[acesn8s]

Finished Emperor: Gates of Rome and have started Emperor: Death of Kings.

[Malaclypse]

Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - sort of a slightly more intelligent and polished Eddings book. Eminently readable but nothing special so far. Some really clumsy language - anticipationspren? really?!

Finished Dirty Streets of Heaven- good, very good in parts, though not great. In the likely event that there's a follow-up I will not rush to pick it up.

[Stalker]

Just finished Guy Gavriel Kay's incredible Under Heaven. I liked Tigana when I read it last year, but not enough to go right into a different GGK novel. That said, I should have, because I was blown away by Under Heaven. Easily in my top two books of this year so far.

I'm not sure what to move onto next. It is between GGK's The Last Light of the Sun, Iain Banks' The Algebraist, and China Mievielle's The Scar.

[Morgoth]

Malaclypse, on 10 April 2013 - 06:20 PM, said:

Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - sort of a slightly more intelligent and polished Eddings book. Eminently readable but nothing special so far. Some really clumsy language - anticipationspren? really?!

Finished Dirty Streets of Heaven- good, very good in parts, though not great. In the likely event that there's a follow-up I will not rush to pick it up.

Hah, you should have a look at the Way of Kings thread in the Sanderson/Jordan subforum. The discussion was fun for a while, though those of us not gushing it's praise were in a minority. More intelligent for sure, but in a minority.

[Malaclypse]

As a long-time fan of GGK, Last Light of the Sun was shite imo. The Sarantine Mosaic were his best books for me. I have Under Heaven downloaded on my phone already so I hope it's as good as you say

[Baco Xtath]

Stalker, on 10 April 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

I'm not sure what to move onto next. It is between GGK's The Last Light of the Sun, Iain Banks' The Algebraist, and China Mievielle's The Scar.

The Scar then go get River of Stars as it's setting is the same as Under Heaven but four centuries later..

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 10 April 2013 - 07:31 PM, said:

Stalker, on 10 April 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

I'm not sure what to move onto next. It is between GGK's The Last Light of the Sun, Iain Banks' The Algebraist, and China Mievielle's The Scar.

The Scar then go get River of Stars as it's setting is the same as Under Heaven but four centuries later..

the scar The Scar THE SCAR THE SCAR

[Stalker]

It's settled then, I'll start The Scar later tonight. Thanks for the advice.

I'm definitely planning on buying River of Stars next time I order off Amazon, it sounds great and has been getting stellar reviews. I also need to get the first book of the Sarantium Mosaic too. I have Lord of Emperors but it is useless to me without the first book.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 10 April 2013 - 08:18 PM, said:

Baco Xtath, on 10 April 2013 - 07:31 PM, said:

Stalker, on 10 April 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

I'm not sure what to move onto next. It is between GGK's The Last Light of the Sun, Iain Banks' The Algebraist, and China Mievielle's The Scar.

The Scar then go get River of Stars as it's setting is the same as Under Heaven but four centuries later..

the scar The Scar THE SCAR THE SCAR

Yeah good book though a slightly lame ending IMO. I did start reading Perdido Street Station earlier this year but then the new Dresden book came out and I forgot it. Seeing this reminded me that I had started it!!

[Ukjent]

Nearly done with First Lords fury, just got to wait until I'm get home in about 12-14 hours to finish it.

[Mentalist]

Finished reading "The Heroes". Great book.

Just one question (semi-spoiler, but not really for anyone who read Last Argument of Kings

Spoiler

Will Abercrombie EVER write about Bayaz failing and dying miserably? I want him to die so much

Not sure what to read next. Exams are coming, won't be doing much leisure reading in the next few weeks.

[T77]

Salt-Man Z, on 10 April 2013 - 03:22 PM, said:

James Hutton, on 10 April 2013 - 11:08 AM, said:

I finished Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe just this morning on the train. I could only glimpse parts of the first layer beneath the story, let alone the ones below that, so I started reading it again then and there. Can recommend this if you like rereadability!

