[Jahdu]

Bought Blood Song by Anthony Ryan today... about 50 pages in. Damn good read so far

[Tiste Simeon]

Hamilton is an odd one. "Night's Dawn" trilogy was ace. That trilogy is unrelated to the "Commonwealth Saga". Which is a sort of sequel to the novel "Misspent Youth", in that it is in the same universe but set a few hundred years later. So events in MY effect TCS, but you don't need to have read one to read the others (though you may find it helpful.) The Void books are the same universe again but a whole bunch of years later. I've not read them so can't comment. He has also written a standalone novel called "Fallen Dragon" which was a bit rubbish IMO. I haven't read "Great North Road" but I believe it is standalone too.

My recommendation (for what it's worth) is definitely read "Night's Dawn" trilogy it is easily the best I have read. The "Commonwealth Saga" was also pretty good, but "Misspent Youth" was utter tripe. However it is short and a lot of the concepts that are predominant in "Commonwealth" (for example rejuvenation tech) are introduced there. Avoid fallen Dragon it isn't worth your time.

Hope that helps!

[Grief]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 27 April 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:

Yeah, I'm REALLY glad that wasn't my first Murakami. It might have scared me off. I've got KAFKA ON THE SHORE and 1Q84 lined up as the next two from him. I will eventually come back to WIND-UP, but not for at least two or three years.

Kafka on the Shore was the first I read, so I suspect I'm overly biased towards it. I often find that I over rate the first book I read by someone in comparison to the general consensus, particularly with authors that have a lot of stylistic and thematic overlap between works, I assume just due to the novelty of the style. I rate it as one of his best though. A lot of it is odd in much the same manner as Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (particularly in regards to the sexual weirdness, those are the two books I'd say it's most prominent in), but it has a much tighter narrative, and it reads a lot more quickly.

In an odd coincidence of timing, I just finished Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. To start out it almost seems like two totally separate books, with similar underlying ideas, written in alternating chapters. Sometimes this is jarring, sometimes it made me race to read on to find out what happens in the next alternate chapter. He then gradually brings the narratives together, and here I felt the pacing could've been a bit better. There is definitely an interesting idea to the structure, but I'm unsure if I'm sold on the execution. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't call it one of his best.

I've got a couple more of his in my to read pile, but they're not hugely high priority. I'll probably pick them up whenever I'm looking for something readable that I know I'm likely to enjoy.

It's my exams, so I'm not reading anything too long just now. I've got some Alice Munro short stories I'm working through, which are reasonably good, but want something more novella length. A friend got me Waiting for the Barbarians, so I may go for that.

[firvulag]

Tisteon Simeonus, on 27 April 2014 - 07:58 PM, said:

Hamilton is an odd one. "Night's Dawn" trilogy was ace. That trilogy is unrelated to the "Commonwealth Saga". Which is a sort of sequel to the novel "Misspent Youth", in that it is in the same universe but set a few hundred years later. So events in MY effect TCS, but you don't need to have read one to read the others (though you may find it helpful.) The Void books are the same universe again but a whole bunch of years later. I've not read them so can't comment. He has also written a standalone novel called "Fallen Dragon" which was a bit rubbish IMO. I haven't read "Great North Road" but I believe it is standalone too.

My recommendation (for what it's worth) is definitely read "Night's Dawn" trilogy it is easily the best I have read. The "Commonwealth Saga" was also pretty good, but "Misspent Youth" was utter tripe. However it is short and a lot of the concepts that are predominant in "Commonwealth" (for example rejuvenation tech) are introduced there. Avoid fallen Dragon it isn't worth your time.

Hope that helps!

Have to disagree a bit here. Whilst Misspent Youth isn't great by Hamilton standards it's not that bad. The Commonwealth Saga is set a few hundred years after it and the Void trilogy is set about 1000 years after that. You don't have to have read the Commonwealth saga to get the void trilogy as only a few of the characters from the former are present in the latter. I think most people (i.e. me) found the Commonwealth saga and void trilogy to be more accessible than the Night's Dawn Trilogy. While they are great books they are pretty heavy going. The NDT is about 1 million words in total length :S

I personally loved Fallen Dragon, and it's one of my favourite Hamilton books. It's totally stand alone and is not linked in any way to his other works.

