[worry]

Salt-Man Z, on 18 July 2013 - 10:06 PM, said:

I barely remember half the books I read last year, so by the time I get around to Farseer, I should be fine.

Hehe, that's definitely one way to do it!

Also, re: spelling, it's fine to have pet peeves, everyone does, but that's still all they are. They're not a reflection on anyone else but the peeved, really, and that includes level of fandom or whatever other quality you want to ascribe. Is a name written truer than a name spoken?

[polishgenius]

worry, on 18 July 2013 - 10:25 PM, said:

Also, re: spelling, it's fine to have pet peeves, everyone does, but that's still all they are. They're not a reflection on anyone else but the peeved, really, and that includes level of fandom or whatever other quality you want to ascribe. Is a name written truer than a name spoken?

My main problem with that particular mistake is there's already an SF/F writer called Steve Erickson (hence that reference in my post).I know it's not, in general, difficult to make the distinction in context, but still.

[Stalker]

Anyone read any Charlie Stross (The Laundry Files), Ken Macleod (Fractions), or Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, Declare) before? I have one or two books by each of them, as listed above, and was curious if anyone had any recommendations.

Otherwise, I'm reading through Tor's 5 years of collected stories that was linked in the free ebooks thread.

[Baco Xtath]

Laundry Files is fun Cthulhu inspired, sciencey/nerdy, humorous, thriller/mystery stuff that Abyss fully backs; I've listened to the first, Atrocity Archives, and will definitely check out the second. Can't comment on the others.

[JPK]

Alright, giving up on Cherryh for now. Just can't make my thinkymeats enjoy it. Against All Things Ending, here I come.

[Mentalist]

I'm making my way through The Dusk Watchman , the last book of Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign series.

I'm about halfway through, and I still can't tell if the ending will be any good. I've had really mixed feelings about this series (Book 1 had strong ideas, but terrible main character. Book 2 I mis-read compleltely the first time around, but enjoyed quite a bit on the re-read. Book 3 was solid, and Book 4 quite brilliant).

So far in this book there's a whole lot of set-up for "the biggest convergence EVAR" (Lloyd does tend to overplay these, which, to an Erikson fan, is a pretty big issue). That being said, multiple PoVs work. The series meets the definition of "epic"--even if it's sometimes cliche-ridden. And if the ending turns out to be solid, this series may yet turn out to be one of the good ones.

[Serenity]

Read the first three Conan stories last night: The Phoenix on the Sword, The Frost Giant's Daughter, and The God in the Bowl. Plus the first draft of The Phoenix on the Sword, which was interesting after reading the published version. Great stuff.

[QuickTidal]

Bought and started EX-HEROES because my compatriots on here speak so highly of the series. Got a few chapters in and it was decent enough. Nothing great yet, but I have faith. I'm saving the rest of it for my cottage read weekend after next.

In the meanwhiles, I'm having a visit with the 3rd of Bernard Cornwell's SHARPE books SHARPE'S FORTRESS...and so far it's as brilliant as the series has been for two books.

[Abyss]

Stalker, on 19 July 2013 - 12:09 AM, said:

Anyone read any Charlie Stross (The Laundry Files), Ken Macleod (Fractions), or Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, Declare) before? I have one or two books by each of them, as listed above, and was curious if anyone had any recommendations.

Otherwise, I'm reading through Tor's 5 years of collected stories that was linked in the free ebooks thread.

Baco Xtath, on 19 July 2013 - 01:47 AM, said:

Laundry Files is fun Cthulhu inspired, sciencey/nerdy, humorous, thriller/mystery stuff that Abyss fully backs; I've listened to the first, Atrocity Archives, and will definitely check out the second. Can't comment on the others.

Stross' LAUNDRY books are awesome. The first three are excellent, the 4th not quite as awesome by a slim margin, but still fun.

For Powers i can only echo that many people love his work. He's in my TRPFH but i haven't read him yet.

QuickTidal, on 19 July 2013 - 12:16 PM, said:

Bought and started EX-HEROES because my compatriots on here speak so highly of the series. Got a few chapters in and it was decent enough. Nothing great yet, but I have faith. I'm saving the rest of it for my cottage read weekend after next....

E-H is a slow build to big finish that's great fun. E-P takes the characters, adds some new elements, and has a blast with them. So far E-C is looking to be the best one yet. But to be clear, they're actioner lit popcorn. Most def not MBF.

