[Ukjent]

Daniel Abraham The tyrant's law

[Abyss]

Firstly some business
MODGOD NOTICE - THERE ARE THREADS DISCUSSING THE FEMALE AUTHOR THING. MOVE THE DISCUSSION THERE IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE IT. I CAN RELOCATE POSTS IF YOU WISH. PM ME IF SO.

Cocoreturns, on 22 June 2013 - 07:49 PM, said:

Just polished off all F*****g four F*****g Caine books. On F*****g Kindle.

You F***s.

We fucking warned you.

Graablick, on 23 June 2013 - 04:26 PM, said:

Done with Inferno by Dan Brown, better then Digital Fortress but still not that impressed.

I have a gifted free copy sitting in the TRP and i remain not that tempted.

Chance, on 23 June 2013 - 07:25 PM, said:

Hound, on 23 June 2013 - 06:10 PM, said:

About to start American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I liked Neverwhere (a lot) and loved Stardust, so I'm curious about AG.

Its better but its not as likable.

Perhaps not as 'cute', but certainly a better written, better plotted book overall.

[JPK]

Just finshed The King's Blood. Fully convinced that Abraham belongs on my top five list now. Between The Long Price Quartet, The Dagger and the Coin, and The Expanse (even if that one's only cowritten), I've found that he weaves stories that I WANT to find out the twists and turns to. Kinda impatient to start The Tyrant's Law now, but I know it's best to pace his works out a little.

I know that the next book I SHOULD be reading right now is The Runes of the Earth by Donaldson, and I know that when I finally do I'll enjoy it, but for now I just can't bring myself to want a book written from Linden's p.o.v. Not entirely sure what it says about me as a human being that I'd rather be in Covenant's headspace than hers.

I suppose I'll jump into Precursor by Cherryh next, though I am very very sorely tempted to sidetrack myself with the copy of The Ocean at the End of the Lane sitting on my nightstand...

[amphibian]

I find Linden to be a better narrator/head space person than Covenant at this point in the story. What he's dealing with leaves him kind of shut off to the world, while she's freer to act.

I'm so pumped fir the last book to come out. Against All Things Ending had a couple huge fist pump moments

[JPK]

amphibian, on 25 June 2013 - 09:55 PM, said:

I find Linden to be a better narrator/head space person than Covenant at this point in the story. What he's dealing with leaves him kind of shut off to the world, while she's freer to act.

I'm so pumped fir the last book to come out. Against All Things Ending had a couple huge fist pump moments

And she is. No question about that. I still find it hard to want to be inside her head though. I mean, she's even darker and depressing that Covenant himself. That point was driven straight home after my recent reread of the second chronicles. I've been trying to remember if she's a bit easier to like in the final chronicles or not, but sadly I've only read the first two and those during a point in my life that I don't remember very clearly in general. I know that I'll get back to it, I want to have all three final chronicles books finished before October when The Last Dark drops. I think I might just have to find something VERY lighthearted to go along with it to make it a bit more bearable. Maybe some discworld.

*Edited to correct book title.

This post has been edited by The Incredible Kitsu: 27 June 2013 - 01:39 AM

[amphibian]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 25 June 2013 - 10:23 PM, said:

And she is. No question about that. I still find it hard to want to be inside her head though. I mean, she's even darker and depressing that Covenant himself. That point was driven straight home after my recent reread of the second chronicles. I've been trying to remember if she's a bit easier to like in the final chronicles or not, but sadly I've only read the first two and those during a point in my life that I don't remember very clearly in general. I know that I'll get back to it, I want to have all three final chronicles books finished before October when The Final Dark drops. I think I might just have to find something VERY lighthearted to go along with it to make it a bit more bearable. Maybe some discworld.

There is a moment in Against All Things Ending that makes everything Linden (and the reader) went through worth it. Standing up and fist pumping from sheer joy good. That's all I want to say about it in order to preserve the surprise of it.

[T77]

Briar King, on 26 June 2013 - 02:22 AM, said:

@T77

Gene Wolfe is a true fucking legend.

Agreed. The man is a genius.

