[Mentalist]

Sat down for the nightly chapter of the Hussite trilo.

It was THAT chapter. I felt a bit floored. It's been a while since a book did that to me.

Ended up finishing the book (only took another 2 hours or so).

Bittersweet ending. In all senses.

Seriously great books. but put in me in a very melancholy mood re: the outcome of the stuff back home (also described by many as "Revolution".

But that's a non-literary aside. Speaking purely as books, great trilo. Parts 1 and 2 have a fairly hefty chunk of culture shock attached to them, which can make them a bit difficult to get into, but the payoff is totally worth it.

Not sure I'll read next. I was planning to jump into the Dagger&Coin/Expanse mix, but after the Hussite Trilo on one hand, and pseudo-serious-lit Cornelius Quartet on the other, I'm feeling something "harder". I'm leaning towards trying "10 Years Later" by Alexandre Dumas again. I read it many years ago, but I did A LOT of skimming back then. It feels fitting to the moment.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Dumbledude, on 11 February 2016 - 11:15 PM, said:

One third into whatever WOT I'm on (the fifth one, I can't remember these titles):

Spoiler

Feels kinda like a step back. I guess that's cuz all these books are 2/3 traveling from inn to inn before something happens. But total lack of Perrin so far is a real downer, and Mat's been mostly AWOL too. Anyway, it's all still mostly fine, still quite readable (elephants = boar-horses is kinda cute), but the one thing that's annoying me -- and seems to be ramped up in this book more than the first four combined -- is all the men are from Mars women are from Venus nonsense. I absolutely abhor when authors do this, and RJ always has but in moderation usually -- this book, it's CONSTANT. From both sides. Driving me batty.

I'd love to say it gets better with the Mars/Venus stuff.... but it really doesn't unfortunately.

I am re-reading Dresden. God, this stuff really is like crack. Two books down in two days, Grave Peril to start on my train to work this morning.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 17 February 2016 - 06:51 AM

[Abyss]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2016 - 06:49 AM, said:

I am re-reading Dresden. God, this stuff really is like crack. Two books down in two days, Grave Peril to start on my train to work this morning.

I have a pretty solid earbook TRP (TLTP?) going, but once I'm thru it, a Dresden reread in the form of earbook is so in the cards.

[Andorion]

Finished City of Blades. Awesome book.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Just received my UK paperback of Queen of Fire in the mail!

[JPK]

Abyss, on 17 February 2016 - 03:48 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2016 - 06:49 AM, said:

I am re-reading Dresden. God, this stuff really is like crack. Two books down in two days, Grave Peril to start on my train to work this morning.

I have a pretty solid earbook TRP (TLTP?) going, but once I'm thru it, a Dresden reread in the form of earbook is so in the cards.

I cannot recommended doing this highly enough. James Marsters IS Harry. I can pretty much promise that you'll never hear a different voice for him again after audio.

I'm now 350 pages into the main text of S. now (Ship of Theseus only), and for the first time in awhile I was actually upset that I had to stop reading and go to work.

[Andorion]

Finished Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.

I don't really know what to say. This is a very strange book. Its extremely dark and disturbing, yet quite original. Its like Gaiman, but also not like Gaiman,

I found it to be brilliant and very hard to put down. Yet I can see it polarizing people as well.

Anybody else read this?

[worry]

So it's what? Like magic realism & horror?

[Andorion]

Dumbledude, on 19 February 2016 - 03:03 AM, said:

So it's what? Like magic realism & horror?

There are horror elements especially in what happens to characters, but its really hard to categorize.

It takes the "gods living in the Modern world" trope, but takes it out of the whole pantheon issue and sets it in a huge history and magical universe. But the reader only gets glimpses of this, as its not really the plot, its the background setting. Then it takes the idea of "mundane guy gets dragged into mess" and "something wrong in the world" and mixes and plays with this stuff.

A lot of the weirdness of the book is how the story is told. Its very hard to describe but parts of it is like a sociopathic narrative.

[worry]

That's cool. I'll add it to my list.

[Salt-Man Z]

Andorion, on 19 February 2016 - 02:56 AM, said:

Finished Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.

I don't really know what to say. This is a very strange book. Its extremely dark and disturbing, yet quite original. Its like Gaiman, but also not like Gaiman,

I found it to be brilliant and very hard to put down. Yet I can see it polarizing people as well.