[Ukjent]

Done with Cold days and Side Jobs. Winter can't come fast enough and nearly done with the read breast by Jo Nesbø. Think I'll have to check out some more by Nesbø.

[Serenity]

Stalker, on 19 July 2013 - 12:09 AM, said:

Anyone read any Charlie Stross (The Laundry Files), Ken Macleod (Fractions), or Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, Declare) before?

I thought The Anubis Gates was brilliant. Totally bonkers in a 'throw everything in, plus the kitchen sink' kind of way, but brilliant.

[stone monkey]

I've read A LOT of Powers - personally I reckon Last Call to be his best work, and would heartily recommend Declare!, The Anubis Gates and 3 Days To Never

Stross, whose Laundry Series we have a dedicated thread to somewhere, is fantastic too.

I haven't read as much of MacLeod's work as I'd like, especially his more recent stuff - the moderately famous story about him is that he's sort of responsible for the mind-blowingly intricate structure of the late, great and sorely missed Iain M. Banks best book (imo, obviously) Use of Weapons (by all accounts the original version was even more complex)

[Stalker]

Thanks for the input guys. Just started with Stross, but it looks like I've got a lot of winners waiting in the TRP.

@SM- That's really interesting about MacLeod. I knew that he and Banks were friends but had no idea he was involved with the incredible Use of Weapons. I still think Surface Detail is my favorite, but it is hard to go wrong with any Banks SF novel.

[Mentalist]

I've finished Dusk watchman Holy shit.

I'm genuinely impressed and shocked. As I've written elsewhere several times, this was not a series I felt could ever be great. The good stuff was all there from the beginning, but the idea of introducing a naive Mary-Sue protagonist as "the Chosen One" always meant that this series would never be truly amazing. I've stubbornly pushed through Book 1, slammed Book 2 to hell and back for over-using cliches and relying way too heavily on convergence (in retrospect, I was comparing it to RG, which would never be fair). I picked up Book 3 at some sale, in equal part on a whim and macabre fascination in "how bad could this get?". So, suffice it to say, i'm not a drooling fanatic.

but this book..... wow. Seriously, the ending is Crippled God -quality good. And I do not say this lightly. Of all the possible ways to end it, Lloyd pickedone I did not expect, in any way, shape or form. But it works. It works so incredibly perfectly. The buildup to the conclusion is extremely well-paced, even if the first few bits of the book do seem like your typical "we must find a weapon of great power to banish THE EVIL ONE"-type fetch quest story. Seriously, Lloyd has grown so much in my eyes it's not even funny. I've considered Book 4's ending to be incredibly solid, but this.... no, seriously, I'm blown away.

And yet, all that being said, I don't feel I can recommend the series readily. Book 1 is objectively weak. The main character is atrocious, and the only good bits about it are the world-building bits--and I realize that I can forgive a lot if the world's interesting, so I can't be an objective judge. Book 2 is also not that strong. The series does get good, occasionally entering "amazing" territory, but it takes a lot of work to get there.

[Salt-Man Z]

Well, Excommunication was fantastic! It's hard to rank these books against each other, though--it's just such a consistently excellent series.

[Ukjent]

Butcher's Small Favor. It's raining cat and dogs outside so I needed something easy and fun.

[Ukjent]

Thats a good one. Just bought the short story and the follow up to PoB is something that I got to read.

[Overactive Imagination]

Graablick, on 20 July 2013 - 05:24 PM, said:

Butcher's Small Favor. It's raining cat and dogs outside so I needed something easy and fun.

raining frogs imo

[Kaamos]

Stephen R Donaldson's The Last Dark, managed to grab an ARC. (Ooh, it rhymes!) Was supposed to keep a break from grimdark and snack on some lighter literature, but curiosity grabbed the brain and now cannot drop this damn thing; seems glued to my fingers.

Found a band called "Two Steps from Hell" in the music thread and appears the instrumentals create a bloody perfect atmosphere for this. A bit draggy at the beginning, but now also a couple of kitchen sinks have been thrown in.

[Tiste Simeon]

Woken Furies spoilers

Spoiler

TOTALLY knew Sylvie was going to be/turn into/be somehow linked to Quellcrist! Called it!

Enjoying it a lot... Kovacs is just ace!

Edits for bad spelling

This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 21 July 2013 - 07:17 PM