[Baco Xtath]

polishgenius, on 14 March 2014 - 07:11 PM, said:

I dunno. It definitely covers its ground quite quickly, but I think taking more time wouldn't leave enough ground for the future books.

Having now finished it, it's definitely a book where the sequels will affect how this one is judged. The total opposite of Ambergris where, although interlinked, the three books are plot and style-wise very disparate.

Just pre-ordered Authority, the second book in the trilogy and it's 352 pages to Annihilation's 209 so it looks like I'm getting my wish. However, we get a new character perspective, "Control", who leads Southern Reach and it looks like it will be either a series of short stories, excerpts from previous expeditions, or just his investigation of them. Either way, outta be good.

Almost done with Happy Hour in Hell. Not a fan of this one. Williams' writing is phenomenal, narration is great, I just don't like listening to 14+ hours of exploring hell. Anyway, next up Red Rising.

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished DoD! Onto TCG!

[Macros]

Really struggling to give a duck about anyone other than the corben arc in John Gwyne's Malice

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

39. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher - Still on the fence about these... Veered too much into a political-intrigue fantasy, and too far away from the magic system that I had found to be potentially much more interesting. On the verge of abandoning this series.

40. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Freefall graphic novel by Andrew Chambliss et al.- I find these consistently entertaining. If you were a fan of the show, you ought to be reading the GN's as well.

41. Dies The Fire by S. M. Stirling - I wanted to check out another dystopian read after being disappointed in King's Under The Dome. This was much better, but the increasingly implausible character demographics kept knocking me out of the novel. Wiccans, and Nazis, and Bears, OH MY!

42. Gamearth by Kevin J. Anderson - Interesting concept (RPG characters gain sentience and try to stop their "creators" from deleting their world), but I was bored by the execution.

43. G.I. Joe Omnibus Vol. 1 graphic novel - Interesting, modern take on these characters. I will continue reading if I find cheap used copies.

44. Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves - I've read several "multiple universe" type novels in the last few years, a plot that ought to be right up my alley, but I've just been bored by all of them...

45. Magic Zero by Thomas E. Sniegoski and Christopher Golden - These authors had an interesting league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen-like series of books a few years back (The Menagerie)...but this is another one to file under interesting concept (main character is the ONLY person without magic), dull execution.

46. Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe - I realize my SF/F fan membership card is void if I don't like Gene Wolfe, but...I don't know man. Could not get into. Maybe the prose was just too dry for me, ala Glen Cook's Black Company series.

47. Blackdog by K. V. Johansen - Solid read, interesting world and characters (incarnate gods/goddesses, etc.). Sort of feels like Malazan if it had been written by J.V. Jones. I will continue this series.

48. and 49. The Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Vol. 1 and Robots In Disguise Vol. 1 by John Barber et al. - Wow! Best Transformers stories ever...?! Dare I say it, better even than Simon Furman's stuff? After being underwhelmed by Dreamwave's reboot, I went back to reading the classic series, and only halfheartedly kept following when IDW took over. But wow. Good stuff here. Now I have to wait and hope for cheap omnibus and/or digital versions, because these are long series...and somehow I completely missed the prior series (For All Mankind), as well.

50. Toll the Hounds - Well, this is by SE, so what do I even need to say. I will comment in the TtH thread if I see an interesting topic.

Ok, all caught up with my print reads. I have lots of e-books to add, but I will do so at a later date.

[amphibian]

Parahumans is immense and very, very, very good: parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/

Think a mean version of the people with powers from Heroes etc. and add to that Breaking Bad, with the escalation from small-time to mind-meltingly awesome. Then make the main character a 16 year old girl who doesn't ever tip into Mary Sue Perfect territory.

It's brilliant and it needs to be a book series as soon as possible.

[QuickTidal]

Kruppe, on 19 March 2014 - 09:10 PM, said:

39. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher - Still on the fence about these... Veered too much into a political-intrigue fantasy, and too far away from the magic system that I had found to be potentially much more interesting. On the verge of abandoning this series.

Stick with it through book 3....there are some MAJOR revelations in that volume that amp the series into the stratosphere. If at the end of Book 3 you aren't on board, then abandon it...but yeah CURSOR'S FURY is REALLY something special.

[Imperial Historian]

amphibian, on 19 March 2014 - 10:29 PM, said:

Parahumans is immense and very, very, very good: parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/

Think a mean version of the people with powers from Heroes etc. and add to that Breaking Bad, with the escalation from small-time to mind-meltingly awesome. Then make the main character a 16 year old girl who doesn't ever tip into Mary Sue Perfect territory.

It's brilliant and it needs to be a book series as soon as possible.

Agreed, it definitely escalates to ridiculous levels. Some of the chapters need a little editing, but the comments mean most errors get fixed soon after posting. Definitely the best web serial I've come across, the quality of writing is above what I'd expect for the medium (though I can see this method of publication becoming more popular). His new series pact is also worth a look.

[D'iversify]

Finished Forge of Darkness. Very enjoyable in general, I think Erikson's plotting is also getting a bit tighter (things are more deliberately pieced together, less room for happenstance, though that's not to say that things are at all spoonfed).

