Tiste Simeon, on 10 April 2013 - 09:46 PM, said:
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.
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....
polishgenius, on 11 April 2013 - 10:19 PM, said:
Malaclypse, on 11 April 2013 - 09:26 PM, said:
...
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.
Grief, on 12 April 2013 - 04:11 AM, said:
...Personally I think Perdido Street Station is his best work. For me, the Scar would be just behind it. Looking back though, I would struggle to point at anything it did that PSS didn't already do better (reading PSS first possibly biases me a bit in that way. There are a couple of areas it's definitely better for me, but mostly it just does a lot of the same stuff slightly better). I've not re-read Iron Council but my memory of it (it's ending particularly) isn't very favourable.
Which is another gripe I have with Mieville. Most of his endings range from poor to dire. The end of the Scar is the weakest part of the book imo, and most complaints I've heard about PSS have been ending related too. However great the build up is, a book can lose a lot if it can't be concluded well. It particularly makes his use of ambiguous weirdness feel like a cheap trick to build tension easily.
...
Obdigore, on 12 April 2013 - 05:35 AM, said:
Grief, on 12 April 2013 - 05:26 AM, said:
What made you like Kraken so much? Possibly the first time I've seen in mentioned in the same breath as PSS or the Scar.
In particular, what did you think of the ending? Iron council is the one people usually bring up as a bad ending, but I didn't feel like Krakens was much more satisfying.
Just curious as it's one of the ones I'm less keen on, and I've not come across so many people who really rate it.
I couldn't tell you. I thought it was going to be meh-tastic after about 20 pages in, but I just couldn't put it down and ended up staying up way too late reading it. The ending wasn't the best ending, but it was a satisfying conclusion to the book to me.
Skipping some of the more volatile Mieville upthread chatter, I like Mieville. I don't always love his work, but everything i have read has entertained me and been worth the dollars.
The ending thing is only, imnsho, an issue with the Bas-Lag books. All three are fairly open and while events have come to a conclusion, the story is left very open and to an extent unresolved. A lot of people find this frustrating. I don't. I don't need a complete and tidy wrapped up with a bow ending (FFS i'm an Erikson fan...). I love THE SCAR because Armada is one of the most original, interesting, well constructed fantasy settings i have ever read and the events that take place on it are fascinating. PERDIDO may have better characters and IRON COUNCIL a more interesting conflict, but SCAR held my attention for every page.
EMBASSYTOWN was mind candy. It asks big questions and doesn't spoon feed the author's answers. I found it slow but interesting and i was satisfied with the end result, even if some of it seemed a bit trite (ie how the protag finally addressed the alien's inability to recognize humans as sentient).
KRAKEN... KRAKEN was sheer mad fun urban fantasy popcorn with Mieville weirdness. I loved it. It was part Butcher at his craziest, part Carey at his darkest, and loaded with pure Mieville weerdiest. Also my favorite ending of any of his books.
RAILSEA was totally YA and just clever enough. I liked.
Throw in the WAITING FOR JAKE collection and i've liked everything i've read by Mieville. I don't care about his sexuality or attitude. He's never said anything publically that irritated me nearly as much as Card or Goodkind.
Salt-Man Z, on 14 April 2013 - 07:58 PM, said:
Finished Ex-Patriots last night, and it was just as fun (if not quite as good) as the first.
But admit it... you can't wait for EX-COMMUNICATION in June.
The hints about what's coming.... heehee...
Ulrik, on 14 April 2013 - 09:15 PM, said:
I need recommendation... Rather fantasy, dark, gritty...but not as prince of thorns. It just sucked my enthusiasm. Ive just finished Wise Mans Fear and it was...just acceptable. first book was more interesting for me. Thacks and orry typo - new tablet :/
Not sure if you've read these, but Stover's CAINE series, Morgan's LAND FIT FOR HEROES, Ruckley's GODLESS WORLD trilo come to mind.
Serenity, on 15 April 2013 - 12:53 PM, said:
I'm about 500 pages into Abercrombie's Best Served Cold and totally loving it ... Might even have to give First Law another chance and see if I enjoy it more.
COLD remains my fave Abercrombie book. I'll be curious to hear if you enjoy FIRST LAW any morehaving read the standalones.
Hound, on 15 April 2013 - 08:01 PM, said:
Finished Patient Zero (Joe Ledger #1) by Jonathan Maberry. Zombies! Mad scientists! Terrorists! Stuff blowing up! This book was a lot of fun, a very enjoyable and fast read. Nothing new or haven't-read-that-before, but this is a very well executed novel. Great dialogue and characters, though as nails hero, cool action scenes.... I liked it a lot. Recommended.
Now reading the 2nd Joe Ledger book, The Dragon Factory. Also good, but a bit slower (I'm halfway through).
I have a few of his in the TRP. Good to know. I'm always a littl reluctant to get into zombie books laterly because there is so much of it out there and so much of it is very very bad. Plus Clines is hard to beat. That said, it seems the zombies are not Maberry's whole deal.
yuna_anomander25 
Help
