[QuickTidal]

D, on 24 December 2013 - 11:41 AM, said:

Traveller, on 23 December 2013 - 04:57 PM, said:

Can't go wrong with a bit of HP at Christmas. Half Blood Prince on tv last night, had to watch.

Picked up the boxset of the films on Saturday, finally watched Deathly Hallows II, very enjoyable. Must say that I stopped reading the books after Order of the Phoenix, which I now view as a mistake as I very much enjoy the films of the last two books, but don't know if I can be bothered for some time to read them now (too much else on the to read list, too much of a fan of grey moralities and literary nihilism to deal with warm and fuzzy black & white moralities at the moment).

They are really quite worth the read if only because

Spoiler

the whole Snape & Lily thing is heartbreaking and more thorough in the book, as is Harry's, and everyone elses Sacrifice

It's not quite the bleakness of HALF BLOOD PRINCE, which has always been the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the series (AKA bad guys win in the end and good guys suffer losses).

But you really do get more from the books.

[Ukjent]

Done with the whole of Codex Alera, great series but the enemy is still stupid.

[QuickTidal]

Blasphemer!

[Abyss]

champ, on 23 December 2013 - 10:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 23 December 2013 - 06:46 PM, said:

champ, on 23 December 2013 - 04:29 PM, said:

Just finished with a full David Gemmell - Drenai book reread.
...

How'd that go?
I've been toying with a Drenai reread for ages but never quite gotten around to it.

I love David Gemmell anyway so it was great!

It has been ages since I had read the books but with it been a reread I did it in chronological order and it was epic, I only picked up Waylander as I was in a lull and wasn't sure what to read, after that I couldn't stop.

If it has been a while for you reading them then I would recommend!

Noted.


I read them pretty out of order scattershot over a decade or so, a proper read-thru as you did has been tempting me greatly, notwithstanding all the unread goodies in the TRPFH.

[Abyss]

Graablick, on 24 December 2013 - 01:08 PM, said:

Done with the whole of Codex Alera, great series but i'm cold and dead inside, a communist, a cylon, and/or upset that i can't make the sex with the Vord queen.

FTFY.

[Ukjent]

haha, you silly pixies. The Camin are great but the rest is just stupid and why to OP:

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 23 December 2013 - 04:27 PM, said:

That's a strong, and potentially dangerous, reco there PG. I'm moving Gentle's ASH up the TRPFH accordingly...

Oh yeah, it's risky alright- and you will have to trust my taste, whatever that's worth, for the beginning (it's good, don't get me wrong, just not that Caine-like), but I think the book stands up to it.
She doesn't go so much for the one-on-one fights but is better for the big-ass battle scenes.



As for Alera- the Vord were one of the best things about it...

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 24 December 2013 - 03:22 PM

[worry]

Finished Prince of Thorns and then read GRRM's The Princess and the Queen. The latter was a lot longer than I thought, more of a novella than a short story, but I thought it was great. I suppose it was a little dry (the Maester author's voice only showed personality occasionally, and I wish it had come through more) but it was also very interesting, nicely paced, and quite brutal. More on-page dragon action here then there was in the whole of ADWD. And who doesn't love dragons?

Already started King of Thorns. These books are addicting, and Jorg is definitely a narrator whose voice pops on every page.

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

Well, everybody keeps plugging Ash, and it does look interesting, but while browsing I came across Gentle's Orthe: Chronicles of Carrick V for 2 cents, so I think I'll start with that one...since decent copies of the out-of-print Ash omnibus seem to be rather more expensive...

266. Star Wars Invasion Vol. 3: Revelations graphic novel - Okay, but it's a Yuuzhan Vong storyline, and I'm still burnt out on that plot from the novels...

267. Spell Checkers Vol. 2: Sons Of A Preacher man graphic novel - Essentially, this is Mean Girls, except they're witches. Laugh-out-loud funny at times, but I didn't really care for the manga-style art.

268. The Mote In God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle - Great, except I didn't like the fact that

Spoiler

the aliens had very human-like personalities, which made me get them easily confused with the human characters, particularly since they also had human-sounding nicknames. On the other hand, the Mediators were SUPPOSED to be excellent mimics, so I guess it made sense to write it that way...

269. Mississippi Jack by L. A. Meyer - Probably the weakest of the Bloody Jack Adventures (about a girl pirate). Still, this is my favorite current YA series, along with The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.

270. Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton - This one just bored me...

271. amity Blamity Book one graphic novel by Mike White - The hijinks of a little girl, her redneck uncle, and potbellied pig.

272. B.P.R.D.: Being Human graphic novel by Mike Mignola et al. - "First mission" stories about Liz, Roger, and Johann. Awesome. Probably my favorite Hellboy GN to date.

This post has been edited by Kruppe's snacky cakes: 24 December 2013 - 09:23 PM

[JPK]

So, I passed the 50% mark on Embassytown today. As usual, I'm loving Mieville's work, but I feel I'm missing something. Honestly, I worry that in some basic level I'm just not smart enough to truly grok his writing.

[amphibian]

Kruppe, on 24 December 2013 - 09:20 PM, said:

272. B.P.R.D.: Being Human graphic novel by Mike Mignola et al. - "First mission" stories about Liz, Roger, and Johann. Awesome. Probably my favorite Hellboy GN to date.

The Hellboy extended universe (B.P.R.D, Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, Sledgehammer 44, Witchfinder) is some of the very finest "sharing" of setting and characters I've ever seen on any level of writing or art. There's so much room for basically anything, yet each of the authors and artists remains true to a certain spirit of action, drama and tension inflected with the horror/Lovecraftian vibe. There's no weak spot in the line-up, despite there being many cooks in the kitchen.

[yuna_anomander25]

just started Richard K Morgan's THE STEEL REMAINS,, so far it's ok,, no true opinion as of now,, as i'm only 3 chapters in,, but it has the usual Morgan voice of narration i have gotten used reading the Kovacs books,, albeit not in first person but it still has the same feels,,

[Ukjent]

Done with Caine's law and that was one confusing book.. Now I'm considering a reread of the chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but they are depressing so I'm in doubt.

[HiddenOne]

Briar King, on 25 December 2013 - 12:20 AM, said:

Incase no one read my other post I got 2 Amazon orders in today cause my OG got lost they fedex another to me if I don't return will they notice?

not if you don't look at your credit card bill

[Obdigore]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 25 December 2013 - 02:20 AM, said:

So, I passed the 50% mark on Embassytown today. As usual, I'm loving Mieville's work, but I feel I'm missing something. Honestly, I worry that in some basic level I'm just not smart enough to truly grok his writing.

I found Embassytown very unimpressive.

[Defiance]

Starting up Lord of Chaos. Hopefully I can plow through another few books before I have to take a break from the series again.

[Salt-Man Z]

Possibly Brent Weeks, on 26 December 2013 - 02:13 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 25 December 2013 - 02:20 AM, said:

So, I passed the 50% mark on Embassytown today. As usual, I'm loving Mieville's work, but I feel I'm missing something. Honestly, I worry that in some basic level I'm just not smart enough to truly grok his writing.

I found Embassytown very unimpressive.

I absolutely loved it, so there.

[Obdigore]

Brent-Man Weeks, on 26 December 2013 - 03:57 PM, said:

Possibly Brent Weeks, on 26 December 2013 - 02:13 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 25 December 2013 - 02:20 AM, said:

So, I passed the 50% mark on Embassytown today. As usual, I'm loving Mieville's work, but I feel I'm missing something. Honestly, I worry that in some basic level I'm just not smart enough to truly grok his writing.

I found Embassytown very unimpressive.

I absolutely loved it, so there.

Kraken > Other Meiville.

[Tiste Simeon]

Got some Amazon vouchers from my brother in law. What with Ash (Mary Gentle, not lesbian fairies) and the Thorns Trilogy being cheap on Kindle I think I will be buying them shortly! Well, shortly as in when I have finished my Malazan reread...

[Mentalist]

I have put down "Castle of Lord Valentine". just could not find a reason to keep going with the Majipoor cycle. Bland, uninteresting, meandering and going nowhere.

Instead I have finally gotten around to finishing "The decline and Fall of the British Empire". It's an interesting chronicle, but the author fails to provide any systemic reasons. The main point seems to be "It was a patchwork governance when it was created, so it fell apart in the same patchworks". The obvious (and desired) contrast with Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" strikes me as far more systemic. Still, it was an interesting read, since I'm fairly spotty in my British history.

now reading "The years of Rice and Salt" by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's my first Robinson book, and liking it so far, alternative history fairly low on the sci-fi.