Anybody else read this?

Interesting to hear. I'm currently hoping to win a review copy through LibraryThing.

[Baco Xtath]

I loved Library at Mount Char. Most definitely worth reading.

[Abyss]

Trying to get back into REPUBLIC OF THEIVES.

Failing.


Up to bk 4 - NIGHTLIFE - of the Thurman CALnNIK series in earbook. These have steadily increased to good fun. Dude writes some solid action and got his metaphor problem under control, mostly.

[Mentalist]

Another week, another completed commute book. This time it's "The Cornelius Quartet". Extensive, diary-style review in the ded-Mooorcock-review-thread.

next I guess I'll check out that "World of Vadim Panov's Enclaves" book, "Blazing Ice". It'll be interested to see another take on what became a "shared universe" once Panov finished his original sequence.

[worry]

Umberto Eco passed away. I've never read him but a few of you have expressed fandom, right? And so has SE if I'm not mistaken.

[Macros]

Have a few hours to kill in travel limbo,
Picked up Stella Gemmells The City to read. Premise seems standard enough, but I was always curious how much of Fall of Kings was her work, as I didn't notice any transitional sections, so hoping its up to the same standards as troy, its certainly a weighty enough book, nearly 700 pages in thst mid sized paperback, like 6"*9"??

[Macros]

Hmmm, had a break there to eat (meat feast pizza and curly fires, thank you very much)
Im about 200 pages in, and Im most definitely interested enough to read more, little tidbits of The City's history, as well as afew glimpses into main characters backgrounds.
Its the ki d of setting Im very comfortable in, which helps, but it feels quite slow, I think this is my fault, Im doing Stella a diservuce by constantly thinking "ok, this is a character like X from David's work, expecting them to follow allong, and yes the outlines of the tired hero are there, the underdog who constantly achieves is there as well, but its also clearly being built into something much more than a drenai novel, which could be picked up and devoured at will out of sequence, done in 350 pages. By now it would be blood and thunder, men with the look of the eagles cutting the enemy to ribbons against all odds, were it a David Gemmell novel, and so the problems I have with the pace are entirely my own, brought about by my love of the drenai and troy novels.
This is clearly a different beast, whilst, in the combat sequences especially, you can see an echo of his influence, the prose and storylines are markedly more complex and I need to disengage this mental association I have as its interfering with an excellent introduction to a new world, characters and political scene. It feels like the start of a 5 book opus, the characters we've met so far have all been given decent screen time, but really only establishing who they are, anything to suggest what they will do (beyond the general who states his intentions) its wide open.
I like it
So far, another 3/4 to find out if the overarching plot engages me as well as the concept of The Coty and its characters

[Salt-Man Z]

Abyss, on 19 February 2016 - 05:56 PM, said:

Dude writes some solid action and got his metaphor problem under control, mostly.

Rob(yn) Thurman is a dudette.

[Puck]

Dumbledude, on 20 February 2016 - 02:25 AM, said:

Umberto Eco passed away. I've never read him but a few of you have expressed fandom, right? And so has SE if I'm not mistaken.

If you want to treat yourself read something by Eco. I admit to not having read his newest stuft, but The Name of the Rose will remain one of my alltime favourites (and a classic).

This post has been edited by Puck: 20 February 2016 - 09:23 PM

[worry]

Okie dokie, Puck.

I finished Fires of Heaven.

Spoiler

Last fifth of the book was pretty good. Like the siege of Cairhien on one hand and Galad starting a war w/ the Prophet to sneak some people out of town, most of what happens from that point is pretty sweet. I sometimes think Galad is based on me, since he always does the right thing, but I don't think our timelines support that. Balefire kinda sucks. Aviendha and Mat staying dead woulda been rad. I don't like it, so that's the one big sour note of the finale for me, but oh well.

RJ thinks women love men's calves above all else. Noted.

So the dead Forsaken at this point are: Baldy. Baghead. The absolute nobody w/ zero details in Tear. Rahvin -- who was pretty cool, but got no personality during the final battle, a real missed opportunity (same with Couladin, frankly). And Asmodean, unfortunately -- good character. I don't believe Lanfear is dead at all, and I still think Ishamael is a question mark.

I'm hoping Lanfear & Moirane falling through the gate means more of those fox and snake people.

I guess that's it for now.