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 19 June 2013 - 07:02 PM, said:

Abyss, on 19 June 2013 - 06:30 PM, said:

...I'll also give a semi-nod to Lavie Tidhar's THE BOOKMAN. At 1/2way I haven't quite made up my mind whether it's brilliant or just interesting, but i'm liking it. Turn of the century London with Lizard aristocracy, automatons, dirigibles and Mars probes, plus terrorist bombs, mysterious orphans and a hard partyingTom Thumb. And the odd whale symphony. The pace is slower than perhaps i might like, but the setting holds my attention and when Tidhar gets creative, it's pretty neat. Like Grant Morrison on less drugs.

You just wait for "Camera Obscura"...

Mentalist, on 21 June 2013 - 02:47 AM, said:

...I've read the Bookman Omnibus. I consider it to be to much of a mashup to call it "steampunk". There are elements of that, true, but there's elements of a lot of stuff. I consider it to be a great example of "genre-punk" (it's on tvtropes. I won't link it, because i'm not evil, but if you're feeling adventurous, look it up)--it's a mashup of so many awesome things (and "Camera Obscura" just adds even more stuff to an already great formula) that I think i'll be doing it a huge disservice characterising it as pure steampunk. Because it is so much more....

Abyss, on 24 June 2013 - 02:43 PM, said:

...Very much enjoying Tidhar's THE BOOKMAN tho i now see why some have said it's not really 'steampunk'. Still, well written, moves along at a good pace and has a sense of wonder reminiscient of the upthread ref'd STARDUST....

Finished THE BOOKMAN.

Was a bit surprised at the direction that the finale moved in, but it worked.
I give Tidhar massive kudos for the way he incorporates so many historical figures, fictional and real,. I could see some readers considering the wider cast to be a bit over-ambitious or even pretentious, but i thought it worked nicely.

There was a nice sense of a wider story happening around the main story that was still coherent and interesting even when just hinted at.

He also zigs when it seems he'll zag more than once which kept me guessing just enough.

While there is a lot going on, and some of it is fairly fast paced, the book is more about a sense of wonder and novelty than 'action'. That said, the pacing moves along nicely and picks up where it needs to, so even without much shooty stabby, there's a sense of activity throughout the book.

Overall an enjoyable read, worth the time/money. I have the next two, CAMERA OBSCURA and THE GREAT GAME, in the trp. Am going to go back to RIYRIA for a book or two, then returning to this series. The CAMERA teaser at the end of BOOKMAN was enough to guarantee that.

[Puck]

Finished Servant of the Underworld, the second half in almost one single, long, lasting almost the whole night reading session. On to Harbringer of the Storm, though I'm not sure I should; the protagonist jumped straight to my top five list of favourite protanists and I feel like I should slow down and read this more carefully, to savour it. But I didn't bring anything else to read to work with me.

[Salt-Man Z]

I really want to do a complete reread of the Covenant books before The Last Dark comes out, but I don't know if I'm in the right place for that right now. I can't just read TLD, since I haven't read the two most recent books, and it's been 7 years since I read Runes, and close to a decade since I read read the first 6 books. Maybe I'll just go ahead and do it. We'll see.

worry, on 19 June 2013 - 08:26 AM, said:

I finished American Elsewhere, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Maybe not as much as Salt-Man Z, who put it in the "last great book you read" thread, as it did have one pet peeve of mine (a slow-on-the-uptake protagonist who's surprised by strange events well after she ought not to be), but other than that it was a real page-turner. Very funny, a consistently interesting mystery, and some definite payoff. Also there's a moment in the middle where the title clicks completely and it's wonderful.

Yeah, it certainly wasn't without flaws (the biggest to me was that Bennett keeps trying to tell us that Wink is the perfect little town, but he never shows it as being anything but creepy--starting right from page one!) but it's still the only 700-page book I've burned through in less than 48 hours.

Cocoreturns, on 22 June 2013 - 07:49 PM, said:

Just polished off all F*****g four F*****g Caine books. On F*****g Kindle.

You F***s.

F*** yes.

Briar King, on 26 June 2013 - 02:22 AM, said:

Gene Wolfe is a true fucking legend.

