[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 14 October 2020 - 03:01 AM, said:

Just a poor French girl who cut a really bad deal with a clever devil in 1700, getting by in 2014 NYC. Til stuff happens, but I don't spoil.

Wait what? That sounds fascinating!

[Chance]

Re-reading the Laundry files, starting the Apocalypse Codex now and so far they probably get better read back to back. I even imagine the really poor one might get more interesting this time around. More investment in the minor characters due to actually remembering them is probably a good thing for when the story diverges from Bob.

Traveller, on 14 October 2020 - 03:52 PM, said:

Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds.

Nice cross between an Iain Banks and Richard Morgan. Without the humour of the former and the.. weird creepy parts of the latter.

The weird creepy arrives in book 2.

This post has been edited by Chance: 14 October 2020 - 04:06 PM

[QuickTidal]

Chance, on 14 October 2020 - 04:04 PM, said:

Traveller, on 14 October 2020 - 03:52 PM, said:

Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds.

Nice cross between an Iain Banks and Richard Morgan. Without the humour of the former and the.. weird creepy parts of the latter.

The weird creepy arrives in book 2.

And goes into the stratosphere in Book 3.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 14 October 2020 - 04:19 PM

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 13 October 2020 - 06:39 PM, said:

Abyss, on 13 October 2020 - 05:57 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 12 October 2020 - 04:38 AM, said:

Abyss, on 12 October 2020 - 02:26 AM, said:

...


....and now, Victoria Schwab's THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE. About 25% in and very enjoying this. It's urban fantasy to an extent, but subtle, the protagonist is cursed to live forever but be instantly forgotten by everyone she meets. The reader learns the ins and outside of the curse w her, and it's very well done. So far, so good. I can see why the media rights were swooped up fast, tho not sure a screen can do it justice.

That last one sounds very much like THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF HOPE by Clare North.

amphibian, on 12 October 2020 - 02:04 PM, said:

That similarity is exactly why I avoided reading it. I tend to think North is a better writer by a wide margin (they aren't in competition, I just want more success for North and especially the Matthew Swift books).

Haven't read HOPE. From the reviews I've seen from people who have read both it seems the similarity is superficial at premise level at most.

Hmm I love it as a concept (all North's books have concepts that I utterly love which is why she's one of my favourite authors) so I'd be willing to check this one out to see how it compares.

Edit: incidentally what do you call this kind of book? Speculative fiction? It's definitely SFF of a kind but doesn't easily define. Matt Haig writes similarly. I really dig it anyway.

Abyss, on 14 October 2020 - 03:01 AM, said:

Salt-Man Z, on 13 October 2020 - 08:02 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 13 October 2020 - 06:39 PM, said:

incidentally what do you call this kind of book? Speculative fiction? It's definitely SFF of a kind but doesn't easily define.

The thing with Claire North's books is that she takes a character with unexplained SFF "powers" and drops them into another genre--though when I think about it, they're all "thriller" offshoots: Harry August is a spy thriller, Hope is a corporate-tech thriller, Touch is a more straightforward thriller/revenge thriller.

And ADDIE is none of that, so far. It's very much a human story of ordinary (ish) people experiencing extraordinary things. I think it falls closest to a urban fantasy / historical fantasy hybrid if we need a category. The world isn't at stake, there's no invasion, no evil agents. Just a poor French girl who cut a really bad deal with a clever devil in 1700, getting by in 2014 NYC. Til stuff happens, but I don't spoil.

Tiste Simeon, on 14 October 2020 - 05:58 AM, said:

Huh well I'm intrigued.

QuickTidal, on 14 October 2020 - 03:55 PM, said:

Abyss, on 14 October 2020 - 03:01 AM, said:

Just a poor French girl who cut a really bad deal with a clever devil in 1700, getting by in 2014 NYC. Til stuff happens, but I don't spoil.

Wait what? That sounds fascinating!

It very much is.
At the halfway mark, and there is little magic, no swordfighting immortals, no undercity culture of fae, no murder mystery, no great conflict between good and evil... there is the girl, and a sort of love story, and a book store with a cat ffs and this book is so many things that I generally dislike in genre reading and I am fncking rivetted. The little magic there is is both original and clever

I cannot promise any of you will love or even like this... i went in on the strength of the author's DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC trilo that I very enjoyed and her sheer level of social media joy at having written it. It is not like Patrick Lee's series that swept the forum with its absurd fun, it's not Dresden or even Castor, its sure as fnck a far far throw from Malazan, but... but but but... it's really worth a look or a listen.

So far.
But it's looking good.

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished Skin Game! And... Finally... Onto PEACE TALKS!

Abyss - I think I'd enjoy that. I'll keep an eye out on the Kindle version.

[Macros]

I'm dropping TtH.

