September's Sojourn through Seismic Scripts and Scelestic Characters

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Can't remember when I started...maybe back at the end of April? I started going through The Wheel of Time series. I've been reading, finishing, ordering the next one and then waiting for it to turn up and then rinse and repeat. Recently finished book nine but haven't quite got the spare funds for the next one for a while longer so.....

I picked Sheri S. Tepper's The Awakeners off my shelf. Both Northshore and Southshore are included in this, and I like the prospect that that's it for the 'series' (duology?) I felt that the book could have easily begun with fishing the Blighted woman out of the river so we knew exactly what the story was, but -- and this is a shocker coming from me -- I'm really loving all the detail she's put into her world. I loved the little moment where two people realised the faces of the three gods were Flier faces, it just threw things into a much wider scope just in a couple of brief lines. My tastes must be changing in my old age.
 
Finished my non-fiction read of When Life Nearly Died. Informative, but didn't quite grab me like I was hoping. I do feel a bit smarter about the largest mass extinction now though. :)

I am now reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It is Banned Books Week here, and that got me looking more into the books that have been challenged the most. Huck Finn is at the top and I have never read it. However, I am a bit of a stickler for reading things in order, so I am starting with Tom.
 
I am about half way through The hunger games and intend to read the other two books of the series afterwards.
 
I am just about to start To Walk the Night by William Sloane (1937). Some time ago I found a copy of his only other novel, The Edge of Running Water (1939) and found it an interesting combination of murder mystery, science fiction, the occult, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror. (It was loosely adapted into the Boris Karloff movie The Devil Commands (1941).)
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
I am just about to start To Walk the Night by William Sloane (1937). Some time ago I found a copy of his only other novel, The Edge of Running Water (1939) and found it an interesting combination of murder mystery, science fiction, the occult, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror. (It was loosely adapted into the Boris Karloff movie The Devil Commands (1941).)
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I recall reading To Walk the Night shortly after Ballantine reissued it in the 1970s and being somewhat disappointed. Given the reputation of these books, I've been curious since to know if I'd still feel the same. I'd be interested in hearing what you think of ...Edge....


Randy M.
 
Randy M. said:
I'd be interested in hearing what you think of ...Edge....


Randy M.
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I found it very interesting. It had the structure of a classic murder mystery, with fair clues to the reader and so on, although the solution to the mystery was certainly not the main theme of the novel. It also had the mood of a horror story, the plot of a semi-mystical science fiction novel (it involves using technology to contact the dead) and a climax on a vast scale.
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
I found it very interesting. It had the structure of a classic murder mystery, with fair clues to the reader and so on, although the solution to the mystery was certainly not the main theme of the novel. It also had the mood of a horror story, the plot of a semi-mystical science fiction novel (it involves using technology to contact the dead) and a climax on a vast scale.
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Oops. I meant to ask what you thought of To Walk the Night. Sorry.

Although, thanks, because this rekindles my interest in ...Edge... as well.


Randy M.
 
Randy M. said:
Oops. I meant to ask what you thought of To Walk the Night. Sorry.

Although, thanks, because this rekindles my interest in ...Edge... as well.


Randy M.
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I see. I am about halfway through To Walk the Night and it seems quite similar to The Edge of Running Water. There's a murder mystery structure (although here, it's seems pretty clear that there will be no "fair" solution to the mystery, but that the death can only be explained by something otherworldly.) The mood is very somber; the book is told as a flashback, as the narrator tries to explain to his friend's father why the friend killed himself. It's written in the style of a mainstream novel rather than typical SF or fantasy of the 1930's.
 
Currently reading The Hounds of the Morrigan. Also dipping into some short fiction - notably "Last Summer at Mars Hill" by Elizabeth Hand.
 
I'm reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I can't say I am enjoying it much as it seems a bit overcooked and lacking in soul. Maybe it will get better.
 
gully_foyle said:
I'm reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I can't say I am enjoying it much as it seems a bit overcooked and lacking in soul. Maybe it will get better.
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I will be interested to see what you think when you finish. I am one who didn't think it lived up to the hype, though I am in the minority. Many people love it. I hope you'll share your thoughts when you're done.
 
Just finished Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. Excellent book, very much recommended.

I'd write something about why it was great but really, just read it (theres better people than I that have reviewed it). He's made it onto my 'buy in hardback' author selection.
 
Victoria Silverwolf said:
I see. I am about halfway through To Walk the Night and it seems quite similar to The Edge of Running Water. There's a murder mystery structure (although here, it's seems pretty clear that there will be no "fair" solution to the mystery, but that the death can only be explained by something otherworldly.) The mood is very somber; the book is told as a flashback, as the narrator tries to explain to his friend's father why the friend killed himself. It's written in the style of a mainstream novel rather than typical SF or fantasy of the 1930's.
Click to expand...

I have since finished the book. I found it to be subtle in its fantastic content. It's clear from the earliest part of the book that the key to the strange events going on is the mysterious woman Selena, who seems to have no background at all, is strikingly beautiful but has no sense of how to dress, is extremely intelligent but ignorant about many simple things. Readers of SF/F will no doubt know from the start that Selena is no ordinary human being, but may not anticipate what she is. (And the book, to its credit, never tells us exactly what she is.) Characterization is unusually mult-layered for a genre novel from the 1930's. (The modern reader may spend quite a bit of time wondering if the narrator is gay, based on his very close relationship with his roommate and his resentment when he falls in love with Selena.)
 
Dipping into The Braindead Megaphone by George Saunders. My favourite essays are Thank You, Esther Forbes and Mr Vonnegut in Sumatra. I reread both immediately after finishing them. Both essays are about the art of writing.
 
I've only read a short by Octavia Butler but I enjoyed that enough to tuck her name away for further reading, which I haven't done yet so I'll be interested in your thoughts!
 
I'll close out September!

Finished Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon last night. Very strong debut! I'd say the book was 70% hard boiled detective and 30% cyberpunk. The first half had me as involved and compelled as any book I can name, and the second half, while losing a bit of its focus, kept me glued to the chair until the end. I can see why it won a PKD award, and why Morgan became an instant star on the SF scene. I have the second in the series in my TBR, and will likely order the third before I start the second. He's earned my dollars.
 
I liked all three Grunkins, but a lot of people weren't so keen on the second two books, particularly the third one if I remember correctly.
 
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