[amphibian]

Imperial Historian, on 20 March 2014 - 03:22 AM, said:

amphibian, on 19 March 2014 - 10:29 PM, said:

Parahumans is immense and very, very, very good: parahumans.wordpress.com/table-of-contents/

Think a mean version of the people with powers from Heroes etc. and add to that Breaking Bad, with the escalation from small-time to mind-meltingly awesome. Then make the main character a 16 year old girl who doesn't ever tip into Mary Sue Perfect territory.

It's brilliant and it needs to be a book series as soon as possible.

Agreed, it definitely escalates to ridiculous levels. Some of the chapters need a little editing, but the comments mean most errors get fixed soon after posting. Definitely the best web serial I've come across, the quality of writing is above what I'd expect for the medium (though I can see this method of publication becoming more popular). His new series pact is also worth a look.

I would already rank Parahumans an 8 out of 10 for a series. It's that good.

The weak spots come in the Chicago time and again in the Case 53 team motivations. If further editing improves things, then this will be a 9 or 9.5 out of 10 for the entire SF field. McCrae is a true talent and I've actually already sent his info/series on to a potential publisher (not one of the big SF ones).

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

QuickTidal, on 19 March 2014 - 10:48 PM, said:

Kruppe, on 19 March 2014 - 09:10 PM, said:

39. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher - Still on the fence about these... Veered too much into a political-intrigue fantasy, and too far away from the magic system that I had found to be potentially much more interesting. On the verge of abandoning this series.

Stick with it through book 3....there are some MAJOR revelations in that volume that amp the series into the stratosphere. If at the end of Book 3 you aren't on board, then abandon it...but yeah CURSOR'S FURY is REALLY something special.

Briar King, on 20 March 2014 - 02:52 AM, said:

Yep bk 3 is really the magic volume for knowing your reading something special and then they just keep getting better! Stick with it esp if you already have the other books.

Well... Alright then.

[polishgenius]

Tbh, and I'm sure I've made this point before the picky bastard that I am , I didn't think Codex Alera was that good, apart from book 5 which was fairly strong. It tries to do too much too fast and Tavi is a dreadful character. I mean, it's enjoyable, but it's got none of the Dresden Files' magic.

But if it's the balls-to-the-wall magic that you're after, it's probably worth continuing.



I'm currently reading Zeroville by Steve Erickson - yes, after years of correcting people who make the mistake I finally took the plunge and read the other SE! Chose Zeroville as I like stories about cinema which this is, though as it goes I'm finding the constant references to classic films a bit too on-the-nose, especially the tic of describing films without titling them as several already have been films I want to see but haven't yet (while others are just references I haven't understood). It's probably aimed at people more versed in pre-80s cinema history than me...

Still, it's good. He seems something of a storytelling kindred-spirit of Iain Banks. I'll certainly be reading more of him even if the specific eccentricities of this book end up annoying me a bit too much, coz this is clearly one of those special brains at work.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 20 March 2014 - 10:09 PM

[worry]

If you don't like book 3, you might get into book 4 where the stakes are really raised. If that's not your cup of tea though, 5 is really a doozy of a romp, so it might strike your fancy. After that, I dunno, do what you like of course, but I'm warning you: don't skip book 6!

[Baco Xtath]

About half way through Red Rising. It's pretty good but I'm getting a little worn out with boy in school storylines (Emperor's Blades, Blood Song). Damn good narrator though. Having a hard time finishing Canticle (Psalms of Isaak 2); it's good but, I don't know, just not enough action or something. Anyone else read this and are books 3 and 4 any good. Also just started listening to All the Windwracked Stars.

Think I'm going to read Reynolds' Troika next then Hard Luck Hank.

[Macros]

I dunno worry, one and six were by far the weakest for me. One was first book syndrome and even stylidtically seems weaker.
six is just a shitfight of sillyness

[worry]

Yah I've heard book six really bugs a lot of people.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 21 March 2014 - 08:13 AM, said:

Yah I've heard book six really bugs a lot of people.

I found it to be a solid ending, if not exactly the one I wanted. The middle of the series is definitely the high water mark in comparison.

Still, I feel the series is worth the time.

[Macros]

Don't get me wrong, the series as a whole I enjoyed, could have been a book shorter in regards to total content and made the ending a bit more.. Well dangerous and meaningful.
but there's threads already about on the series

Just finished Malice.

certainly a solid debut, will be tuning in for the second episode. However the man is certainly trying too hard to be fat George. Betrayal and intrigue, stabbity stab stab. Some glaringly obvious plot direction, from early chapters obvious, but still entertaining, and there's enough of a plot that Im interested in to bring me back, isn't that what matters after all?

[Abyss]

worry, on 21 March 2014 - 08:13 AM, said:

Yah I've heard book six really bugs a lot of people.

I see what you did there.
I liked the codex alera series and found it steadily improved. Not Dresden awesome, but I got my dollars worth.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Reading the Copper Promise by Jen Williams.

Good fun, not brilliant, but better than average.

Also, in honour of the current page number:



Should read some horror next I think

Edited for spelling.....

This post has been edited by I Am Brian Blessed Not Brent Weeks: 21 March 2014 - 11:31 PM

[QuickTidal]

Finished THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley. Easily one of the finest, and most enjoyable little romps I've read in a long while. Excellent and simple prose, a clever (but not overly hard to guess or convoluted) mystery. the protagonist is an absolute wonder. the setting superb. There was simply nothing about it to dislike.

I was, in fact, so impressed that I jumped online and ordered the next three books in the series and I can't wait to dig back in.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 21 March 2014 - 11:18 PM