Great North Road was pretty good but not as good as his other stuff.

You could also try his Mendel trilogy, starting with Mind Star Rising

[Stalker]

Finished Rivers of London and the next book, Moon Over Soho. I liked how heavily London tied into both, fittingly. I've been there twice so it was cool to have it set in places I've seen. There were a few new cool ideas, though still your typical urban fantasy novel just with great execution and some gruesome deaths. The occasional cockney slang was tough to get, but bonus points for authenticity.


I'm planning on holding off on books 3 and 4 while I jump over to Chris Wooding. IH says it gets better as it goes, so definitely looking forward to some sky pirates.

[Tiste Simeon]

firvulag, on 27 April 2014 - 10:21 PM, said:

Tisteon Simeonus, on 27 April 2014 - 07:58 PM, said:

Hamilton is an odd one. "Night's Dawn" trilogy was ace. That trilogy is unrelated to the "Commonwealth Saga". Which is a sort of sequel to the novel "Misspent Youth", in that it is in the same universe but set a few hundred years later. So events in MY effect TCS, but you don't need to have read one to read the others (though you may find it helpful.) The Void books are the same universe again but a whole bunch of years later. I've not read them so can't comment. He has also written a standalone novel called "Fallen Dragon" which was a bit rubbish IMO. I haven't read "Great North Road" but I believe it is standalone too.

My recommendation (for what it's worth) is definitely read "Night's Dawn" trilogy it is easily the best I have read. The "Commonwealth Saga" was also pretty good, but "Misspent Youth" was utter tripe. However it is short and a lot of the concepts that are predominant in "Commonwealth" (for example rejuvenation tech) are introduced there. Avoid fallen Dragon it isn't worth your time.

Hope that helps!

Have to disagree a bit here. Whilst Misspent Youth isn't great by Hamilton standards it's not that bad. The Commonwealth Saga is set a few hundred years after it and the Void trilogy is set about 1000 years after that. You don't have to have read the Commonwealth saga to get the void trilogy as only a few of the characters from the former are present in the latter. I think most people (i.e. me) found the Commonwealth saga and void trilogy to be more accessible than the Night's Dawn Trilogy. While they are great books they are pretty heavy going. The NDT is about 1 million words in total length :S

I personally loved Fallen Dragon, and it's one of my favourite Hamilton books. It's totally stand alone and is not linked in any way to his other works.

Great North Road was pretty good but not as good as his other stuff.

You could also try his Mendel trilogy, starting with Mind Star Rising

Fair enough. I thought Fallen Dragon was boring and the lead character annoying but such is individual taste! I liked the Commonwealth Saga and aim to read the Void trilogy and while I disliked Misspent Youth I'm glad I read it before Commonwealth as it did add a level of knowledge to it. Yes I will agree that NDT Is pretty heavy but I like that. I would say that while nothing will truly compare with MBOTF in terms of scope, NDT does a darn good job of it and the world's visited are different enough to keep it interesting.

[Andorion]

Rageun Cajun, on 27 April 2014 - 07:44 PM, said:

As a matter of fact where does one start with Hamilton? I Void or Commonweatlh or something else? Don't they all tie in together?

For Hamilton, start with the Commonwealth - Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Then read the Void series Dreaming Void, Temporal Void, Evolutionary Void.

The other stuff like Neutronium Alchemist, Reality dysfunction etc are in a separate universe.

[Serenity]

I'd highly recommend Hamilton's 'Night's Dawn' trilogy, it's far and away my favourite of his. I enjoyed the his 'Greg Mandel' trilogy, too. Wasn't so keen on the 'Commonwealth Saga'.

Over the weekend I read Bujold's 'The Mountains of Mourning' novella. Then I made a start on Luke Romyn's 'Beyond Hades' but found I really wasn't in the mood for it. Has anyone here read it? Can't make up my mind whether it's worth hanging onto or not.

So now I'm reading Mary Gentle's 'Ash: A Secret History'. Might take a while . . .

