[Tiste Simeon]

All this talk of Gun Machine and Crooked Little Vein has piqued my curiosity& I have added them to my wish list with a birthday not far away...

[Aptorian]

They are both awesome but very different.

Crooked Little Vein is just weird and fun. Gun Machine is a straight up criminal mysterie novel.

I finished the third Peter Grant book yesterday "Whispers under Ground". Bit disappointing, there's not much character progression or progression in the over arching plot that ties the books together. But it was an entertaining book. I love how in depth Aaranowitch gets in the details of police work. It's like reading the hardcore version of Urban fantasy. Gonna start Broken Homes today, I am hoping it gets back on track.

I have to say I am disappointed that the first three books all take place over the course of a year. It basically means that at this rate we are never going to see Peter Grant reach "Harry Dresden" levels of power or skill. 10 years is a long time for him to reach the real beginning of his potential.

[Puck]

That does sound promising, though, Apt. I mean, that the books don't descrease in quality, at least. I finished Rivers of London the other day, and while not the best there is, it was fun. I'll certainly read more of those, whenever I'll get my hands on them, anyway.

Meanwhile, I started Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis. Couldn't decide what to read next, not much time to read these days, so just randomly grabbed something from the shelf. Seems like a good choice so far.

[Aptorian]

Yeah, the quality of the writing and the complexity of the cases remain solid. I think I am going to catalogue these books in my mind as a detective books with a supernatural element instead of straight up Urban fantasy. That way I won't end up frustrated by the minimal amount of magic that Grant has at his disposal.

[champ]

I read Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams straight after reading Rivers of London and I much preferred Dirty Streets.

I thought Rivers was a decent read and I will continue with the series but not immediately, it just didn't blow me away. Dirty Streets was much more a page turner!

[Traveller]

Reading Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian.

I only picked up Desolation Island to keep me busy until Ex Purgatory came out; but I have become well and truly hooked.

As historical novels go, this series is absolutely second to none. The authenticity of the era is astounding in itself, but the storytelling and characters are equally as impressive. I really like the Sharpe novels, but Cornwell often uses contemporary phrases, and has a slightly too obvious formula for each book - demoted or disgraced at the start, mandatory love interest, actions in battle that redeems him at the end etc. (His battles are awesome though). O'Brian's have an even more authentic feel to them - fantastically immersive stories, that really, really put you right there.

Desolation Island has, hands down, the best sea 'pursuit' I've ever read. Outmanned, outgunned, followed relentlessly for days by a Dutch ship which refuses to fall for any of the diversionary tactics Aubrey comes up with; to a straight-up close quarters pursuit in a storm off the Cape... well, you'd have to read it. They ripped bits of it for the Master and Commander film, although it ends much more dramatically in the book.

Fortune of War is, more than anything, a spy novel. It follows Aubrey and Maturin to America, where they try to return to the British Navy after becoming prisoners in Boston.

Cannot recommend enough - if you are into historical novels, and are into that era (like I am, I guess) and appreciate great battles and political intrigue, then you should try these. I read the first four more than a year ago, which is why I picked up again from Desolation Island, but really you could just start there and read the others if you like 'em.

Can't believe I picked one of these up to fill time... I can't put them down now.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 18 January 2014 - 09:56 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Have also added Grunts! and Ash: A Secret History both by Mary Gentle and the Ex-Series to my wish list (on Kindle) so combined with the fact that I just bought the Thorns series I have a lot of excellent reading to look forward to this year after my Malazan reread!

[Baco Xtath]

Audiobooks: 4 hrs into the Judging Eye - just getting caught back up. 6 hrs into 14 by Clines and am enjoying it. Pure fun. Also 8 hrs into a re-read/listen of House of Suns. Can't get enough Reynolds.

25% into Bookman (on Abyss recc) and liking the setup and prose thus far (already bought Camera Obscura). Almost done with Deadly Quicksilver Lies and it's now my favorite Garrett P.I. (love Ivy, Slither, and T.G. Parrot - and Morley Dotes, as always).

[Coco with marshmallows]

champ, on 18 January 2014 - 12:50 PM, said:

I read Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams straight after reading Rivers of London and I much preferred Dirty Streets.

