[QuickTidal]

Finished the first of Katherine Kurtz Deryni books (DERYNI RISING), and enjoyed it. It's kinda simplistic, and the undisguised catholicism in what is clearly fantasy Wales is funny because it's not disguised, but didn't feel overwhelming either. I like a good, short, old-school straightforward fantasy and this hit that spot. I have the rest of the series to read too.

Up next I have a selection and can't decide:

DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST by Julliet Marillier

or

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by Sue Lyn Tan

or

OF BLOOD AND FIRE by Ryan Cahill

[Tiste Simeon]

I finished THE GREY BASTARDS and what a crazy ride that was! Great fun, really well written world with tight action and some ace characters. Going straight onto book 2 THE TRUE BASTARDS.

[RealGatekeeper1]

What was the tagline, Tiste? “Live on the hog, die on the hog?” I heard, I think, that it was based, loosely, on Sons of Anarchy? Or am I thinking of something else?

[Chance]

Finished up the Broken Crown and in the end it did have a decent last 150ish pages. Still it is too much of a prologue for 600 pages for me to really enjoy it, coupled with the offensive culture of the dominion. Still when Diora gets her moment of awesomeness it is awesome so I might read the next book eventually but not now. I only wish Sara-Teresa also got one.

Started Ashes of Man instead had entirely missed that this was out and Hadrian Marlows adventures while frequently misery filled are also 200% awesomeness guaranteed.

This post has been edited by Chance: 28 April 2023 - 08:09 PM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Brust's Tsalmoth. It's been, what, almost 6 years since the last Taltos book?

[Chance]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2023 - 08:30 PM, said:

Brust's Tsalmoth. It's been, what, almost 6 years since the last Taltos book?

What I kind of didn't expect any more Taltos books, might very well slot that in after my current read. Also see that there is already a cover for the next book maybe it will take a bit less than 6 years.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Chance, on 28 April 2023 - 08:53 PM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 28 April 2023 - 08:30 PM, said:

Brust's Tsalmoth. It's been, what, almost 6 years since the last Taltos book?

What I kind of didn't expect any more Taltos books, might very well slot that in after my current read. Also see that there is already a cover for the next book maybe it will take a bit less than 6 years.

After Tsalmoth, there are 3 more books planned: Lyorn, and then two more.

[Mentalist]

Fighting my way thru The Veiled Throne again.

It is a remarkably poorly paced book.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 29 April 2023 - 10:12 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Finished listening to The City We Became. The audiobook performer is distractingly bad---over-acting awkwardly and as if they hadn't bothered reading in advance or doing multiple takes. They make it sound silly, cheesy, and lighthearted but not humorous or lol funny. (Lighthearted Lovecraftian horrors without much horror....)

There are a few memorable kinetic images, and the prose is generally good (with the exception of the tiresome repetition of things like 'with the power of a thousand [insert an uninspiring list of things that are supposed to be local but mostly seem pretty generic---block parties, etc.]'), but overall the plot and characterization are subpar for Jemisin. The mythos is mildly interesting, but nowhere near the complexity of her multi-book series. The main ending was disappointingly bland and rushed, though there's a section afterwards that sets up potential future books.

Glancing over my TRL list, I decided to put off The Realm of the Elderlings until after The Library at Mount Char. Good prose so far. Very disturbing---had me squirming in bed. There was a line like

Spoiler

I stood alone in the dark, then and forever after

so I don't expect it to lighten up.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 30 April 2023 - 01:11 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

So I started THE TRUE BASTARDS and I'm just finding I don't care about continuing! Like I've only got a few chapters in and I'm already wondering about not finishing. I can't really pinpoint it and it could be that as I'm not very well at the moment I just can't be bothered but weirdly I just have no desire to continue.

Going to read a non fiction book called THE LAST BATTLE by Stephen Harding, about a true story at the end of WWII where Americans, Austrian resistance and German Wehrmacht soldiers teamed up to rescue some French political prisoners from the fanatical SS troops holed up in an ancient castle. This despite Hitler already being dead and peace only days away! It's pretty great tbh.

[pat5150]

Finished Michelle West's Sea of Sorrow and it score one of the very few 10/10 in the history of the Hotlist!

