[Mentalist]

Finished "Elric of Melniboné and other stories" Review in the Moorcock thread.
In commute read, moving on to the next Elric book, "Fortress of the Pearl"

At home, about 100 pages left of DoD in the Malaz re-read. Expecting to finish this weekend.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 28 November 2015 - 05:26 AM

[JPK]

I finished Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor on audio. The first thing I'll say is it was difficult on audio for me in several areas due to a very intense accent in both of the narrators. I could usually make out what they were saying with some effort, but whenever they used "pidgin english" it became hopeless for me. Beyond that, I enjoyed the story alot, I suspect, due to the vast difference in the portrayed Nigerian culture and my own home in the states. Finally I do feel that the ending wasn't as strong as it could have been.

Next up I'm back in familiar territory worth Butcher's Summer Knight. I forgot how intense the Council can be.

[Tiste Simeon]

Flipping heck Ash is long. I've read tons of it and am like 6% through. Should keep me happy through Christmas.

[worry]

Are there natural break points in Ash?

[Tiste Simeon]

Yes but I want to keep reading. Just didn't realise quite how vast it is...

[Baco Xtath]

The Incredible Kitsu, on 28 November 2015 - 05:03 PM, said:

I finished Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor on audio. The first thing I'll say is it was difficult on audio for me in several areas due to a very intense accent in both of the narrators. I could usually make out what they were saying with some effort, but whenever they used "pidgin english" it became hopeless for me. Beyond that, I enjoyed the story alot, I suspect, due to the vast difference in the portrayed Nigerian culture and my own home in the states. Finally I do feel that the ending wasn't as strong as it could have been.

Next up I'm back in familiar territory worth Butcher's Summer Knight. I forgot how intense the Council can be.

I had to quit Lagoon an hour in because I had such difficulty understanding it. I'll give the written version a shot at some point.

[worry]

Hey it's like they say: Lagoona Matata!

[polishgenius]

Tiste Simeon, on 28 November 2015 - 10:50 PM, said:

Yes but I want to keep reading. Just didn't realise quite how vast it is...

It's fucking ridiculous, isn't it. But it is amazing.

On Lagoon: yeah, it's not one I'd recommend in audiobook. The written book comes with a glossary of pidgin terms, which obviously doesn't work in audio, and if you add strong accents in on top, any non-Nigerian is likely to struggle.

Good book though. Crazzzzzzy.

[Serenity]

Finished Ketchum's Off Season. Feck me, that book was unpleasant. Scary, though, and strangely compelling.

Complete change of pace now: I've made a start on Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn.

[Lycaenion]

Still reading The Night Circus, loving every step of the way.

[Andorion]

Finished 7 chapters of Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Not sure if I am going to finish this. It does not seem to have aged well at all. The most grating part is the gender relations: Ben, the principal male character upto now, is so patronising to Jill the principal female character. and the way she behaves, its quite likely this is a normal social attitude. Plus I also noted how there was a debate about sending an all-male crew or a crew of couples, but never an all female crew. I am going to try for a few more chapters, but so far I don't like it.

[Maark Abbott]

worry, on 28 November 2015 - 11:23 PM, said:

Hey it's like they say: Lagoona Matata!

It means no you, for the rest of your days.

[Stalker]

So finished Peter Clines' The Fold quickly after my last post, then finished his 14 last night. I didn't realize they were connected but after about 5 chapters of 14, I quickly figured it out.


Only loosely linked and can be read in any order but seems like reading The Fold first is more suspenseful and interesting. Good stuff.


Now up is By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Naissie. It's a World War One zombies thing, so should be fun. And listening to Predator One by Jonathan Maberry.

[Andorion]

So I read a few more chapters of Stranger in a Strange Land

What can I say, it actually got worse.

The rampant sexism continues, only now its garnished with gaping plot holes.

My basic take until now: I am going to put this in spoilers

Spoiler

1. Sexism. So much sexism. Women being patronised, being seen as sex objects etc. For example there is this 'author' whose preferred method of writing is to watch his beautiful secretaries frolic in the swimming pool as his method of writing is to "wire his gonads to his thalamus, bypassing the cerebrum" Oha nd one of them might be his grand daughter but he can't be bothered to find out
2. The women themselves are almost unbelievably stupid, the living embodiment of the shrewish wife stereotype, who is also stupid and credulous. The nurse protagonist becomes an effective character almost entirely through an unlikely accident. The professions of onscreen female characters so far encountered are secretary, nurse, astrologer
3. The government is stupid and corrupt and the top guy as in President of the US analogue only he rules the entire world is also stupid, and also corrupt. No good reason is given why this should be so.
4. The plot holes, so many of them, everywhere: the guy who is being kept secret and isolated can be visited by a nurse without authorisation if she has a working knowledge of the building design, which the government for some reason doesn't. When he is being hidden in a different patients quarters, the same nurse can stroll in, dress him in a nurses clothes and just walk out. Surveillance both electrical and manual are entirely absent'
5. A reporter is killed/kidnapped for no reason after his attempt to discredit the gov fails and he has no clue what to do and had ceased being an active threat
6. The only good parts of the book are the bits about Mars or the bits from the PoV of the Stranger, but these are scarce

I have no idea why I am still reading

This post has been edited by Andorion: 30 November 2015 - 05:48 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

Finished 2 books at my in-laws' over Thanksgiving weekend:

First was Ex-Purgatory, which I read in like 2 nights. I agree with others that it's easily the weakest in the series. Much of that, I think, is because

Spoiler

we already know the whole thing is a dream, but we have to get through the majority of the book with the heroes trying to figure that same thing out. Still well-conceived and -executed by Clines. Funnily, since it's been so long since I read the first three books, I was almost as much in the dark as the heroes as to what the "real" world was supposed to be like.

Then I finished my reread of Courtney Schafer's The Whitefire Crossing. Just as good as the last time. I'm always surprised by how much book is left after the titular crossing. Not entirely looking forward to the second book, as it (intentionally) screws up everything that made the first book great, but I really want to see how she ties everything up in Book Three. Definitely an underrated series.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 01 December 2015 - 05:21 AM

[acesn8s]

I'm almost done with Kurtz's Daggerspell. I don't know if I'll be picking up all 15 or so books. Book 1 is OK. I may give book 2 a shot and see if it get better.

[Stalker]

Briar King, on 30 November 2015 - 09:45 PM, said:

Well I guess it's pointless to read those Ex books now

Not really a spoiler and basically goes with the synopsis. Also has no bearing on books 1-3. Read them, enjoy them.

[Abyss]

Stalker, on 30 November 2015 - 10:40 PM, said:

Briar King, on 30 November 2015 - 09:45 PM, said:

Well I guess it's pointless to read those Ex books now

Not really a spoiler and basically goes with the synopsis. Also has no bearing on books 1-3. Read them, enjoy them.

Yeah dont stress BK, what SMZ posted is effectively the backofthebook blurb.

[Salt-Man Z]

Yeah, what the others said. I'll go ahead and spoiler tag it to be safe, though.

[Abyss]

Finished SM Stirling's CONQUISTADOR. not as good as LANCERS, but decent. Could have benefitted from better bad guys, tho the setting was fascinating.

On to LEVIATHAN WAKES. want to get into the books before the tv series.