I thought Rivers was a decent read and I will continue with the series but not immediately, it just didn't blow me away. Dirty Streets was much more a page turner!

Huh, i actually found the opposite. Much preferred Rivers to Dirty Streets.

Different strokes for different folks


Currently reading The Clown Service, Guy Adams, decent supernatural spy type stuff.

[Serenity]

Traveller, on 18 January 2014 - 09:26 PM, said:

Reading Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian.

I only picked up Desolation Island to keep me busy until Ex Purgatory came out; but I have become well and truly hooked.

As historical novels go, this series is absolutely second to none. The authenticity of the era is astounding in itself, but the storytelling and characters are equally as impressive. I really like the Sharpe novels, but Cornwell often uses contemporary phrases, and has a slightly too obvious formula for each book - demoted or disgraced at the start, mandatory love interest, actions in battle that redeems him at the end etc. (His battles are awesome though). O'Brian's have an even more authentic feel to them - fantastically immersive stories, that really, really put you right there.

Desolation Island has, hands down, the best sea 'pursuit' I've ever read. Outmanned, outgunned, followed relentlessly for days by a Dutch ship which refuses to fall for any of the diversionary tactics Aubrey comes up with; to a straight-up close quarters pursuit in a storm off the Cape... well, you'd have to read it. They ripped bits of it for the Master and Commander film, although it ends much more dramatically in the book.

<snip>

Cannot recommend enough - if you are into historical novels, and are into that era (like I am, I guess) and appreciate great battles and political intrigue, then you should try these. I read the first four more than a year ago, which is why I picked up again from Desolation Island, but really you could just start there and read the others if you like 'em.

Can't believe I picked one of these up to fill time... I can't put them down now.

Totally agree with all of this! I read Desolation Island at the end of last year. The pursuit you mention was the most exciting and tense piece of writing I've come across in ages. I got a bit lost at times in Master & Commander, with all the nautical terminology, but once I got to grips with that the next four books raced by. As you say, they are so immersive, when you surface at the other end it's hard not to start saying things like "Very good sir", "God damn your eyes", "There is not a moment to be lost", or my personal favourite "Jack, you've debauched my sloth!" I love the way Aubrey is a complete genius on the water but totally at sea when he's on land, and also the way O'Brian conveys the history of the period almost by osmosis.


The Fortune of War is up next for me (hence the 'snip') - I already have it and The Surgeon's Mate sitting on the shelf ready to go.

[QuickTidal]

Serenity, on 19 January 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

Traveller, on 18 January 2014 - 09:26 PM, said:

Reading Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian.

I only picked up Desolation Island to keep me busy until Ex Purgatory came out; but I have become well and truly hooked.

As historical novels go, this series is absolutely second to none. The authenticity of the era is astounding in itself, but the storytelling and characters are equally as impressive. I really like the Sharpe novels, but Cornwell often uses contemporary phrases, and has a slightly too obvious formula for each book - demoted or disgraced at the start, mandatory love interest, actions in battle that redeems him at the end etc. (His battles are awesome though). O'Brian's have an even more authentic feel to them - fantastically immersive stories, that really, really put you right there.

Desolation Island has, hands down, the best sea 'pursuit' I've ever read. Outmanned, outgunned, followed relentlessly for days by a Dutch ship which refuses to fall for any of the diversionary tactics Aubrey comes up with; to a straight-up close quarters pursuit in a storm off the Cape... well, you'd have to read it. They ripped bits of it for the Master and Commander film, although it ends much more dramatically in the book.

<snip>

Cannot recommend enough - if you are into historical novels, and are into that era (like I am, I guess) and appreciate great battles and political intrigue, then you should try these. I read the first four more than a year ago, which is why I picked up again from Desolation Island, but really you could just start there and read the others if you like 'em.

Can't believe I picked one of these up to fill time... I can't put them down now.

