April's Atypical Advances Into Amazingly Alluring and Action-packed Fictions

[The Judge]

I hesitate to mention this TJ, but presumably you have read the earlier books that give the back story to The Technician, particularly The Line of Polity but also any of the Dragon books? Also I seem to recall it does get better once it gets swinging.

No, I haven't -- I picked it up in a remainder bookstore and it gave the impression it was a standalone so I thought I'd be able to cope (there were a number of other books which were obviously the second volumes of trilogies, so I gave them a miss). I realised I wouldn't understand as much as someone reading the earlier works, but I did hope he'd bring new readers up to speed fairly painlessly. But though he info-dumps like crazy, I found it all but unintelligible at the start.

From your comment about it getting better, did you also find the beginning difficult, or just not very involving? I have got past the early bits now -- Tombs has "escaped" and the Tidy Squad woman is after him -- but I'm not finding it any easier just yet, so I really hope it picks up soon.

 

[elvet]

I finished Blood of Dragons by Hobb. It was...unsatisfying. I am not sure where I am going now. Probably Blackveil by Kristen Britain.

Sorry to hear that about Blood of Dragons. I just got it and was going to save it for some uninterrupted reading time (saved for eargerly anticipated books). I'll move Kay's River of Stars into it's spot instead.
I just started Cameron's Tyrant book 2 (Storm of Arrows).

 

[bluenimbus]

Do androids dream of electric sheep
i actually really enjoyed this, even though i prefer fantasy and something about his style annoys me, can't put my finger on it...
still thought it was a great read!

 

[ratsy]

That's too bad. I still need to read Tawny Man, but was looking forward to Hobb's new books. Would you still recommend them, even though this one wasn't as good?

Yeah I would still recommend them. I need to read all that is Hobb personally but it didn't measure up to what I was expecting.

 

[Vertigo]

No, I haven't -- I picked it up in a remainder bookstore and it gave the impression it was a standalone so I thought I'd be able to cope (there were a number of other books which were obviously the second volumes of trilogies, so I gave them a miss). I realised I wouldn't understand as much as someone reading the earlier works, but I did hope he'd bring new readers up to speed fairly painlessly. But though he info-dumps like crazy, I found it all but unintelligible at the start.

From your comment about it getting better, did you also find the beginning difficult, or just not very involving? I have got past the early bits now -- Tombs has "escaped" and the Tidy Squad woman is after him -- but I'm not finding it any easier just yet, so I really hope it picks up soon.

Whilst most of Ashers books are stand alone in that they are each complete stories in their own rights, they do also form a very strong story arc that spans all the polity books. Without reading the earlier books you wil have little understanding of the Dragon and also the history of what happened on Masada to bring about the fall of the Theocracy. I definitely wouldn't recommend embarking on Asher's Polity with a book this far into that story arc; there are at least 5 books, maybe 7, that build that arc up prior to this one. That said it's a bit late now....

Asher does tend to info-dump big time; fortunately I do actually enjoy his info-dumps - the worlds and creatures he creates are so bizarre and yet he manages to make them, for me, totally believable and absorbing.

Spoiler note; the stuff below all becomes apparent very early in the book so not really spoilers.

I seem to recall having problems early on in the book and I think it was just not feeling pulled in so probably 'just not very involving.' I also definitely had problems with the underlying motivations driving the story with regard to the Tidy Squad and their attitude to Tombs. My problem was that they seem to attach a completely unrealistic level of importance to the ellimination of Tombs, who was really a very low level member of the theocracy. Clearly this is completely necessary for the book's plot but Asher's only real justification for it was the fact that he hadn't been killed by the Technician. And that simply doesn't feel to me like enough for the level of collateral damage the Tidy Squad appear to consider acceptable.

You may have gotten further by now, but if Tombs has escaped then I would say the various strands are about to start converging and the story to really get going.

In general I do often find that Asher spends quite a long time laying the groundwork for each of his books and maybe more so for this one than some of the others.

 

[sassy1]

I finished reading Gravity by Tess Gerritsen (could not put it down), then read Blood Of Dragons by Robin Hobb (loved it), and now started Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton (so far so good). Think I might read some more Anne McCaffrey when I finish this one.

 

[elvet]

I'm halfway through Redshirts by John Scalzi. I'm loving the plot twists and humor.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I finished Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. When I finished it, I was a bit sad I wouldn't get to follow along with these people anymore, but that's the sign of a good book.

Now I'm on to some non-fiction...A Night To Remember by Walter Lord.

