[Traveller]

Well I'll be damned.

With only one day to go until the new Peter Grant book, I flick through my kindle for something to read to keep me occupied.. and I start Gardens of the Moon.

And now I can't put it down. It's been a while; it's so familiar but kind of new as I've read so much since I last picked it up.

[polishgenius]

I've been reading fuckloads this week because my new job means a two-hour commute (each way) until I find a new place to live.

So:

King's Blood Four by Sheri S. Tepper. A decent read, some good ideas but it's a bit slight. Though it is the first of a long series.

Magician by Raymond E. Feist, mostly because it was mega-cheap on Kobo. Nostalgia kick! I don't think I'll ever not love this book.

Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer. I'm not convinced by the trilogy, overall. Some great stuff in it but in the end it didn't quite come together, for me. Nowhere near the heights of Ambergris.

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne-Jones, a delightful book.

And started the first Honor Harrington book because after Ancillary Sword I'd felt I wanted a military SF book and it turns out it's available free on Kobo (as is the second one). Fun so far.

[caladanbrood]

Foxglove Summer it is. Willful Child will have to willfully wait.

[Andorion]

15 chapters into Scott Westerfelds Leviathan. For a book that is clearly aimed at the YA genre, I find it to be very good. The alternative technologies both Clankers, and biotech are very very interesting especially the biotech as they clearly have far-reaching implicatiosn beyond the military field. The writng is pretty nice though tending a bit to much towards the sugary sweet side.

[Andorion]

Finished Leviathan, about halfway into Behemoth. These books are very good. The twisty take on the First World War makes for very intriguing reading.

[QuickTidal]

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 01:50 AM, said:

Finished Leviathan, about halfway into Behemoth. These books are very good. The twisty take on the First World War makes for very intriguing reading.

Yep, they are all great. Westerfield is very adept at not talking down to his readers, and instead pushes them up with new ideas and settings.

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 16 November 2014 - 01:26 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 01:50 AM, said:

Finished Leviathan, about halfway into Behemoth. These books are very good. The twisty take on the First World War makes for very intriguing reading.

Yep, they are all great. Westerfield is very adept at not talking down to his readers, and instead pushes them up with new ideas and settings.

I've seen these books mentioned a lot maybe I should check them out.

[Andorion]

Finished Behemoth, halfway into Goliath. The adventures come thick and fast, cats are out of the bag, people are asking important questions. The only thing wriog with these book are that they are too short. I would really love to spend more time getting to know this fascinating alternate reality Westerfeld has created.

[Andorion]

Tiste Simeon, on 16 November 2014 - 03:09 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 16 November 2014 - 01:26 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 01:50 AM, said:

Finished Leviathan, about halfway into Behemoth. These books are very good. The twisty take on the First World War makes for very intriguing reading.

Yep, they are all great. Westerfield is very adept at not talking down to his readers, and instead pushes them up with new ideas and settings.

I've seen these books mentioned a lot maybe I should check them out.

They are near the top of any YA I have read. The only other author I can think of who tops this guy in YA is Jonathan Stroud in his Bartimaeus books.

[End of Disc One]

I should read Stroud's trilogy. I read another one of his books, Heroes of the Valley, and really enjoyed the sense of humor in it.

[polishgenius]

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 05:37 PM, said:

They are near the top of any YA I have read. The only other author I can think of who tops this guy in YA is Jonathan Stroud in his Bartimaeus books.

Phillip Pullman and Terry Pratchett both >> Stroud (I haven't read Westerfeld). The Bartimeus trilogy is very good but it ain't in their class.


I'm also a big fan of Sabriel by Garth Nix (I was less fond of the sequels though they were alright) and the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy by DM Cornish, which doesn't get nearly enough attention.

[JPK]

At the 78% mark on Ex-Patriots. Holy hell the reveals in this one about the villains have been amazing! Oh, and the little surprise about Cerberus was seriously awesome too. I make it a point to not go directly between books in a series these days but I think I'm gonna have to break that little rule when I finish this.

[Coco with marshmallows]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 16 November 2014 - 07:05 PM, said:

At the 78% mark on Ex-Patriots. Holy hell the reveals in this one about the villains have been amazing! Oh, and the little surprise about Cerberus was seriously awesome too. I make it a point to not go directly between books in a series these days but I think I'm gonna have to break that little rule when I finish this.

