[Mentalist]

chugging along with Les Miserables . good so far, but not really all that gripping.
Took a quick Detour and re-read Mayne Reid's South African Trilogy. A single volume of 750-odd pages, packed with hunting adventures, various flora and fauna and a whole lot of laughs. Despite the fact that I last read this as a young kid, it hasn't lost its charm and appeal.

now pushing onto part 3 of Les Mis

[worry]

Voyage trilogy was pretty sweet. The trilogy after that was absolute garbage, so D'rek you probably did the right thing. First King was definitely "more of the same" to me, but back in high school I didn't mind that so much...never re-read that one as an adult.

[Traveller]

I'm reading Prince of Thorns - and loving it so far.

It reminds me of reading Black Company, at least the style is kind of similar.

Thanks to whoever recommended this off in another book thread somewhere, I'm hooked already (hah).

This post has been edited by Traveller: 28 May 2013 - 09:02 PM

[Obdigore]

Market Forces by the Mighty Morgan. Not as enjoyable as A Land or Takeshi, but I really enjoyed it quite a bit. Is black/thirteen at least up to the standard of Market Forces, or better?

[polishgenius]

Black Man might be his best book, in my opinion.

[Salt-Man Z]

Finished Ricardo Pinto's The Chosen last night. I'll say right now, it's probably not to everyone's tastes, but I really enjoyed it. It's very rich, very decadent, and the world Pinto has created is pretty amazing. Strangely, for all the time spent describing everything, I had a hard time visualizing a lot of stuff; and I'm okay with that, as it gives the book a dreamlike quality to it. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I'm looking forward to starting the second book in the trilogy...

...but first, I'm taking a break to read Pandora by Holly Hollander by Gene Wolfe, a mystery ostensibly written by a small-town Illinois teenage girl. 40 pages in so far, and it's fun.

[amphibian]

When will that old curmudgeon finish the Latro books? He's in his 80s. His last few books have bombed (even if I bought the hardcover of Home Fires).

Arrrrrggghhhh....

[Serenity]

I'm just over halfway through Vernor Vinge's The Children of the Sky at the moment. I was of the opinion that A Fire Upon the Deep was a book that didn't need a sequel, and I still feel the same, even though I'm enjoying Children.

[Abyss]

Obdigore, on 29 May 2013 - 08:14 AM, said:

Market Forces by the Mighty Morgan. Not as enjoyable as A Land or Takeshi, but I really enjoyed it quite a bit. Is black/thirteen at least up to the standard of Market Forces, or better?

polishgenius, on 29 May 2013 - 11:07 AM, said:

Black Man might be his best book, in my opinion.

Seconding both opinions.

[Baco Xtath]

Abyss, on 29 May 2013 - 06:27 PM, said:

Obdigore, on 29 May 2013 - 08:14 AM, said:

Market Forces by the Mighty Morgan. Not as enjoyable as A Land or Takeshi, but I really enjoyed it quite a bit. Is black/thirteen at least up to the standard of Market Forces, or better?

polishgenius, on 29 May 2013 - 11:07 AM, said:

Black Man might be his best book, in my opinion.

Seconding both opinions.

Seconding this seconding. The audiobook version of Black Man was my favorite of last year - absolutely bad ass. The audio version of Market Forces is fantastic as well.

[worry]

Finished Alera #3, it was definitely the best of the bunch so far, but still hit some sour notes for me. Will soldier on. If book 4 is the "Summer Knight" of this series, that would be very welcome.

Now I'm reading The Sound and the Fury. My first time reading Faulkner and I'm actually pretty excited (well, actually I've read his novella Old Man before and it was awesome, but still, first novel).

[polishgenius]

Serenity, on 29 May 2013 - 05:18 PM, said:

I'm just over halfway through Vernor Vinge's The Children of the Sky at the moment. I was of the opinion that A Fire Upon the Deep was a book that didn't need a sequel, and I still feel the same, even though I'm enjoying Children.

