[Tattersail_]

Abyss, on 23 October 2018 - 05:45 PM, said:

Zetubal, on 23 October 2018 - 05:22 PM, said:

So... I just finished Furies of Calderon / Codex Alera 1 this morning. I'd say it's cliché in all the right ways. Likable characters, strong prose, and an interesting magic system really carry the novel. If this story had been handled by a less capable writer, it would probably have been incredibly derivative and forgettable. That said, it's not a great book in itself. Far too predictable, very unoriginal characters, clumsy obvious foreshadowing.
Going back to Butcher legendary comic con panel, it's really easy to see how Butcher tried to make a point with this book. You can actually write an entertaining, decent novel even if you used tired clichés. Still, I feel that Butcher went a bit too far with this. The novel would definitely have benefited from a few more twists and turns. Or a main character who isn't a shounen protagonist.

On to Academ's Fury.

All true.

But NOW you get to the good stuff.

This series for me has the greatest villain of any series I've ever read. I still think about her years after reading.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk (translated by Christopher Moseley)

[Abyss]

Tattersail_, on 25 October 2018 - 02:28 PM, said:

Abyss, on 23 October 2018 - 05:45 PM, said:

Zetubal, on 23 October 2018 - 05:22 PM, said:

So... I just finished Furies of Calderon / Codex Alera 1 this morning. I'd say it's cliché in all the right ways. Likable characters, strong prose, and an interesting magic system really carry the novel. If this story had been handled by a less capable writer, it would probably have been incredibly derivative and forgettable. That said, it's not a great book in itself. Far too predictable, very unoriginal characters, clumsy obvious foreshadowing.
Going back to Butcher legendary comic con panel, it's really easy to see how Butcher tried to make a point with this book. You can actually write an entertaining, decent novel even if you used tired clichés. Still, I feel that Butcher went a bit too far with this. The novel would definitely have benefited from a few more twists and turns. Or a main character who isn't a shounen protagonist.

On to Academ's Fury.

All true.

But NOW you get to the good stuff.

This series for me has the greatest villain of any series I've ever read. I still think about her years after reading.

Pervert.

[Mentalist]

Since I fulfilled my Pictionary obligation, I'll also start a home read: "Who Fears Death"

[Abyss]

Just finished Eames’ BLOODY ROSE, sequel to Kings of the Wylde. It was pretty great. Engaging characters, tons of great action (seriously the big action scenes are pure fantasy candy), witty, fun refs to music and DnD... fast too. He raised his game a bit since Kings... not massively, but the characters had a little more depth, the risks a little higher that some of them wouldn’t make it. Great read and i’ll utterly grab whatever he writes next.
Earbook narrator was awesome.

Next up... Richard Morgan’s latest is ready to dl but I may wait the extra couple of days to hit Stross’ next LAUNDRY book first.

[polishgenius]

I read The Rise and Fall of DODO. Took a while to really get into it, enjoyed it in the end. I suspect the co-writer Nicole Galland did a lot more of the writing than is generally talked about in the discussion of this book though- it dropped a lot of the usual Stephenson tics and at one point openly took the piss out of the infodumping habit, plus while it took Stephenson's ideas, it didn't really do the usual Stephenson thing of 'I'm going to do some exploration of this idea, come with me' stuff, it just told a story around the basic blocks. Which isn't a criticsm, it's just not what he usually does.




Now I'm reading A War in Crimson Embers, the final book of Alex Marshall's Crimson Empire series. Up to scratch so far.

[pat5150]

I just finished Glen Cook's much-anticipated Port of Shadows.

A major disappointment, no question about it. And not just because of the misogynistic content, the rape, the incest, and the necrophilia. The plot goes nowhere and is often downright boring.

This is all filler, no killer.

[QuickTidal]

pat5150, on 28 October 2018 - 08:09 PM, said:

I just finished Glen Cook's much-anticipated Port of Shadows.

A major disappointment, no question about it. And not just because of the misogynistic content, the rape, the incest, and the necrophilia. The plot goes nowhere and is often downright boring.

This is all filler, no killer.

This seems to be the prevailing view of the book so far. The plot points that are extra cringey AF (which I’ve heard are supposed to be that way on purpose; but that doesn’t make them any easier to read) and it seems like Cook went way overboard in his attempts to do something new here. I will likely skip this one, as it sounds like it’s a thought experiment in super grim dark more than anything else, and doesn’t add much to the overall BC narrative.

Speaking of Black Company, finished SHADOW GAMES, and enjoyed it...but I will say that...

Spoiler

the reveal that more than one of the shadowmasters, AND the “stump” ended up being survived Taken...was dissapointing. This was a shot at making powerful new entities in the south for the BC to contend with, but Cook falls back on some old faithfuls...

