[Tiste Simeon]

So I finished THE MONSTER BARU CORMORANT and... Well I didn't love it. The first book was incredible but this one was just a bit frustrating and dragged somewhat.

I dunno, I found Baru to be annoying and inconsistent. Considering how brilliant she is supposed to be she sure spends most of the time doing stupid things.

Not sure I can be bothered with the third.

[Abyss]

Just Finished R S Belcher's SIX GUN TAROT and liked it so much I went straight into the sequel SHOTGUN ARCANA.
Great series so far, old west urban fantasy, and the earbooks are done with full voice casts, fx, and music. It's pretty great.
Both are part of what was labelled THE GOLGOTHA TRILOGY. I suspect I'll follow ARCANA with bk 3.

[Tiste Simeon]

I finished the First Law trilogy.

Oh man. I know I'm late to the party but that was a superb series. I hate how much I love people like Glokta and Ninefingers when I should like people like that.

But what a great series, I take it the other books Abercrombie has written are also worth checking out? Problem is I don't want different characters (A Little Hatred is part of a follow up trilogy?)

Spoiler

I'm not happy with how it ended tbh, is Ninefingers dead?

Anyway, really glad I got them, the audiobook narrator is the best one I've heard yet. His name is Stephen Pacey and he is excellent.

Dunno what I'm going to listen to next but I just bought a couple of Claire North books so likely I will listen to one of them.

[worry]

The three books directly after that aren't a trilogy (well I guess any three things can be called a trilogy, but they're not a series) -- they're like three independent novels set in the same world, but they do naturally have some First Law 'aftermath' throughlines to them as well as some of the same characters. You do get your answer, one way or another, about that spoiler question. I personally enjoyed these books (yah, all three) even more than First Law. The short story book was pretty great too.
Haven't read the newest books in that world though.

[Abyss]

worry, on 09 March 2021 - 02:24 AM, said:

The three books directly after that aren't a trilogy (well I guess any three things can be called a trilogy, but they're not a series) -- they're like three independent novels set in the same world, but they do naturally have some First Law 'aftermath' throughlines to them as well as some of the same characters. You do get your answer, one way or another, about that spoiler question. I personally enjoyed these books (yah, all three) even more than First Law. The short story book was pretty great too.
Haven't read the newest books in that world though.

Seconded. The next three are far better, and I liked the first trilo.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 09 March 2021 - 03:21 AM, said:

worry, on 09 March 2021 - 02:24 AM, said:

The three books directly after that aren't a trilogy (well I guess any three things can be called a trilogy, but they're not a series) -- they're like three independent novels set in the same world, but they do naturally have some First Law 'aftermath' throughlines to them as well as some of the same characters. You do get your answer, one way or another, about that spoiler question. I personally enjoyed these books (yah, all three) even more than First Law. The short story book was pretty great too.
Haven't read the newest books in that world though.

Seconded. The next three are far better, and I liked the first trilo.

That would be Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country?

[amphibian]

Tiste Simeon, on 06 March 2021 - 03:06 PM, said:

So I finished THE MONSTER BARU CORMORANT and... Well I didn't love it. The first book was incredible but this one was just a bit frustrating and dragged somewhat.

I dunno, I found Baru to be annoying and inconsistent. Considering how brilliant she is supposed to be she sure spends most of the time doing stupid things.

Not sure I can be bothered with the third.

I quite liked the third one, although I think if you're looking for her to do brilliant things, it'll be a while in the third book before she gets there. There's a lot of action and a ton of back story that also table sets for the finish.

[JPK]

Tiste Simeon, on 09 March 2021 - 04:00 AM, said:

Abyss, on 09 March 2021 - 03:21 AM, said:

worry, on 09 March 2021 - 02:24 AM, said:

The three books directly after that aren't a trilogy (well I guess any three things can be called a trilogy, but they're not a series) -- they're like three independent novels set in the same world, but they do naturally have some First Law 'aftermath' throughlines to them as well as some of the same characters. You do get your answer, one way or another, about that spoiler question. I personally enjoyed these books (yah, all three) even more than First Law. The short story book was pretty great too.
Haven't read the newest books in that world though.

Seconded. The next three are far better, and I liked the first trilo.

That would be Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country?

Yes.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tiste Simeon, on 09 March 2021 - 01:52 AM, said:

I finished the First Law trilogy.

Oh man. I know I'm late to the party but that was a superb series. I hate how much I love people like Glokta and Ninefingers when I should like people like that.

But what a great series, I take it the other books Abercrombie has written are also worth checking out? Problem is I don't want different characters (A Little Hatred is part of a follow up trilogy?)

Spoiler

I'm not happy with how it ended tbh, is Ninefingers dead?

Anyway, really glad I got them, the audiobook narrator is the best one I've heard yet. His name is Stephen Pacey and he is excellent.

Dunno what I'm going to listen to next but I just bought a couple of Claire North books so likely I will listen to one of them.

Second book of the new trilogy is out, third is expected in September.

I'm almost finished listening to A Little Hatred. It's been a while since I listened to the previous books, but the prose style seems a step up from what I remember. It's also hilarious---I've literally been laughing out loud. OTOH a few dialogue devices are repeated a little too much, though there is some very witty dialogue as well. All but three of the characters are new, and most of the old characters rarely appear in person, though some of them are mentioned often. Most of the new characters match genre archetypes (in the expanded timeframe---a mishmash of early Industrial Revolution and medieval), but the specifics of the PoV characters' individual lives and inner experiences are elaborated on very well. One of the new PoV characters is a little more unusual, but sort of recycles aspects of previous characters (the Bloody Nine and one or two others). The plot is riveting, and Abercrombie does an excellent job of managing situations where differences in character knowledge or delay/absence of communication have you (or me, at least) imagining what will happen when certain secrets or facts are finally communicated. There are a few cliched plot devices, but as with the characterization, Abercrombie handles them well, giving them specificity, some surprise, and some genuine suspense, and in some cases having the PoV characters critically reflect on them.