Hoping out.

Life is too short and I'm too busy to slog through this again.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 15 October 2020 - 03:03 AM, said:

..Victoria Schwab's THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE.

..cannot promise any of you will love or even like this... i went in on the strength of the author's DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC trilo that I very enjoyed and her sheer level of social media joy at having written it. It is not like Patrick Lee's series that swept the forum with its absurd fun, it's not Dresden or even Castor, its sure as fnck a far far throw from Malazan, but... but but but... it's really worth a look or a listen.

So far.
But it's looking good.

Tiste Simeon, on 15 October 2020 - 03:31 AM, said:

...

Abyss - I think I'd enjoy that. I'll keep an eye out on the Kindle version.

That moment when you think 'the author wouldn't... oh crap they absolutely would....' ..won't spoil but if i had this in text i would be reading it rtf now. I actually hope i get stuck in traffic later.

[Macros]

Nah BK, I know I'm not going to get anything from it.
MODGOD NOTICE OF SPOILERS DELETED
...cut that shit out

This post has been edited by Abyss: 18 October 2020 - 03:40 AM

[QuickTidal]

Was in a book slump and bounced off like 6 or 7 books for not being in the mood for them...

...so I finally started Joe Abercombie's A LITTLE HATRED which I got for xmas last year, and holy shit is it hitting the spot! I'm LOVING the next generation of characters. Savine is already a personal fave...but that's no surprise since I enjoyed reading about her father.

Anyways, I should finish this in time to roll right into THE TROUBLE WITH PEACE after...but for anyone who wants it I noticed that Joe has put up a summary of A LITTLE HATRED on his blog for people who have forgotten the story so far.

[Macros]

Sorry Abyss, forgot myself, should have kept that for the ded thread!

[Morgoth]

Finished that magic school book of Naomi Novik and really liked it. Great recommendation by IH, normally I can't stand magic school plots.

I also finished the sequel to the Empire's Ghosts - The Rightful Queen. I very much enjoyed Empire's Ghosts, though I wouldn't have thought so from the description. It is almost a bog standard fantasy, with hidden pasts, hidden magic, hidden royalty, hidden secrets, all is hidden and mysterious. And yet, it worked somehow, and I burned through it. The Rightful Queen on the other hand is rubbish. It might be the single largest drop in quality I have ever experienced from a sequel. It ramped up on all the terrible tropes of this kind of fantasy, and made less and less sense as the story progressed. Motivations became downright silly, and the new characters where so cliched and uninteresting it became embarrassing. Not to mention that cities now have four houses and ten people, and are about a days walk from each other. A character is looking for someone, enter a city and lo, there they are, in the middle of the street just hanging around.

And how many bookish young Queens with great intellects and few social skills can you ram into a single story?

This post has been edited by Morgoth: 20 October 2020 - 07:24 AM

[Tiste Simeon]

Finished Peace Talks! Onto Battle Grounds!

[Cyphon]

Just finished GRASS by Sheri Tapper.

An alien world covered in Grass, ruled by an aristocracy who's primary fascination is to go on a macabre version of fox hunting. A planet that may hold the key to halting the plague that threatens to wipe out humanity.

I quite enjoyed the book, its a fully realised world that Tapper has developed. It builds towards the end of the book. There are some variable bits and Tapper's themes are hammered home by the end alog with a few questionable character choices. Given it came out in the 80s these must of been a very bracing and fresh novel for the time. You can see why its on the SF masterworks list, I'm not entirely sure whether it is without the context of when it was published.

On Harrow the ninth on earbook i think its all starting to come together. I think these books my benefit from proper reading to properly put together in my head.

Onto Toll the Hounds!

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 21 October 2020 - 09:21 PM

[JPK]

I finally finished Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City. You all were right, this was a great read. I enjoyed the often irreverent tube mixed with major social/political themes. The scene involving the fountain particularly stood out to me. Also, as per usual with Parker, the ending was pretty much out of left field and felt rushed. I'll definitely pick up the sequel at some point.

Next up, I'm jumping into the first Gaunt's Ghosts book.

[QuickTidal]

Finished A LITTLE HATRED by Abecrombie and it was wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised that while it's the next gen, and they have their own issues, the older cast still does the things I expect them to in clever ways.

spoilers

Spoiler

I was NOT expecting the two relationships to swap, and I was CERTAINLY not expecting Savine to be Jezal's illegitimate daughter. Bayaz showing up was expected, but now I have to wonder where the 2nd of the Magi is...is he really dead?

I'll be ordering The TROUBLE WITH PEACE soon, or I may throw it on my Xmas list.

Going to read Mercedes Lackey THE SERPENTS SHADOW next, which is the start of her Elementals series...sounds like Snow White Meets Edwardian England Meets Colonial India Meets Magic.