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 29 October 2018 - 02:49 PM

[Andorion]

Finished:
Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff - brilliant sequel to the first book. I really like Kristoff.

Helliconia trilogy by Brian Aldiss - excellent concept but in my opinion it flopped a bit in execution, especially the third book.

Ravencry by Ed McDonald - good sequel, not as good as the first book.

Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede - loved the world, really wanted an adult PoV though.

Aching God by Mike Shel - extremely entertaining and very well written adventure. I could not believe this was a debut.

Stiger's Tigers by Marc Alan Edelheit - Roman legions with a warhammer flavour.

The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko - deliciously dark Russian urban fantasy. A tad too philosophical at times but a pretty good read.

Titan by John Varley - very weird
The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French - entertaining, but dragged a bit.

Currently reading:
Valley of Embers by Steven Kelliher.

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 19 October 2018 - 02:08 AM, said:

Rejoice! A Knife to the Heart

No earbook anywhere til mid Nov, apparently.

Crap.

On the bright side the next WILLFUL CHILD will be released around then too, so i get like 40 hours of SE SF goodness.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 29 October 2018 - 05:38 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 19 October 2018 - 02:08 AM, said:

Rejoice! A Knife to the Heart

No earbook anywhere til mid Nov, apparently.

Crap.

On the bright side the next WILLFUL CHILD will be released around then too, so i get like 40 hours of SE SF goodness.

Can't imagine what it will be like in earbook but I am seriously enjoying it so far. There isn't really any action as such, but the action is all unfolded through various conversations and suchlike. He always says it would be a thought experiment rather than a straight up sci-fi novel and that much is very true but flipping heck it's fascinating.

[Salt-Man Z]

Finished Caitlin R. Kiernan's Daughter of Hounds. Very good. It got pretty Weird for a bit there, but I loved it.

Up next I'll be starting her The Drowning Girl, but I'm also picking through some short stories from The Apex Book of World SF 5 in the meantime (very very good.)

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 31 October 2018 - 02:19 AM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

pat5150, on 28 October 2018 - 08:09 PM, said:

I just finished Glen Cook's much-anticipated Port of Shadows.

A major disappointment, no question about it. And not just because of the misogynistic content, the rape, the incest, and the necrophilia. The plot goes nowhere and is often downright boring.

This is all filler, no killer.

That was about how I felt too — a major disappointment (though, it did whet my appetite for a reread of the good books!).

[polishgenius]

Tiste Simeon, on 29 October 2018 - 06:55 PM, said:

Can't imagine what it will be like in earbook but I am seriously enjoying it so far. There isn't really any action as such, but the action is all unfolded through various conversations and suchlike. He always says it would be a thought experiment rather than a straight up sci-fi novel and that much is very true but flipping heck it's fascinating.

This sounds more and more like Erikson was inspired by Kethani. Wonder if he's ever heard of it.

[Tiste Simeon]

polishgenius, on 29 October 2018 - 08:52 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 29 October 2018 - 06:55 PM, said:

Can't imagine what it will be like in earbook but I am seriously enjoying it so far. There isn't really any action as such, but the action is all unfolded through various conversations and suchlike. He always says it would be a thought experiment rather than a straight up sci-fi novel and that much is very true but flipping heck it's fascinating.

This sounds more and more like Erikson was inspired by Kethani. Wonder if he's ever heard of it.

I don't know. I've never heard of Kethani myself so can't comment.

[polishgenius]

Tiste Simeon, on 29 October 2018 - 09:34 PM, said:

I don't know. I've never heard of Kethani myself so can't comment.

It's a first-contact book about an alien race arriving on Earth via giant pillars dropped on the landscape and offering immortality and freedom of the universe to anyone who wants it. It's told entirely through a series of connected vignettes and short stories detailing the reactions to this news of the denizens of one English village, exploring into moral, philosophical and all that kind of discussion on the subject.

Not a book for everyone but when I read it (which was a long time ago tbf) I thought it was amazing.

[Tiste Simeon]

Yeah I guess it sounds similar!

[Tattersail_]

So that's the Kings of the Wyld read, and Bloody Rose too. Both fantastic books and quite enjoyable. I found myself reading them than watching favourite TV shows or playing computer games. Anybody recommend anything new to read?

[Abyss]

A few chapters into Stross' latest LAUNDRY FILES book, THE LABYRINTH INDEX. Wow... CASE NIGHTMARE YOU ARE SO UTTERLY BONED.
Great earbook narrator, manages to make a brief history of UK gov cafeteria food entertaining. Doesn't hurt that it's a vampire and a combat sorceress assessing the food.

[QuickTidal]

Halfway through WILDCARDS volume II (ACES HIGH), and it’s as excellent as volume I, if not better. Some really cool stuff in the offing.