone books but there is something to be said of a good story 400 pages start to end.

On the polar opposite, i am thinking of starting Jordans "Knife of Dreams"

 

[Grunkins]

Just finished Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson. What a book. That was great a read as I've had in a while (and I read a lot). There was a huge improvement between the first and second books of his series, and I think a lot of that improvement can be found in pacing. The prose improved a lot as well, but the pacing of DG was outstanding. What huge, compelling story. I was even tearing up toward the end at the scene outside Aren (don't want to spoil anything - I'll just say it was a scene observed by a main character from inside the walls of the city). Great stuff all around. Epic battles, very creepy D'ivers (rats), great characters that I hope we see more of. Excellent book.

I was planning on taking a book off, read something light so I wouldn't burn out on MBotF, but I have to jump right into Memories of Ice.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I just finished Dave Duncans "The Gilded Chain" it was my first Duncan book and i really enjoyed it.

I love the premise of those books, which, unfortunately, some of the books in the series do not really live up to. Still, they're fun to read.

 

[AE35Unit]

To commemorate the great man's birthday I have begun The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke. Its been a while...