[Chance]

Just finished Crimson Campaign probably better then the first one mostly because I knew all the major characters more or less. There are still too many storylines to really do justice to half the characters and plots in so few pages leaving it a bit generic much of the time. Not the best fantasy around but a very easy read and fairly entertaining with occational moments of awsome.

This post has been edited by Chance: 28 April 2014 - 06:03 PM

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

Sorry for yet another megapost. Feel free to skim.

68. Awakening (Valkyrie Diaries, #1) by K.A. Young - YA mashup of supernatural fantasy and dystopian fiction. Not awful, just didn't work for me.

69. FALLEN (Descendants Saga, Book 1) by James Somers - Speaking of mashups, this one tries to combine Christian fiction with urban fantasy, and is even more unsuccessful.

70. Bob and his Beer graphic novel by Sarah and Cary Stringfield - Clever story about loss and grief and what a small, interconnected world we live in.

And now for some manga:

71. Black Lagoon, Vol. 1 by Rei Hiroe

72. Dr. Slump, Vol. 1 by Akira Toriyama - Cute story about a weird scientist and his invention, a robot "niece".

73. Rosario + Vampire, Vol. 1 by Akihisa Ikeda

74. COWA! by Akira Toriyama - Another cute comic about lil' monsters. Not quite as laugh out loud funny as Dr. Slump.

More GNs:

75. Boobage graphic novel by Monica Gallagher - About a young woman who frets over her small chest. Not that I don't like boobs as much as the next person, but not something I would normally read, just saying... Got it in a 100 comics for $10 deal from comixology.

76. I Rule The Night by Kevin Colden - More fretting from a young woman, this time a former superhero sidekick who obsesses over her past life with "The Night Devil." Gets very meta toward the end. Excellent read, available as 99 cent single issues from comixology.

77. Wolverine: Logan graphic novel by Brian K Vaughan - I don't think I've ever read anything by Vaughn that I didn't enjoy immensely.

78. Ex Machina, Vol. 1 graphic novel by the aforementioned - Another good one.

79. Twilight Monk Book 1 by Trent Kaniuga

80. One Trick Rip Off: Deep Cuts TP by Paul Pope

81. The Mire graphic novel by Becky Cloonan

82. Black Widow: The Name of the Rose graphic novel by Marjorie Liu - I've just never gotten into Marvel's B-list characters. I'm more of a Hulk/Spider-Man/X-Men type of guy...

83. Nathan Sorry Vol. 1 by Rich Barrett - About a guy who tries to disappear after being presumed dead on 9/11. Weird cliffhanger ending that makes me want to read Vol. 2 darnit.

84. Powers Volume 6: The Sellouts TPB by Brian Michael Bendis - I read the first 5 of these in print way back when, until it just got too expensive. God bless digital sales.

85. Catwoman: The Game graphic novel by Judd Winick - Bah! Haven't been impressed with much of the New52 besides Suicide Squad, and:

86. Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark by Peter Milligan - Ok, not great, not terrible.

87. Kinds of Blue by Karen Beilharz - Graphic novel anthology about depression.

88. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: On Your Own graphic novel - I loves me some Spike, king of the alien bugs.

89. G-Man: Learning to Fly graphic novel - Sort of like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but the kids are superheroes.

Some forgettable, mediocre, self-published Kindle SF/F:

90. The Weight of Blood (The Half-Orcs, Book 1) by David Dalglish

91. The Call of Agon: Book One of The Children of Telm by Dean F. Wilson

92. A Thirst for Vengeance (The Ashes Saga, Volume 1) by Edward M. Knight

93. Crimes Against Magic (The Hellequin Chronicles, Book 1) by Steve McHugh

94. Disenchanted by Robert Kroese

95. I Bring the Fire Part I : Wolves (A Loki Story) by C. Gockel

96. The Eden Project: Humanity's Last Chance by DP Fitzsimons

97. In Your Dreams by Amy Martin

98. Knights: The Eye of Divinity by Robert E. Keller

Two I wanted to like, but didn't quite:

99. How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain

100. The Wretched of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood: Book 1) by Jeff Wheeler

Aha, finally a kindle deal that results in an enjoyable read:

101. Extinction Point by Paul Antony Jones - An end-of-the-world novel that doesn't involve zombies for a change.

102. Inside HBO's Game of Thrones by Bryan Cogman - Probably better in print, given how tiny the images are on kindle, but it's also a fraction of the price...

103. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Hey, kids, lots of classics are available free on kindle. I actually find Alcott a lot more tolerable than the way-too-chicklitty Ausen. Drags on too long, though. The movie is better, as it cuts out the most boring parts, which make up a good 2/3 of the book. I think they were paid by the word back in those days...

104. Bitterwood by James Maxey - Pass.

105. Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson - On the fence about this one. I like the space opera feel. I like the Raymond storyline, and a few others. Perhaps just too many characters / plot threads that I don't care about...

106. Orthe: Chronicles Of Carrick V by Mary Gentle - Reminiscent of C.J. Cherryh, which is to say I enjoyed it at first, but got more and more bored as I read. I will read the allegedly superior Ash in the near future.

107. The Magician's Book by Laura Miller - An interesting and fair critique of The Chronicles of Narnia, written by an agnostic who appreciates the series in spite of the heavy-handed Christianity.

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished "Thorns" trilogy, jolly good read! Not sure what to read now as I want to read the Void trilogy after the above Hamilton discussion but I don't have it so I guess I will probably read the Merrimack books instead.

[T77]

Finished A Memory of Light by Jordan/Sanderson and thought it was very good albeit a bit formulaic and predictable. I thought Sanderson did a great job finishing up the series. So much so I moved up The Way of Kings on my TBR pile, suggested by someone in this forum whose name I can't recall, sorry. Looking back at the huge Wheel of Time series I must say I enjoyed it. I almost did not even start it due to some negative comments and the length. It was a good world to get caught up in. Jordan didn't do any one thing particularly well - except for maybe characters, but he did a solid job in all areas and when you added it all up it exceeded as a whole.

[Serenity]

Chance, on 28 April 2014 - 06:01 PM, said:

Just finished Crimson Campaign probably better then the first one mostly because I knew all the major characters more or less.

Whenever I see 'Promise of Blood' I can't help thinking the character on the cover looks like George Lucas getting ready to shoot the next Star Wars fan who tells him episodes 1 to 3 were shit.

[McLovin]

Finished MORGAWR. And that concludes the VOYAGE OF THE JERLE SHANNARA. Pretty good for the most part. And after decades of only having read 1 Shannara book, now I've read 11. Don't know if I'll continue, but I also said that after book 7.

Finished CHANGES. I'd already been spoiled on the very end, so that wasn't the WTF moment I'm sure early readers got, but still, what a fantatstically ape-shit climax.

Started HERETICS OF DUNE.

[Baco Xtath]

Listening to Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend. I've read this three or four times but its been about three years since my last reread so I figure it's time.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Naomi Novak's Temeraire.

[Tiste Simeon]

Started The Myriad, the first "Tour of the Merrimack" novel by RM Meluch.

[Macros]

Finished The World Enough, and Time, by James Kahn last week. Sent it by Stormcat in the WEE

A fucking weird book, well outside my usual scipe, good, a few wtf moments pulled me out as being a bit left field even for me, but I'm glad I read it.
but not when I read it. I went on the rip over Easter, proper 4 day effort, so was in absolute pieces on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Finished the book Wednesday night and the horrors came with thee fucking maddest dreams I've ever had. Like totally insane brought on by the combination of the sweats and this book.

back to the book, quite short. Drops you into a strange world but its developed and the history of man (from the books frame of reference) is fantastically laid out.

I suck at recviews.
its good, not what I was expecting, and wierd as hell in places.

[firvulag]

Just finished Zone One by Coulson Whitehead. Have to say it's pretty unique as a zombie novel. There's very little actual zombie action in it. The book is mostly about the aftermath, as people are clearing stragglers from Manhattan in order to make it livable again. Pretty much everyone in the book is suffering from what they call PASD, Post Apocalypse Stress Disorder. I actually found it very sad to read as a result, but definitely recommended if you want an alternative take on zombies.

Just started The Bone Doll's Twin, first book the Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling. Only into the 2nd chapter but loving it already

[worry]

Sounds cool. I'm sick of trilogies anyway so I'm looking to find a good triad.