^ This x 1000. I still own a ton of Wolfe I need to read, including Fifth Head.

[Abyss]

Salt-Man Z, on 26 June 2013 - 03:12 PM, said:

I really want to do a complete reread of the Covenant books before The Last Dark comes out, but I don't know if I'm in the right place for that right now. I can't just read TLD, since I haven't read the two most recent books, and it's been 7 years since I read Runes, and close to a decade since I read read the first 6 books. Maybe I'll just go ahead and do it. We'll see...

I'm in the same boat. I read the first two trilos almost two decades ago. I'm curious to see how they fare on the reread, and curious about the subsequent books, but with my majestic TRP and so much good stuff to read for the first time, i'm noncommital.

[Ukjent]

I read all of them in 2011, and it was emotionally heavy. Normally if I have all the books in a series, they are all devoured in a streak. But with Covernant I had to but aside and read something else between the books. But still, I loved 'em.

[Mentalist]

Finished Railsea Mieville almost went an entire book without inserting some social commentary!

What else to say about it? It is quintessential Mieville--I mean, it's New Weird. A rich, imaginative word that's all sorts of "wrong" from nearly any perspective. But it's informed by such logic and vision that it works. I wasn't sure about it for the beginning (the " & " thing was of particular annoyance, until he specifically addressed that), but it really grew on me. By the end was hooked. Plot-wise, it's really nor the strongest of works, but the setting makes it all work.

next up--not sure (again!) thinking of seeing what all the hubbub about "Leviathan Wakes" is all about.

[JPK]

Well, I finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Short, sweet, and leaving me wanting more.

As soon as I finished it, I started The Runes of the Earth. After so much chatter about it (and a little prodding by Amph) I just felt it was time. Really glad I did so. I forgot how much better the pacing in the final chronicles is. He only needed about 100 pages to set up an actual goal this time instead of 250!

[Morgoth]

T77, on 26 June 2013 - 02:03 PM, said:

Briar King, on 26 June 2013 - 02:22 AM, said:

@T77

Gene Wolfe is a true fucking legend.

Agreed. The man is a genius.

Gene Wolfe is, in my impressively humble opinion, the strongest writer of fantasy/sci fi alive.

[amphibian]

Had my brain lit up like the Atlantic City boardwalk on the fourth of July by Consider Phlebas.

You can draw a direct and fucking brilliant line from Banks to Richard Morgan and a few others. Alistair Reynolds maybe. I can tell thus from one book, yes. This man probably was a legend and still under the radar.

Wow.

Here's to his acolytes writing even better books. This makes me want to re-read The Dervish House by Ian MacDonald to get the similar yet different brain lighting up experience.

[Solidsnape]

About halfway through the Jerulsalem Man trilogy.
A bit cheesy and cliched at times, but I'm still enjoying it.
He's a bit hard ass....

[Ukjent]

Done with Tyrant's law, the next one may be awesome as hell. And now it's time for my first dive into Scify since I was ten, so its up to Hamilton and the Great North Road to impress me.

[Solidsnape]

Graablick, on 27 June 2013 - 10:01 AM, said:

Done with Tyrant's law, the next one may be awesome as hell. And now it's time for my first dive into Scify since I was ten, so its up to Hamilton and the Great North Road to impress me.

I really fancied this book, as I live about a mile from the great north road in newcastle where I believe the book is set, albeit in a future setting.

I await your opinion.

[polishgenius]

amphibian, on 27 June 2013 - 07:00 AM, said:

Had my brain lit up like the Atlantic City boardwalk on the fourth of July by Consider Phlebas.

You can draw a direct and fucking brilliant line from Banks to Richard Morgan and a few others. Alistair Reynolds maybe. I can tell thus from one book, yes. This man probably was a legend and still under the radar.

Banks was something of a precursor to the wave of British Science Fiction that those two are a part of so yes, definitely. Rest assured that he's not under the radar in the UK, anyway. I don't think he even had a US publisher (at least for his SF) until Orbit opened a US side about five/six years ago, which would explain his less exalted status where you are.


As for 'brain lit up like Atlantic City', just you fucking wait till you get to the really good stuff.