[Zeto Demerzel]

Paused the Taltos series with 12 - Iorich (re-read books 1-6 and then sped through the rest) and switched to Khaavren Romances 1 - The Phoenix Guards. Haven't quite figured out if the latter is paying homage to The d'Artagnan Romances or having a go at it but it's a fun read - just like the main Taltos sequence but in its own way. Incredibly fun set of books with a surprising variety of tones, themes and styles.

I'm muddling my way through Revelation Space 4 - Absolution Gap. Managing to squeeze in a few chapters here and there between the Taltos books and am finding it a chore.
Also nearly done with the earbook of Emberverse 1 - Dies the Fire and have no urge to continue the series.

This post has been edited by Zeto Demerzel: 25 October 2020 - 03:58 AM

[QuickTidal]

Finally finished the Heralds Trilogy by Lackey. ARROW'S FALL was really solid, if quite dark at times. The ending felt a BIT rushed, but not overly so. I will be reading the Last Herald-Mage trilogy next min the series, but I'm putting it off till I can get it from the library (there are two holds ahead of me, so probably not till early next year).

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 16 October 2020 - 05:32 PM, said:

Abyss, on 15 October 2020 - 03:03 AM, said:

..Victoria Schwab's THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE.

..cannot promise any of you will love or even like this... i went in on the strength of the author's DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC trilo that I very enjoyed and her sheer level of social media joy at having written it. It is not like Patrick Lee's series that swept the forum with its absurd fun, it's not Dresden or even Castor, its sure as fnck a far far throw from Malazan, but... but but but... it's really worth a look or a listen.

So far.
But it's looking good.

Tiste Simeon, on 15 October 2020 - 03:31 AM, said:

...

Abyss - I think I'd enjoy that. I'll keep an eye out on the Kindle version.

That moment when you think 'the author wouldn't... oh crap they absolutely would....' ..won't spoil but if i had this in text i would be reading it rtf now. I actually hope i get stuck in traffic later.

Just Finished... ok, in fact i finished like a week ago but my online time is rather scattered these days and i have less time in front of a screen, awake and coherent... praising this book is worth a few minutes of that time...

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by Victoria Schwab... it's worth your money and your time. It is clever, engaging, intelligent, urban/hist fantasy, written very well. The pace is steady, never slow, almost never breakneck, the author grabs the reader's attention almost gently and then it's very very hard to turn away.

Short summary: 1700s, French countryside, young Adeline makes a deal with a supernatural force, her soul in exchange for freedom and immortality. As a result, no one remembers her. The moment she is out of sight, she is forgotten, her impact on the world erased. One plotline follows her forward over the centuries, figuring out how to live with her curse. The other follows her in 2014 NYC, where... stuff happens. I cannot possibly spoil this, it's too good... predictable at the start, but the 'predictability' is the trap and twist after twist follow. It's very well done.

Addie is a superbly realized character. Every step of her story flows logically from events, even if the connections are not immediately apparent. The other characters are very well done as well... some are so ordinary as to seem boring at the outset and then the author digs a little deeper with each and gives them something special, usually by their interaction with Addie, which ties back to how she deals with her curse.

No splosions, no stabby, no battles, but no overbearing philosophy either. Yes, characters spend some time ruminating on memory and mortality and love but never to the point of navel-gazing and generally only to advance the plot.

It's a great book. Worthwhile.

[Abyss]

Abyss, on 12 October 2020 - 02:26 AM, said:

Ok, bit of backlog to cover...

HORUS RISING, just finished the earbook. This was my first incursion into WH40k, courtesy of the Black Library humble bundle of earbooks from a while back... I liked. The action was solid, but I expected that. I did not expect the depth of character or moderate philosophizing. Will read more.
...

Finished HORUS, took a break for Dresden and Addie, the back to FALSE GODS, which was solid enough to send me directly into GALAXY IN FLAMES.

These books are not bad at all!


So help me out here peoples... are the books in this bundle... as good?

[T77]

Abyss, on 26 October 2020 - 06:23 PM, said:

Abyss, on 12 October 2020 - 02:26 AM, said:

Ok, bit of backlog to cover...

HORUS RISING, just finished the earbook. This was my first incursion into WH40k, courtesy of the Black Library humble bundle of earbooks from a while back... I liked. The action was solid, but I expected that. I did not expect the depth of character or moderate philosophizing. Will read more.
...

Finished HORUS, took a break for Dresden and Addie, the back to FALSE GODS, which was solid enough to send me directly into GALAXY IN FLAMES.

These books are not bad at all!


So help me out here peoples... are the books in this bundle... as good?

Xenos and First and Only by Abnett are excellent. It is worth it just for that, and there's a good chance you'll like one or more of the other books.