[Chance]

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Anyone read THE ANUBIS GATE by Tim Powers? Thoughts?

Its a very good one, kind of timetravel, fantasy, alt history (19th century london) something.

A lot of the payoff however comes closer to the ending so it might seem a bit dull in the begining.

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Anyone read THE ANUBIS GATE by Tim Powers? Thoughts?

It's like if Indiana Jones gatecrashed Doctor Who. I really enjoyed it.

[Serenity]

I love The Anubis Gates - one of my favourite books. It's totally bonkers, but the way Powers juggles all his ideas and brings them together in the final third is brilliant. He throws the kitchen sink at it and actually manages to pull it off.

[Abyss]

Use Of Weapons, on 03 December 2012 - 04:39 PM, said:

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Anyone read THE ANUBIS GATE by Tim Powers? Thoughts?

I tried _The Anubis Gates_ a good few years ago. I wanted to like it, I really did. But I just couldn't get past the first chapters. Then I got distracted. Maybe time to try again. Kindle is my friend in these situations...

Chance, on 03 December 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Anyone read THE ANUBIS GATE by Tim Powers? Thoughts?

Its a very good one, kind of timetravel, fantasy, alt history (19th century london) something.

A lot of the payoff however comes closer to the ending so it might seem a bit dull in the begining.

polishgenius, on 03 December 2012 - 06:30 PM, said:

Abyss, on 03 December 2012 - 04:12 PM, said:

Anyone read THE ANUBIS GATE by Tim Powers? Thoughts?

It's like if Indiana Jones gatecrashed Doctor Who. I really enjoyed it.

Serenity, on 04 December 2012 - 09:29 AM, said:

I love The Anubis Gates - one of my favourite books. It's totally bonkers, but the way Powers juggles all his ideas and brings them together in the final third is brilliant. He throws the kitchen sink at it and actually manages to pull it off.

Ok, am moving it up a few slots in the TRP... i need something fairly mindless post BAB but GATES may follow...

[yuna_anomander25]

KINGMAKER, KINGBREAKER - Karen Miller, saw an Omnibus Ed of this series, and since this is only a duology, it is easy to finish, but still would like to know if it is worth it,

any Fiona Macintosh, Gail Z.Martin &Trudi Canavan books/series - i think i saw a thread where Apt said he isn't a fan of TC, but would like to see a general consencus,

thanks,

[Use Of Weapons]

yuna_anomander25, on 04 December 2012 - 10:52 PM, said:

KINGMAKER, KINGBREAKER - Karen Miller, saw an Omnibus Ed of this series, and since this is only a duology, it is easy to finish, but still would like to know if it is worth it,

any Fiona Macintosh, Gail Z.Martin &Trudi Canavan books/series - i think i saw a thread where Apt said he isn't a fan of TC, but would like to see a general consencus,

thanks,

No no no. Fucking awful. Avoid. That goes for Macintosh and Canavan. Can't say anything about Martin, haven't read her. But Miller, Macintosh and Canavan are the unholy trinity of drek, and Ian Irvine is their high priest.

[polishgenius]

I quite enjoyed the Black Magician trilogy when I read it back when it first came out, but it's... well, fluff. It might work as entry-level fantasy - I recall it having a lot in common with early Eddings, perhaps less witty but a bit more tense - but if you're on this board I can't see you getting very much out of it.

I can't really remember anything about it other than that one of the characters was gay, which I think says a lot about how it'll stick in your mind.

[Overactive Imagination]

Anyone here familiar with Melissa Scott? She wrote Five-Twelfths of Heaven, and has an omnibus collection called Roads of Heaven.

Someone in my building left the omnibus hardcover to pick up for free so I grabbed it, and it seems to have good reviews. Apparently a mix between SF and F, where magic is used for space travel. Sounds prett-ty sick.

