Reading at t'moment?

#5501 Thel Akai

Corporal

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Posted 15 October 2010 - 02:31 PM

Re-reading Toll the Hounds right now. So as to not go into Malazan overload (I just finished RotCG) I did a quick re-read of Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" in between, it's short and a good read.

#5502 Salt-Man Z

My pen halts, though I do not

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Posted 15 October 2010 - 06:37 PM

Finished The King of Elfland's Daughter. It was good. Very dreamy.

Moving on with Garrett, P.I. and book #4: Old Tin Sorrows.

"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch

#5503 stone monkey

I'm the baddest man alive and I don't plan to die...

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Posted 15 October 2010 - 08:40 PM

I finished Surface Detail the other day... The Culture have a bunch of stalkers, very droll. Some of the plot points didn't seem to have all that much to do with the main story , though. Although, from reading Wired's interview with Banks, that may have been the point.

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. … So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants. Bertrand Russell

#5504 QuickTidal

Lord of the Waters

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Posted 15 October 2010 - 10:25 PM

Halfway through THE FIRES Of HEAVEN by Jordan. The series is still exciting (mostly) to me after 5 books.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#5505 Chance

Mortal Sword

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Posted 17 October 2010 - 06:12 PM

Just going through the last pages of Jack McDevitt's Echo, a pleasant SF mystery novel not unlike those preceding it.

#5506 pat5150

D'ivers

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Posted 18 October 2010 - 06:39 PM

Just finished Ian Cameron Esslemont's Stonewielder and it was great!

ICE has matured and improved as a writer, making this one a thoroughly satisfying Malazan offering. One of the better paced as well.

Check out the blog for the full review...

Patrick

For book reviews, author interviews, giveaways, related articles and news, and much more, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

#5507 Harvester

Evil Baron Kitty of the Abyssmal Army

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Posted 18 October 2010 - 11:12 PM

Quote

Quite a few secrets are revealed, of course. But again, in true Malazan fashion, for every answer it provides Ian Cameron Esslemont's latest offering raises many, many more questions. Some of which shall be answered in his next work, when he takes us to the fabled land of Assail. . .

#5508 QuickTidal

Lord of the Waters

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Posted 18 October 2010 - 11:38 PM

Onto LORD OF CHAOS by Jordan.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#5509 End of Disc One

House Knight

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 12:22 AM

Halfway through FOOL MOON by Jim Butcher. If this series only gets better like everyone says, I'm in for a real treat.

#5510 MTS

Fourth Investiture

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 01:26 AM

Quote

I was under the impression the next book would be Darujhistan, but Assail is just as welcome.

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Si hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.

#5511 Astra

Sony Reader PRS-650

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 11:19 AM

Finished 1984 by Eric Arthur Blair.
Depressing stuff and quite emotional, considering that I have experienced some of this dismal world for 18 years (xUSSR). On the other hand it is very much up-to-date. People are getting brainwashed today. Yesterday, absolutely everybody believed in Global Warming and if you didn't you were an enemy. Then in a blink of an eye Global Warming mutated into Climate Change. Again, everybody believes in it. They don't understand it, but they believe in it. They don't question it. They no longer have an ability/brain power to do it. They blindly believe/trust someone who allegedly knows more. Some who have retained the ability to question are the enemies. How many scientist who dared to voice their disbelieve in Global Warming were booed down by their colleagues and had to quit?

It is but one example.
That's life, isn't it?

To cheer up myself I have started The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3) by Brandon Sanderson although, I am not sure whether it is much more positive than 1984...

Only Two Things Are Infinite, The Universe and Human Stupidity, and I'm Not Sure About The Former.
Albert Einstein

#5512 Aptorian

How 'bout a hug?

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 11:39 AM

End of Disc One, on 19 October 2010 - 12:22 AM, said:

Halfway through FOOL MOON by Jim Butcher. If this series only gets better like everyone says, I'm in for a real treat.

The first and second one are practically copies of each other, pretty formulaic, using props and gimmicks and using some generic urban fantasy themes. Then the third book comes along and kicks everything wide open and from book 4 and on it's just fucking awesome.

#5513 Abyss

abyssus abyssum invocat

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 02:57 PM

QuickTidal, on 18 October 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

Onto LORD OF CHAOS by Jordan.

Say what one will about the later books in the series, i envy you what you're about to read for the first time.

Aptorian, on 19 October 2010 - 11:39 AM, said:

End of Disc One, on 19 October 2010 - 12:22 AM, said:

Halfway through FOOL MOON by Jim Butcher. If this series only gets better like everyone says, I'm in for a real treat.

Book 2 did have a few fun twists, but pacing/story-wise does really feel a lot like book 1. I absolutely second Apt re books 3 and 4... those are where the dresdencrack gets into your soul.

THIS IS YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE IS A
'VIEW NEW CONTENT' BUTTON THAT
ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW NEW CONTENT

#5514 MTS

Fourth Investiture

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 03:02 PM

And then you get to Dead Beat and your mind explodes from all the awesome.

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

Si hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis propinquus ades.

#5515 Slow Ben

Ranger

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 05:26 PM

Yes it does.

Thanks to Obdi and Abyss' chatting on this thread I just got the first 3 of Cooks Garret books in from the library today. Gonna give'em a go.

I've always been crazy but its kept me from going insane.

#5516 Salt-Man Z

My pen halts, though I do not

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 10:12 PM

Slow Ben, on 19 October 2010 - 05:26 PM, said:

Thanks to Obdi and Abyss' chatting on this thread I just got the first 3 of Cooks Garret books in from the library today. Gonna give'em a go.

Great stuff you're in for a treat.

In fact, I just finished the fourth book, Old Tin Sorrows and it was the best yet. My quick review:

Quote

The best Garrett book so far. I think the previous ones suffered (to this reader at least) from jumping around too much; too many locations and characters popping in and out. Basically, too much stuff to keep track of. This book tried something new—well, for the Garrett books, anyway. 'Twas a classic "one dozen people stuck in a haunted mansion and one of them's the killer" story, with thievery, a slow poisoning, and a serial killer all mixed together; not to mention the ghosts and zombies. Garrett's humanity gets highlighted as well, further endearing him to readers as a very relatable protagonist.

#5517 QuickTidal

Lord of the Waters

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Posted 19 October 2010 - 10:58 PM

Abyss, on 19 October 2010 - 02:57 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 18 October 2010 - 11:38 PM, said:

Onto LORD OF CHAOS by Jordan.

Say what one will about the later books in the series, i envy you what you're about to read for the first time.

Yeah, I am still, at this point, quite enjoying the series....I hope this book is good. If the opening salvo of a 72 page prologue is anything to go by, I think it may be.

I also seem to recall being on the cusp of Dresden's DEAD BEAT one night and you got me to stop internetting and read it right then. LOL. Similar.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#5518 Use Of Weapons

Soletaken

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Posted 20 October 2010 - 11:59 AM

Finished Elantris -- I dunno, seemed a bit thin. I liked the story, but it did seem a bit drawn out. It was a novel based on a short-story-length idea, for me.

I then devoured Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void. Wow, what a story!

It is perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadays saying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely and entirely true.
-- Oscar Wilde

#5519 amphibian

Ribbit

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Posted 21 October 2010 - 06:18 AM

Under Heaven wasn't very good. I'd rate it as "passable".

I've read three works by GGK and I do not get the hype at all. He's an occasionally shoddy writer who can't really stay in the sweet spot long. There are many other authors who deserve much more acclaim and success than he does.

I survived the Permian and all I got was this t-shirt.