Totally agree with all of this! I read Desolation Island at the end of last year. The pursuit you mention was the most exciting and tense piece of writing I've come across in ages. I got a bit lost at times in Master & Commander, with all the nautical terminology, but once I got to grips with that the next four books raced by. As you say, they are so immersive, when you surface at the other end it's hard not to start saying things like "Very good sir", "God damn your eyes", "There is not a moment to be lost", or my personal favourite "Jack, you've debauched my sloth!" I love the way Aubrey is a complete genius on the water but totally at sea when he's on land, and also the way O'Brian conveys the history of the period almost by osmosis.


The Fortune of War is up next for me (hence the 'snip') - I already have it and The Surgeon's Mate sitting on the shelf ready to go.

Never read them...but love the period...so maybe it's time I tried them.

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished TTH! Onto SW! And with it I come to the end of "am rereading for at least the second time." I have read SW, DOD & TCG once before and I have never read OST or BAB. I have decided to go through the ICE novels first before reading DOD. I want to read the last 2 together.

[Chance]

Finished up the Grim Company after having it lying around half read for a good while and must say my first impression of the book as nearly entirely without any merits seems to have been correct. It more or less is Abercrombie written half as well...

This post has been edited by Chance: 19 January 2014 - 08:02 PM

[Traveller]

Serenity, on 19 January 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

Traveller, on 18 January 2014 - 09:26 PM, said:

Reading Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian.

I only picked up Desolation Island to keep me busy until Ex Purgatory came out; but I have become well and truly hooked.

As historical novels go, this series is absolutely second to none. The authenticity of the era is astounding in itself, but the storytelling and characters are equally as impressive. I really like the Sharpe novels, but Cornwell often uses contemporary phrases, and has a slightly too obvious formula for each book - demoted or disgraced at the start, mandatory love interest, actions in battle that redeems him at the end etc. (His battles are awesome though). O'Brian's have an even more authentic feel to them - fantastically immersive stories, that really, really put you right there.

Desolation Island has, hands down, the best sea 'pursuit' I've ever read. Outmanned, outgunned, followed relentlessly for days by a Dutch ship which refuses to fall for any of the diversionary tactics Aubrey comes up with; to a straight-up close quarters pursuit in a storm off the Cape... well, you'd have to read it. They ripped bits of it for the Master and Commander film, although it ends much more dramatically in the book.

<snip>

Cannot recommend enough - if you are into historical novels, and are into that era (like I am, I guess) and appreciate great battles and political intrigue, then you should try these. I read the first four more than a year ago, which is why I picked up again from Desolation Island, but really you could just start there and read the others if you like 'em.

Can't believe I picked one of these up to fill time... I can't put them down now.

Totally agree with all of this! I read Desolation Island at the end of last year. The pursuit you mention was the most exciting and tense piece of writing I've come across in ages. I got a bit lost at times in Master & Commander, with all the nautical terminology, but once I got to grips with that the next four books raced by. As you say, they are so immersive, when you surface at the other end it's hard not to start saying things like "Very good sir", "God damn your eyes", "There is not a moment to be lost", or my personal favourite "Jack, you've debauched my sloth!" I love the way Aubrey is a complete genius on the water but totally at sea when he's on land, and also the way O'Brian conveys the history of the period almost by osmosis.


The Fortune of War is up next for me (hence the 'snip') - I already have it and The Surgeon's Mate sitting on the shelf ready to go.

I'm about two chapters into The Surgeons Mate. Have to agree about Jack - he really is so naive and out of his depth when on land. But as soon as he's aboard? Totally different man. Maturin has also grown on me, he gets a lot more 'screen time' than Aubrey in The Fortune of War, and... nope, I won't carry on even in spoilers - I'll just say that whereas the spy part of his life has always been mostly in the background in the previous stories, it really comes to the front in this one in some pretty dramatic scenes.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 19 January 2014 - 08:29 PM

[Aptorian]

Finished Prince of Thorns today.

Good story, not great but certainly not awful as I had gotten the impression some people think the book is.

Now to see where the rest of the trilogy takes us.

It's always annoyed me when book series name each subsequent book after a new station or a new title. It gives away where the entire series will go before you turn the first page.

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 18 January 2014 - 10:23 PM, said:

Have also added Grunts! and Ash: A Secret History both by Mary Gentle and the Ex-Series to my wish list (on Kindle) so combined with the fact that I just bought the Thorns series I have a lot of excellent reading to look forward to this year after my Malazan reread!

