[polishgenius]

See, I got Heroes Die for seven quid. There was a cheap copy of Tyshalle on Amazon when I got it but I was umming and ahhing over getting it (don't like Amazon, was unaware of Tyshalle's rarity at the time) and the next day it was gone.


As for sweary Eddings, I always reckon take him, raise the quality bar, add a huge dollop of cynicism and darkness, and viola! Instant Abercrombie.


But I've been told off for saying that before.

[Vengeance]

I would recommend City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer... A look of a city from the outside inside out.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 27 January 2010 - 07:53 PM, said:

...As for sweary Eddings, I always reckon take him, raise the quality bar, add a huge dollop of cynicism and darkness, and viola! Instant Abercrombie.
...

That's more or less how Abercrombie characterizes himself somewhere. Or i could be thinking of Morgan. either way, it's all good. Belgarion would have been far more interesting if he stabbed Torak in the crotch and then took Cenedra on a night of drunken debauchery.

- Abyss, debauched.

[Vengeance]

Abyss, on 27 January 2010 - 08:40 PM, said:

polishgenius, on 27 January 2010 - 07:53 PM, said:

...As for sweary Eddings, I always reckon take him, raise the quality bar, add a huge dollop of cynicism and darkness, and viola! Instant Abercrombie.
...

That's more or less how Abercrombie characterizes himself somewhere. Or i could be thinking of Morgan. either way, it's all good. Belgarion would have been far more interesting if he stabbed Torak in the crotch and then took Cenedra on a night of drunken debauchery.

- Abyss, debauched.

Cenedra and her little tree cousin... I all was wanted to know more about the God who tried to fulfill every girls desires. Can't think of his name but he liked to booze it up and hook up.

[Abyss]

Vengeance, on 27 January 2010 - 08:45 PM, said:

...Cenedra and her little tree cousin... I all was wanted to know more about the God who tried to fulfill every girls desires. Can't think of his name but he liked to booze it up and hook up.

A quick glance at the MALAZAN BOOK OF THE BELGARIAD reminds me that the god in question was 'Belar'.

All things considered, Silk was way more likely to be the one getting laid.
Eddings didn't give that character nearly as much free rein as he should have.

- Abyss, notes Althalus was but a feeble copycat.

[Bent]

If the question is still needing to be answered, I (inset however many ahead of me made this statement) Brent Week's Trilogy. Very easy reading, but it has the ability to draw you in and not let go.

[Abyss]

Yah, Weeks is in in full. Am just contemplating other options to mix it up a bit. Week's being fantlit, am just contemplating what to mix in there... Stross i'm pretty sure... and...?

Reynolds, i enjoyed REVELATION SPACE but it was a thinkymeatz exercise so i think he's going to wait. Ditto Donaldson, whom i think i will read when i have other options handy in case i lose interest.

I'm not surprised at the complete lack of Peters push, because he's really not that well known. I would have though Sapkowski would get some calls, because THE WITCHER was fairly widely discussed elsethread.

Asher... i read SKINNER and VOYAGE OF THE SABLE KEECH on vacation last year and they were good fun. COWL the year or two before actually. He does do a very nice job with the high tech 'sploddy.

Pullman.. everyone likes Pullman... i know i'll read the trilo eventually, but i suspect one trilogy is sufficient for the trip.

My all time best vacation read was Butcher's Dresden books 2-4. I was actually psyched for the end of the vacation because i had 5-7 waiting at home.


- Abyss, ... by 'psyched' means 'slightly less suicidal than usual on way home'...

[QuickTidal]

polishgenius, on 27 January 2010 - 05:36 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 27 January 2010 - 05:33 PM, said:

I don't think you can compare The Night Angel series to Heroes Die at all, I don't understand that comparison. It's also not (as was stated above) anything like Eddings stuff either.

Sorry Polishgenius, but those are bizarre comparisons. (no offense intended)

None taken, my comparisons are often... outside the box, apparently. Heh.

Come on though, it's about a bitchingly hard assassin and involves large-scale sorcerous conflagration and the fate of kingdoms.

Okay, I will certainly give you that as a broad stroke indeed.

[Abyss]

So just by way of follow-up, because i know you were all waiting with bated breath... (and btw thanks muchly for the upthread input, most helpful indeed)...

I brought Weeks' trilogy of course. Finished 1 and 2. I'll comment elsethread but those were damn good reads. I was glad i brought other stuff to break it up tho'. I start book 3 shortly.

Charlie Stross is a madman and i want to eat his brain. THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES was brilliant, fun, silly, laugh-out-loud make the thinkymeatz work in a totally frivolous way. If the Old Ones ever invade i demand Stross be in command of our worldwide defence forces AND entertainment.

As a disposable, leave it behind read because it was sitting on my shelf, i took along THREE UNBROKEN by Chris Roberson. Let's just say it was disposable and i left it behind.

@QT based on your reco and some further research i did pick up SANDSTORM and will get into that series eventually.

- Abyss, had a margarita or thirteen in your collective honors as a thanks you.

[stone monkey]

Told you the Stross was good. Oh ye of little faith...

Now wait 'til you read The Jennifer Morgue...

[Abyss]

stone monkey, on 12 February 2010 - 08:18 PM, said:

Told you the Stross was good. Oh ye of little faith...

Now wait 'til you read The Jennifer Morgue...

Planning to. The Atrocity story was better than the Concrete Jungle but the overall style of writing and sheer lunacy of the content is just pure win.

