[masan's saddle]

I decided to go with Altered Carbon and I have to say i'm liking it. The cyberpunky world reminds me a lot of Gibson whilst the concepts and tech stuff is very good. I've been reading a lot fantasy/ biography lately and this is making a refreshing change.

[Bauchelain the Evil]

Finished reading The Blade Itself. It was a fast, enoyable book with lots of humour(mostly dark) and with some interesting concepts like the House of the Maker. Good characters ,notably the morally ambigue Glokta but the schizophrenic barbarian also managed to carry the story very well. Will definitively read the next ones.

[LadyMTL]

I'm currently reading the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach "collection" and it's okay. I know that they're short stories so they're obviously not going to be as detailed or fleshed out as the novels are but I'm underwhelmed nonetheless. I've finished Blood Follows and Lees of Laughter's End and I have started the Healthy Dead so maybe it'll all work once I've finished...?

In any case, next up will be Jeff Vandermeer's City of Saints and Madmen, once Amazon gets around to delivering it. I've heard good things about it...

This post has been edited by Maia Irraz: 12 January 2010 - 09:53 PM

[QuickTidal]

SHARPE'S TIGER by Bernard Cornwell

Okay....why didn't anyone tell me how fun the Sharpe series is?

[EsotericForest]

QuickTidal, on 12 January 2010 - 10:44 PM, said:

SHARPE'S TIGER by Bernard Cornwell

Okay....why didn't anyone tell me how fun the Sharpe series is?

I wasn't sure what I'd think of his Sharpe series. I really enjoyed his Saxon series, and Agincourt was awesome.

[QuickTidal]

EsotericForest, on 13 January 2010 - 03:46 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 12 January 2010 - 10:44 PM, said:

SHARPE'S TIGER by Bernard Cornwell

Okay....why didn't anyone tell me how fun the Sharpe series is?

I wasn't sure what I'd think of his Sharpe series. I really enjoyed his Saxon series, and Agincourt was awesome.

I was in that exact same boat. Love the Saxon series and Agincourt WAS great...


...well Sharpe's Tiger (the first book chronologically as per Sharpe's life, not publishing order) is pretty damn good. Deliciously pulpy and fun. Give them a shot.

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Lucy Snyder's 'Spellbent' where a young woman must go against the entire magic using community in order to rescue her lover from hell. On the face of it, there isn't much to distinguish this from most other Urban Fantasy novels. When you dig a little deeper this is still the case but 'Spellbent' is too much fun for this to be a really big deal, I'd give the next book a go. My full review is over Here. I'm now finishing off 'Black and White' (Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge)...

[EsotericForest]

QuickTidal, on 13 January 2010 - 05:10 AM, said:

...well Sharpe's Tiger (the first book chronologically as per Sharpe's life, not publishing order) is pretty damn good. Deliciously pulpy and fun. Give them a shot.

Well since you were in the same boat as me, then you understand where I'm coming from. In which case, now you've made me want to go pick up the book...look what you've done!

[Sixty]

I'm looking for some good epic fantasy to pick up so I can snag free shipping with a B&N order (need a novel for a paper for school).

Some authors I've already read and enjoyed:
Erikson
Martin
Bakker
Jordan
Abercrombie
Sanderson
Rothfuss
Lynch
Cook
Hobb

I don't think I have the time on hand to jump into a big series like Dresden right now, so something stand-alone or short (3 or 4 books in a series preferably) would be ideal.

Any suggestions?

This post has been edited by Sixty: 14 January 2010 - 05:02 AM

[Chance]

@Sixty try CS Friedman's coldfire trilogy...one of the best out there...



Just finished up In the Court of the Red King by SM Stirling as always top notch entertainment. Even thought the plotline basically is very similiar to his Sky People all the roles have just been twisted around. The martians have the most hilarious language I've read in a long time.

Sunrise Land by Stirling is probably up next.

[Use Of Weapons]

Got a couple of pop-science books over Xmas. Currently reading the first one, _13 Things That Don't Make Sense_, which considers 13 scientific anomalies, such as mimivirus (a giant virus that might have been the first nucleus for eukaryotes), and the Pioneer anomaly (how the two Pioneer craft are veering off-course by a small but significant and constant degree, which may point to variable constants and a revision of Newtonian gravitational theory). Quite Interesting ™ so far.

[Bauchelain the Evil]

Sixty, on 14 January 2010 - 05:00 AM, said:

I'm looking for some good epic fantasy to pick up so I can snag free shipping with a B&N order (need a novel for a paper for school).

Some authors I've already read and enjoyed:
Erikson
Martin
Bakker
Jordan
Abercrombie
Sanderson
Rothfuss
Lynch
Cook
Hobb

I don't think I have the time on hand to jump into a big series like Dresden right now, so something stand-alone or short (3 or 4 books in a series preferably) would be ideal.

Any suggestions?

Give The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney a shot. It's a standalone and a damn good one too.
Then you can also point out the connections with Xenophon's Anabasis and look extra smart

This post has been edited by Bauchelain the Evil: 14 January 2010 - 04:05 PM

[Deornoth]

Finished reading 'Black and White' (Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge), a tale of superheroes and superheroes gone bad... or have they? As with 'Spellbent' yesterday, 'Black and White' doesn't really bring anything new to the table but it's still a very entertaining read. My full review is over Here. I'm now well into Charles de Lint's 'Muse and Reverie'.

[Abyss]

masan, on 12 January 2010 - 07:09 PM, said:

I decided to go with Altered Carbon and I have to say i'm liking it. ...

Keep going. The next two Kovacs books, while different in tone, are great.