Currently reading Mark Lawrence's The Book That Wouldn't Burn. A somewhat long slow start, but things are now picking up!

[Abyss]

Tiste Simeon, on 27 April 2023 - 09:02 PM, said:

I finished THE GREY BASTARDS and what a crazy ride that was! Great fun, really well written world with tight action and some ace characters. Going straight onto book 2 THE TRUE BASTARDS.

RealGatekeeper1, on 27 April 2023 - 10:23 PM, said:

What was the tagline, Tiste? "Live on the hog, die on the hog?" I heard, I think, that it was based, loosely, on Sons of Anarchy? Or am I thinking of something else?

Live in the saddle, die on the hog.
The running tag line is something like a grimdark fantasy Sons of Anarchy. It's not entirely inaccurate but doesnt capture much more than the notion of warhog mounted gangs of half-orcs.

Tiste Simeon, on 30 April 2023 - 07:59 PM, said:

So I started THE TRUE BASTARDS and I'm just finding I don't care about continuing! Like I've only got a few chapters in and I'm already wondering about not finishing. I can't really pinpoint it and it could be that as I'm not very well at the moment I just can't be bothered but weirdly I just have no desire to continue.
...

I totally get not feeling a book, and the narrator shift from 1 to 2 is a bit radical, but, when you feel like it, I suggest STRONGLY you give it another shot if you enjoyed bk 1.

[Abyss]

Azath Vitr (D, on 30 April 2023 - 01:10 PM, said:

Finished listening to The City We Became. The audiobook performer is distractingly bad---over-acting awkwardly and as if they hadn't bothered reading in advance or doing multiple takes. They make it sound silly, cheesy, and lighthearted but not humorous or lol funny. (Lighthearted Lovecraftian horrors without much horror....)

There are a few memorable kinetic images, and the prose is generally good (with the exception of the tiresome repetition of things like 'with the power of a thousand [insert an uninspiring list of things that are supposed to be local but mostly seem pretty generic---block parties, etc.]'), but overall the plot and characterization are subpar for Jemisin. The mythos is mildly interesting, but nowhere near the complexity of her multi-book series. The main ending was disappointingly bland and rushed, though there's a section afterwards that sets up potential future books.
...

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it and also wow I completely disagree with everything you just wrote there.

[Tiste Simeon]

Abyss, on 01 May 2023 - 08:03 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 27 April 2023 - 09:02 PM, said:

I finished THE GREY BASTARDS and what a crazy ride that was! Great fun, really well written world with tight action and some ace characters. Going straight onto book 2 THE TRUE BASTARDS.

RealGatekeeper1, on 27 April 2023 - 10:23 PM, said:

What was the tagline, Tiste? "Live on the hog, die on the hog?" I heard, I think, that it was based, loosely, on Sons of Anarchy? Or am I thinking of something else?

Live in the saddle, die on the hog.
The running tag line is something like a grimdark fantasy Sons of Anarchy. It's not entirely inaccurate but doesnt capture much more than the notion of warhog mounted gangs of half-orcs.

Tiste Simeon, on 30 April 2023 - 07:59 PM, said:

So I started THE TRUE BASTARDS and I'm just finding I don't care about continuing! Like I've only got a few chapters in and I'm already wondering about not finishing. I can't really pinpoint it and it could be that as I'm not very well at the moment I just can't be bothered but weirdly I just have no desire to continue.
...

I totally get not feeling a book, and the narrator shift from 1 to 2 is a bit radical, but, when you feel like it, I suggest STRONGLY you give it another shot if you enjoyed bk 1.

My plan is to read the non fiction book mentioned above and hopefully return renewed!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Abyss, on 01 May 2023 - 08:05 AM, said:

Azath Vitr (D, on 30 April 2023 - 01:10 PM, said:

Finished listening to The City We Became. The audiobook performer is distractingly bad---over-acting awkwardly and as if they hadn't bothered reading in advance or doing multiple takes. They make it sound silly, cheesy, and lighthearted but not humorous or lol funny. (Lighthearted Lovecraftian horrors without much horror....)