Yes! Didn't even realize Ash was on kindle, since it didn't show up as one of the formats on the main product page. I thought I was going to have to go to the bother of getting the nook book and then converting it, so thanks for mentioning that.


12. Warrior by Jennifer Fallon - Book 2 of the Wolfblade Trilogy; like it's predecessor, a great entry in the political-intrigue-fantasy genre. If you're waiting impatiently for the next ASoIaF book, you could do worse than this series.

13. The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust - I loved the voice (of the two main characters at least) and other various quirks of the book, such as the RPG-style character data charts. I can't say I was enamored with the story itself, which was all over the place (and too many POVs, as the story went on...). I would definitely read more by this author, though. Although, it doesn't appear he's written anything comparable.

14. Daughter of Regals & Other Tales by Stephen R. Donaldson - Wanted to give some Donaldson short stories a try, even though Thomas Convenant didn't really do anything for me, but I found this to just be mediocre sci-fi/fantasy fare.

15. The History Of The Hobbit Part Two: Return to Bag-End by John Rateliff - Only for Tolkien completists like myself, since this is the scholarly "and then he made this revision" type stuff in the vein of the Christopher Tolkien-edited History of Middle Earth series. I found it enjoyable, particularly reading it so soon after seeing the new Hobbit movie.

16. Fanboys vs. Zombies vol. 1 graphic novel by Sam Humphries - Pretty self-explanatory title. A zombie outbreak at a comic-con. The issue covers and easter egg gags in the art (slave Leia zombie, etc.) were more entertaining than the story, though.

17. Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 graphic novel by Kieron Gillen - I get a lot of X-Men TPBs from the bargain bin, so I don't read much stuff "in order"...so it's hard to compare one run with another, or even be able to keep track of continuity... This one is about a Cyclops-led team that also includes former villains such as Magneto.

18. Slaine: Book Of Invasions vol. 1 graphic novel by Pat Mills - I thought this was a new barbarian genre comic, but I guess there are prior Slaine books out there too. It didn't really work for me. I didn't like the art, which seemed to be some sort of photo-realistic CG (I'm making up that term). The character art was ugly, that is. (The vista scenes were beautiful, I have to admit.) The story itself was odd - set in Ireland, but the villain is the demon Moloch, who was a god worshiped in the ancient Middle East.

19. Hollowland part 1 graphic novel by Amanda Hocking (free on kindle) - YA dystopia (zombies); good enough that I also downloaded the free novel version.

Dang, son, I'm averaging a book a day so far. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

[polishgenius]

Kruppe, on 19 January 2014 - 10:51 PM, said:

Dang, son, I'm averaging a book a day so far. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Ash, whenever you get to it, should slow you up a bit. I love that book but it's fucking LONG.

[Tiste Simeon]

Kruppe, on 19 January 2014 - 10:51 PM, said:

Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 18 January 2014 - 10:23 PM, said:

Have also added Grunts! and Ash: A Secret History both by Mary Gentle and the Ex-Series to my wish list (on Kindle) so combined with the fact that I just bought the Thorns series I have a lot of excellent reading to look forward to this year after my Malazan reread!

Yes! Didn't even realize Ash was on kindle, since it didn't show up as one of the formats on the main product page. I thought I was going to have to go to the bother of getting the nook book and then converting it, so thanks for mentioning that.

Yeah from what I could tell most of her books are on Kindle and are about £1-3 each. Not too bad!

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 20 January 2014 - 01:20 AM, said:

Rep of Thievs is finally starting to pick up at 100 pgs in. The 6 yr old Locke arc was not cool to me.

It kind of just does the "fill in back story" bits for Sabetha...and nothing more. It's entertaining, but it's nothing super special.

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

polishgenius, on 19 January 2014 - 11:04 PM, said:

Kruppe, on 19 January 2014 - 10:51 PM, said:

Dang, son, I'm averaging a book a day so far. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Ash, whenever you get to it, should slow you up a bit. I love that book but it's fucking LONG.

Yes, I also just started Les Miserables, which is about the same length, ~1200 pages... Should have gotten that one on kindle, too. I'm going to hurt myself carrying it around.