December's Delirious Descent into Dittological Dissections of Documents

[Grunkins]

Finished Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice last night. This might be the definitively epic fantasy book. It was like reading three novels in one. I have no idea how he weaved everything like that for a massive finale when it all came together. There's not a lot I can say without spoiling things so I'll just say names with exclamation points. Whiskeyjack! Gruntle! Itkovian! Brood! Paran! Toc! Tool! The Segulah! The Imass! Quick Ben! Kruppe! So many more (the Mott Irregulars!). What a huge book.

The temptation to move straight on to the next one is strong, but I'm not going to. I really don't want to feel any burnout with this series so I'm going to take a breath and read something else, something light and fun.

Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls fits the bill. This may well be my last read of the year. I've heard only good things about it, and the rest of the series. A good dirigible fantasy adventure. I'm excited for it.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Shaw, Dillon, Ace Science Fiction Specials: some super trinity?

I believe the connection is more that the Dillons did several covers for the old Ace Science Fiction Specials, and that some of those novels happened to be by Bob Shaw. (I just recently read that exact copy of One Million Tomorrows, by the way.)

A couple of examples:

 

[Extollager]

....My own reading ..... Donald Sidney-Fryer's ...... comparison of Smith to not only Poe and Baudelaire, but to Edmund Spenser and Sir Thomas Brown, I think he brings out some very important points.

I'm not very interested in Clark Ashton Smith, but Spenser is a great favorite, and I am long overdue to renew my acquaintance with Sir Thomas Browne, so I'm wondering if Fryer is worth looking up for the sake of those two. I anticipate much attention to 17th-century English literature in the year ahead as I continue with Masson's Milton biography and reread Paradise Lost, but also, I hope, delve into Browne, Vaughan, and Richard Baxter.

 

[Extollager]

I'll put in my two cents' worth on the Bester question: Personally, I'd go for The Demolished Man first, as it is a rather more intimate story in physical scope, but no less wide in implication in the psychological sphere. The two (for me) go hand in hand. In any event, they are both excellent books, and more than deserve their places in the history of sf.

As for the two anthologies you mention, Dale... I'd suggest reading the books in their entirety, as these would definitely be among my choices of essential sff anthologies.

Thanks for the nudges!

 

[j d worthington]

I'm not very interested in Clark Ashton Smith, but Spenser is a great favorite, and I am long overdue to renew my acquaintance with Sir Thomas Browne, so I'm wondering if Fryer is worth looking up for the sake of those two. I anticipate much attention to 17th-century English literature in the year ahead as I continue with Masson's Milton biography and reread Paradise Lost, but also, I hope, delve into Browne, Vaughan, and Richard Baxter.

You might want to give another look at Smith at some point, particularly his poetry and prose poems.* Frankly, after reading even a small portion of the hundreds of poems he wrote -- including some fine translations of Baudelaire and others -- I can easily see why he garnered such praise so early on, including claims that he was the modern peer of Shelley and Keats. (The preference for the Modernist movement, which began to take over just about the time of his third collection -- his The Hashish-Eater; or, the Apocalypse of Evil, saw publication at roughly the same period as Elliott's The Waste Land -- combined with the small-press release of much of his work, meant that he was not able to get nearly the critical attention he deserved.)

*DSF, among others, has cogently argued that much of Smith's fictional output, particularly his fantasies and even some of his science fiction, are essentially extended poems in prose; that, in fact, Smith achieved a more sustained use, in the sense of quality as well as length and quantity, of that very difficult medium than anyone else to date. From my own reading of Smith, they may well be right.

 

[Connavar]

I literally just started that one myself last night. Might be a bit slow being interrupted by the seasonal festivities and what not.

Hehe gladly we dont celebrate Christmas so i can visit and be with my family when i want during the holiday.

Sometimes its wonderful to have free time because of a holiday your culture dont celebrate, you can read your book in peace

 

[Talysia]

Boxing Day gave me lots of time for reading, so I was able to finish Cold Days quite quickly (not being able to put it down helped ). I'm now moving on to Ben Aaronovitch's Whispers Undergound.

 

[Grunkins]

Just finished Wooding's Retribution Falls. It was more or less as advertised: fun, light, quick. The last few chapters were very entertaining. Surprisingly the book had a few touching moments in it too. I must be getting sentimental in my old age (35), because I've been finding my eyes misting up at more and more books lately. A couple scenes in this book had me misted over. I look forward to the sequels.

I've decided to close out the year with the Greatest Living English Language Writer (note the caps) and read Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven.

 

[tinkerdan]

I'm half way through Stephen Kings On Writing.

The first hundred pages are a bunch of shorts about his troubled life and are pretty entertaining.

I think the next two hundred are about writing so far it seems that way.

Not that he didn't squeeze a bit in there in the first hundred. Has good example of how to cut the fat from the writing in a small bit about his first job as a sports writer.

 

[ratsy]

I finally got the LOR trilogy for xmas and am reading the Hobbit. I have never read any of them and am loving and appreciating every bit of the Hobbit so far.

 

[Mangara]

Devoured in 2 days, a very interesting read, even more so when taken in context of its publication date and subject matter.

 

[Extollager]

Rogue Moon is one of my very favorite sf novels. It is uncommonly fascinating.

 

[Mangara]

Hawks is just so intriguing. The dialogue is probably some of the best I've read period!

 

[The Judge]

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.

I've not read O&C myself yet, but as I understand it The Year of the Flood deals with much the same events but is seen from the viewpoint of two women who are, I think, incidental to the earlier book. I'd agree with the very good but quite depressing verdict, and the end of TYotF is also a bit open, but there's a distinct feeling of hope as the women are survivors. Well worth reading, and you'd probably get more out of it than I did, since you'd be able to make the connections between the two narratives.

 

[Vertigo]

Finished Ken MacLeod's Learning the World which in the end was a little disappointing. It started well with an interesting premise but in the end I simply didn't find it believable. In particular the reactions of the humans, presented as enlightened and free of war, on contact with the aliens struck me as utterly unrealistic. This is my first book from Ken MacLeod. I shall probably try another as I seem to remember someone here saying this is not a very typical MacLeod book.

And can I just add Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh! The basic story background is almost exactly the same as one I have been kicking about for the last 18 months or so. Just swap the roles of the humans and aliens and you have my sory background. Plot somewhat different but still....

 

[AE35Unit]

So whos gonna start Januarys Jiggedy Jaunts and doo dahs? I got a discovered author to post about!

 

[GOLLUM]

So whos gonna start Januarys Jiggedy Jaunts and doo dahs? I got a discovered author to post about!

Doing it now....