Bauchelain the Evil, on 12 January 2010 - 07:11 PM, said:

Finished reading The Blade Itself. ...Will definitively read the next ones.

I actually read all three in one swoop and thought they read really well that way.

Sixty, on 14 January 2010 - 05:00 AM, said:

I'm looking for some good epic fantasy to pick up so I can snag free shipping with a B&N order (need a novel for a paper for school)....I don't think I have the time on hand to jump into a big series like Dresden right now, so something stand-alone or short (3 or 4 books in a series preferably) would be ideal.

Any suggestions?

Yeah - i suggest you stop talking crazy talk and go pick up Dresden NOW.
Each book is a complete story and it's brilliant great fun.

Otherwise, Tad Williams' WAR OF THE FLOWERS was a surprisingly enjoyable doostopper standalone.

Chance, on 14 January 2010 - 09:49 AM, said:

...SM Stirling as always top notch entertainment. ...

Only read his his Peshwar Lancers book but totally enjoyed.


As for moi, finished THE DEVIL'S TEETH. The story bogs down a bit towards the end as the authors' obsession with Great Whites actually shifts the focus away from the sharks a bit, but i have to say every page on the sharks themselves is wonderfully written. Worth the read. The little aside stories about people's encounters with the sharks are brilliant... there's something about a first hand description of a face-to-face encounter, in the water, with a 21ft long, six ft wide, essentially bus-with-teeth that triggers the imagination in cool places.

Am rereading DUST OF DREAMS, re-ordering the reread somewhat as i just finished REAPER'S GALE and wanted to have certain storylines fresh in brain.

Cueing up a bunch of good short ppbs for upcoming vacation tho'...

Brent Weeks' NIGHT ANGEL trilogy.
SM Peters' GHOST OCEAN.
Stross' THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES.

- Abyss, has an excuse for staying the fnck out of the water forever now.

[Tsundoku]

Currently:

Dust of Dreams (still ...)
Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds (about 3 years now, just can't do more than about 10 pages a year )
The Eagle, conclusion to Jack Whytes' Camulod Chronicles (about a year now)
Elantris - Brandon Sanderson (about 2 months now)
The Devil You Know - Mike Carey. Felix Castor #1 (about 6 months now, just stopped halfway through and keep finding other stuff to pick up in the meantime)
The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks. Night Angel Trilogy #1. (almost finished. Fun, light and quick to read)

In the "To Read" pile (no particular order):

1421, the year China discovered the World - Gavin Menzies
The name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Eisenhorn Trilogy Omnibus - Dan Abnett
Ramage - Dudley Pope
Balance of Power - James W Huston
Empire & Ecolitan Omnibus - LE Modesitt
Forty Signs of Rain - Kim Stanley Robinson
This Forsaken Earth - Paul Kearney
Wrath of a Mad God & Rides a Dread Legion - Raymond E Feist
Black Man - Richard Morgan
New Spring - Robert Jordan
Stormed Fortress - Janny Wurts
Rome Burning - Sophia McDougall
True Colours - Adam Gilchrist biography

Secondhand book stores and clearance sale tables are my friends.

Any suggestions as to:
1. how I can make myself finish what I'm currently reading, especially the Reynolds?
2. what I should read next?

Yes, yes I KNOW I should have smashed through DoD in like a day, but I'm just not feeling anything like the concentration required. Not uninterested, but I have become lazy, I fear. I'll get through it, just need the motivation. And I realise how much that sounds like heresy here.

This post has been edited by Sombra: 15 January 2010 - 09:09 AM

[Deornoth]

Didn't get round to finishing 'Muse and Reverie' but did finish an ARC of Ari Marmell's 'The Conqueror's Shadow', a tale of a former 'Dark Lord' who must come out of retirement when a new invasion of the land suddenly gets personal. Marmell has an unfortunate habit of casting all his characters in the same sarcastic vein but the story itself is very entertaining and well worth the time reading. My full review is over Here. And now it's back to 'Muse and Reverie'...

[Abyss]

Sombra, on 15 January 2010 - 09:06 AM, said:

...Yes, yes I KNOW I should have smashed through DoD in like a day, but I'm just not feeling anything like the concentration required. Not uninterested, but I have become lazy, I fear. I'll get through it, just need the motivation. And I realise how much that sounds like heresy here.

Finish it and start participating in the discussions or we'll subject you to scorn, ridicule and scorn, AND we'll give Assail your address so he can come to your house, kick in your door US marine-style and then proselytise to you on the glories of Goodkind while standing on your kneecaps.


- Abyss, did have similar trouble with Revelation Space but it was worth the read.

[Riot]

Midwinter by Matthew Sturges. Half way in, and nowt special.
Recently finished Grass by Sheri S Tepper.Classic Sci Fi. went into it without knowing much about the story and was very surprised. Very enjoyable with a very strong female lead character.
Also finished not too long ago, The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Love Zombies and there was a good number of them in there, but the female lead was such an annoying cow. Left me pretty frustrated.

To read list:

The Complete Chronicles of Conan. Really looking forward to this.
Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche. More of a case of dipping into this, rather then the long haul of reading it straight through.

[QuickTidal]

Going to do a re-read of THE GYPSY MORPH by Terry Brooks methinks...

...having just heard that this August will see the release of a new Genesis of Shannara book called BEARERS OF THE BLACK STAFF that takes place about 500 years after the end of THE GYPSY MORPH and takes place in the infant world of Shannara (methinks) which is actually our old world beyond the Apocalypse brought on by Demons of the Void.

[caladanbrood]

EsotericForest, on 12 January 2010 - 03:36 PM, said:

Well out of those, Best Served Cold looked the most appealing to me, I'd go with that one

Good choice! I will