[Salt-Man Z]

Ooh, after poking around on LibraryThing and Goodreads a little, The Roads of Heaven sounds pretty cool.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 05 December 2012 - 05:04 AM

[Morgoth]

Use Of Weapons, on 04 December 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

yuna_anomander25, on 04 December 2012 - 10:52 PM, said:

KINGMAKER, KINGBREAKER - Karen Miller, saw an Omnibus Ed of this series, and since this is only a duology, it is easy to finish, but still would like to know if it is worth it,

any Fiona Macintosh, Gail Z.Martin &Trudi Canavan books/series - i think i saw a thread where Apt said he isn't a fan of TC, but would like to see a general consencus,

thanks,

No no no. Fucking awful. Avoid. That goes for Macintosh and Canavan. Can't say anything about Martin, haven't read her. But Miller, Macintosh and Canavan are the unholy trinity of drek, and Ian Irvine is their high priest.

The Black Magician trilogy was one gigant turd made out of poorly digested stereotypes. Supposedly her later books are even worse.

It's a good entry point if you've previously read and enjoyed Twilight I spose, but I would never advise anyone to pay money for that stuff.

[Ukjent]

The 3 next books about the black magician is not something worth buying, just to bad that I have them all.

[stone monkey]

I've read most of Tim Powers books - in fact Mal and I had a conversation about him at the London Meetup last weekend; we disagreed on the best of his books, although this is mainly because I've read more of them than he has. For my tuppence worth, if you want to see him at the height of his powers (pun very obviously intended) you'd be best off going with Last Call or Declare!. But you can't go too wrong with The Anubis Gates or The Stress Of Her Regard or even Three Days To Never. I wouldn't necessarily say his work is for everyone but he deos reward your attention in spades, his work is deceptively clever; what he ends up going for in the end of his books isn't necessarily what you'd think it was when you start them, but how he gets there always makes perfect sense.

I did read a couple of Melissa Scott's books many years ago, they were interesting but not particularly special.

[QuickTidal]

Use Of Weapons, on 04 December 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

yuna_anomander25, on 04 December 2012 - 10:52 PM, said:

KINGMAKER, KINGBREAKER - Karen Miller, saw an Omnibus Ed of this series, and since this is only a duology, it is easy to finish, but still would like to know if it is worth it,

any Fiona Macintosh, Gail Z.Martin &Trudi Canavan books/series - i think i saw a thread where Apt said he isn't a fan of TC, but would like to see a general consencus,

thanks,

No no no. Fucking awful. Avoid. That goes for Macintosh and Canavan. Can't say anything about Martin, haven't read her. But Miller, Macintosh and Canavan are the unholy trinity of drek, and Ian Irvine is their high priest.

Yep, I can join this consensus for both Macintosh (read one of her awful books and just loathed her style), and Martin's books of which I actually SUFFERED whilst reading and trying to finish. Just horribly bad.

I think I read a few chapters of the first Canavan book and realized out of the gate it was not good either.

All bad, avoid avoid.

[Abyss]

All i can say about GZ Martin, MacIntosh, Miller and Canavan is that their short stories frequently appear in anthologies that include Jim Butcher short dresdencrack stories, and yet none of those stories have ever inspired me to do anything except avoid those authors.

[Salt-Man Z]

Well, I found the Roads of Heaven omnibus on eBay for $6, so I nabbed it. We'll see!

[Overactive Imagination]

I'm having a coffee and just about to start The Blade Itself for the first time. Gonna try and get through the first hundred or so pages today. w00t

Saltman, let me know how it is.

This post has been edited by Overactive Imagination: 07 December 2012 - 12:06 AM

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

yuna_anomander25, on 04 December 2012 - 10:52 PM, said:

KINGMAKER, KINGBREAKER - Karen Miller, saw an Omnibus Ed of this series, and since this is only a duology, it is easy to finish, but still would like to know if it is worth it,

any Fiona Macintosh, Gail Z.Martin &Trudi Canavan books/series - i think i saw a thread where Apt said he isn't a fan of TC, but would like to see a general consencus,

thanks,

I did not care for Canavan (Black Magician). However, I've enjoyed most of what I've read from Miller...enough that I am actively seeking out and reading the allegedly similar stuff by Gail Martin, Glenda Clarke, and Rowena Daniels. Miller's stuff is 2nd tier fantasy certainly. She's not the next Erikson or GRRM. But her books are enjoyable, easy reads.