Do it.

The next three have some good stuff in them

[JPK]

Coco with marshmallows, on 16 November 2014 - 09:31 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 16 November 2014 - 07:05 PM, said:

At the 78% mark on Ex-Patriots. Holy hell the reveals in this one about the villains have been amazing! Oh, and the little surprise about Cerberus was seriously awesome too. I make it a point to not go directly between books in a series these days but I think I'm gonna have to break that little rule when I finish this.

Do it.

The next three have some good stuff in them

Next three? Thought there was only two after patriots. Purgatory and communication.

[Tiste Simeon]

polishgenius, on 16 November 2014 - 06:49 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 05:37 PM, said:

They are near the top of any YA I have read. The only other author I can think of who tops this guy in YA is Jonathan Stroud in his Bartimaeus books.

Phillip Pullman and Terry Pratchett both >> Stroud (I haven't read Westerfeld). The Bartimeus trilogy is very good but it ain't in their class.


I'm also a big fan of Sabriel by Garth Nix (I was less fond of the sequels though they were alright) and the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy by DM Cornish, which doesn't get nearly enough attention.

Pullman started well, book 2 was OK & book 3 was a mess. IMNSHO obviously.

[worry]

You crazy for that one, homie.

[Tru]

I'm about 52% through Book 3 of Sarah J. Maas's "Throne of Glass" series. I'd read all the novella's prior to starting the novels. So far I'm mixed. I like it well enough to finish the series, and the books being from 300-500 pages in length helps. The aspects of writing that Maas does well is she creates a decent overall story, and is pretty good at emotional scenes. What I don't like is her very obvious female bent when it comes character descriptions, and occasionally her "scenes" can be a bit contrived. I'm usually not much into female authors, but her writing improvement has shown over the course of this, her first published series. I'd recommend it for anyone who wants some lighter fare after a heavy dose of Erickson, or a long read like Sanderson's Stormlight series, and yet still wants a shot of fantasy.

[Andorion]

polishgenius, on 16 November 2014 - 06:49 PM, said:

Andorion, on 16 November 2014 - 05:37 PM, said:

They are near the top of any YA I have read. The only other author I can think of who tops this guy in YA is Jonathan Stroud in his Bartimaeus books.

Phillip Pullman and Terry Pratchett both >> Stroud (I haven't read Westerfeld). The Bartimeus trilogy is very good but it ain't in their class.


I'm also a big fan of Sabriel by Garth Nix (I was less fond of the sequels though they were alright) and the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy by DM Cornish, which doesn't get nearly enough attention.

By Pratchett did you mean the Tiffany Aching books? Pratchett is in a class all by himself. I dont usually compare him to other people. I haven't read Pullman. My brother is a big fan of Garth Nix though

[Abyss]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 16 November 2014 - 10:58 PM, said:

Coco with marshmallows, on 16 November 2014 - 09:31 PM, said:

The Incredible Kitsu, on 16 November 2014 - 07:05 PM, said:

At the 78% mark on Ex-Patriots. Holy hell the reveals in this one about the villains have been amazing! Oh, and the little surprise about Cerberus was seriously awesome too. I make it a point to not go directly between books in a series these days but I think I'm gonna have to break that little rule when I finish this.

Do it.

The next three have some good stuff in them

Next three? Thought there was only two after patriots. Purgatory and communication.

Heroes, Patriots, Purgatory and Communication.
There will be a fifth eventually we're told.
Tho he's writing other stuff in the meantime.

[polishgenius]

Tiste Simeon, on 16 November 2014 - 11:28 PM, said:

Pullman started well, book 2 was OK & book 3 was a mess. IMNSHO obviously.

A lot of people don't like book 3 for some reason but I thought it was amazing.

Which is a bit weird because I'm a practising Catholic, you'd have thought I'd have more problems with it than the average punter, not less.

Andorion, on 17 November 2014 - 01:35 AM, said:

By Pratchett did you mean the Tiffany Aching books? Pratchett is in a class all by himself. I dont usually compare him to other people. I haven't read Pullman. My brother is a big fan of Garth Nix though

I did mean those and also Nation.
You should definitely read Pullman. Even if you're in the camp that they get worse as they go along, Northern Lights/The Golden Compass is well worth it.