Rereads are even better once you've read the entire Book!

I just finished the entire Sun series by completing Return to the Whorl recently. It was a great read, although the middle dragged a bit. There is just so much going on beneath the surface that a reread is a must. Although I'm not sure I can get through the Long Sun again as I did not find them as good as the New and Short Sun. But some late revelations in RthW might make it a more interesting read. And having the New Sun on audiobook now will make a reread easier for me.

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 11 April 2013 - 07:42 AM, said:

Finished reading "The Heroes". Great book.

Just one question (semi-spoiler, but not really for anyone who read Last Argument of Kings

Spoiler

Will Abercrombie EVER write about Bayaz failing and dying miserably? I want him to die so much

....

I don't know the answer to your question, but i will say that's part of the fun of the world he's created.

[Salt-Man Z]

Couldn't help myself; my copy of Ex-Patriots (signed!) arrived yesterday, and even though I had just started in on two other books the night before, I couldn't not dive right in. Wheeeee!

[Abyss]

Salt-Man Z, on 11 April 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

Couldn't help myself; my copy of Ex-Patriots (signed!) arrived yesterday, and even though I had just started in on two other books the night before, I couldn't not dive right in. Wheeeee!

It is THAT good.

[Traveller]

Just started Shogun, bout 20 years after I first read it.

[Ukjent]

Just about to start on River of Stars and I have to say that I am excited about this one. The Sarantine Mosaic was truly fantastic and Under Haven and The lion of al-something was really good. There's something beautiful in Guy's language and I expecting both laughter and tears.

[Malaclypse]

Abyss, on 10 April 2013 - 08:18 PM, said:

Baco Xtath, on 10 April 2013 - 07:31 PM, said:

Stalker, on 10 April 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

I'm not sure what to move onto next. It is between GGK's The Last Light of the Sun, Iain Banks' The Algebraist, and China Mievielle's The Scar.

The Scar then go get River of Stars as it's setting is the same as Under Heaven but four centuries later..

the scar The Scar THE SCAR THE SCAR

Really? I was not impressed by it at all. China Mieville, and I expressed this to him in person, is too far up his own arse. He has such great talent but choose to squander it by being avant-garde and 'edgy' to the extreme. It's tiresome. Perdido Street Station was a fantastic book, amazing. Everything that followed (that I've read, and I have not read them all) has been political aggrandizement cloaked in freakiness - he could do better. It's actually offensive to me, what he's doing. The Scar was average imo, and that's being kind, I truly don't understand why people get excited about it - it was moody, certainly but otherwise? not much to speak of. Taking advantage of the audience sympathetic to senseless angst? how long can that work?

He has such a gift but is cynical about it, milking the public and trying to advance his infantile political agenda. Sad, though he is a good-looking man and is clearly homosexual so he might get away with it for a while longer- he doesn't yet understand how obtuse the common person is, or he expects too much of the informed, underemployed brainiacs that he assumes to be his audience. He might have learned better by now but I'm glad I'm not in the room with him because I'm sure he's going to take it HARD.

[Salt-Man Z]

Malaclypse, on 11 April 2013 - 09:26 PM, said:

he doesn't yet understand how obtuse the common person is, or he expects too much of the informed, underemployed brainiacs that he assumes to be his audience.

Exhibit A?

[polishgenius]

Malaclypse, on 11 April 2013 - 09:26 PM, said:

Sad, though he is a good-looking man and is clearly homosexual so he might get away with it for a while longer-

I'm sorry, what? The fuck does that have to do with the price of fish?

Quote

The Scar was average imo, and that's being kind, I truly don't understand why people get excited about it - it was moody, certainly but otherwise? not much to speak of.

The Scar is pretty much a how-to on how to construct and pace that kind of novel.


I also don't see the political agenda in The Scar, at all. In Iron Council, I can see the argument, though I think a bigger deal is made of it than is really the case in the book, but The Scar? Nah.