[amphibian]

Briar King, on 09 December 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

Anyone read Harry Turtledoves 6 bk WW2 fantasy Darkness Saga? Those are the only HT bks I've ever read but I really fucking enjoyed them! Dragons instead of planes, behemoths instead if tanks, life drained energy magic instead of bullets and bombs.

I read one. It was okay. Very much like a History channel documentary with some PBS-style drama scenes to explain the personal motivations and reasons for the big battles thrown in.

[yuna_anomander25]

The Chathrand Voyage
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
The Rats and the Ruling Sea &
The River of Shadows
by - Robert VS Redick, i'm seriously considering this, so want to know if its good, also I'm beginning to be a major Gollancz fan/supporter, because of their simple yet stylistic covers

Ketty Jay series
Retribution Falls & The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding,

Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton

also considering reading Sci-Fi novels, should I start w/ the original Dune (wanted the omnibus ver) and leave out the BH/KJA ones,

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War &
Abaddon's Gate
by James S.A. Corey - haven't read the full review in Quick's blog of LW

any books/series of Neal Asher, Neal Stephenson & Stephen Deas

thanks

This post has been edited by yuna_anomander25: 10 December 2012 - 08:30 PM

[yuna_anomander25]

Use Of Weapons, on 04 December 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

No no no. Fucking awful. Avoid. That goes for Macintosh and Canavan. Can't say anything about Martin, haven't read her. But Miller, Macintosh and Canavan are the unholy trinity of drek, and Ian Irvine is their high priest.

polishgenius, on 04 December 2012 - 11:31 PM, said:

I quite enjoyed the Black Magician trilogy when I read it back when it first came out, but it's... well, fluff. It might work as entry-level fantasy - I recall it having a lot in common with early Eddings, perhaps less witty but a bit more tense - but if you're on this board I can't see you getting very much out of it.

I can't really remember anything about it other than that one of the characters was gay, which I think says a lot about how it'll stick in your mind.

Morgoth, on 05 December 2012 - 09:44 AM, said:

The Black Magician trilogy was one gigant turd made out of poorly digested stereotypes. Supposedly her later books are even worse.

It's a good entry point if you've previously read and enjoyed Twilight I spose, but I would never advise anyone to pay money for that stuff.

Graablick, on 05 December 2012 - 11:39 PM, said:

The 3 next books about the black magician is not something worth buying, just to bad that I have them all.

QuickTidal, on 06 December 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

Yep, I can join this consensus for both Macintosh (read one of her awful books and just loathed her style), and Martin's books of which I actually SUFFERED whilst reading and trying to finish. Just horribly bad.

I think I read a few chapters of the first Canavan book and realized out of the gate it was not good either.

All bad, avoid avoid.

Kruppe, on 09 December 2012 - 08:23 PM, said:

I did not care for Canavan (Black Magician). However, I've enjoyed most of what I've read from Miller...enough that I am actively seeking out and reading the allegedly similar stuff by Gail Martin, Glenda Clarke, and Rowena Daniels. Miller's stuff is 2nd tier fantasy certainly. She's not the next Erikson or GRRM. But her books are enjoyable, easy reads.

thanks guys for your replies, i was thinking of adding female authors to my library, but if most of you recoc'ed no to, and its no worth it, well i have to abide by the majority,

@Kruppe - i haven't seen any books of Glenda Clarke, and Rowena Daniels in my local bookstore,

Abyss, on 06 December 2012 - 08:34 PM, said:

All i can say about GZ Martin, MacIntosh, Miller and Canavan is that their short stories frequently appear in anthologies that include Jim Butcher short dresdencrack stories, and yet none of those stories have ever inspired me to do anything except avoid those authors.

yah, too bad about it huh, the one anthology book i bought Bloodlite with Butcher's Dresden in it, have so many authors in it that made me wonder how they garnered their following as I can't bring myself to finish their stories, too bad I already bought it, and it will never happen again, must get Side Jobs,

but is our love for the Dresdencrack enough to make us buy this anthologies, hehe, just curious,