Btw if you haven't already you must needs read Stross' A Colder War go here http://www.infinityp...s/colderwar.htm and do so immediately.

- Abyss, ..notes ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn...

[stone monkey]

I actually own two copies of that one in couple of Stross' short story collections (Wireless and Toast for the record)... It is the absolute business!

btw The Jennifer Morgue takes on a somewhat different style of spy fiction to equally brilliant and lunatic result. I rather liked "The Concrete Jungle", the SCORPION STARE medusa gun is a work of genius, but the second story in The Jennifer Morgue is a bit disappointing imo. I do hope that Stross hasn't got the spy fiction meets Cthulhu bug out of his system just yet as I'm rather hoping he gets around to chronicling poor Bob Howard's interactions with the looming CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN...

Oh and

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Because he's always watching

[Abyss]

stone monkey, on 15 February 2010 - 08:56 PM, said:

...I'm rather hoping he gets around to chronicling poor Bob Howard's interactions with the looming CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN...

I read somewhere he's got another planned for next year.

- Abyss, ...goes to see if we have a Stross thread on the OtherLit subforum...

[stone monkey]

Stross' Wikipedia Bibliography is a fount of useful information. Not only does he have another Bob Howard book (a series which might as well have been written just for me to read) due this year, there's also one set in the same universe as Halting State due too. Result!

Now if he'd just get around to finishing the Eschaton series we (and by that I mean "I") would be on a winner...

[Aptorian]

What is this? This Stross fellow is writting supernatural spy stories with eldritch horrors? Is this something I should be ordering from my book pusher?

[stone monkey]

In a word. Yes.

Try reading the story at Abyss' link in order to get an idea of what he's about. The Bob Howard series is unconnected (apart from the Cthulhu stuff, obviously) and slightly more holiday in tone; I think they're mainly the author having a bit of fun with the ideas....


[Edit - because I just found Abyss a belated couple of Stross related Christmas presents]

Overtime (Which is brand new, by the looks of things...)
And
Down on the Farm (Which is published in the Wireless collection; along with some other goodies...)

And Charlie shows up in the comments thread too. He says he's playing with the idea of a fourth Bob Howard Novel; this one to be a Modesty Blaise mashup... That's made my day, that has...

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 15 February 2010 - 11:13 PM

[Morgoth]

Atrocity archives is awesome. Really, James Bond meets the spawn of Lovecraft.. how can you not possibly read that?

[Abyss]

No ongoing Stross chatter elsethread so i re-tasked this one.

@SM - tnx muchly i'll check those out!!!

@Apt - Colder War is more serious in tone than the Bob Howard stories but i suspect you'll like. Despite the occasional geek-out factor in-jokes and odd bit of thinkymeatz hurting science, The Atrocity Archives is really well written, very the clever, and funny as all hell at points. I haven't laughed out loud at a book that much since "i'd kill the mule!".

EDIT TO ADD y'know, on reflection there were some really dark vibes to the two stories in TAA. I'm not spoiling details except in the brtoad sense but

Spoiler

the suggestion that the Holocaust was a failed attempt to raise an Old One, and the notion of 'medusa-ism' as a medical condition, are actually handled quite seriously and even grimly, albeit very clever.

.

Stross' wiki entry also leads to some other works that i';ve added to my 'watch for/read' list. Powers' Declare in particular looks good.

Anyone read Stross' other more sci-fi stuff? Any good?


- Abyss, environmentally unconscious.

[Use Of Weapons]

I've read pretty much everything I could get my hands on.

_Accelerando_ is a masterpiece of near-future SF prediction
_Glasshouse_ is a sequel-ish to Accelerando, space-opera with echoes of Morgan, but with Stross's own elan and take on future developments and their societal impact.

_Singularity Sky_ and _Iron Sunrise_ are 'what if' explorations of the impact of the Singularity, viewed through its effect on future human colonies (IIRC, it's been a while). but they're also just great adventure stories. If there's one thing Stross does well, it's _multi-layered_.

My opinions on the Merchant Princes series are a matter of public record: to whit, that they are possibly the best alternate-universe-cum-alternate-history-cum-military-cum-spy series currently being written. Both great fun, economically thoughtful, politically sensitive, and with an enormously likeable heroine.

[stone monkey]

I pretty much agree with the above, although I haven't read The Merchant Princes; that's really something I should get round to doing at some stage. I'd definitely advise having a go at Halting State which has such a seriously clever idea about ARGs buried in it that I'd be really surprised if it isn't in use now. Saturn's Children was something of a disappointment for me - not that's it's not good, it's just not stellar. I think the best way to characterise pretty much all of Stross' output is that his work is like an explosion at an ideas factory; he doesn't always necessarily carry his plots off entirely well, but he's never boring...

On yet another tangent, this one instigated by your mention of Tim Powers'Declare! - which btw is an extremely interesting and extraordinarily clever book; even more so when you find out that Powers set himself the task of including various real life historical figures (Kim Philby, T.E. Lawrence and the like) in his occult plot whilst choosing the limitation that he had to weave his tale around their historically documented and verifiable actions. You should also have a look at his Three Days To Never which, though deadly serious in tone, arguably resembles the Bob Howard stories even more in setting.

I'm a big Tim Powers fan from way back in the early 80s when I was given The Anubis Gates to read by one of my high school English teachers.

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 16 February 2010 - 09:46 PM