There are a few memorable kinetic images, and the prose is generally good (with the exception of the tiresome repetition of things like 'with the power of a thousand [insert an uninspiring list of things that are supposed to be local but mostly seem pretty generic---block parties, etc.]'), but overall the plot and characterization are subpar for Jemisin. The mythos is mildly interesting, but nowhere near the complexity of her multi-book series. The main ending was disappointingly bland and rushed, though there's a section afterwards that sets up potential future books.
...

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it and also wow I completely disagree with everything you just wrote there.

I do agree that I got one thing wrong: there is a second novel in the series... published with little fanfare (not reviewed by the Guardian---after their tepid review of the first book---but recommended by Kirkus)... and none of you corrected me! Just how much has Ted Lasso twisted your minds??


Unfortunately the same performer does the second book too. They could certainly do a better job though---with a few more takes and better preparation, or less overacting, it would have probably been alright---so that might not be all that bad (provided the metastasizing Ted Lassoification of the United States the world did not silence all constructive criticism!). (Kidding about TL here of course....)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 01 May 2023 - 11:50 AM

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Zipped my way through all 3 books in Richard Nell's Ash and Sand series. While there was a lot to like the whole thing felt a little undercooked. The universe was intriguing and well-built, the characters were engaging enough, and the plots were good. But, at the end, I was just left with so many questions and open threads. I half expected there to be a fourth book in the wings — alas, there was not.

I'm still making really slow progress on the Lord of the Rings reread. I feel like the ingrained knowledge from the movies has sort of rendered all the spice and flavor from the books, leaving me with just the tough meat. The books are not surprising, though they are of course immaculately written. Still chugging.

And, on a whim, I pulled Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice off of the shelf a few days ago — and now I've finished that and am halfway through Royal Assassin. Unlike LOTR, this is a reread that has grabbed me. RIP Smithy, RIP Nosy, RIP Vixen, hello Nighteyes!! Good to see you all again!

(Also, FUCK Galen)

This post has been edited by Whisperzzzzzzz: 02 May 2023 - 04:33 PM

[QuickTidal]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 02 May 2023 - 04:33 PM, said:

And, on a whim, I pulled Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice off of the shelf a few days ago — and now I've finished that and am halfway through Royal Assassin. Unlike LOTR, this is a reread that has grabbed me. RIP Smithy, RIP Nosy, RIP Vixen, hello Nighteyes!! Good to see you all again!

(Also, FUCK Galen)

Nettle is the MVP of that entire series by a LONG ass margin. She's such an exquisite character who we often see so fleetingly. I need to do a full re-read as I still haven't read the final trilogy past book 1 yet.

[pat5150]

QuickTidal, on 02 May 2023 - 05:06 PM, said:

Nettle is the MVP of that entire series by a LONG ass margin. She's such an exquisite character who we often see so fleetingly. I need to do a full re-read as I still haven't read the final trilogy past book 1 yet.

Finish that final trilogy ASAP! It will make you cry. . .

[QuickTidal]

pat5150, on 02 May 2023 - 05:26 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 02 May 2023 - 05:06 PM, said:

Nettle is the MVP of that entire series by a LONG ass margin. She's such an exquisite character who we often see so fleetingly. I need to do a full re-read as I still haven't read the final trilogy past book 1 yet.

Finish that final trilogy ASAP! It will make you cry. . .

I want to, but I need to work up to it as I know it will wreck me....since Robin Hobb DELIGHTS in wrecking me emotionally.

[Abyss]

As i make my way thru Michelle West's THE BROKEN CROWN i was looking for something short and punchy for the odd break... enter Spotify's all out onslaught on the podcastverse. Spotify has been expending money and resources just hoovering the podcast fiction market for content to draw in listeners towards an eventual assault on Audible. Ymmv as you might expect, but i've been pleasantly surprised at some of the productions. Hence CASE 63, which you can ear for free (no spotify required) here:

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/case-63

The draw was the cast... Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac don't tend to work on meh. They didn't here. It's a well paced, well produced maybe time travel story. More Twilight Zone than Amazing Stories. Ten 10-20min eps, each ends w a nice hook for the next, Just Finished and the overall product was satisfying.

Worth a listen.