It does seem a weird one, especially since (Fire on the Deep spoiler, I guess)

Spoiler

the Tines' World or whatever it was called was a lot less interesting to me than the galaxy at large. Is it entirely set on-planet?

Though I will read it. I'm currently reading a Deepness in the Sky, which is pretty ace so far, about halfway through.

[amphibian]

The third book is Latro in Egypt. It rocks really hard, but does end with Latro hunting people, gods and his memory at the beginning of the Nile.

I really do.recommend it to.read, but this is five or six books Wolfe has left Latro hanging for at this point. Damnit.

[Mentalist]

on a 3 day trip, taking a break from Les Mis reading Neal Asher's "the Technician"

[Serenity]

polishgenius, on 29 May 2013 - 10:08 PM, said:

Serenity, on 29 May 2013 - 05:18 PM, said:

I'm just over halfway through Vernor Vinge's The Children of the Sky at the moment. I was of the opinion that A Fire Upon the Deep was a book that didn't need a sequel, and I still feel the same, even though I'm enjoying Children.

It does seem a weird one, especially since (Fire on the Deep spoiler, I guess)

Spoiler

the Tines' World or whatever it was called was a lot less interesting to me than the galaxy at large. Is it entirely set on-planet?

Though I will read it. I'm currently reading a Deepness in the Sky, which is pretty ace so far, about halfway through.

In answer to your question:

Spoiler

yes, it is (so far, anyway).

It was a toss-up for me whether to read this or A Deepness in the Sky, but I went with Children whilst A Fire Upon the Deep is fresh in my memory after my recent re-read. Really looking forward to Deepness, though!

[QuickTidal]

Finished SAILING TO SARANTIUM by GGK.

I really enjoyed it a lot!

I only have a few niggles with this one, like most GGK novel it sags a BIT (only a bit) in the middle where Kay likes to throw new names at you for periphery characters who don't so much matter. And seeing as this one has a heavy "religious iconography and worship questions" vibe there were a few passages I found a tad tedious, tho not overly so. I also think (as per usual with his novels) that the beginning suffers a bit from what are usually stunning prologues (almost short stories on their own) followed by a time jump and a reintroduction with mostly new characters. I'm obviously no stranger to this, and fallout from that prologue does come into play in the latter half of the book, but it's hard once you get going with a certain storyline to abruptly stop, rejig and set off again in first gear. I always find that type of thing jarring, and it's one thing I always notice in GGK's work.

That being said, I have bought LORD OF EMPERORS and will be getting to it in due time after I take a break to read another author.

So all around, as entertaining as most Kay reads, if (as always seems to be the case) less so than his masterpiece (IMNSHO) THE LIONS OF AL-RASSAN.

Dunno what I'll read next.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 30 May 2013 - 02:55 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

Pandora by Holly Hollander was cute, and a lot of fun. Which is an odd thing to say about a book written by Gene Wolfe, let alone a murder mystery. But it was.

Next up is The Standing Dead, the second book in Ricardo Pinto's Stone Dance of the Chameleon trilogy.

[Baco Xtath]

Just finished Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. A bit slow in places but overall a good read/listen. I'm about halfway through listening to the last book in the Gap Cycle by Stephen Donaldson. I really like this series but it seems to be very repetitive and that can be annoying when you're listening to a 35 hr book (or however long it is). I haven't been reading much at all lately. I basically have one to two hours of free time a night and I'm back on an anime kick so good-bye books for a while.

[Orlion]

sorrysort, on 29 May 2013 - 08:47 PM, said:

Now I'm reading The Sound and the Fury. My first time reading Faulkner and I'm actually pretty excited (well, actually I've read his novella Old Man before and it was awesome, but still, first novel).

I enjoyed it thoroughly. Much better than As I Lay Dying, in my opining... even if it is a more difficult read.

One of these days, I'll read Sanctuary and Intruder in the Dust... but I've got at least three books before I'm "free" to do so.

[Avatar]

Opened the package containing Dying Earth by Jack Vance today. An hour later I read he just died.