 

[HareBrain]

Just started Wolf Solent by John Cowper Powys, a massive 1929 volume about God knows what, and I feel like I've come home. Nothing really happens for pages and pages, but whereas this drove me to boredom in Robert Jordan, Powys gets away with it not only because he's a great writer (though his use of exclamation marks takes some getting used to) but because his character has such an interesting inner life. It makes me wonder if part of the problem I have with a lot of SFF is that because the characters' outer lives are designed to be interesting (because the author has allowed his imagination free rein in creating their world) their inner lives are often neglected.

 

[Juliana]

Read Melissa Scott's The Kindly Ones, which I picked up for free on kindle - a one-day promotion I saw on twitter. I enjoyed it, hadn't read any SF for a while.

My husband is reading A Feast for Crows for the first time and its a bit fuzzy in my memory, so I'm rereading it so we can talk about things that come up.

 

[Talysia]

After finishing my reread of the Wheel of Time, I'm trying something new and reading Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings.

 

[ratsy]

After finishing my reread of the Wheel of Time, I'm trying something new and reading Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings.

I really hope you like it Talysia. I look forward to reading it again this summer before the sequel comes out.

 

[Overread]

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron - first book I've finished (not just started and got half way though) in a while! Great read and I think any who are fans of GRRM's historical influences upon his world will find a good book here. Not as heavy nor as dark, but a similar mix of authentic feeling medieval writing and influences mixed with a world of mystery magic and the odd dragon.

 

[Talysia]

I really hope you like it Talysia. I look forward to reading it again this summer before the sequel comes out.

I'm quite enjoying it so far, Ratsy. If it continues as well as I think it will, then I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel when it comes out.

 

[GOLLUM]

Just started Wolf Solent by John Cowper Powys, a massive 1929 volume about God knows what, and I feel like I've come home. Nothing really happens for pages and pages, but whereas this drove me to boredom in Robert Jordan, Powys gets away with it not only because he's a great writer (though his use of exclamation marks takes some getting used to) but because his character has such an interesting inner life. It makes me wonder if part of the problem I have with a lot of SFF is that because the characters' outer lives are designed to be interesting (because the author has allowed his imagination free rein in creating their world) their inner lives are often neglected.

Cool. I have that book as well but I am yet to read it.

Powys is certainly a well regarded author described by people I've spoken with as being enigmatic and strange even dangerous but with a definite streak of genius...and as you say certainly viewed as a great writer.

Possibly 'A Glastonbury Romance' is even more admired amongst Powys readers again. It's another of his Wessex novels.

I would be grateful if you could post any thoughts about this book and its author along the way here.

Your post has made my day....

Cheers.

 

[dask]

Time for some science fact:

 

[Vertigo]

Hmm, not sure you'll find too many scientific facts in there Dask

Finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. This could have been an excellent book but was let down by poor research, writing and editing. A book about time travel, I should stress that the poor research was in the modern setting rather than the core medieval setting, which was I trust (hope) meticulous; I'm not qualified to judge on that. More here: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/vertigo/1784-doomsday-book-by-connie-willis.html

 

[ratsy]

I'm quite enjoying it so far, Ratsy. If it continues as well as I think it will, then I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel when it comes out.

Good I am glad you are liking it!

I am on Kristen Britain's Blackveil. There is something about these books that draw me to them. Something about them gives off that "cozy" feeling which only a few authors I read can pull off. I am about 100 pages in and enjoying it.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Hmm, not sure you'll find too many scientific facts in there Dask

Finished Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. This could have been an excellent book but was let down by poor research, writing and editing. A book about time travel, I should stress that the poor research was in the modern setting rather than the core medieval setting, which was I trust (hope) meticulous; I'm not qualified to judge on that. More here: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/blogs/vertigo/1784-doomsday-book-by-connie-willis.html

I thought this was a very over-rated book, so I'm glad to see your review. (Some time ago the city of Chattanooga had a "One City, One Book" promotion where folks were supposed to read a certain book and discuss it in groups. This novel was chosen for one of these events. With the over-explaining you note, perhaps this is a better book for non-SF fans to read than many other works of SF, which might be difficult to follow for a general audience.)

 

[Connavar]

A Muslim Suicide by Bensalem Himmich

This has nothing to do with suicide other than the American publisher thought it was better title than the original arabic title of "Al-Andalusia". Its about the life of one of Islam's most radical thinkers, the Sufi philosopher Ibn Sab'in and his fictional autobiography of what he thought his times in Islamic Spain. Its a great english translation by Roger Allan, a modern gigant of Arabic literary criticism.

Roger Allan had a guest lecture in our University, i was startuck having read his translations, his scholar works about classic arabic lit. It was like meeting Michael Jackson or Jack Vance comparing to other favs