As with the standalone novels set in this world, the high fantasy elements are not as present as in the First Law trilogy so far, with the major exception of one pivotal PoV character.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 09 March 2021 - 04:56 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Well I got stand-alones on Audible now and they all have the same narrator which is great.

Going to take an Abercrombie break to listen to The Pursuit of William Abbey first though.

[Macros]

Finished Virgil's The Aeneid.
Man that was a slog compared to Homers Odyssey and the Illiad

Just blegh let it end by book 10

[polishgenius]

I've been reading Lavie Tidhar's By Force Alone, a sort of angry yet hilarious grimdark retelling of Arthurian myth. I suspect fans of the original myths and more romantic tellings might not have so much time for its arch self-awareness, incessant blood splatter and constant pop-culture references, but those for whom a mucky gangster Arthur with a Jewish kung-fu master Lancelot and a Guinevere based in part on Omar Little sounds like a good idea should give it a try.

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 09 March 2021 - 10:53 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 09 March 2021 - 10:35 PM, said:

Finished Virgil's The Aeneid.
Man that was a slog compared to Homers Odyssey and the Illiad

Just blegh let it end by book 10

I've been wondering whether Le Guin's Lavinia might be much less of a slog. '[Le Guin] explains that her work is a translation of the last six books of the Aeneid into prose. Le Guin's thinking about Lavinia as a translation demonstrates that Le Guin has a nuanced theory of translation. She adds much to Virgil's epic poem [focus on Lavinia I think], but carries across much of Virgil's poetry and the world of the Aeneid in doing so.'

https://en.wikipedia.../Lavinia_(novel)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 09 March 2021 - 11:08 PM

[Macros]

Nope

[Aptorian]

Finished Gaunt's Ghosts book 6, Straight Silver by Dan Abnett. Good book. I'm starting to feel the overall military campaign isn't particularly meaningful. The books are about the days of our lives in the Tanith First and Only. That said I suspect that the next book, Sabbath Martyr is going to be significant.

Also read a sort of memoir by our last Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen. It covers significant moments in his life and career from his childhood to him being ousted from his own party. It's an interesting book because he touches on a lot of sore subjects surrounding accusations of corruption or fiscal irresponsibility and also what happened when members of his own party conspired to get him thrown out, despite his party having a great election.

I think he's likely a very dirty politician and yet I've always liked him. He's got that quality where you both believe that he's the right person to run the country and at the same time you could imagine having a beer with the guy.

Next up I borrowed a book called Klubben (The Club) which is a book written about the Me Too scandals in the Nobel Litterature Committee by a Swedish journalist called Matilda Gustavsson, who investigated the story. So far it's already pretty saucy.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 10 March 2021 - 06:27 PM

[polishgenius]

polishgenius, on 09 March 2021 - 10:47 PM, said:

I've been reading Lavie Tidhar's By Force Alone, a sort of angry yet hilarious grimdark retelling of Arthurian myth. I suspect fans of the original myths and more romantic tellings might not have so much time for its arch self-awareness, incessant blood splatter and constant pop-culture references, but those for whom a mucky gangster Arthur with a Jewish kung-fu master Lancelot and a Guinevere based in part on Omar Little sounds like a good idea should give it a try.

Finished, it was fun. Not a genre-impacting book - it feels quite slight despite being 400 pages, because events are quite skipped through, it could have been expanded a lot more but at the same time not sure it could have carried the attitude. Anyway, decent, worth a read.

[Aptorian]

Finished the Club by Matilda Gustavsson.

As an investigative look at the break down of the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Committee following the MeToo scandal the book isn't that satisfying, it's neither in depth enough on the investigative work nor does it have any insight from the accused. But it is a good read, it reads like a thriller as the journalist delves into the world of Sweden's cultural elite - And it's every bit as terrible as you might suspect, as you're told the story of each one of the 18 women who accused Jean-Claude Renault of sexual assault, which ranges from indecent proposals, groping and threats to multiple rapes of the same women over multiple years.

The way the Swedish Academy afterwards fails to address the matter and falls into infighting is just pathetic and rage inducing.

Even if you're not interested MeToo stories, the book is an interesting portrait of Sweden's cultural inner circle. And I thought Danish artists were insufferable.

Onwards to Gaunt's Ghosts book 7, Sabbath Martyr by Dan Abnett. Going by the prologue, this book seems a lot more promising than the last two, more low boil sort of stories.

[Chance]

Finished up Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews which just as much fun as these books usually are. Might not be the best author ever but these books are certainly some of the most entertaining urban fantasy around.

Will probably continue with Fortune's Stroke the fourth Belisarius book, which has been reasonably fun so far.

This post has been edited by Chance: 13 March 2021 - 04:09 PM

[Aptorian]

I really should get back to Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I think I got sidetracked after book 2 or 3.

Finished the second Gaunt's Ghosts Omnibus. I don't think this is a truly great series but it is good military sci-fi. If you want a mix of solid sci-fi squad combat mixed with soldier stories you can get invested in you can't go wrong with this. It's sort of a more absurd Band of Brothers.

Next up I'll finally read Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. I think I've seen most of you people recommending it.

[Macros]

Curious to see what you make of Mount Char